Perfection Is Overrated

As if tasting delicious weren't enough, this dish has another thing going for it: it's supposed to not look perfect. This is my kind of dinner!

This Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Olive Tart could be called "rustic" or "free form." Or, as Melissa Camero Ainslie, who who shared the recipe on her excellent blog, Bitchin' Camero, said, it could also be called the tart of a lazy person. Whatever you call it, you should make it. It's very easy and a delightful way to highlight summer tomatoes. Although the recipe calls for heirloom tomatoes, I used New Jersey beefsteak tomatoes and it turned out fabulously.

I made one tart and froze the other half of the dough. But I have a feeling I may be defrosting it soon, because this is such a perfect summer meal. Along with a salad, it's a perfect (in a less-than-perfect kind of way) lunch or supper.

Perfection isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know.--S

Catalog Cooking

I've been pulling recipes off the Internet for ages now, while still using my cookbooks regularly, thanks to EatYourBooks. But until now I'd never made a dish from a recipe I found in a catalog.

A new Williams-Sonoma catalog arrived the other day and as I idly flipped through it, envisioning myself sitting down to a lovely spread like this one, I came upon a recipe for something called Tuscan Frittata Affogata. I know this sounds suspiciously made-up, like, do they really eat something so frou-frou sounding in Tuscany? (I also paid attention because Fork ordered a dessert called "affogata" at this restaurant a few months ago and it was fabulous.) Anyway, it looked good: a frittata made with eggs, cheese, and sausage, topped with marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil.

So I decided to try it. And it was excellent. It looked like a pizza coming out of the oven, all saucy and and bubbly cheese. And that's kind of what it is: a frittata pizza. It may well be true that no one in Tuscany has ever eaten such a thing. But who cares? This is one great dish. I had to make a few adaptations since the recipe--coming from a catalog and all--was written for you to use a fancy frittata pan that W-S sells for $149.95. Pish posh. You don't need one of those. Live on the edge and flip that baby right onto a plate, then slide it back into the pan.

Other than that it's pretty straightforward. An excellent way to use up a leftover cup of tomato sauce; a simple dinner that goes great with a salad and some garlic toasts; delicious the next day, cold or room temperature. I'm off to scour more catalogs now!--S