Holiday Tart

Well, my friends... I wasn't expecting this baby to be such a winner so I didn't photograph the process. HOWEVER, it was a winner and there was no denying it last night when it came out of the oven and 40 minutes later it was completely demolished. This was a happy accident that came out of making too much short crust for our aussie meat pies. SO- if you're looking for fun holiday dinner ideas, head on over to this post to get your recipe for single serve meat pies and while you're at it, make this beautiful concoction of goodness and serve it for an appetizer, a dessert, or a fancy brunch item at your next holiday shindig! *holiday hint: it goes great with a peppery cabernet! *

(the provided link above takes you to the filling recipe for meat pies... the link below will give you the shortcrust recipe, which you'll need for both meat pies and this holiday tart)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 shortcrust recipe (you can use butter or crisco, whichever your fancy)
• 2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 or 3 handfuls dried cranberries
• 2 handfuls slivered almonds
• 1/3 log soft crumbled goat's cheese
• salted butter
• salt

You'll need a 12-14 inch tart pan with removable base OR two 6 inch tart pans.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

First, whip up that half batch of short crust. Once you've got the ball of dough, roll it out on a floured surface or pastry cloth AS THIN AS YOU CAN GET IT without it wanting to tear when rolled back onto the rolling pin. It will need to cover the circumference of the tart pan(s) you're using. Once it's large enough, roll the sheet of dough back onto itself over the rolling pin. This will make transferring it to the pan much easier.

Next, grease the tart pan base and sides with butter. Don't over kill but, being able to actually SEE the butter on the pan is a good thing. I would imagine you'll use 2 Tablespoons at MOST for this part. Next, sprinkle the slivered almonds all over the bottom. Then layer the cranberries on top of that and neatly lay the slices of tomato over the top until the cranberries are mostly covered.

Now your tart is ready to be topped with the dough. Lift the rolling pin to the edge of the tart pan and gently roll your dough over the top of the entire pan. Don't tear off excess dough from the edges, but simply tuck it all into itself. This doesn't need to look perfect, a little bit of character is a good thing. ;) Once it's securely tucked in all the way around, poke a few fork holes over the entire crust to create a little airflow. Gently slide the tart pan onto a baking sheet for easier handling and leaking. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Carefully invert the tart onto a serving plate and remove the side and base. Sprinkle the crumbled goat's cheese all over the top and finish with a dusting of salt.

Slice it like a pizza and serve it up! This gorgeous treat is the perfect thing to whip up during the holiday season and just so happens to be composed of the right colors, too! Aren't you the hostess with the mostest? ;)

happy holiday parties.

xox