SHOW & RECIPE FOR JUNE 30

IN PHILIPPE’S KITCHEN
This entire show was born recently, when Chef Philippe Schmidt hosted a Loire Valley dinner at his Bistro Moderne. Having been wowed by the dinner, we decided to turn those wines and the kinds of foods served with them into a perfect summer show. We start where all great meals always start, in the kitchen. Surrounded by his cooks, Philippe walks us through all that happens there, as well as his fascination with brave new ingredients.

VALLEY OF THE LOIRE
Most people know at least a little about the lovely Loire Valley – it’s the place with all those chateaux, for starters. But even the centuries of wealth on display in its towering castles is nothing compared to the wealth displayed in its bottles of wine. As two wine people from the valley explain, the region may be best known for whites that fit perfectly into Houston summer – but the reds are a treasure more on par with those of Burgundy and Bordeaux than we might be tempted to expect.

MAKING IT BITE-SIZE
In Spain, there are tapas. In Italy, antipasti. In Greece and most parts of the Middle East, there are meze by many names. But in France, somehow, we forget about hors d’oeuvres. Or perhaps, after too many cocktail parties with lackluster nibbles, we don’t give the French contribution its due. All that is about to change with the new cookbook called “Bite Size: Elegant Recipes for Entertaining” By French chef Francois Payard. Payard, who help his friend Philippe with the Bistro Moderne wine dinner, tells us all about it.

This Week’s Delicious Mischief Recipe…
FRENCH PEAR TART

Pears:
4 cups water
2 cups sugar
3 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
3 large ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cut in halve, remove the stem and core
2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a 3-quart casserole, bring the water to a boil, add the sugar, cloves, cinnamon and lemon juice, simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pears and poach over low heat until soft. With a slotted spoon remove the pear halves and arrange cored side down on a wire rack to drain.

Pie Crust:
1 ½ cup cake flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ stick butter, chilled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
4 tablespoon chilled water

Sift the flour and salt on to a working surface; add the chilled butter and vegetable shortening. Knead with your hands and add the water one spoon at the time. Gather the dough into a ball, dust with a little flour and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for one hour. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough and line a 9 inch fluted false-bottom pie pan. Line bottom with foil, and cover with two cups of beans to hold the foil down. Bake at 400 ° for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, and you are ready for the filling.

Filling:
1 pound almond paste, room temperature
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
¾ cup flour
½ stick soft butter
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups apricot jam
¼ cup kirsch (cherry brandy)

Place almond paste into a large mixing bowl. Using a rotary electric mixer combine one egg at a time with the almond paste. Add the sugar, vanilla and mix until nice and smooth without any lumps. Add the egg yolks and butter and blend well together. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the flour. Heat the apricot jam with the kirsch in a small pan over low heat. To assemble the tart, spread half of the apricot mixture in the bottom of the pastry shell. Arrange the pear halves in the tart shell like the spokes of a wheel, spread the almond paste over the pears and bake for 45 minutes at 375°, until firm in the center and nice and brown. Glaze the tart with the remaining apricot mixture. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.