Shooting Stars - Tomato Bruschetta Tatlettes

I really do have the best of intentions when it comes to this blog. I intend to post every week day, but unfortunately, sometimes life catches up with me and hands me a broken down car in a gas station parking lot, a "liquid-damaged" laptop, and an overwhelming desire to order in and take a big old nap.

So you'll have to excuse me if I miss a day or two here and there. There are times when cooking is the perfect remedy to a long and stressful day, and then there are the times where it's the last thing you want to do, and some wonderful person in your life has offered to take you out or even cook for you. I do love those evenings.

Lately the evening's around here have been shockingly cold. The fog seeps in through the city, low and slow with a blast of cool air. It's stunning how quickly the temperature drops from a pleasantly warm afternoon to a damp and chilling dark. It doesn't feel much like summer at night in the Bay Area. We did have one clear evening this past weekend, and when I looked up I saw one of the biggest shooting stars I've ever seen, bright white and blazing across the sky. So fast, I'd have wondered if it had been there at all, if not for the luminescent trail it left in it's path. We're at the end of those August meteor showers that I look forward to every year. They bring back memories of the last of summer vacation, lying on a beach with friends and family as a child and watching them fall, one after another, after another. Shooting stars, tomatoes, BBQ's and the beach. All of these are summer to me.

Tomato Buschetta Tartlettes

makes 8

Pate Brisee (click for the recipe)
2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 1/2 basket cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp goat cheese
2 tbsp Parmesan
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 tbsp fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
8 tbsp ricotta cheese (1 for the bottom of each tart)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp pine nuts (optional)


Pre-heat the oven to 400. Roll out the pate brisee and cut the dough into 8 rounds using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. You might be able to get more than 8 if you roll the dough quite thin. Press the rounds into the the cups of a lightly greased muffin pan. Prick the bottom of each dough round several times with a tooth pick and bake for 8 minutes.


Meanwhile, mix the tomatoes, basil & thyme, goat cheese, Parmesan, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts together in a bowl. Once you've removed the dough from the oven after baking, spoon the bruchetta mixture into each shell. Put back in the oven and bake at 400 for 6-8 more minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is just beginning to brown. Let cool slightly and serve.