Pan-Baked Lemon-Almond Tart: Perfect For Mother's Day

Recipe by Mark Bittman, New York Times food journalist.

Have you ever tried a new recipe and it knocked not one, 

but both of your socks off after ONE bite?

Well, this is one of those recipes.

I'm sock-less.
No socks. 

Bare feet. 

One taste, and I was raving how this just may be... 

The Best Thing I've Ever Made.
And I mean that from the bottom of my tart.
Ba-dump-bump. 

Aside from the fact that this tart is delicious,

 I'm giddy with the fact that this beautiful 
breakfast-dessert-brunch-snack-whatever-whenever is ridiculously easy, 
and takes a mere 20 minutes from start to finish.

Mix, Cook, Bake. Eat.

Voila.

Even though I've just convinced you how simple it is,
I recommend that you watch this 4-minute video on how to prepare it,
if only to prove to you what a cinch this recipe really is.

 Don't let that quick preparation fool you. 

This is a very impressive tart, and your guests will think you are 
even more oh-so-talented than you are.
It's actually more custardy than cakey...
more like the consistency of a quiche. 
 

I made it for breakfast,
although it's also a great afternoon snack with a cup of tea.
And it is a perfect brunch dessert...
why not try it for Mother's Day?

Now that I've finished it, I can't stop thinking about it.
Why is that?
Because absence makes the tart grow fonder, of course!

Once you make this, you'll want to make it again and again.

 

Pan-Baked Lemon-Almond Tart

Recipe by Mark Bittman, NY Times  

Yield: 4 servings

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup sliced almonds, more for garnish

1 lemon, zest and juice

2 tablespoons butter

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°

In a bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt, ground almonds, cream, sliced almonds, lemon zest and juice.

Melt butter in 8-inch ovenproof skillet over low heat; when foam has subsided, add almond mixture to pan, tilting pan to distribute batter evenly.

Continue to cook tart on stovetop until edges just begin to set, then put pan in oven and finish cooking, about 10-15 minutes more.

When tart is done, put it in broiler for about a minute until just golden on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and sliced almonds. Serve immediately.

If you make this tart...and I strongly advise that you do...

I've got only one piece of advice.

Hold on to your socks.

Linking With:

Best of the Weekend
Wow Us Wednesday
Wake Up Wednesday
Share Your Style 
 Home and Garden Thursday
Simple and Sweet Friday
Foodie Friday 
Let's Get Real  
Tweak It Tuesday
The Scoop
Treasure Box Tuesday 
 Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
 

Best of the Weekend #101 and Happy Anniversary To Us!

Greetings, everyone!
Welcome to the 101st Best of the Weekend Party!
By the time you read this,
I'll be out dining with my hubby,
celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary!!! 
I picked a winner...he is the wind beneath my wings!
On our wedding day, it was 82 degrees and not a cloud in the sky;
today it is grey and gloomy, with a freeze watch in effect for tonight.
Ah, such is the weather in NJ during April.

Speaking of winners, 
Erlene from My Pinventures won our picnic basket giveaway!
Congratulations, Erlene!

Our co-hosts are winners, too! 

Lisa: Cooking With Curls|FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest |Instagram

Deb: Cooking On The Front Burner|FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest|Instagram

Sheryl: Lady Behind The Curtain |FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest|Instagram

Cindy: Little Miss Celebration |FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest

Ginnie: Hello Little Home|FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest|Instagram

Amy (me!): Ms.Toody Goo Shoes|FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest|Instagram

Remember that each co-host selects her own favorite posts, 

giving you a better chance of being featured each week,

so be sure to check out Ginnie, Cindy, Sheryl, Deb and Lisa,  
to see if you were featured on their blogs.

And...we'll be pinning our features to a 
Pinterest "Best of the Weekend" Features board!

Follow Cindy Eikenberg (Little Miss Celebration)'s board Best of the Weekend Features! on Pinterest.

This week's most clicked link was:

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Bars from Sweet and Savory by Shinee
Just looking at these makes me weak in the knees!

If it was as warm and sunny as our wedding day, 
I'd have planned an anniversary dinner with my features for the week:

Spring Al Fresco Table Setting Ideas from Shabbyfufu Romantic Living
Sitting at this beautiful table under the trees would be oh-so-romantic.


One Skillet Garlic Parmesan Zoodles from Almost Supermom
We'd eat oodles of zucchini noodles, since they are healthier than pasta.


Pepper Jack Cheese Muffins from This Silly Girl's Life 
The calories we'd save on the zoodles could be spent on these 
yummy, cheesy muffins.

Lemon and Rosemary Sweet Iced Tea from The Chunky Chef
Sipping iced tea infused with rosemary would be heavenly.

Easy Strawberry Banana Ice Cream from Cincy Shopper 
Dessert would be guilt-free, too, with this dairy-free ice cream. 

