When I was growing up, I had a very limited diet. I ate only bread, peanut butter, and eggs, and it drove my mom crazy.  On occasion, I would maybe eat some steak or chicken. Any vegetable was a no for me. I think that was caused by the way vegetables were presented at that time: soggy, unappealing mush. Of course I wouldn’t eat them!

My absolute favorite food choice was lemons, and lots of them. My mother would buy me lemons, knowing full well that I would eat them raw right in front of her.  My mom was especially upset at this because she felt I was too skinny. My nickname was “Toothpick,” and it stuck for many years. I hated that name, but because my food choices were so limited, and because I loved to play sports, I couldn’t put on any weight. 

As I got older, my tastes increased. Once, when I was a teenager, my brother ordered fried calamari at a restaurant. He told me it was fried chicken, and why would I not believe it? My mother kept a kosher home, so I had never even heard of calamari. I tried it, and I LOVED it. It was not until the way home in the car, that my brother told me the truth. I was shocked, but continue to love it to this day. 

It was not until I met my husband that I had my first lobster. He was astonished that I had never had one. Of course, I ordered what I knew I would like, but I was able to get a taste of his. And again, I loved it. How had I been missing on this food all my life? That moment changed things for me. I became unafraid to try new foods, and my diet improved quickly. 

When my oldest son was a child, he, like me, would eat only a small range of food, though he was even pickier than I was. I homemade all the baby food for my kids, so I knew that he was eating well.  But as he grew, he learned how to say “no.”  Forcing him to eat was an uphill battle, so I simply made his dinners separately from the rest of the family. I had a feeling that he, like me, would find that his tastes would change later down the line. And of course, they did, and now he is a very healthy eater.

In contrast, my younger son would eat anything. When he had his tonsils out at four, my husband told him he would get him some chicken soup. He was still in the recovery room at that time. He yelled at my husband and said, “no chicken soup, I want schwimp.” The nurses burst out laughing. So out my husband went, trying to recover some shrimp for our precocious four year old.

Things are so different now: children now grow up trying an enormous range of foods. My great-nephew and niece have terrific diets and will try most foods. And their mother, my niece Leslie, was an even pickier eater than I was! Because of the varieties in stores and in restaurants, kids can be exposed to lots of foods early on, and with better understanding of nutrition, parents can make more informed decisions. 

Now this is a recipe that adults and children can agree on. The cream cheese and sour cream whip up to a delightfully creamy and incredibly smooth filling.  It is then combined with a citrus, which takes this tart to a whole other level, giving it a slight tang. Sweet and salty? I’m all in! This delicious filling is housed in a buttery, salty, crunchy base of cracker crust that makes this tart absolute perfection. Even your younger kids will love it too!

This recipe is courtesy of Nothing Fancy, by Allison Roman and will serve 8 to 10 of the pickiest children around.

Ingredients for Sweet and Salty Cream Cheese Tart:

For the crust:

5 oz.  Ritz crackers or Nilla wafers
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of kosher salt

For the filling:

16 oz. full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. fresh citrus juice (grapefruit, lemon, lime or orange)
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, for finishing

Heat the oven to 325˚ F.

Make the crust:

Pulse the crackers or wafers in a food processor until you’ve got a fine crumb (crumb, not powder!). You can also do this by hand by placing the crackers in a resealable bag and crushing or smashing with a skillet or rolling pin.  This is a great job for a little helper!

Transfer to a medium bowl and add the brown sugar and butter.

Using your hands, mix until the crumbs are evenly coated and you have a wet sand texture.

 

Press mixture into an unlined 9-inch tart or springform tin, or a cake pan lined with parchment paper.

You can use a lined 8-inch square baking pan here, although expect a slightly thicker outcome (maybe that is your preference).

Using the bottom of a measuring cup or small bowl, really press the crumb mixture in there–otherwise it can be challenging to cut later on.

Bake until crust is lightly golden brown at the edges (it gets baked one more time, so best not to overdo it here),  10-15 minutes.

Make the filling:

Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and granulated sugar in a food processor and process until impossibly smooth and well blended, scraping down the sides as needed to incorporate any stubborn chunks of cream cheese.

Add the eggs, fruit juice and a pinch of sea salt, and keep processing until it is even smoother and creamier than before.

Pour the mixture into the baked crust and bake until the whole thing is set and no longer jiggles when tapped, for 25-35 minutes (it should not brown at all).

(Oh, oh, mine did turn brown, but still tasted great!)

Turn the oven off and open the door a crack.

Let the tart sit in there for about 15 minutes, before transferring it to a wire rack on a counter to cool completely.

Place the tart in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour, (this gradual cooling is to prevent any unsightly cracks appearing on the surface which can appear when there is a sudden change in temperature).

To serve, sprinkle with a little flaky salt and serve with some fresh citrus of your choosing if you like.

It’s that simple!