TWD/BCM: Cranberry Crackle Tart

"Close your eyes and pretend to be in Paris," I said.

Ahhhhhh...

Yes, this was good.

Unlike anything we've had before.
Fantastic crust spread with jam and topped
with a crunchy cranberry-studded meringue.

Equally important, it was a nice, light, prelude-to-Thanksgiving use for the excess cranberries I'm forced to purchase every year. My mother's cranberry salad recipe calls for a pound of cranberries. They only come in 12 ounce bags now, so I usually buy two and scale up. This year I didn't have to do that.

It's a special year for Mother's Cranberry Salad. I don't have that many cooking memories from childhood, but one clear memory is the grinding of the cranberries. We had a metal grinder that clamped onto our kitchen table, in fact there was a permanent dent in the table from the grinder's once-a-year workout. I haven't seen that grinder in over 30 years.


A couple of weeks ago, I was leaving the quilt guild meeting over in Marietta when I saw a small "estate sale" sign. For some reason, that sign spoke to me, so I turned around and went in search of the sale. Guess what I found? I couldn't believe it when I saw a grinder just like the one from my childhood! Best 6 dollars I ever spent.






Today we put that thing to work. The ground-up cranberries have a different consistency than berries that have been run through a food processor (which was the only way I could make the salad for the past 30 years). What a pleasure it was turning the handle, watching those little orbs being sucked into the screw-mechanism and emerging from the holes on the front as a deep red slurry. This time I had a daughter with me instead of a mother. The beat goes on. My cup runneth over. And just as we were finishing up, a flower delivery came from my sister. It was almost like she was there too.

Any recipe this dirty has been used a few times.

The other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers who made Cranberry Crackle Tart can be found here. The recipe can be found in Baking Chez Moi. It's a fabulous book. We've only just started baking through it, so now would be a great time to join in if you're interested.

Here's a shoe. Happy Thanksgiving!