Repost : Pecan Tart | A New Twist on a Classic Pecan Pie Recipe

It is not Thanksgiving without multiple dessert options. Everyone has a pumpkin pie, of course. Pecan is usually a close second. Instead of a second pie at the feast, I like to make something a little different, either Mini Deep Dish Pecan Pies or this Pecan Tart in a Round Fluted Tart Pan.



Based on the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for Pecan Bars, I altered it to make a tart.



I used Mini Leaf Cutters to make the leaf edge - no skill required and so charming.  You can buy them here.

I featured this recipe at my Thanksgiving Workshop and to make it even more festive, I added a maple leaf boarder from pie crust.  I just used store bought pie dough and cut out maple leaves with a cookie cutter.  Then, after I poured the pecan filling into the crust, I placed the dough cutouts around the boarder, then baked it as instructed.

Pecan Pie Tart
with shortbread crust


Crust
12 tablespoons of butter (1 1/2 sticks) at room temp
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour

Filling
12 tablespoons of butter (1 1/2) sticks of butter
1/3 cup of corn syrup (light or dark)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, mix together butter and granulated sugar in mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the egg and the vanilla. Add flour with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough into an ungreased Round Tart Pan ($12) making an edge around the outside. Flour your hands to make it easier to press into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

For the filling, combine the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted. Cook until bubbly - then let cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat. Add heavy cream and pecans. Pour into the crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate until cold before cutting with a hot knife.

Thanksgiving Table Setting | DIY Flower Pumpkin Centerpiece, Woodland China, Hemstitch Linens, Pewter Flatware & Rustic Glassware

Part of my preparations for my Thanksgiving workshops this week is creating a table setting and centerpiece.  I wanted it to feel real.  I don't know about everyone else, but I'm getting a little tired of overly staged and styled 'tablescapes' with their stacks of crowded props, and too tall and too massive of centerpieces.  I thought, "If I went to the Barefoot Contessa or Martha Stewart's (circa 1996) house for Thanksgiving, what would it look like?"  It would be decidedly classic, simple, and traditional. 

My style is not traditional in an old world, dusty fashion, but in a clean, modern approach.  Does that make any sense at all? 

It's not Thanksgiving without a jumbled mix of chairs, right?  I used slipcovered at the head and black painted ladder back.   

I made this rose, mum and broom cob arrangement, using a pumpkin as a vase.  We've all seen this a thousand times, but I think it is so perfect for Thanksgiving, that I just had to do my own version.

DIY Instructions for creating the centerpiece, here.

I love using white Hemstitch Napkins with these dishes. 

 At the head chairs I used these two vintage Spode Turkey plates that Mike's Mom found for me.

Also, I included a velvet and linen pillow in the head chairs for a little extra luxury.

Step-by-Step DIY Instructions for creating the centerpiece, here.

Shop  the Hemstitch Linens featured on this table here >

Hemstitch Napkins (4 for $28), Runner ($28) & Placemats (2 for $16) available in my store, here >

This tray is one of my favorite essentials.  I use it all of the time for serving drinks, appetizers or as  centerpiece.  Find the Handled Service Tray, here >

These are my favorite Fall Candles ($10.50) and are such an inexpensive way to make a table spectacular.  

A touch that we add every year to our Thanksgiving Table - "We Are Thankful For" Place cards.  10 for $5.

Here is the easy-to-pin strip!

and...


Happy Thanksgiving Planning! 

DIY Instructions for creating the centerpiece, here.

Shop the entire Thanksgiving Collection, here >

Heirloom Tomato, Marcona Almonds, Prosciutto & Goat Cheese Salad with an Easy Lemon vinaigrette

I would hate to add up the amount I've spent on Heirloom Tomatoes this summer...  It seems like our entire diet has consisted of Bacon, Avocado & Tomato Sandwiches, Classic Bruschetta, Watermelon & Tomato Salads, and just sliced tomatoes + salt & pepper along with every meal.



