I haven’t made anything from a New York Times recipe in ages. Blame the inexorable march away from print and to the Internet, if you must — I skim the Wednesday food section online at work, when I only have time to focus on the nitty-gritty (restaurant reviews and wine). But for some reason last week the tomato tart recipe caught my eye. I thought it would be the perfect thing to whip up over our beach weekend — Paul and I spent this past weekend in Southampton with our friends Gary and Alli, who are excellent cooks. Alli in particular is one of the best bakers I know and responsible for the most delicious apple pie I have ever tasted. (I will do my best to wrest that recipe from her grasp for Spin The Bottle come Thankgsiving-time.)

The tart did not disappoint. I am not very adept when it comes to making food look camera-worthy, but even with my slightly spazzy tendencies, the tomato slicing and overlapping came out beautifully. The tart suffered a slight structural breach after we blind baked it, but the layer of cheese helped prevent any tomato juice seepage through the wide fissure that opened up on the bottom of the crust. I’d argue that this would be a good template for other vegetables — zucchini or mushrooms, perhaps? although of course you’d have to cook them first.