Celebrating 500 Posts with Nutella Mousse Tartlets

This is my 500th post here! I can’t believe it. When I started this blog two and a half years ago, I was looking for a way to get inspired by cooking again after going through a major kitchen renovation (that lasted for nearly the entire length of my first pregnancy). I had no idea if anyone would even read this. I didn’t know how long I’d actually stick with it. And now, half a thousand posts later, I’m still here and have no intentions of going anywhere, and more than 200 people are subscribed to this little website of mine. That may not sound like much, but to me it’s everything!

I have no grand allusions that this food blog is going to catapult me to Pioneer Woman fame. All I really want to do is make delicious food for my family and share it with all of you, and maybe a few of you will like it too. I don’t make recipes that are elaborate or complicated or call for exotic ingredients. I make food for real people, and I’m incredibly honored that so many of you have responded positively to the recipes I post. I sincerely want to thank each and every one of you who stops by occasionally to see what I’m cooking. I wish I could invite all of you over for dinner!!

I chose these tartlets to share today because I think they represent my food philosophy perfectly since they’re so simple, quick, and delicious. Plus, Nutella is the main ingredient, and if I could build an entire food philosophy around Nutella, I TOTALLY WOULD. These tartlets are so delectable, and it’s incredibly hard to eat just one. Trust me, I tried! (And failed. About 10 times.) I had a ton of filling left over even though I used all the phyllo shells, so I used the rest to frost a batch of brownies. I heartily recommend that you do this too. The Nutella mousse tasted amazing on top of the brownies!

I’d love to hear from all of you today! Who are you? Have you tried any of the recipes? And what would you like to see from my blog in the next 500 posts?

Thank you again for reading!

Nutella Mousse Tartlets
adapted from Joelen’s Culinary Adventures

1 1/2 cups Nutella

2 cups heavy whipped cream

3 packages phyllo shells

1. Place the Nutella in a large mixing bowl and set aside; place phyllo shells on a serving platter and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cold heavy whipping cream on medium high heat with the whisk attachment to stiff peaks.

3. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the Nutella in the large bowl until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag or large gallon sized plastic storage bag with a corner snipped off. Carefully pipe the Nutella mousse into the phyllo shells. Refrigerate.

Summer Vegetable and Pesto Tart

Summer is really slipping away from me this year. There are so many things I wanted to do that we haven’t had a chance to -- mostly because of the hot, humid, downright miserable weather we’ve been having in our part of the country. So I haven’t been able to take advantage of summer in the spending-all-day-outside, relishing-the-sun sort of way, but I have been enjoying this summer’s bounty of produce. I don’t know what it is (maybe it’s the humidity I just got done cursing), but this summer’s produce has been some of the best I can remember in recent memory. The sweet corn is so sweet, the tomatoes are so juicy, the zucchini is so...abundant. (Well. To be fair, zucchini is pretty much always abundant, right?)

This easy tart is the perfect dish to highlight summer’s bounty. Sauteed vegetables are tossed with pesto and piled on top of creamy goat cheese in a store-bought pie crust, then the whole thing is topped with tomatoes, a little bit of cheese, and fresh basil. There’s nothing not to love about this seasonal, fresh, flavorful tart. This meal is the perfect way to begin saying farewell to summer.

Summer Vegetable and Pesto Tart
source: adapted from Family Fun

1 refrigerated piecrust (half a 14.1-ounce package), at room temperature
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 small zucchini, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
2 small yellow squash, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Kernels cut from 1 ear of sweet corn
Coarse salt and pepper
2 tablespoons basil pesto
2 ounces fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg
10 grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup shredded Italian-blend cheese
5 basil leaves, thinly sliced

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a nonstick silicone baking sheet. Place the piecrust on the prepared baking sheet. Fold and pinch a 1/2-inch rim around the edges of the dough, then set it aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and corn and season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until they're lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl to cool, then toss them with the pesto.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the goat cheese and the egg until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the egg and cheese mixture over the piecrust. Spread the cooked vegetables on top, then evenly scatter the tomatoes and cheese over the vegetables.

5. Bake the tart until the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let it cool slightly on a wire rack. Sprinkle it with basil before serving.