Apple Tartlet

When I’m planning a dinner party I always like dreaming up a desert. Unfortunately I don’t always have time to whip something up. I tend to like desserts that involve lots of complicated steps, so sometimes a quick and simple dessert is great to have in the repertoire. This one has a lovely combination of tart apples and buttery puff pastry. To finish it off I spooned a little caramel over each of the tarts. This apple tartlet was the perfect end to a great Sunday dinner.

5 Granny Smith apples diced
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter

1 package puff pastry
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375.
Sauté the apples with the cinnamon and sugar in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once they are tender set them aside to cool. Roll out the puff pastry and cut out 6” circles. Place the puff pastry in molds and fill each with two tablespoons of the apple filling. Brush the pastry edges with egg wash and bake till golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Rediscovering Gravlax

Gravlax is a uniquely Scandinavian take on Salmon. It’s tender, sweet and lightly spice cured. Gravlax can be hard to categorize. The fish is not smokey or salty enough to be called salt cured. Nor is the fish cooked, but it can’t be mistaken as raw.

Kenny and Zukes has incredible house cured Gravlax. A few weeks ago, Nick picked some up on our way up to the cabin. The next morning we had great bagels with the best gravlax I’ve ever had. Since then it’s been bagels every weekend.

Isreali Couscous with Butternut Squash

This week is all about fall. On Sunday I made roast duck with a pomegranate reduction, and when Peter and I were planning dinner we came up with this great side dish. Israeli couscous has quickly become one of my favorite ingredients to play with. You can treat it just like risotto, but it’s much easier to make. This one has the great combination of sweet roasted butternut squash and savory couscous.

1 1/3 cups Israeli couscous
¼ c. toasted slivered almonds
½ onion, small dice
1 clove garlic
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
Zest of 1 lemon
2 T lemon juice
olive oil
Salt and pepper
Crushed red pepper
3 T minced Italian parsley
½ cup shredded parmesan
1 butternut squash cubed

Preheat oven to 375. Cut the squash into 3/4" squares. Roast the squash on a sheet pan for 20-30 minutes untill soft.

Saute onions and garlic with a pinch of kosher salt and chili flake on medium heat until softened, 3-5 minutes. Turn heat up to high and add couscous and almonds. Continue to sauté until the couscous and almonds begin to brown. Add white wine to deglaze, then add stock and lemon zest. Bring to a boil and cover, turn heat down to low and simmer until almost all liquid is evaporated, 15 -18 minutes. Add half the parmesan, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons parsley and a tablespoon of EVOO and stir. Stir in roasted squash. Garnish with remaining parmesan and parsley.

Radicchio Caesar Salad

A couple of weeks ago I was at Nostrana for a luncheon and I had their Radicchio Caesar salad. I had forgotten what a wonderful salad it was. The creamy citrus dressing foils the bitter radicchio. In a world of ubiquitous Caesar salads this one will get your attention.


1 head Radicchio
1 Cup picked parsley leaves
2 green onions
croutons

Caesar Dressing
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
the zest and juice of one lemmon
½ cup olive oil

For the caesar dressing combine the garlic, anchovy, egg yolks, Dijon, vinegar, zest and juice of a lemon and grated parmesan cheese. With the blender running, slowly add the olive oil in a small steady stream. The dressing should come together into a creamy dressing. Taste the dressing and add salt and pepper as needed.

Wash the radicchio and toss it with the parsley, green onions, croutons and dressing. Garnish with grated parmesan.

Portobello Mushroom Lasanga

This week for the debate Peter and I made dueling Lasagnas. Peter made his family's sausage lasagna and I made Ina Garten's mushroom lasagna. I like this lasagna because it's rich and creamy and you don't miss the meat in anyway.


Portobello Mushroom Lasagna
From Ina Garten

Kosher salt
Good olive oil
3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles
4 cups whole milk
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms
1 cup freshly ground Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat.


Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems. Slice the caps 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices. If they become too dry, add a little more oil. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushrooms cook evenly. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside.


To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Repeat 2 more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms, and Parmesan. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

Kick'n it Jamie Oliver Style

Peter made these amazing baked onions served with tomato sauce and polenta. We saw these made earlier this summer on Jamie Olivers new show. The cheesy creamy onion filling was the best part.

BAKED ONIONS
Ingredients
4 good sized white onions, peeled
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & finely chopped
4 twigs of fresh rosemary, lower leaves picked & chopped
8 tbsp double cream couple of handfuls of grated Parmesansea salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon rashers

Method
1 Boil the onions in plenty of water for 15 minutes until slightly tender. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.
2 Then, with a sharp knife, remove the top 2.5cm/1" of each onion, finely chop and place to one side. If need be, slightly trim the stalk end of the onions so that they will sit flat on a roasting tray.
3 Cut about a heaped tablespoon out from the inside of each onion, keeping the outside intact. Finely chop and add to the rest of the chopped onion.
4 Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Heat a frying pan and add a little olive oil, your garlic, the chopped onions and just a little chopped rosemary.
5 Fry for a couple of minutes until softened, then turn the heat down, add the cream and remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan and season.
6 Wrap a nice slice of pancetta around the middle of each onion and just spike it in place with a sharpened twig of rosemary.
7 Place the onions on to a roasting tray and spoon some of the chopped onion mixture inside each one. Bake in the preheated oven for around 25 minutes.

Golden Pineapple Tomatillos

This week I discovered some Pineapple Tomitillos at the farmers market. Somehow I have never seen them before. They are like small golden firm grapes with a sweet citrus flavor. They are great eaten all by themselves or they can be used anywhere you would like a sweet tart flavor. I ended up using these in place of mangos in a jicama salad. Unfortunately I found these on the last week that they were in season, but I’ve set a reminder in my calendar for next year. I’m looking forward to experimenting with them more next year.

Tabla Egg Ravioli

The first time I had this dish I fell in love immediately. It was three summers ago when I walked into Tabla Mediterranean Bistro for the first time. It was a busy night and they sat me at the kitchen bar looking directly into their open kitchen. I saw this ravioli being made and I knew I had to have it. The Tabla ravioli is filled with a ring of ricotta and chard and in the center is an egg yolk. When you cut into the ravioli the yolk spills out making a rich sauce for the pasta. It truly is magic. Since that first bite three years ago I’ve been back every couple of weeks and I always order the ravioli.

Last night for dinner we decided to make the ravioli. I remembered that I had seen a recipe for it in Sunset Magazine so I rooted around and found it. This is a recipe that is easy to adjust, you could put just about anything in it. I think that next time I make it I’m going to do the ricotta filling with basil and lemon zest instead of chard.

Ingredients
About 1 1/4 cups flour

2 whole eggs, plus 6 egg yolks and 1 egg white

1 1/2 teaspoons heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon plus 1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups tightly packed stemmed chard leaves

1/4 cup whole-milk ricotta

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/8 to 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

Preparation
1. Mix 1 1/4 cups flour, whole eggs, and cream to form dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set it next to the stove. Add 1 tbsp. salt and chard leaves to pot. Cook chard until water returns to a boil and leaves are tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chard leaves to ice water. (Keep pot of hot water on stove, but turn off heat.) Drain chard, squeeze out as much water as possible, and chop (you should have about 1/2 cup). Mix chard with ricotta, 1/4 cup parmesan, remaining 1/4 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.

3. Cut a 5-in.-diameter round from a piece of paper and set aside. Unwrap pasta dough, divide into 6 pieces, and pat each piece into a 1/2-in.-thick rectangle. Working with 1 piece at a time, set a pasta roller on the widest setting and roll piece through, dusting dough with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Fold piece into thirds (like a letter) and roll it through again. Repeat folding and rolling once more for a total of three rolls on the widest setting. Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough.

4. Set roller to next narrowest setting and roll each piece through once. Repeat with next narrowest setting. Cut each piece in half and roll through on each remaining setting twice, turning 90° between rolls and trimming as necessary to fit and to keep a basically square shape, until dough squares are thin enough to see through and measure at least 5 in. on all sides.

5. Using paper round as a template, cut 5-in. rounds from each dough square.

6. Assemble the ravioli: Lay 6 pasta rounds on a clean surface dusted with flour. On each round, use a small spoon to arrange 1/6 of the chard-ricotta mixture in a circle about 3/4 in. from the edges, creating a well in the center large enough to hold an egg yolk. Repeat with remaining 5 pasta rounds and chard mixture. Put an egg yolk in the center of each well. Brush edges of pasta with egg white and place a second pasta round on top of each ravioli. Working from the center of each ravioli, gently press the top pasta round onto the filling to make sure there are no air pockets in the ravioli. Press edges firmly together to seal.

7. Bring pot of water to a slow boil. With a 4- to 5-in. strainer or slotted spoon, lower ravioli one at a time into the water (cook in batches of 2 or 3). Cook ravioli 3 minutes. Using the strainer, transfer them to a serving plate, blotting excess water with a paper towel. Top each ravioli with 1 tsp. butter.

8. Sprinkle ravioli with poppy seeds and remaining parmesan. Serve immediately.

Huckleberry Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding

It took Huckleberries to get my mojo back. We've been catering so much this summer that I had become completely burned out on cooking. Luckily we headed up to the cabin for Labor Day weekend and we cooked up a storm of inspiring food.

This was a great experiment turned home run. I picked up some cinnamon rolls and huckleberries at the farmers market. That night before I went to bed I cut up the Cinnamon rolls at placed them in the casserole dish. I sprinkled them with huckleberries and let the bread soak up a simple custard. In the morning I baked off the bread pudding. It came out rich and cinnamony and the tart huckleberries added a great tart bite.

5 cinnamon rolls
1 pint huckleberries
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter

The night before cut up the cinnamon rolls and place them in a buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle with huckleberries. Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and salt. Pour over the cinnamon rolls and let it soak overnight in the refrigerator.

preheat oven to 350. Arange the 5 tablespoons of butter on the top of the breadpudding and bake for 50 minutes.

Simple Fruit Tarts

It is crucial to have arsenal of quick desserts that you can pull together at a moments notice. That is why I always try to keep at least one package of puff pastry in the freezer at all times. You never know when you might need to bring an appetizer to a friend’s house or when you might need a late night snack. These simple tarts can be made with just about any fresh fruit that is in season.

Simply Elegant Cherry Tarts (The Oregonian)

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon grated orange rind or ¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved
(or other fresh, soft fruit)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out pastry to 12 to 14” square. Cut into 16 smaller squares. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and turn up edges, pinching at corners to form a shallow shell. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over all shells. Combine remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, flour and orange rind or almond extract. (May need to double the amount of flour mixture.

Bake 14-18 minutes. Cool and serve.
(Works well with peaches and raspberries.)d sugar to have enough.) Arrange cherries in single layer on each shell. Sprinkle with flour/sugar mixture.