End of '09!

09 has been all about food/eating/gorging for me. i vow in '10 to be a healthier human being! however, i find it so hard to part with food. taste, texture, satisfaction .. who can resist? Kate Moss once said "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Homegirl obviously never had a bite of a Phillipe's French Dip, a Disneyland Corndog or a Sprinkles Red Velvet. Shes missing out. and im also missing out on size 24 Siwy skinny jeans, Vix bikinis and a Birkin bag, but thats besides the point. The truth is, i live to eat and not eat to live. I'm going to run into plenty of roadblocks on my way to healthy living (and by roadblocks i mean, cupcakes) so working out is going to be a key factor for me! I already locked in a workout buddy (Joyce), shoes (Reebok Easy Tones) and cute workout clothes (PINK by Victoria's Secret). 2010 is going to kick ass! Here's wishing everyone a safe & sound New Years!

Merry Christmas!!

About to feast on my first honey baked ham! Dinner at jasons fams house, yummmmmy! Merry christmas and happy eating!

Christmas yummies

Already gave one of these babies away, who's next? :)

National cupcake day!

Rudolf cupcakes!

SOOO super easy! whenever i make decorated cupcakes like these, i just use cake mix and pre made frosting. i figured you're doing extra work on the decorating so cake mix is a-ok. and they taste perfect every time!

anyways. easy. duncan hines chocolate cake mix & chocolate canned frosting.

antlers-pretzels. eyes-white m&ms & chocolate chips. nose-holiday mint m&ms (or you can use anything. cherry heads/sour balls would actually work well) mouth area - mini nilla wafers & black icing

happy holidays!

Duncan Hines part 2

Who says cupcakes in a box can't be classy? :)

lovin my new cakestand! $14.99 at Target

Duncan Hines Yellow Cupcakes

Sometimes a little Duncan Hines is all you need. I wanted to do the whole "from scratch" thing but decided against it cause I'm too lazy. BUT I did make my own frosting so its 1/2 scratch :)

Amaaayzing Chocolate Frosting

1 stick butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder (I get mine from Surfras in culver city)
1/3 cup whole milk
3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

Melt the butter on low heat (2-3 minutes).
Add cocoa powder and milk, stir to combine.
Cook until mixture thickens and just begins to boil.

Remove from heat.
Stir in confectioners sugar until frosting is thickened and smooth.

Immediately spoon on top of cooled cupcakes and it will set itself. It might drip but I think drips are cute. Let them dry on a cooling rack and slide some parchment paper under the rack in case it drips on the counter, cleanup is easy.

Excuse me while I gorge myself.

Frosting Sugar Cookies Pt. 2

Royal icing is still not my friend. i guess it's still mad at me cause the last time i visited it, it didn't go so well. (remember this?) i decided to face my fears once again and confront the dang thing ...

not so bad eh??? haha she still looks weird but i mean i think ive come a long way since the first time :) i have a lot of trouble with piping (obvi), flooding (same) and getting the air bubbles outta there. hopefully "Frosting Sugar Cookies Pt. 3" will be a success. Practice makes perfect right? :) stay tuned.

oh and just for laughs .. i wanted to show my frustration cookie. every baker should have one ;)

(i had a spaz)

Top Chef Results

AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its a Voltaggio, but not Bryan!!! ugh, SAD! i really wasn't feelin Michael all season, but i mean i guess he has a reason to be cocky now. hahaha! i really did get a bit sad .. but it is what it is. He really was the top dog in the competition and he deserves to win. Since Michael is local to me maybe we'll go out to the Langham one night and see what this Top Chef is all about. that is ... if he's still there. with $125 G's, he probably won't be for long!

Until next season ... wait! jk, until Top Chef: Just Desserts!! reaaaally cant wait for that one!! i think Carla from last season should come back and make a cameo! that woman was an amazing baker!

Top Chef Prediction

OK! here we go .. so im just about to turn on my DVR'ed Top Chef and have been avoiding twitter/facebook and any other media for the past 3 hours that would spoil the result for me. SO I CALL Bryan! i really hope he wins!

