Frangipane Pear Tart

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frangipane pear tart 2

Easy, elegant and delicious- this tart has all the great qualities needed for a dessert in my book. Rick said he’d be happy to receive this at the end of any great meal out- high praise indeed.

Frangipane Pear Tart

Pate Sucree (Sweet tart crust)

  • 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons butter, cold
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • enough iced water to bring the dough together

Place the flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few times to combine them. Cut the butter into Tablespoon sized pieces and add to the flour and pulse until it resembles coarse sand with a few larger pieces. Mix the egg yolks and vanilla and pour through the feed tube whilst pulsing. Add just enough ice-cold water in the same manner to bring the dough together in a shaggy mass that begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Place some plastic wrap on the counter and turn the dough out onto it. Form into a disk and chill for at least an hour before proceeding.

Pear Almond Frangipane Filling

  • three large pears cored, peeled, halved, sliced thinly crosswise and rubbed with lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1 egg plus one egg yolk
  • 2/3 cup ground almonds
  • 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 Tablespoons  Kirsch liqueur
  • 2 Tablespoons vanilla infused granulated sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Pear, Peach or Apricot jam, heated and strained

Roll out the pate sucree and line a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom with it. Trim the top evenly with the pan. Chill for a half of an hour before preparing the filling.

frangipane tart cu 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cream the 1/3 cup sugar and butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the egg and egg yolk and blend well. Mix the ground almonds with the flour and add. Mix well. Add the Kirsch and almond extract and mix until blended. Spread in the chilled tart crust. Top with the pears. Lay the sliced pears in a spoke type arrangement trying to keep the shape of the pear half with the slim end towards the center and the bottoms towards the outer edges. Fill in the space with any stray pear bits. Sprinkle the pears with the 2 Tablespoons of vanilla sugar and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until puffed and golden. Rotate from bottom to top and front to back midway through baking.

Cool and glaze with the strained jam.

frangipane pear tart
Enjoy!

Crockpot Ham and Easy Potatoes Au Gratin

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potatoes au gratin

Cook a small shank end ham in a crockpot and then glaze it in the oven while you cook some easy potatoes au gratin and steam some marble sized brussels sprouts- and voila  you have an easy and comfortingly great dinner!

glazed ham

Ham in the Crockpot

You’ll need 1 smallish bone in, shank end, fully cooked ham, small enough to fit in your crockpot with the lid on. Since crockpots work by slow heat it is important  that the lid hold in the heat so if your ham is too large to close the pot you’ll have to cut it so it fits or it won’t work.

I admit that I cheated a bit and made a foil tent to extend the space since my lid was resting on the thin end of the ham and I was off of closing the lid by about an inch and a half . I’m sure that this is not recommended by the crockpot manufacturer so I’m not recommending it to you even though I did it. Safety first you know!

Put the crockpot on low and cook a few hours – the ham will be moist and tender. If you have a removable crock you can make the glaze and glaze the ham in place in the crock and finish in a 350F oven for a half hour or until the glaze is bubbly.  If not remove it to a roasting pan and finish off as above.

Glaze:

1 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoon whole grain mustard (I like Emeril’s with horseradish)
approximately 2 Tablespoons orange juice and 1/4 cup Whiskey of choice or Orange Brandy-or just enough to moisten the sugar and mustard to a paste

Pat all over the top and sides of the ham and cook in the oven at 350F until bubbly.

Potatoes Au Gratin

  • 6 potatoes, baked  and pared or pared, boiled and drained well
  • béchamel sauce to coat (see recipe below)
  • grated aged gouda or gruyere
  • salt and pepper
  • snipped fresh chives

Butter a shallow baking dish. Toss the potatoes in the béchamel sauce and layer in the dish with the grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Bake in  the oven with the ham until bubbling and finish under the broiler to brown the top. Top with the chives.

for the Béchamel:

  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 small bay leaves
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon season/garlic salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 Tablespoons half and half cream

Heat the milk with the bay leaves until just coming to the boil. I do this in a 2 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup in the microwave for ease. In a medium heavy bottomed (preferably copper clad) sauce pan heat the butter until melted and bubbling. Add the flour and season salt and stir until a paste forms. Remove the bay leaves from the hot milk and add the milk to the flour paste in the sauce pan. Stir constantly with a whisk until slightly thickened. Mix the egg yolk with the half and half and add to the mixture in the pan stirring as you add to incorporate it without making scrambled eggs. Cook until thickened.

plated ham and potatoes

You’ll end up with moist and flavorful ham, browned and creamy potatoes and bite sized al dente brussels sprouts- perfect. Mmmm.

Compound butters- Watercress butter

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 watercress butteringred
Now is the time to take advantage of the herbal harvest available to make some compound butters for Thanksgiving or other seasonal feasts. They are good on top of broiled or grilled seafoods and meats, enliven baked potatoes, make a good herbal base for moistening stuffings, are super for basting a turkey or are simply delicious rolled or molded into butter pats for homemade breads and rolls. They also keep very well for months rolled into logs and stored in the freezer wrapped tightly in parchment and plastic film.

watercressbutteringredinprocessor

I made this one out of watercress, shallot, fleur de sel and black pepper but you could use any combination of fresh herbs and spices. Make some sage and onion butter to baste your Thanksgiving turkey, use curry for a winter stew, tarragon and chile for grilled fish, or use parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme to make a Scarborough Faire highlight for grilled chicken or a freshly baked homemade roll.

watercressbutterintheprocessor

This watercress butter makes smashing tea sandwiches on its own or topped with a fat slice of fresh radish or cucumber.
shapingwatercressbutter

Watercress Compound Butter

  • 1/2 pound fresh unsalted butter
  • 1 bunch fresh watercress, washed and thoroughly dried
  • 2 pinches fleur de sel or sea salt
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • grindings of fresh black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse a few times then scrape with a rubber spatula and process until smooth. Turn out onto a square of parchment or waxed paper and form into a log or divide in to two logs, use a bench knife or other flat surface to press the outside of the paper forcing the butter into a cylindrical shape. Wrap in plastic film and freeze until firm. Write the flavor and date on the wrap so you can identify it. Slice frozen or thaw and use as desired. Keeps for up to 3 months in freezer.

watercressbutterwrapped

Enjoy!

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