Caroline, our illustrious marketing guru, thought that it would be nice to offer some cooking tips for Thanksgiving. Well.. I’m up to my giblets in tips! Every year, it’s all the same stuff with just a few minor variations. T-Day is T-Day… it’s the beloved groundhog day holiday over and over again! I’m sure the general public knows by now how to brine a turkey and how dangerously fun it is to fry one. So, I thought I’d give out the best tip of all: how to turn some of your leftover veggies into an exciting, bold, sassy and invigorating drink.

It’s the day after, you are in a food coma and want to ease into the day. You open your fridge and see it stuffed with meats, random pies, sauces, dips and dried mashed potatoes. You know that you’ll make a sandwich at some point in the day and maybe even make a stock with the bones; but what do you do with some of the veggies? You might have some green beans, carrots and cauliflower sitting there screaming out, “We don’t want to go into the soup this year. Pulleeaseee sir!”Ok you say… what do I do? and I kind of want some breakfast too. Nooo problem. I say we all make “Bloody Marys” with some select leftover veggies. … chop em up and toss them in your drink AND finish the drink with a piece of crisp smoked bacon. What?!! That’s insane. Insanely good that is. Now you have a morning tonic with a strip of breakfast. Who needs soup?! Now I can’t take all the credit. Props need to go out to that fellow who owns SF Gelato. We met at Stern Grove for a concert and he was making these beauties. My contribution is an outlet for the stray veggies from T-Day…So here is a wonderful idea, if I do say so myself, to indulge in.ps…serve it with a spoon!

Bloody Mary
2 ounces vodka
squirt of fresh lime
pinch of celery salt
salt and pepper
7 drops Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon horseradish
smidge of minced garlic
1 (6-ounce) container clamato or tomato juice
green beans
cauliflower or broccoli
strips of par cooked carrots

Combine all of the ingredients in a mason jar containing ice, stir well, and serve with a celery stick and piece of smoked bacon!
Serve with a straw and spoon.

I was super excited to shoot our new pear tarts at a recent event; so excited that I forgot to capture the finished image? duh.. I guess that I was focusing to much on the manicotti or seared polenta with chopped olives. Oh well.. it actually was a good thing because my haste inspired me to get results in a different way.

Hear Ye Hear Ye! “Calling all photographers”…

Myself and HOG would like to invite all of you to participate in a fun creative contest to see who can come up with the missing money shot! Send in an image of your finished tart and see if you have the skills necessary to win the big, big prize.. oh and what is the prize you ask? The prize is a $100 gift certificate from Zingerman’s fine and eclectic foods . They have a spiffy collection of treats to offer from buttery olive oils to tangy spreads, sharp cheese, chocolates and bread . They’ll ship directly to anywhere in the good ol’ US of A..So come on and have some fun with HOG for the holidays! Give it your best shot. Enter the contest by sending us your tart photo, email us at Hands On Gourmet. The address is tellmemore AT handsongourmet.com

Send all entries by January 1, 2008 and we will announce the winner in the new year.

PS. this tart would also be a great addition to any holiday meal!

Pear Croustade (Tart)
Serves 10 people

For the Dough
1 pound all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ pound butter
8 ounces crème fraîche or sour cream
pinch salt

Chill butter and crème fraîche. Sift dries into a large bowl. Cut cold butter into small pieces and rub into dry ingredients. Mix until the mixture is coarse like cornmeal. Add crème fraîche and flatted dough into thin disk. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.

For the Pears
4-5 Bartlett or Bosc pears, peeled and sliced
1 small piece of nutmeg or 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
juice of one lemon

Peel and slice pears, then toss in lemon juice and season with fresh grated nutmeg.

For the Almond Frangipane Filling
6 ounces brown butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup almond meal
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons frangelico or rum or 1 teaspoon almond extract
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients until a smooth thick batter is formed and then chill.To build and bake the croustades, preheat oven to 325°F. Remove dough from refrigerator and place on flour dusted work surface. Roll out to 1/8-inch thick and cut circles large enough to line the tartlet molds. Chill for 15 minutes and fill with frangipane. Top with sliced pears and bake for about 40 minutes.Serve warm with toasted almonds, whipped crème fraîche and salt caramel sauce or brown butter vanilla sauce.