A Tart and Trader Joe's

It has been a momentous weekend for the Pittsburgh grocery scene. Trader Joe's has opened its doors. I'm not sure what sort of unconscious masochistic fantasy I was indulging when I decided to visit Trader Joe's on opening morning. I was curious, I suppose, not having ever lived in the vicinity of this store that seemed to make otherwise rational people go all dewy-eyed and wax poetic about Brie, mango chutney, and such stuff. And I needed to buy supplies for a small dinner party we were hosting that night. So, I downed a cup of coffee on Friday morning and headed down Penn Ave. to the Trader Joe's site.

The parking lot was swarming with cars and people lugging grocery bags, but that chaos could not possibly have prepared me for what I would find inside: A Complete Madhouse. Now, I've actually visited a madhouse before, although we were discouraged from referring to it as such. A small group of Girl Scouts, yours truly among them, were guided through the living quarters, cafeteria, and recreational areas of a North Carolina psychiatric ward sometime around 1992. Looking back on this experience from my position immediately within the front doors of Trader Joe's on opening day, I realized that mad houses come in a variety of forms, and I would have gladly chosen the quiet gray halls of Dorothea Dix over the manic aisles of this grocery store.

The moment I pushed my cart through the sliding door vestibule, I found myself in a line of grocery cart pushing patrons. This line snaked down the first aisle, curved around its end into the second aisle, and continued throughout the entire store. There was no getting out of this procession...veering from it meant going against the flow of traffic, which meant stony stares and mounting claustrophobia. When some unfortunate soul realized that he had failed to grab, say, a can of artichokes, he yelled back toward those carts still in the artichoke vicinity, and requested that a can or two be passed forward toward his cart.

As if this weren't enough to certify this environment as a madhouse, the Hawaiian shirt wearing staff stationed throughout the store, were continually asking if we were Enjoying Ourselves At Trader Joe's!!!????? Every few minutes they provided their own answer to this question when one grinning staff member would send up the call, "I Love Trader Joe's!!!!" whereupon the other staff members would join in exclaiming in unison their own Love for this jammed grocery store, and proved it with hand claps and "Woo-hoo!" shouts.

Perhaps all of this could have been bearable if I had found all the things on my shopping list. The aisles were stuffed with gourmet canned soup, pre-made cheese cakes and pesto pizzas, fancy cookies, and an array of flavored hummus dips; but lamb shanks, endive, radicchio, rutabagas, and turnips were not to be found. I had to go to Whole Foods.

So, if I were to give a review of the Pittsburgh Trader Joe's, I would have to say the following: Don't go on opening day. Do go for cheeses, crackers, smoked salmon, dips, and nuts--the kind of stuff you would want for a nice cocktail party. Don't go for meat, bread, or exotic vegetables (but since when have turnips been exotic vegetables?). Do go for sing-a-longs. Do go for olive oil, cooking broths, and maple sugar...the prices are good. I would like to say go for wine, but--damn Pennsylvania laws--I won't. Do go for blanched almonds and white peaches. Then, when you get home, make these tarts.

They are not too sweet, and have a pronounced, but not cloying, almond flavor. The crust is easy to work with. The filling is surprisingly light considering that it's made out of nuts. With a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, one of these four-inch tarts is enough for two people. Should you be serving dessert gluttons, as I happily was, do not insist they share. A single person can easily eat one of these tarts, even after a lamb shank dinner. I did.

White Peach Almond Tart
Serves 4-8 (see above paragraph). From Bon Appetit, June 1997 as "Fresh Plum Frangipane Tart." Of course, you could also make one big tart, in which case you would have to increase the baking time a bit.
Should your Trader Joe's not carry white peaches, this tart would be just as good with plums, apricots, or pears.


Almond Crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons (more or less) ice water

Blend flour, almonds, sugar, and salt in food processor until the almonds are finely ground. Toss in butter and pulse 4-5 times until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add almond extract and 1 tablespoon water. Mix for a few seconds, adding other 1 tablespoon water (or more) until dough forms moist clumps. Turn out clumps onto a work surface, pat them together, and knead a few times to combine. Divide dough into four pieces and flatten them into disks. Wrap them in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Filling
1 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon dark run
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 white peaches, pitted and halved

Glaze
2 tablespoons apricot jam
2 teaspoons brandy

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out one disk of crust dough on a lightly floured surface into a 6 inch round. Transfer dough to a four inch tartlet pan with removable bottom. Press dough into the tart pan, making sure to press it all the way into the flutes of the pan. Trim excess. Repeat with remaining dough disks. Freeze crusts 15 minutes.

2. Place tarts pans on a baking sheet and bake them 6 minutes. Remove and pierce with a toothpick several times to keep it from ballooning. Press crust back down and up sides of pan using the bottom of a small measuring cup if necessary. Continue baking until crust is pale golden brown, about 6 minutes. Cool crusts on baking sheet 15 minutes. Keep oven at 375.

3. For filling: Blend all ingredients except peaches in a food processor until the almonds are finely ground. Spread mixture into prepared crusts, smoothing with small spatula. Place peach halves skin side up on a cutting board. Cut 1 peach half into thin parallel slices, keeping the peach intact by not slicing all the way to the end of the peach. Press the peach to fan out slices. Repeat with remaining peaches. Place fanned peaches, skin side up, on almond filling. Press them down gently to anchor them.

4. Bake tarts on baking sheet until filling is puffed up and golden and peaches are tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove tarts from baking sheet to a rack.

5. For glaze: Stir apricot jam and brandy in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until mixture boils. Strain glaze into a small bow. Brush glaze generously over tart tops and then cool tarts completely. They can be prepared 8 hours in advance of serving and kept at room temperature.