Monthly Archives: September 2010

Zucchini and Tomato Galette

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This galette is my ode to late summer.  The zucchini and tomatoes that I associate with August and my mom seems to fit so well together that there is nothing I like better (well maybe some good Taza chocolate).  I have been making this galette all summer long, from the first zucchini I saw to the most recent ones sitting in my pantry.    I love zucchini especially the small ones that have a good crunch and they always make me think of my childhood and the massive zucchini plants we had in our garden.  We would pick the zucchini daily from mid-July on and about a month in we always had it coming out of our ears.  After making zucchini relish and stir-frying it for lunches we still had way more zucchini than we could eat.  So we took to sneaking to friends houses in the dead of night and leaving the smooth and long summer squash on their doorsteps before giggling and running away.  And there was always the one that got missed and was left to grow to the size and weight of a large infant (we’re talking 8-9 lbs here).  It is a familiar taste and comforting.  This is an update on the way I remember eating zucchini as a child – stir-fried with lots of fresh thyme, oregano and chives and covered in enough mozzarella to make you wonder how you were going to choke it all down.

I initially made this according to some directions over on Smitten Kitchen that I thought looked great but I didn’t really care for it.  I thought it was a little dry and the zucchini overpowered the delicate flavor of the ricotta.  I wanted the basil and the creaminess of the ricotta to really shine when I ate this dish and that one fell flat for me.  But the inspiration was there.

I have now made this galette three times and every time I find something about it that I love a little bit more, or that makes me think – huh I should probably have a salad with this so I can have some leftovers later, but I almost always seem to forget to make that salad until it’s too late and the galette is out of the oven and I’m pleading with Boyfriend to turn off StarCraft 2 and hoping that there is something good on TV so I can be lazy if only for a little while.  For a while this summer this recipe was in regular rotation, we had it every other week or so and depending on what was hanging out in the fridge it got a jolt of goat cheese or homemade hazelnut pesto.

Zucchini and Tomato Galette
Note: While this recipe started as something on Smitten Kitchen it’s really all mine now.  I adapted hers to the point where mine is markedly different – hers is very nice though if you don’t like your ricotta filling with an egg in it.  Also for my crust I buy one.  To make your own please see my quiche recipe and use the crust there.

Ingredients:
1 pie crust recipe rolled out to an 11-12 inch round
1 cup ricotta
1 egg
1 tsp Thyme (use an extra half tsp if your thyme is fresh)
1/2 cup swiss cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup grated asiago cheese
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2-3 Tbs goat cheese (optional)
2-3 Tbs fresh Pesto (optional)
1 medium zucchini sliced into thin rounds
2-3 Roma tomatoes sliced into thin rounds

Combine the ricotta, egg, grated cheeses, thyme, olive oil, salt & pepper, and goat cheese or pesto (if you are using either or both of them) in a medium bowl and stir to combine.  Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over your rolled out crust leaving about 1 1/2 inches of crust free (to pull over the sides and create an edge).  Starting on the outside layer the tomato and zucchini alternately clockwise on the ricotta mixture.  Continue to layer the tomato and zucchini until the ricotta mixture is completely covered.  Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the vegetables.  Pull the crust you left free over the vegetables gently trying not to tear it, it helps to pull about two inches of crust up and then work around the galette in a clockwise pattern pulling up 1-2inch pieces of crust at a time until complete.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-45 minutes, I tend to go away and blog/read/play video games until the vegetables are lightly browned and I can smell the tomatoes roasting and the ricotta is puffed up.  Serve with a green salad, if you remember to make it! Serves four with the salad, two without – unless you’re tiny and then it’s more like three :p.

Quiche!

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So, as promised this is the birthday quiche of one friend, Hipster Girl.  I like quiche, it’s like a warm blanket on a rainy fall night, comforting and safe.  I grew up on my mom’s quiche which was ham, cheddar cheese and frozen peas, I loved the quiche.  I loved the way it smelled while it cooked in the oven – salty and eggy it was such a hearty scent and it instantly brings me back to my childhood in a big rambling farmhouse in Maine.

