Figgy Flop-Tart

You wouldn't know it from looking at the (pretty luscious) photos, but this fig & plum tart was a complete and utter failure. So much so that Suzanne and I could barely get through a slice apiece, even in the name of research.

Carolyn's Top-Secret Magic Pie Crust Technique: Part 3

Today: The thrilling conclusion of this weekend's pie trilogy!
If you haven't already, you'll want to peruse Part 1, which outlines dough-making, then Part 2, which shows rolling out and shaping. Today we see pictures of the results, after Carolyn put the crust to work in the form of a savory Red and Yellow Pepper Tart.

Carolyn's Top-Secret Magic Pie Crust Technique: Part 2

Welcome back to our instructional extravaganza, in which guest piemaker Carolyn Walters shows us her pie-making magic. You may want to check out yesterday's post if you haven't already-- we're beginning today's session with yesterday's refrigerated dough.

First, let's pull yesterday's dough out of the refrigerator so that it can warm up just a little (if it's too cold it'll crack instead of rolling out properly; if it's too warm it'll fall apart-- so we want to just warm it up enough to be handled). You can actually warm it a bit with your hands, being sure to rotate it and pay attention to the edges, until it's just soft enough to be malleable all over.

Plum Kuchen Tart

I still haven't decided for sure if tarts count towards my pie-a-week project, but since Suzanne was returning from a week away, and the plum tree in our backyard is nearing a complete ripeness explosion, I decided to surprise her with a plum pie, and the recipe that seemed most like what I was looking for was a tart. A Kuchen tart, to be precise. More below: