The Chocolate Tarte, Somerville

Almost a year ago, my blogging friend Rachel of Fork It Over, Boston!, in the middle of a quest for the best cupcakes in Boston, declared that she had found a winner (of course, that wasn't going to stop her from continuing on her quest). Her praise for The Chocolate Tarte in Somerville seemed too good to be true. Because, frankly, I've had a lot of bad cupcakes and some good cupcakes, but none that left me talking about them for days.

So when Linda of The Chocolate Tarte invited a few bloggers to her shop to try her wares, I was ready to see if her cupcakes could possibly live up to the hype. I walked into the store and immediately had delicious chocolates thrust into my hands. Pistachio white chocolate? Yes! Raspberry Anise? Of course! Tequila? Don't mind if I do! We were all so distracted by these little gems that I almost forgot there were cupcakes to be had.

Linda had lined up a whole bunch of vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet mini cupcakes, and I jumped for the chocolate. I couldn't have been more surprised to find the moistest mini cupcake I'd ever tasted. Anyone who bakes knows that it's tough to keep miniature versions of pastries as tasty as the full-sized thing, so this tiny little piece of cake was a revelation. The frosting on top was light and creamy, like whipped cream with a bit of Fluff thrown in for good measure.

There was also a whole red velvet cake that we went at like wolves, and it was as perfect as the cupcakes were. The Chocolate Tarte does beautiful cakes to order, and I know where I'm going the next time I need a tasty birthday treat.

Of course, there's more to The Chocolate Tarte than just cupcakes. As the name implies, tarts (chocolate and not so chocolate) are a specialty. We tried mini chocolate rosemary tarts (above) which were just fantastic. The rosemary was very subtle, and the chocolate filling was creamy and smooth. If I had to pick a favorite dessert of the night, it would probably be these tarts. There were also fudgy brownies that were so dense, you only needed a few bites to be sated.

So while I didn't believe Rachel when she said these cupcakes were THAT good, I do now. Don't believe me either? Head out to The Chocolate Tarte in Somerville yourself and tell me I'm wrong.

Full Disclosure note: The pastries were provided for free by The Chocolate Tarte. But I wouldn't write about them if I didn't like them.

Cherry Lime Pie

One of the funny things about family traditions is that it can be hard to tell that they're specific to your family only. Growing up, we had cherry pie every February for Presidents' Day. I mentioned this recently to one of my brothers, and he said "I thought Mom just liked cherry pie." I mentioned to some other people that I wanted to bake a cherry pie soon for the holiday, and almost no one saw the connection. Was this just specific to my family then?

Since cherries, along with almost every other kind of fruit, are out of season in the winter, I like using frozen dark cherries. They don't have quite the same flavor as sour cherries (the usual kind used for pie), but the addition of lime gives the cherries more depth. Cherries and lime just taste so bright and fresh, the perfect thing for a winter day.

I haven't included a recipe for the dough because everyone seems to have their favorite pie crust. I like all-butter dough. I was a little pressed for time this time, though, so I used store-bought dough. The outcome wasn't quite as good, but I was still happy with the overall pie.


Cherry Lime Pie
pie dough (use your favorite, enough for a double crust)
6 cups frozen dark cherries, defrosted
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/4 cup sugar
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
milk
sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a deep pie dish with dough (1/8th inch thick) and crimp the edges. In a large bowl, combine cherries, cornstarch, sugar, and lime zest and juice. Pour cherry mixture into pie dish and dot with butter. Roll out second half of dough to 1/8th-inch thick and, using a small star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many stars as possible. Arrange dough shapes over the top of the pie, overlapping so they can bake together. Brush top with milk and dust with sanding sugar.

Place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375° and bake for another hour, until the filling is set and bubbly. Use a pie crust shield or foil around the edges if the edges brown quickly. Let cool completely before serving.

Kolokithopita

The problem with blogging, as with so many other things, is that the longer you're away from it, the harder it is to get back into it. For literally six weeks, I've come to my computer almost daily with the intent to blog, but every day that passed and it didn't happen, the less likely I was to actually do it. Well, here I am, having had to create a post for a special assignment (you'll read all about it on December 1st), which managed to get me back into the blogging mindset (hopefully).

That doesn't mean that I haven't cooked anything in six weeks. Quite the opposite, in fact, and I kept taking pictures and jotting down recipes with the hope that it would kick-start some writing. In fact, one week I roasted a pumpkin (ok, a buttercup squash, which has more flavor than a sugar pumpkin) and used it in just about everything I made.

That was how I stumbled across the wonder that is kolokithopita. I was searching for pumpkin recipes and came across montcarte's recipe from last fall. Most importantly, it was a savory use of pumpkin puree, which is much less common than sweet uses. Less importantly, but still intriguing to me, it involved feta cheese (really, any cheese would make me happy) and phyllo dough (which always produces impressive results).

I ended up making this twice in one week because it was so good. The first time, I could barely hold myself back from cutting into it - I wanted to wait until dinner, but instead I declared it an appetizer (hours early?) and just dug in. I'm glad I didn't wait - the crispy exterior and the creamy interior, the natural sweetness of the pumpkin and the salty goodness of the cheese made this a pretty perfect pumpkin dish. At the end of the week, I was invited to a housewarming party and thought it would make a good side dish. The kolokithopita travels well and is good warm, room-temperature, or cold out of the fridge. Plus, it's fun to say.

Don't let the use of phyllo dough scare you off. I know a lot of people are a bit frightened of using it, as it is known to be a somewhat cantankerous dough. This is a good recipe to learn on, though, since it's got to be roll and twisted. The dough WILL rip in this recipe, but it's not a problem since the focus isn't on laying it perfectly flat (like it is in recipes like baklava). Plus, this recipe uses very little phyllo (less than half a box), so if you screw up a lot, you still have more than enough to get the job done.

Kolokithopita
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups pumpkin puree (I like ambercup or buttercup squash, but canned works just as well)
3/4 cup crumbled feta (about 4 oz)
2 eggs
1 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp honey
phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 350°. Brush an 8-inch round cake pan with butter and set aside.

Mix together pumpkin, feta, eggs, nutmeg, and honey. Stir well to combine.

Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on work surface and brush with melted butter. Lay a second sheet of dough directly on top of first sheet and brush with more butter. Lay filling in a thin strip along one of the long sides (but don't go all the way to the edge or the filling will squeeze out). Gently roll the dough away from you, forming a long snake. Arrange the snake inside the baking pan, curving it to fit the curve of the pan. Brush the exterior of the snake with more butter. Repeat with remaining dough and filling until the pan is filled (make sure to brush each curve of the dough with butter as you add it to the pan - the butter is what makes it flaky). Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Pomegranate Paklava

Paklava just doesn't photograph well, does it?

As a second entry into PAMA's Pomegranate Month recipe contest, I decided to update an Armenian classic with Pomegranate Paklava. Armenian paklava is usually less sweet and gooey than Greek baklava, which I am in favor of, but I've still never really liked it. My mother makes it with walnuts, possibly the worst nut out there (I'll eat Brazil nuts before I eat a walnut!), and I've always felt that pistachios are a more fitting nut for this pastry anyway. Adding pomegranate seemed like a natural step. I'm really happy with how this turned out, and although I'm still not a fan of paklava in general, I'd be much more likely to eat this fruitier version.

Pomegranate Paklava
2 cups chopped pistachios
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 lb. phyllo dough
2 sticks butter, melted
1/2 cup PAMA Liqueur
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar

Combine chopped pistachios, 2 Tbsp sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Unroll phyllo dough and cover with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying. Brush melted butter over the bottom and sides of a 13×9 pan. Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on the bottom of the pan and brush generously with butter. Repeat with two-thirds of the phyllo sheets, ending with a brushing of butter. Spread the pistachio mixture evenly over the dough, making sure to spread all the way to the edges. Top with the remaining sheets of phyllo dough, each brushed with butter. Cover the pan and refrigerate for an hour to let the butter harden.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cut the paklava into squares or diamonds, making sure to cut all the way through to the bottom. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

While paklava is cooling, combine PAMA Liqueur, water, and 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour hot syrup over paklava; if you like a paklava that is a little less sweet, use less of the syrup. Re-cut the paklava (the edge of a spatula may give you better leverage than a knife). Serve on a platter or in individual paper baking cups.

Phyllo-Wrapped Brie with PAMA Drizzle

Happy Pomegranate Month! If you're seeing a lot of pomegranate recipes out there, it's because Pomegranate Month is in full swing (not to mention that pomegranates are just plain delicious).

PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur is celebrating Pomegranate Month with a recipe contest. The only requirement for entries? Using 3 tablespoons of PAMA. Thankfully, the sweet and tart liqueur pairs well with a lot of flavors.

My first entry, Phyllo-Wrapped Brie with PAMA Drizzle, is kind of a mishmash of ideas. I wanted to use phyllo dough because it always looks fancy, and it's pretty easy to use (even if a lot of people are scared of using it - just give it a shot!). I figured a version of individual brie en croute would be a great appetizer - I love the idea of brie en croute, but I don't like the idea of putting pastry on top of a cracker. This eliminates the need for crackers, making the entire thing hand-held. As for the PAMA sauce, I kept thinking of an amazing steak I had in Italy, covered in a balsamic vinegar reduction that tasted like rich chocolate. A thick sauce like that, but with more fruity flavor from the PAMA, seemed like a perfect pair to the pastry.

Apparently I hit this one out of the park. Our usually loud and boisterous group didn't make a sound when these finally hit the table. The one vegetarian, who ate these as her main coarse, was literally scraping the plate clean of every last drop of sauce. I'm so glad these worked out well, contest or no, and I have a feeling these will be on my holiday table in the next few months. If nothing else, the combination of PAMA and balsamic vinegar makes a sauce that would be killer on just about anything.


Phyllo-Wrapped Brie with PAMA Drizzle
1 lb. phyllo dough
10 oz. brie, cut into 10 long slices
2 sticks butter, melted
pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll phyllo dough and cover with a damp cloth to prevent from drying. Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on work surface and brush generously with melted butter. Lay a second sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first and brush with butter. Place one slice of brie lengthwise along the bottom edge of the dough and top with pomegranate seeds. Roll the brie in the dough two turns, fold in the sides to seal the ends, then continue rolling the brie. Trim the end to lie neatly beneath the pastry, and place seam-side down on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and brie. Brush completed pieces with butter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. While the pastries are baking, prepare the sauce by combining the PAMA Liqueur, balsamic vinegar, and salt together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until thick and syrupy.

To serve, drizzle sauce over the pastries and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

*NOTE* If these are too big, you can make smaller ones, but use just one sheet of phyllo - two might overwhelm a smaller piece of cheese.

Cheap Eats: Kupel's Bakery

There are plenty of places around to grab a bagel sandwich, but you're often limited in choices or end up paying more than you'd like. At Kupel's (pronounced "couples") just outside Coolidge Corner, though, you have a whole slew of options and get a tasty sandwich for just a couple of bucks.

Kupel's bagels are baked fresh daily in a wide range of flavors. They're chewy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. This Bostonist favors the jalapeno bagel, with just enough spice to make it interesting, but there are so many choices, you could take home a dozen with all different flavors. For the full sandwich experience, choose from a variety of spreads (like honey walnut cream cheese or hummus), fish (like white fish salad or lox) or eggs, and a variety of veggies. You can choose from a number of sandwiches, named mostly for local sports heroes, or pick your own toppings to get exactly what you want.

If you're still hungry after your bagel, pick up a pastry for dessert. The cases are filled with choices, and each type of pastry typically comes in 3 or 4 different flavors. Kupel's hamentashen are so popular, they're made year-round, with fillings like poppy seed and apricot, and they come in two different sizes. This Bostonist loves the flat tires, huge disks of puff pastry with layers of filling (like lemon or chocolate) and sprinkled with coarse sugar, because it's almost impossible to eat one in just one sitting.

Kupel's is located at 421 Harvard Street in Brookline. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 6am-8pm, Friday 6am-7pm, and are closed Saturday. They are also Kosher/Pareve.

Originally published on Bostonist.

Julia Child's Hungarian Shortbread

Julia Child is seriously everywhere right now. I've been debating whether to even write about Julie & Julia or the fact that Mastering The Art of French Cooking is currently the #2 seller on Amazon, since everyone else is writing about that too. I will say that I ended up seeing Julia & Julie twice (once with this amazing group of food bloggers) and loved every minute of it (but especially when they showed Julie's husband working at Archaeology Magazine - made me miss all my awesome co-workers at the AIA).

