Tarts by Tarts Starts!

This past Satuday, after baking all day Friday, 2 hours of sleep, and getting up at 4am to fry doughnuts, my friend Kari and I took to D.C.'s Crafty Bastards Food Market for the debut of Tarts by Tarts! We set up our stand with ticking and tablecloth, a pennant flag, homemade stamped business cards, baskets, wooden library boxes and Kari's genius "doughnut suitcase"; despite the dreary day, I must say that it looked pretty cute.

We opened for business at 10am and had a steady stream of customers, many of them after our hot mulled cider with a doughnut hole-on-a-stir-stick (it was cold) and our other breakfast-y treats. By 11am business had really picked up, and we were slammed for 2 hours straight, with a constant line of friendly folks who had lots of nice things to say about our goods.

 

Here's what we offered:  

Tarts by Tarts at Crafty Bastards  
Hot mulled cider with a doughnut hole 
Dulce de leche filled yeast doughnuts 
Apple cider donuts 
Glazed buttermilk cake donuts (vanilla and chocolate) 
Pumpkin whoopie pies with maple cream cheese filling 
Molasses gingerbread (slices) 
Double chocolate rads (cookies) 
Vegan iced oatmeal cookies 
Savory apple tart with carmelized onions, gruyere and sage (recipe to be posted soon!) 
Plum hazelnut tartlets 
Apple tartlets with homemade apple butter 
Honey walnut tartlets

 

By 2pm we had completely sold out (though in the last fifteen minutes we had a "name your price" deal to clear our few remaining cookies and pumpkin whoopie pies. Though it would have been nice to stick around and talk to more people, we were thankful to get out a little early, as we were freezing, rain-drenched, and exhausted. All-in-all our first outing as Tarts by Tarts was quite the success! We sold out and even made a little bit of money, which exceeded our goals and was encouraging as we had no idea what to expect from Crafty Bastard's first Crafty Food Market.

 

Kari and I would like to extend a special thanks to all those friends who helped make this possible--everyone who lent a table or a tent, a thermos, or the use of a van, stopped by to say hi and buy, helped us set-up, tear down, as well as those who kept us going while baking by offering jokes,  late-night grocery-run accompaniment, and encouragement. I'd also like to thank Kari for being an awesome baking partner and sharing all her baked goods sale expertise! Looking forward to doing it again soon. Stay updated on future Tarts by Tarts adventures on our blog here: http://tartsbytarts.tumblr.com/

DC's Best Pie!

It's the peak of summer, the farmers' markets are teeming with local berries and fresh stone fruit, and NPR just launched #pie week, meaning there's an utter explosion of pies and tarts on the interwebs. Aside from our usual blogging and baking, last week Kari and I got in on the action when Nothing-in-the-House's strawberry crème tart and Tarts by Tarts were featured as the cover photo and one of DC's best pie bakers on Refinery29. They also mentioned the pie blog's lemon icebox pie and Florida grapefruit-white chocolate pie. Oh so nice! We're in great company too, with Alexandria's Buzz Bakery, Baltimore-based Dangerously Delicious Pies, and farmers' market stand Whisked also in the mix.

At the moment, Tarts by Tarts' future together is sadly uncertain, and we'll be taking a hiatus as Kari is Maine-bound for a goat cheese-making apprenticeship (I will miss my tartner so!), we'll continue to keep you updated on our current baking and future projects via the Tarts by Tarts site. In the meantime, I've been scheming plans to keep the Tarts by Tarts spirit alive in a new endeavor--a pie CSA? pop-up shop? baked goods bicycle delivery service? For more on those developments, keep your eyes glued to this space, as well as on the Nothing-in-the-House Facebook & Twitter for upcoming projects. As always, feel free to e-mail us at tartsbytarts at gmail dot com or me at nothinginthehousepie at gmail dot com if you're interested in collaborating, catering service, or placing a one-off order. We'd love to work with you, whether at a bean suppa on a Maine farm, a rooftop deck party in DC, or anywhere in between.

Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. Debut at the DC Meet Market!

After about a week of late-night baking marathons, grocery store runs and just one minor exhausted breakdown, Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. finally made its debut this past Saturday at the DC Meet Market! My lovely assistant and housemate Bobbie and I set up the stand with picnic baskets and wooden library boxes, ticking from America's milltown Lowell, MA, stamped tags and tin pie pans. Then Bobbie and our friend Diana engineered the Nothing-in-the-House banner with clothes pins, stencil letters and twine, and a borrowed stapler from the handy man neighbor at Picnic Gourmet Spreads.


