Two Dinner Dates

So Joel was in town this past weekend and we had two amazing dinners together. I must say the things that Hawaii, Denver, and Durham cannot offer is a nice French dinner and a stroll around the Capitol at night.

For dinner Saturday night we headed down to Eastern Market to eat at Monmarte. We started off with a feta, avocado, beet, and tomatoe salad. Joel had braised pork cheeks and I had a braised rabbit leg. We shared a nice red wine (syrah blend) and a slice of lemon tart.

But the big highlight of the weekend was the herb crusted pork loin we made from Bill Neals cookbook (if you don't know Bill Neal look up Crooks Corner in Carrboro, NC. It is by far either my first or second favorite place to eat in the Triangle). But before the pork we started off with a glass of wine each and some french bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. In addition we made a ricotta and squash tart to go with the pork, and had a simple spinach salad. I also broiled some peaches with honey and made some fresh whipped cream with some homemade bourbon vanilla extract for dessert.

Personally, I think Joel and I need to work on perfecting how we made the pork loin as we didn't use bacon fat, which it called for, but substitued with olive oil and crisco. The herb crust was a little thick, and I think we need to find a thicker pork loin next time. I definitely think this will be in our repertoire though. It was just absolutely moist, tender, and flavorful pork I have eaten. Plus the onion gravy we made with it wasn't that fatty or greasy, as it comes to gravy, and not salty at all. Sadly, it is also filled with fat.

Zucchini Tart

Crust - or just use your favorite pie dough recipe

- 1&1/4 cup flour

- 1/4 tsp salt
- 8 tblspns cold butter
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp lemon juice

Filling
- 3 zucchini or summer squash
- 2 tblspns olive oil
- clove of garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 grated parmesan
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 egg yolk.

1. To make your own galette, first whisk together the flour and salt in a larger bowl.

2. Sprinkle bits of the butter over the flour mixture.

3. Using a pastry blender (or just a simple fork), cut the butter in until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water…
5. …and add this to the flour/butter mixture.
6. Now use a rubber spatula to gather and combine the mixture into a ball-like shape.
7. Then bath your hands in flour up to your shoulders (kidding! palms are enough!) and form a nice ball out of the dough.

You don’t need to knead or work too much on this dough – it’s perfect when it just holds together.
8. Refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour.

9. Meanwhile, slice the zucchinis into 1/4 inch thick rounds.
10. Spread the rounds out over two layers of paper towels.

11. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt (or as needed) and let drain for 30 minutes or until dried out.

12. Blot the tops of the rounds dry with paper towels before using.
13. Now, press the garlic into a small bowl.

14. Add the olive oil and whisk together.

15. Mix all other filling ingredients together in large bowl.
16. To assemble the galette, remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a well floured surface.

17. Roll the dough out into a 14-inch (35 cm) round.

18. Transfer to an ungreased, round 6 x 2 inches (15 x 5 cm) baking dish.
19. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the galette dough,…
20. …leaving a 2-inch border.
21. Shingle the zucchini attractively on top of the ricotta in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge.

22. Drizzle the remaining garlic and olive oil mixture evenly over the zucchini.
23. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit (the center will be open).

24. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 1 hour (or until the zucchini is slightly wilted and the galette is golden brown).