Italian Tartlets

There's something about Italian food that makes my mouth water. It always seems fresh, simple, and above all flavorful. On a trip that I took a few years ago to Italy, we visited Florence, Venice, and Rome, and ate pastas and pizzas to our heart's content. Italian food in Italy is different from Italian food in other parts of the world. First of all, a real pizza is a large piece of dough which is rolled out until it is really thin, its topped with a fresh tomato marinara sauce and just a small sprinkling of cheese, before being tossed into a wood oven. The result is a crunchy thin delicious pizza crust with just enough flavoring on top to make you swoon, but not so heavy that you can't finish the whole thing by yourself. None of this deep fried pan pizza business, with chicken tikka pieces topped with five different cheeses, and some jalepeno peppers. I've even watched in horror as large pizza chains advertise kabob stuffed crusts on TV! The pastas in Italy were also to die for. Boiled pastas mixed with marinara sauces, sometimes pesto, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan, and mixed with meat or the vegetable in season. Fresh, fresh, fresh. Delicious.

I made a simple spaghetti with ground beef dish yesterday. As per the Italian tradition, I used fresh tomatoes for the sauce, as well as some onions, and lots of fresh garlic. I wanted something pizza-like as well so as an appetizer I made delicious tartlets. I made the base with puff pastry, topped it with olive tapenade made from scratch, melted some mozarella cheese on top, and then topped them off with some lovely cherry tomatoes. The puff pastry base was crispy and flaky while the saltiness from the olive tapenade really complemented the sweetness from the tomato and the oozing melted cheese kept me eating tartlet after tartlet.

One thing that I noticed about Italians is that they really take the time to enjoy every bite of every meal. Instead of eating dinner inside with the TV blaring in the background, my husband and I took the food out onto the deck and bit into the tartlets as the sun was setting. They tasted even better...

We could learn a thing about the joy of food from Italians. Julia Robert's summed it up in the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" when she addressed a friend concerned about her weight after devouring pizzas upon pizzas. "I'm going for it. I have no interest in being obese. I'm just through with the guilt. So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to finish this pizza and then we're going to go watch the soccer game, and tomorrow, we're going to go on a little date and buy ourselves some bigger jeans."

I'm glad I have the stretchy kind....

Tomato Basil Tartlets Recipe (by Giada de Laurentis)

Ingredients

• 1 (10 by 9-inch) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1/3 cup olive tapenade (you can make from scratch if you can't find them in the store)
• 1 cup (2 1/2 ounces) shredded fontina cheese (or mozarella which I used)
• 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 6 basil leaves, chopped (optional. I didn't use them)
• Fleur de sel or other large flake sea salt

An Olive Tapenade Recipe

• Fleur de sel or other large flake sea sal
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup pitted olives
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp capers
• pinch of salt and pepper

To make the tapenade first grind the garlic in blender and then add all of the other ingredients. Blend until you have a smooth mixture.

Directions for Tartlets

Special equipment: a 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter (Can use the rim of a wide glass as well)

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the pastry on a lightly floured work surface. Using the tines of a fork, prick the pastry all over. Using a 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 16 rounds of pastry. Place the pastry rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Lay a piece of parchment paper on top of the pastry rounds. Place another baking sheet directly on top of the parchment paper to keep the pastry even while baking. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden. ( I would recommend baking it for 13 minutes and then removing the top pan and baking it for another 3-5 minutes before removing it from the oven).

Spread 1 teaspoon of tapenade on each pastry round. Place about 1 tablespoon of cheese on top. Arrange 2 pieces of tomato on the cheese. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chopped basil on top.

Transfer the tartlets to a platter and garnish with a pinch of fleur de sel.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

The cupcake saga began when I was living in DC. Up until I moved there, I had never been much of a cupcake eater, except for the occasional one here and there, at someone's birthday or farewell party.

Everyday, after having worked out at my office gym, I would head home feeling very proud of myself at having burned a few hundred calories. Unfortunately on the way, I would pass a cute little shop called "Hello Cupcake," and found that I had absolutely no willpower when it came to resisting their 'Vanilla Gorillas'; a moist banana cupcake with a delicious vanilla butter frosting.

To make matters worse, a few months into my stay, I found an even better cupcake shop called the "Red Velvet Cupcakery." They have a variety of different cupcakes but the only ones that I've tried are their Red Velvet ones. They are absolutely FANTASTIC! The cupcakes are so moist that they melt in your mouth and the cream cheese frosting, with just the right amount of sweetness and perfectly smooth texture, had me licking my fingers and scraping every last bit off the cupcake wrappers. If you're ever in DC, please please please make a trip there. You will not be disappointed.

