Nut tarts, the sequel

I previously shared a recipe for one of our family's favorite sweet treats, which we call nut tarts.

In the past, I've always made them as large wedges cut out of a 12" pie. But I wanted to experiment with making smaller pieces. You can't just cut the wedges thinner, because they'd get too fragile near the point. And all the points would break off. And then someone would have to eat those.

So this is a brief instruction in assembling and slicing them a different way. The original recipe is here, and up to the point where you begin rolling out the crust, nothing changes.

Instead of rolling the crust into a 12" circle, I aimed for more of a rectangle shape, which was roughly 12" in the longer direction. Then I marked the bottom crust lightly with a spatula to show where I was going to trim it. Then I spread the nuts to about 3/4 to 1" away from that mark, in two rows, leaving about 2" between the rows.

Then I lightly moistened the perimeter and center, and laid the second crust over this and pressed it gently down all over. Is it just me, or does this look sort of creepy?

Then I trimmed the excess crust away, leaving a rectangle-y  shape. I rolled out the excess dough for a bonus treat, but that's completely optional. I sprinkled the nut tarts lightly and the extra dough generously with cinnamon sugar. Oh, and the photo doesn't show this, but I pricked the top crust down the middle with a fork.

Then into the oven to bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until golden-brown and delicious!

I cut one piece into wedges and the other into bars. The holes I made with the fork ended up making the top crusts crack apart there and some of the pieces break in two, so I would do that differently next time.

I may or may not have eaten the broken piece.

I think next time, I'll do wedges, but make the fork pokes closer to the wide end, like this:

Aren't you glad you can learn from my failures instead of making your own?

The way I cut these, I didn't end up with too many more pieces than in the original method, but they are sturdier. And cuter! And every bit as tasty!

Orange-cranberry chicken salad

I came up with this recipe one day when I was craving curry chicken salad for lunch, but couldn't find any recipes that didn't call for chutney. How could I do a quick fake for chutney? I tried onions sauteed till soft, then combined them with orange marmalade. Pretty good!

An alternate and easier approach is to just use green onions, and skip the sauteing step. I've tried both, and it's good both ways.

You can use the nuts of your choice. I prefer the contrast of salty cashews, but since they just disappear in the salad, I decided to use pecans for the photos. Again, both are tasty, and you can use your choice. Sliced or slivered almonds would work nicely, too.

To keep the carbs down, I use a sugar-free marmalade and make sure my mayo has a minimum of sugar and no corn syrup. One of these days, I want to try making mayo from scratch. But not today.

Recipe: Orange-cranberry chicken salad

2 c. cooked, cubed, cold chicken
1/3 c. yellow onion, diced fine (or 5-6 green onions, sliced thin)
1/3 c. mayonnaise (more if your chicken is dry)
2.5 T. sugar-free orange marmalade
1/2 t. hot curry powder
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
dried cranberries & nuts to taste
hearts of romaine or whole grain crackers, optional

If using yellow onion, saute till translucent. If using green onion, reserve a bit of the green tops for garnish, if you like.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the onion, mayo, marmalade and spices; stir till well combined. Add an extra tablespoon or two of mayo if your chicken is on the dry side. Stir in the chicken, and green onions, if using. Add dried cranberries to suit your taste. Don't add the nuts until just before serving.

You may eat it right away, but the flavor improves if chilled it for an hour at least. It's also a great dish to make a day ahead.

Just before serving, stir in the nuts. Garnish with green onion and extra cranberries, if desired. Serve with hearts of romaine or whole-grain crackers.

Serves 2.

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