Not to Go On and ON and ON about the Tart thing... but Pea, Ham and Sour Cream Tartlets

I hope I don't sound like a one trick pony, but after the walloping success of the fruit-full tart, I wanted to attempt a savory tart. Boy am I ever glad I did. This one strikes a major high on the yum scale, and while I may not quite be a pastry chef yet, I can say that my pastry wasn't bad!! Or perhaps it was elevated by the brilliance of the filing.

Pastry

generous 3/4 cup of all purpose flour

pinch of salt

2 1/2 ounces (75 gms) cold butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

cold water

Filling

scant 1 1/2 cup frozen peas

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 shallots, finely choped

3 1/2 ounces (100 gms) cooked ham

1/2 cup sour cream

3 egg yolks

salt and pepper

Grease 4 x 4 3/4" fluted, loose bottomed, tart pans. Sift the flour and salt into a food processor. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Tip the misture into a large blow and add the Parmesan a a tiny bit of cold water - just enough to bring the dough together. Turn out onto a floured counter (or one of those fantastic silicone pastry mats). Roll each piece to fit the tart pans. Careflly fit each piece of dough in tis shell and pres gently to fit the pan. Trim the edges. Cut 6 pieces of parchment paper and fit a piece in each pan, fill with dried beans or pastry weights and let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bake the tart shell blind for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Then remove the parchment paper and beans.

Meanwhile cook the peas for about a minute in hot water (don't over-do you want them to remain plump). Train. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the shallots and cook gently for 10 minutes, then add the ham and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Stir the sour cream and egg yolks together. Add the peas to the skillet, remove from head and stir in the sour cream and egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper and divide between the tart shells. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until the filling is set.

And while you're enjoying your tarts, might I also recommend a game of something fun, like our newest board game "Sequence"? (Or as we like to pretentiously say victoriously when we're about to score a point, "Sih-kwhanssssss".)

And, um, is it just me or does this hand look like it's intending to pull the rug right out from under my little feet???

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

We are heading out of town again this weekend. Not to camp, but to lollygag with members of the running posse in a house on a lake on the Sunshine Coast. We'll be without the internet for a whole 36 hours! Golly! What will I do?

To begin with, as promised, I will leave you with the recipe that my lovely hand model was holding towards the end of this post about our time at The Ranch. These are the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies that will have people shamelessly sneaking to the plate for more. I brought them to the Ranch and had one person confess to me that "my girlfriend just ate 4 of them!!" What makes them particularly delci-os-o is the fact that they have semi sweet chocolate chips AND peanut butter chips in them (as well as peanut butter, of course).

I got the recipe from the brilliant website of Smitten Kitchen, who in turn got it from a New York bakery.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (I used smooth on both occasions on which I made them. The second time, I used a smooth natural peanut butter, and although they were definitely harder to work with, the taste was divine....)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar (I used organic sugar the first time and rolled the cookies in the sugar before flattening a bit and baking. The second time I made them, they were a bit gooier. I think this was because the natural peanut butter tends to separate more, and while I stirred it fairly thoroughly, the batter was still sloppier to handle, so I had to wrestle a bit with them to get them on the cookie sheet. In any event, I didn't sprinkle much sugar. Mister Man preferred the flavour of the the natural peanut butter though....)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips and the chocolate chips. Place the remaining teaspoons of sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by spoonful into the sugar, then place them on parchment lined cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for the part where the cookies grow. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern, but do not make a steam roller and flatten them too much. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. (In fact, I'd say that's a general rule of thumb with making cookies, wouldn't you?) They may appear to be underdone, but they are not. Nay. They are DELICIOUS is what they are!

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely. I am definitely making some of these for the festive season. I suspect they'd freeze nicely too.... (though I haven't tried)