Friends Stopped By for Lunch

Dessert for lunch? Not for everyday, but when friends stop by (and our elephant heart plum tree is in season) it seems leek the right day for a quick, slightly tart plum galette. Galette's (or crostada in Italy) are European-style free-formed rustic pies, sweet or savory.
Use any pie crust you like. I quickly mixed 1 cup of flour, 1 TB sugar, 1/ tsp salt, and 5 oz of butter in the food processor. I wanted this crust to be super flaky so I didn't whirl until the butter was the size of peas but stopped sooner so even after mixing in the ice cold water (3 TB) I could see chunks of butter in my dough. After kneading a couple times on the counter I wrapped the dough and popped it in the fridge to rest over night.
When the dough was good and cold I rolled it out to about a 12" circle. and popped it back into the fridge while I sliced about 8 of our delicious plums and preheated the oven to 400º.
Elephant heart plums, developed by plantsman Luther Burbank are juicy and heavy and deep ruby red. Though they are not often sold in stores due to a fragile nature and short shelf life the flavor is unparalleled. Sweet and tart, juicy and tender -- in short, the perfect plum.
Leaving about a 2" border I sprinkled 3 TBs of flour and 1 TB of sugar over the rolled dough and then laid the plums slices in concentric circles and then showered another 4 TB of sugar over the plums before folding up the dough -- rustically -- around the fruit. One caution in the world of free-form tarts. Use the dough to patch holes if you must, but try to not have cracks in the dough that let the juice (our plums are super juicy) leak out while baking. Oh it's all fine and super rustic but your dough will stay a little crisper and your tart a little prettier if the juice stays in.
Before popping the galette in the oven, brush a little butter on the crust and sprinkle nice coarse sugar over top. After 40 minutes in the oven (rotate half way through) we had an easy elegant dessert -- sweet, tart, and (make sure to cool your galette on a each to ensure that it's) flaky.

Friends For Lunch

After our last visitors and a different dessert every night, James declared a sweets free zone. That lasted until today. Our friends Denis and Alli came by for lunch and after all what's Sunday lunch without dessert? Besides we have a fridge full of apples (I better get started on this year's jelly) and a couple lonely plums in need of a home. Keeping with the promise of a "simple lunch" I didn't want anything to fussy or have too many pots to clean so I opted for this simple gallette based on a recipe from Chez Panisse.
I mixed 1 cup of flour, a tsp of sugar, a pinch of salt, 5 TB of butter, and 1 TB of lard (I happen to have a jar in the fridge and I can't deny it makes for a flaky, easy to roll crust) in the food processor until the butter was still about the size of peas (I added and pulsed the butter in two batches so some were as big as lima beans). I poured in 1/4 cold water and gave a quick pulse then kneaded the dough together 2 or 3 times on the counter. The wrapped dough cooled in the fridge overnight (an hour would have been enough).
When it came time to assemble my tart I rolled the dough (on a floured surface) to about a 14" circle. Leaving a 2" border I sprinkled the crust with slivered almonds and then layered on thin slices of plums and peeled apples. I brushed the fruit with 3 TB of melted butter and about 2 TB of sugar then folded the crust around the fruit, crimping as I went. I brushed some butter on the folded crust and gave it a sprinkle of sugar as well and scattered some more almonds over the fruit.
After 50 minutes at 400º we had a flaky crisp tart ready for lunch. After cooling a bit on a wire rack I brushed 1TB of warmed honey over fruit and crust for a little sweetness and shine.
Perfect for lunch -- even better for breakfast.

New Year's Tart

I was doing some baking today. To be honest it was for a party we are having in January. I have been baking like mad trying to ready everything that can be done in advance. Today's chore: 3 dozen brandied sour cherry and pear tartletts. I'm not sure how it happened but even after finishing and freezing (unbaked) all of my party goods I still had enough filling left over for a full sized tart and thought I could just barely stretch out a crust from the pieces I wasn't willing to roll a third time. I froze the leftover dough and I was going to grate it into the tart pan. That is until a certain pup who shall remain nameless -- thought it looked too delicious to look away while Mommy was downstairs chatting with Daddy. Dog thief.

Anyway I made a quick recovery (can't waste that filling) by whipping up a sweet pastry dough (Nick Maglieri's pasta frolla) -- super easy to make and to roll. In the food processor I combined 2 1/3 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and 6 TBs sugar and then added in one stick of cold butter cut in chunks. I pulsed until the butter was the size of peas in the flour and added in two eggs and pulsed again until the dough came together. After chilling for an hour in the fridge I rolled out two circles to fill my tart pan and baked the filled tart for 45 minutes at 375º.

