From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I received a copy of the Chicken and Egg from Chelsea Miller, who blogs at A Duck's Oven. It was part of a giveaway package that she had assembled for her readers and I was the lucky winner. The cookbook was written by Janice Cole, who raised three chickens in an urban environment, and her book is a collection of the recipes they inspired. It's a lot more fun than most of the pinch of this, dash of that tomes that line my bookcases. I've found several recipes that I want to try, but I decided to start with this lovely, flavorful tart. It was a good choice. While the recipe is not trouble free, it is delicious, and those of you who are fond of barely sweet desserts will love this one. The base of the tart is made from a cookie dough that's blind baked and then filled with a nutmeg and orange custard that's made with sour cream. The tart is finished with a topping of blueberries that shimmer under a light glaze of currant jelly. While I encountered some problems, I liked this tart well enough to make it twice and I have no reservations about sharing it with you. I will make it again when local berries are available. Be sure to coat your tart pan with a nonstick spray. The crust is very brittle and you want it to quickly and easily release from the pan. Bitter experience has taught me that it does not take well to manhandling. You should also be aware that the cook-time recommend in the recipe is way off base. Think of it as a suggestion rather than a directive. My oven has just been recalibrated, so I know the problem lies outside its walls. It took 30 minutes for my custard to reach the stage where it was shimmy-set. While the developer believes this will keep for two days I would take that with a grain of salt. It won't go bad in that period of time but it will get soggy and become unappetizing. If you prepare this with frozen berries, make sure they are completely defrosted and dry before topping the tart. I hope you will try this. It really is delicious. Here's the recipe.

Blueberry and Sour Cream Tart...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite adapted from original recipe by Janice Cole

Ingredients:
Cookie Crust
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
Filling
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
Topping
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup red currant jelly, warmed

Directions:
To make tart crust:
... Place flour, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
... Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Add egg yolks and beat until blended.
... Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beating just until a dough forms. On a lightly floured surface, press dough into a flat disk. Spray a rectangular (14 x 4-1/2) or round (9-inch) tart pan removable bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan. If it breaks, simply press it into pan as smoothly as you can. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
... Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
... Whisk reserved egg white until frothy. Brush insides of chilled crust with egg white. Bake for 15 minutes, or until pale golden brown and set. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.
To make filling:
... Beat butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in flour. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream, vanilla and orange zest. Pour into baked crust.
... Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly puffed around edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.
To make topping:
... Lightly toss blueberries with warm jelly. Pile on top of tart. Refrigerate or serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.






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Fresh Fruit Tartlets - Angie's Recipes
Rustic Fruit Tart - Noelle's Kitchen Tips
Stone Fruit Tarts - My Kitchen Snippets
Fresh Fruit Tartlets - Sass and Verasity
Apricot Thyme Galette - Never Enough Thyme
Blueberry Frangipane Tart - Gourmeted
Apricot Almond Tart - Annie's Eats
Four Fruit Tarts - Food Memoirs
Parisian Fruit Tartlets - Delicious Dishings
Finnish Fruit Tart - Kitchen Parade


This post is being linked to:
Smiling Sally - Blue Monday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Its name lured me as surely as the siren's song lured mariners of myth to death on rocky shoals. How can you resist something called a Summer Skyr Tart? I had visions of blond nymphs dancing in the pale glow of midnight sun, sipping champagne as they nibbled on elegant and Lucullean tarts. The romance of it all caused me to commit to its creation before I did my research and learned that skyr does not reference the midnight sun. It's a popular dairy product that is similar to strained yogurt, or soft cheese, and it's used extensively in Icelandic cooking. So much for romance. I also learned that skyr is thicker than yogurt and a bit sweeter. The product is not available here, so I decided to go with a Greek yogurt cheese that I've used for other purposes. As I browsed through the recipe it became clear that this dessert was not going to fall into the "sweet thing" category. It consists of cookie base that is covered with a barely sweet mixture of egg whites, cream cheese and yogurt. It is finished with a sprinkling of toasted almonds and strawberries. The recipe was developed by Beatrice Ojakangas, but I found it on a great blog called The Bohemian Kitchen. This is a large, thin tart. It will not set if you use a smaller pan and go for height rather than diameter. I used a 12-inch spring form pan to make my tart. I also made some adjustments to the recipe which I've highlighted in red. I added a small amount of almond extract and a pinch of salt to the cookie base. I also covered it with a 1/2 cup of warm strawberry jam before adding the yogurt layer. Please note that the recipe uses raw egg whites. Some of you might be more comfortable using pasteurized eggs or powdered egg whites. I like to use reconstituted egg whites because it alleviates the problem of having to store unused yolks. The tart will not set in the hour suggested in the recipe, so plan on at least 6 to 8 hours chill before serving. Now comes the hard part. I won't be making this again. It is a nice dessert, but it is very understated and almost boring. I suspect the results might be different if the tart were made with skyr, but until I can find a source for it, I'll stick with strawberry short cake. I hope some of you will try the Sumarterta and let me know what you think. Here's the recipe.

