Buy nothing day.

In an effort to combat the crazed shopping that begins today and ends at Christmas, November 24th (November 25th outside North America) has been declared Buy Nothing Day.
I did my part and took a long nap, read a book, ate some leftovers and did NO shopping. If you haven't heard of BND before, keep it in mind for next year.

And now that I'm back home and reunited with my camera cable (it was fun discovering that I had carted the camera and the laptop but had no way to post pictures since I fogot the cord!), here are some pictures from yesterday's feast.The last photo is of the apricot crostata the I made for dessert. We also had a pumpkin pie and apple crisp. Here's the recipe for the crostata because this one is a keeper.

The recipe comes from the New York Times Magazine and I knew I had to make it when I saw that it called for apricot preserves. I am always looking for new ways to use my homemade preserves. The crust is more like a sugar cookie than pie crust, in fact I think this could be adapted as a cookie recipe. I couldn't find my pie pan so I did not follow the shaping instructions.

Crostata con Marmellata di Fruta

9 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
zest from 1 lemon
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
14 ounces apricot jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until they are mixed well. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and lemon zest. Continue mixing then add the flour, 1 tsp. salt and baking powder. When the dough begins to clump, shape into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour or overnight.
Lightly grease a pie pan and roll out 3/4 of the dough to fit the bottom and sides of the pie pan. Fill the crust evenly with the jam. Roll out remaining dough and cut into thin strips. Weave the strips ito a lattice pattern on top of the pie pan. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve at room temperature.