But what do you care about the decor--let's get to the baked goods! Though I didn't make quite everything I had hoped (a savory tomato galette, clementine curd stuffed doughnuts, and more fried pies were also on the list), we offered a good selection of tarts and doughnuts, whoopie pies and even a vegan & gluten free cookie! Here's the menu:

Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. at the DC Meet Market, August 18th
-Berry tartlets 
-Chocolate peanut butter pretzel tartlets 
-Plum frangipane tartlets 
-Shaker lemon tartlets
-Carrot cake doughnuts with a cream cheese glaze -Glazed 'n' raised doughnuts (with blackberry, caramel & plain glazes)
-Stone fruit & bourbon fried pies
-Chocolate stout & espresso whoopie pies with salty caramel buttercream
-Vegan & gluten-free iced oatmeal cookie

It was a beautiful, mild August day with just a hint of fall in the air. The stream of customers started right off the bat with a fan who had visited the Tarts by Tarts stand at Crafty Bastards and has been looking for our baked goods since! That was a very encouraging way to kick-off the market and over the course of the day it was so wonderful to see a lot of old friends (some I had not seen in years, like Lisa & Sarah!) and meet new folks jazzed about baked goods.

Though I still have to tweak that carrot cake doughnut recipe, and forgot to sprinkle sugar on the fried pies, I was really pleased with everything else and received some great feedback and excitement about future appearances and the pie CSA.


Around lunchtime, my friend Kate arrived, daisies in tow, to help sell, and she did an amazing job, hawking whoopie pies to all the other vendors who were stuck in their stalls! She also bought us delicious Bones BBQ sammiches. Throughout the day we jammed to DJ Dianamatic's French pop tunes, and in the afternoon our friends Clear Blue Sky arrived to play a short honky-tonk set, which went just perfectly with those fried pies.

By 4:00 we were sold out--with that, some money in the pocket, and all the great folks we met, I'd call it a success! Then Bobbie, Kate and I loaded up the car and drove promptly home for a much-needed nap.

I'd like to send a special thanks to all who made this debut possible: Bobbie & Kate for their really generous time and support, Mary for the late-night butter run, Luigia for the tent, Morgan & Kenan for the tables, Marion & John and housemates for the food processor, Kari for helping to get this whole thing 'tarted with Tarts by Tarts, The DC Meet Market, the other helpful & friendly vendors, and everyone who stopped by the stand, bought something, or just took a card, put their name on the mailing list, and said hello. I'm looking forward to doing it again soon (the next DC Meet Market is September 15th!). In the meantime, stay posted on upcoming Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. events and the upcoming pie CSA here. Thank you!

Happy 2012 & 2011 State of Nothing-in-the-House Address

Happy New Year! I want to get up-to-date and share all the pies and tarts that friends and I made this holiday season, but before I do, I wanted to do a little 2011 "State of Nothing-in-the-House Address"/year end wrap up because it was a great year--perhaps the best ever-- for the pie blog, pie baking and other pie-related endeavors!

First off, this year we had the greatest number of posts yet--85! We also had the most blog hits in 2011, with 3,280 page views in November. Thanks to all those readers, new and old out there. In 2012 I'd like to aim for 100 posts, and for even more readers...and commenters! I love when people give feedback, personal connection to or historical context of a pie, etc. Keep 'em coming.

 Part of the spread at Pi(e) Day on the Piedmont 2011

In March we hosted our 2nd annual Pi(e) Day on the Piedmont, at Johnny's in Carrboro, NC. We had a spread of 24 different pies and some hand and mini pies made by our awesome Pi(e) Day baking team, raised $400 for CEFS to develop a statewide youth food council, and celebrated pie, spring, and math with about 75 attendees. I've enjoyed revisiting Ashley's video about it here-- maybe you will too.

Plans are in the works for another Pi(e) Day this year, though it will likely be in the Washington, D.C. area, as I moved up here in June. Stay tuned for more info on that as March 14th draws nigh...

