Let's Get This Going!

Welcome friends!  I have been toying with the idea of doing this for awhile now, and I figure it is the perfect time to start!  As most of you know, I LOVE to cook.  I am happiest in my kitchen making meals for my friends and family.  I used to be the kind of cook who would find a recipe, and make it verbatim.  As time has gone on, I began experimenting more and more to the point I am now, where every recipe I find or want to try is merely a base.  I add my own touches to all of them and, in most cases, create some pretty amazing dishes.  My goal here is to share my best recipes, requested recipes, and overall just share my passion with whomever is interested in reading!  Feel free to message me at any time as well with recipes you would like me to post!

On that note... let's get started!  At the grocery store last week we purchased a large bag of Jonamac apples.  I knew as I put those babies in the fridge that I HAD to make some kind of dessert with them.  I also had a pint of raspberries that needed to be used.  Pie??  Nope.  This girl wanted a tart.  A perfect tart.  One that looked like it came from a bakery.

Now any other tart I have ever made, the crust was, quite honestly, just like pie crust.  You'd make the dough, roll it out, fit it in the tart pan... which is all well and good.  But I REALLY wanted this one to be more "tarty" and less "pie-like."  I managed to find a recipe that was different from any other tart crust recipe I had ever seen.  I decided to give it a go. The original recipe called for both butter AND vegetable oil.  That seemed a bit overkill to me.  I decided to add a touch more butter than the recipe called for and omitted the oil all together.  Still, I was skeptical as the dough came together.  It seemed a little oily and the texture just seemed odd to me.  Yet, what baked up AMAZED me.  A beautiful, golden brown, tart pan filled with perfection.  I made a simple filling with the sliced jonamacs and raspberries, carefully arranged all the fruit on the crust to make it pretty, and this was the final result...

 

 

Tart Crust:

 

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoon sugar (for savory fillings, just use 1 teaspoon... and side note, already planning a savory tart!)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups flour

        Heat the oven to 400° F. In a Pyrex type oven-safe bowl, combine the butter, water, salt, and sugar. Place in the hot oven for approximately 15 minutes, until the butter has completely melted and starts browning. CAREFULLY remove from the oven, add flour quickly, and stir until it forms a ball. (here's where the skepticism hits... just trust me!) Place the dough in the bottom of an 11 inch tart pan and spread out to let it cool a bit. Once the dough is cool enough to touch, press it into the tart mold evenly with your fingertips, along the bottom and up the sides. Pierce the bottom with a fork in several places.  Bake for about 15 minutes until the crust is golden brown.  Carefully remove from the oven, and let cool while you make your filling!

Apple Raspberry Tart Filling
2 1/2 cups of apples, peeled and thinly sliced (I used 4 Jonamacs)
1 pint of fresh raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

       Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until all the apples and raspberries are coated evenly. Next step is up to you, either just dump and spread the fruit on top of the crust, or if you're fussy like I am, make it pretty, arranging the apples and raspberries perfectly on the crust.  Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, until the apples are soft and crust is golden. Let cool, remove outer ring from tart pan, and serve warm with vanilla ice cream!  Enjoy!!!