Ingredients:

Stock
1 Chipolte Beer BBQ Chicken Carcass (or a 3-4 lb. chicken carcass)
2 carrots
1/2 large yellow onion
1/2 head of garlic, smashed but not peeled (don’t bother)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 small handful of cilantro
1 small handful of parsley
4 stalks of celery with leaves

10-12 cups of water (enough to cover the contents in a large soup pot)

Soup
10-12 cups of stock (recipe above), divided

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 serrano pepper, seeded and diced
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 green bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
1 cup of short grain white rice
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

2 ears of corn, kernels removed
Kosher salt, to taste (I used about 3 Tablespoons)

Toppings
1 lime, cut into quarters
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
fresh cilantro, chopped
Mexican crema (or sour cream)
Crushed corn chips

Directions:

Make the Stock
Place a large stockpot with lid over medium heat. Add in the chicken carcass, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, cilantro, parsley, and celery. Next add in enough water to cover the contents of the pot by a few inches (approximately 10-12 cups). Bring the liquid to a strong simmer, and then reduce the heat to maintain a very low simmer. Cover the pot and cook the stock for 2 hours. Once the stock has cooked, carefully strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a very large bowl. Rinse out the stockpot, and set it aside in a heatproof location.

Make the Soup
Place 1 cup of the stock in a blender along with the jalapenos, serrano pepper, and chipotle peppers. Blend the mixture until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Set aside.

Return the large stockpot to the stove, over medium heat. Add grapeseed oil to the pot, and then add in the onion and green bell peppers. Saute the vegetables until they are just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add in the rice and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Next, add the strained stock to the pot along with shredded chicken and the blended pepper mixture.

Cook the soup at a moderate simmer for 20-30 minutes until the rice is cooked. Add in the corn and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and taste the soup. Add in as much salt as desired, tasting as you go. (I added about 3 Tablespoons.)

Serve in individual bowls, topped with any combination of lime juice, avocado, tomato, cilantro, crema, and tortilla chips.

I was particularly mad at myself because I have a long history of cooking scars. (In fact almost all of my scars are from cooking. Hmmm…) It began when I was about 11 and burned my wrist on the oven element while baking muffins. Then it continued when I was 13 with my first (and last) attempt at homemade tortillas, leaving scars on my other forearm. And most recently I learned that browning meat in hot oil while in the buff, is a very bad idea. (Why hasn’t anyone invented a bathrobe that doubles as an apron?) You would think after all of that I would have the foresight to wear mitts when placing a tart in the oven. My father always loves to say, “Stupidity is self-curing.” I’m beginning to wonder…

At times like this I can be a bit of a drama queen, and I woefully moaned to Mr. B “If this leaves a big scar, I’m going to have to get a tattoo to cover it up.” He takes my drama in stride and replied, “Yeah, you could get one of those cool dragon tattoos all up your arm!” That shut me up. Good grief. What is it with men and dragon tattoos? (No Mom, I’m not considering it, put the phone down!)

So back to the wild plum tart. After the drama subsided and my arm was bandaged up we sat down to eat the tart. It was incredible. In fact Mr. B looked over at me and tentatively said, “This is so good, it was almost worth it.” Despite my bandaged state, I had to agree.

This tart begs to be served with vanilla ice cream. My plums were on the tart side and without ice cream to add a touch of sweetness the flavor would simply be incomplete!

Pâte Sucrée (The tart shell)

Ingredients:

1 stick quality butter, room temperature (I used

Plugra)
1/3 cup Sugar
1/4 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 Egg yolk
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the vanilla and egg yolk and mix until the ingredients are well combined. Next add in the flour and continue to mix until no dry bits remain. Scrape the ball of dough out of the bowl and onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Gently press the dough into a flat disk, about 4″ across, and wrap it completely with the plastic wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for several hours or overnight until it is firm.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the dough from the fridge and let warm up for about 5-10 minutes until it is just barely pliable. (If the dough is too stiff to roll out and is just crumbling, let it sit for a few more minutes to warm up slightly.) Lightly flour both sides of the dough and place it between two pieces of parchment paper or two silpats. Use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough into a large 12 inch circle. Place the dough (still sandwiched between the parchment) in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up again.

