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!

Pro Tips for Packing the Perfect Picnic

Are you dreaming of summer already? We sure are. And this year, we’re going all-out for al fresco, starting with a Chicago-style picnic in a Montana-size park.

Join us on June 16 for our Montana Long Table: Artisanal Picnic, and you’ll have a chance to chat and dine with illustrious Windy City chefs known for their Chicago dogs and gourmet sausages, honey butter fried chicken and hand-crafted pies.

But you don’t have to travel far to enjoy an epic picnic. Let Paws Up Executive Chef Sunny Jin share some inspiring thoughts on dining outside during those dreamy months ahead:

What do you love about eating outside?

The greatest advantage to eating outside is the wholeness of the experience. It allows us to focus on what’s important, and I believe that simply to mean being present and enjoying the moment in front of us.

What are a few of your favorite things to take on a picnic? 

I’m big on variety and small bites. That doesn’t mean extravagance and significant labor. My choices usually consist of cured meats, pickles, olives, cheeses, whole fruits and the best bread I can find. Every region has local favorites of each item, so an assortment is easy to come by.

Other than food, what else might you take? 

My picnic spots are usually at places where cell service and paved roads are absent. That creates a place with less exposure to human contact, so I carry along a book on plant identification. I’m still amazed what I’m able to find now that my eyes have adjusted to the edible surfaces around all of us.

If you were planning a leisurely rafting trip, what would be on the menu? 

Being respectful and observant of fire bans, regulations and conservation should always come first. It would be a bummer to pack for a riverside BBQ, and then come to find that fires are not permissible. I love to grill as much as the next person and would if the opportunity were there. However, to be safe, I try to stick to cold, no-fuss items that travel well. 

Chef Sunny Jin’s Rafting Trip Menu:

Chilled Prime Rib Wraps with Watercress, Pickled Goat Horn Peppers and Cucumber-Horseradish Slaw

Roasted Eggplant Panzanella with Chorizo, Toybox Tomatoes, Chèvre and Banyuls Vinaigrette

Fresh Fruit Bites with Wildflower Honey and Greek Yogurt

Homemade Jerky: My freezer is always stocked with experimental jerky made from earlier hunting and fishing trips.

Dill Pickle Chips: We all have our vices.

Ice Cold IPA: Some have more vices than others.

10 Winter Favorites at The Resort at Paws Up

We are counting down to the holidays and wintertime at The Resort at Paws Up. Read below for our top pics of winter favorites on our 37,000-acre Montana luxury ranch.

10 A WINTER COCKTAIL ENJOYED IN TANK. Special wintery drinks include the Basil Martini with black lava salt and vodka; the Swan Lake with coffee liqueur, vodka and a candy cane rim and the white-rum Whitefish Cocoa with orange, cinnamon and clove.

9 TWO WORDS: HUCKLEBERRY PANCAKES. Our executive chef often turns to locally sourced, fresh ingredients, and there’s not a more tantalizing example than this breakfast favorite, served with real Montana huckleberry syrup.

8 COW CROQUET. It doesn’t get more Montana than Cow Croquet, a brand-new Paws Up activity. You and three teammates mount horses in our indoor arena and guide cows through one of five gates—just as if you were knocking croquet balls through hoops in the back yard.

7 WINTER TRIATHLON. The Paws Up triathlon combines the precision of target shooting and archery with the thrill of cross-country skiing through our glorious winter wonderland. We’ll set you up with everything you need—skis, boots, poles and your own .22-caliber rifle.

6 SLEIGH RIDES. Join our wranglers and their majestic draft horses as they ring in the winter with an enchanting horse-drawn sleigh ride through frosted forests and over powdery hills. Even Kris Kringle would be jealous.

5 DOGSLEDDING. Go ahead, yell “mush!” and off you’ll go into the wild white yonder. Imagine being pulled by Iditarod champion Alaskan huskies through the wilds of Montana—all at the foot of the majestic Garnet Mountains.

4 SNOWMOBILE TRIPS TO GARNET GHOST TOWN. A hundred years ago, Garnet was a thriving town, filled with gold miners. In the winter, Garnet is only accessible by snowmobile, so the only tracks you’re likely to see (other than your own) belong to the resident wildlife.

3 MINDY’S HOTCHOCOLATE. James Beard Award winner Chef Mindy Segal of Chicago’s HotChocolate restaurant will be Paws Up’s resident rock star pastry chef December 26–30. Segal will lead cooking-making classes and serve up her famous velvety hot chocolate.

2. CONOR’S S’MORES. Conor Dannis is Paws Up’s official s’moreologist. His process is a thrill to witness, and Dannis mixes it up by using gourmet ingredients, such as bourbon-flavored marshmallows, dark chocolate and sea salt caramel squares.

1. NEW YEAR’S EVE. Ring in the new year with a dazzling night that begins with an elegant, five-course dinner and ends with live music by American Idol’s Crystal Bowersox, a dance performance by Missoula’s MASC Artisans, “presenting acrobatic air and fire” and (boom) . . . fireworks!