Hello Kitty Cake Pops

Sooooooooo. the other day my friend Camie (GratefulChipper) told me about Bakerella. COMPLETELY changed my life. she is SO awesome. i obviously have been living in a cave cause i havent ever heard of her and her cake pops (and her blog) have been around for years. She is just SO creative and innovative! love her!! gotta love a girl from the south and she is my new Martha. omg, i said it. i take that back. Martha can never be replaced ;)

Anyways, i just fell in love with all her stuff and of course, the Hello Kitty Cake Pops just took the cake (pun intended) for me. i just had to do them! and they were SO much fun. i changed it up from her original HK pops cause i didnt have a edible food writer pen. so i innovated and used cut up bits of licorice and random halloween sprinkles for the eyes. i think they turned out great! they all look a little different hee hee!

a little drippy ... but they look cute!

i forgot the right ones ears. oops

who should i give these to? ;)

If you want to make these, head on over to Bakerella and check out her recipe! amazing!

food musings ...

It's kinda been a not-so-great food week for me. with the exception of the chicken stew jason made on saturday and we ended up eating it all weekend. we're pretty "stewed-out" if you will ... anyways. cause of our crappy health since thanksgiving we haven't really gone out for a great meal, or cooked a fantastical feast. i blame it on the health. can't be cookin when your coughing up grossness every 3 seconds. anyways, TMI.

i got into some kind of holiday funk last night and decided to make a croquembouche. like i said i've been in sicky so Marthas show and bad TV (namely Jersey Shore, totally my new guilty pleasure) have been keeping me company. Rachel Maddow and Martha made that croquembouche and they make it look so easy :( needless to say, mine didn't turn out or else this post would have been titled "Croquembouche" Sigh. i will attempt it again in the near future ...

to cheer me up, Jason has decided to take me on a Food Truck hunt. In LA theres this craze going around with every kind of food imaginable on wheels. Korean BBQ, ice cream sandwiches, fries, pizza, indian food. everything. Since he works in Hollywood, hes sampled 75% of all the trucks and i on the other hand have sampled oh about 0%. sad days. apparently these trucks don't really come to the 'burbs (except kogi. bless your heart kogi), so im going to stalk them. after knowing of a FRENCH FRY truck, the search is ON. i think im just going to make frysmith my inaugural food truck to mark my mission. if you see me risking my life (and the lives of others) waving you down, frysmith, dont be alarmed. just pull over .. give me the goods, and no one will get hurt.

we havent even met, and i love you already ...

Umamiburger

Mmmm I just scarfed down the cutest little burger and tater tots! I was waiting for my hair appointment so I stopped by Space 15 twenty to grab a bite. Mmm soo good. The Umami burger ($9) has sun dried tomato, a mushroom (shitaake?), cheese crisp (yum), caramelized onions on a medium rare burger. Its about half the size of a normal burger so it was the perfect size for me. Also the cheesy tater tots ($3) were super yummy and crispy. A little on the salty side but some ketchup cut down the saltiness. Can't wait to try the other burgers next time!

Cheese Ball

im a seasonal eater. not seasonal in a whats-growing-in-my-garden kind of way, but definitely Starbucks red cup kind of way. i admit, i only go to Starbucks during the holidays cause i love sipping from that red cup. to me, it means the holidays. Something else that gets me into the holidays is seeing that Hickory Farms station at your local mall. CHEESE BALLS!!! see, i dont really love cheese. i get easy cheese on my pizzas, pick it out of my paninis and scrape it off my nachos. for me to get excited about CHEESE, it must mean its good stuff. Whats not to love about sharp buttery cheddar cheese rolled in smokey chopped almonds? i salivate at the sight of a Hickory Farms cheese ball. its kinda gross, but its really not. its just one of my many indulgences during the holidays!

Hickory Farms Sharp Cheese Ball with Almonds ($5.99)

Toasted Wheat Crackers ($3.49)

Ketchup Chips

My father, THE sweetest man in the whole world. He asked me what's up and I said I want a snack. He goes in the kitchen for a bit and comes out with a plate of fresh sliced potato chips and ketchup. I luuurve my father! he's pretty crazy which is probably where I get it from. it was very nice of him to feed his fat kid!

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

A great way to use up leftover halloween candy! Peanut butter anything is automatically homey to me so whenever you have friends coming over, you can't go wrong with some peanut butter and chocolate. Perfect bite size cookies with yummy melted chocolate = smiles all around!

