Fall Fig and Plum Pecan Tarte

Inspired by the imminent shift in weather patterns and arrival of a multitude of colorful leaves falling to the ground, I found myself last week at my local farmer's market. The produce was absolutely mind-boggling. I haven't seen beautiful fruits and vegetables like that since I lived in the bay area. Yes, I'm talking produce. When you live north of the 40th parallel and from late November until March all you can find to cook with are crunchy tomatoes and wilted lettuce, you get excited at this time of the year when the bounty of the local harvest is upon you and your mouth starts to water with the anticipation of what could be created with it.

I perused all of the stalls checking quality and prices and graciously sampling the baby carrots that each vendor has carefully set out, giving a complimentary nod to each vendor after sampling their wares. After making my decision on what to buy and purchasing most of my vegetables from one stall, (happy face painted child is loosing patience) I decide to make my way across the market to check out where I saw figs last week.

Not the yellow/green hard figs, or the pale brown soggy dried ones that sit in the pantry, but plump, beautiful and exotic looking California Black Mission figs. I picked a basket that looked good and then grabbed some small prune plumbs, or baby plums as my 2 year old likes to call them. I made my way home, not quite sure what I was going to create out of these beauties, just knowing that I had to have them.

I got home and originally thought to serve them stuffed with goat cheese and pecans. We had no one planning to come over and I knew that after 2 or 3 of these we would all have had our fill. So instead I decided to make a tart. I pulled out my elegant but dusty tart pan, the kind with the removable bottom. I had just been at Costco the day before and had invested in a large bag of pecan halves. My justification being that they can be used for so many things, coating for chicken, addition to granola, topping for whipped sweet potatoes, hello dolly bars (I will write about the glory that is hello dolly bars another time), and a plethora of upcoming holiday baking.

So into the cuisinart went the pecans, flour, sugar, salt and butter to make a hearty tart shell. Baked and cooled, I arranged the figs, sliced width-wise, and the plums, sliced lengthwise. I topped this with a concoction (read: no recipe here) of plum jelly, sugar, cinnamon and water, which I had boiled and reduced to a sticky mess. Threw this all in the oven for about 30 minutes until the fruit was soft and the topping was bubly.

With the tart cooled after a few hours, I removed the pan. Those fluted tart pans can make anything look elegant. I served this tart with whipped cream on the side. The depth of the flavors in the crust with the pecans and the rich, dark figs and plums with a hint of cinnamon made for an amazing combination. It embodied the flavor of fall in a single bite. The touch of whipped cream on top seemed to remind me that before long those deep rich colors of fall will soon be covered in a blanket of snow and I will be back to trying to creatively use crunchy tomatoes and wilted lettuce in my cooking endeavors.

Steak Frites -- Red Wine

On a lazy Thursday afternoon, this housewife decides to make a classic -- Steak frites. Complete with mayonnaise and paprika. Never tried mayonnaise with your French fries? You can thank the Dutch for this one. Infact, the Dutch, in all of their infinite wisdom and stubborness, decided that aoli, or mayonnaise, tastes great with French fries. They liked it so much that they create "Frites War" or War French Fries. These are topped off with all that Heinz 57 purists would shudder at: mayo, gravy, mustard and whatever they can find within reach to put on their fresh cut wedges. Perfect with their Heineken.

Back to Steak Frites.

Perfectly cooked. AAA grade beef started on high and then finished long on low on the bar-b-que. Charred on one side, medium-rare in the middle. Beef never tasted so good. Some pistacio, basil, garlic butter melted overtop just perfects the combination.

There's an aphid on my screen and a naked child dancing in the distance. The perils of writing a blog outside while the children are still awake...