Berries

Summer Fruit Crostata

Guess what….back on June 25th it was my blogs 2nd birthday. I did not utter a word. Until now. OK, maybe a teensy weensy tweet. But that was all. Now it is time to paaartyy!! I wanted to celebrate with a recipe that I thought best reflected the healthy and tasty lifestyle that grace the pages of MarlaMeridith.com.

This post is way different that my birthday post last year which was kinda campy & silly. I guess being two years old has brought about a certain level of sophistication and maturity. Maybe. I do love kitschy, campy and silly. Let’s celebrate together with a summer fruit crostata.

We have a winner for my Blendtec giveaway. Hop on over to see who it is…..

Summer Fruit Crostata Recipe on MarlaMeridith.com

 

Lately I have been on a dessert pizza kick. These crostatas are pretty much dessert pizzas/open faced pies. No matter how you slice ’em.

With the abundance of beautiful summer fruit there is temptation everywhere. Use whatever you have on hand for these quick rustic treats. Folks who love pie enjoy the ease of a crostata, it takes minimal effort but yields similar results. It takes just minutes to roll out some pizza dough and top it with your favorite fruits (we love peaches and apricots,) cheese, jams, etc…….

Fresh raspberries are a favorite too.

 

Summer Fruit Crostata Recipe on MarlaMeridith.com

 

or chocolate.

 

Summer Fruit Crostata Recipe on MarlaMeridith.com

 

Use your favorite home made or store bought dough, in this case I use whole wheat. You can go gluten free too. Within about 20 minutes you have a classic dessert, breakfast or brunch in your hands.

 

Summer Fruit Crostata Recipe on MarlaMeridith.com

 

Don’t forget to top your crostata with some toasted nuts. A handful of slivered almonds, pistachios, peanuts, hazelnuts, pecans or walnuts adds a nice crunch.

 

Pretty Pink Roses on MarlaMeridith.com

 

Here are some flowers for you today. These beauties are from out front yard. Thank goodness for our lawn man. He keeps them alive, if it was up to me…..their fate would be not so rosey.

 

Summer Fruit Crostata Recipe on MarlaMeridith.com

 

Do you make your own pizza, pie or crostata dough? If so feel free to paste the recipe or the link into the comments below. I am on the hunt for great whole grain and/or gluten free recipes.

 

Summer Fruit Crostata Recipe on MarlaMeridith.com

 

Have you ever made a crostata? If so what are your favorite toppings?

 

For Recipe Details Click Here

 

Since we are celebrating MarlaMeridith.coms 2nd birthday I wanted to give something to you guys. Without all of my awesome friends that I have made through this blog it would not be nearly as much fun. I love to give back……so here is something for you.

Graphic with pink fleur de lis for MarlaMeridith.com

MarlaMeridith.com KitchenAid giveaway

Giveaway Details

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for your entries. Congrats to Caroline comment #170.

Are you guys ready to make some crostatas and dessert pizzas? I have a KitchenAid counter top convection oven ($129.95 value) that will bake them up perfectly! This convection oven can fit a 12″ pizza, 6 slices of toast and can heat food up to 450ËšF. How about two roasting chickens, or a small ham or beef roast? No problem, this can handle that too. The fan-circulated hot air convection feature distributes heat around food for faster cooking times. Perfect for countertops in any size kitchen.

How to Enter

Leave some comments….tell me why you want and need this convection oven. What is your favorite pie, dessert pizza or crostata? You have until Sunday, August 7th, 12 midnight PST to enter this giveaway. Winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 3 days to respond or a new winner will be selected. Open to residents of the USA.

To earn additional entries, leave a separate comment for each of the steps listed below. If you don’t leave separate comments for each step, we will not be able to include them.