After moving to San Diego, I've been searching far and wide for the perfect Red Velvet cupcake with no success. None have even come close to replicating the velvety texture and vibrant flavor of the ones in DC. I decided to take things into my own hands and made a dozen Red Velvet cupcakes from a recipe I found online. They are delicious and far superior to any that I've had here.

I can't stop eating them. It's like biting into a moist velvety sweet frosty piece of heaven.....

Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe by Paula Dean (I've adjusted a few of the quantities but its essentially the same)

Makes 10-12 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Cook's Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.

Watermelon and Goat Cheese Salad

As the days are become sunnier, I've been eating more and more yogurts, melons, ice creams, and all other things cool and refreshing. A few weeks ago, after spending the day walking around in the sun, soaking up its rays, and getting a fabulous tan, I was feeling a little dehydrated and lethargic by the time I returned home that evening.

I scoured the fridge, and all that I had left over from my farmer's box ,was a measly lonesome watermelon. I cut into it, and to my surprise, found its bright yellow juicy flesh staring up at me rather than the pleasing pinkish hue that I was expecting. Perhaps everyone else in the world knows this except for me, but in my world, the only watermelons in existence are pink. At first, I thought it was a case of mistaken identity, but when I gingerly picked up a piece and bit into it, I found that it was infact a nice juicy cool refreshing piece of YELLOW watermelon.

I cut it into pieces and looked for some cheese to go with it. Feta cheese and watermelon salads are fairly common but the only cheese in my fridge was an enticingly creamy chunk of goat cheese. I decided to give it a try and topped the salad with a sprinkling of fresh mint and citrus dressing. It all came together very well. The sweet watermelon balanced out the tartness of the goat cheese and the freshness from the mint enhanced the overall flavor. This is a great snack on a warm day and takes about five minutes to put together.

Goat Cheese and Watermelon Salad Recipe

1 Watermelon

8 0z of Goat cheese

A few sprigs of fresh mint chopped

Dressing

Juice from 1 orange (1/4 cup)

Juice from 2 lemons (1/4 cup)

1 tbsp of honey

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

1/4 cup of olive oil

Directions

Whisk together orange and lemon juice with the honey, salt, and pepper. Slowly pour in the olive oil and continue whisking until it has been incorporated into the mixture. Slice the watermelon and cheese and place them in a bowl. Finely chop the fresh mint and add it along with the dressing to the salad. The results are refreshing and flavorful.

Mustard Roasted Fish

Its been a while since I've updated this blog and I have no excuse except to say that I got lazy as the days became sunnier and sunnier. Its Ramadan now, however, and I definitely feel more prone to writing about food. It might seem odd that I've chosen a time where I can't eat food for most of the day to write about it. But thats just it, when you can't eat, all you think about is what you're going to eat, when you can eat. Does that make sense?

The last thing I want to do when I'm fasting is to spend hours in the kitchen cooking food but I do want a nice home cooked meal which is easy, fast, and simple to prepare with gourmet results. While watching the food network, I saw Ina Garten preparing a mustard roasted fish with dill baby potatoes that made my mouth water. She said that while she was visiting France, the woman who checked in her coat at her hotel shared one of her favorite quick French recipes. It entailed putting a few slices of fish in a baking pan, whisking together a bit of mustard with creme fraiche, capers, some shallots, salt, and pepper, and then pouring the entire mixture over the fish before baking it for 15-20 mins in the oven. And voila! A fish that was absolutely delicieux!

I've cooked this fish several times now and it comes out perfectly every time. The creamy sauce with the kick from the mustard and tanginess from the capers is a flavorful complement to almost any fish. Its a great party dish because it looks impressive without the hours of preparation. Its also a good alternative to omelette dinners when you don't feel like really cooking. Yes, we've all been there...

Definitely try out this recipe. Creme fraiche, as I discovered, is available in most grocery stores. Sometimes its hidden with the cheeses rather than the creams, but it is there. Hope you enjoy. Bon appetit!

Recipe for Mustard Roasted Fish (by Ina Garten)

Ingredients

• 4 (8-ounce) fish fillets such as red snapper (or any other fish you prefer such as cod, tilapia, etc)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces creme fraiche
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (not necessary but a nice addition if you have on hand)
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 teaspoons drained capers

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Combine the creme fraiche, 2 mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.) I usually cook it for 20 mins at 400 degrees but as the recipe says, it really depends on the fish so keep a close eye. Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.