I can't really take credit for any of this.
As much as I want to prove to you all that I can bake, it's just not true. Thank goodness for Carly when my sweet tooth gets the better of me. We may have had a few catastrophes along the way, but the end result still came out great. Next time, we might actually use the recipe provided, but where is the fun in that? During this process I realized why I don't bake. I don't have any baking utensils, nor really know what they are. Funny thing, I took a quiz in the newest The Food Network Magazine, yes I own that, and learned that I am a mediocre baker. Who knew?Since it's Thanksgiving, I thought I would make a list of the things I am thankful for this year:
- My Mom and family for always supporting me
- Damian, someone has to eat all of this food
- My amazing friends, too many to list here but seriously, they are the best
- Being fortunate enough to have a full time job
- My readers and all that support my blog, I couldn't do this without you
- Plus, many many other things!
We didn't really use much of a recipe so I decided to give you the original recipe that gave us this idea. It's slightly different because it is a tart but it's the general idea. This recipe is from Eating Well.
Rustic Berry Tart
What you need:
Crust
-3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour, (see Ingredient note)
-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-2 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-4 tablespoons cold butter, (1/2 stick), cut into small
pieces
-1 tablespoon canola oil
-1/4 cup ice water, plus more as needed
-1 large egg, separated (see Tip; save the white to
glaze the pastry)
-1 teaspoon lemon juice, or white vinegar
Filling & glaze
-1/4 cup slivered almonds, (1 ounce)
-1/4 cup whole-wheat flour, (regular or pastry flour)
-1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, or Splenda Granular
-4 cups mixed berries, such as blackberries, raspberries
and blueberries
-2 teaspoons lemon juice
-1 tablespoon water
-2 tablespoons raspberry, blueberry or blackberry jam
1.
To prepare crust: Whisk
whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt in a medium
bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture
resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces. Add oil and stir with a fork
to blend. Mix 1/4 cup water, egg yolk and 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or vinegar)
in a measuring cup. Add just enough of the egg yolk mixture to the flour
mixture, stirring with a fork, until the dough clumps together. (Add a little
water if the dough seems too dry.) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured
surface and knead several times. Form the dough into a ball, then flatten into
a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and coat with cooking spray.
3.
To prepare filling
& assemble tart: Spread almonds in a small baking pan. Bake until light
golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Combine whole-wheat flour, 1/4
cup sugar (or Splenda) and the toasted almonds in a food processor or blender;
process until the almonds are ground.
4.
Roll the dough into a
rough 13- to 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface, about 1/4 inch thick.
Roll it back over the rolling pin, brush off excess flour, and transfer to the
prepared baking sheet. Spread the almond mixture over the pastry, leaving a
2-inch border all around. Toss berries with the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar
(or Splenda) and 2 teaspoons lemon juice in a large bowl; spoon over the almond
mixture. Fold the border up and over the filling, pleating as necessary. Blend
the reserved egg white and 1 tablespoon water with a fork; brush lightly over
the tart rim. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.
5.
Bake the tart for 15
minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake until the crust is golden
and the juices are bubbling, 30 to 40 minutes. Leaving the tart on the
parchment (or foil), carefully slide it onto a wire rack. Let cool.
6.
Shortly before serving,
melt jam in a small saucepan over low heat; brush over the berries. Cut the
tart into wedges.
What are you thankful for?