So in honor of what would have been Julia Child's 97th birthday tomorrow, I decided to try one of her recipes. I've had her Hungarian Shortbread before, as part of the prix fixe brunch at Gaslight (they also sell slices a la carte) and loved the buttery, crumbly texture. That wonderful texture comes from freezing and then grating the dough - it's a bit of a pain in the ass, but the results are so delicious that I would do it again. Other than that, this recipe is really easy and makes about a million bars (you can, of course, cut to whatever size you want, but they're so rich that small pieces don't feel stingy).

Julia Child's Hungarian Shortbread
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 egg yolks
2 cups sugar
2 cups jam (whatever flavor you want - I used homemade ginger nectarine butter)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and sugar and beat until well combined. Slowly add in flour mixture and mix until the dough just begins to come together. Form dough into a ball and cut in half. Wrap each half in plastic or wax paper and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. Remove one piece of dough from the freezer and grate into a 9x12" pan (use the large holes on the grater). Pat the dough down evenly. Spread the jam over the dough, then grate the other piece of dough over that. Pat the top down lightly (don't compact it too much). Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately dust with confectioners' sugar (the sugar will get soaked in a bit). Cool completely before cutting.

Starbucks Tea Party

A while ago, I mentioned that I was enjoying the new tea drinks at Starbucks. What I didn't mention, though, was that I was so enjoying the London Fog latte that I couldn't convince myself to order any of the others, so I had no idea what they tasted like.

Luckily for me, not long after, I was invited to a tea tasting at Starbucks, an event with the sole intention of getting Boston-area bloggers to try all the new tea drink flavors. I was joined by many different local blogs - The Boston Teacup, Yogurt and Berries, Tri 2 Cook, Carrots 'N' Cake, Healthy and Sane, and The Boston Foodie- and we all enjoyed the chance to taste lots of delicious goodies and talk about blogging. We were also lucky to be joined by Missy Franklin, a local Starbucks tea and coffee master, who walked us through our tasting.

We started with the lattes - full-leaf tea bags, steeped in water, sweetened with syrup (simple or vanilla), and topped with steamed milk (water to milk ratio is 1:1). They're all ready to drink as soon as they're handed to you, but I preferred to let them steep a while longer for a more intense taste.

The Black Tea Latte was simple and comforting - the tea version of a regular espresso latte. The tea is a bit sweet and tart, like caramel and black cherries. Understandably, it pairs well with the apple bran muffins, which are studded with sour cherries - the tart and sweet from the fruit really does bring out those similar flavors in the drink. We also paired it with slices of lemon loaf, which is bursting with lemon flavor - yum!

The London Fog Latte was next, and the only one I was familiar with. The tea used in this is slightly different than the regular Earl Grey bags used for cups of tea - they include lavender on top of the bergamot, which always makes for a richer flavor (at least, for me). Because they add vanilla syrup to this one, it had a broader sweetness, and the lavender gives it more of a floral taste. We paired this one with raspberry and mini vanilla scones. The vanilla scones are drier and sweeter, while the raspberry scones have a great tangy flavor (from both the dough and the berries) and a bit of crunch from the sugar topping.

Next up was the Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte. Rooibus (pronounced ROY-bus) is fruity, with a little bit of spice, and it's a great caffeine-free alternative to chai. It had a great honey aroma, which Missy informed us was coming from the combination of the vanilla and the mix of spices. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, especially considering that caffeine is usually a big factor in my wanting a latte :) But the fruitiness melded really well with the milk, forming a light but flavorful treat. This one was paired with red velvet cupcakes - who doesn't love a red velvet cupcake?

We then moved on to the tea infusions, which blended chai concentrate with rich juices. The Berry Chai Infusion was a burst of berries, currents, and spice, and after one person remarked that it tasted like mulled wine, that was pretty much all I could taste. The Apple Chair Infusion is similar, with the chai blended with sweet apple juice - this one tasted like a spicier version of the steamed cider that Starbucks offers in the fall. Neither of these were really my "cup of tea" (if you will) because I'm not a fan of the spiciness of the chai. We paired with Berry infusion with blueberry and cinnamon coffee cakes, but they'd work well with anything containing fruits or spices. The Apple infusion was paired with an apple fritter, which I absolutely loved - apple donuts? Yes please!

So thanks to Starbucks for introducing me to all the new tea flavors that they have on hand. The funny thing is, though, that I think the London Fog is still my favorite, and I'll definitely keep ordering that one.

