Goat Cheese & Tomato Tart

Goat Cheese & Tomato Tart

This is hands down my favorite summer appetizer.  A crisp pastry shell holds creamy goat cheese flecked with chives, and is topped with sweet purple onions, dead-ripe tomatoes, and briny Kalamata olives.  If you don't like really strong goat cheese, look for a mild variety, or replace part of the goat cheese with cream cheese to mellow it out.  I serve this, some nuts, cured meats, and wine for a fabulous start to a lovely summer's evening with friends.

8-inch tart shell, baked and cooled using 1/3 Basic Pie Crust recipe or purchased pie dough

12 ounces goat cheese

2 Tablespoons minced chives

2 medium, ripe tomatoes sliced into thin rounds and laid out on paper towels (Use heirloom tomatoes if available)

8 whole Kalamata olives

Purple Caramelized Onions

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Fresh Herbs for garnish, optional

Prepare the caramelized onions:  Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and sprinkle with the salt.  Saute the onions until soft but not browned at all, about 5 minutes.  Add the sugar and vinegar and cook for 2 more minutes.  Remove from the heat and transfer to a glass bowl.  Refrigerate until cooled.  Onions will turn purple as they cool.

Assemble the tart:

Place the goat cheese in a glass bowl and warm in the microwave just until soft.  Add the chives and combine well.  Spread evenly over the bottom of the tart shell.  Arrange the tomatoes by overlapping around the outside edge of the tart.  Place clumps of the onions around the edge and in the center of the tart.  Place Kalamata olives in the center atop the onions.  Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.

Serve immediately or it may be held up to a day.   If preparing in advance, warm it in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Watermelon, Jicama, & Cucumber Salad on Arugula with Honey-Lime Dressing

Watermelon, JIcama, & Cucumber Salad on Arugula with Honey-Lime Dressing

My sister brought a yummy watermelon and feta salad to a family gathering, which inspired me to create this one.  I was after Latin flavors, and this combination of ingredients definitely accomplishes that.  This is a refreshing, juicy side salad for a hot summer day; all that's needed to make it a meal is a piece of grilled chicken and Corn on the Cob with Compound Butter.  Serves 6 (recipe can be halved)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Large pinch each of cumin, ground chipotle powder, and salt

3 ounces baby arugula, washed and dry

5 cups 3/4-inch cubes of seedless watermelon

2 cups 3/4-inch cubes of peeled jicama

2 cups 3/4-inch cubes of English cucumber, seeds removed

3/4 cup very thinly-sliced scallions

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

6 ounces queso fresco, crumbled

Chia seeds

Honey-Lime Dressing

Heat a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the vegetable oil and heat until it begins to shimmer.  Add the pepitas and, shaking the pan and tossing from time to time, "toast" the pepitas.  When the pepitas look toasty and are fragrant, remove from the heat and stir in the cumin, ground chipotle, and salt. Transfer to a plate to cool completely.

When ready to serve,  arrange the arugula around the perimeter of a large deep platter, with a bit in the center, to "frame" the salad and also provide a bit of a bed for the salad. 

Combine the watermelon, jicama, cucumber, green onions, and cilantro in a bowl and toss to combine.  Drizzle with some of the Honey-Lime Dressing and toss.  Arrange on the platter.  Sprinkle with the crumbled queso fresco, then sprinkle the pepitas over, followed by a generous sprinkling of chia seeds.  Serve additional Honey Lime Dressing on the side.

Fast & Easy Fresh Fruit or Berry Tart

Fast & Easy Fresh Fruit or Berry Tart

I love a fresh fruit or berry tart when the fruit is perfectly ripe and succulent.  However, "fast & easy" a fruit tart is not!  Summer is so busy, and I just don't have time for pastry cream or tart shells sometimes.  So I called on one of my favorite staples, frozen puff pastry, and strawberry jelly and cream cheese instead of pastry cream, to create a luscious fruit tart in a fraction of the time, and it reminds me of a fancy French pastry!  You can bake the crust up to a day ahead of time, then spread on the sweetened cream cheese and any combination of ripe fruit or berries a few hours before serving and refrigerate.  I'll still bake traditional fruit tarts, but this is perfect for the busy, or lazy, days of summer! Serves 6

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (about 9X9-inches)

1 egg, beaten well, for egg wash

2 teaspoons sugar

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 Tablespoons strawberry jelly

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups ripe fruit or berries, cut into bite-sized pieces (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, apricots, plums, etc.)

!/4 cup strawberry jelly

Preheat the oven to 425-degrees.

Line a 10 X 15-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.  Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheet onto the baking sheet.  Brush all over with the egg wash.  Fold 1/2-inch of the pastry over along each edge of the pastry to form a rim all the way around the pastry, it will look like a frame.  Take a fork and pierce the pastry inside the frame in rows up and down the dough, very close together, so that the pastry won't puff up in the center.  Sprinkle the sugar all over, including the edges of the crust.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15-22 minutes, until the pastry is a dark golden brown all over.  Remove from the oven.  If the pastry has puffed up in the center, use the back of a fork to gently press it down a bit.  Place on a cooling rack and cool for at least one hour.

While the pastry cools, melt the 2 Tablespoons of strawberry jelly and combine it with the cream cheese and vanilla, whisking until very smooth.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Just before assembling, place the fruit in a bowl.  Melt the strawberry jelly in the microwave until liquid, about 30 seconds.  Add to the fruit and stir to coat all of the fruit well.

Assemble:

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the pastry.  Spoon the fruit or berries over the cream cheese, arranging it evenly. 

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Berries will hold for several hours, but if you are using cut-up fruit, as pictured, you will want to wait to add the fruit until just before serving, as the cut fruit weeps.)