End of Summer Delight

A sad sad sad end of summer dinner, even though the company was lovely. Our menu was bacon wrapped prunes, roasted tomato and zucchini tart, a spinach salad, sweet potato mashed potatoes and apple cobbler for dessert. Overall, there was a touch of autumn, but the the flavor of summery goodness. AND my brand new dish set has been broken in! So here it is, our end of summer dinner party...


Bacon-Wrapped Prunes

• Wrap each dried prune in about half a piece of bacon, securing with a toothpick
• Place on a tin-foil covered baking sheet and bake at 400 for about 10-12 minutes (until bacon is crispy)
• Serve!

Roasted Zucchini and Tomato Tart:

• First, thinly slice a large onion and saute in olive oil over low heat to carmelize (this will take a while, so let it hang out while you're preparing the other veggies). In the last few minutes you'll add about 3 cloves of thinly chopped garlic
  
• Pre-heat oven to 375 and slice up 2 medium zucchini in thinish rounds and 3-4 plum tomatoes. Lay them on baking sheets and, using a pastry brush, lightly coat them with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper before roasting them in the oven for about 10 minutes per side (are ready when the zuch is golden brown)
• While your veggies are roasting, make your crust (same crust as the summer tomato tart! It's just so delicious!

• Pulse 1 stick of cold butter (sliced), 1.5 cups of flour, some salt, lemon zest from one lemon & .5 cup of Parmesan cheese together in a food processor, hand mixer or by hand. When it has formed a coarse meal, add water slowly until the dough binds. Can either be used immediately, or made ahead and refrigerated(let it soften to room temp for 30 min if chilled).
• Roll the dough out to about a 12 in circle (or any other shape... we did a rectangle!) Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a greased pan. If your crust breaks in the move (like ours did), just push the pieces back together with your fingers on the baking tray
• Put the carmelized onion and garlic onto the tart crust, then arrange the roasted zucchini and tomato nicely, and slice about half of a big ball of mozerella to layer on the top with some fresh thyme leaves. Leave about an inch from the edge of the crust so that you can fold and pinch it up to keep all the juices in. Pinch closed any weak spots or holes and bake for about 30-40 minutes (crust should be golden brown before you take it out)
• Let cool a little and serve!

Sweet Potato Mash

• Boil peeled sweet potatos
• Drain and mash them, adding a little salt, some fresh goat cheese and a brown sugar to taste

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing

• For salad, toss baby spinach, walnuts, red grapes and fresh goat cheese
• For the dressing, mix balsamic vinegar, stone mustard (or any mustard), olive oil, a dash of cinamon and some rosemary with a touch of sugar or honey. Let sit for a little while and adjust to taste.

Apple Cobbler

• Thinly slice some apples and place in a baking dish
• Mix about 1/2 a cup of sugar, with 3 tablespoons of flour and some sprinkles of dry ginger and cinnamon. Pour over the apples in your baking dish
  
• mix 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 a cup of flour with some more shakes of cinnamon, then cut in about 6 tablespoons of butter until it looks like chunky bits (not too big, but there shouldn't be dry mix left behind)
  
• sprinkle onto the apples and cook at 375 farenheit for about 45 minutes