break

So I really enjoy these breaks. I realize this affection for time off from school glaringly marks the fact that I still go to school, but all the same, I love breaks. I do not even need to do anything fabulous or extravagant with this time off, I just appreciate that there exists time entirely protected from even the thought of studying, built into my every year. Ahh, to be young and responsibility free.

Confession: I have been watching a lot of Sex and the City. I was previously unaware that I even liked this show, but hey, breaks can open your eyes to all sorts of new ways to indulge. I stand to learn a few things from these women, like: we should lunch more, you know, get together for mid-day cocktails wearing our finest fashions; we should talk about our daily lives with each other more (one area I am really bad at….by choice); we should have those “go-to” people, with whom we feel comfortable and honest; we should just spend more time with friends in general.

My new year’s resolution follows such a trajectory, although please let me assure you it was not entirely born out of my new Sex and the City obsession. If I tell you what it is, maybe that will commit me to following it for longer than just these “break” days….ready….here goes: to spend more time with friends, doing nothing. Oh, not the revolutionary resolution you were expecting?

You see, quality time challenges me. I want to plan that fun thing we will do together to circumnavigate us sitting around instead (in case you do not see that as relaxing/fun/memorable). I could improve greatly in the act of just popping in for a minute, to see how your life goes, to hear how your day went. I want to feel comfortable just being. Just sitting. Just walking alongside you in your very own life. 2013 could teach me that friendships build on those moments of real unplanned, unorganized life. We shall see.

Happy New Year’s y’all. I would so love to hear some of your resolutions….

…except if they entail any sort of new diet fads. In fact, here is a fabulous dessert recipe to deter you from making any such bad decisions.

Caramel-Almond Custard Tart with Shortbread Crust

Shortbread Crust

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoons salt

10 tablespoons very cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times until combined. Scatter the pieces of butter on top and pulse until the cutter is cut in coarsely (some pieces will still be the size of peas, and that is fine). Add in the egg yolk and process in long pulses—about 10 seconds each—until the dough starts to come together in clumps and the dry ingredients are incorporated in. Dump the dough into  a greased/Pam’d 9 inch tart pan and press it to fit (evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the pan).

Center a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Press a greased/Pam’d piece of foil snugly against your crust and put pie weights on top (or dried beans or uncooked pasta if you don’t have pie weights). Bake for 25 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes. Allow to cool while you start on the custard.

Caramel Almond Custard

¾ cups sugar, divided

2 tablespoons water

2/3 cups heavy cream, room temp

2 large eggs

pinch of salt

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk

3 ½ ounces sliced almonds (about 1 cup), lightly toasted

Center a rack in the oven and turn down your already preheated oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place your semi-cooked shortbread crust on top.

To make the caramel, put ¼ cup of the sugar and the water in a medium sauce-pan and bring to a boil. If the sugar is coloring unevenly, swirl the mixture gently to even it out (otherwise, don’t touch it!). Watch this process very closely, and as soon as the sugar starts to bubble and turn a deep amber color, remove it from the heat and pour in the cream. Allow this mixture to meld together and feel free to coax it a little with an occasional stir with your wooden spoon.

In a mixer, whisk the eggs until they are foamy, then beat in the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the salt and whisk for another minute. Stir in the milk and then the caramel cream.

Scatter the toasted almonds over the bottom of the tart shell, then pour in the custard. Carefully slide the baking sheet into the oven and immediately reduce the temp to 300 degrees. Bake the tart for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is uniformly puffed (make sure the center is set). Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and let cool to room temp still in the pan.

Chocolate ganache

because everything should be coated in dark rich chocolate

1 cup fine quality dark chocolate (65-70%)

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Melt these two together and pour on top of the caramel custard (after it is baked). Spread with a knife, allow to cool for 30ish minutes before serving. Remove the sides of the tart pan and slice once the ganache is set.

Share. With those friends worth spending time with.