honey shortbread cookies

i admit, i only wanted to make this because (a) it has five ingredients, easy-parcheesi! and (b) i've never made shortbread before. can you believe i've never made shortbread - even though trefoils are my third favorite (behind thin mints and samoas, of course!)??

well i'm glad that oversight was rectified because these are some the yummiest cookies i've ever made! everyone knows that the combo of sweet and salty is near goodliness, and for any skeptics, the case was confirmed with that famous new york times article last year that caused legions of bloggers to take note and bake away with a little sprinkling of sea salt!

i used a scant 1/2 tsp of fleur de sel instead of kosher. all i had in the pantry was wildflower honey, which i normally find too floral but once it caramelized it was fine. and of course, the sprinkling of salt made it perfect!



sprinkling or pour? as you can see, i was a wee bit generous with the salt. but i am someone who will pick popcorn and chips over chocolate and ice cream any day, so - uh - i guess that means no problem for me! but even my sweets obsessed mr. mimi thought it was just fine. so i guess it just looks too salty in photos even though technically it didn't taste over-salted. also, it was a teeny tiny bit crumbly when i cut the slices. but only really at the narrow apex and it totally had no impact whatsoever on the "oh. my. goodness, these are so insanely yummy!" that we mumbled between each bite.

the recipe suggestion was to serve once cooled completely, although i preferred the cookie just on the edge of slightly warm. mr. mimi preferred them room temp to better appreciate the sandiness of cookie. in the end, i would have preferred if i didn't eat almost all of them!

for the fine cooking recipe, click here.



i am also sending this on over for the weekend cookbook challenge of five ingredients or less!

twd: buttery jam cookies

there's so much more i wish i could be cooking and baking and blogging about. but big changes are happening (even some that nobody knows about - but NO!! i am not preggers, so don't even ask!) so time is of the essence for me right now and i only squeeze in what i can.

but i'm glad i snuck in some time for a tuesdays with dorie cookie this week. we have been graciously allowed to skip around weeks this month, and technically this isn't due until next tuesday.

i made the recipe as written, but with cherry preserves. when these came out the oven i was totally underwhelmed and thought well that was a waste of butter. i mean look at the photo! no amount of photoshopping could make these actually look good!

but then i tried them with a cup of tea and wow, i was totally and pleasantly surprised by how good these are! they are like a scone but lighter, and like a biscuit but crispier. it's hard to describe - but soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. thank goodness i gave some away because by the next day i had eaten the rest.

and speaking of the next day, you know how almost all baking recipes warn "best eaten day made" or whatnots. like we all have time to bake the day of anything?! but these truly are best eaten the day they are made. i kept them overnight in air-tight box, and they were still yummy today (i still ate them all didn't i?) but they definitely lost some of the crispy.

to get the recipe, please check back to heather's blog, randomosity and the girl next tuesday!

twd: arborio rice pudding

one of my weaknesses in the last grocery aisle of fairway is the stacks of kozyshack. i'm such a sucker, for both the vanilla rice pudding and the regular chocolate pudding. it doesn't last long once it gets back to our fridge

so when isabelle from les gourmandises d'isa picked dorie's arborio rice pudding for this week i was pretty excited to try it out. there was a bit of a typo that the miss dorie herself pointed out to us on the twd blog but then i overcompensated too much and ended up with a pudding that was more like a mushy brick of rice. whoops! but it still tasted pretty great. i'm tempted to see how it might come out with rice milk instead, since i don't buy cow milk on a regular basis at all.

as always, please visit the other members and check out their much more creative rice puddings! for the recipe, click here.

think paprika round-up!

sunita gave me the gracious honor of hosting october's think spice event. i chose paprika, and received some delicious entries!

in addition to the one i offered - mr. mimi's chicken paprikash - here are the other lovely dishes to satisfy your paprikan curiosity. please visit their blogs, all of them are wonderful!

sweatha from tastycurryleaf made a very yummy potato goulash, vegetarian german style, even if that is an oxymoron! this bowl of goodness is perfect for these colder nights.

