Strawberry Tart

I saw this in a cooking magazine, but never wrote down the recipe. It looked easy and beautiful, so I thought I would make it as an impromptu dessert. I mixed my strawberries with some sugar, corn starch and lemon zest. It balanced really well with some vanilla whipped cream I made. I would definitely make this again because it is so pretty and also because it tasted great!

Tears and Triumph

Today was a special day for a few reasons. First, to be sure about a recipe I had to call my mother in law. The tricky part of calling her is that my French is so-so and she is fluent and fast (she is French after all!) I did it though! And, I managed to get the amounts and ingredients for an onion tart.

The tears were because of the 5 onions I cut for my onion tart. My mother-in-law recommended 10 because she loves to fill up her tart.

Today's triumph was speaking French and then recreating my mother in law's delicious onion tart.


Onion Tart

1 pâte brisée (pie crust)
5-10 yellow onions - peeled and cut into semi-circles strips
60 grams of butter
60 grams of white flour
30 centiliters of whole milk
grated Gruyere cheese
(cooked bacon and apples are a nice addition to this tart as well)

Place the pâte brisée in a round baking pie dish. After peeling and cutting the onions, dry your tears, and then place the onions and butter in a pan on medium-heat. Slowly cook the onions until they are soft and sweet. This might take up to 30 minutes. It is important to cook them slowly and not brown them too quickly. Once the onions are softened add the flour. This will thicken the onions. Then, add warmed whole milk to the pan. Mix until all the ingredients have come together. Place the onions into the crust. Top with Gruyere cheese. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes. Bon appetit!

tarte tatin

With four simple ingredients this is a delicious and somewhat easy dessert. I have to thank my belle-maman (mother in law) for teaching me her recipe in her authentic, French kitchen.

4 medium sized apples pealed and sliced. (I used Royal Gala or Golden Delicious)
1 pate brisee (butter pie pastry)
300 grams of sugar to an equal part of water

To make the caramel sauce put a saucepan on medium high heat and add the sugar and water. It will boil and bubble and change into caramel after about 20-30 minutes. You should pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius or about 400 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of preparing the caramel. You can smell and see when your sugar-water changes. Let it cook until it reaches a great caramel color. But, don't let it burn! If it gets too dark or smells like it is burning remove it from the stove immediately! Never touch caramel. It is extremely HOT!

Place your pealed and sliced apples in the bottom of your baking dish. A 9 inch pie dish should work well. I start on the outside and layer the apples and work my way in to the middle.

Pour the prepared caramel over the apples.

Unroll your pastry crust and lay it over the top of the caramel and apples. Fold in the edges to make a nice crust. You can cut a few holes at the top for ventilation.

Place the tart in the oven. Keep an eye on it as it cooks. In the first 15 minutes the crust will become golden and the caramel will start to bubble out of the sides.

You can lower the temperature by 50 degrees Fahrenheit and let it cook another 15-20 minutes.

Let your tart cool for about 20-30 minutes. Find a dish that is large enough to hold your tart. Place it over the pie dish as you will turn the entire thing over! The crust will be on the bottom, apples for all to see and a delicious caramel sauce all over everything.

Bon appetit et Merci Belle Maman!