4th of July Birthday!

Like everyone else come Wednesday we’ll be celebrating the Fourth of July but around our home we’re also celebrating Mister Man’s birthday. Talk about double the pleasure but I always make sure it’s all about him like he doesn't already think it is all about him.

I skip the regular barbeque fair since mister man likes having all his favorites served up. Since it’s going to be warm in New England all of the dishes I’ll be serving can be made ahead and served at room temperature.

I’ll serve several dishes all at once and let everyone pick. One of the dishes will be “Espresso Crusted Filet Mignon on Gorgonzola Crostini” recipe. Be sure to use a hearty flavorful bread for the Crostini I like to use a nice fresh made Toscano bread made locally. Looks great and so easy to make and the best part is you cook the steak in the oven to any degree of doneness you prefer.

Another summer favorite now that fresh grown tomatoes are showing up in the farmers markets is a Tomato and Mozzarella tart made with homemade pastry crust. Trust me it’s the easiest thing in the world to make a great light and flaky pastry shell following this recipe from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients

·         2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon sugar

·         16 tablespoons cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

·         1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

1.         In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.

2.         Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time). To help ensure a flaky crust, do not overprocess.

3.         Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough. (Disks can be frozen, tightly wrapped, up to 3 months. Thaw before using.) Makes 2 disks.

Important: Do not over process your flour mixture as this makes the crust thick and heavy. Never process it for more then 30 seconds. I like to count one thousand one method and it works perfectly.

I’ll also make a nice Greek salad to round things off!

Mister man prefers a fruit tart rather then a regular cake for his birthday. You can use the same recipe above for these tarts as well. I like to stick a sparkler in the middle to give his birthday tart a nice festive Fourth flair. Of course there can be whining at this stage since he has to wait for the sparkler to burn down before he can eat his tart….;)

One thing that mister man can’t seem to get enough of lately is cabernet gelato. So I’ll be making plenty of this to go with our fruit tarts. The color looks beautiful too with the color in the tarts.

So that’s what we’ll be doing on our Fourth of July, lots of celebrating for our country and Mister Man’s birthday. What kind of fun do you have planned for your Fourth?

I wish each and every one of you a Happy and Joyous Day!

Be well and be safe!

XXX

~Debra~