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar, for rolling dough
30-36 mini pb cups (or hershey's kisses) unwrapped and chilled until use

1) Preheat oven to 350, cream peanut butter and butter until smooth in electric mixer. Add brown sugar, beat til combined. Add eggs and vanilla, beat til incorporated

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt. Use low speed and gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.

3) Scoop off dough by the tablespoon; roll into balls and roll into plated sugar coating completely. Place 2 inches apart on a nonstick insulated baking sheet.

4) Bake for 7 minutes, remove from oven, press chocolates in center of each cookie. Return to oven continue baking until cookies are golden brown, about 6 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to cooling rack and cool completely.


Note: I used a commercial silver baking sheet for half of the cookies and a ghetto dark metal baking sheet for the other half. Needless to say, the silver baking sheet cookies turned out better. Use the silver!

Recipe by Martha Stewart

Christmas!

Its going down this holiday season! I pick up every single Martha Stewart mag and totally super excited about this one. Especially because I'm thinking about baked goods as gifts to friends and fam this year. I'm really glad she put her gingerbread house recipe in this issue cause jasons mom made it for me last year and it was the best recipe ever. I might even have a pic of it somewhere (its a hello kitty gingerbread house, of course).

Ahh! Can't wait to cellophane and ribbon up some yummy holiday treats :) !

Palate

i love date nights. i love date nights especially when i don't have to choose the restaurant. I'm definitely the worst picker ever. i always want a little bit of this, a lot of that, dessert from this one place and omg where was that place with the awesome drink? I really should live in a food court. Jason has to deal with a lot of my spaz so he usually has a place in mind when he asks me to dinner. "What about that one place we used to pass by in Glendale? Plate? Taste?" Palate, i say and i think its funny that when we used to hole up in nearby Eagle Rock we'd drive by ALL THE TIME and never think twice to go. Now that we've moved out of the vicinity, we go back. Obviously i was intrigued, given that Palate is also a wine bar.

I was a tad too overwhelmed by the copious amount of wine that was being offered on the wine list that i freaked out and ordered a "chinese democracy cocktail" instead. Why the freak out, i dont know. just thought a lychee vodka drink would be a good starter. Jason went with his classic extra dirty vodka martini. ice cold please.

For the appetizer, you really can't go wrong with the Porkfolio, a series of smoked meats (prosciutto, salami etc.) that went exceptionally well with my now acquired Savignon Blanc. It comes with homemade crisps which were light, crunchy, airy and perfectly matched the flavorful meats.

Porkfolio

$12

(pardon the terrible photos, it was a dark place and it was embarrassing to whip out my swarovski encrusted 3d hello kittyfied blackberry of a phone. with flash nonetheless)

Moving on the the mains:

I decided early on i'd love the Black Cod with braised celery (omg, YUM), garlic confit, sweet potato (yum) in oyster mushroom vinaigrette (a little tangy on its own, but when coupled with the other elements of the dish it was a perfect bite).

$17

Jason's dish was also great. Day boat scallops with calamari, brussels sprouts, hazelnuts and guava. Hazelnuts and guava were def interesting but whatever the sauce was on that plate, it was moneeey.

$18

Too bad we had a movie to catch cause i would have loved to try their desserts here. i can imagine me and my girlfriends coming here for wine, dessert and girl talk.

Good job, palate i'll be back for more.

Menu Updated Weekly

www.palatefoodwine.com

Korean BBQ

All you can eat, fattie! Yeeaaaah boy!!

Daylight Savings Breakfast

I figured we gained an hour so I should probably put a little bit more effort in making breakfast. Tough task, given it was all hallows eve last night and didn't get out of costume and in bed til 4am.

Ugh woke up at 10 hungry hungry hungry. Dug out my good ol all-clad waffle maker, my 1/2 can of Bellegem belgium waffle mix from Williams-Somoma ($9.50), some Trader Joes Premium Vanilla Ice Cream ($3?) and a clam shell full of strawberries. Time - 15 minutes. Priceless.

I heart Trader Joes ..

