Birthday Baking

My dad just celebrated a birthday on the 23rd of August and I went home to do some baking for him. One of the treats included croissants. You beat 3 sticks of cold butter into a 6 x 6 inch square. Beating them with a rolling pin softens the butter without warming it so you can shape it into a 'package' and then fold it into chilled, yeasted dough. Puff pastry is made similarly, but puff pastry dough is not yeasted, rather a simple pastry dough. You then shape your yeasted dough into a 9 x 9 disk, mark the edges of the butter package, and roll out those selvages into a clover shape. The butter package is then folded into the dough and rolled into a 10 x 20 rectangle, folded into thirds and chilled. This process is repeated 3 times. Then the dough is cut in half and each half rolled out to 10 x 20 and cut into 20 triangles. Each triangle is rolled up from the wide end, allowed to rest and rise, then baked to create buttery, flaky croissants! You can use a wooden spoon to beat interlopers in the kitchen attempting to sample the dough before baking.

My dad also got ahold of some glorious home grown tomatoes and I baked him a tomato tart, why? Because I was feeling tartly. It was nothing more than a simple pastry dough (the same I use for pies) in a tart pan, docked and spread with olive oil and garlic paste, topped with sliced tomatoes and dusted with Cavenders spice mix, then covered in a layer of mozzarella cheese. Dad also bought me those fabulous cloth napkins at a flea market! Those have inspired me to drag out the hand crank pasta machine to make a home-made pasta meal! I have a squash infused pasta recipe I'm dying to try! I'll have to wait til they're in season and have a full blown dinner party! More on that later!

I used the remainder of the pastry dough and some glorious baking apples to make a rustic apple tart! I rolled out a round of dough, layered it with apple slices, dotted it with butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar, folded up the edges and baked it. Next time I will combine the cinnamon and suger before sprinkling it. It tasted just fine but looked as if it had cinnamon boogers on it. The tart itself took only 4 apples, but Dad sent 6 home with me. I might have to surprise my coworkers with a tart of their very own! Happy Birthday Dad! We grazed on these treats while enjoying his copy of "Little Britain" and "Father Ted".