Tuesday, April 17, 2018

A French Grand~Maman's no fail recipe.









The mini lemon curd tarts..are a combo of meringue..mini torched w/ no butane left;)

Jane's Small Batch Vanilla Lemon Curd,found on IG and then her blog:)

And this girl's nana's delicious pate sablée recipe..over 100 comments and only a few fails.I decided to try it..plus I was magnetized to it.Found on IG.

This isn't a pate sucrée..i.e. Dorie Greenspan's..(I love that one  too)..this is flakier..more pie crust typish..Typish?:)

I made it exactly as she said..except only let it rest1 hr in the fridge.I did not roll it out..I presssed it into my vintage molds..
The molds are ordinary aluminium..no teflon ..nothing.I did nothing as far as prepping them..the perfect little tarts popped right out.
A gem of a recipe:)Keeper category.

La Recette:

2 tbsps sunflower oil..I used canola
2 tbsps milk
2 tbsps sugar

100 gr semi-salted very soft butter
1 egg yolk
200 gr flour

In a bowl beat first 3 ingredients
Add butter and egg yolk beat until homogenous
Add flour and mix until you get a soft dough

Wrap and chill 2 hrs(I did one)
The use as your creativity suggests:)

So..I blind baked..it blind bakes perfectly..
I blind bake the little tarts w/ parchment..but I frill the edges..

I did not roll it out..I pressed it in my tins..placed the frilled edge parchment on top..and then the weights.
So good ..so easy:)

Moving on to my first greenery..with still lots of snow here..this is invasive..it's everywhere almost in the back of the mini pond garden..but what a respite after all white.
Let me tell you..and I know this will sound bad..
but everything everywhere is so ugly right now.
Dirty roads ,dirty snowbanks,brown grass when visible,fences to be painted..birdhouses to be put back up,leaves to be raked(again)..the list goes on..driving home yesterday we both remarked how these last few days have been so unsightly.
Freezing rain..sleet..grey..and our monochrome landscapes.

This too shall pass..is that saying true? Is it?:)

See that pretty cake? Made in that infaillable Ikea mold that I love?
This was a going to be an Eagle Brand treat for Jacques..he just likes a sliver of this or that after dinner.
Well..the recipe and the cake looked fab..
I made it.
Inedible.
I found the recipe here..

Then I Googled and so many similar recipes abounded..BUT.. 1/2 cup of butter too.They left out an ingredient!!
I know we all make mistakes..I should have checked other recipes..but how can something so cute  be so bad LOL?

I made up for it w/ a most delish but plain pound cake..I'll share it next time..

When I worked..I collected a few things that took my fancy..like these little sets..you know..soup and sandwich or soup and salad..I think I have 10 clear sets and 6 or 7 floral china ones.
I wonder who will use these later?

So weird that I think of these things;)



Just finished Bon Appé~tempt..on my sidebar.A coming of age story I really enjoyed.:)
A small excerpt after their trip to Paris..(You may remember ours:)..

"But if life is"mostly lived by timid bodies at home"*** we are mostly doing great.At that part of life,I know we excel.And though this may not be as easy to share at dinner parties with strangers("What do you do?""Well I love cooking dinner for my husband and myself and then eating it while watching House Hunters International."I'm realizing that's ok.

*** from the book Paris to the Moon.

Don't read this book for the recipes..these were her favorites as she was learning to cook..and bake..we all have different tastes and different degrees of experience:)



The sun'l come out tomorrow..tomorrow:)

43 comments:

  1. Pachysandra? Thank heavens for the green as spring will be there soon. This far south has been an unseasonably cold spring with two freezes the last few days. I will die if it killed my citrus trees. Love lemon pie and have made lots of curd with my lemons. I've wanted to try blood orange curd but never have. I enjoy being home and don't enjoy doing things I really don't want to do. We should be able at this time of life to do only those things that make us happy.

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    1. Pachysandra:)
      Trooper isn't she? I rip a lot out later on;)
      At this time of life..we should never be sick (at any time of life..)..someone should do all our dishes after we have fun baking..someone should dig and plant our gardens and we just tlc them..someone should shovel our snow..clean the baseboards..paint my fences..rake my leaves..YES Donna:)
      I hope your lemon tree is ok!!
      I can't wait to take photos of flowers:)
      Have a nice aft/evening.

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  2. I saved the lemon curd recipe to try!

    The cake looks amazing...but I've left out an ingredient & had a gorgeous cake that we couldn't eat. So heartbreaking.

    I have the same glass snack set! I haven't used mine in a few months. I love having friends over & using them but my life is full of watching a grandbaby every day & it doesn't leave much time & energy for girlfriends right now.

