First Dinner in my Apartment

So I've moved and it feels great to finally be on my own. To celebrate I cooked my first dinner in the new apartment (actually my second dinner here but friends cooked for me last night). I made pan seared salmon and a salad with homemade vinaigrette.

Salmon
This was a roughly 4 ounce piece of fish (half an 8 ounce fillet I cut in half, froze the remaining half for another night). Coated it generously on both sides with olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little freshly squeezed lemon juice. Cooked it in a non-stick pan for 3 minutes on each large side and 30 seconds each on the ends. Let sit under aluminum foil for 3-4 minutes while dishing out the salad.


Red wine vinaigrette
In a plastic squeeze bottle (of the type used for ketchup, salad dressing, etc) mix 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/8 teaspoon each of ground yellow mustard, dill seed, and minced garlic.This is a very small batch, double or triple it if you are serving multiple people. I like to make small amounts of vinaigrette like this that last me 2-3 days so then I can switch to a new combination of flavors.

Pi Day Tart

Been a long time since I've updated this blog. I've been busy and it's hard to remember to write posts when I'm cooking for 4 people however this may change soon as I may be moving into my own place soon.

March 14 (3.14) is Pi Day. In celebration I made this nice rustic berry tart. Since this was a thrown together recipe the measurements are approximate.

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen pie crust thawed, you can of course use homemade but I hate making pie crust.
• 2 cups berries of your choice, I used a mix of frozen strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, allow to thaw if you are using frozen. Drain excess juices that came out during thawing.
• 1/4 cup sugar, I don't like a really sweet tart, use 1/2 cup if you like it sweeter.
• 1/3 cup jam or jelly, I used orange marmalade to keep with the less sweet theme, apricot or apple would be nice too.
• 1/2 cup crushed ginger snaps. Graham crackers would probably also work.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie crust in pie plate or on a sheet pan doesn't matter for this recipe (use some parchment paper or grease it to keep the tart from sticking).
2. Mix the berries, sugar, and half the cookie crumbs in a bowl, let sit 10 minutes.
3. Pour berries into middle of the crust, spread evenly to 2 inches from the edge. Microwave the jam for about 15-30 seconds to loosen it up a little, drizzle over the berries.
4. Fold edges of the crust in and over the berries (see picture).
5. Sprinkle the rest of the cookie crumbs over the top of the tart.
6. Bake 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and delicious.
7. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.