the New Recipe Challenge: Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Tart

Ah holidays; yes! My favorite excuse to overeat sugar! I made this tart for a Thanksgiving dinner. While pumpkin pie is normally my go-to, the friend that had invited me had already called dibs on creating the most awesomest of all holiday pies. Seemed a perfect time to venture out into the great unknown. Tarts. And now, with no further adieu, Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Tart.

Verdict: DELICIOUSNESS IN SMOKY NUT FORM
Smoky nuts, salty hint, flakey crust- this is nowhere near the cloying goo of a typical pecan pie. 

I had no tart pan with removable bottom, but just threw the crust into a spring-form cake pan. At first I was dismayed to find that my crust shrank in considerably from the edges, but really, turned out to be no big thing. So don't worry about what kind of baking pan you use. 
The bit about cooking the corn syrup for 8-10 minutes... complete lie. Just watch it carefully- it turns fast. Luckily, Mama was on hand and coached me through most. Including a bit where she stopped me from scraping gritty bits of sugar back down to the goey mass. Apparently that is a big no-no in candy making, and I narrowly escaped turning my batch into a gruesome crystalline mess. Or something. 
Next Time: I doubled the salt as well- and I probably could have used even more. Other than that- I'm not changing a thing. 
Repeat factor: Very high. 

Revelations and a slew of crappy pics

It's been so long ago that this actually happened; I think I can only talk about the major points here:

1. Tara had some savory tarts while in Spain that inspired us creatively. We created flat ones, cup-shaped and pop-tart style tarts, filled with amazing things.

2. Actual caramelized onion and/or fruit is delicious. Previously, I believe anything I've ever had that claimed to be caramelized was truly only greased up and warmed. Don't get me wrong: warm and greasy can be just what I need sometimes- but these pears! They were something else.

3. Regular pie crust dough can be used for tarts but must be rolled as thin as you can possibly stand it.

4. I can drink the crappiest champagne in the world as long as I have raspberries to muddle.

5. My phone takes the crappiest photos in the world. Especially when you have food smeared across the lens and don't realize until the end of the night.

Yes, I would like some Basil

The little farmers market by our house happens every Wednesday and Sunday. I have time enough on Wednesdays on my way home from work to pick up some good eats. Heirloom tomato season is coming to an end, so I wanted to make sure I ate some, today! I also picked up some apples and chard and green beans and of course basil, to go with my tomatoes.

Yum, yum!

And then I made this while Moni was making pasta with lots of veggies.

And I made this super easy tart, that my friend Alejandra, the chef, whipped up for us one day. We already had the pastry crust in our freezer. It's super easy and quick. Thaw crust, peel apples, toss with sugar. Put apples in heaping mound in middle of thawed crust, brush with egg whites and sprinkle the top with more sugar. Cook in oven at 350 til golden brown.

I was like, "lets make whip cream". And he was like, "NO! Let's make ice cream, banana ice cream!" I was like, "you can't just whip it up like that, you need a recipe." And he was like, "No, you don't." And he was right. And it was good! The End...or is it?