Baking Chez Moi: Not-So-Pink Grapefruit Tart

The second recipe of the month from Baking Chez Moi is a Pink Grapefruit Tart that can be found at Hugo & Victor Pâtisserie in Paris. Other than being petite, mine looks nothing like Hugues Pouget's tart. Dorie's version is a full size tart, with picture perfect pink and yellow grapefruit segments beautifully spiraled around the top of the tart. Mine looks nothing like Dorie's.

My original plan was to make the tart on Sunday, expecting to be back from my Houston business trip Saturday night. However, thanks to an incompetent fuel truck driver at Spirit airlines, who decided to ram into the baggage compartment door of the airplane, I ended up spending 15 hours in the airport waiting for the next flight at noon on Sunday. Trust me, you don't want to hear about the hotel vouchers we finally received at 5:00 AM…vouchers the hotel ultimately refused to accept, or the meal vouchers the airport restaurants wouldn't accept. Heck, the flight attendants on the flight back home wouldn't even accept their own meal voucher and the whole fiasco ended costing me another $13 for a double vodka to put myself to sleep and out of my misery. I assure you I will never make the mistake of flying Spirit, and I strongly suggest you do the same. Stuff happens, but the customer service was atrocious.

To top it off, some time during those sleepless and annoying hours, I managed to pick up a nasty cold and have been home sick the past two days. Knowing I would be stuck at home a few days, I decided to try this tart. I started it yesterday, but ran out of steam after making the Sweet Tart Dough, lemon-almond cream, and grapefruit crémeux. I was able to finish off my tarts this morning with baking and assembling.

I decided to make three 4" tartlets rather than one large tart. I could have easily made four with thinner crusts. After the crust is baked and cooled, a layer of chilled lemon-almond cream is spread over the bottom and the crusts are returned to the oven to bake for a few minutes until the cream is set. After the tart cools, the chilled grapefruit crémeux is whisked until soft and smooth, and spread over the lemon-almond cream in the tart shell. Finally, grapefruit segments are attractively arranged on the top of the crémeux and the tart returned to the refrigerator for another two to eight hours before serving.

As indicated, the top of the tart is supposed to be garnished with grapefruit segments. The grapefruit crémeux is also supposed to have a pink hue from Campari. My grapefruit segments came out all raggedy looking (I think my grapefruits were too small) and there was no way the segments were going to add any element of beauty to my tarts. The market didn't have Campari; hence the lack of pink in my  crémeux. I ended up using the grapefruit juice from my raggedy grapefruit to make a grapefruit caramel sauce. That's the puddle under the tart. However, I took the caramel a bit too far on the stove, so it ended up being more like a puddle of chewy caramel.

Would I make this again? Probably. I loved the crust and the grapefruit crémeux. I'm not so sure the lemon-almond cream adds much. I used a pretty thick layer and didn't really taste it. The texture and flavor of the grapefruit segments would definitely enhance the tart, but my segments just didn't make the cut this time.

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Tuesdays with Dorie is an online cooking group where anyone can bake along. We bake with two books – Baking with Julia and Baking Chez Moi. I am baking along with the Baking Chez Moi group, which bakes two recipes per month and posts on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. We are asked to refrain from including the actual recipe in our posts, to promote the publishing industry and encourage others to buy the cookbooks.

I'm Back..Cranberry Crackle Tart

Yes, it's been a LONG time since I've done a blog post...four months tomorrow, to be exact. Sometimes, you just need a break, and I also needed some time to think about where I want to go and what I'm trying to accomplish with my blog these days! The answer: What it's always been - a creative outlet to share recipes, stories, photos, and a little bit of my life in Coronado!

When I first started blogging regularly in 2009, I enjoyed sharing our summer Concert in the Park culinary themed picnics and I was involved in various online cooking challenges (Fine Cooking, The Daring Cooks, The Daring Bakers). I was in a full-time relationship where I enjoyed entertaining, cooking for the two of us, and cooking together. That all gave me blogging material. While I still enjoy cooking and working on my culinary and photography skills, the Concert in the Park themed picnics have fizzled out a bit, it's not always fun cooking alone and/or for one, and I have been able to spend more of my time photographing other chefs' food rather than my own.

For the past year, I've been involved with a wonderful man who lives in TN. For the past six months, I've been settling into my new job. Unfortunately, Trapper has been through some serious medical issues this past year and I've been dealing with those and trying to spend more time with him.