next up is lubna from yummy food (needs no explanation!) who found the paprika very spicy but made these spicy potato chunks. i don't care how simple the recipe may seem, i bet this was delicious!

su-lin from the beautiful blog tamarind and thyme made a similar pimentón potato wedges, dusted with paprika. she suggested to pair these up with grilled steak. but they look so good i could probably eat a whole plate as lunch!

priya with her colorful blog priya's easy n tasty recipes posted one of her favorite recipes for spicy baked chicken. if the picture doesn't have you drooling i don't know what will, this looks fantastic!

mahima from olives and basil actually loves the flavor of paprika! and here's her entry, a peppery basil spaghetti that is both creamy and spicy blissfully at the same time. sounds like my perfect kind of pasta!

and last but not least, lovely manuela from baking history brought along cheese straws. "hard to stop eating" she says and i'll take her word for it, but i definitely want to try making these!
so there you have it, all the paprika you could ever want! next up is think spice ... think anise hosted by manuela. for past think spice events, visit sunita's blog.

twd: rugelach

this post is going to be short and sweet as i have (at least what seems) a zillion things going on today.

when i was younger i loved hanukkah. and not just for the gifts! but latkes and rugelach were my favorite holiday treats that basically i pigged out on because they only came around once a year!

so how delighted i was when grace from piggy's cooking journal picked rugelach for this week's tuesday with dorie!

the recipe was super easy to follow. i used a combination of whatever i had on hand: cherry jam, walnuts, and golden raisins. i did not add the chocolate, as dorie suggests, because i'm one of those few stalwarts who thinks not everything tastes better with chocolate!



these were the best rugelach i've ever eaten, especially right after baking. the dough was so light and flaky, compared to the denser dough typically found at store or even bakery bought versions. next time i want to try rolling them a little bit more uniform in size/shape, but i can't wait to make these again for hanukkah!



for the recipe, click here. and to see everyone else's rugelach combinations, click through the blogroll!

daring bakers: pizza, pizza, pizza

i've said it before but i'll say it again: i love pizza. plain, white, vegetables - you name it, i love it. well, actually, i prefer my pizza meatless. is that an aberration?

anyhoo, what a happy surprise when rosa from rosa's yummy yums picked pizza for this month's daring bakers challenge. and it was even more special as this month's selection was in honor of sherry, who was to co-host with rosa, but who tragically passed away this summer.

i just had one wee mistake. i've only made pizza dough once before and it was made, proofed, and baked on the same day. so even though i waited to the very last minute - because i like to put the challenge in a daring bakers challenge! - i was cool as a cuc, and anticipating a fun night of when the moon hits your eye ....

but this recipe from peter reinhart instructs one to rest the dough in the refrigerator overnight before proceeding the next day .... frickety frick!!



well, there was not going to be any overnight rest and i made do with the time i had (about 3 hours in the fridge). this made the dough harder to work with as it was relatively warm and soft. i used more flour than usual to get it working. i also think next time i won't make the dough balls so small, as it is counter-intuitively easier to work with larger pieces of dough.

even without the longer fridge time, these pizza babies still came out terrific. it had a wonderful flavor, soft but crispy at the same time, it was great to bite into. but i felt badly i didn't do this recipe the justice it deserved. however, this is definitely going to be my go-to recipe for pizza dough from now on, so i'm excited to see just how amazing it can be!

for the recipe, from reinhart's the bread baker's apprentice, please check out rosa's blog. however please note the original recipe did not call for sugar, and listed oil as only suggested for high gluten flour like bread. for more pizzas check out the entire daring bakers blogroll, all zillion of them!

pizza #1: fresh mozzarella, anchovies, capers, hot chilis, and sauce (inspired from jaime oliver)



pizza #2: fresh mozzarella, artichokes, spanish olives, and sauce



pizza #3: gruyère, onions, garlic, mushrooms, and turkey bacon. um yeah, just forget about that first comment about meatless pizzas! this one was definitely my favorite, so damn tasty. i loved having the gruyère instead of mozzarella, it's more flavorful and such a good contrast to the earthy mushrooms and onions.

