Lots of Treats

Last night, we left our comfort zone and headed to Bad Homburg, a suburb of Frankfurt, to attend a family Halloween party where I only knew the hostess, an American who has lived in Germany for 15 years.  I met her taking a photography class.  Her two teenage girls attend FIS.  We pulled up to a Georgetown Pike like house with a private gate.  A lit trail guided us to the two heated tents with wooden floors placed behind the house.  A DJ played music as caterers served punch "mit alkohol" and "ohne alkohol."  A campfire with hay benches sat next to a small pond.  Germans do not celebrate Halloween, but this international crowd sported costumes real enough to be seen on a Broadway show.  This Halloween party rivaled a small southern wedding.   While we felt a little misplaced, Emily and Owen insisted on staying for the magician.  We left them in the front, while we fell to the tent's back.  We heard the magician ask someone for his or her age.  We immediately knew the question's recipient when the British accent said, "I did not know you were a ventriloquist."  (Emily later explained she had to speak up because Owen would not talk.)

I found a Cordon Bleu trained pastry chef and organized a classic apple tarte class for three people.  She showed us how a classic French tarte shell  - a Pate Sucree - is made.  We walked through the techniques and then enjoyed a slice with French Pressed coffee.

The measurements are not on the butter label here so we used a scale.  The higher fat content in the European butter enriches the taste.

The local grocery store sells full vanilla beans, so we learned how to scrape out the seeds. 

We made a delicious filling using the gala apples I bought yesterday at the farmer's market.

40 minutes later, a beautiful dish.

Meanwhile,  Dave and the kids decorated the car and went "trunk or treating" at FIS.  Emily and Owen created a dozen monsters for a monster mash theme.  (Dave tried three stores yesterday looking for Halloween decorations - of course most people organize prior to 24 hours in advance - so we decided to be creative.)