  1. Tell me what you will make with this oven.
  2. Tweet this giveaway, being sure to include my Twitter handle (@MarlaMeridith). Here’s a sample tweet you could use or make up your own:  Pls RT: Dash over to MarlaMeridith.com @MarlaMeridith has a @KitchenAidUSA counter top convection oven *giveaway* http://su.pr/1xkcRh
  3. Follow @MarlaMeridith on Twitter
  4. Follow @KitchenAidUSA on Twitter
  5. Add the MarlaMeridith.com badge into your sidebar or somewhere on your blog
  6. Sign up for my Email or RSS feeds
  7. Stumble this post & follow me @familyfresh on StumbleUpon
  8. Add a link to this post on your blog.
  9. Follow @MarlaMeridith on Instagram

*You can stay in touch withMarlaMeridith.com or KitchenAid on Facebook too.

Crostata & Dessert Pizza Recipe Links

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe Links

Crostata

MarlaMeridith.com disclosure: The folks at KitchenAid offered me a Counter Top Convection Oven which I a happily passing along to you. They will send it to one lucky reader once selected. The opionions expressed on the pages of this blog are my own.

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~ Marla Meridith

Join the Conversation

310 thoughts on “Summer Fruit Crostata

  1. We don’t have air conditioning so anything that saves me from having to turn on the oven would be wonderful! I like the idea of being able to make pizza in it.

  2. I would probably use it to let my teens make frozen pizza (yuck!) in the summer. I won’t let them turn on the oven because it heats up the whole house. They would love this!

  3. Beautiful Marla! What a wonderful way to start off a Monday. Really beautiful photo’s (as usual). And Happy 2 years! You are an inspiration to all us foodies out there.
    And a convection oven would save this busy mommy some time in the kitchen. Which is always nice. 🙂
    Have a great week!

  4. Oh I’d use this to bake muffins and make pizza. I don’t have central AC so I don’t use my oven during the hottest parts of the Michigan summers (basically the last 3 weeks) and I’m missing it. I’ve thought about getting one of these.

  5. I would love to win this oven because I want to make Veggie Pizza. My kids LOVE this and during the summer it’s so hot we do not use the oven. We do have air, but since I lost my job and have not been able to find one we are not using it. I love to make healthy meals for my kids and this would be a time savor for mornings as well!

  6. I would love this oven to make toasted sandwiches and other things that just aren’t quite right cooked any other way. I love key lime pie. 🙂

  7. I will make the following: Your Crosta as it looks amazing and I bet my kids would love it. We eat so much fresh fruit in the summer ( we have a problem in that they don’t like canned fruit so I have to start freezing some for winter)…. I would make veggie pizzas, I would make egg scrambles (we love those), I would also use it to bake some fish too. I have not mastered doing fish on the grill so I would love to have this to add variety to our meals. Oh this would also be great for squash!

  8. I will make my toddler son’s meals….nothing like fast and simple for a hungry, growing little boy!

  9. I lovee fruit pizza. It always brings back memories of my grandma-esque babysitter as a kid. Not knowing what to do with two vegetarian kids, she’d always make us peach pizza, and we loved it.

    Also, I’d love this mini oven because it’d fit right in my little apartment!

  10. I will most likely be making a variation of your dessert pizza in the oven, along with toasting our morning English muffins, etc… – great giveaway!

  11. I would make everything in this!! It is so hot, and turning on the oven just sucks. I have a tiny toaster oven that I’ve made cookeis in, but this would pretty much take over my life in the kitchen.

  12. Great giveaway. I would make so many things with this. Our house gets really hot in the summer so it would be incredible to use something smaller. I love making galettes, I’m sure I’d make plenty of those with all the fruit that’s around right now 😀

  13. Hi! I would love to win this since I am going away to college soon and won’t have an actual oven to use! My favorite dessert pie is one of your recipes, the peanut butter and banana one a couple of posts ago. Thanks for all of the great recipes!

  14. Favorite pie = Key Lime!! Yummmmmm -=D
    I love these ovens during the summer to not heat up the kitchen or even all year round to cook something small that doesn*t need the whole oven!!

  15. I want it because as a busy mom I’d love to be able to cook food faster. Also, we only have one oven, so it’s tough to cook multiple things at once. They don’t turn out as well as they could.

