7:30am New Years Eve morning: I arise, walk upstairs to fetch my coffee, and discuss the oncoming evening with my mother. My mother and I are renowned for our thorough analysis, contemplation, and deciding of recipes and preparations of dishes for family dinners and holidays. Hence, the evening should have been thought out,...but it wasn't. As of New Years Eve morning, we had no idea who was attending our gathering, or if we were hosting the dinner at all. That said, once the guest situation was squared away, my mother and I got (very)busy searching for recipes, because we needed to get to the market.
8:00am: I have decided on a French Laundry Recipe. Lemon Sabayon-Pine Nut Tart with Honeyed Mascarpone Cream.
10:00am: Grocery Store on New Years Eve=Mad House. We buy everything we need as quickly as possible, and get home to get started.
11:00am-: The baking begins. I carefully read through the recipe, because Thomas Keller I surely am not. First of all, instead of using one 9-inch tart shell, I chose to use five 4.5-inch tart shells. After contemplating this decision, I do as I am told by the recipe; butter/flour tart shells, preheat oven, make dough/chill dough. Once this group of steps is complete, I am ready to press the dough into my tart shells and get making the sabayon. I chill the tart shells for a few minutes before baking, and then I place them in the oven, for intervals of five minutes. Meanwhile, I make the sabayon, which was a first for me, but to my surprise was exceedingly easy. The sabayon came together perfectly, the tarts transformed into a savory golden brown, and all was going well. I finish my sabayon, ladle it into the tart shells, and prepare my oven for broiling the top of the tarts. Once the broiler is ready, I place my tarts in the oven and watch carefully. The instruction said to watch them like a hawk because they will burn very quickly. This is a very true statement, so if you attempt this recipe, do not neglect this step. I take them out, and they all look beautiful.
5:00pm: After finishing up with my daily activities, I thought that it was a perfect time to begin making the cream. I hate running the stand mixture while company is sitting and trying to talk so I made it well ahead of time. As my mother prepared other dishes, I set up the mixture and got out my ingredient. Whipped cream, is strangely enough, one of my most favorite things to "whip" up. I pour in the cream, add the mascarpone, drizzle in the honey, and whip. Within moments, I have unctuously fluffy whipped cream. I taste, and decide to embellish on the honey by adding more, because I did not feel as if the flavor was present enough. A tablespoon of honey later, I am much happier.
8:30pm: It is dessert time, and I begin my preparation. I place the delicate tarts on pristine white plates and serve the cream on a dessert spoon with the plate. The remaining whipped cream is put in a dish on the table. I prepare to take them to the table...*crosses fingers*.
Much to my feeling of uneasiness, as to how the outcome of this dessert would fair with my guests, it turns out that it was a huge hit! Everyone loved it, including me, and I recommend it for any occasion at any time of year. The sabayon had the taste of lemon bars, which accompanied the savory of the pine nut crust beautifully. The whipped cream, what can I say, is it ever bad? In addition to the deliciousness of this dessert, it was surprisingly easy. I was intimidated by my French Laundry Cookbook, but after making this I feel as if I could attempt anything out of it. This was a great success and I will surely make it again! Happy New Year!
great story, I will try these soon.
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