With that said, I do miss cooking, blogging, and sharing bits and pieces of my life, and I am going to make a serious effort to get back on track! However, if I do go missing again, please visit There's a Newf in My Soup Facebook page, where I do post a lot of photo albums from various events, share some of the things I cook but never get around to blogging, and try to keep Trapper's fans happy with photos of him.

My photography has been going extremely well and I've been photographing for local restaurants and at quite a few wine dinners and food and wine events. Last week, I photographed six events for the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival - mostly food shots for all the dinners, as well as hanging out in the kitchen photographing the chefs cooking and plating, and then in the judging tent for the Chef of the Fest competition at the Grand Tasting. I was able to taste some of the food and take a sip or two of wine here and there throughout the week-long festival.

If I had to choose a favorite event, Comer Conmigo: Dinner, Tequila at Chef/Owner Chad White's Común Kitchen & Tavern would be the one. This was a six-course dinner with paired tequila and wines that blended "Baja comfort food with eclectic style and borderless creativity." Every dish burst with incredible flavor and color, like this octopus, cauliflower puree and green mango salad. I also photographed an intimate, exclusive 10-course wine dinner, Celebrity Chef Dinner & Auction and Fish Taco TKO at Stone Brewery.

In addition to food and event photography, I joined a new photography social club. A few weeks ago, 12 of us were granted full access press passes to the Del Mar races, which now has a short, second meet during the month of November in addition to the summer meet. We were invited to photograph morning workout, wander through the barns, hang out in the inner circle of the paddock, sit up in the press box for a race, and stand right on the rail for the races. I've always been a horse lover and racing fan, so this was the ultimate experience. I'm definitely looking forward to future photography outings with this group.

...I had to look back at Newf in My Soup's Facebook page to see what else I've been up to these past four months!

I dressed up as a witch and photographed the Coronado Witches' Tea. This is now a Coronado tradition that started 15 years ago with a handful of women dressing up as witches to celebrate Becky's October birthday. It has turned into the Halloween event of the year, with over 150 witchy women this year, dressed to impress! Mode of transportation and itinerary for the afternoon are surprises. You show up at The Brigantine and await your adventure. This year, we traveled by two luxury buses to Jsix for cocktails, San Diego Wine & Culinary Event Center for lunch, and then back over the bridge to McP's Irish Pub for dancing and more "tea"...

A few photo ops in front of the Hotel Del before boarding our luxury buses

Wall of Chocolate Lava Cakes, kept warm by candles, at San Diego Wine & Culinary Event Center

Witchy Selfies

Letting loose at McP's

I participated in Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk for my second year, when walkers around the world gather in various towns for a two-hour photo walk, all on the same day. The winning photo from each town goes in the mix for the Top 10 and Grand Prize. I was honored again this year with Coronado's winning photo.

Sunset Paddle

A group of close friends gathered for a girls'  day in Temecula to celebrate Kelley's birthday with wine tasting, horseback riding in the vineyards, lunch, and more wine tasting. Too much fun on that trip!

Birthday Girl

Another fun day trip, but a very LONG day, was with Club Tengo Hambe for a Valle de Guadalupe Wine + Baja Cookout. I was uneasy about traveling down to Mexico, but our tour guides were wonderful and showed us a fantastic time.

Unfortunately, like I mentioned earlier, I've been through some scares with Trapper this past year, and almost lost him twice - once to a massive fever/infection, and then to bloat/GDV. He made it through the GDV surgery, but had a very slow recovery before his Coronado vet diagnosed with Addison's Disease, to go with his epilepsy. Poor boy has to take so many medications now and I worry about leaving him alone. He'll be celebrating his third birthday in December, and I'm so thankful he's been with me the past three years to help me through the changes in my life.

Morning Walk to Tartine for coffee and a peanut butter dog biscuit

Okay! Now that I've shared a little of what's been going on with me these past few months, it's time to get to the subject of this blog post...my first experience cooking from Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook, Baking Chez Moi. I did pretty well cooking through the first half of Around My French Table with French Fridays with Dorie, but then I fell off the wagon. That book is almost done now, and most of the group is joining Tuesdays with Dorie, a group that has been cooking from Baking with Julia and is just now starting Baking Chez Moi. I'm a bit reluctant to start baking with this group, mainly because I'm not sure I want sweets around that often, but I do need help with my baking skills and I can always share the sweets with friends, mom, the boys at work, and TN. I also like the fact that Tuesdays with Dorie bakes from Baking Chez Moi twice a month, rather than weekly, with posts on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, and we can bake as often as we'd like.

