By special invitation is my almond-crust-cranberry-curd tart.

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA . Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. It is believed to be modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people.

For my whole life Thanksgiving centered around family and friends, old and new, sharing both a meal and each other. As a child Thanksgiving was held at our house and all our aunts, uncles and cousins would come for a huge mid-day meal. We had to finish early as our uncles had to go back to the farm to milk the cows. I had a lot of aunts and uncles and LOTS of cousins. Mostly I remember the pies, so many pies.

Since moving to California our son and daughter in law have hosted Thanksgiving and this year was no exception. There were over 20 people and enough food for 50.

I made an apple pie, an almond-crust-cranberry-curd tart (see below) and sweet potato dinner rolls. There were also two pumpkin pies and very little left when we were done.

Cranberry Curd Tart Almond Crust

INGREDIENTS
For the crust
• 99g (½ c) granulated sugar
• 113g (8 Tbl) unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ tsp table salt
• 1 tsp King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 180g (1½ c) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 72g (¾ c) almond flour or finely ground sliced or slivered almonds

For the cranberry curd
• 12 ounces cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• juice of one orange (~ ¼ c)
• 250g (1 ¼ c) sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 113g (½ c, 1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur, such as TripleSec or Grand Marnier (optional)

For the Italian meringue
• 2 egg whites
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water

METHOD
Crust

1. Mix butter with sugar then add salt then vanilla.
2. Add egg and mix until incorporated. Stir in flour. Mix by hand like you are kneading bread until incorporated
3. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 min
4. Pre-heat oven to 350⁰F
5. Butter tartl pans, or use non-stick pans
6. Dock (prick holes in) bottom and sides of formed dough then refrigerate for 20 minutes
7. Line tart pan with crumpled then smoothed parchment paper and fill with pastry weights.
8. Paint edges of the tartlet with the egg wash.
9. Bake in preheated oven 350⁰ F (175⁰ C) for 15 min. Remove pastry weights 5 minutes before the end of the bake.
10. Immediately remove from pans and cool on a wire rack
    
    Cranberry Curd
11. Heat the cranberries and orange juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the cranberries split. Mix with an immersion blender then strain through a food mill or fine mesh sieve and discard the skins.
12. Return the strained cranberry mixture to the saucepan and add the sugar, eggs, egg yolks, butter, vanilla, and orange liqueur (if using) to the pan and give everything a good stir. Heat gently over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and registers 170°F on an instant read thermometer (this usually takes about 8-9 minutes). Immediately strain (again) through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring bowl and then pour into the prepared crust. (The curd can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You may need to bake it a few more minutes for the tart to set when baking from chilled)
13. Bake (still at 350°F) until the curd is set (it should jiggle but not slosh), about 10 minutes. (Curd was jiggly after 20 more minutes baking.)
14. Let cool at room temperature for about 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill. You can serve this chilled or at room temperature.
    
    Italian meringue
15. Add egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
16. When the sugar mixture registers about 220°F turn on the mixer and begin beating the egg whites on medium speed.
17. When the sugar mixture registers 240°F remove from heat and carefully pour into the mixer over the egg whites. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks.
18. Transfer to a piping bag (or zip top bag) and pipe onto cooled tart as desired. If you want, torch the meringue with a kitchen torch. (But since it is cooked, this is totally optional).

As long as the oven was on and I had time to wait for doughs to chill etc, I also made a loaf of artisan bread.