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Late Summer Recipes from Marcia Selden Catering

Late summer offers some of the best produce of the season!  For those of you who garden, you may be finding yourself with a bumper crop of plump sweet tomatoes.  Here’s our recipe for a yummy tomato tart.  Don’t let the word tart intimidate you, it’s decidedly easy to make, and absolutely perfect for a picnic at the beach or at home with friends.  Try it…you’ll love it!

Late Summer Tomato Tart

1 package puff pastry, thawed (we like Du Four which is made with pure butter)

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbs. olive oil

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ C. chopped fresh basil

¼ C. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Optional additions:

 ¼ C. crumbled feta or goat cheese

3 Tbs. olive tapenade

3-4 cloves roasted garlic

Preheat oven to 400.  Defrost the frozen frozen puff pastry; either let it sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours or lay it out on your kitchen counter, wrapped for about 30 minutes.   Once defrosted, unfold.

Toss cherry tomatoes in a bowl with olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Either line a cookie sheet with baking parchment or butter the pan generously.   Carefully place the puff pastry on the prepared cookie sheet.

Cover the pastry with shredded mozzarella cheese, and arrange tomatoes in rows so they don’t overlap.  Sprinkle with basil and Parmesan cheese and bake for 15-18 minutes or until pastry has puffed up and is golden brown.  Note- if adding additional cheeses, tapenade, or garlic, add before topping with Parmesan cheese.

Aug. CTBites Plum Cake

If there’s one cake that you MUST make this summer, this is it!  Our mouth-watering plum cake served with a slightly tart yogurt cream is the perfect cake for any time of the day.  You can substitute just about any fruit (blueberries, peaches, apricots, pears).  Try a slice with your morning coffee, or serve warm at your next dinner party!

1 C. sugar

½ C. (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 C. sifted flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of kosher salt

2 eggs, beaten

14 pitted Italian plums (or 1 pt. blueberries, 2 large peeled, sliced peaches, apricots or pears)

2 tbs. sugar

2 tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. apricot jam

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add flour, baking powder, salt and eggs.  Beat until well mixed.  In a separate bowl, mix fruit with sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and jam.  Butter a 9” spring form pan.  Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Cover evenly with fruit and bake for 50-60 minutes (or until tester comes out clean).  Cool and serve.  Note:  This cake freezes beautifully.

Tangy Yogurt Cream

1 C. heavy cream

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/3 C. low fat plain Greek yogurt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat until stiff.  Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.