Croissants are Surprisingly Easy

Another snowy weekend, another desire to bake. This time, I went with something a little more difficult than biscuits, and something I've only dreamed of making - croissants. I've always thought that croissants must be this time-consuming, nit-picky endeavor, since it is so difficult to find a truly delicious specimen. But as I started to tackle this recipe, I was astounded to discover that each step is fairly easy and short - it's just the waiting period between each step that makes this seem to take forever.

True, it took almost 24 hours to complete the croissants, but active time was under an hour. The result was exactly what I was looking for - buttery, flaky, light-as-air pillows of dough that practically dissolve on your tongue. I'm very happy to know that when I want the real deal, I can now make them at home, instead of driving all over, looking for something that may or may not sate my craving.

And since this was an experiment (I didn't even know if they would turn out at all - better to have low expectations when trying something "difficult," I feel), I opted to try both plain and chocolate croissants. Both turned out splendidly, and I actually liked splitting the batch in half so I could have both flavors. If you do split your batch, use only about half the chocolate I listed below, and save any chocolate that doesn't get folded into the dough for melting and drizzling.

Croissants

3 cups plus 2 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp instant or rapid rise yeast (about 1 1/2 packets)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup warm milk
3 sticks unsalted butter
1 large egg, beaten
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (optional)

In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine 2 3/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. With the mixer at low speed and the dough hook installed, slowly add milk and mix until the dough begins to pull together, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-low and mix until dough becomes sticky and elastic, about 8 minutes. If the dough isn't forming roughly into a ball by about 5 minutes, add 1/4 cup more flour, 1 Tbsp at a time. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl and put the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Lay out a large sheet of parchment paper on a counter. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of flour on the parchment, then lay the 3 sticks of butter side by side on the flour. Sprinkle 1 more Tbsp of flour on top of the butter, then top with another sheet of parchment. Working with a rolling pin, gently pound the butter until it is softened and the flour is incorporated. Roll butter into a 12-inch square. Keeping the butter in the parchment, refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a floured surface, roll out dough so that the butter square will fit diagonally in the center. Place the butter in the center of the dough in a diamond shape, with the corners of the butter at the middle of the sides of the dough. Fold the dough over the sides of the butter so that they meet in the middle and press to seal shut. Roll the dough out to a 14-inch square, sprinkling on more flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Once dough is rolled out, fold the square into thirds, like a letter, to form a rectangle, then fold that rectangle into thirds to form a small square. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Roll out the dough again, lightly dusting with flour to prevent sticking. Repeat the previous folding process, folding the dough into a rectangle and then a square. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper (rimmed baking sheets are best). Roll the dough into a 20-inch square. Cut the dough into two halves down the middle.

For regular croissants, cut each half into 3 rectangles, then cut each of those pieces diagonally into 2 triangles. Cut a small slit into the wide end of the triangle, then gently roll the dough, starting at the wide end and moving towards the point. Place the croissants on the baking sheet and curl the arms around to form the crescent shape.

For chocolate croissants, cut each half into 6 even rectangles. Place a tablespoon of chopped chocolate at one end, then roll the dough up around it into a log shape. Arrange on the baking sheet with the seam on the bottom.

Loosely cover shaped croissants with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 to 16 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°. Brush the croissants with egg wash and place the sheets in the oven, using both racks. Bake until golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Rotate and switch the baking sheets halfway through baking. Serve warm or at room temperature. For chocolate croissants, wait until the croissants have cooled, then drizzle with melted chocolate.

Grease-free Spanakopita

The farmers' markets have finally arrived! And while there's not much produce out yet, it's exciting to know that there will be so many fresh ingredients in the coming months. I picked out some terrific spinach this week with the hopes of making spanakopita. And yes, it's more time consuming to use fresh spinach (and not baby spinach or frozen spinach), the outcome is a much greener taste - you can tell that the filling didn't come from a bag.

I grew up eating things wrapped in filo dough - mostly berag, because I'm really not a fan of paklava. The filo we used was the very thin kind - the kind that rips when you just look at it. It's frustrating sometimes, but the results are worth it when you bite through a little crispy cloud of goodness. It wasn't until I visited Greece that I encountered the other kind of filo dough (although I'd seen it in our Armenian market before). The "other kind", labelled country-style or horiatiko or sometimes just "thick," is denser and not so fragile and is a great place for beginners to start. It also makes dishes a little heartier, as this dough has more body. And, as an added bonus, it sucks up any extra grease, making the results feel a little more healthy (even if there is still a stick of butter in there).