  16. Happy Birthday to you lovely sophisticated blog that reflects you! I’d use this type of oven for grilled cheese with woscestershire sauce – YUM!

  17. we need this to make our biscuits in -on the weekends instead of powering the whole oven for 2 of them and our favorite pie is apple pie
    tcogbill at live dot com

  18. Hi Marla,
    Wonderful to meet you in my store, Customs House in Telluride the other day. Now I can follow your beautiful blog. I just bought a bag full of organic peaches so I will pop in to Baked In Telluride for some whole wheat dough. Thanks!

    1. Hi Lynn! Your store is AMAZING!! I can’t wait to head back in to purchase some beautiful props. I need to pop into the brand spanking new Baked in Telluride. Did not know they had whole wheat dough to purchase…need that. See you soon 🙂

  19. I need a this oven because my 2nd floor apartment is small and heats up fast so I have a short list of things I can make for my family that requires stove top.

  20. happy belated blog anniversary Marla, wish you many more years of inspiration!
    Although I haven’t made crostata in a while I love this open faced pie. Yours looks amazing!
    Since I love to bake a new oven is always welcome, my head is spinning just by thinking what I would bake first!

  21. I really need this oven for two reasons, one, I live in the hot desert and it heats the house up too much to use a convential oven. Electric countertop appliances are much cooler and more efficient in a hot climate. Secondly, I am a very busy person and to have a quicker cooking convection oven with which to prepare meals would make dinner time a much more pleasant experience. Thanks for this awesome giveaway.
    lyndaclark81(at)yahoo(dot)com

  22. If I win the oven, I will use it to prepare just about anything that needs to be baked or roasted such as toast, pot roasts, baked chicken and casseroles.
    lyndaclark81(at)yahoo(dot)com

  23. that crostata looks AMAZING!! I’ve never had a convection oven…..but I think it would be fantastic to have in this heat instead of heating up the big oven!

    I could make all sorts of yummy treats!!

  24. Yummy! That looks so delicious! Your photography is so amazing! Beautiful!!!!!
    Happy second birthday to you and this awesome blog. You really have come so far in the last year. You continue to wow me and inspire me!

  25. My apartment does not have air conditioning either! It is so sad how much my baking decreases in the summertime because I dread heating up my house in this Chicago humidity! I would love to make homemade granola bars in this convection oven!

  26. Your crostata looks so yummy! I think I’ll make it this weekend. I need this convection oven in a bad way since my oven decided to quit on me over the weekend. I’ve resorted to using two old toaster ovens that have seen better days.

  27. I’d LOVE to have a convection oven, and would make a pork loin & some greek pizza first! LOVE your blog, too!

  28. I’m not here for the prizes or giveaway. I’m here to congratulate you on two amazing years! And love this crostata and the pictures! Happy birthday!

    1. Thanks so much Mike! It has been a wonderful journey so far & I look forward to the years ahead. So happy we have become friends….now we just need to meet for reals 🙂

    1. I agree Cindy, this oven would be perfect for college students. It would keep them from having to eat all that dorm food too 😉

  29. I would love to win this oven as it is a space-saver and doesn’t heat up the whole house during summer. My favorite pie is pecan pie 🙂

  30. My favorite pie is peach pie. I would make all types of baked goods. Popovers, brownies, cake – I love it all

  31. I’ve never made (or heard of!) a crostata!! Why have I gone so long without one? It looks absolutely gorgeous! And Happy Blogirthday!!!!

    I’m going off to college soon, and I absolutely hate microwaves. But I love to cook. I would love to have this for my dorm to make all my food! I’m sure it would be well-used during and after college! First thing I would make….crostata! Like I said, why have I gone so long without one???!!!

  32. I would love this! As a busy mom to 3 bio and one special needs foster child, to have easy, healthy quick dinners would be a dream! No more pizza take out for us! I’d be making spelt flour pizza from scratch with this baby!

