Nary a year passes in which I don’t slow-roast at least a few tomatoes to stash away in the freezer. In the bleak month of February, their bright, concentrated flavors serve as a reminder of happier days past, and to come. Before I had a backyard garden, my standard operating procedure was to prowl the […]
READ ONThough tomatoes are classified as fruit — berries, technically — they’re sorely lacking in the thing we primarily associate with fruit: sweetness. Your typical farm stand tomato has as much sugar as a Brussels sprout. Some tomatoes, depending on the variety and the degree to which they’re allowed to ripen on the vine, can achieve […]
READ ONLook around a little and you can find recipes for full-sized tomato tartes tatin, however I think the original mini-tarts still work the best. The New York Times’ large version from 2008 calls for a pound of cherry or grape tomatoes, but I think that’s still too watery, and I don’t much care for the […]
READ ONPosting will be a little thin. The post-vacation schedule is a little hectic, but I shall do my best!
READ ONBecause they’re wet. Very wet. Plop a few thick pieces of fresh sliced tomato on a pastry crust, add a little salt and heat and the result is…goo. For tomatoes have a lot of water, did I mention that? Some varieties of tomatoes are 95% water, which is more water than is found in your […]
READ ONYes, I know, this is something of a curveball for all you regular Joe Pastry readers, since this blog is devoted first and foremost to classic preparations and techniques. However I’m drowning in tomatoes just now, and good tomato-oriented pastry recipes are few and far between. Tom Colicchio’s tomato tarte tatin, which became famous as […]
READ ONReader Amber asks: I noticed from the caramel corn pictures that the baking soda really seems to react with the caramel. But looking at the recipe I can’t find the thing that the soda is reacting with. Doesn’t baking soda need some sort of acid to make bubbles? That’s very true, Amber. Baking soda does […]
READ ONReader Bronwyn comments: That “ultra-light caramel” that you used for the caramel corn is almost the same as what we in New Zealand call “hokey pokey”. We don’t stir it down; as soon as it’s well mixed in and growing we pour it onto a greased surface, then break it onto bits when it’s cold. […]
READ ONIt’s good to be back, though in truth one is never too happy about coming back from vacation. The Pastry family had an outstanding time roaming around the south-eastern part of west North Carolina, where the mountain lakes are clear, cool and lousy with bass and bluegill. The last day of the trip I hired […]
READ ONThe more you eat, the more you want. It’s been the Cracker Jack slogan since 1895 and it’s still true. There’s a little bit of candy-making process to this never-fail treat, but it’s painless if you can lay your hands on a thermometer. First, we make the popcorn. Throw a few kernels in a 3-4 […]
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