Because this week's recipe was perfect for Thanksgiving, we didn't have to post on Tuesday and could post late if we made the tart for Thanksgiving. I actually made two of the desserts from Baking Chez Moi for Thanksgiving, this week's Cranberry Crackle Tart and the Petite Apple Croustades with Creme Anglaise.

Cranberry Crackle Tart - the one piece left over from Thanksgiving!

Both desserts were very different and very good. This tart was fairly easy...the Apple Croustades, requiring patience with phyllo dough, not so much!

The tart has a nice crackly top

This Cranberry Crackle Tart is very unique. For the crust, you have a choice between Sweet Tart Dough or Galette Dough. The Sweet Tart Dough recipe needs confectioners' sugar and an egg yolk, whereas the Galette Dough uses granulated sugar and ice water. Since I was out of eggs at that point, I make the Galette Dough. After the crust is pre-baked, you spread a layer of jam over the bottom (I used raspberry). The filling is whipped egg whites, sugar, a pinch of salt, and fresh cranberries. After slowly baking for an hour at 300 degrees, the tart comes out of the oven with a crackle finish, but the meringue inside is soft and marshmallowy. The fresh cranberries cook fine in an hour, and provide a nice tartness with the sweetness of the meringue and jam.

The tartness of the cranberries is offset by the sweet meringue and jam

Newf Notes: I'm not sure why Dorie suggests using a pie dish rather than a tart pan. She also instructs to trim the dough to about one-third down from the rim of the dish. With pre-baking, the crust shrinks and comes down even more, not leaving much of an edge. The recipe also calls for only two egg whites. I just didn't see how two egg whites would whip up enough meringue to fill up the crust. I made an adjustment and doubled the egg whites (and sugar).  I used a little extra jam, and reserved a few extra cranberries to place on top of the meringue before baking, for added color. I extended the baking time just slightly, waiting for the top of the meringue to turn golden and crack. I think this recipe would work fine in a tart pan and I did like the added volume and height with the extra egg whites. The flavors and textures were great! It was a nice addition to the Thanksgiving dessert spread! Normally, we don't share the recipes in French Fridays with Dorie or Tuesdays with Dorie. However, Dorie has posted this recipe on her blog, here. You can also go check out how some of the other TWD bakers did with their tarts, here.

A huge thank you to Kai and Hillari for hosting Thanksgiving this year and bringing together family and friends for a wonderful dinner we all helped to create.

Kai carving the turkey while Max tries to be patient, and Bryan checks his messages

Trapper helped with the Brussels Sprouts!

Coronado Concerts in the Park - When in Rome

The Rat Pack was able to rally again after a memorable Saturday night at Baby Bellagio. We carried over the Italian theme for Concert in the Park with Roman cuisine. Many of us were still sporting our fedoras, and some added facial hair in honor of the birthday boy's latest look.

Alec and Sonoma

Kai, looking a bit more stylish and masculine
(see Aunt Kai with his tray of Cannoli, here) 

Nina slipped into a mini-toga and exchanged her fedora for a gold leaf headpiece

Sparks and Olivia

Kellee

John's Antipasti 

Kellee's Caprese Bruschetta 

Kai's Moretum, a type of herb cheese spread the Ancient Romans ate with bread 

Nina's Pasta Puttanesca

Here's how Nina prepared the pasta:  "The pasta was a puttanesca, I did it from memory:  Extra virgin olive oil, several cloves of garlic minced and cooked for a couple minutes over low heat, take off heat, throw in some chopped kalamata olives and fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, a squeeze of lemon (my touch, love the acid and liveliness it adds) and throw the hot pasta over the whole thing, toss with some grated parmesan and serve.  I think it's normally served without cooking the garlic first, but the saute takes the edge off the garlic so it's kind of nice like that."

A peek of shrimp from Zuppa di Pesce alla Romana, a Roman-style fish soup

In researching Roman cuisine, I came across Saltimbocca alla Romana, which consists of veal, prosciutto or ham, and sage, rolled-up and cooked in Marsala and butter. I adapted Tyler Florence's version, here, using chicken, prosciutto, sage, white wine, chicken broth and lemon. I was also able to prepare it at the park on our little portable gas stove, which only runs about $17.00 at Ranch 99 Market. I'm sure people at the park think we're out of control with these gourmet picnics, but I know they envy the sights and smells around our picnic blanket!