  33. Marla, congratulations on TWO years of elevating our eating to healthy and wholesome — your dessert pizza is beautiful! Re: the convection oven… not only would it beat the heat in my kitchen, but it would be energy conscious, too — less oven time means less energy consumed. (And of course, I’d have to make your dessert pizza to celebrate!)

  34. My favorite pie is peach pie, but banana cream pie runs a close 2cd!
    I’d love to bake yummy Gluten Free pies in that oven.

  35. Happy belated blog bday Marla! Campy is fun, but I love your newer sophisticated look too. I would love to win this convection oven as mine just broke, and try this recipe for crostata – how pretty!

  36. Why do I need this convection oven? Well, currently my toaster oven is not working, although I pretend it is… because I don’t want to be without a toaster oven. It’s insane that I have to stick things into the microwave to warm them up and then place them into the toaster oven to “crisp” up (although it really doesn’t). My husband constantly asks why we don’t just get a new one? Well – because the ones that I want are all way too expensive for me to afford at the moment.

  37. I have recently been wanting to buy a toaster oven and have been researching different kinds online! Unfortunately, with my poor college student income I think I’m going to have to settle on a tiny cheap one that’s $20. I would use that convection oven sooooooooooooo much, because my utility bill in my apartment wouldn’t be as high as when I use my big oven. I’m going to graduate school to be a dietitian, because I want to help others eat healthier. And I would love to cook tons of healthy things in this oven!

  38. I would make veggie pizzas, fruit pizzas, dessert pizzas, Nutella smores pizza, muffins, cakes, brownies, baked oatmeal, Ashley’s buckwheat breakfast bakes, and your delicious crostadas and chocolatey dessert pizzas with this oven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  39. I would definitely make a lot of things in the convection oven. For instance, not having to heat up my large oven in the 100+ degree weather just to cook some appetizer dim sum! Living in a southern state, I’d appreciate not having to use my oven through many of the months (with the exception of January + Febraury when turning on the oven warms up my entire house a few degrees!) I think I would enjoy baking a whole lot more in the spring/summer/fall if it doesn’t heat my house 5+ degrees.

  40. My favorite pie is Funeral Pie. It’s a raisin filled pie that the Amish serve during funerals. Despite the sadden events that bring along this pie, it’s one of the most delicious foods, in my opinion – plus, it’s never out of season… because you can get raisins whenever you want.

    1. Samantha, I have never heard of that Amish pie. It sounds amazing, I love raisins. You are right, it is so convenient that we can get them any time of year….we will just give that pie a happier name 😉

  41. I would use this oven to bake the cookies/muffins/breads that I bake for the boys’ school lunches. It is just to darn hot to turn on an actual oven!

  42. What would I make with this oven? Just about anything is what I would make in this cute little oven. I would actually bring it to the office to use. Love your crostada – looks supreme. Glad to be part of SRC with you! Great site that you have!!!

  43. Happy two years of blogging! I love this celebration recipe 🙂 I made crostatas a lot last fall, but kind of burned out on them. I definitely need to try making one with summer fruits before they are all gone!

  44. Pizzas for me! My sweetie isn’t vegan so our oven is always filled with carnivorous stuff. This little guy would be all vegan all the time! Cheers!

  45. Oh, I would make tons of cookies and muffins in this! Looks so much more efficient than my regular old electric oven. 🙂

  46. I need this convection oven so I can bake multiple things at different temperatures at the same time!

  47. I need this little oven because my big one heats the whole house up and during the summer it’s really hot in here! 🙂
    And my favorite pie is peach pie 🙂 🙂

    Thank you!!

  48. Hiiii Marla , am sooo happyyy to meet u thru the secret recipe club too :-))

    And am absolutely delighted to be here, ur blog is fantastic and photography awesome , i sure need to draw inspiration here babe!

    Am also glad to be around a giveaway time , here is why i would LOVEEEEEE to win the oven , coz we all LOVEEEE to bake ,dont we ???
    TOtally absolutely , our first loveeee is BAKINGGGG, and what better way than this amazing oven from KA.