    I also have the exact same set of tart tins....so I guess I know where I should try to the lemon curd.

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    1. A small batch is so nice.Watching a grand baby is the best isn't it?My daughter used to call me over after naps ..especially the last..because he loved cuddling after.I'll never forget those days❤️Looking at all their perfect little features..rosy cheeks..so calm..oh I loved it.Hypnotizingly zen.
      Yes use the tins and that little dough:)Have fun!My dough recipe made 5 tarts if I remember and. a 5 inch removable bottom tart.

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  3. I thought of trying lemon card recipe, then I realized I have no lemons.. I'll try it after I buy lemons.. :)

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    1. I get inspired too only to realize I don't have what I need!!☺️

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  4. I'm inspired to make a lemon something again soon. Your little tarts are so sweet!
    Spring has to arrive for you soon!

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  5. Your lemon tarts are art! And, I know they taste as good as they look. Too bad about the butter on the cake. Ha! You know the gloomy landscape will pass... it just seems so long sometimes. Sigh. Hope you have more green popping out soon! We love to just be HOME, too. Very much so. I have to force myself to get out and interact. Ha! It's WORK! They say we it's good for us... that we need to... but, some days I'm not so sure! ;) Have a good day, Monique! blessings ~ tanna

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    1. You have a nice day too Tanna..it is work to get out and socialize..I think I had my fill..lol..there's no place like home:)But it is good for us..and I hope our children continue to do so.Sports are just great for that:)

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  6. I too will try the recipe for the little tarts. But this week I have Gerarda’s birthday cake to make. We will be celebrating her birthday and our son in law Chris’s birthday together at his mom’s place. All 12 without counting the kids! What a shame that the heart cake left out the butter! I have found that once. The weather here is cold and grey too. Last night we had snow flakes and this morning the grass is dusted with the stuff. You have to research the witch hazels and add one or two. They will get you through this season of grey brown and ugh! I’m surprised I don’t have those soup and sandwich type plates. How could I have misssed something like that in my antiquing days? Hang in there Annie, the sun will come out tomorrow for you.

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    1. :)Annie;)
      Have fun at your daughter and SIL's bday:)
      Our grass etc is dusted too after and overnighter..I did spot one Hellebore plant ..no flowers yet....we will see!..
      I will search out witch hazel..as we ripped out a few things..I feel like just growing garlic;)
      Tomatoes are doing well in the BMT and so are the Nicotinas:)Now I know how tall the Nicotinas grow..:)So pretty and HUGE.The rest I will direct sow..I find Calendula does well sowing directly..easy pretty pants..plants lol;)

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  7. The tart sounds so wonderful! I hope all your snow melts soon and pretty green starts popping up!

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    1. Oh me too me too..we had another dusting overnight:(

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  8. Those a beautiful little gems, Monique! I will definitely try them because I love lemon tarts and lemon curd. The pastry sounds so good too! Spring has left us and we are back in winter. 4 inches of snow last Saturday/Sunday still on the ground. We are expecting maybe 4 more inches tonight with another storm :( White, muddy, ugly. My daffodils, crocus and scilla were just starting to bloom and now they are buried. It should melt by the weekend, thankfully. I'm glad my pachysandra is planted in a contained area so it can stay well behaved :) Too bad about the pretty face cake! I sounds very much like the Scandinavian Almond Cake that I have made which works beautiful in molds too...1/2 cup of butter in my recipe too. So good I made it as our birthday cakes last weekend as both Lauren and John love it. Your soup and salad/sandwich sets are so pretty. I love the clear glass. Making soup tomorrow ;)

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    1. Forgot to ask, is that a meringue topping on the tartlettes? Did see a topping the la recette :)

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    2. Just plain meringue:) Egg whites ,sugar ,cream of tartar..a touch:)I need a butane refill:)
      I hope you took pics of the cakes?
      Eagle Brand in the cakes?
      I hope you had a ball the 14th.I had wished you a lovely day w/ everyone on IG..;)
      Blind bake the tarts though..
      Your poor little blooms:(
      Bon après-midi ma belle:)

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    3. The party was transferred to Lindsay and Bob's house so I wouldn't have to cook ♥ I still made the cakes but forgot my camera :( There is a pic of the one I made in June of 2016 on my blog. Everyone loves this cake. Not condensed milk but regular milk or cream. Regular milk seems to rise better! A warm up starting today so maybe I'll see some green in a couple of days :)

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    4. I hope so! I love when our kids entertain us too:) A lot:)We had sparse flurries a while ago..sparse..but at this point none of it is welcome:(I'll go and your post:)A step back in time:)

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  9. You have inspired me once again! Think I will take the easy route and make lemon curd in chocolate cups. Wishing you better weather. I have been so amazed at how beautiful everything is now that the trees are all green again. We have Live Oaks, which stay green year round, but so nice to see the other trees so green. I mowed the lawn at the Austin house last week and then had to mow the large lawn at the country house yesterday. Both with a push mower. Needless to say - I want to rip out all the lawn and replace with lavender, boxwood and gravel paths!