Sumarterta - Icelandic Summer Skyr Tart...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Beatrice Ojakangas and the Bohemian Kitchen

Ingredients:
Tart Base
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup softened butter
1 whole egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup warmed strawberry jam
Filling
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup yogurt cheese
1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese
Garnish
12 strawberries, cleaned & halved
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 11 or 12-inch spring form pan and dust it with flour.
2) Combine flour, sugar, salt and butter. Mix with finger tips until coarse crumbs form. Add almond extract to egg and stir into crumb mixture, mixing well. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden. Set aside to cool. When cool brush surface with strawberry jam.
3) With a mixer, combine yogurt cheese or skyr with cream cheese and beat until combined and smooth.
4) In a clean bowl, whip egg whites with a small dash of salt until frothy. Add sugar and continue beating until the whites become stiff.
5) Fold cheese mixture into egg whites. Spread over cooled crust.
6) Sprinkle with toasted almonds and decorate with strawberry halves.
7) Chill tart for at least 6 hours. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.






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Strawberry Cupcakes - Sugar Plum
Fresh Strawberry Pie - Hands On Gourmet
Warm Strawberry Crumb Cake - The Pastry Studio
Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream - Confections of a Foodie Bride
Strawberry Buttermilk Cake - Fork Spoon Knife
Strawberry Jam - Sea Salt with Food
Strawberry Mousse - Half Baked
Strawberry Parfait Pudding - Big Black Dog
Sumarterta - Cake and Vikings

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It stands to reason that those who make and preserve mincemeat would have plans to use it. That's pretty much the case here, save for this one tart. I never plan to make it, but it always ends up on our table, You see, Bob and I are of two minds when it comes to desserts like this. He loves them and I don't. Don't get me wrong, I love mincemeat, but I have a barely sweet tooth and find this particular pie almost treacly in its sweetness. I snipped the recipe from Family Circle magazine some thirty years ago, but I suspect is roots are firmly planted in the kitchens of Mennonite and Amish communities. On reflection, it is very much like the Funeral Pie I featured here several months ago. Over the years, less and less mincemeat seems to make it into the jars that are sold for the holidays. There was a time when a jar could make a lovely 9-inch pie, but when you shave an ounce here and an ounce there, pies that are suppose to celebrate abundance get mighty stingy. I'm convinced that the apples and streusel that are piled onto this tart were devised to camouflage the scant amount of filling in the pie shell. The original recipe called for piling apples onto the mincemeat and then covering them with streusel. It was a bit of a mess to look at , so I decided to use spirals of overlapping apple slices and less of the streusel topping. It's still awfully sweet , too sweet for my tastes, but at least it looks more planned and festive. I use two, rather than the three, apples called for in the original recipe and I cut the streusel ingredients in half. Those among you who love mincemeat and highly sweetened desserts will love this tart. Here's the recipe.

Mincemeat Tart with Apples and Streusel Topping...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Family Circle magazine

Ingredients:
1 unbaked pastry shell for a 9-inch pie or tart pan
2 cups homemade or bottled mincemeat
2 apples, pared cored and thinly sliced
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a pie or tart pan with pastry.
2) Spread mincemeat evenly in pie shell. Place apples in a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and granulated sugar and toss to coat. Spread in an overlapping pattern of concentric rings on top of mincemeat filling.
3) Combine flour and brown sugar in a small bowl. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle over apples.
4) Place pie or tart pan on a baking sheet to catch spills. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Mince Pies - The English Kitchen
Mincemeat Gingerbread - Cooking with K
Mincemeat - Felice in the Kitchen
Christmas Flavor Ice Cream - Antics of a Cycling Cook
Cranberry Port Mincemeat Brioche Rolls - What's for Lunch Honey?
Funeral Pie - One Perfect Bite
Green Tomato Mincemeat - One Perfect Bite