Grease-free Spanakopita
-1/2 cup olive oil
-1 yellow onion, finely chopped
-2 lbs fresh spinach, ribs removed; washed and chopped
-10 oz feta cheese, crumbled
-1/2 bunch parsley, washed and finely choppd
-2 eggs
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 stick unsalted butter (you may need more)
-1 package "country-style" filo dough (should be 8 or 10 sheets)

In a large pan, heat olive oil. Add onion and saute until the onions begin to brown. Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the leaves are cooked down. Pour the spinach mixture into a colander and drain out as much water as possible. Allow the mixture to cool, still draining in the colander. When it is cool, press out any additional water with your hands, then put the spinach in a large mixing bowl. Add feta, parsley, eggs, nutmeg, and salt and pepper, and mix to incorporate.

Preheat oven to 325°. Melt butter and brush the bottom and sides of a large glass baking dish. Carefully lay down one sheet of dough, then brush on a layer of butter. If the dough is too large, fold over the edge to fit into the pan, making sure to butter everywhere the sheet overlaps. Continue to layer the sheets and the butter until you have used half of the dough (4 or 5 sheets). Add spinach mixture and spread out so that all the dough is covered. Then lay down another sheet of dough, and continue alternating between dough and brushing with butter. For the final sheet of dough, instead of folding it over to fit into the dish, trim the sides so it fits exactly. Use any remaining butter on the top layer. Before baking, cut into servings, making the slices as large as you would like (I got 12 out of my pan).

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.

Asparagus Ricotta Tart

"Something creamy."

That was the direction we were given for dinner last night. None of us could really decide what we wanted, so the challenge of "creamy" was thrown out there. Ann and I spent quite a while perusing Tastespotting, various blogs, and saved recipes to see what we could find. Eventually, I found this recipe from Bon Appetit, and we all agreed that it sounded fantastic.

It wasn't until we were actually eating it that we realized just how creamy and delicious it was. The puff pastry was light and airy, the ricotta and asparagus puree tasted like spring, and the Comté cheese (which smelled like feet while it was being grated) added a nice saltiness and just a hint of tang. The recipe, with our revisions, is below.

And of course, as I've mentioned before, it irks me that puff pastry comes two to a package, making it necessary to use both. Ann devised a raspberry chocolate tart with the second half that was just amazing. I'm pretty sure we'll be hanging on to both of these recipes for a while.

Asparagus Ricotta Tart, adapted from Bon Appetit
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed
1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 slices of proscuitto, cut into 1/3 inch pieces
2/3 cup grated Comté cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 400°. Roll out dough slightly, to mend creases. Cut a half-inch-wide strip from each side. Brush the edges of the dough with egg, then top with the strips to form a raised border. Brush the border with egg; reserve rest of the egg. Transfer to a baking sheet and set in the fridge to chill.

Blanch asparagus until tender, about 3 minutes. Immediately move to an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Drain, and snap the tips off the stalks and reserve. In a food processor, puree the asparagus stalks with the remaining egg. Mix in the ricotta, oil, salt, and 1/3 cup of the Comté. Remove pastry from fridge. Layer the proscuitto pieces along the pastry, then top with ricotta mixture. Lay the asparagus tips over the top of the ricotta, then sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup Comté.

Bake until the puff pastry is browned and the filling is set, about 25 minutes.

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This day of homework, powered by Athan's apricot and almond streudel. And coffee.

Every time I go into Athan's, I swear I'm going to try something else. And every time, the apricot and almond streudel is sitting in the case, just asking to be ordered. Who am I to disappoint?

The dried apricots are soft and tender, and the frangipane filling is sweet with very few chunks of almond. The slices are huge, too. One piece could happily feed two people (and it's only $3.25!).

Of course, I can't manage to eat a slice without making a mess - the filo flakes end up flying all over the place. Tasty, but messy. I should probably just start bringing it home so I don't embarrass myself eating it in public.