    Thannxx a bunch for the opportunity to win :-))

    Happy sunshine day with lovee…

    1. Hi Mia, thanks for popping over and for your kind words. Glad to be an inspiration. I bake both gluten free and with wheat. Depends upon the day and my mood. I love to provide my readers with a little bit of everything they are looking for. Let me know if you try any recipes, I would love to hear your feed back! Happy sunshine day to you too!

  49. I dont really bake wheat free or gluten free but i sure would love to bake anything from ur amazing site the first thing in this oven and maybe next CCC:-)))
    How would that be ???

  50. Happy blog birthday, Marla!

    I’ve been loving your dessert pizzas and crostadas lately…though i might be tempted to eat them for dinner. 😛

    1. Joanne, I would say they would be perfect any time of day, including dinner! Glad you have been liking my dessert pizzas because I am more than addicted to them 🙂

  51. I need need need this conventional oven. It’s no secret to my friends that the gas oven in my apartment has never worked. Aka, I’ve been solely stovetop cooking for over a year! It pains me whenever I see recipes like the one above that I would love to try out but don’t have the means.

    Btw, if you are wondering why I haven’t replaced my current dud. It’s because I would have to go through the complex management and I’m afraid they will take my firstborn under the assumption that I broke the unit. Le sigh.

  52. Not in the US so skip me for the contest. But I love a good crostata. I made one all lemon recently…so good. I love your summer fruit on.

  53. Roasting two chickens with my regular oven plus that convection oven would be darn handy at times when 1 chicken won’t feed all the guests (like at Thanksgiving–yes, we do chickens instead of turkey). It would be a great addition to my lil’ kitchen. =)

  54. what a beautiful summertime recipe, so pretty!!!
    My girlfriend loves her convection oven and makes me jealous when she says how quick it is to cook things, I LOVE quick what a joy it would be to have one of these.

  55. Happy Blogiversary, Marla!! Cheers to many many many more! I ♥ FamilyFreshCooking…I think you know that already. 🙂

    That crostata sounds wonderful! I make one often, especially when I’m in a hurry…I just top it with fresh fruits, sometimes I add in Nutella, nuts, whatever I can get my hands on.

  56. Yum! I’d love a new convection oven because I’ve recently moved into an itty-bitty apartment with the perfect room left over for a small appliance. I think the first thing I’d cook would be crispy batch of sweet potato fries.

  57. What wouldn’t I make in this?! For some reason, brownies come to mind first, but I think I would bake and cook a ton of different stuff in this convection oven. Great giveaway!

  58. I rely on a toaster oven and that poor little bugger…not only is it too small for us (3 people), but all of the use….it’s on it’s last leg, it’s been a real good friend 🙂 Would absolutely LOVE to win to replace this by donating our toaster oven or paying it forward!!

  59. I would use this oven to make roasted veggies (cauliflower, onions, green peppers, etc) and add them to pasta for a quick dinner during the week and for baking on the weekend…hope I get it!

  60. I absolutely love convection ovens! So handy to have- especially in the summer time. I would use that one to bake peach sour cream bread!

  61. I would LOVE to have this for my dorm room! Microwaves really don’t do enough. I’d use this for everything!!

    1. Diana, I wish I had one of these back in my dorm room & off campus living! Would have been so nice to bake on a whim & avoid that dorm food.

  62. I would absolutely love this because I don’t have a toaster oven…or even a toaster :[ I have been looking for the perfect one. I’d love to make some chocolate cookies in there!

  63. I’d love to have a convection oven like that. Our oven finally broke beyond repair, and we don’t think we’ll likely be able to replace it anytime soon (college kid budgets). If I had a convection oven like that, I could finally start throwing together some delicious pizzas (even dessert like yours) and some brownies like my mom taught me to make. I’m getting excited just thinking about the possibility!

