America the beautiful

Despite its amber waves of grain, America has developed an unparalleled love of all things meat. So July 4th was the perfect weekend to welcome us back to omnivorousity. Enter: Nathan's famous Coney Island hot dog eating contest.

We spent Independence Day amidst beach and carnival goers and hundreds and hundreds of hotdogs. A combination of disgust and utter amazement came over me as world-record-holder, Joey Chestnut, devoured 54 Nathan's hotdogs in 10 minutes. This did not come close to beating his former record of 68 dogs, but the fact that this man consumed in 10 minutes more hotdogs than I have possibly consumed in a lifetime was enough impress this watermelon-eating, America-loving girl.

We finished off the evening with friends, fireworks, and a flag-themed fruit tart (recipe below), all the while basking in our freedom to eat anything we wanted.

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Berry America Tart

This just-sweet-enough and refreshing tart is from a recipe I found in Real Simple. I typically make it with only blueberries. For our 4th of July celebration, I added raspberries and strawberries for a slightly corny but delicious flag theme.







Ingredients
Flour (for work surface)
One 8oz sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup blueberries (or about 2 cups if other berries omitted)
3/4 cup strawberries, sliced
3/4 cup raspberries

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. On a lightly floured surface, unfold the sheet of pastry and roll it into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

2. Score a 1-inch border around the pastry without cutting all the way through. Brush the border with the egg and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake until golden and puffed, 18 to 22 minutes, or following package instructions.

3. Rescore the border of the cooked pastry without cutting all the way through. Gently press down on the center of the pastry sheet to flatten it. Let cool to room temperature.

4. Meanwhile, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cream, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly within the borders of the pastry.

5. Arrange the blueberries, raspberries and strawberries in a single layer over the filling, in any pattern of your choosing, and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar.