I just sat down with a tartine and a glass of wine and thought out loud "I wish I could just take the weekend off and smell the roses". To which my husband sent me an inquisitive look similar to asking "really? you would?!" Ah! No. He got me there. I don’t wish that at all. Even in the craziest of times when everything comes together in one giant "ca passe ou ca casse" bawoop, I still would not change anything.
Being able to shoot for awesome and kind clients is pure heaven. I beam. I constantly beam inside. I jump up and down in my head more times than humanly right. Creating is the best drug ever. Being able to do a job that allows you to constantly push your own limits, be diverse, work with a client’s vision and be in contact with amazing creative minds is just…{imagine jumping up and down in your head}.
One perk of the job that my husband really appreciates is the leftovers from a day spent at the studio shooting lots of recipes. I also send my assistants home with care packages and figure out ways to recycle leftovers the next day’s work lunch. There are days however when I have stared long enough in the eyes of a whole fish to want it for dinner. When a plate of ribs has been mulled so many times over that I don’t even want to look at it. I save, package, label and store.
There will be a time when the craving for that coconut and butternut squash soup will come back. But when it does not, I scavenge some goods from the day’s shoot and make a "nibble plate". My pups by my side and my feet up on the ottoman. More times than not, I end up scrambling together some tasty tartines and a side salad that Bill and I can share. I am never without an appetite but I appreciate the simplicity of a light dinner and a minute of silence.
Last week was no different when I found myself putting together the leftover of a shoot for some a pre-dinner tartines while noodling on social media for a minute. I thought we would have a couple each, a glass of wine and chill while I’d tackle dinner. Well, dinner never happened but a few savory sweet tartines surely did. Piled with gorgonzola, figs, a sprinkle of thyme and broiled just until the cheese would start melting. Some honey drizzled on top, a dash of pepper and we were in business.
Hope you all have a great rest of the week!
Fig, Gorgonzola and Honey Tartines:
Makes 8 tartines.
Note: for the gluten free baguette try this recipe. Anything my friend Jeanne Sauvage at Art Of Gluten Free Baking makes gluten free is AWESOME. She is the GF baking expert in my opinion. Her Gluten Free Baking For The Holidays cookbook is coming out this Fall and I can’t wait!
Ingredients:
8 slices of bread (your choice – I went for gluten free baguette)
1/2 cup (4 oz) crumbled gorgonzola
8 figs, halved
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Turn the oven to the broiler setting or 400F (my broiler has a tendency to start the fire alarm in the room so I usually turn the oven on its highest baking setting)
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the slices of bread in the pan. Top each slice with about a tablespoon of gogonzola. Top with two fig halves. Sprinkle a little thyme. Repeat for the remaining tartines. Salt and pepper to taste.
Bake or broil until the cheese starts to melt. Remove from the oven and drizzle each tartine with about a teaspoon of honey.
Serve at room temperature.