Five Star Recipe: Smitten Kitchen's Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart

Like many home cooks, I'm a big fan of Smitten Kitchen. Deb's Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart will knock your socks off. Simple to prepare but elegant, super satisfying, and made with inexpensive ingredients, this savory tart is a total winner. Pair it with a green salad and you have an impressive meal. Added bonus: leftovers are perfect for breakfast. Once the tart shell is made, this recipe only requires:

• 1 lb. small red potatoes, cut into slices
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 1 egg yolk
• blue cheese crumbles (about 3/4 cup)
• some chopped herbs; try rosemary, thyme, and/or sage
• sea salt for sprinkling

The tart shell is dummy-proof. It's nothing like a pie crust and needs no food processor or special equipment. See instructions here.

Lacking a pastry blender, I used a couple of cold knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture. All you need is a 9-inch pie plate or tart pan (standard size) to bake the thing. A container of blue cheese crumbles makes life easier.

You make the dough (see link), roll it out, and stick it in the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes while boiling the potatoes. Pat dry the potato slices and arrange them on the tart shell. Top with blue cheese and the cream and egg yolk mixed together. Sprinkle with herbs and salt.  That's it! The thing goes into a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, once cheese gets toasty and tart shell is golden brown. This one is so much easier than it looks.