This tart is one of my favorite simple appetizers. I found this recipe years ago in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine (March/April 2003). Puff pastry is an easy base for impromptu tarts like this one, but I prefer to use homemade tart dough. I also prefer pencil-thin asparagus instead of medium or thick asparagus.
This afternoon, I hosted a kouign amann pastry class for the Stanford Club of San Francisco with instructor Namthip Paine. Originally from Brittany, France, kouign amann is made using a similar method to the croissant, but an added layer of sugar is folded in with each layer of butter.
I discovered this lovely recipe in Michael Chiarello’s book, Bottega: Bold Italian Flavors from the Heart of California’s Wine Country. You can use any fruit you like, as long as it’s soft and ripe. This morning I used fresh raspberries and blueberries, which gave breakfast an oddly patriotic look.
GC picked up some beautiful red onions at the market. We grilled with olive oil and topped with a generous spoonful of fresh sage pesto. This was a really lovely side dish.
I recently learned about Ecopia Farms, a farm in Campbell, CA that grows and delivers artisan lettuces, petite herbs and microgreens, edible flowers and other speciality items. This evening, I used their flowers to accent a smoked salmon salad. I simply topped the salmon slices with arugula, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with Maldon sea salt, and garnished with flowers.
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Alejandra's Kitchen 