Ooh La La: The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

Some people I know have lemons growing right in their own backyards.
A lotta lemons.
So many lemons they don't even know what to do with them.

That just doesn't happen here in Maine. Ever.
We have lobsters everywhere you look, but no lemons.

We have to go to the local grocery and buy lemons.
So I did.

And look at the deliciousness I made with those lemons.

It's The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart, from Dorie Greenspan's Baking.
The title is hers, not mine, but I have to agree.

If you're not familiar with Dorie, you are missing out on a world of crazy-delicious sweets. She's a cookbook author, pastry maker, cookie baker, Francophile.
This tart is filled with the lemon cream she learned from one of the kings of French pastry, Pierre Herme.

She writes:
"When we were just beginning work on our first book (together), Pierre explained the cream to me. In his typical fashion, he spoke softly, explained thoroughly and added just the meekest editorial comment: "It is nice", he said, with a sly little gone-in-flash-smile. I immediately put two stars next to the recipe, a note to myself to try it right away."

I don't know about you, but the thought of a French pastry chef whispering "it is nice" softly into my ear, makes me feel all...tart-y, among other things.

You can find the recipe by clicking on this link.

Fair warning: There are a number of tools and small appliances involved.
On a skill scale of 1-10, it's probably about a 6.5. On an Is-It-Worth-Scale, I'd give it a 9, only because it isn't chocolate.

Bon appetit, mes amies!

What is Mignardise anyway?

Mignardise is something, charming, graceful and pretty, often referring to a sweet with your coffee after dinner. It feels good in your mouth when you say it out loud.
Mignardise may be a fancy French word, but it is also a new blog about food - all the food I love to eat, make, bake, read about, talk about and serve. Some of the things I love: chocolate, all baked goods, coffee, almonds, lemons, sweet potato fries, lobster rolls and onion rings. Most of these things are not mignardise at all, but I plan to write about them anyway. Food does not have to be precious, just delicious. A homely no-bake cookie is as worthy as a French macaroon from Laduree.

I'm told that as a child I was a picky eater. Maybe I wasn't offered anything worth eating. In my suburban home, a vegetable was chosen out of the freezer before dinner, an icy rectangle of green served with the t-bone steak or baked chicken. Dessert was the highlight, a square Pepperidge Farm cake also fresh from the freezer. My mother did not know how to cook any other way, nor did she have any desire to learn. But I did. When I was in college, a dear friend gave me The New McCall's Cookbook for my birthday, and I started to cook in the tiny kitchen of our off-campus apartment. Nothing extravagant or unusual, but I found the process to be truly enjoyable. And I became more adventurous and interested in all things food. This was the early '80's when the term "foodie" was not yet in use. Martha Stewart was catering bar mitzvahs in Connecticut and the only chef that most people could name was Boyardee.

Twenty-something years later, I am married and the mother to three great kids and the world's best dog, living life the way it should be. Martha rules the world. My cookbook collection has grown exponentially. I love to cook for my family, but not every night. When I don't, we eat burritos or bibimbap from local restaurants. I love to bake - for the lacrosse team, the football team, the birthdays and classroom celebrations, for myself. I hang out with my neighbor drinking wine and snacking on lemon-artichoke pesto and baguettes from Rosemont Market. I am constantly thinking about what I'm going to make for the next book group meeting, the Halloween party, the cookie exchange, for dinner tonight. I bike, walk and work out with a guy named Big Joe so I can continue to eat as I like.

Mignardise is definitely a work in progress. I'll be posting a couple of times a week. I hope you'll join me for stories, recipes, photos and more. I hope you'll comment on what you like. I hope you'll ask questions. Most of all, I hope you'll enjoy what I have to offer. Say "mean-yar-deez", and tell your friends.