I'm having a cute halloween cocktail hour this weekend so I stopped by my fave TJ's to stock up on some Prosecco, my fave festive beverage. As I was stocking up my cart I noticed a sign that said "$3.99 sweet! Tastes like soda!" (The handwritten notes that the crew members write singlehandedly are my decision makers) I figured, eh its 4 bucks. Let's try it.

Got home, chilled it, popped it open champagne style and took a sip. For some reason I was thinking omg this might be gross. But it really wasn't!! Its kinda on the sweet side (I'm telling you, those trader joes signs are spot on!) but I think its perfect for a weeknight drink. Which is precisely what I'm doing at the moment. Try to find this the next time you're shopping at trader joes!

Cheers!

Daddy's Soy Sauce Chicken Wings

Yup its for breakfast. One of my favorite chinese food dishes ever, I need to figure this recipe out STAT!

Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

My Bestie, Margarita, made sweet potato fries the other day and i've been salivating for them. I saw this recipe from this months Food Network Magazine and revamped it a little bit.

2 pounds Sweet Potatoes, sliced into wedges

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons each of brown sugar and kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl

Bake at 425 for 35 minutes or until crispy (they don't get super crispy like fried so don't get your hopes up, still yum though!)

Sprinkle with Lawry's Seasoned Salt.

<3 dland .. even if its just dtown disney

Good Night Disneyland, Trick or Treating was fun
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Aaahhhhh!!!!

More to come ...

Why am I craving soup?

So I was at the store grabbin stuff to make chicken enchiladas tonight and totally stopped at the soup section? Mm vegetable soup. Even though its 90 degrees out I wanted my soup. I'm sad I didn't have any frozen peas :( jason got me into putting extra stuff in the soup to get it extra chunky. The Campbells Veg soup is the best but it needs more salt. I gourmet-ed up a little by adding Maldon Sea Salt (given to me by jason's aunt. Thanks Dorcas!) And some fresh ground pepper. Perfect!

New cooking buys!

J and I headed to Irvine Spectrum today to do a lil shopping and escape the LA heat. I love! They have the best mix of high and low stores including my favorites: Urban Outfitters, Sur la Table and Barnes and Noble. I always find the cutest little housewares at UO. When I saw this little ice cream kitchen timer I had to have it! ($12). Also copped the Trader Joes Cookbook. I've been debating whether to get the original one or the companion for awhile now but after looking through the recipes I liked the companion ($13.95) recipes a lot better and I love that its small and I can just have it in the car and bust it out during TJ runs. Don't want to look like too much of a nerd wandering the aisles with a huge cookbook!



Last but not least! I got the Kuhn Rikon cookie and cake decorating set. I'm trying to not get into pastry bags to decorate becuase its so much of a hassle. I've seen some pros use squeeze bottles and at $24 I think this set is a valid investment! At least I won't have to buy all those bags. We'll see how it works out :)

on the go blogging!

One of my faaaave things here @CPK: Herb Onion Focaccia. Its like bruscetta without the crunchyness.

Wait! Is this true?? Could I blog from my phone? Let's see if this works ;)
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Hells Kitchen

I am SO addicted to this show. Mostly because i've grown up in a restaurant kitchen, my dad is the chef and he most certainly can have the temper of the great Gordon Ramsey. I have never seen the previous seasons, but i totally got HOOKED this season. Im always curious how dinner service only restaurants work and this show provided a bunch of insight. Honestly, i think i learned alot just by watching this show because it really deals with what kind of food you put out and if it passes the Ramsey test. Pretty much like, it looks good enough to me but is it good enough for him? and i cannot imagine any contestant leaving the show without thinking about Gordon Ramsey when they put food out. Well, maybe except Joseph. (Need a reminder? "I'm nobody's bitch!!" what a nutjob ...). Anyways. i totally relate to the show and i think it made me understand my father a lot more. Don't get me wrong, he is a complete softie but when he is in his element, in the zone, there is no room for error which is valuable asset in our business because at the end of the day it is about the food, not feelings.