Gently peel the top sheet of parchment off of the dough. Ready a 10″ tart pan, and then invert the dough into the pan. Remove the remaining sheet of parchment and gently press the dough down into the pan. Pinch off any dough that hangs over the edges of the tart pan, and use it to patch any tears. Next place the tart pan in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up again before baking. (If you don’t do this the dough will shrink in the pan and you will be sorry!)

Take the tart pan straight from the freezer and place it in the center of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until the tart shell is slightly golden. Check on the tart shell about halfway through baking and if you notice any bubbles, use the back of a spoon to press them down. Transfer the tart to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.

Wild Plum Filling

Ingredients:

15-20 wild plums (Wild plums are small. Reduce this to 8-10 if you are using regular plums!)
1 prebaked 10-inch pâte sucrée tart shell (recipe above)
1 stick salted butter (again I used Plugra)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons plum brandy, grappa or kirsch (or just plain brandy if you have nothing else)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons heavy cream (I used whole milk because we were out of cream)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the plums in half, remove the pits, and slice into 1/2 inch wedges. As you cut the plums, arrange the wedges in concentric circles in the prebaked tart shell. This will help you determine exactly how many plums are needed to fill the tart.

Place a small saucepan over low heat. Add the stick of butter and let it melt and bubble. Keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t burn, continue to cook the butter, giving the pan an occasional swirl, until it has turned a toasty light brown color. Immediately take the pan off the heat and add in the lemon juice to stop the cooking. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar until it forms a mixture that drops thickly from the beaters (about 5 minutes of mixing). Add the browned butter, brandy, vanilla, flour, and cream into the bowl. Gently beat the mixture until it is just combined (about 1 minute).

Pour the batter over the top of the plums, jiggling the tart pan gently to evenly distribute the batter. Cover the edge of the tart crust with a pie crust shield or a ring of foil (careful I scorched myself adjusting the foil in the oven!). Place the tart in the top third of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is a golden brown. Transfer the tart to a rack and remove the foil or pie shield. Let the tart cool for 15-30 minutes and then remove the outer tart ring (if the ring sticks in places, gently insert the tip of a knife between the ring and the crust to remove it). Serve the tart warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

First, I made the sauce. A simmering mixture of garlic, onion, fresh tomatoes, a medley of spices, and coconut milk. The fragrance floating off the pan was intoxicating and I made a mental note to track down more Indian recipes very soon. Too often I lean toward Latin American flavors for inspiration and I think I’ve been missing out!

If you are interested in the recipe it is available in printable form here.

You see, I was in a rather difficult place when I started this blog. My life lacked a creative outlet and I had few friends who shared my passion for fantastic food. This, when combined with other day to day details, was causing me to feel unproductive and generally depressed. I knew something had to be done but I felt trapped in routine and circumstance.

I enjoyed reading blogs and one morning it dawned on me that perhaps I could start a blog too. Now I did not have any grand visions of achieving fame or fortune (which is good because that still hasn’t happened!) but the thought of contributing something to the world, no matter how small, really appealed to me.

So I sat down and started to write. In the beginning I was all alone. No comments. No readers. I even waited a few months before telling my mother. And then, after quite a while, a comment appeared. Holy cow- someone was reading! A few days later, amazingly enough, they came back and read some more. As my interaction with other food bloggers and readers grew, I discovered the creative outlet and community I craved. My pursuits in the kitchen and love of fantastic food took on new meaning as all of a sudden, I had people to share it with!

As weeks flew by, the blog began to snowball and take on a life of its own. I pushed myself to continually improve the writing, the recipes, and the photographs- wanting to create something excellent. In the process I discovered that I truly love blogging about food. It has led to the best meals of my life, challenged my creative skills on a daily basis, and most of all introduced me to a wonderful group of people.

Thank you. Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, and thank you for bringing me happiness every day.

I owe a special thanks to Kristin (Going Country), Allie (Screwed Up Texan), Catherine (Unconfidential Cook), Debby (A Feast for the Eyes), and Dana (TheKitchWitch). Your encouragement and comments since the very beginning have meant the world to me. ‘Thank you’ just isn’t enough.