Lora's and my article in online food journal Zenchilada

I was very excited to have the opportunity to do some pie-related writing in an outside publication last year. My friend Lora and I wrote this piece Pi(e) R Squared Revolution is Round, using pie as a lens to discuss our ideas of female friendship, tradition, and the domestic arts, for the awesome online food magazine Zenchilada. You can read our article here and see our featured recipes here.

I was also asked by author of Pie Contest in a Box Gina Hyams, to do an interview with her for her blog, Pie Takes the Cake. I was so honored to be asked, and excited to see it come out so well. You can read the full transcript here.

I'm looking to find more opportunities to do some off-blog pie and food writing in 2012, and would like to feature more of my own interviews with fellow bakers, pie shop owners, and authors. Check back here for one with Natalie of Bike Basket Pies coming soon in the new year.

Me at the Tarts By Tarts stand at Crafty Bastards

One of the highlights of 2011 for me in general was the launch of Tarts by Tarts-- a new baking venture with my friend, housemate, and fellow baker Miss Kari Nye of Tanglewood Baked Goods. We kicked off our collaboration at DC's Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair with great success! Even on the freezing cold Saturday, we sold out in 4 hours and got lots of great feedback from our customers. Read more about it here and on Kari's blog here. We've been scheming about our next venture, and will likely be doing made-to-order pies and tarts a.k.a. "Hearts by Tarts" for Valentine's Day. Shhh! Don't tell your sweetheart...

And lastly, this year we launched the Nothing-in-the-House Facebook and Twitter (@housepie) pages, adding 2 more ways to bring pie recipes, history, and ephemera into your life. Please follow and like us if you haven't already, and tell your friends!

On ward and upward to Nothing-in-the-House 2012, with more pie baking experiments and musings on pie history, paraphernalia, and cultural import. How bout Bedfordshire clangers? An audio piece about a visit to Pie Lab? Maybe we can even get co-founder Margaret to start contributing again? Here's to this being the best year yet--may your pies be tasty, your butter be cold, and your PEZ (Pie Enjoyment Zone) be frequently visited and full of friends.

That Tarts By Tarts Look

We are busy gearing up for our baked goods stand, Tarts by Tarts, this Saturday! Kari had a stamp made with the awesome she designed, and last night we did a lot of stamping of business and label cards...


She also made a bunting to hang across our table...



Also of note in this photo-- my double decker Amish pie carrying basket (at right), and the trompe l'oeil pie plate my friends Heather and Sara gave to me several years ago (at left). And yes, that's the original Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook next to it.

Check back here tomorrow for some Tarts by Tarts kitchen missives!

Tarts by Tarts at the DC Square Dance!

How 'bout a little pie to go with that swing? Tarts by Tarts joins in with the biggest party in town--the DC Square Dance--this Saturday evening at St. Stephen's Church (1525 Newton St. NW) in Mt. Pleasant, D.C. The dance kicks off at 8:30pm with the legendary Ithaca, NY band The Horseflies, and New Hampshire caller Nils Fredland. We'll be in the back, dishin' up Southern-inspired treats (fried pies, pecan-bourbon pie, and doughnuts are certainly on the menu) until the dance ends at 11:30pm.

Hope to see y'all there...save room for somethin' sweet for you, and save a dance for us! See the Tarts by Tarts and DC Square Dance collective Facebook invites for more information. Yeehaw!

Tarts by Tarts at Crafty Bastards!

A few weeks ago, my housemate Kari (who writes and bakes at Tanglewood Baked Goods) and I got together and submitted an application to sell baked goods at D.C.'s Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair first food fair...and we were accepted!


Our stand, Tarts by Tarts, will offer donuts, cookies, whoopie pies, pretzels, and yes, tartlets, all with a rustic, seasonal aesthetic that highlights the two B's-- butter and bourbon.

You can find more information on our tumblr here and make sure to catch us (and/or tell your local friends!) at the Crafty Bastards Arts & Craft Fair in Adams Morgan, D.C. on October 1 from 10am-5pm. Visit their site here for more information and check back here and on our tumblr for teaser images, recipes, and more...

Tarts by Tarts!

Tart of Gold--Found!

