Pastis de Porros
This recipe is from The Catalan Country Kitchen, by Marimar Torres. In English its called “Glazed Leek and Cheese Tart.” It serves 8 to 10 people. We made it for the second annual tapas event at Denis and Maylou’s. A great array of tapas and friends. What a treat.
We made the tart following the instructions below. The pastry was especially good, and turned out well following the instructions. No substitutions, and getting things ready beforehand seemed to work well.
For the pastry
- 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) frozen unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons of ice water
For the filling
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 3 bunches of leeks, thinly sliced, with one third of the green part (about 3 pounds after cleaning.)
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
- 4 eggs (Plus 1 egg white, optional)
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup grated Gruyere or Emmenthaler cheese (1/4 pound)
To make the pastry dough: In a food processor, pulse flour and butter together until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. In a small bowl, mix together egg yolk, salt, and ice water; add to flour and butter mixture. Whirl until a ball of dough forms. (If a ball doesn’t quite form, remove dough and knead with your hands on a lightly floured surface for abotu 30 seconds.) Wrap the ball of dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.
To prepare the filling: In a large pot, melt the butter and, over very low heat saute leeks until they are dry and almost caramelized; this will take 45 minutes to an hour. Season with the salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Let cool. In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add cream and leeks, and mix well.
To prepare the tart: Preheat oven to 425 F. On a lightly floured board, roll out pastry thinly to fit a 9- or 10-inch tart pan about 1-1/2 inches deep. Trim away the excess doe. Line pastry shell with aluminum foil and weight it with pie weights or beans. Bake in 425 F oven for 15 minutes. Pick up foil by its edges and carefully lift it out of the pastry shell. Bake shell for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove form oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F.
To assemble the dish: Pour leek mixture into pastry shell. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake in 375 F oven for 45 minutes, or until cheese turns golden. Serve warm, cut into wedges.
A story accompanies each recipe in the book. Her is the one the author wrote for this recipe.
Lola Pijoan was a great chef and a great lady. She died in 1990, leaving behind a legacy of old Cataln recipes that I have enjoyed at Can Borrell, the enchanting restaurant and inn she ran with her husband, Jaume Guillen, in the village of Meranges, high in the Pyrennes mountains. Reached by narrow winding roads running through bucolic valleys and mountain landscapes, this area — called La Cerdanya — is one of the most beautiful in Catalunya. I chose this recipe from her extensive repertoire because not only it it one of my favorites, it was one of hers, too. And it can be served either as first course, as a tapa cut into small wedges, or as a light luncheon entree with a salad.
Last year we made Prawns in Garlic Sauce with Sweet Red Peppers from the same cookbook.
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| U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD: | 3550 |
| Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation: | 12 |
| Total | 3562 |
DoD Confirmation List Latest Coalition Fatality: Jun 25, 2007
Source: Iraqi Coalition Casualty Count
Enrollments in undergraduate computer science courses, the number of students majoring in computer science, and the number of students graduating with a degree in computer science has been declining since the 200-2001 academic year.
When you find a dragon in your house, do you kill it or set it free? That’s the question John Moody is faced with in 
I’ve used Usenet on and off (mostly off lately) since 1994. I’ve included a chapter or a portion of chapter about using Usenet in all the 
that I’ve written since 1995. I’ve been teaching courses about using the Internet since about that same time. My students over the past five years or more have been totally clueless about the existence of Usenet and, just as importantly, they see it as irrelevant. Over the years it’s been harder to convince my publisher that we should take up the page space with information about Usenet. Now, as Karen Hartman and I considering writing a fifth edition of our book 
Times
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I was catching up on my reading of 
We make this recipe several times each year when strawberries are available at our local farmers market. We like it and the people we serve it to like it too. It’s also easy to make and a cake that works well to bring to a pot-luck.
belated Memorial Day entry
One is a large pot-luck/party we like to throw/host the Friday of the memorial Day Weekend. We try to invite all our friends, and usually 50 -75 people show up. People tend to bring very good food. It’s a treat to see, eat, and hear everyone say how great the food was. Unfortunately, we sometimes miss inviting someone. If you weren’t invited, we’re sorry. Let us know so you can be invited next year. It’s fun!
Memorial Day, though, is a somber celebration. Fredericksburg is the home of one of the bloddiest series of battles of the (U.S.) Civil War. Over 15,000 Union (U.S.) soldiers were killed here, most in the battle of December 1862. The National Park Service oversees the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. As they say,
Each year, with the help of local Scouts, the National Cemetery in Fredericksburg is lit with thousands of luminaria, one for each two or three soldiers buried there. You go in the evening or better yet when it is dark and climb the hill to where most of the graves are found. As you’re walking up the hill you see maybe a couple of hundred of the luminaria, but you’re unprepared for the scene of thousands of these, each representing the soldiers who died at these battles. Each half hour, a trumpeter plays Taps. It is very difficult not to be caught in the emotion of the moment and to feel that emotion as a personal physical force. I think it is even more difficult not to see, as Taps is being played, the cost in human life that is the direct result of war. Why did these people do it? Why do we continue war? Why did the U.S. go into a pre-emptive war?
Some other pictures of the luminaria are here. All are available at http://webliminal.com/images/luminaria
Visit next Memorial Day.
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DoD Confirmation List Latest Coalition Fatality: Jun 05, 2007 Source: Iraqi Coalition Casualty Count