Summer Berry Tart with Fresh Berries, Chamomile Glaze, Grand Marnier and Honey-Whipped Chèvre

Just in time for summer entertaining, our Executive Chef Sunny Jin created a recipe—Summer Berry Tart with Fresh Berries, Chamomile Glaze, Grand Marnier and Honey-Whipped Chèvre—to showcase the essence of summertime in Montana. “I was thrilled to use edible flowers plucked from the fields of The Resort at Paws Up and use them in a dessert big enough to share with friends and family around a fire,” says Jin. We hope you’ll try this recipe for a taste of Paws Up and Montana in your own home. We sat down with Jin to ask him about this recipe.

What was your inspiration when you created this recipe?

I’m consistently inspired by Montana and the flavor profiles of what grows naturally around here. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to incorporate them into dishes to further enhance the Montana experience of our guests.

Is this a new recipe or have you made it before?

This is a new recipe, based around and featuring the available ingredients from local farmers and from foraging the hills of Greenough, Montana.

Will this recipe be on the menu at Paws Up this summer?

We are still deciding what local delicacies will be on the summer menu at Paws Up. A favorite right now is our wood-fired huckleberry cobbler. The summer berry pie will be available upon request for our guests who would like to experience it. We like to make the magic happen here at Paws Up, folks.

What’s a cooking tip or two to use when preparing this recipe?

When I created this recipe, I built the pie in a manner that made me happy. There was no rhyme or reason to the placement of the berries or flowers, which grow abundantly in Montana. I would encourage our home cooks to use the same mentality of being inspired by the beauty of the ingredients and celebrating them. It’s not too often in baking that we don’t follow the rules of the measurements—for parts of this recipe you can!

Why did you choose this type of crust for this tart?

This crust was chosen to allow the real story to be about the berries. We could embellish all day, but sometimes using the simplest things is the best approach.

If you could share this tart with anyone in the world who would it be and why?

The one person who comes immediately to mind is Martha Stewart! She’s the epitome of baking and summertime entertaining (and entertaining in general) and aside from the idea that she’d like this recipe, I would love to have a conversation with her. Short answer, she seems cool. To anyone reading this: can you have her people call my people, please?

Summer Berry Tart with Fresh Berries, Chamomile Glaze, Grand Marnier and Honey-Whipped Chèvre

Makes 1 (8-inch) Tart

Ingredients

For the Glaze:

2 tablespoons chamomile, dried

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup glucose (light corn syrup can be substituted)

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Directions

  1. Gently steep chamomile, water and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar has dissolved.
  2. Remove from heat and let stand 2 minutes.
  3. Strain the glaze. Add the Grand Marnier and let cool. (This will be used to glaze the berries once assembled.)

Ingredients
For the Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cold butter, cubed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cold water

1 egg

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Combine flour, butter and sugar into a food processor. Pulse the mixture lightly until only small clumps remain. Add chilled water and the egg. Gently pulse again until the dough just comes together.
  3. Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead until the mixture is smooth; shape into a disc. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Once chilled, roll dough out on a floured surface until about 1/4-inch-thick.
  4. Gently place dough over an 8-inch pie pan and mold to the shape of the pan. Use a butter knife along the ridge of the pan to remove excess dough. Prick bottom of the dough with a fork to avoid warping and rising.
  5. Transfer pie pan to the oven and bake 10 minutes. Rotate and bake for 10 minutes more or until golden brown. Bring to room temperature once cooked. Set aside.

Ingredients
For the Whipped Chèvre:

3 cups chèvre

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup wildflower honey

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

  1. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip chèvre on medium speed until creamy. Continue to whip until it the mixture has doubled in volume. Reduce the speed and slowly drizzle in the heavy cream.
  2. Add powdered sugar, honey, Grand Marnier and lemon juice and continue to mix until all ingredients are fully incorporated.

Garnish:

1 pint each of fresh berries—strawberries, raspberries and blueberries

Fresh mint leaves (optional)

Edible garden flowers (optional)

Directions

To Assemble Tart:

  1. Spread an even layer of the whipped chèvre in the base of the tart shell.
  2. Arrange berries over the top until evenly covered. Brush the glaze over the berries. Finish with a light garnish of mint leaves and edible flowers. Enjoy!

The Resort at Paws Up Welcomes Austin Grill Master Evan LeRoy for BBQ-U

Comfortable around a live fire from a young age, Chef Evan LeRoy’s culinary experiences range from fine dining at Hudson’s on the Bend to barbecue at Hill Country Barbecue. LeRoy was named as one of Zagat’s 30 Under 30 rising stars in the Austin culinary scene. LeRoy has appeared on Burgers, Brew & Que and Food Porn and gained the title of Austin Grill Master on the Travel Channel.