Waste not want not. I made James a quick tray of pie crust cookies with the leftover sweet dough. I cut the rolled dough into squares, sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar, and baked for about 10 minutes along with the tart. Just right with a cup of tea.

Tonight someone else is having the party but we are bringing the tart. And at home, a little lagniappe for my honey as they say in the Crescent.

Labor Day Lunch

The end of summer.

A chance to get together with friends we don't see often enough.

Time to grill.

We're not exactly a hot dog house. We opted instead for a festive lunch on the back porch.

The grill did get busy with thin slices of patty pan squash doused in a piquant feta cheese and basil sauce. Sharing the grill were shrimp and chorizo kebabs. I wrapped peeled shrimp around 1/2" slices of dry chorizo (I took that chance in spite of our Spanish guest -- but she seemed to approve) and threaded three to a bamboo skewer. I made a marinade/ paste of caraway seeds, chili powder, olive oil and garlic and brushed it over the meat just before grilling, a couple minutes on each side. Our friend Paul was kind enough to man the grill, including heating the tortillas, while I got a few things ready inside.

When I was trying to get an idea of what to serve today I was staring at the packages of Hearst Ranch beef in our freezer. They package a bag of chuck and round trims they call fajita strips. I don't think I've ever made fajitas for James and as I was puzzling over what use I could make of these pre-cut slices I saw a recipe for Mexican Beef Stew on the Saveur Magazine website. It is a long cooking dish of meat, tomatoes, onions, plantains, apples, pineapple and plenty of chili. Perfect for wrapping in warm tortillas. From there the theme for lunch took off. I whipped up guacamole and a batch of queso fundido (basically a warm dip of chiles, onions, tomatoes, beer and lots of melted cheese -- Mexican fondue) as appetizers with thick deep fried tortilla chips. I made a tangy radish salsa that gave a little crunch to the warm beef stew. The skewers just came along naturally followed by a fresh salad with garlic cream dressing, skillet cornbread which proved to be perfect match for the nearly sweet beef dish and, of course, corn on the cob. It is Labor Day after all.
For dessert I couldn't decide which fruit to use so I made double tarts from Mark Bittman's reliable free-form tart recipe. Basically a giant cookie with fruit topping, this recipe is so fool-proof there's no reason to ever fear making dessert again. James called the pear tart "French Fry Pie". The plum was a bit prettier but both were plenty tasty with fresh whipped cream and ice cream.

A great way to spend a day off.

Happy Labor Day one and all!

Southern-Style Summer Sunday

Yesterday we got a new refrigerator -- a replacement for a faulty model we bought just two months ago, supplied by the manufacturer -- believe it or not.

As I was transferring food from freezer to freezer I came across a bag of head on shrimp I had nearly forgotten about and decided to whip them up for dinner tonight. Following a recipe by Bobby Flay of all people I tossed the shrimp in a spice mixture of pimentón dulce, chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic. I sautéed them quickly in hot oil and coated the BBQ spiced shrimp with butter and scallions.

Since I was on a somewhat Southern bent I decided to add some hot skillet cornbread -- it was perfect for sopping up the sauce on the shrimp. And to finish? A cool summery peach tart.
Perfect for an end of summer Sunday.

What Shari Had For Dinner-- Saturday Guest

The big man hasn't been in much of a mood to venture out, so when our friend asked if we wanted to have dinner we decided to whip something up at home. Since I was in the middle of extracting honey and getting ready to leave early the next morning I opted for easy dishes that don't need a lot of cook's attention.

For appetizers I looked into the fridge and came up with a winner -- James says it's THE new house party dish. Rosemary crackers (I would have toasted up some crostini but if I have to be honest about it I burned them and didn't have enough bread to try again and still have some for dinner) spread with fresh ricotta, topped with a thin slice of prosciutto and half a fresh fig, and drizzled with S&P, balsamic vinegar, fruity olive oil, and chopped mint. Super easy and delicious.

For dinner a tomatoey mixed seafood stew cooked up with diced fennel, celery, and dry white wine. On the side a simple salad of radicchio and parsley with tangy anchovy dressing and crusty, old fashioned garlic bread for dipping.

And for dessert a puff pastry apple tart. I had some Trader Joe's all butter puff pastry in the freezer (one of those thing you buy for a rainy day that takes a long time to come). After the dough was thawed (just took 10 minutes) cut into neat circles and chilled (for 30 minutes in the fridge) I layered on thinly sliced apples, sprinkled about 1 TB of sugar and drizzled with a couple tsps of sugar. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 400º, serve with ice cream.

Hopefully the memory of Saturday night dinner will keep Himself going while I'm out of town and he's living the bachelor life of trader Joe's pizza and Wendy's drive through.