twd: chocolate-chocolate cupcakes, boo-yah!

for this week's tuesdays with dorie, clara from the wonderful i heart food for thought chose chocolate-chocolate cupcakes and gently suggested doing a halloween theme for decoration.

there had been some lengthy discussion about the texture and crumb being dry, with lots of talk about ratios and flour weights. i don't think there are any "fool-proof" recipes (especially for baking) so i tend to think that any discrepancies mainly occur because of differences in conditions, particularly in the oven. so i decided to proceed as written, but keeping a careful watch on the baking time. i checked in 16 minutes and the toothpick came out wet; only 2 more minutes and it came out completely dry.



the result? well first, the batter was soo good! that bowl hardly had to go in the dishwasher i cleaned it so well myself - no shame!

and the cupcake? amazing! moist and chocolately. i did not have any problem with it being a crummy dry crumb. i suspect that was related to my 18 minutes baking, compared to dorie's written 22-25 minutes. i would've preferred a chocolate buttercream, but that's just me (or is it you, too?)

i wasn't at all creative in the halloween department. but do you ever need a pretty reason to eat a chocolately chocolate cupcake??

for the recipe, please click here!

don't forget about think spice!

tonight is the deadline for think spice ... think paprika! so get your spicy on, whip up a paprikan inspired dinner and email me the deets!

for more info about paprika and info on the event, click here. to see the chicken paprikash i made, click here.

twd: pumpkin muffins

don't be fooled by those healthy looking seeds on top of these muffins. they are muffins afterall, and still have a nice big stick of butter in them!

i am a re-member of the happy tuesdays with dorie club. it was the lazy days of summer and i couldn't manage to be inside enough to get baked goods done every week (or even twice a month as allowed!) but as tuesdays with dorie grew, it finally expanded beyond and the inevitable deadline to join was created.

and what perfect timing for me to re-join because these pumpkin muffins were quite a tasty midnight snack. or breakfast treat. or after lunch why the heck not?

i used dried cranberries instead of raisins because i thought the combo was just a bit more complementary and i liked the color contrast too. i also used pepitas on top instead of sunflower seeds. the muffin cups definitely get filled up more than what i'm normally used to; i was a bit fearful they would overflow, but all was fine in pumpkin land.



for the recipe, check out kelly's blog over at sounding my barbaric gulp! - thanks for such a great pick kelly! and go ahead and check out the tuesdays with dorie blogroll, all almost 300 of us!

think spice ... think paprika ... think chicken paprikash!

this recipe is a family hand-down from mr. mimi's great grandma, who came from czechoslovakia (and supposedly somehow through marriage - and maybe some tale telling - is related to the great masayrk) and brought all her amazing cooking with her.

mr. mimi's fondest memories of his great grandma is visits to her large, ornate apartment in the bronx, especially on christmas eve when she hosted the family dinner. but regardless of when the visit was, and what it is for, the minute he stepped into her home, he was greeted with the most amazing smells coming from the kitchen. she was the one who inspired him to be "chef boy rp" (rp is mr. mimi's real initials). she always had something cooking, and was famous for her chicken soup with egg drop. it was crafted from hours of labor and a heart full of love.

one of his other indelible memories is his great grandma sticking a big brown bar of soap in his mouth when "damn" came out of his precious four year-old mouth. he never said it again in front of her ;)

this recipe is in honor of his great grandma, who taught it to his mother (yes it skipped a generation; his nana was of the 'everything convenient is good' mantra of the postwar 50s), and who passed it to him. although it is less a "recipe" because there are no real exact measurements. what's written below is a close approximation of what happens without thinking about it in the kitchen. it's a cliché, i know, but it is one of those family dishes that was taught by feel and look and taste rather than teaspoons and cups and pounds.

