Friday Cooking: Sweet Dream Pie

As much as we're all ready for Nigel to start preschool in a few weeks, I am kind of sad that we won't have as much time together. So, I thought it'd be fun to do something special together on the days that he's home. Enter: Friday Cooking. I LOVE to cook, but I hate to bake. Even if I'm following a recipe I usually mess something up and end up disappointed. So, this project will also hopefully get my over my fear of the exact, measured kind of cooking baking requires. Nigel loves to help in the kitchen and eat the results, so it's a win-win.

Last week we enjoyed the book Sweet Dream Pie from the library. In the story, an older couple mixes up an amazing sugary pie with gumdrops, cookies, candy canes, etc. The pie's supposed to make you have sweet dreams, but everyone who ate it ate too much and ended up having wild dreams and a restless sleep.

There's no way I was going to let Nigel eat a pie with all of those things inside, so we dug through my recipe box and he chose a Chocolate-Nut Tart with Dried Fruit recipe that I'd clipped from Gourmet (the recipe's below). It was pretty easy, although next time I'll steer him toward a recipe that he can do more with (read: one that doesn't having scalding hot cream and involve lots of knife work). Nigel pricked the pie crust, measured out the dried fruit and nuts, spread the jelly, dumped the cold cream into the pan before I heated it up, etc. What does it taste like? The pie is VERY rich, and it reminds me of my beloved Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut Bar. If you're fortunate to live in a not so hot place, you might be able to leave the pie out on the counter. We're not that fortunate, so I had to store it in the fridge and then let it soften slightly on the counter.

Chocolate-Nut Tart with Dried Fruit
1 refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of a 15-oz package)
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
1/2 cup whipping cream
12 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 cup assorted nuts (we used pecans because they're soft and hazelnuts because they're relatively easy to chop)
1 cup assorted dry fruit (we used pineapple, golden raisins and razzcherries)
pinch of salt
1/3 cup toffee bits for garnish (we didn't do this)

Preheat oven to 450. Press pie crust into bottom and up sides of 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom (we don't have this kind of pan because, again, I don't bake, so I used a normal pie pan); trim edges and prick crust with a fork. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool. Spread preserves over the bottom of the crust.
Bring cream to a simmer in a heavy saucepan. Reduce to low and add chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in nuts, fruit and salt. Spread chocolate mixture in crust. Sprinkle toffee bits on top. Chill until set. (I let it cool on the counter for a bit and then some in the fridge before I covered it with plastic wrap). Serve cold or at room temperature.