Crush Berry Tart

Although I am now calling this "Crush Berry Tart", don't let the name fool you - there are no crushed berries to be found inside this delicious treat. I made this particular tart for a Sunday potluck dinner, knowing that a certain cute boy ("the crush") was going to be in attendance. Since he raved to me about the tart and helped himself to seconds, I am now considering this one of my greater life achievements. So whether you have an adorable new crush to impress or not, this is an easy way to make people believe that you actually know how to bake sweet things.

I am not much of a baker, so I enjoy making desserts that allow me to use my more "this looks like about a cup" mind instead of being concerned with teaspoons and other unnecessary measurements. Also I don't actually have any measuring tools other than the palm of my hand. Luckily I've been making this tart for years now and the "measurements" just come intuitively at this point.

Here's the recipe I've adapted from Ina Garten's Plum Tart:

• 2 cups Flour
• 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 3/4 cup Finely Chopped Walnuts
• 1 Egg
• 1 and 1/2 sticks of Butter
• 2 pounds of Mixed Berries
• Optional: Lemon Zest and Juice
  

Combine everything except for the berries. For this particular tart, I used a medium-sized espresso cup to make my measurements, but if you want to be fancy, go ahead an pull out those dusty measuring devices. To me chopping the walnuts are the best part, so make sure you buy them not pre-chopped, and then mince back and forth until you have worked out all of that tension that the last boyfriend cause. There is no need to bring out a spoon, spatula, or hand mixer. God gave you hands for a reason, and it was for mixing dough. Use them. The mixture will be crumbly, and if you want to stretch it a little further or it looks a bit too wet, you can add more flour.

Press about 3/4 of the dough mixture into the bottom of a tart pan. There's no need to grease it, goodness, you just put in 12 tablespoons of butter! Make sure you work it into the pretty ridges around the pan. Dump in your berries that you may or may not have mixed with fresh lemon zest and some squirts of the juice. (Note: Don't cut the fruit into too small of pieces. You want to see what you are eating and not have it turn into mush!) Crumble the rest of your dough mixture on top.

Bake in an oven at 400°F for 40 minutes. Check it at ten minute intervals to make sure it's not getting too brown on top. If so, make a little foil tent or cover with another baking pan. When it is done, the juices should be bubbling. Eat it warm or chilled and definitely serve with vanilla ice cream. If all goes well, the crush should proceed to walk you to the nearest metro stop at the end of the night, and then you will know that it was all worth it.

Firenze al fresco

I feel relaxed just looking at this picture. Although not the most elaborate, exotic, or experimental of the meals I had in Florence, this one will always remain in my mind as one of the most enjoyable.

For the first two and a half months of being in Italy, it rained. Cold. Icy. Rain. I've dealt with the snow in New York for many years, but the rain in Florence somehow seemed colder than any of my days with snow. Finally around early April the sun started to shine on a more regular basis, and there was no better place to enjoy than on top of the terrace.

With the warmer weather came the tomatoes. I always bought my fruits and vegetables from this sweetest, oldest lady in Piazza Santo Spirito. She was selling this beautiful heirloom tomatoes straight from her garden. I had mozzarella, salumi, and olives on hand, so I threw those into the mix too. Sometimes I can believe the argument for foods tasting better after you've slaved over it for hours-seasoned by your own salty sweat-but usually I like foods that take no time to prepare and taste naturally wonderful. If something is good from the start, why mess with it?

The adorable little triangular bottle on the table is a Campari Soda. The art deco shape dates back to its 1960s heritage. I have yet to find it here in America, but it is essentially just a combination of Campari (a bitter, bright red liquor) and tonic water. It's perfect mixed with white wine, creating a bubbly but not sweet cocktail to sip on slowly. It's an acquired taste for sure; I hated it the first time I was in Italy.