I've never really been one for Valentine's Day. I appreciate its pagan origins, and think it's always a nice thing to show and tell the people you care about that you do, indeed, care about them, but seeing all the cheap sentiment for sale in the grocery and drug store aisles makes my stomach turn more than my heart beat. What Valentine's Day has always been about for me, though, is baked goods. My mom and grandma always made the most delicious and cutest heart-shaped sugar cookies, glazed with red & pink icing--seriously the best you have ever tasted. They continued the tradition through college, where tins of these cookies with homemade valentines would arrive at my dorm room and I'd have to pawn them off on my roommates and neighbors so as not to eat them all.

So it seems right that this year, Tarts by Tarts did a special Valentine's Day event--offering up made-to-order tarts-- "hearts by tarts" if you will--and various other baked goods at the Tart of Gold Party at Treasury last Thursday.

In addition to our made-to-order tarts, we offered up various baked goods for snackin' at the party, or to take home to your sweetie. Here's the menu:

honey-hazelnut amaranth short bread cookies
maple orange sugar cookie sandwiches with vanilla & raspberry buttercream
chocolate cookies
salted vanilla-bourbon caramels in stamped muslin bags
yeasted doughnuts with chili spiced chocolate glaze
yeasted doughnuts with vanilla-bourbon glaze & toasted coconut
yeasted duce de leche-filled doughnuts
caramel nut tartlets
lemon-ginger meringue tartlets

Though I had recently made my grandma Eileen's lemon meringue pie, this time I used the lemon-ginger lemon curd recipe that we used for the ginger-lemon and bourbon orange tart. The recipe is as follows:

Lemon-Ginger Meringue Tartlets
Makes 6 tartlets

Ingredients
For crust:
Nothing-in-the house pie crust recipe or your favorite tart crust recipe

For lemon-ginger curd:
6 Tblsp. arrowroot starch (or corn starch)
2 cup + 4 Tblsp. granulated sugar
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
finely grated zest from 2 medium lemons
2 Tblsp. of freshly grated ginger
4 Tblsp. white wine
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt
6 Tblsp. of unsalted butter, cold

For meringue:

5 egg whites

6 Tblsp. sugar

Pinch cream of tartar

 
Directions
For crust:
1. Follow instructions for Nothing-in-the-House pie crust or your favorite tart crust recipe. Meanwhile, prepare your lemon curd (see instructions below).

2. Preheat oven to 400 and remove crust dough from fridge. Grease and flour 6 tartlet pans. Divide crust into six, roll out, and fit into tart shells. Place crusted tart shells into freezer for 15 minutes. 

3. Remove tart shells from freezer. Line each with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove pie weights and bake for 5-10 minutes more or until golden brown and flaky. Let cool.

For lemon-ginger curd:
1. Place the arrowroot starch, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, grated ginger, white wine, eggs, egg yolks and salt in a small saucepan.

2. Turn the stove on low heat, and with a whisk, stir contents constantly as the curd cooks and thickens. Bring the curd to about 185˚F which should take about 7 or 8 minutes.

3. Once the curd has reached the right temperature turn off the stove and remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the curd into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn the mixer to high and beat for 30 seconds to cool the curd. Then turn the speed to low and add one tablespoon of butter. Beat until it is melted and fully incorporated. Add the second tablespoon beating until it too is incorporated. Repeat with the final tablespoon.
4. Let the curd come to room temperature and pour it into a bowl or tupperware. Cover bowl and place in the freezer for at least two hours or overnight.

For meringue:
1. Once curd has been chilled sufficiently, divide curd into baked tart shells (I had some leftover curd, which was just fine with me--try it on toast, pound cake or ice cream!). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add sugar gradually and pinch of cream of tartar. Spread meringue over lemon curd in each tartlet, using the back of a spoon to create curls and peaks. Place tartlets in the oven and brown, 13-15 minutes. Let tartlets cool to room temperature and place in fridge. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

 

Cathy of Treasury called it "the best meringue tart of my life! I loved the crust too and I normally like that part the least." Thanks so much to Treasury gals Joyce, Katerina and Cathy, our friends who helped out and took audio recordings and lent us supplies, our customers who ordered tarts and bought baked goods, and to my awesome tartner Kari! We ended up getting a lot of really nice write-ups from blogs and sites**, including Refinery29, The President Wears Prada (who also graciously provided these pictures), and Panda Head--so thank you to those writers and bloggers too!

 

Hope you had a sweet Valentine's day! Look for Tarts by Tarts next at the D.C. Square Dance on March 3rd, where we'll be hawking Southern-inspired treats for all the ladies and gents. Of course, that will include pie (maybe even some fried ones too).

