Memorial Day, Tropical Storm Beryl, and Portokalopita (Greek Orange Cake)

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a long time.  I had it all planned...an extra day off after the holiday, four whole days to do whatever...catch up on some reading, watch a few movies, work in my garden, start some seeds, take a long walk....but then along came Beryl.  Not a hurricane, but close.  Here in north Florida we spent Saturday and Sunday in anticipation of Beryl's arrival on Sunday evening.  While she spoiled the Jacksonville Jazz Festival and the Memorial Day activities, she brought us much-needed rain and broke a weeks-long drought.  So with every cloud there's a silver lining.

Beryl did cause some power outages, some fallen trees, and flooding, and a tropical storm is not really welcome on a holiday weekend, but when life gives you lemons....you make Greek orange cake...Portokalopita.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Pizza Rustica and Homemade Ricotta

I wasn't sure I was going to like this "pizza", which is really a ricotta-filled pie.  I knew I'd never had anything like it before and I've never been a big fan of the ricotta available in most grocery stores, so I went all Martha Stewart and made my own ricotta using David Lebovitz's recipe.  A gallon of fresh goat milk (thanks to my sister and her goats), some yogurt, cream, vinegar and salt, a few minutes over the heat, a quick drain through some cheese cloth et voila! ricotta.  This recipe yielded a creamy ricotta, not at all grainy like the commercially produced stuff.  In retrospect I think I drained it a little too well.  However, the consistency was fine and produced a nice creamy filling with a nutty flavor.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Chocolate Truffle Tart

First the dough...I made it a few days ahead in the food processor and it came together beautifully. I followed the dough instructions to the letter after watching the YouTube vidoes here and here.  The only deviation I made from the instructions was to use pie weights for the first 11 minutes of baking and then I took them out.

Frissage...(it's really hard to take a picture of yourself doing this! See the shadow of the camera strap?)