I just can't resist those beautifully crazy colored and crazy expensive tomatoes.  We don't have any ready in our garden just yet, but we have lots of green ones on the way.  Though between Emma's fondness of picking the green ones and the abundance of squirrels in our yard, I'm not holding my breath.  I keep telling myself that it is just a short time during the year when they are so readily available (from local farms) that it is worth the extra indulgence.  

Has everyone tried the Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Beet Salad?  It was in Foolproof, her most recent cookbook - you might remember my month of featuring recipes from it back in January.  I've adapted the salad to please my summer palate by using tomatoes instead of beets, and a fresh lemon vinaigrette instead of the balsamic.  You must try it.



I've officially burnt myself out on my previous favorite Watermelon & Tomato Salad and now, this is my new favorite salad for lunch.  I've also been serving it for dinner to alongside Grilled Shrimp, a piece of grilled fish, chicken or steak.  It is so interesting and has so many layers, but the best part is is that it is really just an assembly salad - there is not much chopping at all and the dressing is very, very easy, as you can just stir it together in a small bowl and toss the greens right in.  Then, all there is to do is layer everything on top.  So amazing.



One more note : if you haven't tried Marcona Almonds, you must.  They seem like a mix between a cashew and an almond - the ones I buy are tossed in sea salt and olive oil.  I almost ate the entire container on the way home from the store.  Ok, now onto the recipe...


Heirloom Tomato, Marcona Almonds, Prosciutto & Goat Cheese Salad
 with an Easy Lemon vinaigrette 

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serves 4 for lunch or 6 as a side

6 cups baby arugula
1 lemon
1 tsp of dijon mustard
1/4 cup of olive oil
sea salt & pepper
.....
2 lbs. tomatoes (best available)
4 oz. prosciutto, thinly sliced
4 oz. soft goat cheese
1/4 cup of marcona almonds (salted)
olive oil
salt & pepper

In a medium bowl, squeeze the juice of the lemon, then add the dijon.  Whisk in olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add greens and toss.  Put the dressed arugula on the platter or on each plate.  Reserve the extra dressing in the bottom of the bowl, if any.

Cut tomatoes into large wedges and chunks.  Pile them onto the arugula, then add prosciutto, goat cheese and almonds. 

Drizzle any remaining dressing over the salad.  If you don't have any, then drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper.

Pictured Here : Linen Hemstitch Napkins with "Seaside" Monogram

Inspiration : The Two Great Classics, Martha & Ina

There are two books that I will always love and consider to be my favorite all time examples of entertaining, "Great Parties" by Martha Stewart, and "Parties!" by Ina Garten.  I remember reading each of these books for the first time (shortly after college) and being so inspired by the casual, chic style of each "party." Maybe I was so moved because it was the first time I had seen books completely devoted to casually elegant entertaining?  The parties weren't terribly fancy or pretentious feeling (no fine china or lace in site), but they were parties that I could envision myself hosting - in a dream garden of my own... in the Hamptons, of course ; )

Without a doubt these two books were the cornerstones of my first business, Occasions Entertaining, that focused on "small to medium-sized events" in my clients' homes.  I would tote these two books to my meetings with dog-eared pages to show my clients.

Great Parties by Martha Stewart, 1997

Having moved six times since first starting my business 10+ years ago, I somehow forgot about and misplaced this "Great Parties" book by Martha Stewart.  Last week, I was racking my brain and googling like crazy to find a photo of an outdoor party by Martha Stewart that I knew I had seen somewhere... but couldn't find it online anywhere.  Then, I came across a cover shot of this book and it was like complete deja vu.  I ordered it instantly (used from amazon, it is now out of print!).

Each page was a trip down memory lane.  I remembered each and every featured party and it completely reinvigorated my love for casual, elegant, chic entertaining.  Thank Goodness it is spring and the height of outdoor entertaining season, because almost everyone of my favorites from this book is set outside in a lush garden.

Inspiration is so huge for a person like me.  I find it everywhere.  New inspiration is like gold.  When you have written so many posts and executed so many parties, it can feel like you've done it all.  Old inspiration that feels new again (revisiting it 10 years later!) can be even better because it is the original flame - feeling that new excitement all over again is so special.

