Teeny Pies

kind of like words with friends, except instead of challenging each other to play a scrabble-esque game, you make a bunch of tarts and then eat them while watching Downton Abbey. As much fun as I imagine words with friends is, I think tarts with friends is way better.

Matty educated my in all things tarts earlier in the week. Our agenda for the afternoon was as follows.

-arrive at Matty’s house to a wondrous array of pickled beets, pie crusts, pears, cinnamon sugar, nutmeg, goat cheese crumbles, and diced onion.

-caramelize the onion to a beautiful golden brown hue.

-assemble the beet tart. Pickled beets first, atop the crust, caramelized onions second, goat cheese crumbles on the very tip top. Artfully arrange the crust along the outside in a very tartlike fashion.

-begin baking the beet tart while assembling the pear tart. Arranging the pears first atop the crust, goat cheese crumbles second, and a very generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar and nutmeg on top. Once again artfully arrange the crust, sprinkle a little more sugar, just for good measure, and bake.

-eat a very delicate half peanut butter sandwich while starting the episode of Downton Abbey. Just a little something to tide ourselves over while the tarts were baking.

-take the first tart out of the oven after the crust turns a golden brown and the cheese is all soft and toasty. Eat most of it in the kitchen, while the second tart finishes baking… because Downton Abbey can wait. The consumption of spectacular tarts is much more important.

-once the second tart is done, eat most of that while adoring Dame Maggie Smith and despising Mrs. O’Brien and her scheming ways.

-waddle home with leftovers.

Doesn’t that make you want to play tarts with friends?