Even if you weren't featured this week, you're all winners in my book!
Time to link up! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Early Spring In The Garden Nook

Are you having a "true spring" where you live?

I'm not even sure what that means anymore.

All I know is that one day I'm wearing flip flops and a t-shirt;

the next, I'm in boots and a down jacket.

Yesterday, it was sunny and in the 60's - nice enough to have an outdoor lunch 

at the Bryant Park Cafe in New York City.

We lucked out and finished seconds before that crazy thunderstorm blew in.

Good thing I was able to take shelter in Lord and Taylor's

(for three hours, heh heh)!

This afternoon, it's only 48 degrees as I write this.

I guess that's pretty typical of spring around these parts.

On Sunday, I went to Home Depot... oh, wait...

did I ever tell you that when Junior Goo Shoes was two or three, 

he called it "Humpty Po?"

Get it?
Home Depot.

Humpty Po.

In his frame of reference, with nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty 

dominating his brain waves, it made total sense.

Yes, so, back to the weather.
It was in the low 60's, and sunny, 

and I was surprised to see so many people buying summer annuals.
I always wait until Memorial Day to buy mine, 

because the temperatures can still be pretty cold at night

and I think those plants have a good chance of dropping dead 

if you plant them too early.

 

I allowed myself to buy one flat of pansies, and a few daffodils.

I want a little spring color on the front porch,

but once it gets too hot, the pansies croak, 

so I don't like to buy too many.

 I piled everything up around the bench in my garden nook,

and was struck by how pretty it looked.

A still life just waiting to be photographed!

OK, I did tweak things just a tad :)

Oh, alright. A huge tad.

We planted the forsythia last year, and although it's still sparse, 

it makes a pretty frame around my red garden bench.

I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance 

to put the pansies and daffies into a flower pot yet. 

Four days later, they're still sitting in the nook.

Yesterday, when that storm came,

the wicked winds of the west knocked them all askew...

"Heh heh heh...I'll get you, my little pretties!"

Fortunately, they survived, and hopefully I'll get off my caboose, 

and plant them today.

That is, if I can tear myself away from the computer.

I've been frantically researching a summer vacation,

avoiding everything that I really should be doing, 

like food shopping, filling out mandatory camp forms, 

and lining up SAT tutors for next fall.

Priorities, right?

 Truth be told, I've been a little nervous going out into the backyard lately.

There have been news reports of coyote sightings in neighboring towns.

And get this...

Wile E.'s cousin was spotted on the upper west side of Manhattan yesterday!

COYOTES IN MANHATTAN???

Talk about spring weirdness!

It's not like it was buying whitefish salad at Zabar's, or anything, 

but it was hanging around in Riverside Park. 

And to think I moved out of Manhattan because of rats and cockroaches.
Sheesh.

Anyway, I'll put on my big girl panties and fetch those flowers,

so that they get planted before any other strange forces of nature 

get in between me and my flowers.

How is spring going in your "nook" of the woods?

You may also like:

A Secret Garden Nook

 
Linking with:
Tweak It Tuesday
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
The Scoop
Wow Us Wednesday 
Wake Up Wednesday 
Share Your Style
Home and Garden Thursday  
Simple and Sweet Friday 
Let's Get Real 
Treasure Box Tuesday

Simple and Savory Spinach Artichoke Bites

I am not being compensated for the products in this post.

Do you give a recipe a trial run before serving it to your guests?

If I'm reasonably sure I won't screw it up,

I won't give it a dry run.
I'll mix it up, pop it in the oven, say a little prayer and hope for the best.

Next week is Teachers' Appreciation Day at school.

In this case, I'm afraid to make something I haven't made before,

because if it's awful, I don't want the teachers to take it out on Junior Goo Shoes.

I asked JGS what he thought I should make.

"You're gonna cook for the teachers??? WHY???"

"Because I'm running for Best Mother in the World.
Think I'll win?"

"Uh, I don't know, Mom. Gloria and Claire might beat you out,

and come to think of it, Mitch and Cam are pretty good Moms, too."

Photo Courtesy of Modern Family, ABC

Well, alrighty, then. 

Maybe I better pull out the big guns:

Spinach Artichoke Bites.

 I did make these for the very first time when I had a house full of company.

Lucky for me...or maybe I should say, lucky for them...

there wasn't much I could do to screw these up. 

THEY WERE AMAZING.

And oh so easy. 

I found the recipe on Pinterest - it's from Park House Love. 

You can mix up the filling a day in advance;
or earlier in the day that you'll be serving it.

You'll need two tubes of crescent roll dough.

I used Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations.

Working with one package at a time,

unroll the dough onto a large work surface and use a pizza cutter or a knife 
to cut it into 24 squares or rectangles,
it doesn't much matter.
Unless you are serving these to geometry teachers,
I wouldn't worry about being precise.
OMG - I am serving them to geometry teachers! 

