Waiter There's Something in my.... topless tart!

Besides sounding the the punch line of an off-color joke, this is the theme for the monthly WTSIM blog event hosted this month by

Cook Sister! and as usual I am getting in just under the wire. I have not participated in WTSIM since there was something in my Easter Basket, but besides the incredibly rich humor potential in this month's theme, I actually made a recipe that fits in for a Wednesday tapas (no, not topless!) night that is both topless and a tart, and I thought this would be as good a time as any to share.

If you have followed my blog at all, you know that just about every Wednesday night we have a tapas night with our friend "Evil" David, where both of us make several small dishes. It is a time for us to try new things, explore new ingredients or combinations. If they turn out, it is great, but if not, it is a lesson learned, and we move on. Tapas night has included great successes such as a venison backstrap with a drunken dark cherry sauce, grilled sardines, and bulgogi and some real disasters like the time David's watermelon puree for his planned granita was spewed all over my kitchen and cabinets due to an ill-fitting blender lid. It took weeks before things were no longer sticky again.

Tapas also has become a way to experiment with and use up seasonal bounty- summer's zucchini, tomatoes and corn, fall beets and spinach , venison and winter squash in cold weather- all of these have found their way to the tapas table. And that is how we got to the topless tart that is my entry in the WTSIM...

I came up with this recipe as a way to use the last of the really good locally grown tomatoes and some goat cheese I had to create a light dish. I confess to using an all-ready pie crust for the bottom of this tart, but if you had time you could, of course, make your own. Now that great tomatoes are not as easily come by I would try oven roasting some tomatoes first to sweeten and intensify their flavor. In the summer this is a nice light lunch or a dinner with a big green salad. So give this topless tart a try when you need something light and luscious and hot (okay, okay, enough innuendo!)

Tomato and Goat Cheese (Topless) Tart

1 refrigerated all-ready pie crust

1-2 tablespoons pesto

3 large vine-ripened tomatoes thinly sliced (if tomatoes are out of season, roast sliced tomatoes in slow oven with a drizzle of olive oil for about 30 minutes)

4 ounces goat cheese crumbled

Press pie crust into a tart pan and crimp sides. Brush bottom of crust with pesto, and place sliced tomatoes in overlapping even layers.Slating and peppering each layer. Crumble cheese over top of tomatoes. Bake in 375 degree oven about 20 minutes or until crust is done, tomatoes are bubbly and cheese is soft and brown. Cut in squares or wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.