quasify

Over the weekend I wanted to try something special so I made a gooseberry dessert. For many in my family gooseberries hold a somewhat peculiar place of honor, being held (in the context of pies) to esteem above all other fruits. It’s difficult to purchase gooseberries here in the northeast, an irritation related to either low supply or demand. I’ve never really met other people who have actively liked gooseberries and most people I mention them to have never even tried them. So anyway after looking at a stupid high number of grocery stores I ended up borrowing a can with a promise to pay the loaner back two-fold after I get around to ordering my own.

So anyway, in brief, my gooseberry tart thing recipe (hashed out with help of my mom & internet strangers).

1) Mix a can of gooseberries, two thirds cup sugar and three tablespoons of flour together, bring a gentle boil. Let that cool. It will set up into a liquidy gel.

2) Make a top/bottom pie crust recipe. Instead of balling in two, make 8 to 12 smaller balls.

3) Mix an 8oz cream cheese (softened) w/ three tablespoons of sugar.

4) Flatten small balls (optionally, with your newly purchased and totally bitchin’ rolling pin), smush a tablespoon or two of cream cheese in the center and cover with a similar amount of the cooled gooseberries.

5) Crimp those bad boys shut and trim excess. We’ll have to pretend like I did this part of the recipe correctly.

6) Bake at 400 for 10-14 minutes.

My not-very-objective opinion is these tasted pretty decent but didn’t turn out to be terribly attractive. I think had I baked them in a mini-cupcake cooking sheet instead of on a flat pan it might have kept the three dimensionality I imagined when I started the project. Next time.