A Delicious Onion Tart

I like to go to the local library and check out scores of cook books. I keep them on my nightstand and I peruse them before bed, noting the recipes I'd like to try. I've been doing this for years. I'm starting to feel like our library is running out of cook books for me. Anyway, this last trip I flipped through some random book and stumbled upon this photo:

Intrigued, I glanced at the recipe to discover that it was an onion tart. Such unusual recipes are right up my alley so I marched right over and checked out the book. (If you're interested, it's Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone.) The recipe calls for Taleggio cheese, of which I had none, so I substituted French Brie as it seemed similar. Mr X and I were both rather skeptical of the recipe, fearing that it could potentially end up being a disaster, but it turned out okay and so we dug in - and discovered that it was fantastic! We both loved it and I plan to make it again whenever we have brie or the like on hand. If you're interested, here's the recipe:

Onion Tarts with Taleggio Cheese

Makes 4 servings.

8 tablespoons (120 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 tablespoons (180 mL) sugar
1 very large onion, peeled
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup (125 mL) balsamic vinegar
4 ounces (100 g) Taleggio cheese, cut into 4 pieces

Spread 2 tablespoons of the butter over the bottom of each of 4 small heavy ovenproof saute pans. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the sugar over the butter in each small pan. Cut the onion crosswise into four 1-inch-thick slices, keeping the rings intact. Place 1 onion slice atop the sugar and butter in each small pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the pastry. Unfold the puff pastry sheet and roll it on a lightly floured surface to form a 12-inch square. Cut out for 5-inch rounds from the puff pastry sheet. Drape 1 round over each onion slice and tuck the edges down to cover the onion. Pierce the tops of the pastry rounds with a sharp knife and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F (180 C). Simmer the balsamic vinegar in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes or until it is reduced by half and coats the back of a spoon. Set it aside to cool. The balsamic reduction will continue to thicken and become syrupy as it cools.

Place the saute pans over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes or until the sugar melts and forms a very pale golden caramel sauce around the tart. Transfer the pans to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown and the sauce has darkened.
Let the tarts stand for 2 minutes or until the sauce stops bubbling. Swirl the tarts gently to help loosen the onions from the bottom of the pans. Invert each tart onto a plate, using a metal spatula if necessary. Immediately place 1 slice of cheese atop each tart. Drizzle the balsamic reduction around the tarts and serve.

My Latest Experiment in the Kitchen

About once every month or so I attend a group get together with a bunch of ladies who like to cook. Each time a different person hosts and selects the theme of their choice. Last week the host selected a very fall-appropriate theme of pumpkin. Anything we wanted made out of pumpkin. So I decided to attempt to make pumpkin truffles. I did two different kinds. One was a pumpkin ganache-type center coated with milk chocolate and dipped in crushed graham crackers. The other was a dark chocolate and pumpkin ganache center coated in dark chocolate. The dark ones were then either left plain or dipped in cocoa powder.

Mr X isn't a fan of pumpkin or winter squash in general but he humored me by agreeing to taste these anyhow. We both thought he would hate them, but he actually said they were good. Not overly pumpkin flavored and rather quite pleasant. I liked them, but that's not really a surprise. They were so rich, however, that after trying one of each I didn't feel particularly good. Below are the results, if you're interested. And yes, I'm aware they are all a bit wonky shaped. I know I need to work on my presentation.

Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Dark Chocolate covered Dark Chocolate-Pumpkin Truffles

Dark Chocolate covered Dark Chocolate-Pumpkin Truffles - some I kept naked and some I covered in cocoa powder.

Friendly Visitor

Mr X and I had to "winterize" a couple of weeks ago, before the snow storm. In doing so, we decided to strategically put all of our plants on our downstairs patio within easy reach of any hungry passers-by. The plants will die anyway in the cold so why not make a meal out of them for somebody first? Mr X was down in his office when he looked up and saw this brave little guy enjoying our offerings so he snapped a few photos with his phone.

I Swear These Are The Last Ones

I know you're probably sick of all of my peeping pictures but, I can't help myself. Besides, these are the last ones I took this season/year. After this you'll have an 11 month reprieve from fall photos.

Next Year's Swimming Hole

Mr X and I needed to get out of the car and stretch our legs a bit after being in the car for a few hours so part way down from the pass, heading toward Aspen, we found this great little river which we scrambled about for a bit. Mr X thought that it had fantastic swimming holes and he said that if it had been warmer he would have jumped in despite the fact that the water would have still been freezing cold. Next summer we intend to go camping not far from here so maybe he can go for a swim then. And sure, I'll go with him, why not.

Our First Snowfall of the Season

Mr X and I awoke this morning to our first snowfall of the season. Snow wasn't in the forecast until this Saturday so it was a lovely surprise. This will all melt, of course, because the high today is going to be around 46. Tomorrow night we're supposed to have a low of 17 degrees. Sometimes I think that if you blink here you might miss fall, it's so short-lived. But I also love the snow and I'm looking forward to more of it. The ski resorts started making snow this week. I guess most of them are hoping to be opening within a month. I can't wait!

(The photos were taken using my phone since our camera is out being cleaned.)

Mt. Elbert & Scenery

Last weekend Mr X and I decided to get in the car and drive ALL DAY around the state in order to take in the scenery, snapping photos along the way. In the end it made for a really long but beautiful day. We caught the last burst of fall colors (as much of the leaves have fallen by now) as well as the emergence of winter. There were so many pictures that I decided to break them up into several posts. So this is the first of 4 or 5 post with pictures from this trip. It's just as well because we dropped our camera off to be cleaned because it was dirty and as a result the focus was misbehaving. At least I hope that's the only reason the focus has been disagreeable. But anyway, it's going to be in the shop for a couple of weeks we we're without a decent camera for a bit.

This is the road from Copper Mountain heading towards Leadville.

This is Mt. Elbert.

After passing Leadville and Mt. Elbert we turned west, heading toward the pass between Leadville and Aspen. This is the beginning of that route.

This is the view looking east. We were nearly to the top of the pass.

The next three photos were taken from the top of the pass.

The view to the west.

The view to the South.

Another Typical Day in the Neighborhood

I know I've posted photos of the wildlife in our neighborhood before but I can help posting more because even a year and a half after our move here, it still impresses me.