Tart for Dinner

I'm quite sure I heard them say "bake me"

Pies take time to make.  But get carefree, dare I say even a little sloppy, call it a rustic tart (or as some do, a galette), and you’ve got pie without the prep time.  I’m not sure it makes sense. But I know it’s true.

I have to set aside a chunk of time to make an apple pie.  Time to peel and core and cut up the apples.  Time to make the crust, roll it out, weave the lattice top.

I enjoy making a proper apple pie, but I don’t always have the time to do it.

A perfect excuse to break out the apple plates.

Yesterday, I threw together a rustic apple tart, though, on a day when I was so busy I should have ordered Chinese take out.

What made that so quick while an apple pie takes so long?  It’s a lot of little choices that add up.

Woman Sharpens Her Knives: News at 11

My Knife, My Self

“No one knows where women sharpen their knives.”

The writer James Dickey told us, when I was a grad student, that this was an old Bohemian proverb. I wrote it down. I thought I might want to stencil it on my kitchen wall someday.

Years later, when I was writing a cable TV food show, I told the chef I was working for about the quote. His response: “That’s because women don’t.”

To prove his point, he went through my kitchen and threw out every dull, cheap, unworthy knife…in short, all of them. He marched me to a local store and insisted I buy a set of Messermeisters. Then he lectured me on proper knife care: don’t toss them in a drawer or dishwasher, use a wood or plastic cutting board, hone the blades frequently and carefully.

And NEVER EVER sharpen your knives yourself. Leave that to professionals.

Since then, I’ve followed the rules. Well I had, until a couple of weeks ago….