Savory Spring Vegetable Tart

The weather this past Saturday was so gorgeous that it absolutely called for my first farmer's market haul of the season. I came home with spring asparagus, peas, yellow squash and some beautiful crisp baby arugula. Now to turn them all into dinner!

Savory Zucchini Pie with Fontina Cheese and Walnut Crust

Based on what I'm seeing at the farmer's market these days, zucchini is taking over the planet. OK, maybe not but I'm eating so much of the stuff that I'm about to turn green. Fortunately, I love it.

Ramp and Gruyere Cheese Tart

Do you suffer from ramp insanity? These wild onions appear for a short time in the spring and our local farmer's markets actually tweet out alerts. That's how ramp crazy we are. They smell and taste like a cross between garlic and onions with an extra touch of something green and wild and wonderful. Clearly I'm a a sufferer.

Tomato and Cottage Cheese Tart with Quinoa Crust

Cottage cheese has always been a staple in my house. My mother used to spread it on her morning toast and she'd mix it with apples or peaches for me as an after-school snack. I guess that stuck with me because I still sometimes make myself an afternoon snack of apples in cottage cheese. Although mom never cooked much with it, over the years I've learned that it's a great filling for casseroles and tarts, too.

Heirloom Tomato and Gorgonzola Tart

Most Saturday mornings in summer, you'll find me at our local farmer's market.  Yes, Manhattan has farmer's markets and quite a few, in fact.  The big, amazing, awesome, I wish I lived across the street one is at Union Square.  Four times a week, farmers, growers, bread bakers and cheese makers drive down from the Hudson River Valley to set up their stalls.  While I used to have the pleasure of working only two blocks away, it's quite a treck from my upper east side apartment.  Fortunately, there's a smaller version of the market just a few blocks from home.

Caramelized Onion Tart

Today I have the pleasure of participating in the second annual brunch week co-hosted by Terri of Love and Confections and Susan of The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen.  From May 5th to 11th, a group of 32 bloggers will celebrate the deliciousness of brunch and bring you their best from cocktails to dessert.  In addition, we have some amazing sponsors who have donated great prizes for a gigantic giveaway so please see below for more information.

Roasted Squash and Gorgonzola Phyllo Tart

I love Greek food and still remember the dish that started my interest in those flavors.  Spanakopita is the traditional Greek appetizer of spinach and feta cheese wrapped in layers of crispy phyllo dough and I loved it the moment I tasted it.  Of course, a dessert of baklava didn't hurt either.  But although I've learned to cook with those flavors and spices, I've never tried working with the dough.  Something about all those cooking shows advising great care with the delicate "leaves" made me stick with my own, much less finicky, pastry dough.

Skinny Spinach Tart with a Squash Crust

Quiches and tarts and hand pies...sweet or savory....I love pretty much all foods in a crust.  The trouble is that, no matter how much you skinny up the filling, there's all that butter in the crust.  I have made olive oil doughs before that are tasty and much healthier but still contain the calories.  What to do?

Rustic Roasted Veggie Tart

It's possible that I was a mouse in a previous life based on my love of cheese.  I always keep a few cheesy staples in my fridge for recipe inspiration or just to perk up a dish.  And those Kraft bags of shredded cheese are such great time savers for quick weeknight meals.  With all the holiday entertaining this month, we've been going through our fair share so I was delighted to find great savings on Kraft products at Target.  In fact, Kraft is offering up to $20 in coupons towards their products there so check out the link at the bottom of this post for the savings.

Sage and Butternut Squash Pithiviers (Savory Hand Pies)

As popular as pumpkin is in our house at this time of year, I think butternut squash shows up even more often.  It's a little sweeter and has a mild enough flavor to blend with lots of different recipes.  You can boil or microwave it but roasting brings out the best flavor and it's totally worth the time to do.  Know what isn't worth the time?  Cutting the dang thing.  I mean, if you have to then, you have to, but many markets sell it already peeled and cut up and I'm happily paying the extra few pennies for all that labor.  Even more happily, this recipe requires no pre-cooking but, since you'll likely have leftover squash, below are some recipe ideas.

Tomato, Goat Cheese and Basil Galette

Last Sunday Brian and I were meeting a good friend for brunch and I knew we'd linger a long time, sipping mimosas and bloody Mary's and catching up.  And I knew we wouldn't be that hungry come dinner time.  A salad, perhaps and something else.  I had some nice looking tomatoes in the house and some very fresh basil.  No mozzarella but goat cheese and ricotta.  Hmm.  Something sort of pizza like but not exactly.

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart (with Flaky Cream Cheese Pastry)

We're fortunate to have asparagus in our market pretty much year round and we do love to eat it.  But the best flavor comes from the locally grown bundles that arrive in late spring.  We roast them, grill them, slice them raw into salads, saute them with a fried egg on top or add them to omelets.  But I couldn't let the growing season go without also baking them into a savory tart.

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Tart

Do you remember the Bangles song "Manic Monday" where they sing about Sunday being "fun day" and "I don't have to run" day? That's pretty much how I feel about it. Saturdays tend to be busy and filled with errands but Sundays are for sleeping late and being lazy. Sometimes we meet friends for brunch and we frequently head out to the park with the dog but always in our own time. We also tend to be casual about food on Sundays. There are usually leftovers from Saturday so I'll just add a quick salad to whatever we have and we can tuck into bed for a light dinner and some Sunday night TV.

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Casserole

Sometimes it's not all pot roasts and boeuf bourguignon around here. Sometimes, when Brian's away, I just throw something light together for myself. I used to make a quick omelet with toast but now I much prefer to bake it all together in a little, individually sized casserole. All the flavors meld together into one, yummy meal. Add a side salad and my dinner is served.

Goat Cheese and Herb - A Tart Goes Light

The desire to order a rich delectable goat cheese tart as an appetizer in a restaurant is usually tempered by the rueful realization that we can no longer have dessert. But a little experimentation on a lazy Sunday afternoon produced this far lighter version that keeps the mouth watering flavor while removing some of the fat, calories and cholesterol.

Spinach and White Bean Tart

So there I was with a day off on a rainy Friday... Brian at work...  me snuggled in bed with my furry sous chef... watching an Animal Cops marathon on TV... watching people starving their horses and abusing their puppies while I'm hugging the stuffing out of my own pup. I gotta stop watching this because it's making me so mad.