Happy Pi(e) Day!

Because I'm kind of a geek. I'm not ashamed.

And because who doesn't love an excuse for (yet another) tasty treat?

Technically it's not a pie, but technically 3.14 isn't pi either, so why split hairs? Call me when it's March 14, 2015 at 9:26 in the morning and I'll see what I can do, real pie-wise.

Strawberry & Lemon Mascarpone Tart

(crust recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon ice water, plus more as needed
1 8 oz tub of mascarpone cheese
lemon curd, to taste*
fresh strawberries, washed and sliced

Preheat oven to 400. Place flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and whisk together with a fork. Add butter and combine with fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk and ice water and continue mixing with fork until the dough just holds together. (Add more water if dough is too dry, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Note: Martha suggests making the dough in a food processor, which I'm sure would be much easier than forking it to death...but I don't have one of those so forks it is for me. You can choose your own adventure.

Press dough into a tart pan and prick bottom with a fork. Line tart shell with foil, and fill with pie weights or dried beans or rice. Bake until the edges just begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Continue to bake until bottom of crust is golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

In a small bowl, stir together mascarpone cheese and lemon curd until smooth. Spread evenly in cooled tart shell. Top with strawberries, slice it up, and dig in. Store any leftovers wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator.

*I used most of what was left of my jar of Trader Joe's lemon curd. It was probably about 2/3 of a cup...maybe 3/4. Add a few spoons of curd, mix it in, taste it, and decide if you need more. You don't want too much lemon, because you don't want it to fight with the strawberries, but you don't want too little either, because then it's just strawberries and bland cream. Find a happy medium that suits your taste buds and roll with it.