Every summer
when I visit Savannah,
my first
stop in the city is Gryphon.
Gryphon
is an ultra-hip tea room
located
in the heart of Savannah,
on a
historic corner overlooking
Madison Square.
In its
intimate book-filled interior,
I feel
perfectly at home and oh, sooo happy!
I always
order the tea service complete
with a
variety of mini sandwiches,
scones,
tarts and fruit.
These two
make-at-home recipes
remind me
of my favorite days in Savannah
and noshing at the Gryphon
Tea Room.
Very Berry Cream Tartlets
Crust:
¾ c. (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
3 tbsp.
granulated sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 large
egg yolk
1 1/3 c.
all-purpose flour
Pastry
Cream:
6 large
egg yolks
¾ c. granulated sugar
6 tbsp.
cake flour (not self-rising)
¼ tsp. salt
2 ¼ c. whole milk
1
vanilla bean, split
½ tsp. almond extract
½ c.
sliced almonds, toasted
Topping:
blueberries
blackberries
raspberries
small
mint leaves
edible
chamomile flowers
confectioners
sugar
Directions
Make Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 6 (4 ½ -inch-wide)
mini tartlet pans with removable bottoms.
In medium bowl with mixer on high speed, beat butter,
granulated sugar and salt until smooth and creamy. Beat in egg yolk, then flour
until just combined. If dough is too soft to handle, wrap in plastic and
refrigerate 5 to 10 minutes.
Divide dough into 6 equal mounds. With lightly floured
hands, press into bottoms and up sides of prepared tartlet pans in even layer;
place pans on cookie sheet.
Cover each tartlet with small sheet parchment; add
enough dried beans or pie weights to fill bottoms. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or
until golden. Remove parchment and weights; bake another 5 to 8 minutes or
until golden brown. Cool tartlet shells completely on wire rack.
Make Pastry Cream: Meanwhile, in large bowl, whisk egg
yolks, granulated sugar, cake flour and salt until smooth.
In 3-quart saucepan, heat milk on medium-high until
steaming and bubbles form around edge; remove from heat. To egg mixture, add
splash of hot milk until smooth, whisking. Continue slowly adding and whisking
in hot milk until half of milk is incorporated. Whisk in remaining hot milk
until mixture is smooth. Return egg mixture to saucepan. Cook on medium 5 to 7
minutes or until very thick and bubbling, whisking constantly. Remove from
heat.
Scrape seeds from vanilla and whisk into pastry cream,
along with almond extract. Using med-mesh sieve, strain pastry cream into
medium bowl, pushing through with rubber spatula. Discard any solids. Cover
cream with plastic, pressing against surface.
Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
Divide almonds among bottoms of tartlet shells. Spread
or pipe chilled pastry cream into tartlet shells. Top one-third of surface of
tartlets with berries, mint and flowers. Dust lightly with confectioners’
sugar.
Minty Pea and Pecorino Finger Sandwiches
8 oz.
frozen (thawed) or fresh (cooked) peas
1/2 c.
grated Pecorino cheese
3 tbsp.
Greek yogurt
1/2
tsp. salt
1/2
tsp. pepper
2 tbsp.
finely chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp.
snipped chives
White
bread
In food processor, pulse peas, pecorino cheese, Greek
yogurt, salt and pepper until mostly smooth, scraping bowl occasionally. Fold
in fresh mint and snipped chives.
Serve sandwiched on soft white bread. Cut off crusts
and cut into squares or, with 2-inch round cutter, cut into circles.
Good Housekeeping magazine suggests
serving these with pimiento cheese and
crab, mango and cucumber sandwiches for
a lovely variety that looks
as good as it tastes.
ciao! fabiana
photo & recipe credit:
Good Housekeeping
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