Easy Mom's Night

This past Friday, my son and I had dinner with my neighbor and her daughter. We've done this several times over the course of living across the courtyard from each other as our kids are the same age and her husband works nights and mine is often traveling. Our guideline for the evening is to keep it simple so that we can each relax a little while the kids are playing together. With this in mind, we ordered pizza for the kids and I threw together a salad with the veggies that were left in my crisper from the past week's farm share.

On Friday evenings I treat myself to a glass or two of wine. Any other time of the year, I drink red wine; however, I find red too warming in summer, so I cool it off a bit by making a sangria. The July/August issue of Everyday Food (p. 57) featured a recipe for Summer Fruit Sangria. So, since my neighbor prefers white wines like Pinot Grigio, I thought we'd both enjoy sampling this recipe.

Summer Fruit Sangria
In a large bowl or pitcher, combine 6 cups assorted fruit (such as mango, pineapple, cantalope, and appricot), sliced or cut into chunks, 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger. 1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh basil or mint leaves, and a half cup orange liqueur, such as Cointreau. Mash gently with the back of a wooden spoon until basil is bruised and fruit releases juices. Add one bottle crisp white wine such as Savignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, and three tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from one lemon) and stir to combine. Refrigerate one hour (or up to one day).

I used locally grown cherries in our sangria as I had picked some up to snack on earlier in the week. I also had some watermelon left over from a dinner with my mother earlier in the week, so I threw that in as well. My next door neighbor has mint in her herb garden, so I picked some of that and used mint instead of the basil. I also reduced the amont of Cointreau to 1/4 c. I would have added blueberries to this mix; however, I wanted to save them for the tart I was making for dessert. I really enjoyed this combination, especially the mint. For me, the reduction of the Cointreau was a good idea, in fact, I think I could have even gone with a couple of tablespoons and it would still have provided a punch to the drink. The cherries added to the Pinot Grigio the depth and body that I enjoy in red wine while the watermelon and mint enhanced the crispness of the wine making it perfect for a warm summer evening.

Martha Stewart's Whole Living ~ Body and Soul in Balance magazine highlighted blueberries in this month's issue and I had been looking for an excuse and the time to make the Blueberry Ricotta Tart (p. 64).

Blueberry-Ricotta Tart

1. In a food processor pulse together 1 Cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup finely ground blanched almonds, 2 Tbsps light brown sugar, 1/2 tsp toasted wheat germ, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp baking powder. Add 4 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces, and process until largest pieces are the size of small peas. With machine running, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup low fat buttermilk until dough just holds together. Pat into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat over to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9 1/2 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Trim edges flush with pan and prick holes in dough with fork. Freeze for 15 mintues. Line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove parchment and weights and bake until golden brown and dry. 15 to 20 minutes more. Let cool.

3. Puree 1 1/4 cups part skim ricotta with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1 Tbsp honey. Spread into cooled shell. Stir 2 Tbsp honey gently into 2 cups blueberries and arrange on top of tart. Chill for 2 hours.

Other than using whole milk ricotta and being a little more heavy handed with the cinnamon, I didn't change a thing about this recipe. The crust was nutty and just the right texture to support the filling which was lightly sweet and creamy. The fresh blueberries were enhanced by the addition of the honey. Both the honey and the blueberries came from Springdell Farm and have been part of our farm share.

The only difficulty with the tart was the amount of time the crust takes to prepare. I'm sure you could easily make it a day ahead if necessary. The tart holds up well to refrigeration. I served some to another neighbor the following day with coffee and it was still as firm as when I cut the first piece the night before.