From the get go i could have guessed that the finalists would have been Ariel and Kevin because they were the strongest from the beginning. Dave came in from left field for me because he broke his wrist and to me it was damn near impossible to cook in a high intensity kitchen for 8 hours a day. But, he prevailed and won the whole thing. It was really impressive! given the fact he has had a cast on for the last 10 episodes! crazy. i doubt i'll ever go to the Araxi, but it would be nice to see how Dave does in the real world. In the meantime, i will have to check out Gordon Ramsey at the London in LA. Can't wait :)

Animal

It was my dear cousins birthday last night and she opted to do a small dinner of the 4 of us and we met at a new hip, hot, YUM restaurant named ANIMAL. You know, the name is funny but it really ties into their menu. i can honestly say that its one of the few restaurants i know that integrated their name into the food they serve. They pretty much use all parts of an animal, like pig ears, chicken livers and pig tail. It may be unusual, but it really is the combination of the flavors on the dish that really hit the mark. So between to four of us, i think we ordered a good amount of food and we were literally rolling out the front door after the dessert, Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar (yep, BACON CHOCOLATE. more on that later ... )

For Appetizers we ordered :

Pig Ear, Chili, Lime & Fried Egg ($10)

i really enjoyed this dish! the combo of spicy and sour added to the crunch of the pig ear. i was a liiiitle grossed out about eating pig ear cause thats a dog treat that we give the dog, but it tastes really good!

Poutine, Ox Tail Gravy, Cheddar ($15)

Oooh, Poutine. i don't even know what a poutine is but every poutine i have from here on out will have to live up to the goodness of THIS poutine. Like my cuz says "its like high end chilli cheese fries". Oh man, the tenderness of the ox tail the flavor of the gravy, melted cheese on top of FRIES? forget about it, best thing on earth. MUST get.

Melted Petit Basque, Chorizo, Grilled Bread ($11)

This was yummers as well. Lots and lots of oozing cheese with chorizo sliced thinly like salami and with that homemade thick rustic bread catching all of the fat you cant go wrong. Perfect size for 4 people.

Pork Belly, Kimchi, Peanuts, Chili Soy, Scallion ($12)

FAT at its FINEST. a big slab of pork belly conveniently cut into 4 pieces with a slaw of kimchi and peanuts on top. When you bite into you feel the fat ooze out of the meat and run down your throat, but somehow you're not scared. you're not scared that your pants quite possibly wont fit the next day. you're not scared that your heart might all of a sudden clog up. you're not even scared that the fat has left a film of "natural chapstick" on your lips ( as jason says). because it is WORTH IT.

Entrees:

Balsamic Pork Ribs, Succotash, Herb Butter ($37)

First of all, forgive me for my horrible photo of the ribs. i really didnt do it justice, but if you had two boys hovering over your shoulder with knives and forks, you'd snap fast and not ask to retake also. Second of all, there really was no point for knives and forks because once you get ahold of the bone, the meat falls right off. Seriously, it was perfectly cooked. and the balsamic glaze gave it some unexpected sweetness. I also didnt get a picture of the Succotash cause apparently the boys said "we dont eat green things". Ah, boys.

Foie Gras Loco Moco, Quail Egg, Spam, Hamburger ($35)

Isn't the little quail egg cute? i dont know how they do it here, but the eggs are cooked so nicely. no brown edges or anything. anyways, this was an interesting dish. you can totally taste the foie gras, which is a good thing ( i think. ive never had it before so it was interesting) but it really is all the flavors together that makes this dish. We cut it up into quarters and each took a bite and it was a one bite wonder. delish. and i swear those little red dots are sriracha hot sauce, but i dont think anyone believed me ...

And the Grand Finale, Dessert:

Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar, S&P Anglaise ($7)

The first time i heard of this dish was on the Food Network Show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and the whole show was about bacon. So Duff declared that this was his fave bacon dish. When i saw it i was like, thats so freakin weird. why would you eat bacon with chocolate? I would never eat bacon with chocolate! So when i saw it on the menu, i was like wait, was this the place on the show?! omg, im totally going to try it. I'm SO glad i did. i think i was probably one of the best desserts i've ever had. Mostly because i usually don't order things that i can make myself. and im so over chocolate molten cake ... ANYWAYS, bacon and chocolate. what a wonderful surprise. crunchy bacon bits on top of a rich chocolate bar with a drizzle S&P anglaise, which my clever cousin decoded as Salt&Pepper anglaise. it was really really good.

Family!

