Football, Chili, & Nutella

Poor Frank had to work ALL weekend, and by all weekend, I mean he went in at noon on Friday and got home around 1pm on Saturday afternoon...Went back in around 11pm on Saturday evening and got home Sunday around 5pm. Needless to say, he was exhausted, which we anticipated, so we didn't make any plans for the Super Bowl. Instead, we cuddled up and watched it together...well, watched most of the first half together in between his dozes and then he hit the sack after the halftime show. Thinking that buffalo wings and chili naturally go with football, I made Buffalo Chicken Chili - a twist on one of Rachael Ray's chili recipes which doesn't actually call for any beans. Mine included white and red kidney beans and packed quite a punch! While flipping through my latest FN magazine, I found myself drooling over the Chocolate Hazelnut Tart and decided that I had to make it ASAP! (I mean, it has Nutella in it!) I ran out and got the necessary ingredients and we had it for dessert last night...It was HEAVENLY!

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
(courtesy of Food Network Magazine)

Crust:
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup Nutella
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Make the crust: Toast hazelnuts in a skillet over medium heat until golden, about 8 minutes. Let cool and transfer 1/3 cup nuts to a food processor. Add the flour, sugar and salt; Pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until mixture looks like coarse meal. Drizzle in the egg and vanilla; Pulse until dough comes together. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
2. Pat the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom and prick the bottom with a fork. Refrigerate another 30 minutes until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 350*. Line crust with foil and fill with pie weights. (I didn't have pie weights so just weighed it down with an oven-proof dish.) Bake about 20 minutes; Remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown all over. Cool completely on a rack.
4. Make filling: Whisk cornstarch into 1/4 cup cream in a small bowl. Combine remaining 1 3/4 cup cream, Nutella, vanilla, and salt into a small saucepan. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once mixture starts to bubble, stir constantly until thickened, about 2 minutes. Poor into crust and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Top with remaining hazelnuts and serve...Mmmmmmm!

I have to say, I think the recipe sounds more daunting than it actually is - You just need to make sure you leave yourself enough time for all of the refrigeration...Totally worth it!