What I Really Think

And we're back with the Sunday Slow Bakers. This week, MarciaB made the selection and a good one she did. We made the Chocolate Polenta Tart. All I can say is yum and yummier!

First it calls for the Polenta Tart Crust, which while I found easy to assemble, I had problems transferring to my tart pan. It kept crumbling. No worries though, I just transferred it in pieces and did a combination of pressing and using my little Pampered Chef roller to get proper coverage. I think this resulted in a thicker crust but we didn't mind (as a matter of fact, Becky asked me to just make the crust next time).

The chocolate filling was totally easy to put together and tasted like warm, fudgy brownie when it came out of the oven. We didn't have ice cream to serve it with, so just dusted on some powdered sugar.

This is a definite make again (as a matter of fact, it will probably be made very often). Next time, I may cut down on the butter in the polenta crust - just to see what happens. Oh and we wrapped it and put it in the refrigerator because we were going away on Saturday (I made the tart on Friday). Sunday night, when we got home, still good, good at room temperature, good cold, and good when Becky nuked it (it's hers and Sammi's new favorite). Oh and for those who are keeping track, at a sliver of 16 servings (as opposed to 10 in the recipe), this comes in at a whopping 7 points a slice.

Okay - first let me give props to the people who deserve it by saying, it is so much easier to do a triathlon as a team than it is as an individual. So to all those people who I passed yesterday, while I was on my bike (well, except the other team's rider), I am sorry. I had only one event and I blew all my energy on it.

That said, Chris, Becky and I participated in a sprint triathlon yesterday in Southern NJ. What that means, is that, each of us participated in one event. Becky, is our swimmer, so she swam the quarter mile (in the black lake), I'm the biker (though Chris can really smoke me, it's still the only event in which I had any chance at competing), and we all know, Chris runs. So, as a team, we entered.

And to get to the chase, we won for Coed Teams!!!!!!!!

And yes, there was one other team so we actually did beat someone, but hey, we won!

When we head up to Vermont next month, we're hoping to do three or four bike rides over the course of the week. One we know we'll do is a repeat of the first ride from last summer's vacation, the Stowe City Ride. If you remember, this one killed me; it's where I realized they don't have hills in Vermont, they have mountains.

The other ride we definitely want to do is the one I chickened out on last year, the Ferry to Ferry ride.

Yes, it's got 2200 feet of climbs, with that one big hill, but heck, you do get the break of the ferry in there (twice), and there's something cool about riding in two different states.

Yes, late I know. I'm not telling you which of my children this is, but shen she see's it, she'll probably kill me. It was nice knowing you all.

Last night I got together with the Lehigh girls for dinner at Vento on Hudson street in New York City. It's on the edge of the meat-packing district which began a bit of a renaissance a few years ago. We started with the most inexpensive bottle of prosecco they had on the list (at $45), while we waited for our last two stragglers and ordered some small plates (aka appetizers), calamari, mozzarella in carozza, prosciutto e melone and marinated baby artichokes. All were good.

Next, once everyone arrived, three of us decided to order pasta (Chiatarra Pappalina - homemade spaghetti with chicken, peas, mushrooms, garlic and oil, and Tagliolino - which was their version of shrimp fra diavolo). The pastas ring in at an incredibly reasonable $14 each (but be warned these aren't American yabba dabba doo portions but more akin to the appropriate Italian portions). Both pastas were homemade and plates were cleaned. The other four, ordered three pizzas (at $12 each) sharing a funghi, a Siciliano, and a Caprese - all looked good and only two slices survived.

For dessert, we shared some zeppole (worth an order), the Panini (marshmallow, nutello, and vanilla sauce, pressed into a sandwich - think an Italian s'more), and a rather forgettable Tortino (the Panini was the clear winner of the night). Oh, and I had the salted caramel gelato, which was amazing.

This, with coffees cappuccini, a second bottle of prosecco, and a vodka on the rocks for Larry (our honorary "Lehigh Girl"), came in at a little over $50 per person. Definitely reasonable for the city.

Can't comment as to the decor of the restaurant though as we snagged a table outside, which was absolutely perfect! No one wanted to get up to leave.

Sorry - no pictures.