Artichoke Cream Cheese Tart with Sauteed Mushrooms, Lemon Sabayon Tart and Fresh Fruit Patisserie Tart - these recipes sound elegant, indeed. But simple?

Yet at her recent cooking class at Someone's in the Kitchen in Rapid City, chef Samantha Christ of Deadwood Thymes promised her cooking students that her sweet and savory tart recipes were both simple and elegant.

And, as she demonstrated how to make her favorite tarts for the group of about 25 cooking students, she proved that putting together these delicious entrees, appetizers and desserts is something anyone who enjoys baking can easily do.

Christ herself learned to cook "by the seat of her pants," according to her memories of being a young mother in Berkeley, Calif.

"When I was pregnant, I

realized I needed to eat better. So I just started," she said.

Her own Swedish heritage, with a mother who always made smorgasbord and baked pies from scratch, provided good cooking roots, according to Christ. "I remembered when I was really young. I tried to do some dinners and called my mother to help me."

But Christ did not settle for simply brushing up her homecooking skills. She began working in a health food store, and soon was making a few recipes for customers. That led to a job cooking at a health food restaurant. "I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers," Christ said. "I went on to bigger restaurants and worked with really fine chefs."

Although Christ had not planned on becoming a chef, in time she found herself working at some of the finest restaurants in California and learning from chefs who had trained at Le Cordon Bleu in France and the California School of Culinary Arts in San Francisco.

"I just found out that I loved to cook," she said. "I was in the right place at the right time."

Christ's years of practice were put to good use in her cooking class, as she showed the group the basic recipes needed to create a variety of tarts. "You can learn the basics and improvise after that," she said, and by the end of the class, the group had a good understanding of doughs and fillings that can be used with a wide variety of ingredients to create numerous holiday treats.

It's the ease of making tarts as much as their pleasing

appearance that makes them a great choice for holiday celebrations. Their versatility means you can quickly make a tart to take to a holiday potluck or family get-together. Or, a savory tart made with whatever vegetables and meats you have on hand

can provide a light supper after an afternoon of holiday shopping.

"They are totally fast," according to Christ. "You can have pie crust in your freezer, get it out, roll it and put it in a tart pan. You can throw in potatoes with onion and ham, or cheese. Serve it with a cup of soup or salad, and you have a very delicious dinner."

And an elegant one, too.