We got home last night after the 4th party at 5pm and in no mood to cook. We decided to see what was open for food in town and so fed the beasts, tried to see what was on for movies, and then got back in the car bound for town. We stopped at the end of the street and conned our neighbor into coming with us. She had been at home trying to perfect her mohito recipe and so was ready for a bite to eat at that point!
We tried David's at Willy World but alas, they were closed. Darby's was the next choice up for grabs and so we went there with visons of burgers. We arrived and were asked if we had a reservation! At Darby's? Never heard of such a thing!!! When we said we didn't, we were led to one of the 10 empty tables anyway. All of us had burgers, which arrived with one piece of transparent cheese atop a preformed mass encased in a poof of baked bulky roll. Three burgers, two glasses of wine and a coke for $38 bucks was a bit steep in my view. Needless to say, my burger stayed with me until well into the wee hours of the morning when my indigestion subsided. Thats all I'll say on the subject.

Enjoy,
Seth

We went out to a fourth of July party yesterday where there was probably the most decadent looking lobster salad I had ever seen. It was ordered from the Rumbline in Searsport and had HUGE pieces of lobster meat, celery, and mayo. Greg, our resident seafood expert, said it was indeed delicious, he thought it had just a tad too much mayo. So, if you ever happen to have the occasion to order 10 lbs of lobster salad from the Rumbline, order it light on the mayo. There wasn't a lot for yours truly to eat except for corn salad and a chicken kebob. One of the party guests, who was up from NY for the weekend, asked if I had a sour stomach because I wasn't eating (I really wanted to tell the green and turquoise-colored mumu clad momma that I was pretty full after watching her wolf down chicken wings, lobster salad and three helpings of corn salad!!)
Like a good boy, I brought a dessert for the hostess who obligingly oooed and ahhhed me when I walked in bearing a lemon blueberry tart. And tart it was boys and girls with five, count em, five tablespoons of lemon zest in that sucker. Its a pain to make, but watching the smiles emerge as everyone eats it and tries to cut through the lemon zing is priceless.

Here's the recipe for those of you wanting an impressive summer tart to display (oh...the double entendre there was too good to pass up). Lest I get smacked with plagerism charges, kudos to the ladies from the silver palate for this one

Butter tart crust

1 2/3rds cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup fine granulated sugar (I used confectioners and it was fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks sweet butter chilled
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cold water (I used lemon juice instead and it was great)

Combine and sift dry ingredients and cut in butter using fingertips, combine until resembling coarse meal. Add egg yolks, vanilla and water and combine lightly with a fork. Take dough and shape into ball, wrap in parchment paper and store in fridge for 2-3 hours.
Roll dough out between two pieces of parchment paper until it can easily cover an 8-9" tart pan. Place in pan and trim edges, rolling over excess dough around edge of pan. Chill until ready to bake. Prebake for 8-10 minutes by covering with tinfoil and baking beans for weight and popping in a preheated 425 degree oven.

Filling:
make sure you put oven back down to 400 degrees

wisktogether:
1 cup lemon juice (about five jumbo lemons) **tip: roll lemons around on cutting board with a bit of pressure from the palm of your hand and you will get more juice. Make sure to zest the lemons BEFORE you cut them.
5 tablespoons lemon zest
1 stick melted butter
Beat in:
six eggs
1 cup sugar
and pour into partially baked crust
cook in oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. **tip: Use a cookie sheet on lower rack to catch any stray dripping

remove from oven and sprinkle with blueberries while tart is warm. lightly press down, let cool completely to set. Before serving sprinkle confectioner's sugar over top.

Enjoy,
Seth