Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Apple Pear Tart

I decided that since this is my birthday week, I'm going to give some stuff away. Wheee... free stuff for my fans!

Here is yesterday's giveaway.

Truthfully, I have a love-hate relationship with giveaways. If you get the prize right in your hand, that's fine, but anything that has to be shipped makes me a little squeamy.

You see, I've participated in a number of different giveaways, raffles, auctions ... on both the giving and the winning side. And the track record for these things isn't perfect.

Oh, some of them have been just fine. I've been participating in the Kitchen Play giveaways since they started, and when I win, I get my prize.

When I gave away a SuperPeel, I had a tracking number for the shipment almost immediately. I like that. It makes the company look good, and it makes me look good.

On the other hand, there have been other contests where the process wasn't as smooth. It's hard to know who's to blame, A few times, it was me giving stuff away on someone else's blog and it took a while (and several emails) before I got the winners' addresses to ship the prizes. In another case on my own blog, employees at the PR company shuffled jobs around and the books to my winners got delayed.

And I've won things that have been interminably delayed. It happens we're all human.

I still enter giveaways. It's fun to think I might win something. I hope you think it's fun, too.

Because now we have ...

The Giveaway! (Contest is now closed)


Today's giveaway is the paperback version of Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.

To enter, leave comment on this post. Tell me what your favorite cookbook is.

For a second entry, tweet a link to this contest. Make sure that you include @dbcurrie in the tweet so I can verify that you tweeted. Come back and leave a second comment telling that you've tweeted.

The contest starts now and ends at Midnight, mountain time, on September 20. Good luck!

But wait! I promised you a recipe today!

Yesterday, I made the pastry crust using the ratio in Ratio, and then I had to find something to fill it with. Fall is here, and apples and pears are at the farmer's market, so that seemed logical.

Pear and Apple Tart

1/2 pie crust recipe
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Lemon juice or fruit fresh
3 medium cooking apples
3 pears
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Roll the pastry crust slightly larger than your tart pan. Fit it to the pan and trim the edges. Brush the bottom of the crust with the butter. Set aside the rest of the butter; you'll use it later. Put the tart in the refrigerator while you prepare the fruit.

Have two bowls ready with cold water and lemon juice or fruit fresh in it to keep the fruit from browning after you cut it.

It even looks pretty uncooked, right?
Peel, core and slice the fruit thinly, putting the pears in one bowl and the apples in the other. (You could mix them, if you wanted to, but you'll be arranging them separately in the tart shell.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Stir to combine. Add the vanilla bean paste and mash it into the sugar mixture with your fork so that it's well distributed.

Take the tart shell out of the refrigerator. Drain the pears and arrange them evenly in the bottom of the tart shell. Drain the apples and add them on top of the pears in overlapping circles. Sprinkle the sugar mixture on top. Melt the reserved butter and drizzle it over the top.

Bake the tart in the lower third of the oven until the crust is browned, the fruit is cooked, the juices are bubbly, and the edges of the fruit is browned - about 45 minutes.

Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool before removing it from the pan and serving.
Yum

11 comments:

Heidi said...

Donna - sounds delicious! Where would one find vanilla bean paste?

Donna Currie said...

Nielsen-Massey makes it, so you can find it at Williams Sonoma, and I think King Arthur Flour carries it as well. Other specialty shops, as well. A local spice shop near me usually has it in stock.

Jan said...

I'm a cookbook collector...PLEASE don't make me choose!

Pat R said...

I have so many favorites, but any book by Paula Deen is right up there.

psrrn@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Any cook book by Paula Dean.

-Britt T.

brittany_tucker@aol.com

Shaheen said...

Hi just stumbled across your blog as I was searching for some inspiration for some of my mothers homegrown pears. Your recipe looks lovely.

I enjoyed the movie Julie and Julia and have no doubt i would enjoy the book, but I don't know if I'd be eligible to enter. My favourite cookbook - ooh its very hard to choose, but oen of them has to be 'Secrets Froma Vegetarian Kitchen' by Nadine Abensur as it encourage me to start thinking experimental in the kitchen.
Kind wishes.
Shaheen
mangocheeks@sky.com

Aaron said...

My first cookbook was Better Homes and Gardens Illustrated Cookbook. It will always have a special place in my heart. In fact, last Christmas, I passed it down to my oldest son who has shown an increasing interest in cooking and baking.

Anonymous said...

This tart looks so pretty! I don't think I can answer your question, I have a lot of favorite cookbooks... My latest obsession is Pierre Herme's Chocolate Desserts :)

JoeyfromSC said...

The tart looks amazing!! I also would love to read this book because I really enjoyed the movie! I watched the movie twice..once by myself and another time when I visited my Aunt in VA..She loved it too!

Thank you for the chance to win!

ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com

JoeyfromSC said...

Tweeted:

http://twitter.com/#!/JoeyfromSC/status/115120001991704576

ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com

eclairre said...

i like my moms old betty crocker cookbook

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