I think my favorite things in this project are the dishes that are things that I never would have made before, but that I learn are pretty easy. And the weird thing is, that applies to all three elements of this dessert.
First there was the peach crostata. Admission: I used to never consider making pie dough. Never. Ever. Not once. It was something they sold in the supermarket. Kept in the freezer. Thawed it out. Fill it. Why would you go through the trouble of "making" it?
That it didn't really taste like anything? I guess that's just how it's supposed to be.
Do you have any idea how stupid easy pie crust is? It's like four ingredients, and you spin them in the food processor. Then you wait. Then you roll it out. Then you pat yourself on the back.
Do you have any idea how much better a pie crust you make is? And its not just the knowledge that you took $1.27 worth of ingredients and turned it into something. It's that you took $1.27 worth of ingredients and turned it into awesome.
So, here is the pie crust with the almond curd, the macerated peaches and the crumbly bits.
First there was the peach crostata. Admission: I used to never consider making pie dough. Never. Ever. Not once. It was something they sold in the supermarket. Kept in the freezer. Thawed it out. Fill it. Why would you go through the trouble of "making" it?
That it didn't really taste like anything? I guess that's just how it's supposed to be.
Do you have any idea how stupid easy pie crust is? It's like four ingredients, and you spin them in the food processor. Then you wait. Then you roll it out. Then you pat yourself on the back.
Do you have any idea how much better a pie crust you make is? And its not just the knowledge that you took $1.27 worth of ingredients and turned it into something. It's that you took $1.27 worth of ingredients and turned it into awesome.
So, here is the pie crust with the almond curd, the macerated peaches and the crumbly bits.
Here it is after I added the almond curd. That leaves the peaches and bits.
Here it is after I added the peaches. Pretty proud that I put them in there all nice and tidy and organized. That leaves the bits.
Here it is after I added the crumbly bits.
So, making the peaches all nice and tidy wasn't really the best use of time, it turns out. But I know how nice they looked before they were cloaked in bits.
The other things that I try to not do too much is a caramel sauce, because I always burn it, and honey ice cream because … well, I have no idea why. I make ice cream several times a year. I have always liked the idea of honey ice cream. Never made it.
Here, my caramel sauce was largely some sort of mistake. It was supposed to be honey butter. But I cooked it, and when I cook sugar, I mess things up. But not so much, because this still tasted great, though there was an issue we'll discuss in a minute.
And the honey gelato was outstanding. Sort of subtle, but it was distinct.
Here is the finished plate. Times 8.
The other things that I try to not do too much is a caramel sauce, because I always burn it, and honey ice cream because … well, I have no idea why. I make ice cream several times a year. I have always liked the idea of honey ice cream. Never made it.
Here, my caramel sauce was largely some sort of mistake. It was supposed to be honey butter. But I cooked it, and when I cook sugar, I mess things up. But not so much, because this still tasted great, though there was an issue we'll discuss in a minute.
And the honey gelato was outstanding. Sort of subtle, but it was distinct.
Here is the finished plate. Times 8.
The only issue was that the "honey butter" was only saucy when really warm. It started firming up really fast when not exposed to heat. But guess what it wasn't exposed to when it was laying all over some honey gelato. Heat. So it got a little chewy.
But come on. Look at that plate. It almost looks like I know what I'm doing. And it was so freaking good.
Up next: "black bass" and "taylor bay scallops" in lemon brodetto. (no quotes around the lemon brodetto. it's totally legit.)
2 comments:
I got excited when I saw this because I have some white peaches I bought at a market a couple of days ago that I need to use. I found the recipe, though, (there's what appears to be a sanctioned copy at http://figtestkitchen.com/2011/06/just-peachy/), and I don't think I can pull off all of the almond-ness. But thanks for the idea!
if you didn't want to make the almond curd, you could make the tart without it, just the peaches and streusel topping. or you could replace the almond curd with store bought almond butter. you'd probably need to head it up to be able to spread it, and it would be a different texture, but would still be good.
Post a Comment