Plum Crazy

Honey Vanilla Plum Tart
I had every intention of whipping together my favorite summer dessert (strawberry shortcake) when inspiration hit. It had been a while since I'd made a fruit tart and I was interested in developing my own pastry crust. When I stumbled upon six perfectly ripe, dark fleshed plums at the market, the choice seemed obvious. They were blackish purple and had a subtly floral fragrance to them. Sweetened with a little honey and rum, this beautiful stone fruit makes one heck of a tasty tart.
   
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 1" pieces
- 2 Tbsp. cold vegetable shortening
- 4-6 Tbsp. ice water
- 6 plums, pits removed and cut into 1/4" thick slices
- 3 Tbsp. honey
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- juice from one lemon
- 1 Tbsp. dark rum
- 4 Tbsp. large grained sugar

PASTRY CRUST
Combine flour, powdered sugar, butter, and vegetable shortening into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a crumbly mixture forms. With machine running, slowly add ice water one Tbsp. at a time until the dough just comes together. Turn out dough onto a floured piece of waxed paper. Sprinkle flour onto the top of dough and cover with a second piece of waxed paper. Roll dough out into a circle so that it will fit into a 9" tart pan. Remove top piece of waxed paper and turn dough over and out into tart dish. Press dough into the pan and cut off any over hang. Cover in plastic wrap and chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes - 1 hour. 

After chilling the dough, preheat oven to 375˚ F. Remove plastic wrap from dough and cover top with foil or parchment paper then fill with pie weights or dried beans. The weight keeps the pastry from puffing up during baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes until crust is cooked through and beginning to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before filling

VANILLA HONEY PLUM FILLING
While pastry crust cools, put sliced plums in a large bowl add honey, rum, and lemon juice. Allow plums to soak for at least 30 minutes. Drain off juices, preheat oven to 375˚F. Arrange slices in the pastry crust in a slightly overlapping spiral pattern. Sprinkle evenly with 2 Tbsp. of large grain sugar and bake for 30-40 minutes until plums are softened and juices begin to bubble. Remove from oven and allow tart to cool completely. Sprinkle with remaining large grained sugar, slice into wedges, and serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Just Peachy

Perfect Peach Pie to Put in Your Face

For a long time I was intimidated by the concept of pastry. I was convinced I would somehow screw it up. Growing up, my mom would consistently turn out the most delicious desserts (among other things) and encourage me to bake a pie. When I refused she would comment with exasperation, "They say 'easy as pie' because pies are easy to make." Well, Mom was right after all. I didn't discover this, of course, until I actually went an made a pie myself. Yes . . . it is easy. Particularly when you have a perfect buttery crust recipe and delicious fresh fruit or berries with which to fill it. Late summer and early fall is the perfect time for pie. Stone fruits abound! My mom gave me this crust recipe years ago and it's my favorite- perfect for almost any pie and a snap to whip up in the food processor. The key is- don't handle to dough too much and work with COLD butter and COLD water.

Ingredients
CRUST
- 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c. cold butter, cut into 1/2" cubes (my favorite is the Irish Kerrygold butter)
- 4-6 Tbsp. ice water

FILLING
- 6 c. fresh peaches, peeled, sliced
- 2 Tbsp. minute tapioca
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 3/4 c. sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp. butter

To make the crust. Place flour, sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well combined and crumbly. With the motor running, add water one tablespoon at a time through the feed tube until mixture gathers on top of the blade. Remove dough from food processor, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use. This makes enough dough for a two-crust 9" pie.

For the filling combine peaches, tapioca, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir gently and allow to sit for about 20 minutes to soften the tapioca.

While filling rests, cut dough into two equal pieces and roll each out onto a floured surface. Roll pie bottom out into a 9" pie pan. Fill with filling and trim crust to about 1" from the edge of pan. Cut 1 Tbsp. of butter into the pie and top with other piece of crust. Cut vents in top crust and crimp together edges. Sprinkle top of crust with extra sugar.

Place pie onto a heavy foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 400˚ for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and bake an additional 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. Let cool at least one hour before serving with fresh whipped cream or ice cream. Easy as pie . . .