  64. oh, pizza. i love it–for breakfast, loaded with eggs and such, for dessert, with fruit and caramel and chocolate, or for any meal, loaded down with cheese. love. it. 🙂

  65. I would love to have one of these ovens! I am constantly moving from house to apartment to house, etc. It would be great to have a reliable little oven that I could bring to every home. I would make al sorts of sandwich melts and pies in my oven.

  66. I need this oven because I think we are going to have to throw our old convection oven away due to my son’s pending celiac disease diagnosis….We don’t want to chance using an old appliance that has had wheat/gluten in it.

  67. Oh my goodness! I was JUST having a conversation with a co-worker yesterday about convection ovens! He was saying how he loves his because he doesn’t have to use all the energy from his traditional oven for smple things like bagel pizzas or re-heating french fries.
    I do not own one, but they sound awesome! I would love try to make a batch of blueberry muffins in this!

  68. A huge congrats on your 2nd blog anniversary, Marla! These pretty fruit crostatas are the perfect way to celebrate. Gorgeous photos — all that fresh fruit is stunning!

  69. Oh, how I want and need this oven! It’s 107 in Austin ALL WEEK and I cannot bear to turn on my regular oven. This one would actually be endurable. We have been enjoying the gorgeous peaches this summer, though my son and husband won’t eat them uncooked. SO we’ve been making lots of little peach pocket pies. Until it started hitting 104 and up every day. We’ve been pie-less for a bit now. Oh god. Help us.

  70. I would make this Crostata if I got the oven! Also, our current counter toaster oven is on its last leg, and this would replace it perfectly!

  71. I WOULD LOVE TO BAKE MY FAVORITE S’MORES CUPCAKE W/ THIS OVEN….LOVE CONVECTION BUT DONT HAVE ONE :(.

  72. I WOUL ALSO LIKE TO BAKE MY FAVE DESSERT PIZZA. (RECIPE WILL FOLLOW).

    CRUST:
    1 BATCH SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH

    ROLL OUT FLAT ABOUT 1/2 INCH THICK ON ROUD PIZZA PAN AND BAKE ACCORDING TO RECIPE. REMOVE FROM OVEN AND LET COOL.

    NEXT LAYER:
    MIX 1 8OZ PACK CREAM CHEESE, AND ONE SMALL CONTAINER COOL WHIP AND 1 C POWD. SUGAR AND 1 TSP. VANILLA. WHIP TILL SMOOTH AND CREAMY. SPREAD ON TOP OF COOKIE CRUST.

    TOP W/:
    SLICE KIWIS, STRAWBERRIES AND BANANAS. LAYER 3 FRUIT IN A PRETTY PATTERN. REFRIDGERATE AND SERVE COLD.

    SO YUMMY!

  73. With a small family there are times I hate to heat up our big oven for just a little warmup or small amount – especially with the heatwave we’ve been having! I think my favorite pie is cherry. Made from scratch, please. None of the canned pie filling junk.

  74. What would I make? How about a batch of homemade oven fries. Or a small batch of cookies (so we don’t eat too many at one time).

  75. Our air conditioning just QUIT working yesterday. I need a convection oven STAT. I love this recipe and photos, BTW. You are an inspiration, Marla!

  76. My son and I are Gluten-Free and we have found that baking in a convection oven makes wheat-free items taste better than a conventional oven. We’ll bake pizzas, biscuits and cookies. We love KitchenAid products, they are well-made and they last forever! Thanks for posting this awesome give-away!

  77. My husband’s company shut down a few months ago and he is still searching for a job. This small oven would help us save on electric by not heating up our big oven. I would love to roast fresh veggies from my garden in this or make gluten free pizzas.

  78. I would love to have a smaller oven to try my hand at some new recipes. My toaster oven is huge and ancient and can barely handle toast!!

  79. Ok, you’ve convinced me. I need to make a crostata. I haven’t made one before but I must, right? Why I’ve been so resistant, I have no idea.
    I love lemon meringue pie. And key lime pie. And chocolate pie.
    I may be the only person on the planet that doesn’t like apple pie.

  80. I can’t believe I won the convection oven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!! What do I have to do to claim it???
    THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!