Product Description

A cookbook in the tradition of The Silver Palate and The Barefoot Contessa . . .

In New York City, famous for its food and restaurants, locals are reverential about the bakeshop and café Once Upon a Tart. For more than a decade, they have been lining up at the store mornings and afternoons, waiting patiently for their signature scones, muffins, soups, salads, sandwiches, cookies, and—of course—tarts. And pretty much since the day the café opened, patrons have been asking—sometimes begging—the proprietors for their sweet and savory recipes. Good news: the wait is over.

In Once Upon a Tart, the café’s founders and co-owners, Jerome Audureau (a New Yorker via France) and Frank Mentesana (a New Yorker via New Jersey), go public with their culinary secrets (“We don’t have any,” says Frank. “That’s our biggest secret of all”) and recipes. They also tell their inspiring success story, from selling tarts wholesale out of a warehouse in Long Island City to opening their now-famous outpost in Soho.

In nine delicious chapters ranging from savory tarts to cookies, the authors instruct and advise home cooks on everything from how to make the flakiest tart crust (“keep the dough cold”) to making sandwiches (“condiments are key”) to how to diet (“you want half the calories, eat half the scone”). Once Upon a Tart is packed with more than 225 easy-to-prepare recipes, including all the store classics that have earned Frank and Jerome the devotion of their customers: Caramelized-Leek-and-Celery Tart, Creamy Carrot Soup with Fresh Dill, Pork Loin Sandwich with Frisée and Rosemary-Garlic Aioli, Buttermilk Scones with Dried Currants, Banana–Poppy Seed Muffins, and Strawberry-Rhubarb Tart with Crisp Topping.

Says Frank, “We believe that deep down, everyone is a cook.” Adds Jerome, “And that a little butter in your life is a good thing.”

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #261156 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-22
• Released on: 2003-04-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Customer Reviews

The Art of the Tart
Don't miss out on reading the Intro. Here is an inspirational story of the beginnings of two people who fall in love with what they do--tarts.

Here are their tried and true recipes, for which they've made them over and over again. The results are yours for the baking. To do this there are great sections on equipment, technique.

Not only for tarts, but salds, soups and muffins, brownies, cookies, etc.

I'm particularly impressed with "Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart with Basil" "Chocolate-Banana Tart" "Black Plum and Honey Tart".

The Summer Berry Scones are knock outs and The Crunchy Dried Cranberry-Chocolate Chip Cookies are killers also.

This will be a fun book for the home gourmet to mess around with and discover new cook with your hands baked goods to eat with the fingers food!

Well done with great reading thorughout, especially with the fun side bars scattered throughout.

Baking my way through Once Upon a Tart
I received this book as a gift a few weeks ago and I cannot stop baking!! It is filled with wonderful receipes, photos and information. The receipes are very easy to follow, even for a novice baker like myself, and the results are just outstanding. My friends, family and colleagues are now clamoring for "my tarts" and "my scones". The orange scones with chocolate chips, on page 254 are my favorite. But I am sure I will find others. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves food, even if they do not bake, as the book is fun to read.

These guys are real sweet tarts!!!!
For someone who has minimal baking/cooking skills, I found the book user friendly, with beautiful, lush photographs. As well, Mr. Audureau's humor is very charming and disarming allowing you to feel confident in executing these yummy treats. By the end of the book, you too will feel you can open you own little tart shop in the south of France. Enjoyable read!