Saltimbocca alla Romana

For dessert, I brought the remaining cannoli from the night before, and made a fresh Plum Tart with Italian plums I found at the Hillcrest Farmers' Market that morning. Italian plums, sometimes called Empress plums, are native to the Mediterranean coastal regions of Italy. They are yellow-fleshed delicacies with low-water content and dense texture, which allows them to keep their shape during baking. Their flavor falls between sweet and sour after cooking, making them ideal for fall cakes and crumbles. I served my tart with John's whipped cream, spiked with bourbon and nutmeg.

Italian Plum Tart
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced
1 egg yolk
2 pounds firm, ripe Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Add the butter and the egg yolk and mix until crumbly (alternatively, pulse together all ingredients in a food processor).

Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan (you can also use a rectangular tart pan, as I did, or even mini-tart pans). Arrange the plums in the pan, skin-side down, to form a decorative pattern, beginning at the outside and working towards the center.

Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums (I had too much crumb mixture and used the excess to an additional mini-tart). Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling (mine was done at about the 40-minute mark). Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature, with or without whipped cream or ice cream.

Beautiful Italian Plums and the crumb mixture used for the bottom crust 

Quartered plums are arranged in a decorative pattern on top of the crust

The remaining crumb mixture is then sprinkled over the top of the plums

Baked Plum Tart

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We have one remaining Concert on Sunday, and then our Third Annual Southern Jubilee, and then John's Annual Halloween Extravaganza, and then...

We sure know how to picnic and party!

Putting an Adult Spin on a Childhood Favorite: Pluot-Apricot Merlot Pop Tarts

I just finished a rather lengthy post, here, about this past Sunday's Concert in the Park, when I challenged everyone in our foodie group to prepare one of their childhood favorites. Due to the length of that post and all of our photos, I wanted to prepare separate posts with the recipes for my Pop Tarts and John's Yellow Chili.

My inspiration for the theme of Childhood Favorites came from a recent Tasting Table e-mail, Pop Up, a grown-up childhood standby, featuring a recipe for Buzz Bakery's Peach Pop Tarts. I, too, was a fan of Pop-Tarts as a kid. Of course, the potential flavor combinations are endless, and it's always a fun challenge to revamp and put your own spin on one of the classics...even if that classic comes out of a box!

Since pluots are back at the Farmers' Market, and I was very pleased with Thomas Keller's Plum Zinfandel Jam, here, I decided to make another variation of that jam for my Pop Tart filling. This time, I used a pound of Dapple Dandy Pluots, a pound of apricots, and Merlot wine. The glaze is flavored with a touch of vanilla, and sprinkled with raw sugar. I also made a Peach-Rosemary-Grand Marnier and Mascarpone version, but those really spread during baking. Again, a longer chilling time before baking may have helped those babies.

During preparation, I wasn't a big fan of this dough recipe and was ready to throw in the towel and throw these in the trash. If you have a favorite pie crust dough, you may prefer to use it. I think this dough would benefit from a bit more flour and additional chilling time, both before rolling and after the pop tarts are prepared, prior to baking. My second batch turned out much better with those modifications. In the end, everyone loved these - especially the flavor of the jam.







Pluot-Apricot Merlot Pop Tarts

Pluot-Apricot Merlot Jam
Adapted from Thomas Keller’s Plum Zinfandel Jam, Ad Hoc at Home

1 pound pluots (pitted and chopped)
1 pound apricots (pitted and chopped)
1 cup sugar
1 cup Merlot

Combine the pluots, apricots, sugar and wine in a large saucepan and attach a candy thermometer to the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, and then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Continue simmering until the jam reaches 215-220 degrees F (about 30-40 minutes). Remove from heat.

Spoon jam into a canning jar or other storage container, cover, and let cool to room temperature. Can be refrigerated for up to one month.

Whole Wheat Dough
Adapted from Tasting Table

1½ sticks unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1¼ cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg, whisked(for egg wash)

Sugar Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup raw sugar (for sprinkling on top of the glaze)

Make the dough: In a standing mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat and all-purpose flours, baking powder and salt. Add the flour and buttermilk into the butter mixture, alternating mixtures until a dough forms. Divide the dough into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (original recipe called for only 30 minutes, but I didn't feel that was long enough).

