Fruit tartlets

Annalena went on the most wonderful road trip this weekend. The puppies, feeling that a honeymoon of some sort was in order for Guy and I, arranged a trip up to New Hampshire to hear some folk music, to do some "leaf peeping," and to have a ball along the way. And we did all of that. It was absolutely wonderful. Yours truly felt, very much, like a balloon must feel when somehow, it is let go and just floats, blissfully and serenely, in a lovely sky, surrounded by light. That's what good friends can do for you. It was yet another bottle in my own collection of 'dandelion wine'. Not coincidentally, the pups were involved. They frequently are when someone other than Guy makes me feel special.

In planning for the trip, my mind of course turned to "what SHALL we eat?" I had some ideas, and I will share them in subsequent blogs, but I also turned to the pups to ask them what they wanted. One wanted macaroni salad. No problem. One, however, wanted a tart or pie.

Well, any of you who have tried to move a tart or pie long distances, or in a car, knows that this is fraught with danger. I cannot tell you how many tarts or pies have turned to cobblers and pan dowdies and Buddha only knows what else on the road to where they were going. But Annalena is NOT going to disappoint her pups. Oh no. So, while fruit TARTS are difficult to travel, fruit TARTLETS are not. They are easy to handle, package well, and ultimately, when you're eating on the go, something you can take in your hand and eat easily is a good thing.

You need to start with an excellent crust dough. I use the one that my friend Dana taught me to make. You combine 1.5 cups of all purpose flour, 1.5 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into cubes, a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt, in a food processor. Then you pulse until you have a rough mass, with the butter slightly larger than peas. It's only about 20 pulses. Have some ice water ready, and pulse it in, tablespoon by tablespoon , until you get something that looks like the texture of wet sand. I needed four tablespoons for mine. Then dump all of this out on a surface and work it together into a circular mass. Wrap it, and let it refrigerate. You can get away with two hours, but I like to leave this overnight.

Next day, take your dough out and let it come to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 400 and select your fruit. You are not going to need an awful lot. We're going to be making 12 tartlets, and you'll need the equivalent of four medium sized nectarines. You can use berries, but remember you will only need a tablespoon or so of them for each tartlet. I suggest using two or even three different kinds of fruit, so everyone can find his or her favorite. If you are using small fruit, like berries, toss them in a bowl with a few tablespoons of sugar. If you are using peachs, or plums, or apples, or pears, slice them and do the same. Spice or not? You decide. Think about the fruit you have. I used nectarines (I can still get them) and raspberries (probably the last of the season), and I thought the flavors were so clean that adding spice was a no-no.

Roll out your dough, on a fairly heavily floured surface, and cut out three inch circles. I used the top of a measuring cup for doing this. When you have 12, line them up on a baking sheet, and brush them with a beaten egg (I did NOT do this and my tartlets were fine. Using the egg would have made them more secure). Then spoon your fruit onto the center of each circle. I cannot overestimate how important it is to restrain your tendency to be generous. These are small, and the pastry is very tasty. You don't need a tremendous amount of fruit.

Cut out more circles from your dough. If you find that you cannot get twelve, take the scraps and roll them again and cut. Not all of them wil be uniform in thickness, and that is just fine. This is homemade tartlets, remember. Lay these on top of the fruit and pinch the edges closed. The egg will help to "glue" them. Then brush the tops with more egg, cut a slit or hole in each, and sprinkle them heavily with sugar. Bake them for twenty minutes at 400, Check the color. If they are not brown enough for you, let them bake another ten minutes.

Let them cool. These travel really well, as they are very sturdy. And they are GOOD. I can honestly say that I could easily have eaten the whole batch with some good coffee.

I also believe that if you have savory stuff around, say chicken or something like that, you might very well be able to make the equivalent of a "pasty" as the Brits in Cornwall call them, doing exactly the same thing.

And if you have your own puppies, or dear friends whom you refer to by other names, make these, or make two batches, and ask them what their favorite fruit types are. Love comes back to you magnified. Trust me on this. I wouldn't lie about something as important as good food