Goat Cheese Tomato Tart

The fabulous tart from the Sunday brunch I blogged about! Thanks B!

Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart
Pastry for one tart (I used butter yesterday but usually I use butter and chili oil instead of water or to replace some at least)
1 T dijon mustard
3/4 C grated Gruyere cheese
4 or 5 Roma tomatoes, sliced
8 oz. goat cheese, sliced

brushing oil: (combine all ingredients)
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
2 T fresh chopped herbs (I used basil and parsley yesterday, but anything you like will do)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed (I opt for 2 usually)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 and place a baking sheet in oven.

Roll our pastry dough and place in a 12 inch tart pan. Spread dijon mustard over bottom of tart shell, then spread grated gruyere cheese over bottom. Alternate tomato slices and goat cheese in overlapping layers, then brush with all but two T of herbed oil ove the top.

Put tart on baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes (I used my convection oven so it was a little less time). Remove from oven and brush remaining herbed oil over the top.

I have made this tart numerous times and it is always a hit. It is nice for lunch as well as brunch.

Adventures in Brunching

I love a good brunch. Each year my mother and I have a Christmas brunch for family and friends. Quiches, biscuits, and sweets overflow from our table. As I said I LOVE A GOOD BRUNCH. Something about the abundance and an easy excuse to indulge in Mimosas. But I rarely get to attend other's brunches. I try not to take it personally.

But last Sunday, I actually was invited to one of the best brunches ever. My father and AW had battled over a brunch for 10 at last year's Teatro Vista benefit. The brunch was hosted by family friend and artist B. B is one of the greatest cooks I know. She has an interesting story of how she came upon her culinary skills.

From the way it was told to me, early on B signed up for the Peace Corps. I did not realize this but the Peace Corps used to send a box of books with each volunteer. Some of these assignments were very remote and entertainment was few and far between - hence the box of books. B arrived in her South American village and opened hers. Out spilled several volumes from the beloved James Beard. She had 2 years to memorize every technique and recipe. Upon returning to the States, she started to cook all the recipes and she hasn't stopped since.

So you can understand my excitement over tasting her cooking - not to mention the interesting assortment of attendees. Almost all artists or philosophers - me the only corporate shill.

We all stood in her large kitchen sipping mimosas and great coffee. H and I discussed the merits of using high quality champagne in mimosas. The usual recommendation is to use cheap champagne since you are really tainting it with oj, but H bulked at this advice and went with some wonderful champagne. I believe the brand was Becker Champagne "Brut" NV. Oh what a difference. H and I decided never to return to the cheap stuff. I guess you can compare it to the change from recommending cheap wine for cooking - now chefs recommend only cooking with a wine you would drink. I heartily agree.

THE FOOD:
Tarts - (the food kind)
1. Goat cheese, fresh tomato, homemade pasty crust (this amazes me - I still can't tackle crusts!), caramelized garlic - sprinkled over top
2. Mushroom, leek, Gruyere

Quiche
1. Straight cheese (Gruyere)

Food Trivia:
The question was asked: What is the difference between a tart and a quiche? The answer: Tarts do not have the egg component (aka custard)

The Extras:
Spicy link sausage, bagels with softened cream cheese (nice touch), fresh fruit (made me long for summer), salad, and roasted veggies.

The Sweet:
I abstained from the sweet since I was feeling a bit whale-like from the 2 servings of tart. But the dessert looked delicious. Chocolate bundt cake that JB referred to as "chocolate air". Not sure if chocolate air appeals to me - but everyone loved it.

A wonderful meal, perfect conversation, some gorgeous art (thanks K), and an invitation for us to visit Baja with B and H. Which means the beach and cooking with B.

I should have the recipe for the goat cheese tart mentioned above shortly. I will post as soon as I can.

Thanks again - fabulous meal.