sweets for your sweet

by now i'm guessing anyone that's read my blog knows i'm a foodie. as well as that sweets are my favorite thing maybe ever. 

discovering the most incredible strawberry tart at ollo in malibu, i went about deconstructing it. having had a short conversation with the chef and a promise to come back for the recipe, i couldn't make it back there so i thought it'd be more fun to put my own spin on this little bit of heaven using strawberries macerated in balsamic and a bit of sugar.

yum, my expectations were exceeded!

wishing you all love this valentine's day.

xo,

gaye. 

if you have time and your grandma's pie crust recipe handy, bake away! if you don't or are pressed for time the chef at ollo told me there are some great frozen ones on the market now a days. bake and cool as directed.

while crust is baking, macerate one lb. clean and sliced strawberries with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (i like "mia's kitchen" brand) and sugar to taste but if your berries are fresh and ripe you shouln't need to sweeten the berries much. let sit for half an hour. stirring occasionally so all berries are getting a nice turn in the balsamic/sugar goodness.

once pie crust has cooled, spoon lemon curd onto crust. again, there are so many really good lemon curds you can pick up at the market or specialty food store just waiting to be put in a crust. follow this with the strawberry mixture using only a small bit of the syrup they were soaking in so as not to end up with a "soggy" crust.

serve with a scoop of the best vanilla bean ice cream you can find. my "go-to" lately is the one talenti makes.

i've only made this dessert once and it was very easy, very quick and very good. but if you have time and prefer to do the "from scratch" thing i usually do then knock yourself, and your valentine, out by making your favorite pie crust and lemon pie filling. 

lastly, i'm a weirdo when it comes to ratios. case in point, cupcakes. they were never near the top of my list. or cake. even worse. the ratio of cake to frosting is completely off. but mini cupcakes? whole other animal. i will never turn down mini cupcakes. perfect ratio. my point is that i made two tarts with this recipe. you won't have a lot of lemon or berries but, for me,  the ratio to the crust is perfect. if you love big fruit to crust ratio, one tart out of this recipe may be just right for you.