My favorite part of our annual Hudson weekend was getting to drop cash on a case of vino at Hudson Wine Merchants. We had to add a few $11 bottles of the delicious, medium-bodied Kaiken cabernet from Argentina after our wine seller described it as having a refreshing "hint of mint". We also loved the big cherry flavor of the 2003 Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo which, while apparently not as chocolaty as its preceding vintages, still had nice inky body. I tossed a jiggerful in with some sliced local Italian sugar plums for an impromptu midnight tart that we munched on after watching Singin' In the Rain. (See it again if it's been a while — Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds are total dreamboats.)
Midnight Plum Tart
It's midnight. Don't mess with the measuring spoons and cups. Use your eyeballs to measure and your tongue to taste.
Lots (2 lbs.?) of plums, any kind as long as they're local
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of sugar, depending on how sweet your plums are
Gentle sprinkle of cornstarch
A big splash of red wine leftover from dinner
1 generous splash of vanilla
2 dashes of cinnamon
1 pinch of cloves
1 ready-made pie crust (yeah, yeah, I know how to make pie crust, but sometimes you want pie, not process)
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Slice up the plums, skin on. Toss with the rest of the ingredients (except for the crust). Unroll the crust onto a baking sheet, a pizza pan, or whatever ovenproof dish is handy. Arrange your plum slices, skin side down, in a pretty or a haphazard way, depending on how much of that red wine you have already had to drink. Roll the edges of the pie crust towards the middle, making a little lip to catch any of the juices. Pour the remaining juice from the plum bowl on top of the plums. Bake for 10-15 minutes til the pie crust is golden brown. Serves 8-12, more or less. Would be great with vanilla ice cream if you've got any hiding in the freezer.
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By the way, I tweaked this recipe yet again. We ran out of berries this morning, so I used 1/2 cup of hot water-soaked golden raisins, zest of a lemon, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp. ground cardamom, and 1/2 inch piece of microplaned ginger instead. Topped with a little crunchy granola. Still awesome.
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