May Review

Some bloggers have been doing monthly reviews of what photos they have on their phones.  I thought this would be fun since I’ve been using my phone quite a bit to capture food!

My friends made reservations to visit the pop-up restaurant Bandolero early in the month.  The owner of Tackle Box allowed Mike Isabella to take over the space until he could open up his restaurant in Georgetown.  When we visited, a $65 five-course tasting menu was available, and it was very delicious!  Last summer, Sam and I tried Graffiato and loved it, and I enjoyed the Mexican menu just as much.

The official Bandolero in Georgetown opened up about 2 weeks ago.  I’m looking forward to stopping in one day and trying out the margaritas on tap!

Above are this month’s Farmer’s Market finds!  Lots of yummy things to taste and cook with from the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market!  Check out the kohlrabi salad I had made!

Sam and I enjoyed a lovely evening outdoors at Kushi.  This was the first time there, and the sushi was delicious!

I went to the Lady Antebellum concert with friends, to celebrate a birthday- perfect Sunday evening!

I made some new friends at the Eat Write Retreat 2012 food blogger conference!  One evening I had dinner with Jessica (Feastie) and Emily (Em-i-lis), and we had a chance to play with Percy!  Isn’t he the cutest?!?

For Carolyn’s birthday we went out to dinner, and got to celebrate with a delicious dessert!  I also made her some Peanut Butter & Jelly cookies, yum!

As we do every year, Sam and I went strawberry picking!  Yum!!!  If you still have strawberries in your kitchen, you should try this dessert!

My friend Stephanie and I took a pasta class at Hill’s Kitchen.  I feel more confident in making pasta, can’t wait to put a delicious recipe on the blog.  I think it’d be perfect with Sam’s summer sauce!

Birthday Fruit Tart

For my birthday Sam made an amazing fruit tart:

This is my favorite dessert in the world.  And let me tell you, I’ve bought fruit tarts from many pastries or bakeries, but this was the best tart I’ve ever had!

Remember, you can use different fruits- whatever you like.  Some suggestions: kiwis, raspberries, blackberries, plums or bananas.

Birthday Fruit Tart

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup ice water
9-inch tart pan

For the filling:
5 extra-large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp rosewater
1 pint strawberries, halved
1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup honey

In a food processor, add the flour, salt, and cold butter and pulse until crumbly.  Now slowly add the cold water until the dough comes together into a ball (you shouldn’t need all of the water).   Wrap the ball in cling wrap and put it in the fridge for a half hour.  Preheat your oven to 375ºF.

While that’s cooling off, you can work on the filling.  In a small pot, warm up the heavy cream, being careful not to let it bowl over.  In a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks together with the sugar for a few minutes until they’re nice and thick.  With the mixer on low, add the corn starch.  Now add the mixture to the milk and whisk constantly with the heat on medium low.  It will quickly begin to thicken.  When it reaches the consistency of pudding, turn off the heat and mix in the butter and vanilla (you can substitute with almost anything here; almond extract or even some good, black rum would be nice).  Transfer the mixture to a bowl and put in the fridge to cool.

Now roll the dough out on a well floured cutting board and add to a greased tart pan.  Toss it in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden.  Remove the crust from the oven and pour the filling into the crust and smooth out with a spatula.  The filling may seem fairly firm, but don’t worry, it will soften up in the heated crust.  Now add the fruit to the top of the filling (I used strawberries and blueberries, but you can use whatever you want.  Peaches and raspberries would be good too.)  Mix the honey and rosewater together and microwave for 20 seconds, then brush it over the fruit.

That’s it!  Put the tart in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes and enjoy!