The Fancier Than a Pizza Fresh Tomato Tart

Everyone has been there. It’s another lazy summer day, and you don’t feel like making dinner, but you don’t feel like calling the pizzeria for the fifth time this month, so you’ll have to cook up something. This tomato tart tastes like a margherita pizza, is easy to make, simple to clean up, and makes a perfect complement to salads for a light summer meal that people of all ages will enjoy.

The refreshing tomato tart that will delight your tastebuds and spare you the shame of calling the pizzeria for the millionth time…

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie shell (I use Pillsbury All-Ready Pie Crust, which can be found in the refrigerator section at most grocery stories)

8 ounces of mozzarella cheese (or 4 ounces for a reduced-fat option)

2 tablespoons of fresh chopped basil

4 or 5 ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

chopped fresh basil for garnish

Instructions:

1) Preheat over to 400 degrees.

2) Prepare dough and place in a tart or pie pan.

3) Sprinkle the dough with cheese and then with the 2 tablespoons of basil.

4) Cover the cheese and basil with tomato slices, distributing the tomatoes as evenly as possible.

5) Drizzle the tomatoes with the olive oil, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6) Bake the tart for 30-40 minutes.

7) Remove the tart from the oven and garnish with the remainder of the basil.

8) Let the tart settle for 5-10 minutes.

9) Cut the tart into wedges.

10) Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: One 9-inch tart.

This is you after you’ve sampled some tomato tart.

 

 

 

The “Oh, I Totally Forgot about Today’s Barbeque” Macaroni Salad

Where I live, Independence Day ushers in barbeque season, or the time of year in which we forget that we have friends that invite us to barbeques.

The charming backyard barbeque you forgot you were invited to…

Now, since we would never be so clownish as to show up to a barbeque at a friend’s house without bringing something to demonstrate our appreciation for the invitation, we are presented with the daunting prospect of cobbling together a dish to bring to the barbeque.

Your face when you realize that you forgot all about your friend’s barbeque and need to bring something better than the chips and salsa you did last year.

While sprinting over to Shop Rite to grab a bag of Tostitos and a can of salsa is always an option, for a more homemade touch, you can consider using this easy-to-make (believe me, I’m no Martha Stewart, seeing as my culinary skills are just above able-to-avoid-burning-water) recipe to bring a tasty macaroni salad to a friend’s get-together or to spice up your own event.

The “Oh, I Totally Forgot about Today’s Barbeque” Macaroni Salad Recipe

Serves eight as an entrée and sixteen as a side dish.

Preparation time: ten minutes

Ingredients:

1)      1 pound of elbow macaroni (I use Barilla but any brand will work).

2)      4 cups of frozen bell peppers and onions (I use Trader Joe’s Roasted Onions and Peppers).

3)      2 cups of mayonnaise.

4)      4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.

5)      4 tablespoons of white sugar.

6)      A sprinkling of dried parsley flakes.

7)      A dash of salt.

8)      A dash of pepper.

Directions:

1)      In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil.

2)      While water boils, remove the frozen vegetables from the freezer and warm up by putting them in a microwave safe bowl and heating them in the microwave on high for approximately 2 minutes or until the vegetables are no longer hard and cold to the touch. Set the heated vegetables aside.

3)      Once the water boils, add the elbow macaroni to the water and prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the box.

4)      Drain the macaroni and return the pasta to the saucepan.

5)      Stir the mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, and white sugar into the macaroni.

6)      Mix in the vegetables into the pasta.

7)      Add salt and pepper to taste.

8)      Transfer the macaroni salad to a Tupperware container.

9)      Garnish the macaroni salad with the dried parsley flakes.

10)  Place the Tupperware containing the macaroni salad into a refrigerator until ready for serving or until you depart for the barbeque.

11)  Eat and enjoy.