**UPDATE**

Our friend DVD made this adorable and hilarious audio piece about the party--a "little synapse of deliciousness for your ears". Have a listen.

Thanks to TPWP and Kari for the photos.

Sandy Spring Sand Tarts

Last year I was hired by Sandy Spring Museum and Maryland Traditions, the folklife organization for the state, to conduct an initial folklife survey in Sandy Spring, Maryland, 20 miles north of Washington, D.C. A historic Quaker and African-American community, Sandy Spring was a known stop on the Underground Railroad-- it was said to be on Harriet Tubman's route-- and the town also hosted lectures by Frederic Douglass and housed Dred Scott when he was awaiting trial. Today it is an increasingly diverse community with newer immigrant populations and families who've been there for decades.

My task in Sandy Spring was to identify traditional artists and tradition bearers and interview them, to assist the Museum in better understanding the cultural activity in the community, as well as explore ideas for future programming. Two such tradition bearers I interviewed were Beth Garretson and Louise Kriger Meganson -- both Quakers and members of the Women's Mutual Improvement Association, a local social club founded in 1857.



At The Association's monthly luncheons, members are invited to share something that interested them that month-- a poem, an article,  bird calls, horticultural advice. Like any good club, though, this one seems to really revolve around food, namely cookies, and specifically, Sandy Spring Sand Tarts. The cookies that bear the town's name spurred quite a discussion in our interview, the gist of which is perhaps best relayed in the dialogue itself:

Emily: So you said you're into cookies-- are there any recipes that get passed down or continue to pop up among the group?

Louise: Absolutely! We have Sandy Spring Tarts-- they're about 20 versions. They're the best. But there are all kinds of different sorts. You know, people will make them a certain thickness or use a certain amount of flour, or you use eggs or you don't use eggs or you put an almond on top or you don't put an almond on top.

Beth: We had everyone bring their recipe for sand tarts one month and it was amazing. The difference in them.

Louise: They were tasty!

Beth: But of course I know that I have the right recipe!

Beth went on to explain that the sand tarts are not especially unusual, but have been made by Sandy Springers for Christmas cookies for generations. That's true in a broader context too. According to Food Timeline, sand tarts are likely descendants of simple sugar cookies, with "sand tarts" appearing in cookbooks in the 1880s, though absent of attribution or narrative. They're common Christmas cookies in Denmark and Sweden, and have similar ingredients to German sand tortes. Sand tarts are also popular in domestic scientist cookbooks-- there's a version in Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cookbook, from 1886.

Personally, I like them for their buttery simplicity, and,with their diamond shapes, potential for tessellation patterns (resembling quilt squares) in their presentation. They're also an ideal tea or snack cookie-- I took a tin of them cross-country skiing last weekend and they were the perfect warm-up treat with a nip of whiskey or hot chocolate.



Sandy Spring Sand Tarts
Adapted from Beth Garrettson via the Sandy Spring Women's Association Cookbook

Makes 3-4 dozen, depending on size

Ingredients
1/4 lb. raw unsalted almonds
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, reserving one egg white for finishing
4 cups all-purpose flour
Cinnamon sugar for dusting (1 cup granulated sugar + 2 Tablespoons cinnamon)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Blanch and split the almonds by pouring boiling water over almonds to cover. Let sit until the skins can be slipped off easily. Drain, then cut almonds in half and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream butter and slowly add the sugar. Add the eggs, minus one white. Mix in the flour. Dough should be firm and not at all sticky, if it is too wet, gradually add more flour.

3. Divide the dough into 4 large balls. On a clean, floured surface, roll out each part about 1/4-inch thick and cut into diamonds. Beat the egg white with a whisk until frothy and brush cookies with egg white and generously sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

4. Place cookies on cookie sheet, fairly close together as they spread just a little. Press half almond on each one and bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned and puffed. Store in metal box-- they keep for nearly a month.

Related recipes:
Almond and Grapefruit-Ginger Marmalade Crostata
Lemon-Lavender Meringue Pie Cookies 
Pea & Corn Cookies

Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. Debuts at the DC Meet Market!

 

Almost exactly a year ago, I moved into a beautiful group house of beautiful people (aptly dubbed The Dollhouse) in Northwest DC. One of those inhabitants happened to be my lost soul-sister, fellow baker and look-alike Kari. When Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair put out a call seeking vendors for their Food Fair last October, we combined our powers (with our powers combined...) and launched the pop-up shop-style baking company Tarts by Tarts.

After that first market, where we sold out in under 4 hours, we served up our goods at Treasury Vintage, offered made-to-order tarts for Valentine's Day, collaborated with the awesome Panda Head Blog and sold Southern-inspired treats at the DC Square Dance. It was a wonderful & inspiring collaboration and we learned a lot and all the while got some wonderful press and feedback from the DC community. Last month, Kari left us for a goat cheese-making apprenticeship in Maine, putting Tarts by Tarts on hiatus, though we hope to team up again sometime soon.

In the meantime, I've decided to forge out on my own and launch the baking business side of this here blog under the name Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. Though I'll be offering more than just pies, the aesthetic will be much the same--valuing seasonal and local products with an eye on tradition and creativity. In the coming weeks, I'm hoping to launch a pie CSA, offer made-to-order baked goods, and sell at future local events.

I'll be making my debut at this Saturday's DC Meet Market, happening from 11am-5pm at 15th & P St. NW. Among the offerings will be stone fruit & bourbon fried pies, berry tarts and carrot cake doughnuts. I hope to see you DC readers there, and keep your eyes on this space for more information on future Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. projects and as always, pies!

Tart of Gold Valentine's Day Party!

We've got more where that came from! Part deux of the heart tarts in D.C. news is that Tarts by Tarts is teaming up with Treasury to bring you the Tart of Gold Valentine's Day Party! It's happening this Thursday from 5-9pm at Treasury, located at 1843 14th St. NW. We'll have treats aplenty--doughnuts and tartlets, cookies and caramels, delicious cocktails and vintage treasures! 

You can pick-up your ordered tart at the party, or order one for delivery on Sunday and we're also running a special cross promotion. When you order a tart from Tarts by Tarts, you'll receive 20% off one item at Treasury, and when you buy from Treasury, you'll receive $5 off of your tart! Now that's a pairing we can get down with.

We've had so much excitement leading up to this event-- from planning with the lovely ladies of Treasury, our doughnut & vintage styled photoshoot, to recipe selection and promotion--we hope you can be a part of it. And look! We're been written up in Refinery29 and been called a "local baking supergroup!" Love at first bite, indeed!

Me in ReadysetDC! or "Butter. Use It"

A few weeks ago I e-mailed creative lifestyle site ReadysetDC, thanking them for posting the Tarts by Tarts' Tart of Gold party and inquiring if they might do the same for our then upcoming Pi(e) Day event (a Pi(e) Day wrap-up coming soon!). I was excited and flattered when editor Jordan Culberson wrote back, asking if I might be interested in doing an interview about my blog and pie baking photo shoot to accompany their Pi(e) Day posting.

I of course agreed and then spent most of my idle moments leading up to the interview wondering what kind of pie to make--shaker lemon? pear tarte tatin? my grandma's lemon meringue?-- let alone what to wear (I almost e-mailed the Hairpin's Jane Feltes for advice on how to look cute but not too cute, tough but not too tough, and cool but not too cool).

But by the time the interview rolled around, I had finally settled on a black walnut pie with sorghum (recipe coming soon, I promise!), it was a sunny Sunday, and I had a lovely conversation in the Dollhouse kitchen with Jordan and photographer Nicole Crowder.

In addition to chats about Nothing-in-the-House and Tarts by Tarts, we talked about traditional pie recipes, the phenomenon of women's food and lifestyle blogs, baking tips, and favorite bakeries in D.C. (and realized there aren't too many. hmm.....) I only wish I had planned in advance so they could have tried some of the finished pie!

You can read our conversation expertly condensed by Jordan and view all of Nicole's beautiful pictures here. Thanks to both Nicole and Jordan for their time, interest, words & photos... the Dollhouse kitchen has never looked so good!

Hearts By Tarts!

This Valentine's Day, my baking venture, Tarts by Tarts, with my friend Kari (you'll remember our stand at Crafty Bastards in October) is serving up some special made-to-order tarts for your sweetheart in Washington, D.C.

You can pick-up your tarts at our Valentine's Day party, Tart of Gold, this Thursday, February 9th at Treasury (more on that later), or have them delivered anywhere in the District on Sunday, February 12th.

Here's a look at our offerings:

Salty Honey Pie

A savory-sweet romance pie with a crusty top and gooey insides. made with local, organic honey from Takoma Park, MD! (read more here)

Simple Apple Tart

"I wish I was an apple a-hangin’ on a tree, and every time my true love passed she’d take a little bite of me,” the old song goes. Whether it's with your true love or not, take a bite out of this classic apple tart, with sugar on top. (middle picture, and more here and here)

Raspberry Goat Cheese Tart

The kissin’ cousin to cheesecake with a goat cheese twist, topped with raspberry preserves to remind you of sweet summer love.

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Tart with Candied Pecans

Dark chocolate with a bite for that cutie who digs on sweet 'n' salty crunch as much as we do. (top picture and more here)

Honey Caramel Walnut Tart

A sticky, crunchy, chewy tart with a pinch of anise and a twist of orange, for the babes with a dash of spice in their blood.

Savory Roasted Garlic Tart

In the land of kissing, the garlic tart is king. Say what? Well, your honey is sure to come back for seconds when there's this much flavor. Made with goat cheese, herbs, and a whole heap of garlic. (bottom picture and more here)

You can place your orders online via the form here, or in person at Treasury, located at 1843 14th St. NW in D.C. from now until Friday, February 10th.  Order a tart for that sweetheart, crush, pal, or just for you!

Shaker Orange Tarts

Though it's not officially winter yet, there are sure signs that it's here. The darkness sets in by the late afternoon, I've pulled my mittens out from the bottom of my sock drawer, and the skating rinks have opened up in the city (!). Another sign of the impending season is citrus! One of my co-workers is selling boxes of Florida oranges and grapefruits as a fundraiser for a local school, and I've seen oranges on-the-"vine" with leaves still attached for sale at the grocery store.

I tried out a Shaker Clementine Pie for Christmas last year, but it needed some work--it wasn't as juicy and deliciously tart as the Shaker Lemon Pie I'd made previously (the recipe is also included in our Pie Almanac!). This summer I made little Shaker Lemon Tarts for the Nothing-in-the-House Baking Co. debut at the DC Meet Market, and liked the open-face one-crust style that shows off the brilliant citrus color. This time I combined the two, for Shaker Orange (with a bit of lemon) Tarts.

The Shakers, a religious sect known for their frugality, simplicity, and quality craftsmanship are credited with the creation of what we now call Shaker Lemon Pie. In the early 1800s, lemons were quite expensive, so out of thrift, they developed this recipe that uses the whole lemon--rind, pith, and juice (okay, but no the seeds)-- to create a delicious tart-sweet, marmalade like pie filling.

The orange version is a little less tart, a little more marmalade-like, and very pretty. Make sure you plan ahead because the citrus rinds need to macerate overnight. And be careful while cutting them!

Shaker Orange Tarts
Crust adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Filling adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 6, 4-inch tarts or 1, 9-inch tart

Ingredients
For the crust:  
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. salt  
9 Tblsp. unsalted butter, cold & cubed  
2 large egg yolks (I usually only use one, but for some reason I needed an extra this time)

For the filling:
2 thin-skinned oranges, washed
1 lemon (Meyer or regular), washed
2 c. sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated (optional)
4 large eggs

Directions
1. Wash and dry the oranges and lemon. Using a sharp chef's knife or a mandoline, slice the fruit as paper thin as you can; removing seeds. Transfer slices and juices to a large non-reactive bowl and gently stir in the sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight and up to 24 hours.

2. For the crust, combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cubed butter and pulse to incorporate until the mixture resembles cornmeal and peas. Add the egg yolks and pulse until the dough begins to form together. 

3. Using a pastry cutter or knife, Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll out the dough and pat it into your greased and floured tart pans. Freeze the tart shells for about 30 minutes while you assemble the filling. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

4. Remove the filling from the fridge and add the eggs to the mixture, whisking until well incorporated. Drain the filling through a sieve into a medium bowl, keeping both citrus slices and liquid. Divid the liquid evenly into the tart shells and top with citrus slices, arranging decoratively.

5. Place tarts on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes more until crust is golden and filling is set. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove tarts from their pans. Let cool completely and serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy with a dollop of whipped cream, if you wish!