There's no need to write a recipe for this post. Simply throw together fresh, high quality ingredients in your fridge. A good drizzle of cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil always makes things taste better. Salt, pepper, and a good heap of sunshine is all that you need to make a beautiful day taste just as good as it feels.

New Beginnings

Since my last post my life has taken some dramatic turns and unexpected twists. In January I returned to Italy for a second round of studying abroad in Florence. There were many new restaurants explored and many new food experiences enjoyed. I took an Italian cooking course taught only in Italian, completed tests about Italian cured meats, Italian festivities, and Italian recipes all in the Italian language. I took a course about Italian museums and had a formal Italian language lesson every day.

Despite my apparent Italian overload, I ended up finding myself a French boyfriend in Greece. How's that for an international experience? Being in Greece opened me up to a whole world of familiar flavors presented in their authentic setting - much like Italy had done the first time around. I have never tasted more honest food than I did in Crete, surely one of the most naturally beautiful places on earth. Check out the Mediterranean Ocean off the southern coast of Crete in the picture above.

In the upcoming posts, I will share with you my most memorable food moments from Italy (and Greece). From dining al fresco above the Arno River on my private terrace to eating horse in Verona, Italia delivered once again. After my re-cap of la dolce vita, I hope to have collected some amazing new stories to share about my now permanent locale: Washington, DC!

Pasta will always be the love of my life, but I'm sure a couple of crab cakes on the side won't hurt anyone - especially not me!

Last Salads of Summer

As autumn officially sets in here in lower New York state, salads are being more and more of a thing of the past. This last Sunday my roommates and I went to a local farmers market in Rye. I ended up finding some delicious looking arugula and couldn't help myself.

My creation for lunch this afternoon was greatly influenced by my dinner from last night. After we all had an exhausting Sunday afternoon, filled with too much drama and frustration appropriate for a sunny day, I decided to cook a comfort meal. Chicken thighs marinated in lemon, rosemary, balsamic and red pepper flakes and oven roasted vegetables. I purposely cooked extra for my salad today, which was basically all of that on top of a bed of arugula and some fresh tomatoes. It took all of 5 minutes to assemble and then another 5 to gobble it all down. Actually for a salad, this was quite filling and kept me full until about 4 in the afternoon. Job well done!

Back in Action

I've returned! Last month I had to have my tonsils removed, so I clearly was not eating anything worth writing about, much less eating in my opinion. I'm quite sure I ate an orchard's worth of applesauce and then some. Then I took a cross country trip with my mom from Texas to New York to get back to college. My roommates are awesome and love cooking just as much as I do. Even though the start of the semester has been hectic, we've definitely carved out time to make some really fantastic meals. First up was this pizza bianca. Caitlin had the recipe and did most of the preparation. I ate.

Since this was all Caitlin's creation, I don't have a recipe for you. It's similar in fashion to any other focaccia or flat bread that's you'd make. Pour on some olive oil and sprinkle with whatever seasonings you like. The crust was quite hard, so just be ready for a bread that gives your jaw muscles a work out.

In other news, I've just submitted my application to go back to Italy. If I'm accepted, I'll be there beginning in January, with hopefully lots of exciting things to post about.

Pesto!

One of my absolute favorite flavors in the world is pesto. I'd gladly put it on most anything if you gave me the chance. Although pesto is loved all over Italy, the truest and best forms of it come from the region of Liguria located on the northwest coast. Despite the fact that Liguria is a coastal region, fish is surprising not the centerpiece of the cuisine - herbs are. Basil grows everywhere. Here's a picture of the beautiful area and my first meal there as well. (Minestrone con Pesto, with a crisp local white wine)


I highly suggest you click on the pictures and look at them in a larger view. They are stunning.

Thoughts of Liguria lingering in my head, I meandered on over to my favorite Italian food shop Di Palo's and picked up some imported pesto from Italy. Now, I would have easily made it myself, but seeing how I hardly have enough silverware to eat a meal with I most definitely did not have a blender/food processor at my disposal. The pesto, of course, was fantastic and easily frozen.