To assemble pop tarts: Remove one dough ball from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. (Note: This is where I ran into problems. I found the dough still very soft and sticky after refrigerating only 30 minutes, and used a generous amount of flour on my board and rolling pin). Roll out to a large rectangle, about ¼-inch thick. Cut the dough into eight 4 x 3 inch rectangles (I used a rectangular cookie cutter), re-rolling the dough if necessary. Place the rectangles on a parchment-paper-lined sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator. Roll out the second ball of dough and cut into eight 4 x 3 inch rectangles. Place this set of rectangles on a second parchment-paper-lined sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator.

Remove the first set of rectangles from the refrigerator and brush some egg wash around the outside 1/2 inch edge of the rectangle. Carefully top each rectangle with about two tablespoons of the jam, spreading within the 1/2 inch border brushed with egg wash.

Remove the second set of dough from the refrigerator and top the first set of rectangles and fruit with the dough. Seal with your fingers and use a fork dipped in flour to finish the seal. Chill the pop tarts in the refrigerator for one hour (Again, the original recipe called for 30 minutes, but I think extra refrigeration helps to prevent spreading during cooking).

Preheat the oven to 325°. Place the pop tarts in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Allow to cool completely before applying the glaze.

Make the sugar glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, water (add a tablespoon at a time until you obtain the desired consistency - I preferred my glaze a little thicker. You may need to make extra glaze, depending on thickness and amount used) and vanilla extract. Spoon about a tablespoon of glaze on top of the pop tart, spreading with the back of the spoon. Sprinkle with raw sugar, and allow glaze to set before serving.

French Fridays with Dorie: Orange-Almond Tart

Fat chance I was going to sit out on this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, a classic French tart with a twist. If you're strolling down the streets of Paris, you're likely to see this Orange-Almond Tart displayed in the window of Patisserie Gérard Mulot.

 Photo:  Orange-Almond Tart,  from
Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours

If you’ve visited There's a Newf in My Soup lately, you know I am cooking my way through Dorie’s beautiful cookbook, Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. Although FFwD members are not required to participate every week, I’ve found it impossible to resist any of the recipes thus far.

This tart is composed of a delicate, buttery, pâte sablée crust and a silky, luscious, almond cream filling. The surprise twist is the use of oranges, a fruit you don’t typically associate with a baked tart.

I added a few twists of my own, by adapting the 9" tart into pretty, four-inch tartlets. I also used a combination of blood and navel oranges, and arranged them in an overlapping rosette pattern. The crimson oranges provided a little burst of color and sweetness. Dorie recommends leaving a little more space between the orange supremes so the almond cream can puff up around the fruit, but mine managed to do its thing.

To achieve the most flavor and texture from the fruit, the cut supremes are dried for at least an hour, preferably several hours, between triple layers of paper towels.

The tart shell is made using the recipe for Sweet Tart Dough. The dough comes together quickly in the food processor by pulsing all-purpose flour, confectioners' sugar, salt, unsalted butter, and an egg yolk. Just when you're tempted to add a few teaspoons of ice water, it instantly clumps together and is ready to be dumped out, lightly kneaded, and refrigerated. The tart shell is partially baked and cooled prior to filling with almond cream and fruit, and then the tart is baked again.

Almond cream is a pastry chef's building block for baked fruit tarts. I was surprised to learn it is customary to add a splash of dark rum. No turned up nose in this kitchen...next to my expensive bottle of Armagnac, is a bottle of Myer's Dark Rum. The almond cream is also prepared with ease in the food processor, with butter, sugar, almond flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, an egg, and dark rum. It can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to three days.

Granted, there are a few steps involved in creating this tart, or tartlets - cutting and drying the orange supremes; preparing, rolling and partially baking the tart shell; preparing the almond cream; assembling the tart; and baking. However, preparation can be spread out over two days and you will be rewarded with a refreshing, light and magnificent dessert, without a flight to Paris. Bonne idées include variations with poached pears or sugar plums.

You don't need to get as carried away with the design, but I find myself easily entertained at times.

Just before serving, you have several options...dusting with confectioners' sugar, brushing an apple jelly glaze over the top, and/or adding a dollop of whipped cream. I went with confectioners' sugar and a dark rum spiked whipped cream.

The tartlets made their way down the street to Kai and Hill's for Super Bowl Sunday. Thank goodness they were light, and not too sweet, after filling up on John's spicy Red Beef and Black Bean Chili and Kai's succulent ribs.

"And every day when I've been good, I get an orange after food." - Robert Louis Stevenson

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