even thought it doesn't look like much the best thing about it is the smell that is so warm and fantastic while it's braising. by the time it's finished you will think you're starving because it smells so good. this must be what mr. mimi means when he talks about his great grandma's kitchen.

and when i chose paprika for think spice this month, i knew i would make this. if you'd like to join this event, you still have a week left! for the rules, click here.



mr. mimi's chicken paprikash: serves 4
adapted from great grandma

1 whole chicken, cut into parts
1 large onion, medium diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2-3 bay leaves
1-2 big cans crushed tomatoes
hungarian sweet paprika
salt + pepper
1/2 cup sour cream (give or take)
tomato paste
olive oil
1 lb large pasta shells

1. season chicken with salt and pepper, and heavily coated with paprika on both sides; rub in paprika. in heavy dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium and lay chicken skin side down carefully and sear until deep golden red, about 5 minutes. then flip over and sear on the other side for another 5 minutes. note: depending on your dutch oven size, you probably will have to do this in two batches; for the best sear, don't crowd the chicken!

this isn't the prettiest photo, but just to show you the chicken should be well coated with paprika!



2. take out chicken and place on plate. pour out oil and wipe out dutch oven if necessary. add a little fresh oil and sauté the garlic and onion until caramelized. stir in a tiny bit more paprika.

3. put chicken back in, skin side up. add bay leaves, tomatoes, salt and pepper. turn heat down to low, cover, and simmer for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. occasionally stir and turn chicken.

4. pull chicken out. temper the sour cream by adding a little bit of the tomato sauce to the sour cream and whisk; then add back the tempered sour cream. you will have to adjust the amount by eye, it should be similar in color to a dark pink vodka sauce. if necessary, tighten it up with some tomato paste.

5. meanwhile, bring salted water to boil and cook pasta according to directions.

6. skim off fat from tomato sauce and add back chicken. slowly bring back up to heat. add in cooked pasta and stir well so the shells get nice and coated. bon appétit from the old world!

note: if you're not in budapest or going there any time too soon, the best readily available (at least in the US) hungarian sweet paprika is from szeged.

five friends

thanks to jen over at use real butter i discovered that october is national blog writing month. woo hoo! that means one post every day for the entire month of october. what do you get out of it? hopefully some interesting stories, recipes, photos, and random droolings. what do i get out it? a free luxury lip balm!! my oh my i need this lip balm. i love lip balm. i will pimp myself out for lip balm any month!

and well now it's day three. sheesh, you thought you were going to get another recipe? umm, i'm really not that industrious in the kitchen! and although some people may not enjoy reading about those other parts of my life ... isn't that what having good food and drink is all about? to have the time and space to share good stories, happiness, heartache, debate, politics, hopes, and questions with family and friends?

so even though you might not agree with my choice come election day, i hope you agree with this video.



for more nablowrimo goodies, check out the blogroll here.

think spice ... think paprika!

this month i have the honor of hosting the wonderful spice event created by sunita over at sunita's world. "think spice" was actually the first ever blog event i ever participated in (garlic back in january) so it holds a special place in my little bloggy heart!


paprika is made by grinding dried red peppers into a fine powder, and the flavor can vary in spiciness. according to wiki, paprika originated in southern mexico, central america, and the antilles islands, where native americans used it for healing and seasoning. the plant was brought back to europe via trade routes. from there it arrived in hungary through the balkans. the name "paprika" came from the 18th century as a diminutive form for the south-slavic name of pepper ("papar").

the most popular and readily available paprika in the US is hungarian sweet paprika. there are other varieties of hungarian, as well as californian and spanish smoked paprika. the most common - but certainly not the only - cuisines that use paprika are hungarian, spanish, portuguese, and turkish.

have i whet your appetite for all thinks paprika?! ;-)

three simple things to join this event

1. create a dish that highlights paprika. it can be sweet or savory, vegan, vegetarian, or carnivorous!

