My peach tart - unfortunately a thunderstorm outside made for poor lighting and affected the final picture
I like to channel sports glory movies. Last night, as I tried to make a peach tart by rolling the dough for my crust for the fourth time, I thought of The Karate Kid’s tournament montage scene: Daniel beating Cobra Kai after Cobra Kai against all odds to the soundtrack of Joe Esposito’s You’re the Best.
If I was ever going to deliver an adequate crust (I had long passed perfect at this point), I needed to think I was the best. Like Daniel’s victory, I knew I needed one swift crane kick (i.e. several rapid strokes with my rolling pin) to turn fresh dough into a perfectly round tart shell.
After three failed attempts, gathering up the dough into a new ball each time to re-chill again in the fridge, I focused and fought, concentrating on both my dough and the song lyrics:
Fight ‘til you drop / never stop / can’t give up / ‘til you reach the top (FIGHT) / You’re the best in town (FIGHT!) / listen to that sound
Yes, Joe Esposito, I did fight. And I did eat a peach tart last night. I gave that crust all I had and, on the fourth try, ended up with a jagged circle of dough that I was able to press into my tart pan.
My finished tart crust
I also ended up channeling Juila Child. The juices from the peaches soaked the crust, softening it enough so that crust fell apart when I cut it. It didn’t look pretty.
My crust crumbled, but I served it anyway
But I thought of A.O. Scott’s review of Julie & Julia in the New York Times: “Julia Child knew what to do with a broken sauce or a half-fallen souffle: serve it anyway, with flair and without apology.” I’m sure she would have said the same thing about tarts.
Peach Tart
I baked the tart shell as instructed in the first recipe, then baked the full tart, filling included, at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes (check for soft fruit and juice bubbles after 20 minutes)
