Thursday, October 18, 2007

to puff or not to puff

I came across this great blog. I am not even sure anymore how I found it, but I really like it.

I found this recipe on there and thought that it sounded really good. Keep in mind that I have never made a tart before. In a pan or a free standing one. I am always up for new things, especially when they have to do with food. So, at my weekly grocery trip I gathered the ingredients that I didn't already have and headed for home.

Later that night as I am gathering my ingredients, I am beginning to realize that the dough I got is not really looking like it is gonna do a whole lot of puffing. Huh. I keep going, getting everything out. You notice how the first part of the recipe says to roll out the dough to like 1/8"...my dough is not looking like it is gonna be up for a whole lotta rolling. Huh. So, I say to myself(actually out loud, I do that sometimes) This phyllo dough must not be the same as puff pastry dough. Hence the word PUFF. The little tarts on the front look kinda tarty. I mean, I am making a tart.

Well, I am already into it now, so I must make do. I have already packed my tart pan, so this puppy is gonna be a free stander. I kinda overlap the phyllo sheets and then put all the ingredients in the middle. Then I sorta bring the edges in on themselves and put some egg wash on them to help them stay put as well as to make them brown better.

The verdict? Okay. I would, of course, use puff pastry next time. But also, I would not add the lemon zest. It was way to tangy for us. Or I just had an over ripe lemon. I would use more slices of squash because that is where the sweetness comes in. Although, I am thinking by her descriptive that my tart is much larger than the one she made, so maybe when using the puff pastry it ends up being smaller? Oh, and the recipe says to slice the squash into thin slices...good luck with that. Do you know how hard it is to slice an uncooked squash, much less slice it thinly? Not so much. And the onions, yeah...many more of them, too!



So, in the end...it was tasty, but I have some wiggle room on this one. I will switch up some things next time and see how it goes. Make sure you try it. And let me know how it turns out for you!

4 comments:

Mrs. Gregorton said...

That looks delicious! Thanks for the link to 101 cookbooks. I could surf there for an afternoon and never get to the grocery store...
A similar and quick recipe for filo dough that a friend taught me is to mix frozen spinach, some egg (1 or 2), ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, feta, etc. (whatever sounds good) and put it all in a pie dish using filo dough as the crust. Brush some olive oil between the filo layers. Good, quick, hearty.

Henny Penny said...

I've done that before, use phyllo dough instead of puff pastry. It makes a difference.

Anonymous said...

You know I always love your recipes, I will try this out in a few weeks (when my current menu ends) and let you know what I think.

Anonymous said...

I've made that same mistake myself....thinking I'm buying puff pastry when I pick up phyllo dough. I actually hate that phyllo stuff (and now have a ton of it in the freezer, because of course it had to ber on sale!!;)I don't think I'm coordinated enough to work with the stuff!!