2. post the dish and recipe by monday october 27. include any unique information or tips you might have about using paprika, or maybe any special memories you have about the spice or dish. include a link back to this post so that others can join, and a link back to sunita. feel free to use the logo in your post.

3. email me by the deadline: mimionthemove AT gmail DOT com. use "think spice" in the subject line and make sure to include your name, blog name, recipe, URL to your recipe post, and photo.

i can't wait to see what everyone makes! have fun and think paprika!

the ER, daring bakers, and an award

if you are someone unlike me - someone who sees a deadline 30 days away and gets things done with 29 days left - then you wouldn't be writing this post.

but if you fall into the 30 days in advance means do it on day 29, well then a trip to the ER and a weeklong recovery means that the deadline is screwed.

such was my fate last week, which is why i do not have anything to share with you. natalie from gluten a go go and shelly from musings from the fishbowl picked an awesome recipe in peter reinhart's lavash crackers to be accompanied by a tasty vegan dip of one's choice.


what compounds my non daring baker misery is the fact that earlier this month lisa from magic sprinkles bestowed the brilliante award to me! even though i don't feel very brilliante right now, thanks lisa! now i'm supposed to pass on the award to 7 more bloggers. but i'm going to bend the rules and pass it along to the group of hundreds of amazing daring bakers. i've said it before, but every month they inspire me and humble me. so please, go check out these truly dynamite daring bakers!

martha mondays: tomato tart

another round of martha mondays!

i hate the end of summer. shorter days, colder evenings. it all just means one depressing thing: crappy man winter is on its way. so you'll probably see me try to squeeze in every last drip drop of summer left here in the next couple of weeks. denial is a wonderful thing! ... and so is this tomato tart!

i bought martha's baking handbook back around the holidays last year, and this was one of the first things that caught my eye. the thought of using blah winter hydroponic tomatoes seemed a waste of the whole effort, and so i had to wait it out six long months!



there's nothing tricky about this tart, just your standard pâte brisée dough, tomatoes, garlic, fontina cheese, and basil for garnish. i haven't made dough in quite a long time so i decided to make it with half vegetable shortening, half butter to make it easier to work with (in case you're wondering, shortening doesn't melt so that's what makes it easier). but i still had problems rolling it out, mainly because it became a wee crumbly as i tried to stretch it to 13 inches. so the dough got manhandled when putting into the tart pan, although it still turned out pretty flaky. note to self: more practice with pâte brisée! hmm ... i see all sorts of pies in my baking future :)



you could say this is just a fancy pizza, and even though the preparation and assembly is easy, it is a bit of total time needed (with the garlic roasting, baking, and cooling). but pizza never looked so amazing, smelled so awesome, or tasted so delish! next time i will have to come up with a way to dry the tomatoes a bit before baking so that the crust can stay a little more firm. but make this your next lazy sunday and maybe you, too, will forget that cold weather is almost here.



it appears i also need more practice with my lovely camera and studio light set-up (there is no option for "natural" light since i ain't baking or cooking until well after sun down.) do you see all those blown highlights in the tomatoes and cheese?! ugh.

tomato tart: serves 4 as main (or 3 if you are anything like me!)
from martha's baking handbook (2005, p. 268)

1 head garlic
3 tb olive oil
1/2 recipe pâte brisée (follows)
3/4 cup grated fontina cheese
1 1/2 lbs ripe, firm tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
salt + pepper
12 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

1. preheat oven to 30F. place garlic on piece of aluminum foil; drizzle with 1 tb olive oil and fold foil to encase garlic, sealing folded edges well. place on baking sheet and roast until golden brown and top of knife easily pierces flesh, about 45 minutes. remove and let cool.

2. on lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 13 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. remove excess flour and fit dough into a 10 inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom, pressing into edges. use rolling pin to trim dough flush with top edge of tart pan; chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

3. raise heat in oven to 425F. when garlic is cooled, squeeze cloves out of their skins and into small bowl. mash with a fork and set aside while tart shell is chilling.

