What’s great about individual pies, besides being portable, is when you’re having a craving, you can just de-frost as many as you’d like and pop them in the oven! No need to bake an entire pie. It’s as easy as having cookie dough ready in the freezer.
I went to Chez Panisse for my 30th birthday and it was the most wonderful experience. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend going, regardless of whether or not you have something to celebrate. They really showcase what’s in season, which is how I get inspired to bake. The kitchen is connected to the restaurant and the staff encourages you to walk through as they’re cooking. I got up several times throughout the meal to check in on what they were doing, lingering mainly by the pastry station, of course. It was fall at the time (shout-out to fellow November babies!), so the chefs were making an apple version of their signature galette.
During the peak of summer, I find myself going to the farmers’ market once, sometimes twice, a week to see what’s new. I may be a bit too excited because lately I’ve been buying so many goodies, I’m not eating and baking fast enough! I had a few apricots and plums shoved in the back of the fridge, poor things, and they would have made a great after-work snack, but instead, I used them in tarts.
During the summer months, I often spend twice as long at the farmers’ market. You can find me at the tomato stand sorting through heirloom tomatoes. I like to have a variety of colors. The deep red, almost purple ones are especially pretty. As far as shape, the knobbly, deeply ridged ones are fun, but for this tart, I selected the more traditional round shape.