Passion Fruit Meringue Pie at a Backyard Family Party

It's been two Saturdays in a row of backyard cookouts here at the Dollhouse. Details and desserts of this weekend's fête are on their way, but last weekend's was a multi-excuse party for my rad housemate Bobbie's family, The Doughertys, who, among parents and four sisters were celebrating a 30th wedding anniversary, 2 graduations, and a return home from the Peace Corps.

As the family of honor staked down the yellow circus tent, lit grills, and strung streamers in the backyard, Kari and I, in perhaps the last Tarts by Tarts collaboration for a while, took to the the kitchen, charged with the making of desserts. We composed a versatile menu that included that pecan layer cake, key lime pie bars, and jumbleberry pavlova by Kari and lime tarts, and a peach-pecan pie and chocolate and peanut butter pretzel tart by me (more info on those coming soon!).

I also contributed a passion fruit meringue pie, elements of which were requested by both Bobbie and her older sister Cait. Cait had just returned from the Peace Corps in Panama, where she ate a lot of passion fruit, and Bobbie is a resident of the dollhouse, where she eats a lot of meringue...so I brought the two together in a passion fruit meringue pie with a macadamia nut-gingersnap crust.

This passion fruit pie is related to lilikoi (passion fruit in Hawaiian) pie, though where classic lilikoi pie generally features an airy chiffon filling, the pie I made calls for a denser curd, topped by a marshmallowy meringue. Combined with the macadamia nut crust I used for the Florida grapefruit-white chocolate pie, this is a tropical take on a classic favorite.

 Passion Fruit Meringue Pie with a Macadamia Nut Crust

Ingredients
For crust:
7 oz. roasted macadamia nuts
3/4 c. ground gingersnap cookies
1/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For filling:
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 3/4 c. passion fruit purée or nectar
1 c. + 2 Tblsp. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
4 egg yolks (save whites for meringue)
3 Tbslp. unsalted butter cut into chunks

For meringue:

4 large egg whites, room temp. (can use whites from the yolks used for the curd)

1 c. sugar

2 Tblsp. corn syrup

1/8 tsp. salt

Directions

 For crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Finely chop nuts in food processor. Add ground gingersnap cookies, sugar, and butter and pulse until moist crumbs form. Press mixture firmly into bottom and sides of a greased and floured 9-inch pie pan. Bake crust 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool on a wire rack before adding the filling.

For filling:
1. Combine lemon juice, passion fruit purée, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until it begins to thicken. Add in egg yolks, whisking after each addition. Continue to cook until mixture coats the back of a spoon, or reads 185 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Let cool to room temperature. Once cooled, pour filling into pie crust, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 2 hours.

2. Once curd has chilled, pour into the baked and cooled crust and refrigerate until the meringue is ready.

For meringue:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside. 

2. Stir sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 c. water in a medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Insert a candy thermometer in the saucepan and increase heat to medium-high. Boil without stirring, occasionally swirling pan, until thermometer registers 238 degrees F, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Meanwhile, beat whites again briefly until soft peaks form. Slowly pour hot sugar mixture down the side of the bowl into the whites and beat until meringue is firm and has a glossy sheen.  Continue to beat until cool, about 4 minutes. Remove pie from the fridge and spoon meringue over the passion fruit curd, making sure the meringue seals the edge of the pie. Sculpt decoratively with the back of a spoon.

4. Bake until meringue is toasted, about 3-5 minutes.  Chill pie for about a half-hour before serving. Keep in the fridge until it's gone.

There was a bountiful Southern-style cookout with pulled pork and brisket, potato salad & slaw, cornbread and deviled eggs, keg beer and tequila shots (mostly enjoyed by the aunts). Then after an interlude of backyard micro-pong, puzzles, and madlibs, we warmed the pie, topped the pavlova, and paraded out the desserts, which quickly coralled everyone--pongers and shot-takers alike (as you can see in the photo below, which I believe features three Dougherty sisters, and definitely features lots of pretty gals in pretty dresses).

If you were smart, like Scott here, you took a little sliver of each, and paced yourself in the Dessert Enjoyment Zone (DEZ) so the impending sugar crash didn't keep you from a torch-lit game of Catch Phrase and a late-night jaunt out to a Mt. Pleasant dance party.