Bake, Schmake, This Tomato Tart Don't Need No Bakin'

KELLY * August 22 * Dinner

So, as you can tell, we've been slacking off a bit. Our summers are catching up with us and the blog has been falling to the wayside. Well, we've been re-making some things (that are not worthy of report). We've been cooking late (and therefore too sleepy to blog). We've taken a few short trips (so not cooking). We've had guests (and therefore wiped out). The new seasons of Jersey Shore and Project Runway started (judge me if you must). In short, life is hard! Anyway, I couldn't let this one go. Last Sunday night we spent the evening with the lovely Hotzmasters (our CSA box partners) and jointly made an amazing dinner from the box. (If I have not mentioned this before, they are lovely dining partners and they often let me sit and drink beers, margaritas, fresh strawberry mojitos, etc. as Liz and Brian cook. Note: I am not slighting Jaime. She made bad-ass cupcakes that night. Liz and Brian, however, seem to enjoy being in charge. As for me, I like watching. I bake what I must and then I sit back and watch the magic happen.)

Anyway, as we have lately been showered with a mess of tomatoes per box, we focused on that angle. The evening was lovely and included the following (and then was topped off by homemade black-bottom cupcakes from Jaime and a little Don Draper):

* Lemon Balm Mojitos (lemon balm from the CSA)
* Cucumber and Garlic Chive Salad (CSA & Glenwood Sunday Market)
* Asian Pears baked in balsamic & butter and topped with goat cheese & honey (Glenwood Sunday Market [pears] & Whole Foods [cheese] & Brian and Jaime [honey])
* Hormone Free Boneless & Skinless Chicken breasts topped with peppers and onions (CSA)

All in all, it was lovely.

The tart was based off of this recipe. The crust is amazing and simple. (I reiterate: DON'T FEAR THE CRUST!!!). Liz didn't layer the tomatoes and she skipped the pesto. Instead she just arranged pieces from a GIANT heirloom tomato around the crust. She cut up pieces of fresh mozzerella and arranged them on top of the tomato, topped that with some sliced fresh basil, and then drizzled olive oil, salt, and pepper on top of that. You do really have to serve everything relatively soon (and it's not so good for leftovers), because the tomato moisture will make your crust creepy by morning. That said, it was amazing.

I'm not 100% sure what she did for the salad. I know she seeded and cut into squares a large fresh cucumber and diced the fresh garlic chive we bought that morning at the market.

The pears were based off of this recipe. Liz saw the pears at the market and had to have them. They're relatively small, so I made 1.5 per person. I just followed the recipe. You just melt a little butter in your dish, put the pears in, add the vinegar, and bake, bake, bake. I am a firm believer that goat cheese makes everything better, so... Goat cheese and honey seemed like a no-brainer.

Liz will have to explain the chicken and the lemon balm if I can drag her to the blog. She's a busy girl. She's been making a LOT of witch heads this summer. That takes it out of a girl. Honestly, I often have to decide if she has time to talk to you or talk to me (and I choose me).

Anyway, this tart is amazing. I swear by it. I think we're going to make it again this weekend (and perhaps one with bacon).

GO TOMATOES!!!