Here are some of my favorites :

I can't tell you how many wedding showers I did that started with this page!  This page started my collection of cake stands and mason jars, too.

This book is Martha in her heyday, when things seemed simple, effortless and lovely.  This seems like a world away from the crazy DIY, trend following, modern-chic, urban-chic, vintage-chic, farm-to-trend, everyone copies everyone, everything looks the same pinterest world we live in today.  I promise, my only soapbox of the post!  I just miss the old days of real parties in real homes with classic style as inspiration : )

Do you recognize this garden shed?  This book was my first exposure to Ina, when she was just a shop owner and a friend of Martha's from East Hampton in 1997.

I'm fairly certain my own wedding was based on this feature.

Those lanterns!

This.  This is my dream.  Thank you, Martha, you have just secured my need for a country home with a skating pond to host a party just like this.  Mike thanks you, as well ; )

Why have I never made ice lanterns?!  I will be re-stocking my white glassine bags for cookies after seeing this post - I remember how obsessed I was with them when I first started my business.  Every cookie I made was in a glassine bag.

Sweet, sweet original Ina.  I love all of the color she was embracing.  I know people don't always realize this, but there was a huge shift in design color palettes after 9/11/01.  In 1997 no one would've dreamed of painting their entire house grey.  I'm as guilty as anyone in my love of neutrals, but seeing this feel so happy, easy and comfortable.

Ina's garden and her original crew - Frank Newbold and Martha included.  Always fun to see someone before they are someone.  It reminds me of when we were seated next to her for dinner in East Hampton - so normal and sweet.

Being a Midwest Farm girl, I love all of this... but I can tell you it was probably very staged, as no real farming family I know has ever set up a family picnic party like this : )  I still love it.

Yum!  What a spread.

Love this imagery so much that I bought sour cherries at the store yesterday... I need to find a producing cherry tree this summer!

Another feature that inspired so many baby showers and bridal showers for my clients.

I am aching for this setting - I want the plates and those flowers.  And the chairs.

Love this cake with broken pieces of brittle on the sides.  Those flags made of ribbon are darling, too.  I maybe copying one of these shortly (fathers day?!).  This cake would look spectacular with some of my Celebration Candles (also a favorite of Martha's).

"Parties" by Ina Garten the Barefoot Conessa

The other book that is well worn, but still in constant use is the Barefoot's "Parties!" cookboook.  Yes, that is probably chocolate on the spine... from many years ago when I was making her flourless chocolate cake.

I read somewhere that Ina and Martha first bonded over building their new "old homes" in East Hampton.

Everything thing in this book, like Martha's, is timeless.  Both were written almost 20 years ago, but I still love every single page.

How many of us dream of spending our days like this?  This is probably what I thought my business days would look like - sometimes they actually do now, but when I was running my event planning and catering business it looked a lot different!

I love that Ina isn't afraid to set a table wherever it fits.  She gave us the courage to not "need" a formal dining room.  Did you know that Ina uses Creative Candles, too?  My sales rep says Ina's assistant calls her orders in for Tapers to keep on hand.

I love this.  I love the blue and white, I love the muscari and I love that coffee cake on a pedestal dripping with glaze.

Such a pretty setting with beautiful color.

Don't those glasses look familiar!  That combination of roses is so stunning.  I can always tell when a book was shot - though they are going for a fall table, it still looks like summer.

My love affair of parchment paper starts here!

Stripes are  never out of style.

I used this photo as inspiration last month for Joy's birthday party dinner!  Emma picked it from the book.  See those 6" Celebration Candles?

One of my favorite recipes of all time.  Herbed grilled shrimp with pesto pasta.

Are these the same green plates from Martha's book?  Ok, I might have to add to my white plate collection : )

...

Do you have timeless sources of inspiration?  I would love to know what copies of books and magazines that you keep around.  I would also love to know about bloggers out there doing timeless, classic posts - such magic when you find a good one!