Walkin' on Sunshine...

Wow! What a gorgeous day today was! We have had a particularly cold winter down South this year. I mean, It has snowed like three times! In a state where everything shuts down at the mention of "flurries", this is a huge deal. Today brought a welcome 68 degrees and some beautiful sunshine. It was the perfect Saturday: up early, planned meals for the week, went grocery shopping, got a haircut, went to a movie with the hubby, a brisk walk on the treadmill, and spent the evening at Borders reading cooking magazines. As for today's food, I had the last of the leftover butternut squash risotto for my lunch. :( For dinner, ham and cheese panini with bacon and pesto mayo dip. Dessert: chocolate chip angel food cupcakes with fluffy frosting. Yup. It was a pretty awesome day.

For the panini: I cooked a few strips of bacon, spread whole wheat bread with dijon mustard, and piled on ham, bacon and colby jack cheese. I pressed those babies in my panini press, and ta da! Supper's ready! For the pesto mayo dip: just stir 1 Tbsp. pesto into 3 Tbsp. mayo. Done. Serve with a simple salad.


Chocolate Chip Angel Food Cupcakes with Fluffy Frosting

Frosting from Cooking Light

I used an angel food cake mix, for simplicity. Mix according to box directions. Fold in 1/2 cup of semi-sweet mini chips. Bake in paper lined muffin tin according to box directions. Allow to cool on racks.

Fluffy Frosting

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Dash of salt
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and next 4 ingredients (1/2 cup sugar through 2 egg whites) in top of a double boiler; place over barely simmering water. Beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form and candy thermometer registers 160°. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon frosting over each cupcake.
Top with mini chips.

TIP: once your frosting reaches 160, remove it from the heat. Do not walk away to take a beautiful picture of your cupcakes. :)

Light, fluffy, chocolatey goodness.

My cure for the "Sunday Blues"

Last week Justin and I visited Buffalo, NY for one of his residency interviews. After the interview, we went to NYC for a few days. On our last night in "The City" we had an amazing dinner at db Bistro Moderne. Check it out here :
db Bistro Moderne
I had the Tomato tart tatin, bacon-veiled salmon, and poached pears for dessert...Heaven. And, a most delicious bottle of Pino Noir.

My mission today is to recreate that beautiful tomato tart. I have a bunch of plum tomatoes I need to use...garlic, basil, olive oil all on hand. Ready, set, go!
After researching and combining a few recipes, here is what I came up with:

Tomato Tart a la Katie

1 refrigerated pie crust (I used Pillsbury)
1 Tbs. dijon mustard
1 Tbs. pesto (I just use the kind in a jar from the grocery store)
2 oz. shredded mozzerella
2 oz. shredded parmesan
1 Tbs. butter
1 clove garlic chopped
1 medium onion (caramelized with butter and garlic)
7-8 plum tomatoes thinly sliced
2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.
Prep tomatoes: Place thinly sliced tomatoes on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Cover with another paper towel. This helps draw moisture out to keep tart from being soggy...yuck.

Caramelize onion: Peel and thinly slice onion. Melt 1 Tbs. butter over medium heat, add onion and 1 clove of garlic chopped, season with salt and pepper. Cook until fully browned.


Transfer onion to a plate and set aside. Press pie dough into tart pan and trim around edges. In a small bowl, stir together mustard and pesto. Spread pesto mixture on crust. Sprinkle on mozzerella. Spread onion on top of mozzerella. Sprinkle on parmesan. Place tomatoes on tart in concentric circles. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and basil. Bake for 30- 35 minutes until brown and bubbly.

The tart turned out delicious! I had some asparagus in the fridge, so I roasted it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Yummy!

Now for dessert: I picked up a pre made angel food cake at the grocery store today, along with some fresh blackberries and raspberries. Here is what I came up with:

Angel food cake with raspberry balsamic reduction and yogurt

Pre made angel food cake
1 6 oz package fresh raspberries
1 6 oz package fresh blackberries
1/2 cup yogurt (my absolute favorite yogurt is Stoneyfield Farms lowfat vanilla)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. sugar

To make reduction: Place raspberries, balsamic vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer about 15 minutes until thick. Crush berries with your spoon. Srain sauce to remove seeds if you want.
Top a slice of cake with yogurt, raspberry sauce and fresh blackberries
Mmmmm....


I love cooking on Sunday nights. I suffer from severe "Sunday Blues" every week...that terrible feeling when the weekend is over and the work week looms ahead. Sunday dinner cheers me up a bit and takes my mind off the stress of the week to come.