6/11/07 from "Rusty Lotti Bond"

Hello Viviane, Making the crostata was quite an experience. Possibly it should have been on video. Not quite as outrageous as Julia Child and the chicken-on-the-floor episode, but...

It began in the middle of the night. The memory, that I had forgotten to go to the liquor store on my way home from work Friday to buy Grand Marnier, engulfed me so strongly that I awakened with a start. Wide-eyed. After driving into the bowels of New Jersey to get gorgeous, fresh picked strawberries, and with the plan to get up early Saturday morning to make the strawberry crostata, and leave the house by 11 a.m. with the cooled-off dessert, this was a disaster. There was nothing in my closet that would substitute for Grand Marnier. By 6 a.m. I was on the web trying to find the earliest opening liquor store. Not much help on the web. So I began dialing near-by stores on the phone. No messages with hours!! Until about 6:30 a voice answered "hello". I thought I had a wrong number, but he said that "yes, this is Hartell's". I said you are open? and he said not until 7:00. I said "You are kidding. Seven?" He said yes.

So at 7:15 I walked into Hartell's Liquor store which is a few blocks from my apartment in Nyack. The door was wide open to the liquor store, as was the next door market, and next door to that, the deli. All with signs above saying "Hartell's" which I had never noticed before -- all those signs. Alone I stood in the store until a man (Mr. Hartell) appeared and said "You called?" I said "Yes". He said "I thought you were asking about he deli. It's open, but not the liquor store." I said "Oh dear". Well I must have looked like a very suspicious person having been up for some time, and having just thrown on yesterday's yoga attire in a rush. Never mind hair. You hear about senior citizens having drinking problems, and by now I'm sure he had me pegged as one of those. So I blurted out "I have to make a pie." I swear, I heard a sigh of relief from him. He no longer had a sot on his hands. He said "Well I guess I can help you with your pie. What do you need?" So with great joy I got my Grand Marnier.

But that's not the end. I followed your directions for making the crust, and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour while I prepared the strawberries. But when I rolled it out, I could not pick it up to place on the jelly roll pan. No matter what I did, it fell apart -- into pieces. So... I rolled it out ON the jelly roll pan. I could not lift the edges up. The dough stuck firmly to the pan. So I put it in the freezer and kept peeking at it thinking it will set up just enough that I could lift the edges and I would work very fast at putting on the berries... No way. I scrapped it off the sheet, rolled it into a ball and put it back in the refrigerator. Rolled it out again, and to pieces it fell once more. So I put it into an 11" tart pan. By now the strawberries were submerged in their own deliciously fragrant juice. I poured it all into the pan, and took the pieces that came from the edges and formed a "free hand" circle (about 5 inches) and plopped it in the center.

I rushed to shower and get dressed while the tart baked, thinking I was going to have to stop at Didier Dumas on the way -- for dessert, which was supposed to be my contribution to lunch with my friend. But when the tart came from the oven it was so pretty, and smelled devastating. I put it in the refrigerator for a few short minutes and the juice began to set!! So I put it in a bag and went off to my friends cabin by a stream in a deep forest in Westchester. She quickly fixed me a very strong gin and tonic. The tart was delicious beyond belief.

But what did I do wrong?

Best,

Rusty

6/12/07 from "Viviane"

Dear Rusty!

Thank you so much for your wonderful email! I feel very, very sorry for all the anxiety that you went through, but it was delicious to read!!!

What you did wrong is that you didn't put enough flour on your counter before you rolled the dough. You need to flour your working surface very heavily. Then when you pick up the dough, you have to gently lift it with the flat of your hands — slowly working your way to the center until it lifts all by itself. This takes about 15 seconds. Then you quickly transfer it onto the jellyroll pan.

I have made countless crostata in my years and I guess I am so used to making them that all those little problems do not occur anymore and I forget about them... So your email is a great reminder of what happens with dough!

You know what? I will make a video of this one — just for you!

Warm regards,

Viviane

Go back to recipe for Strawberry Crostata with Grand Marnier