4. spread roasted garlic evenly on bottom of tart shell. sprinkle with 1/4 cup grated cheese. arrange tomato slices in overlapping circular pattern on top of cheese, working from outside towards the center. season with salt and pepper. sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of grated cheese and drizzle with remaining 2 tb of olive oil.

5. bake tart until crust is golden and tomatoes are soft but retain shape, 45-55 minutes. cool on wire rack for 20 minutes. garnish with sliced basil leaves and serve warm. (you can make this a day ahead and reheat at 300F until warmed through.)





pâte brisée: full recipe (use half for tomato tart)
from martha's baking handbook (p. 224)
note: i used half shortening, half butter - but i'm giving the recipe as written

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, cold cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed

1. combine flour and salt in food processor. add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces. (to mix by hand, combing dry ingredients in bowl and cut in butter with pastry blender.)

2. with machine running, add ice water through feed tube in slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being sticky. do not process more than 30 seconds. test by squeezing small amount of dough together; if it is crumbly, add more water 1 tb at a time.

3. turn out dough and divide in half, shaping into flattened disk and wrapped in plastic. refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. can also be frozen up to 1 month; thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.

daring bakers: i declare my love of éclairs!

if you must know - and as you can probably tell from the more than pathetic results - i did this at midnight the night before the deadline. and i am so pissed at myself because when meeta from what's for lunch honey along with tony of olive juice picked pierre hermé's classic chocolate éclairs i was so frickin' excited! does it really need explaining? i mean, doesn't everyone love éclairs? plus, i've never made the choux before, so i was definitely on to the challenge!

hmm, challenge ... by definition, doesn't that mean i shouldn't have left it the last minute? yes, i know, but stay with me here. i halved the recipe, because i'm trying to train, and having a box of fresh éclairs around was not going to help. first batch of choux came out runny after i beat in the eggs. me thinks it wasn't the eggs but that i didn't mix and heat the dough thing long enough.

i am far from even being a novice, let alone expert, in this stuff - so i had really no idea, but the reasoning sounded good at the time. so the second batch had the dough thing mixed and heated for at least 4 minutes, and this time the eggs added beautifully and i had a nice pipable dough. coincidence? who knows, i'm just happy it worked. so now they were baking good, golden brown, rising up, out of the oven ...

and the damn things deflated! and became soggy!! i think the main reason is because i left them - by mistake (see midnight baking circumstances, above) - on the hot baking sheet to cool instead of putting them on the rack. me thinks that it must need the air circulation. i also read the tip from foodbeam to poke a hole in the bottom once they're done to let the steam escape. makes perfect sense, thanks hindsight!



i wanted to cry. of course i want things i bake to come out correctly. but because this was new and because i love éclairs, i really really wanted these to come out better than ever! and now they were just soggy eggy hot dog buns!!

thankfully the over the top death by chocolate pastry cream made up for it!

so dear darling choux ... i may have failed you this time, but you have not seen the last of me, i promise i will make you proud!

and i promise if you take a look at some of my fellow daring bakers, you will be drooling to make your own éclairs today! they are an amazing group, and every time i think about dropping out of this thing (hello time management problems) i am always pulled right back in by all the gorgeous creativity they show month after month. if these lads and lassies don't inspire you as well, then i don't know what will!

chocolate hot dogs, anyone? ;)

martha mondays: peach, apricot, and cherry pie

sorry about that political diatribe. it should be an interesting week. but regardless, even if you don't agree with me, hopefully you still keep reading this blog! because food knows no political bounds :)

this lovely martha monday pie was made about a month ago. i rushed to get it done by the date i picked out and then didn't have any time to get it posted, but better late than never (i think?!)



despite the fact that i just bought a bunch of grapes, i do normally like to stay within season for my fruits and vegetables. i'm not so much a fruit pie person (you either are or you aren't) but it would seem heresy to let summer pass by without at least one fruit pie baked. i tend to like the pies in the old standby book, but wanted to give martha a try.