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've been looking for something that I could serve with eggs on a leisurely Sunday morning. This creation is basically a breakfast pizza that uses thin sliced potatoes as its crust. The concept of potato pizzas is not new, and the ingredients used to make them are as varied as the cooks who assemble them. I've used the most simple of ingredients to assemble mine and this particular version is much like an Italian tomato pie. I have another version that uses ingredients associated with Mexican cooking for a pie with a more south of the border flair. The basic difference between the two is the type of cheese and sausage used to assemble the pie. This is not the easiest of dishes to prepare. It requires a lot of peeling, slicing and dicing that will be off-putting to some, but much of the work can be done prior to assembly if a little care is taken with ingredient storage. The potatoes are the real culprit. They'll begin to oxidize and turn gray soon after they're sliced. I've found this can be prevented if they are covered with acidulated water and refrigerated. Simply add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the water covering the potatoes to hold graying at bay. The potatoes and tomatoes must be as dry as possible before they are baked. I use a mandolin to slice the potatoes. It's not necessary to slice them this way, but you will get more uniform slices if the proper equipment is used. When I make this tart, I prepare all the ingredients ahead of time and don't do any assembly until I'm ready to begin cooking. I have a friend who assembles and cooks the tart the night before she plans to serve it. She reheats it a microwave just before serving. I must admit it tastes just fine when prepared this way, but color and texture are affected. Bob and I had this for a late breakfast this morning. I topped our slices with eggs, fried for him and poached for me. It was a quite pleasant way to begin the day. Here's the base recipe.

Potato Tart...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound smoked garlic sausage, thinly sliced
1 pound Idaho potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1-1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes, cut in 1/2-inch slices
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons coarsely cracked black pepper
1-1/4 cups shredded Provolone cheese
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2) Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet. Add sausage and cook for 3 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and transfer to paper toweling to drain. Working in batches, add potatoes and cook until tender and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and spread in prepared baking pan. Top with sausage. Cover with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with oregano and salt and pepper. Spread grated cheeses over tomato layer.
3) Bake for 25 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into serving pieces. Transfer carefully to individual plates. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Potatoes Anna - One Perfect Bite
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From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Walking this angular path began a reverie that led me back to the gardens of my childhood. The homes in that neighborhood sat on small city lots whose gardens were nothing more than rectangular borders that repeated from one house to the next. These beds began with a row of white sweet alyssum that was backed in turn by the tiered support of blue argeratum, gold marigolds and red geraniums. The more creative neighbors managed to insert salvia and snapdragons into the borders and that made the riot of colors even more explosive. Occasionally, there'd be a patch of gem toned cannas, the old Victorian type, that towered over tiny four foot gardeners learning how to weed. To the eyes of a child these gardens were like a box of crayons and gorgeous in the order of their rigid symmetry. They were planted from seed, watered by hand and tended with great care. Buried deep within a woman's genome there must be something that drives the creation of beauty where none exists. These old city gardens were proof of that. They were nursed to life with a dollar's worth of seed in gravel, clay and sand. I've seen lots of gardens and created many of my own but none are as treasured or remembered with such fondness as those of my childhood. It is a tender mercy.



Memories of childhood desserts go hand in hand with those of city gardens. There were puddings and myriad pies of fruit and custard, and every once in a while buttermilk pie, a personal favorite, would appear on the table. The pie, while delicious, is not photogenic, so, I decided to use the buttermilk custard as a base for glazed tarts that look more appetizing. The tarts are covered with a thin layer of fruit preserves to add color and make them sparkle. I really prefer the pie au natural, but if you need eye candy the tarts are a better way to go. Buttermilk pie is the economical precursor to cheesecake. It's bite comes from low-fat buttermilk and sour cream that's been perked up with freshly grated lemon zest. That background flavor that plays on the tongue is cardomom. I love to make this at the height of berry season. It's really creamy and delicious.

Buttermilk Tarts...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Pastry for a 2 crust pie
4 tablespoons melted butter
3 egg yolks
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
Zest of 1 large lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 cup sugar
Optional: Fruit glaze

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2) Roll pastry on a well-floured surface. If making tarts, cut dough to fit 12 4-inch tart pans. If making a pie, cut pastry to fit a 10-inch deep dish pie pan. Set aside.
3) Combine melted butter, egg yolks, buttermilk, sour cream, lemon zest and juice, salt, flour, cardamom and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
4) Pour into pie or tart shells and bake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until set. Cool on a wire rack. Topped cooled pastry with fruit glaze, if using. Yield: 1 10-inch pie or 12 4-inch tarts.

Recipe adapted from Saveur magazine.

I'm sending this to Outdoor Wednesday, an event sponsored by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.