Blogging by Mail Meme

Blogging by Mail is a program in which food bloggers send small gifts to fellow bloggers as a way to create community amongst people who will probably never meet. I'm very excited to be taking part, but I'm still trying to figure out what I'll be putting in my package.

This afternoon, Antonia from Food, Glorious Food! tagged me in a meme - she will be sending me a package from sunny ol' England. She thought this would be a good way to get to know me a little (I've already gotten to know her a little too), so I thought it would be fun. I'll go ahead and tag Michelle from Culinography, to whom I'll be sending my package. Hi Michelle!

My five favorite foods: Greek-style pizza (this is a Boston thing, I think), napoleons, popcorn with lots of salt and butter, pomegranates (the fruit, not the juice), and anything chocolate-mint.

My five least favorite foods: Mushrooms (although I'm beginning to like the more gourmet varieties), smoked fish, eggs (by themselves - I don't care if they're in something), sushi, and peaches (I like the flavor, but just can't get over the fuzziness).

Something I've never cooked, but really should have: Pilaf. My aunt gave my cousins "pilaf tests," and she can't believe I've never made a batch. My mother was going to remedy this last summer, but it just never happened.

What I ate today: a honey stick for my sore throat, a handful of small Reese's peanut butter cups, peppermint tea, a couple glasses of orange juice, a rice and bean burrito, a blood orange, and drink (lots of different martinis) and food (crispy shrimp, tender pork ribs, braised veal) samples from a new restaurant called Persephone.

My last meal on Earth: For pure sentimentality, I'd have to go with some of the Armenian goodies I grew up with - su boreg made with my mom, cheese boreg (my sister-in-law, who's not even Armenian, makes awesome ones), string cheese, lamejun, choreg with lots of mahleb, and cream kadayif. And Brigham's peppermint ice cream, because I'm from Boston, and we have the highest per capita ice cream consumption in the US.

A Puff Pastry Enigma

Why does puff pastry always come two to a package? It's either impossible to defrost one sheet without the other or, if you can manage to pull them apart, the unused sheet just ends up with freezer burn. Is it a ploy by the manufacturers to get you to buy more? Or is the assumption that you're only pulling out the puff pastry for company ("someone better than us" as my brother defines it), and thus will need two sheets?

What if you just have a puff pastry craving yourself with no company in sight? What else is there to do but to cook with them both?



Puff Pastry #1 - Spinach and Feta with olive oil and oregano



Puff Pastry #2 - Apples, Honey and Cinnamon


Overall, pretty tasty. OK, there was a slight mishap with burning honey - I swear I'll attempt to clean that pan soon. But other than that, it was a super easy (and delicious) dinner.

Pie-tastic!

So I made my first attempt - ever! - at a pie last night, and I'm pleased to say that it didn't turn out horribly. I made a very free-form galette, since A) I wasn't sure if we even have a pie plate in my apartment and B) I was too lazy to actually roll the dough out nicely. I'm going to play with the recipe some more to see how I can improve it, but for the time being, you get this tease:



It's lime and cherry, sweet and tart. I could have just eaten a bowl of the filling and been perfectly happy.

I pitted all the cherries using a cider bottle and a chopstick, on recommendation from this Chowhound discussion. It wasn't particularly clean, and some of the flesh got stuck on in the bottle, but it was fun ;)

Kupel's, Coolidge Corner

I was wandering around Coolidge Corner today while running some errands, and I stumbled across Kupel's Bagels. When I walked in, there was a long, slow line waiting for fresh bagels and pastries. The cases were packed, and I kept changing my mind about what I wanted. The kitchen was busy, and fresh food was still being baked early in the afternoon.



I limited myself to two choices, and man, was it difficult. The lemon flat tire was tempting. The flaky puff pastry was sprinkled with coarse sugar. The lemon filling had seeped down as it baked and had formed a caramelized crust along the bottom; this was too sweet and cloying, like eating puff pastry brittle. There wasn't much lemon flavor, either, but I still enjoyed it.



The raspberry turnover was a tasty little hand pie. I should have heated it up a little first, I think that would have brought the flavor out and toasted the dough a little. There were no seeds in the filling to get caught in my teeth, which I appreciated. There was another 5 or so flavors of turnovers among the rest of the goodies.

I'll be visiting Kupel's again, for more pastries and to try the bagels. Has anyone had the bagels there? Which flavor is best?