Making Beautiful Music

I’m headed with my husband, my sister and my brother-in-law to the symphony tonight. Yippee! I’m so excited.

This isn’t your normal symphony performance though. This doesn’t require fancy attire. No big, grand building to enter and stand around on red carpeting in high heels. No cushy, velvet-covered seats.

This is a symphony that is part of the Grant Park Music Festival which has been going on for 75 years in Chicago. The symphony performance no longer takes place in Grant Park. It’s now in Millennium Park. And since it’s in a park, no tie and jacket required. No money required either. It’s free. Free several times a week! It’s one of the big bargains in summer entertainment.

We’re taking a picnic. We’re wearing our outdoor, casual clothing and taking fold-up chairs. The evening weather is predicted to be 75 degrees and sunny. My favorite weather.

If you’ve never had the privilege of visiting Millennium Park you really must put it on your list. http://www.millenniumpark.org/ I think this place kicks Central Park’s petootie. In Central Park I get claustrophobic. I know. It’s crazy. There are just so many big trees and you can get so lost. I also don’t like all the traffic running through. In Millennium Park, Grant Park and beyond, you are always on the edge of Lake Michigan and Michigan Avenue, so you don’t have far to walk if you want to get out and go do something else. No roads running through the middle. And there’s much more to do than the concerts too.

Speaking of the concerts, if you ever go, you have to take a camera. The Pritzker Pavillion is breathtaking, and when the sun is going down the combination of the shadows from the big buildings, the waning sun and the lights coming on stage make a combination that’s to die for. Photo buffs unite and celebrate!

Many towns have music nights at a park. That’s not unique. At the Pritzker Pavillion, there's a green space larger than a football field. Overhead there’s a network of stainless “beams” that run across. From them hang speakers. At most concerts, the farther away from the stage you are the less you can hear; and those around you who are talking, sometimes drown out the music. At this place everyone can talk, eat, laugh and even those right nearby can still hear every detail.

Tonight’s symphony theme is Scandinavian music. Truth be told, I don’t care what theme it is. I’ve enjoyed every concert. They change every week though, so you always have a reason to go. Tonight’s guest conductor is a very handsome, young man named Pietau Inkinen. He looks like a mere, recent college grad. Must be terribly talented. He hails from Finland. My brother-in-law’s family is from Norway so he’s particularly interested. He picked this date.

I’ll have to, maybe, give you a review after tonight. For now, better get cracking on writing up a wonderful dessert for you.

I always love a fruit-themed tart for summer dinner parties. This time I went out on a limb and did one that’s all navy blue and green. Most fruit tarts go for every color in the book. I wanted one that looked different and I wanted to take advantage of the bounty of blackberries in season right now.

The crust is a wonderful, cookie crust. Truth be told, Paula Dean uses this crust. I know it’s not original to her, but I wanted to give credit where due. She makes hers a bit differently than I do. I think my technique is easier. You judge.

This whole tart is made in 3 five minute segments. It’s SO easy. The thing that takes the longest is gently placing the berries and kiwi on top and some kind of a pattern. If you don’t feel artsy you can follow my lead (see picture) or you can just toss a pile of whatever fruit you like on top. No science needed.

You and your guests are going to love this one. It even still tastes great on day two, thanks to the firm crust.

Blackberry-Kiwi Fruit Tart

Crust:

1/2 cup of confectioner sugar (aka powdered sugar)
1-1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1-1/2 sticks of butter. Take it straight out of the refrigerator so it’s plenty cold. Cut into quarter-inch slices

Filling:

1, 8 oz bar of Neufchatel (or regular cream cheese). Neufchatel is less fat/calories. Soften the cream cheese by leaving it out on your counter for an hour. Or if in a hurry you can microwave it 10 seconds on high and the middle will be smooth enough to proceed.
1/2 cup of confectioner sugar
2 tsp of vanilla. If you have clear vanilla use it, but regular will work too.

Topping:

2 pints of blackberries. You can wash them if you feel a need. I prefer not to wet them unless necessary. Water can make them gummy. Rinse carefully and dry immediately if you rinse them.
2 kiwis, fairly ripe, peeled and cut into 1/8” wide slices. Then cut the slices in half to make half moons.
2 Tbl of apricot jelly
4 Tbl of water or orange-flavored liqueur (like Triple Sec)

Crust instructions: Take the flour, sugar and butter and toss it into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse and run the processor until the crust dough bunches up and becomes a ball. Turn off and take out the crust. (If you do not have a processor you can use a pastry cutter or fork to blend the mixture. It will take longer but you can do it and have good results).

Take out your 11-inch tart pan with fluted edges, and a removable bottom. (If you don’t have one you can use a cheesecake pan). You want to spread the dough across the bottom of the tart pan and up the sides about a half inch. To keep clean and not stick to the dough, I spread a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough and press on the wrap and the dough cooperates and squishes in the right directions. Try to get your dough squished fairly evenly and have the amount going up the sides about a quarter inch thick or even a bit more so you get a nice edge. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for about ten minutes. This is very much like baking a sugar cookie. I like mine very light brown (even beige). If you like yours a bit crispier, you can leave it in a couple of minutes more. Let the crust cool while you work on your filling.

In a medium bowl add your cream cheese, the confectioner sugar and vanilla. Blend with your mixture until smooth. Take your cooled crust and spread this mixture across the bottom. The coating will be thin. That’s part of the goal to keep calories down. It doesn’t take a lot. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it pretty evenly.

When this is accomplished you can add your berries and kiwi. I’ve got a picture here to give you an example of what I did for a design. You can vary the design or even the fruit at your choice. I just wanted something dramatic and different.

Melt the apricot jelly and water or liqueur in a small sauce pan. Mix often. With a pastry brush you are going to lightly paint your berries. This gives them the bakery-like shine. Don’t pile on too much and avoid the bits of apricot that are left in the bottom or you’ll have jelly lumps between your berries. You just want the juicy “paint” and not the other. You might end up seeing a bit in the berry gaps, so either place them close together or be happy with the result. You can see a few shadows of jelly in my picture.

Cool the tart in the refrigerator to preserve the cream cheese. I take it out about 2 hours before I want to serve it so it comes almost to room temperature. That way it tastes more dreamy. Cool the leftovers in the refrigerator and even for the next day or two it will still hold up really well.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola

Send email to Zola at dinnerwithzola@hotmail.com.