Page C2, Wednesday, December 15, 2010
LIFE & TIMES
A chocolate peppermint snowflake tart is shown. For chocolate lovers it doesn’t get any better than
ganache and this tart uses it in a elegant and decadent way.
Tart adds decadence to dessert
BY ALISON LADMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ganache tarts are elegant,
decadent and the epitome of
chocolate love.
Better yet, they are easy to
make, can be prepared ahead
of time and transport well.
In other words, they are
perfect for the holidays.
Our dressed up version is
flavored with peppermint
extract and topped with fes-
tive snowflake cookies, but
you could just as easily fla-
vor it with orange, almond or
vanilla extracts and top it
with whatever cookie shapes
inspire you.
Holly leaves would be
pretty and elegant, and
snowmen would be fun.
Chocolate peppermint
snowflake tart
For the crust:
1 ½ cups all-purpose
flour
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cocoa
powder
½ cup sugar
¾ cup (1½ sticks) un-
salted butter, cut into
chunks
For the ganache:
1¼ cups heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet
chocolate
1½ teaspoons pepper-
mint extract
Powdered sugar, for
dusting
Harvest of winter
wine grapes starts
BY JIM MARTIN
ERIE TIMES-NEWS
ERIE, Pa. — If you spotted
these grapes, brown and
frozen like rocks, in the dark
recesses of your refrigerator,
you’d probably throw them
out.
Bob Mazza knows better.
Since 1984, he’s been mak-
ing ice wine, a specialty
dessert wine that is pressed
from frozen-on-the-vine
grapes that are prized for
their concentrated sugar
content. Mother Nature, not
the growers, dictates the
schedule of the annual har-
vest. Ice wine can’t legally be
given that name until the
grapes have been frozen on
the vine at something less
than 17 degrees.
Sometimes that doesn’t
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Heat the oven to 375 F.
In a food processor,
combine the flour, salt,
cocoa powder and sugar.
Pulse to combine. Add the
butter and process until
the mixture forms a
dough, about 30 seconds.
Remove the dough from
the processor and break
off about a third of it. Set
this aside.
Press the remaining
dough into the bottom and
up the sides of a 9- inch
tart pan with removable
bottom. Use a fork to prick
the bottom of the crust all
over. Freeze for 15 min-
utes, then bake for 25 to
30 minutes, or until the
center of the bottom feels
firm.
Meanwhile, make the
snowflake cookies.
Roll out the reserved
dough between 2 sheets
of parchment paper to Ã
inch thick. Move the
dough to a baking sheet,
including the parchment
paper, then refrigerate
until firm, about 15 min-
utes.
Use 1- to 2- inch cookie
cutters to cut out 8 to 10
snowflakes (of multiple
sizes, if desired). If the
dough becomes too soft,
you may need to chill it in
the refrigerator as you
happen until mid-January or
later.
It happened Monday this
year, and Mazza was ready.
By 1 p.m. Mazza had as-
sembled about 20 people,
most buried beneath layers
of sweatshirts, jackets, hats
and hoods, to begin picking
frozen clusters of vidal
blancs from the vineyard be-
hind his winery on East Lake
Road.
“These are beautiful,” he
said of the grapes, which
hung in heavy bunches be-
neath netting designed to
keep the birds away.
The ice wine that Mazza
and his staff began pressing
Monday afternoon will be
bottled in slender blue ves-
sels half the size of a normal
bottle of wine and will sell
for $42.95 each.
it used to be -
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Carroll County Times
Popular cream
now in new size
Rescue Cream, formerly Karen Silverman
known as Rescue Remedy,
has long been popular for Coupon Corner
soothing everything from
cuts and surgical incisions location), was the only store
to blemishes and rashes. that had a continuous sup-
I’ve found it also helps to ply of Rescue Cream.
prevent scaring. It’s a Bach If you’d like to try another
Flower Remedy, made in type of soothing skin cream,
England, and only found in Harvestin’ carries Dr. Gord-
independent natural stores. shell’s Dr. G TM Skin
Until recently, I’d been Cream.
able to get it at several According to Harvestin’,
stores nearby. I’d usually many people remember
purchase a few tubes at a their grandparents using
time, so they’d last a year or this cream. It’s still pack-
longer. However, this time, aged the same as it was
it seemed that the product decades ago; a boxed, 2.5-
was discontinued. ounce jar. The ingredients
When I went to Weg- are also still the same: lard,
man’s, there was an empty beeswax, rosin, elderflow-
space where the Rescue ers, bayberry, sassafras oil,
Cream should have been, benzoic acid and color.
and there was a large, red
AP PHOTO
“D” on the shelf sign be- Nestle promotions
neath. An employee said it
had been discontinued. I My son recently pur-
noticed a new product, Res- chased some Nestle Snack-
cue Gel, but the ingredients ers candies and when he
were completely different. opened the pouches, there
Almost the same thing hap- was a code number along
pened at Martin’s. There with a toll-free phone num-
was no Rescue Cream and ber inside each one. Natu-
work. Once all of the 2 minutes. Stir until no one could tell me if it rally, he thought there was
cookies are cut, transfer smooth. had been discontinued. some type of contest or
them to a parchment Stir in the peppermint I couldn’t believe the promotion, so he called the
product wasn’t being made phone number.
paper- lined baking sheet extract, then pour into
any longer, so I called the He reached a recording
and refrigerate for 10 min- the baked tart shell. Re- manufacturer. A represen- saying that there were no
utes. frigerate until firm, tative said it’s still being current promotions, but to
Bake the snowflakes for about 2 hours. made, but the size has been save the code numbers be-
10 to 15 minutes (depend- When ready to serve, decreased from 1.7 ounces cause they never expire.