In 2017, LeRoy opened the barbecue truck LeRoy and Lewis, with a rotating menu of nontraditional meats and cuts and a working motto of “new school barbecue, old school service.” LeRoy has also traveled to Australia and Russia to train and work with prospective pit masters and is known for his openness to teaching and sharing smoking secrets. We are thrilled to have him this year for BBQ-U on June 22–24, 2018. We had a chance to sit down with LeRoy for a quick interview.

The last time you visited Paws Up was in 2016, correct? Tell us a little about your favorite memory on our ranch.

Correct. I took a hike through the woods one morning and saw a bald eagle for the first time in my life. Also, the last day of archery with my wife was fun and competitive.

What activity are you most excited about trying on property?

I’m most interested in doing some fishing this trip. I was not able to do that last time, and it seems like fun.

How did you become interested in barbecue?

I’ve been interested in barbecue for a long time. Since I was a kid cooking in the backyard with my dad. It’s more than an interest growing up in Texas—it’s an ingrained part of our culture.

Can you tell us about the dual smoker, which we hear you’re bringing to Paws Up? And why it’s called “the twins”?

Between leaving Freedmen’s (my last BBQ job) and opening LeRoy and Lewis, I taught some classes to keep me busy, keep money coming in and to stay relevant in the barbecue scene. I liked the idea of cooking with people and connecting with people over BBQ on a deeper level. One of my students was Sheldon Mason from Montana. He has his own pop-up BBQ business, and he designed the pits for capacity and travel—as two back-to-back smokers that mirror one another.

Can you explain what you mean by “new school barbecue”?

As the next generation of Texans who are carrying this tradition of barbecue into the next decades, it’s our responsibility to put our own stamp on it, improve it and give it to those who come after us. New school BBQ is about taking the method and soul of BBQ and injecting new life into it with updates on classic cuts, global flavor profiles and modern hospitality.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
Vegetables, mostly in pasta and stir fries. I like to keep it simple and use herbs from my garden. I also use a lot of eggs.

What is your favorite cooking show on television?

Used to be Good Eats. Now it’s Mind of a Chef.

Is there something you’ve never grilled that you want to attempt?

I’ve never cooked a fish I caught on the beach or on a shore. I would love to do that.

 What travel destination is next on your bucket list?

Germany, Hawaii, Italy.

If you could cook alongside one barbecue chef, who would it be?

I would love to cook with Tootsie Tomanetz from Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, TX.

From the Grammys to Glamping Robbie Fulks Kicks Off Campfire Stars 

From the Grammys to Glamping, Robbie Fulks will be heading to The Resort at Paws Up for Campfire Stars at Paws Up on June 19–23. Robbie is a singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer and songwriter. His most recent release, 2017’s Upland Stories, earned year’s-best recognition from National Public Radio and Rolling Stone among many others, as well as two Grammy® nominations for folk album and American roots song. We were lucky to sit down with Robbie for a chat.

Your last record, Upland Stories, was nominated for two Grammys in 2017. Did that bring your career more exposure?

It’s definitely helped. I’ve been playing at more places where people are listening respectfully as opposed to throwing bottles at my head. (laughs)

Did you attend the ceremony?

I was there with the whole family. The bigger ceremony is telecast and that was the part I was expecting not to enjoy, but it was amazing. Beyoncé and Bruno Mars and all these people are great singers. It was like a positive presentation of the state of popular music today and the production was done very well.

You performed at Paws Up during Montana Master Grillers 2015. What were your experiences at Paws Up like?

It was super memorable. As far as gigs go, usually you travel someplace and you’re in and out, but at Paws Up, somebody picks you up and takes you out into the woods and you’re there for three or four days. And the amenities are unbelievable. You can hike. You can rappel. The food is unbelievable and the staff is really kind.

Do you have songs in mind that you will play during Campfire Stars?

No, not at all. The way that it works best for me is to go in and respond to the situation, to keep it in the moment. If you plan too much in advance, the audience can read it and it can seem scripted and gets a little bit robotic sometimes.

What would you tell young people at Campfire Stars who might want to start playing music themselves?

For me, music was a great thing to have early in life because it set up music as a verb, not as something that you just go and witness. It’s something participatory as well. It’s something that can be meaningful about where you live and what your ancestry is. So I try to reflect that now when I play.