Again… it’s been a while since I’ve written anything, but that’s mainly because I haven’t cooked anything particularly delicious for a while. Kirk and I moved into our new loft, I ended up having to travel to Boston for work, my parents came into town for a few days to celebrate our engagement and meet Kirk’s parents, and then I finally had a little breathing room.

As I reflect back on the last month or so, the major standout event was definitely the “meeting of the parents”. Kirk and I tossed around the idea of having everyone go out to dinner, but then we worried about who would pay and whether or not that would make anyone feel awkward – so we ultimately decided against that. We ended up settling on having everyone over to our place and I would cook for the group. I ended up preparing a meat, cheese, and olive platter as the appetizer (it included some prosciutto, salami, pepperoni, asiago, cammembert, sharp cheddar, fig spread, and sundried tomator bread chips – in addition to the kalamata olives). While everyone munched on the appetizers, I had a pancetta-wrapped pork roast in the oven, and I was prepping my basil-goat cheese quinoa. Kirk’s mom was kind enough to bring a mixed salad. We proceeded to feast, and all-in-all the meal turned out pretty good. The pork was slightly overcooked and a little dry, but my meat thermometer decided to stop functioning and I got this crazy fear about giving everyone food poisoning as a result of undercooked pork… so I may have overdone it a bit.

The ending to the meal was a homemade Tiramisu, the first time I had attempted such a complicated dessert. I ended up finding Wolfgang Puck’s Tiramisu recipe and making some modifications to it. I’ll post about it sometime soon, because it’s definitely worth the time (though not something you would want to eat on a regular basis, or you’d end up looking like a marshmallow).

However, what I really wanted to write about tonight was the Ricotta Goat Cheese Tart that I made for dinner this evening (along with a mixed side salad). Actually… I don’t know if it’s really a Tart – – – since I used a leftover pie crust it ended up being more like a savory pie. But whatever… you get the point. I adapted this recipe from David Lebovitz’s Herbed Ricotta Tart, but I made some modifications based in the ingredients I had available here in the apartment.

Ricotta Goat Cheese Tart

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• One 9inch pre-baked tart crust (I actually used a leftover pie crust I had in the freezer)
• One Bunch of Green Onions (scallions), chopped into 1/2inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp of Butter
• 1 cup Half and Half
• 4oz Goat Cheese
• 4oz Fresh Ricotta
• 3oz sausage (I used turkey sausage, David used Chorizo)
• 1tsp Chipotle Chile Powder
• 2 Tbsp Mixed Herbs (I used Oregano and Rosemary from my newly planted counter-top herb garden! David’s recipe recommended Thyme)
• 1 Large Egg
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 400F
• Heat the butter in a saucepan and saute the onions in the butter until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Once the onions are done cooked, add the herbs to the onions and let everything cool.
• Mix the cheeses, half and half, chili powder, sausage, egg, and additional salt and pepper (to taste) in a bowl. Add the onion mix to the cheese mix, and mix everything together well.
• Pour the mixture into the tart crust, and bake at 400F for 30-45 minutes (until lightly browned on top and feels set in the middle).
• Remove the tart from the oven when it’s done, and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes to set

I enjoyed the flavors in the tart much more than any quiche I’ve made (and maybe I’m just not very good at making quiche…). I have a feeling it will be even better tomorrow as my lunch leftover. I hope you enjoy it as well!