Reaping the benefits.

Finished Product - Fig Tart with Vanilla, Orange, Anise Ice Cream, originally uploaded by mo mckinley.

Late Saturday afternoon we finished up the ice cream in the kitchen aid attachment and called it a day around 6:30 so we could go check out a newish local restaurant, Fran's Filling Station.

Fran's was fabulous. The fried pickles were the best I've had since the spears I had in Charleston. Fran must understand that to be fried pickles there must be PICKLE and not just a mass of fried batter. Yeah, we like the fried stuff but I want more pickle with my fry. The boy had meatloaf, his friend had ooey gooey meatballs, and I had mussels. The ooey gooeyness is written on the menu, I'm not just making it up. And dannnnnng I think he had the winning dish! They were served in this incredible bowl of sloppy, saucy yum. My mussels were the meatiest I have ever encountered - served in a mild red curry sauce. Could have used more kick but I'm not complaining. Just sayin'.

After gorging ourselves at Fran's, the delicacy we had worked on all day just wasn't calling to me in the same way. So we made the tough decision to wait and serve the dessert on Sunday - this proved to be a spoon-lickin' good decision.

Sunday night dinner in Hoffland again. This time, there was quite a bit of sausage leftover that needed to be used. Originally, the boy thought we should make brunch for our friends but this was a complicated ordeal so I suggested he serve Breakfast for Dinner. Turned out to be a good idea because the Biscuits n' Gravy this jersey boy cooked up could put a southern momma to shame. Wish I knew exactly what he put in the gravy but I do know it started with a roux and I was honored to throw in the flour as he whisked away. Next I did the super tough, arduous task of opening the Pillsbury tin of biscuits and laid them out evenly on a baking sheet *wipes sweat from brow, phew.* Boy was busy all day, no time for makin' biscuits and apparently these are the best anyway. Meanwhile, an egg casserole with zucchini, red peppers, mushrooms, cheddar, and caramelized onions was getting going in the oven. *Update: Apparently the 'cheddar' that I thought was in the egg casserole was shaved sweet potato. I was corrected, "Not cheddar, that's not how I roll." * The sausage was mixed in with the gravy and carefully poured over the browned biscuits. The egg casserole with artichoke mousse on top sat on the side - lookin' pretty.

When served, no one could get over how good it was. Ten people around the table just entranced in the goodness that comes with home cooking. As everyone finished (some with their second portions), I was saved from seconds because I had work to do.

The tarts had been baked the day before and were ready for filling. We had read in the Joy of Cooking that coating a tart with egg white, melted butter, or a light dusting of flour would keep a juicy filling from making the crust soggy. So... I went to work painting the tarts. From the fridge we gathered the pastry cream and fig mixture. On Saturday we bought dried california figs because no fresh figs were available at this time of year 'round here. We pureed a portion of them in the food processor with a little bit of fig jelly that the boy had on hand and added a teensy bit of light cream. We chopped another portion of the figs and mixed this in with the puree to add to the texture. I took a mound of this mixture and placed it in the center of the tart before the boy filled the rest of the tart with the pastry cream. After consulting the Food Bible we sprinkled on top a spice mix of cinnamon, sugar, and fresh ground nutmeg (got to use my weapon of choice in the kitchen, the zester, again). We popped this all in the oven for a brief spot of time and then took it out to be plated. The ice cream we had finished and frozen all night was scooped on the side of the plate with fresh, homemade whipped cream. Looked great and tasted even better.

Revisions: use fresh figs (of course!) and less orange zest/ more anise seeds in our ice cream. Loved it though - what a fun feeling to serve the tarts to everyone at the table. The ten of us shared the four tarts and it was puh-lenty.