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    1. But what great exercise!I just read and wrote down a beautiful quote about the color green..and how most of the world is that color..and it is loveliness:) Not in those words..
      Soon..I hope..this w/e..supposed to warm up.
      Fingers crossed:)
      Bonne soirée!

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  10. The tarts are so pretty! :) Sending some spring vibes your way.... xo

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    1. After seeing your Spring pics..:)See..? Somethings..you can do without here?:):)

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  11. So beautiful and inspiring. Your talents are amazing with your photography, food styling and just a beautiful blog to visit. Love the tarts! How sweet to have some vintage ones.

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    1. Isn't it true how you can shape a day w/ kind words?:)Thank you..honestly..I look around..and should not ..and see that I have so much to learn:):)Bonne journée Linda ..et bon weekend.

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  12. Dearest Monique,
    The still cooler weather is perfect for baking some 'soul food'!
    Enjoy it and sending you hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. En ce moment..heat would be nice..not even heat..warmth.I live in layers;)Have a good weekend Mariette..hope your healing is speeding up.

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  13. Love your soup/ sandwich/ salad plates...so old fashioned!
    How could something so beautiful taste horrible?
    My Pachysandra is always a welcome sight....I let it do it’s thing...mainly around a few very old Maple trees...
    I see new pics of your cute littles in your sidebar💕...I keep meaning to switch mine up, but can’t seem to find the time lately!
    Warmer weather on its way...so close....
    Sleepover at the cottage Friday...hope we don’t freeze to death!....electric blanket will be put to work...
    Enjoy your weekend mon ami...
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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    1. I love electric anything that gives warmth..:) Have fun fun fun..Miss V must be looking forward to it..it should be a nice weekend right? Warmer temps?:) Hope so!

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    2. No...just boyfriend and I...still not ready for company down there!! hahaha!
      But...we will see her this Thursday...for a sleepover,and some seed plantings!
      Enjoy your Sunday!

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  14. Your lemon tarts are simply gorgeous. Onique! Even your failed cake looks beautiful. You are an artist with your paints and with your spoons and with your camera. Love all that you share, even your failures! Like you this time of year with it’s dirty snow and brown grass was never my favourite. Never fear you will get your spring and your hands will be soon digging in the dirt! Love your soup and sandwich plates. So pretty! Thanks for all you share! Bon weekend! Bisous!! Xo

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    1. Bisous back:) Fingers crossed for a warmer weekend..honstly it's been downright frightful..
      I am losing whatever sense of humor I have;)
      Bon weekend!

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  15. I must copy that recipe. It all looks so delicous and of course your cake looks divine even if it was inedible. Your photos always take my breath away, they are so very beautiful!

    It's been gray and gloomy here -- but good news. Sunshine for two days in a row and slightly warming temperatures and it always goes east so hopefully it will go east AND north and straight to you! I wonder who will use all my things one day, too. Maybe Molly -- some. But who knows? Sort of makes me sad and more committed than ever to use them now!

    How I love this post my friend!

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    1. Oh me too..I use my paints and things ..and I wonder:)
      It is supposed to warm up..fingers crossed..I followe Cestriley on IG..a watercoloris I loe..I know you are not on IG..bt she has a blog too..today she posted what she uses for watercolor..go peek..even if it's just to see her charming art!
      https://www.makethingsco.com/

      click on blog for the cheat sheet:)
      Have a lovely lovey creative weekend!

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  16. I want to come live at your house! Everything looks beyond amazing!

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  17. Your little tarts look wonderful! Love those pans :) And your cake is pretty - but unfortunate about the butter. Hoping you see bright sunshine soon! We’re still traveling but I am ready to go home now. My feet are done.

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    1. Hoe is always good too!
      WE had sunshine yesterday and I was able to go patch clear certain areas:)More to come:)Happy homecoming!

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  18. Those lemon tarts seem to be irresistible! I take the receipt in order to try them latter.
    Your pictures are really works of art.
    Have a great, sunny week.
    xoxo

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    1. We had sun today and yesterday!!!Things are looking up!Thank you!

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  19. You have amazing style with your camera. Your bright, fresh & feminine images always perky my spirits up, even if its cold & grey outside.

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  20. These tartlets look so delicious! A perfect dessert for the awakening of spring :)

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