Then, simply press them into mini muffin tins. 
Fill with the spinach-artichoke mixture. 
Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
If you want, you can assemble the cups before your guests arrive.
Just keep them covered in the fridge, 
and take them out about a half-hour before you plan to bake them.

Heat for approximately 12 minutes...

Serve, and soak up the compliments!
They are sure to add up!

Spinach Artichoke Bites

(Recipe by Park House Love)

Yield: 48 Bites

Ingredients
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened (can use low-fat)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup frozen chopped spinach (I used entire package), thawed, and squeezed to remove most of the water (I used my hands to squeeze out the liquid). 
2 tubes crescent roll dough (I used Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations)
1 8 oz. package shredded mozzarella

Method:
Preheat oven to 375F°.
Lightly spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
Combine first six ingredients in a large bowl; mix thoroughly. Set mixture aside.
On a large work surface, roll out one package of dough. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into 24 squares. 
Press squares into mini muffin tins.
Using a teaspoon, fill each cup with spinach artichoke mixture.
Sprinkle each cup with mozzarella cheese.
Bake for approximately 12 minutes.  

  

Uh-oh...I just thought of something.

What if I can't heat these up at school?

I guess we'll just have to eat them ourselves.

Let's see...48 divided by 3 equals 12 for Mr. Goo Shoes,

12 for Junior Goo Shoes...

and 24 for me.

That's the new math...

For my modern family.

 

Linking With:

Wow Us Wednesday

Share Your Style  

Foodie Friday

Best of the Weekend's 100th Party and a Giveway!

 

Happy Friday, everyone, and welcome to Best of the Weekend's 

100th Party!!!

BOTW has built a reputation for being one of the biggest and best blog parties 
out there, with hundreds of link-ups each week.

To celebrate, we are giving away this awesome, 
upscale picnic basket with deluxe service for four...retail value $170!
It includes porcelain plates, silverware, wine glasses, 100% cotton napkins, 
stainless steel salt and pepper shakers, corkscrew, cutting board, food storage container, wine duffel and picnic blanket.

Yours Truly would take this to the beach for a sunset picnic,
or to the Great Lawn in Central Park for the Philharmonic concerts, 
or maybe just to a nice patch of grass in the backyard.
 How about you? Where would you use it?

Here's some stuff you need to know about contest rules:

The contest is open to everyone; however, 
the basket will only be shipped to US addresses (no PO boxes).
Winners from other countries will receive an Amazon gift card 
in the amount of $170.00 US currency. 
Contest ends next Thursday (April 23) at midnight. 
All entries will be verified, and a winner will be notified via email.
The winner must respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

This giveaway is brought to you by the following fantabulous co-hosts:

Lisa: Cooking With Curls|FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest |Instagram

Deb: Cooking On The Front Burner|FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest|Instagram

Sheryl: Lady Behind The Curtain |FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest|Instagram

Cindy: Little Miss Celebration |FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest

Ginny: Hello Little Home|FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest|Instagram

Amy (me!): Ms.Toody Goo Shoes|FB|Twitter|Google+|Pinterest|Instagram

 After entering the contest, scroll down to check out my features for the week. 
Remember that each co-host selects her own favorite posts, 

giving you a better chance of being featured each week,

so be sure to check out Ginny, Cindy, Sheryl, Deb and Lisa, to see if you were featured on their blogs.

And...we'll be pinning our features to a 
Pinterest "Best of the Weekend" Features board!

Follow Cindy Eikenberg (Little Miss Celebration)'s board Best of the Weekend Features! on Pinterest.
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last week's most clicked link was:

Ten Things You Must Do Everyday from Strength and Sunshine 
 Yes! Especially 1, 3, 4 and 6. Oh, and 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. 
Just Do It!

 For my features this week,
I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing...

 Asparagus and Fontina Dutch Baby from Simply Suzanne's At Home 
Sandwich, Shmandwich...I'm bringing this.
It would be just right at room temp.

Mozzarella, Parmesan and Buttermilk Quick Bread from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs
 You may have to fight me for a slice of this.
Or, we could just cut the loaf in half.

Basil, Cucumber and Lime Cocktail from The Recipe Wench
Gotta take some herbs and veggies on the picnic, right?
So what if they're muddled into the vodka? It still counts!

3-Ingredient Limoncello Lemon Ice Cream from The Kitchen Is My Playground
OK, not really sure how I'll keep this frozen on my picnic, 
but where there's a will, there's a way!

Farmhouse Laundry Room Reveal from Let's Add Sprinkles
After the picnic, I'm sure my clothes will need washing from sitting on the ground, but I'd actually enjoy doing laundry in this room!

Congrats to all the features, Good Luck with the contest, and Happy Linking!  

An InLinkz Link-up