ing on size of the cookies), dust the snowflake to one ounce, and during That seemed very un-
or until firm. Cool the cookies with powdered the switch-over, some usual, but start saving those
wrappers, because you
cookies on the baking sugar, then arrange stores hadn’t gotten a sup-
ply of the new size yet. The never know when there will
sheet. To make the them on the top of the old price was between $11.33 actually be an offer.
ganache filling, in a small tart. and $13.75; the new one-
saucepan over medium, ounce size retails for $9.99. Karen Silverman lives in
heat the cream until sim- Start to finish: 1 hour Harvestin’, on Main Eldersburg and can be
mering. Add the chocolate 15 minutes, plus cooling Street, near Heinz Bakery in reached at kizsk@veriz
and let sit off the heat for Servings: 8 Westminster (note the new on.
C hristm as
Bo y S co u tTro o p 420
S t. John C a tholic C hurch -W es tm ins ter, M D
T rees
P rices S ta rting a t $30.
D o u g . Fir, W hite P ine, S p ru ce,
S co tch a nd Fra s er Fir
441507
For
Ta lltrees u p to 1 6’ - $60
All are locally grow n, p recut,
and in a variety ofsizes.
5p m -9p m W eekd a ys
9a m -9p m W eekend s
Sale
W e’llb e s elling trees thro u g h D ec. 23rd !
Plea s e co m e o uta nd s uppo rt
Bo y Sco utTro o p 420!
D irections : Rt. 140 W es tto lefton Engla rto
righton M onroe. Follow the s igns .
C h o o s e & C u t C h r is tm a s T r e e s O TTERD ALE
VIEW
H irt Tree Fa rm Bre e zy
Ch ristm as T ree Farm
Visitus a t
Tre e s U p to 10’Ta ll P ric e s
S ta rtin g a t TR E E S FAR M w w w .o tte rd a le vie w .co m
410-775-0176
$28.57 Q U A L IT Y C U T -Y O U R -O
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(Betw een U niontow n & K eym a r)
O P EN
N O V. 26TH -D EC . 19TH
D ou gla s F ir • N or w a y S p r u c e • Blu e S p r u c e F raser F ir 4-9 ft.
9a m -5p m Th u rs -S u n .,
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S e r bia n S p r u c e • W h ite Pin e • Ca n a a n F ir & W r e a th s F ree B aling!
O ve r 15,000 Tr e e s Ava ila ble S aw s Provided
C u t Y o u r O w n Trees
O p en D a ily 9-4 F ri 12-4; Fres h Fa rm H a n d m a d e
441779
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(410) 876-8839 2198 Sam ’s C reek R d W rea th s 12” -40”
C los ing 12Noon on C hris tm a s Eve • L ive Tre e s • Taylorsville, M D 7 S izes A va ila b le
Enjo y Co m p lim e nta ry
440536
410-875-0665
D irection s: Rt. 140 to 97 sou th, tu rn lefton Hook Rd . D rive, 1.5 m iles. L efton W a rm Ap p le Cid e r!!
Arn old Rd . F irstfarm on right(follow sign s.) Notresp on sib le foraccid en ts. w w w.Bre e zy Tre e s.com
440674
AAreaH’s Lao rgest
lidaCo yveredT Diraspladitio
y
n C hoose
hoose and
and C u tC hrist
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asTrees
T rees
Trees u p to 12 ’ ta ll Pric es s ta rting a t$3 0
C a th edra l
o f Fresh, Pre- Cu tChristm a s Trees H eigh ts D o ugla s Fir • Fra ser Fir • B lue S p ruce • W hite Pine
or C u t You r O w n from O u r 40 A cres of Trees Trees
Saturday A nd S unday Only 9am -5pm
W reaths • Rop in g • S w ags • Holly • L ive T rees to P lan t
P icn ic Area • K id ’s P lay Area an d P ettin g Zoo
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Fra-M arTree Farm
S ha k in g , b a ilin g , d rillin g , loa d in g a s s is ta n c e &
3601 S hiloh Road
ha p p y Chris tm a s m e m orie s in c lu d e d FREE
Ham pstead,M D
440627
V is it Sa n ta -call fordates and tim e
S ho w va ker’s Q u a lity Evergreen s
2020 G arrettRd ., M an chester
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L efton G arrettRd .
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410- 374- 1499 w w w.q u alityevergreen s.com
FR EE G IFT w ith pu rcha se a n d this a d
B ea u tifu l F resh C u t C h ristm a s Trees Serving M aryland and
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B a ls a m Fir, Fra s erFir, Co nc o lo r, Percentage
of Pink Tree Sales
Ca na a n Fir, D o u gla s Fir Fresh W reaths & Greens, Cut & Live Trees, goes to Susan G.
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A lso Balled & Burlapped Trees,Roping,
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W reathes & Sw ags m ade here on the farm !
The D e stina tio n fo r the D isce rning G a rd e ne r
To show ourappreciation,Registerfora 410-549-8788
$10 0 G iftCertific a te from Lo w es 935 W .L ib e rty Ro a d • S yke sville • Rt.26 ne a r Eld e rsb u rg
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Hours:M on -Thurs9am -8pm ;Fri,Sat& S un 8am -9pm T he V illage G ardens • 410-549-8788 T he V illage G ardens • 410-549-8788
433135