Oh! You Cook!

Another one of my favorite bloggers posted a recipe from one of her favorite chefs, Thomas Keller.  To my shame, I never heard of him (although I have heard of his restaurants The French Laundry and Per Se, to name a few), but if this simple yet mind-blowingly fantastic recipes is any proof, I absolutely have to get my hands on his cookbooks.

The blogger (channeling Keller) explained that the secret to roasting a chicken with mad-crispy skin is (TIP ALERT!):  dry the chicken thoroughly before roasting.  The steam that results from even a hint of moisture prevents a crisp skin.

Wow!

Oh, yeah, and lots of kosher salt.

Now, I'm no fancy-schmancy chef, but if the chicken is cooked on a bed of onions, don't the onions release more than a tiny bit of steam as they cook?  :\

Anyway, the recipe calls for a lot more salt than I usually add, which is usually none since kashered chickens have some residual salt.  But I figured, try anyway, the worst that could happen is that I have to …

Remember yesterday's Strawberry Almond Cream Tart?  The one that I thought would surely win the Staff Day dessert competition?

There was a 4-way tie for first place, so the 4 names (including mine) were put in a bowl.  One was selected as the winner ...

... wasn't me.   :-(

Good thing I voted for myself, or else I would have been in 4th place.

I had signed up at work to bring in a dessert on Staff Day.  Most participants are keeping their dessert secret until Staff Day, but I think most participants are bringing in something chocolate-based.  I wanted to bring in something different in order for it to stand out.

It seems like every professional food blogger has made the strawberry tart recipe from the book Cooking Light Cooking Through the Seasons.  So I figure, if it's good enough for the experts, it must be SOME RECIPE!  Woo-hoo! Finally, I get to win a staff contest!  

Maybe ...

Strawberry Almond Cream Tart
Adapted from Cooking Light Cooking Through the Seasons
Makes one 9-inch tart

Crust:
40 honey graham crackers (about 10 sheets)
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tbl.butter, melted
1 Tbl. water
Cooking spray

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (about 1/2 of a large lemon)
2 Tbs. sour cream
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 Tbl. Amaretto (optional)

Topping:
4 1/2 cups small fresh hulled st…