Simple Strawberry Tart

Thanks to greenhouses and imports, we are certainly blessed in that we have access to pretty much any fruit, year-round, but there's still something about the locally grown seasonal fruits that are second to none.  

Strawberries are finally in season in the NY/NJ area and baking tarts seems to be my current obsession so simple math led me to bake this strawberry tart.  

This recipe calls for balsamic vinegar, which may not be a conventional ingredient in baking, but don't let that scare you!  When balsamic reduces, it actually becomes a syrupy texture that really brings out the flavors of fruits and other sweets (you can even make a balsamic reduction and drizzle it over vanilla ice cream in place of chocolate syrup!). 

I like my desserts a bit tart (no pun intended) so I let the natural sweetness of the strawberries shine through by adding very little additive sugars.  However, if you like things very sweet, I would add a couple extra tablespoons of honey. 

Like all my other posted recipes, this one is also super quick and easy.  (I made mine between classes :) ... hence the scrubs).  



Simple Strawberry Tart
(borrowed from shewearsmanyhats)

Prep / working time = 10 minutes
Cook time = 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of frozen puffed pastry (preferably DuFour)

• 16 oz. strawberries (sliced)

• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar 

• 4 tablespoons of honey (add 2 more if you like desserts on the sweeter side)

Instructions:

• defrost pastry dough (as instructed on package) and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper

• preheat oven to 375F

• roll in the edges of pastry dough

• arrange strawberries on pastry (shingling or overlapping as you go)

• whisk together balsamic vinegar and honey and brush or drizzle over strawberries (there may be some leftover mixture)

• bake for 25 minutes or until edges are puffed and golden brown 
• serve warm and top with vanilla ice cream 

(please excuse the scrubs and slippers :P)

DINO BBQ

Vegetarians beware.   This post is strictly catered towards the carnivorous crowd. 

Dinosaur BBQ opened up its doors to its fifth location in Newark, NJ earlier this month.  The joint, originally based in upstate NY, has slowly been expanding throughout tri-state area.  During my undergrad years as a student at an upstate university, I took a few trips up to the Syracuse location.  A 1 hour drive up North + a 1.5 hour wait + another 30 minute wait after ordering was worth it every time, so you can imagine how excited I was when one opened up right down the block from my dental school.  I called in at noon on Sunday to make a reservation but it turns out that this was totally unnecessary.  J and I arrived at 12:30pm and were seated right away.   

I didn’t have my camera on me so you’re gonna have to settle for some crappy phone pics [sorry!].

For appetizers, we ordered the Swag sampler plate - salmon fritters, chicken wings, fried green tomatoes, and deviled eggs.

Apps were all just OK except the chicken wings.  Possibly the best chicken wings I’ve had?!  They were moist, meaty, spice-rubbed, pit-smoked and grilled to perfection!  We ordered the wings with Wango Tango sweet habenero sauce which had starts off slightly sweet flavor and ends with a spicy kick. 

[For those who are a bit more daring try the Garlic Chipotle and for those who are willing to challenge Satan himself, go for the Devil’s Duel. ]

Next, the main attraction: the meat plates. 

We both ordered Custom’que plates where you can choose 2, 3, or 4 meats of your choice and included honey hush cornbread and 2 homemade sides.

I went with the St. Louis ribs & pulled BBQ pork with a mini iceberg wedge + whipped sweet potatoes sprinkled with spicy walnuts.

The pulled pork was juicy and flavored with that smoky BBQ goodness that totally speaks for itself.   The ribs were surprisingly fall-off-the-bone tender amazing. 

The portions are pretty generous so I figured I would bring left-overs home.  NOPE.  I polished off everything except for one rib. 

One food coma later, the waitress asked us whether we will be ordering dessert.  I didn’t want to offend the waitress so we ordered the key lime pie to-go and enjoyed it after our post-food coma nap.  It was just as good as the rest of the meal.  Perfectly tart, creamy, and delicious. 

Most valuable advice I can give you: wear stretchy pants or something with an adjustable waistband.  You’ll thank me later. 

Some tips for fellow UMDNJ-ers:

-If you can, avoid driving there (unless you’re ballin').  Street parking is limited and lot parking costs $.  Take the shuttle to Newark Penn instead, and walk a block.

-Try to avoid days that Prudential center is holding events (hockey games, concerts, etc.); it can get busy.

-Drawstring scrubs are highly recommended.

Apple/Pear Tart with Drunken Raisins

A while ago, I purchased frozen pastry dough with the intention of making a strawberry shortcake.  I ended up eating all the strawberries before I could actually make it, so the poor dough had been neglected and chilling (literally… hah) in my freezer for weeks. 

Recently, school has been selfishly consuming my time, so I figured I’d bake to bring a little sunshine back into my life :)  

I stumbled upon a simple apple puff pastry recipe by PioneerWoman a while ago and I recalled that it only called for 4 ingredients: apples, brown sugar, lemon, and frozen puff pastry dough. So simple!

I tweaked the measurements for the recipe a bit and added a bit of extra “fun” by throwing in some cognac soaked raisins.   

You can really make this with any fruit. I tried apples and pears because that’s what I had in the fridge, but feel free to experiment! 

Apple/Pear Tart with Drunken Raisins

Prep / working time = 15 minutes

Cook time = 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of frozen puffed pastry (preferably DuFour)
• 3 apples
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• juice from half a lemon
• ½ cup raisins 
• 2 tablespoons of booze (rum or cognac)

Instructions:

• defrost pastry dough (as instructed on package) and place on baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray
• preheat oven to 415F
• soak raisins in booze (you can do this overnight for more kick)
• slice fruit (about 1/8 inch thick)
• combine fruit, raisins, brown sugar, and lemon juice
• arrange on pastry (shingling or overlapping as you go)
• bake for 18-20 minutes

Finished pastry should be golden brown and perfectly puffed at the edges. 

Serve with whipped cream, ice-cream, or just plain :).

Now, excuse me as I devour the rest of my left-over pastries.