TWD Rewind: Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte

What is it about that pesky Y chromosome that makes men unable to plan ahead (at least almost all of the men that I know)? As an inveterate, neurotic planner/organizer type this makes me crazy. Well, it only makes me crazy when it directly interferes with my program. I can actually be laid back if I plan on it!

I've mentioned before that my current gig as a singleton in DC has made me a little particular about my kitchen dynamics. I've gotten used to the quiet (except for when Hollywood, the basement bulldog, is serenading me) and the (relative) space around me. Except for those times when Dudley is reaching his hand in to sneak something that I'm cooking, it's usually just me in the kitchen. Well, Lucy the yellow wonder dog is in there too but she offers excellent moral and clean-up support. Sometimes there are people, like my sister, who are excellent kitchen companions. They chat, they stir, they have a glass of wine, but they don't mess with my kitchen mojo. Then there are the boys. I am lucky enough to have some y-chromosomes in my life that I love to cook with, specifically my dad and my brother, and on occasion, my good friend Matthew. They're awesome people, and all of them can turn out some fabulous food. But they just fly by the seat of their pants and it makes.me.nervous.

Example: I stopped in New Orleans to visit my brother on my way to Houston. The first night we went out to dinner, and while we were at dinner we chatted about having a little dinner party the next night. The morning comes and we go to the farmers' market and nothing is said about dinner that night. The day passes and that afternoon I took a nap. I woke up at 4:30 and here's the conversation that we had:

Hank: "Hey J, D & his wife A are coming to dinner."
Jessica: (rubbing eyes and trying to wake up) "Great. What's for dinner."
H: "I'm not sure. I thought we'd go to the store and decide."
J: "Well, since it's almost 5, I hope that you told them to come for dinner at about 8 or so"
H: "Nope, D has to work early tomorrow so we're eating at 7. What should we make?"

We made our way first to Whole Foods, then to the cheese shop (by the way, if you happen to be in New Orleans and you like cheese, definitely check out the St. James Cheese Company), and then to the wine store. 3 frantic hours later we had an excellent dinner. However, given the fact that I was standing in the kitchen, hastily removing the shortcakes from the oven, in my towel fresh from the shower, when his friends arrived (they were visibly disturbed and, really, who can blame them?) I would've preferred a little more time.

However, I like to think that I learn from such experiences so when my friend Matthew called the other day and asked if I wanted to get together for dinner on Tuesday night I knew that I couldn't just show up with a bottle of wine and call it a day. Matthew and I have been friends for too long for me to just be a guest, not that I'd have it any other way. So, I had a frantic round of texting with our other friend and we decided that I'd be responsible for risotto, dessert, and wine, she'd pick up salad and bread after work, and Matthew could do appetizers and the meat. This means that at noon that day I was sitting at a stop light flipping through Baking From My Home to Yours looking for a kick a$$ dessert to make and pondering the point at which brownies from a box become the most viable option. At 4:30 I found myself discussing the menu with Matthew before we went to the grocery store. At 6:30 I found myself in Sur la Table as he was buying pots and knives and all sorts of other cool cooking acouterments, calling the other people invited and letting them know that maybe they should arrive at 8:30 rather than the 7:30 time Matthew had put out. My sister was nice enough to show up early and make the appetizers for Matthew -- slacker -- and at 9:30 we sat down to dinner. At 10:45 we ate this delicious tart, and by midnight I was home in bed.


As I was driving around flipping through Dorie's book, there were a couple of recipes that I had in mind to make. I really, really wanted to make the Tiramisu cake that we made earlier this month but it had too many ingredients and steps for my very limited block of time, so that was out. I also pondered the Gooey Chocolate Cakes and the Quintuple Chocolate Brownies but, in the end, I went with this recipe because I thought that it'd be a nice dessert on a warm night and the picture has always looked so good to me. It also had the added bonus of being a food processor dessert from beginning to end and a short (relatively) ingredient list. I got this together in 2 hours and it cooled in my car on my way to meet the host to discuss the rest of the menu. I used Sarabeth's Strawberry Raspberry jam (her jams are outstanding) and there were some fresh raspberries in the refrigerator so I added those to the torte as well. It baked up beautifully and it got very good reviews from everyone at dinner. I would definitely, definitely make this again! The recipe is found in Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking From My Home to Yours, pages 240-242.