Thursday, June 13, 2013

Martha Stewarts Pate Brisee/my mom's quetsches Kueche (plum)

The first cookbook I ever bought was Martha Stewarts first entertaining book. I devoured that book from the front cover to the back until it finally fell apart on me. I wanted to be Martha! Her recipes always turned out for me and I loved that she had the organization skills, the consistency and the focus to cook the way she did for others. (the other crust I love is my dear sis in law's... I have decided to just enjoy her pies as I could never copy them or give her crust and pie justice.

I highly recommend her recipes to others especially her pate brisee.  Years ago when my book fell apart I took my favorite pages out of that book and the pie crust recipe has been a staple in my binder of favorite recipes.  

Martha's Pie crust: 


my note: I do use a food processor (I put the blade, flour, and butter in the freezer 15 minutes before using) also I use 1 teaspoon of sugar as she does in the video but is not on her written recipe. 
 Plum tarte recipe: I had only 8 plums of two colors and I realized they may go to waste if not used in the next couple days, so I made Pie!!!

 Martha's Pate brisee I make the crust, split in half and chill in plastic wrap for 1/2 an hour, I roll the pastry between 2 pieces of parchment paper (with a bit of flour on the paper and lightly shake off before using. Then I lay the dough on the pie pan ) or you can roll the dough on the counter that is lightly floured. When rolling out the dough only roll in one direction and do a quarter turn - this way you get a nice circle. Place the dough in the tin and gently fit and cut about 1/2" to 3/4" away from rim. I fold the crust under and gently press it into the fluting of the tarte pan. Place in refrigerator another 15 minutes or until you have your filling ready. Before filling take a fork and make a couple fork marks on the bottom of the tarte

My mother's, grandmothers way of making a tart.

Put oven to 350 degrees
have rack in oven at the center of the oven

-cut your plums (I had 8)  into wedges (I then lay them on a paper towel as plums release a lot of juice) then put in bowl (toss pits)
-sprinkle 3 Tablespoons of sugar over the plums depending on your sweetness level (our family likes the fruit more than the sugary type. )
-fill pie crust (no you will not be precooking it) place the plums as you wish... I like the layered look - I take the wedges and place them slight upward (as a crescent moon).
-top lightly with cold butter pieces - about 1 - 1-1/2 Tablespoons of butter
-cook tart for 30 minutes and test for doneness of the plums.
-the dough still will look undercooked.
-take 1 egg and scramble it well with 1 T of sugar (or how you like it - take a little spoon and taste a bit of the sauce of the plums to see) and using a brush - paint the top and crust with the egg sugar mixture.
- bake for another 15 minutes or until the crust looks golden (today my pie took an extra 15 minutes... don't know why but it did).
- let sit on counter or rack for about 15 minutes before undoing it or just leave it be.

 This is a 6" tarte pan as I only had 8 small plums of different colors.



What I do with too soft of plums or peaches - too soft for pie...I add it to applesauce: I cook some apples with some sugar and a couple tablespoons of water  and a tablespoon or more Lemon juice* (use fresh) (depending on how much fruit you are using) and toss in the pulp (not the skins or pits) of a couple plums or peaches or both.  Cook on low, stirring every so often and break apart the fruit as it gets soft with a wooden spoon.  Cook until you like the consistency  - I like my recipe soft but with still a few pieces of apple in it. 

*to get more juice I like to roll the lemon with the palm of my end with a a bit of pressure (before cutting the lemon).

I had 2 pints of blue berries I needed to use up.. this tarte followed the same process as the plums  except I add less than 1/4 cup of  flour to coat the blueberries that have been sprinkled with about 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and 1 pinch of salt, 1/4 cup sugar. 

After a 1/2 hour of cooking (350 Deg) paint visible crust with whisked egg was (only egg no water) Cook another 15 minutes or until crust is golden 


Martha blue berry pie http://www.marthastewart.com/283656/blueberry-pie is different as I cook mine the way my mother did: simple with no frills.

Martha's simple delicious Blueberry tarte http://www.marthastewart.com/341017/blueberry-tart?czone=h&center=276964&gallery=274768&slide=341017

I brought both pies to my dear mom and she said it was just like hers and my grandmother's! The highest compliment!

A great website about for Americans going to Alsace

 from Suzele: Get Alsaced: http://www.getalsaced.com

 Kiechle or Kierla in Alsatian 
by: Suzele

 Kiechle and Kierla seem to be Alsatian words for "galette" in French. The word "galette" can translate to "crepe" or "pancake" or even sometimes "cake" in English.

So a fleisch kierla is a meat galette or meat patty in English. Quetsche (pronouced kvatchka) is the Alsatian word for a purple plum.- "kueche" is Alsatian for "cake."

Alsatian isn't a written language, so there are many many variations in the spelling and pronunciation of almost every word.
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