Contents:
Pasta Primavera (with pesto and chicken)

• Pasta
• Red peppers
• Zucchini
  
• Yellow Squash
• Sundried tomatoes
• Parmigiano Reggiano
• Pesto

Saute all of the vegetables in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, boil the pasta until al dente. Once cooked, add the pasta to the vegetables and spoon on the pesto. Mix until everything is coated. Transfer to a plate and top with the cheese.

Seeing how now I had only made a small dent in my pesto container, I cooked this dish several other times. No matter how good it was, after three nights in a row, I needed a change. I froze the pesto for a couple of days to take a break. However, it didn't stay long in there. After a lovely morning of shopping in SoHo, I had a craving for a super fresh, sandwich. Behold: Panino con Pesto!

Contents:

• Ciabattini (small roll of ciabatta bread)
  
• Smoked deli-style turkey
• Plum tomato
• Mixed salad greens
• Goat cheese
• Pesto

You know how to make a sandwich, so there's no need to explain this one. Just be sure to get BOTH sides of the bread covered with pesto. That's key. And yes, that would be the MTA New York City Subway Map hanging on my wall there. I feel that it is quite symbolic. NYC looming over me as I rest peacefully (and not so peacefully) at night in all of its chaotic, poorly functioning, non-air conditioned glory buried below the earth. (Can you tell that I'm ready to go back to Texas?)

New News! I'm officially going back to Italy in the spring. I'm so excited. There is one course that I'm hoping to get into called "Celebrating Italian Style". I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to take that?!

Comfort Food

It's been raining yet again here in NYC, and it has me craving comfort food. After a long day I work, I headed on over to the grocery store and went shopping. Not wanting chicken again, I opted for the other white meat: pork! Autumnal foods always remind me of home and comfort, so even though the temperature was pushing 85 I purchased a sweet potato and rosemary. Ready to get comfortized!


Contents:
Rosemary Pork

• Pork
• Rosemary
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Garlic

Marinade the pork in the rosemary, salt, pepper and a little olive oil while preparing everything else. Bake at 375 F for about 25 minutes. Lower heat and longer cooking time will yield more tender meat (and vice versa). I topped my pork off with chopped garlic for the last five minutes of cooking, although it could have been added sooner.

Sweet Potato Fries

• Sweet potato cut into thick slices or wedges
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil (cook spray would be preferable - see below)

Coat the sweet potato slices with salt, pepper and a touch of olive oil. I used too much olive oil and so my fries turned out a little on the wimpy side. If you can avoid using oil all together, I think they would turn out much crisper. Anyway, bake at 400 F for 30 minutes.

The greens are broccoli rabe that have been boiled until tender and then sauteed with garlic.

So, this was last night. Today I was working on my Italian and practicing the imperfect tense. I was to write about what I used to do as a child, and one of the questions happened to be "Che cosa preferivi mangiare?" (What did you prefer to eat?) To which I responded, "Preferivo mangiare la lasagna." (I preferred to eat lasagna.) Stoffer's lasagna, to be exact. It's such a guilty pleasure, and I'm slightly embarrassed to admit it. You'd think after rolling my own pasta dough, making my own tomato sauce and bechemel sauce, that a frozen Stoffer's lasagna should taste like an edible form of blasphemy to the Italian culture, but I still love it.

As far as I remember, I always asked for Stoffer's lasagna to be my special birthday dinner. My favorite part about it was the little cheese balls (what they called "ricotta" cheese), and they were even better because my brother hated them. I love it when I can kill two birds with one stone. Maybe it was my way of ensuring that my brother got no enjoyment from my birthday night; his birthday was just two days later, and then I'd have to comply with his every wish and demand.

Missing home, I picked up a frozen one at the store. It brought me right back to a chilly December 2nd night. It's nice how some things never change.