I remember when my husband and I moved into our home almost 25 years ago, (oh my!), he insisted on putting a pool in. I was not happy about that. First off, we had young children and you always worry about their safety, especially around a pool. Second, that just was not my first priority when it came to renovating our home. Well, he got his way and soon enough there were men coming daily to excavate our yard. They found a humongous tree trunk under our yard, which was an additional headache and expense. But in the end, we got our pool built and have enjoyed it tremendously throughout the years.
After children, the next step of course, were dogs. We love dogs and could never have just one at a time. For some reason, three seemed to be our magic number. We never had to worry about the dogs and the pool until we got our English Bulldog, Mazel. The summer after we got her, my husband had this premonition about her safety around the pool.
He was right. One early summer day when we had just opened the pool (her first time near it), and it was full of dirty disgusting water. We went out with the dog, just in case our concern for her safety was truly valid. Immediately, Mazel went running around and circling the pool in curiosity. Just as my husband yelled “Mazel don’t go in the pool”, she jumped right in. It was on purpose, too. You could tell that she knew. So, down she went. Swimming is no option for this large-headed dog. My husband jumped into the murky water, fully clothed, along with his watch, wallet, and glasses. He successfully rescued Mazel and his wallet, but his glasses and watch were in there until the water cleared. Mazel never went near the pool again.
Now that everyone knows their boundaries, my whole family, including my dogs love to hang out by the pool. That being said, I think that a nice, fruity summer dessert to bring poolside is in order! This recipe is an excellent choice. The berries combined with the sugar are scrumptious. The crust provides the perfect home for this beautiful crostata. The almonds add a tasty crunch. I have to say this was my first time preparing a crostata. It was hard to perfectly fold the edges over the berries. There was a lot of leakage and breaks in the dough. So who says it has to be perfect? I managed to pull it off for the pictures, but mine did not look anything like the picture in the magazine. You shouldn’t worry about it. It was still undeniably delicious even though it wasn’t picture perfect.
This recipe is courtesy of Cuisine, and it will serve 8 people who will be thrilled to be sitting poolside eating this delicious treat!
Ingredients for Berry Almond Crostata
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
(I added some blueberries)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. pure almond extract
1 purchased refrigerated pie crust
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, diced
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. sliced almonds
1 tsp. sugar
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss together blueberries, raspberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and the almond extract for the filling.
Arrange pie crust on prepared baking sheet.
Spoon filling into center of crust, leaving a 2-inch border.
Dot filling with diced butter.
Fold edges of dough over filling, leaving center exposed, and press any loose edges down.
Brush melted butter over crust; sprinkle with almond and sugar.
Bake crostata until golden brown, 20 minutes.
Cool crostata until filling is set, at least 10 minutes.
It’s that simple!