this was easy enough to assemble (although i did not have time to do the lattice) and pretty much your standard pie filling technique. i wasn't exactly fond of the flavors - i think it was the cherries that bothered me - but mr. mimi loved it. and of course, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and almost anything turns into delish!



the next martha monday will be on september 8th. keeping with the summer theme, the recipe will be the tomato tart on p. 268 - pretty simple but a great addition to any one's labor day picnic! if you want to join me, simply make the tart and post about it on september 8th. if you email me a link, i will make sure to include you on my post.



peach, apricot, and cherry pie
from martha's baking handbook (2005, p. 236)

i'm omitting the recipe part for the dough, so just use whatever one that's handy!
1 lb fresh peaches, pitted and sliced into 1/4 inch wedges
1 lb fresh aprictos, pitted and sliced into sixths
1 lb fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved
2/3 cup sugar (increase to 3/4 if you like a more sweet pie)
3 tb cornstarch
1/4 coarse salt
juice of 1 lemon
2 tb butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tb heavy cream
sanding sugar for sprinkling (optional)

1. in large bowl, toss together peaches, apricots, and cherries. add sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon juice; toss to combine.

2. spoon mixture into chilled pie shell, mounding fruit in the middle (to make sure it doesn't get soggy, fill the pie shell right before you're ready to cover). dot with butter. brush rim of pie shell with water and cover with lattice, or entirely. if you cover entirely, make sure to cut some steam slits. in small bowl, whisk egg yolk and cream and brush on top. generously sprinkle with some sanding sugar. freeze or refrigerate pie for 30 minutes until firm.

3. meanwhile preheat oven to 400F with rack in lower third. place pie on parchment lined baking sheet. bake until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes. reduce oven temp to 350F. continue baking, rotating halfway through, until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling and thickened, about 40-50 minutes more. let cool completely and enjoy!

please check out lil miz lynn over at bites and pieces who made an awesome looking pie!

this blog is not a figment of your imagination

i really am here. and i really did my martha pie this past monday, really. i even have photos to prove it! in fact, i have a whole crapload of photos of so many different things i was wanted to post here but haven't yet gotten around to it.

i promise i will when i return.

but this afternoon i will be on my way to south africa, for cape town and kruger. so you, my dear readers, will have to wait just a wee bit longer.

in the meantime, please go check out lynn at bites and pieces who also did the martha pie, and it came out looking gorgeous! her lattice top - first ever! - is lovely and looks oh so delish. she also passed along the arte y pico award, which certainly is undeserved at the blog moment. i promise i will make it up to her!

and here's my sweet milo. i hope to see the ancestral version of this on my safari :)

martha monday: pistachio tartlets with crème fraîche and berries

welcome (back) to martha mondays, where i work my way through her baking handbook ... trying things out, challenging myself, and hopefully learning (and eating yummy things) along the way.

i have to admit i'm a sucker for photos. if a recipe doesn't have a photo, i'm apt to neglect it but if something has a gorgeous photo, i can't wait to dig in even if it has ingredients i'm not fond of (exhibit A, mocha roulade).

so with warmer weather finally here, there are several things i've been wanting to try out, purely based upon martha's photo :)



i decided to start with the pistachio tartlets with crème fraîche and berries (p. 255) as they seemed easy and fresh. the dough was quite soft, but really lovely and definitely a keeper for other fillings. i loved that the crème made it not too sweet, which was perfect with the berries.



for some other tartlets, please check out zakia over at the frosted bakeshop who also loved the pistachio dough. and new blogger, lynn from bites and pieces also joined us this week. and she made the crème fraîche from scratch, quite impressive!!



next martha monday: either the peach, apricot, and cherry pie (p. 236) or the sour cherry cobbler (p. 279). both seem your standard summer fare, but i would love the challenge of doing a "real" lattice top. post by monday, 28 july and email me your link: marthamondays -at- gmail.com!

and i apologize for the poor overexposed non-color corrected photos of my delicious pistachio tartlets! i promise next time not to wait until 11pm the night it is due!! :)