So after all those dishes, i really recommend this place. i feel like my culinary tastebuds have been heightened and you really do feel like your are dining on a dish that could easily win Top Chef. The restaurant is small and open for dinner only, so make your reservations early!

ANIMAL

435 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 782-9225

Open Seven Days A Week

Sunday - Thursday

6pm-11pm

Friday - Saturday

6pm-2am

* PS, they use organic/local ingredients and their menu changes seasonally.

Nectarine Tart

This tart is by far the most beaaaautiful thing that has come out of my oven. Of course its martha's recipe, who else would create such a beautiful work of art? When i first got her Baking Handbook, i saw the photographs of this tart and deemed it "too hard" for me to do. Of course, that same week we had to learn Pie Dough in our cooking class and immediately my mind went to Marthas Nectarine Tart. However, instead of the traditional pie dough (pate brisee), tart dough is used in this recipe. This dough is awesome because you don't need to use a food processor to make it perfect and it is easy, easy, easy:

Tart Dough

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons heavy cream

In your electric mixer bowl, cream butter & sugar using the paddle attachment for 2 mins.

Add egg yolks and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Add 3/4 cup flour, mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, until flour is incorporated.

Add remaining 3/4 flour along with salt and cream and mix until you cant see any more flour, about 1 minute.

Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a disk. Wrap it up and stick in the the fridge for at least 2 hours before use or overnight. Can also be frozen up to 1 month (thaw in fridge before using).

For this tart, its better to make the dough a day before because it will take forever to finish the tart in just on session (I did, and i think it took me 5 hours total because i started from scra-a-atch)

Alright, so you have your dough (First, preheat oven to 375 degrees)

Lightly flour your work area and roll it out until it is 12-inch round and 1/4 inch thick; fit the dough over a 9-inch round fluted tart pan (with or without a removable bottom. the bottom just makes it easier to remove the tart as a whole. I used one without the removable bottom and it was gobbled up the same). Press the dough lightly into the pan and trim the excess dough flush with the pan (I rolled over the top with a rolling pin and it cut off the excess perfectly). Chill tart shell for 30 minutes, until firm.

Prick the bottom of dough all 0ver with a fork, line with parchment paper leaving at least a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights (i used rice, asian style) so the bottom of the tart doesnt bake up bubbles.

Bake until edges are lightly golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the parchment and weights; continue baking until lightly golden all over, 20-25 minutes more.

While this is baking you can proceed to make heart of the tart. that rhymes.

Nectarine Tart

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

1 large egg

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon Chambord or brandy (i used brandy)

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 ripe but firm nectarines (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Get ready to slice some nectarines!

Basically you have your nectarine and you slice all around the seed for four chunks and further slice those 4 pieces into 1/8-inch-thick slices. you will have small pieces and big pieces, which gives the "roses" that you will create, some dimension.

So start with one of the smaller pieces and curl the slice around itself, skin side up. Then wrap another slice around the first and the third slice around the second, so on so forth, until you have achieved a "rose" (1 1/2 inches in diameter), obviously using the large pieces at the end to give it a nice shape. One trick is to make these roses on or around an offset spatula because if you try to transfer it to the baked tart shell with just two hands, it might fall through the middle because the fruit is slippery.

After the first rose, use something small to keep it form moving while you form the next rose, for me it was jordan almonds. haha

keep on, keepin' on ... til you have this:

if you have extra nectarine pieces, you can stuff them into any gaps that you have. its so preeetty ...

To make the filling:

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; whisk occasionally until butters solids begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, lemon juice, brandy/chambord, and salt until light in color and doubled in volume, about 2 minutes. Add flour and reserved browned butter and whisk until well combined.

Pour evenly over fruit, use a spoon to fill in any spaces.

Bake ...rotating tart halfway through, until crust is golden brown and filling has slightly puffed, about 40 minutes (mine took only about 35, you should really watch it towards the end because you dont want the fruit to get too dark). Cool completely on a wire rack.

it looks, and is, SOoo good. Sometimes when i finish a project, i think "omg, i do NOT want to ever do this ever again" and i might have felt that way during this tart (remember, this took me like 5 hours) but after seeing how beautiful it came out and all the raves from the people who were lucky enought to eat it. i would DEF make this tart again. Try it!