Food & Thoughts

So. I'm a baking fanatic. You should know by now. I have a LOT of recipes bookmarked that lies in that category. And not a small part of those are recipes I've bookmarked from Ivonne - aka The Cream Puff from Cream Puffs in Venice . Is she Italian? Well, yes, but she lives in Canada. IS she in fact a cream puff? No. But I'm sure she's donning a red-chequered apron full of laces like every self-respecting Italian Momma everytime she walks into that kitchen - 'cause Baby , Cream Puff can cook ! It's not that she doesn't make ridicously good looking savory dishes (which, face it, are the ones I should be trying, seeing I seem to have no excuse for finding a way to bake - I really shouldn't be using DwB as an excuse also!) - but it's her baking that's won my heart. And when I saw it, I knew I had to try the Peach Tart she posted about. Admittedly, it's been a while since I made it - I did it shortly after Ivonnes original post, back in August...

I'm so close to being late for La Festa al Fresco - tsk, tsk, but I'm telling you, traffic was just HORRIBLE! ;-) Lis and Ivonne asked us all to bring something fresh and seasonal for the party, so... wait a minute, it's stuck down here in the big brown bag... Yes, of course I brought something! - what kind of guest would I be if I didn't? I'm not so rude as to be both late and empty-handed! Fresh, seasonal ingredient? You know it, I know it - it's got to be tomatoes. While I haven't succeded in getting the cut-off's I got from my Bonus-Mom's green house tomatoes to produce anything resembling the amount needed for this, tomatoes are now and here and everywhere - and they're the star ingredient in this yellow-like-the-sun Tomato & Saffron Tart from Tamasin Day-Lewis' The Art of the Tart . Great book and a fantastic tart! I kept expecting shellfish every time I took a bite of it, because what I usually associate with saffron is Bouilla...

Just an EDIBLE tart for one person with cherry tomatoes, buffalo milk mozarella and basil. This would fit Dreska's Italian theme so well! The pie crust was made from a left-over piece of short crust pastry I'd stuck in the freezer some time ago, thawed, rolled and baked blind. Then all there was to it was a bunch of tomatoes at the market, the basil that would wilt within the next couple of days anyways - and hey, didn't I buy some mozarella di buffalo a couple of days ago? An egg yolk, a little cream, salt and pepper whisked together, and poured on top. Another stop by the oven, a green salad on the side - ah yes, a perfect dinner for when summer truly has arrived!

So I promised I'd report back on the thing I was supposed to do for this weeks Dining with the Bloggers - better late than never, right? :-) The thing was and Onion Tart. But oh no, not just any old onion tart - it was Molly of Orangette's Alsatian Onion Tart . A dream of a tart, no less. I'm telling you - while I've had my share of problems with tarts , this one was a breeze, and tasted magnificent - not too much butter, exactly enough crunch and flakiness. (I think my problem have been adding too little water - I guess I was just always anxious I'd add to much and end up with a batter instead of dough!) Next time I might bake the tart case blind for a couple of minutes before adding the onions, just because that's what I always do and I think it might make it even more perfect. And oh, the onions - just thinly sliced, then sauteed in a couple of lugs of oil - patience, patience - and AH! Caramelized onions. It seems way too simple: I mean: butter - flour - su...

I had to go ahead and try one of the recipes in my newly acquired books - why else buy them?? This one I had my eye on already when ordering the book - it was mentioned in one of the reviews at Amazon and I couldn't stop thinking about what it might be like. I am a big fan of anchovies - that is, I do NOT like eating them on their own, but I really enjoy them in a home made Caesar salad dressing and the likes. For a while I've been trying to convince myself that there's no reason I don't like tarts. Hence, the purchase of The Art of The Tart by Tamasin Day-Lewis. The book is small, but BURSTING with recipes - both savory and sweet - and I really think it's gonna get me places in the tart-enjoying department. This had exactly that salty-savory taste that I love in the anchovies, but without the fishy-fishy bad part. It was even nice the next day! And here you go: Spinach and Anchovy Tart Shortcrust pastry: 120 g. white flour 60 g. cold, unsalted butter...