The holiday season is officially over. The last of my lingering gifts have been exchanged with friends who were away during Christmas and the final remains of my tree have been boxed up and shoved into our storage unit.  I now get to spend the rest of the year enjoying the newest additions to my collection of things.

Specifically, each year Mike has been adding to my collection of baking things.  Some notable additions include a pipping bag stand [an apparatus that I never knew existed], oven mitts [essentials] and a collection of decorating pipping bag tips.  This year, he gifted me a tart making set- a gift that I didn’t know I needed.

2015 shall be the year of the tart- cheese tarts, fruit tarts, chocolate tarts, meat tarts, custard tarts…the possibilities are endless!

Upon opening this gift, Mike excitedly told me that he saw it at William Sonoma and thought it was the coolest thing.  He said it made tart making look so simple; it would be as easy as rolling out the dough + cutting out the shape + and pestle-ing into place.  I was skeptical at 1st and then I tried my hand at my first batch.   He was right, it was pretty easy…once I got the hang of it.

I decided to start my tart adventure this Sunday with the savoury sort.  Inspired by our Christmas dinner and by a need to use up our left over ingredients from that dinner, I made up a Mexican tart recipe.

…tart pastry…
[ recipe from the back of the box ]
makes about 24 mini tarts

2 1/2c all-purpose flour
2tbs sugar
2tsp salt
16tbs cold unsalted butter
6-8tbs ice water

combine flour + sugar + salt in a food processor or a mixer with a whisk attachment | pulse to combine
add butter | pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal
add 6tbs ice water | pulse twice [dough should hold together when squeezed but not sticky]
if crumbly, add more water 1tbs at a time | pulse twice after each additions

turn dough out on work surface | divide in 1/2 and shape each into a disk
wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for @ least 2hrs up to 2 days

preheat oven to 350ºF

the following directions are specific to this tart kit…
remove dough from fridge | let stand for 5mins
lightly flour work surface | roll out dough to 3/16″ thick | cut out shell with cutter
continue to re roll scraps | if the dough becomes too soft refrigerate for 15-20mins
centre cutout over the cups of baking pan | with the tamper gently + firmly press the cutout into the well until the sides com just above the pan.
fill each with about 2tsp of filling [filling recipe to follow]

bake tarts for 12mins then rotate pan 180º | continue to bake until crust is golden brown [about 10mins more]
remove tarts fr pan + transfer to wire rack | let cool for 10mins
repeat for the remaining cutouts + filling

…chorizo filling…
1tbs olive oil
2 chorizo sausages | casings removed
1-2 gloves of garlic | minced
2 shallots or 1 onion
3 eggs
1c cream
3/4c grated oaxaca cheese about
salt + pepper to season
cilantro for garnish
1c la vaquita crema

add olive oil to a pan over med heat | cook chorizo ensuring to crumble the the link in the pan
add garlic + onion
when cooked, remove fr stove and let cool

in a bowl whisk eggs | add cream + pinch of salt + pepper | whisk to combine
add chorizo mix to the egg mix

spoon about 2tsp of the mix into each tart shell | top with grated cheese
bake as per directions above
season with salt + pepper

to garnish pipe a puff of crema atop each + garnish with a leaf of cilantro

Not bad for my 1st batch!

 In addition to the holiday season coming to an end, so too did the Dallas Cowboys’ football season.  This past Sunday was, perhaps, the saddest of all FBS’s of the year; obviously not for me but certainly for mike.

Sunday started with an optimistic Mike.  He woke up, put on his, likely unwashed [for carried over luck from last week’s FBS], Dallas jersey + met Kial for ramen.  He arrived back home amped for the Green Bay-Dallas game and began dinner prep on his continued “all things Dallas” theme.

…sunday dinner…
brisket sandwich
-fresh baked rolls
-slow cooked brisket
-pickled shallot + apple mix
-ancho chilli bbq sauce

served with a warm bacon kale salad

Dinner was delicious but it wasn’t enough to save Dallas from the series of unfortunate events toward the end of the game.  The Dez Bryant catch for the tie that was reversed was a disappointingly controversial way to end a season -obviously not for me, but certainly for Mike.  Mike’s sweaty panicked brow and high pitched Dallas cheers are done for FBS14.  I may not be a football buff, however, from what I could tell it was definitely a better Cowboys season this year than last.

Christmas is over
The Cowboys are over
My Dallas themed dinners are over

Job well done Dallas; until next year!