Minimal Monday: Heirloom Cherry Tomato Tart

You only need a few ingredients for this tart. A sheet of frozen puff pastry, and any soft spreadable cheese will do for the base. I used marscapone, but there are so many different varieties out there. Boursin or a fluffy goat cheese would be nice.

The cheese primes your canvas and gets it ready for whatever you want to arrange on top.

I chose heirloom cherry tomatoes. I got them from Trader Joe’s, but you can use sliced regular tomatoes, too. Or olives, artichoke hearts, caramelized onions, whatever floats your boat.

I filled in the gaps between my cherry tomato mosaic with little gobs of goat cheese.

This is a Minimal Monday style recipe. I didn’t even roll out the puff pastry, so you can transfer it from the package directly to a baking sheet. No flour, no rolling pin, no tricky transfer of the dough to the pan.

Heirloom Cherry Tomato Tart
serves 4 as an appetizer, or 2 for dinner
oven to 425F
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
4 oz marscapone cheese (about 1/2 an 8 oz container) at room temperature
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
about 1 lb heirloom cherry tomatoes (you won’t need quite that many) cut in half
1 or 2 ounces goat cheese for filling in the gaps
several large leaves of basil cut in thin ribbons, for garnish
salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Set the pastry sheet on a parchment lined baking sheet. No need to roll it out any further. Score a line around the edge of the pastry with a bread knife, about 1/2 inch in from the edge. Don’t cut all the way through. This will make a frame around your tart, and the pastry will puff up nicely around your filling when it bakes.
Mix the marscapone cheese with the lemon juice and zest. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Stir until the mixture is smooth. If you are using another kind of cheese, you may not need the lemon.
Spread the cheese evenly over the pastry, within the little frame that you etched in the dough. I first add the cheese in little blobs all over the dough, and then spread with a knife.
Arrange your tomato halves any way you like over the cheese.
Fill in the cracks with little bits of goat cheese.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the crust is browned and everything is bubbly.
Garnish with ribbons of fresh basil.
Eat right away.

I have a busy week ahead, how about you?

One year ago today—

Blackberry Walnut Bran Muffins

Chocolate Lasagna Cupcakes

A big shout out to Center Cut Cook for this scrumptious dessert. Apparently, they used to serve a chocolate lasagna like this at the Olive Garden that was out of this world. Now you can make it at home….as cute little cupcakes!

Chocolate Lasagna Cupcakes-Ingredients

1 package Oreos (36 cookies)

6 Tablespoons melted butter

8 ounces softened cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

12 ounces Cool Whip, divided

2 – 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding

3 1/4 cups cold milk

1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Pulse oreos in the food processor until crumbs. Stir with the butter and press into your cupcake liners in a tin. I made 12 regular sized cupcakes and they were nice and big!!! Chill a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a mixer, beat cream cheese fluffy. Add the 2 T. milk & sugar. Add 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the chilled crusts. In another bowl, whisk chocolate puddings with the 3 and 1/4 cups milk until it thickens. Spread this over the cream cheese layers in each cupcake. Chill 5 mins. Spread the rest of the Cool Whip on the top and sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips. Chill several hours or over night before digging in!

Adapted from Center Cut Cook

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CHOCOLATE CHERRY ICE CREAM

There is nothing better on a super hot summer day than a big bowl of ice cream…and this recipe is a family favorite at our house! I used a small ice cream maker like this one, and it only takes a few ingredients to make a delicious dessert in about 30 minutes!

Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream

2 cups whipping cream

2 cups 2% milk

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp cocoa

20 maraschino cherries, quartered

1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice

Mix all ingredients except for the cherries with an electric mixer for about 2-3 minutes. Put mixture into the ice cream maker and run your ice cream maker according to normal instructions. I mixed mine for about 25-30 minutes before it was ready. About 5 minutes before ice cream is done, add in the cherries. You can eat the ice cream immediately but it will be very soft. If you leave the ice cream in the freezer for a few hours, it will set up very nicely but either way it is absolutely delicious!