Summer Tart & BBQ

I'm delighted to say I cooked tonight! Yay, finally. It's been so long.

The theme for tonight's dinner was simplicity, but it goes without saying that deliciousness is also a requirement. I decided put my own spin on a couple of Epicurious recipes, which sounded nice: Grilled Vegetables with Mixed Greens and Blue Cheese Dressing and Savory Summer Tarts.


I decided that I needed the veggies to be even simpler. I cut out the blue cheese dressing all together, and seasoned simply with salt and olive oil. I used:

• Carrots
• Fennel
• Bok choy
• Beets
• Zucchini
• Asparagus

For the tarts, I kept things simple again. I used my tried-and-true vodka crust recipe from Cook's Illustrated. Essentially, you substitute half the water for vodka and add a bit more liquid that you would ordinarily. The vodka lets the dough get wetter without the risking toughness. It's really quite genius. The result is flaky, light, and delicious.

Instead of filling the tarts with several options, I kept to something basic: grape tomatoes, basil from my herb garden, and goat's cheese. The results was delicious.



And we washed the whole meal down with a lovely New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which I would definitely buy again. It was about $25, and its veggie, grassy notes were the perfect complement to our herbivore's feast.

I hope you try this combo for yourselves sometime. Yum.

Fig and Walnut Tapenade With Goat Cheese

Every time I make this appetizer, people rave about it. It's deceptively simple to make, though. I've tried mixing up the herb and nut combinations for fun. As the recipe suggests, pinenuts are nice replacement for the walnuts. And if you don't have thyme, rosemary is pretty yummy.

Enjoy! It's a great holiday appetizer!

Summer Salad

Alright, then. Let's get this thing underway. Tonight, I was craving something fresh and wholesome. A quick flip through my Bon Appetit magazines (thanks again, Anicka) unearthed this delightful salad: baby potatoes, green beans, goat cheese rounds, and many other delicious things.

I'm sure you could throw just about anything in there, but here, for the record, is what went into the one I made tonight:

Goat Cheese Rounds

• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2.5 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• ground pepper
• kosher sald
• goat cheese rounds

Mix the coating ingredients together in a bowl and then chuck your rounds in there. Pretty simple.

(Cristina taught me to slice goat cheese with dental floss. It's a truly awesome technique. Try it.)

Vinaigrette

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• kosher salt

Whisk the first four ingredients, then drizzle in the olive oil. Whisking all the while. It should thicken. I think.

Rest of the Salad
The rest is pretty straightforward. I steamed the potatoes for 15 minutes, the beans for 5. The greens are tossed with a bit of dressing, then you pile on the goodies: potatoes, beans, cherry tomatoes, olives, and basil leaves. Pour on a bit more dressing, add the goat cheese rounds, and season with salt and pepper.

Voila! Post numero uno complete.