Italian Sausage and Salami Tart with Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheeses from Chef Eric Crowley

This delicious sounding recipe features a tasty variety of Italian inspired meats and cheeses and is sure to satisfy your family's hunger on a cold winter night. For more information about Chef Eric and to see more of his delightful, visit him online atCulinary Classroom or view his videos on Vimeo. Links to additional recipes follow below.

Italian Sausage and Salami Tart with Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheeses
Yield: 4 Servings

Tart Dough: 

• Egg Yolks, 2 each 
• Heavy cream, 1/3 cup 
• Flour 2 ¾ cups 
• Sugar, 1 teaspoon 
• Salt,1/2 teaspoon 
• Butter-cold unsalted, cut into small cubes, 1 cup (2 sticks) 

Method: 
1. Whisk together the egg yolks and cream in a bowl and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer – using the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar and salt on low speed.
2. Add the cold butter and mix until dry and mealy with no large pieces, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the cream mixture and mix just until the dough comes together.
3. Pat the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic and chill 2 hours.
4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the tart dough about 1/8 inch thick and line a 8-4 inch individual tart pans with removable bottoms with dough (you may use a 9 inch pie plate if need be).
5. Trim the excess dough. Chill in the refrigerator or freezer at least 30 minutes.
6. Remove the tart shells from the refrigerator or freezer and check for any holes – patch them with the leftover dough. 7. Line each tart shell with parchment paper and baking beans and bake until the rims have begun to color – 10-12 minutes (15 minutes for the pie plate). 8. Remove the beans and parchment paper and patch any more holes that may have appeared. Bake again until the bottom of the crust is light golden brown, about 5-10 minutes (15 minutes for the pie plate).

Tart Filling: 

• Italian Sausages-casings removed, 8 ounces 
• Mozzarella cheese-grated, 3 ounces 
• Italian salami-diced, 2/3 cup 
• Parmesan cheese-grated, 1/2 cup 
• Basil-chopped, 1/4 cup 
• Eggs, 4 each 
• Milk, 1/2 cup 

Method: 
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the milk and egg. Beat together to blend. Set aside. Line a 9 inch tall-sided tart pan with the dough. Make sure the edges of the dough are 1 inch taller than the pan. Dock the dough well and bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Lower temperature to 400 degrees.
2. While dough is baking, break up sausages and sauté until brown. Remove sausages and let cool. When cool, add cheeses, salami and basil. Spoon mixture into crust. Season egg mixture with salt and pepper. Pour over tart filling.
3. Bake until filling is set and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes and serve.

For more tempting recipes from Chef Eric Crowley, please visit the following links:

• Red wine, rosemary and garlic marinated grilled beef steak on skewers
• Baked breakfast potatoes with onions
• Prime rib with au jus and homemade horseradish sauce
• Caramel gingerbread pudding with creme anglaise 

Chicken Caprese recipe from Knorr

Caprese salads are one of my favorite summertime meals-they are light, they are cool, they are delicious and best of all-they are easy to prepare! This recipe from Knorr turns a classic Caprese salad into a delicious summertime meal by adding chicken.

CHICKEN CAPRESE

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lb.) 
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil 
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped 
• 1 large tomato, finely chopped 
• 1 tub Knorr® Homestyle Stock - Chicken 
• 3/4 cup water 
• 1/2 cup small cubes mozzarella cheese (about 2 oz.) 
• 2 Tbsp. thinly sliced fresh basil leaves 

DIRECTIONS 
Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat and cook chicken, turning once, 3 minutes. Stir in onion and tomato and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add water and Knorr® Homestyle Stock - Chicken to skillet and stir until Stock is melted. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about about 3 minutes. Arrange chicken on serving platter. Stir in cheese and basil and cook until cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute. Serve sauce over chicken.

Tomato mozzarella salad recipe

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

TOMATO and MOZZARELLA SALAD

• 8 large tomatoes, cubed
• 1 1/4 pounds fresh mozzarella, cubed
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• fresh ground sea salt to taste
• 16 fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
• 3-4 ounces sun dried tomatoes

Directions

In a large bowl, combine chopped tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Turn gently with spoon to evenly coat. Garnish with basil and sun dried tomatoes. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving, up to 4 hours.

Grilled tomato mozzarella sandwich recipe

Tomato slices (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This sandwich makes a delicious panini if you happen to have a panini press in your kitchen. It is most delicious when made with fresh heirloom tomatoes. I don't recommend making it during the cooler months when tomatoes are out of season.

GRILLED TOMATO MOZZARELLA

• Kosher salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• 8 slices thinly sliced white bread
• medium tomato, sliced 1/4 inch think (4 slices)
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4 inch thick (4 slices)
• softened butter

Directions
Using a 2 or 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds from the center of each slice of bread and cheese. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper. Preheat skillet on medium heat. Butter all 8 bread rounds and assemble sandwiches to contain 1 slice of cheese and tomato each. Cook over medium heat until bread is golden on both sides and cheese is soft but not melted. Each recipe makes 4 servings