
What’s better than serving a supremely delicious meal with about 15 minutes of effort? Between basketball tournaments, ice cream socials, sleepovers, potty training, and yoga, I slipped over to Trader Joe’s in search of inspiration. Sara had been raving about their fabulous French style flat-bread tarts with mushrooms, Emmental and Parmesan cheese, and I wanted to surprise Jack with a quick and tasty grown-up dinner on the fly. I hurled a few frozen tarts into the cart and headed home. TJ’s tart, much like a thin-crusted pizza, turned out to be great on its own, but I found that a little truffle salt really gives it that “Je ne sais quoi.” Years ago Michael Chiarello of www.napastyle.com gave us this flavorful salt as a gift for being guests on his TV show, and it’s been a staple for us ever since. Truffle salt adds zing to eggs, pasta, salad and risotto – or just about anything that goes well with mushrooms. Your family and friends may well hallucinate in culinary ecstasy after one bite of this easy dish. Jack was delighted and, truth be told, I barely had to lift a finger!
- 1 or 2 frozen Tartes d’Champignons from Trader Joes (depending on how hungry you are)
- juice of 1/2 lemon (1 tablespoon)
- pinch of sea salt (we like the Himalayan pink sea salt)
- drizzle of agave nectar, or pinch of sugar
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons really good olive oil (Stonehouse Kitchen is a current fave)
- 2 big handfuls arugula, watercress or your favorite mix of greens
- pinch of truffle salt (optional)
- shavings of Parmesan Reggianno for garnish (optional)


Preheat oven to 450 degrees and cook the tarts according to package instructions. While they are cooking, put the lemon juice in a bowl. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of agave nectar or pinch of sugar. Whisk in the olive oil. (You can also place vinaigrette ingredients in a jar and shake just before assembling the salad.) Place the greens in a medium size bowl and season them with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss lightly. Sprinkle the cooked mushroom tarte with truffle salt and freshly ground pepper. Cut into wedges and serve with the arugula salad. Garnish the salad with shavings of Parm cheese if you like.
Note: If you want to spruce the salad a bit, feel free to add some sliced red onion or toasted hazelnuts. If you have access to Meyer lemons, you could also make a Meyer lemon vinaigrette. Just use a little less oil as Meyer lemons are not as sour as regular lemons.
Serves 2




































Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford are the authors of the best-selling Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook, and many more.
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
There’s always a stash of chicken nuggets in our freezer and if you have small children, I bet there’s probably a box or two in your freezer as well. Bell & Evan’s yummy, breaded, boneless, skinless chicken breasts get thumbs up in our households. But, we all know, homemade chicken nuggets really blow frozen away. When you’ve got a little time, and a little extra patience for a big, happy mess, help your kids make their own nuggets. Our kids delight in rolling up their sleeves, getting dirty and having fun in the kitchen. Hands get gooky and there is always a hefty dusting of flour and bread crumbs on the floor, but it’s worth the mess to watch the kids have so much fun. Experts say that the best way to get children to open their minds to different foods is to get ’em in the kitchen. We keep trying!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Clean up the chicken thighs by removing any excess fat or gristle. Cut into bite size pieces, about 11/2 inches each. Season with salt and pepper. Pull out three bowls, preferably soup or pasta bowls. Mix together the flour and garlic powder in one of the bowls. Whisk together the eggs in another bowl. Pour the breadcrumbs into the last bowl. Line the bowls up… flour, eggs, breadcrumbs. Now the fun begins! Roll up your sleeves and dredge the chicken into flour with one hand, using the other hand to dip in the egg, then switching back to the “dry” hand to dredge in breadcrumbs. Place the prepared chicken nuggets on a plate. Repeat til all the chicken nuggets are breaded. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon canola oil. When the skillet is hot and the fat is bubbling, add half the nuggets. Reduce heat to medium (or even medium-low depending on your oven), and cook for 5-7 minutes per side. The goal is to get a crispy golden brown color on both sides. YOU DONT WANT TO COOK THEM TOO FAST or they will be too dark on the outside and undercooked on the inside! Place cooked nuggets on a paper towel-lined sheet tray. Wipe out the skillet and repeat process. Warm nuggets in the oven if necessary just before serving. Just make sure to remove the paper towels first. Oh, one more thing. These little nuggets will look slightly pink in the center if you use thigh meat. This does not mean that they are undercooked.
Makes about 24 nuggets: Serves 4
Note: As you probably know by now, we are hip to gluten free products. We don’t have Celiac disease (in which gluten damages the absorptive surface of the small intestine, preventing the body from absorbing important nutrients). But we do suspect we’ve got an intolerance to wheat, due to the lethargy we feel after consuming it. So… organic quinoa flour is a great alternative to AP flour, as it is a complete protein that enhances the nutrition of countless dishes. Also, look for gluten free breadcrumbs. Glutino is our favorite brand.