Making quiche makes me think of the first time I attempted it every time.  I was 7 or 8 and my elder sister wanted to make dinner, so I offered to help (already knowing then that she was not the best when left to her own devices in the kitchen), we sized up the fridge and decided to make quiche – it seemed simple and I remembered how to make it, right? Pie crust in pan and the layers of ham, cheese, and peas later we were ready to make the egg filling – eggs, milk, Morton’s (it’s a mixed seasoning that I apparently am no longer able to find ;_;) whisk and pour.  In thought we had it right – we had followed the recipe – but when we looked in the oven 25 minutes later, disaster.  There was egg everywhere and still more dripping from the pan.  Mom was supposed to be home in 10 minutes and this quiche was no where near done…  We panicked.  My elder sister freaking because of the mess in the stove (Mom didn’t care much about the mess, after all we had tried to make dinner) and me trying to figure out how to Fix-the-Quiche.  I was still trying to solve this problem in my child head when Mom came in, cold from the fall weather and delighting in the smell.  She looked at Meg and I standing meekly in the kitchen and laughter bubbled up from her as we told her of the failure.  She pulled the barely cooked quiche from the stove put a pizza pan underneath it and said to leave it alone for a while –  it would be fine, a little more custard than quiche, but fine.  As the eggy quiche smell filled the house I realized how very true this was.

This quiche is no more complex than the one I made when I was eight except the ingredients were fresher and more artisanal, french triple cream brie and Italian salami.  But it was divine in that makes me think of home and comforting smells, like blueberry jam cooking on the stove and peanut butter at Christmas. 

Quiche is such a familiar food I feel a little indulgent giving it a place here but for me that’s what this blog is about, comfort and familiarity.  I keep this blog so my readers can experience me in the whirlwind that is my kitchen, be it with an overly extravagant cake or a familiar quiche.  This is also a great go-to food for weekdays – the whole thing can be put together in 10 minutes and baked for 45 the most work is in the letting it sit when it comes out of the oven covered in browned and bubbling cheese.

Kathy’s Salami, Brie and Cherry Quiche
Based loosely on “Quiche a la Mom”  which is on a battered index card printed in my childhood handwriting.
Note:  I use a purchased pie crust for this because I’m kind of lazy and find pie crust to be something I don’t care to make a lot (of course I make it for Thanksgiving pies and when I’ve forgotten to purchase it).  But I will give you my recipe for it, because it is easy.

Pie Crust
1 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup cold Butter
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 grinds of fresh pepper
2-6 Tbs of ice water

Cut the flour, salt, and pepper into the butter until the butter is the size of small peas an it seems scattered throughout, this can be done using a pastry blender, two knives of with 5-7 pulses of a food processor.   Add water 1 Tbs at a time mixing gently with a fork until the whole thing just comes together (I use about 3 Tbs).  Bring the whole thing into a ball and roll it out on a well floured counter until it fits your pie plate.  Makes one 9″ pie crust.  And remember the 3 rules of pastry: Keep it cold, Roll Once, Patch sparingly.

Quiche Filling
2/3 Cup Hard Salami, chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
2/3 cup Brie (use a milder one because it will melt and the flavor will grow), cut into small cubes of thin slices
1/4 cup good Cherry Preserves (I used Trappist and it was very nice)
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Line a pie pan with crust and flute the edges (I’m totally terrible at that part).  Spread the cherry preserves in the bottom of the crust, being careful not to break it.  Then sprinkle the salami around evenly, lay the brie slices on top of the salami evenly.  Continue to layer the salami and brie through the crust until they are gone.
Whisk the eggs, milk and salt and pepper together until even and frothy, added the Swiss cheese.  Pour this filling mixture over your layered salami and brie gently being careful to not jostle the cherry preserves at the bottom of the pan.  Lay a couple of pieces of brie on top before putting it in the oven for presentation.

Fall in the Air

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I love early September, when it’s still warm enough to wear skirts without tights and the air starts to get that crisp fall scent.  I start to crave hearty foods like soups and bread, warm cider and spicy ginger snaps.  There’s something about fall that gets under my skin in a very good way.  It always seems like a time of fresh starts and clean slates when all of your failures of the past year and your guilty pleasures of the summer can be set aside and everything is clean and new.

On Sunday afternoon in a need to get out of my apartment I hopped the 71 and went to Harvard Sq where I perused the farmers market to my heart’s content taking some really amazing pictures of late summer tomatoes and corn as well as bushel bins full of winter squash piled high and begging to be baked, stewed, pureed and eaten with cream.  There were apples as well blushing red and begging to be plucked from their bin and eaten with juice dripping from your chin. 

As I was perusing the farmer’s market I saw a young girl point to a sign for Honeycrisp apples and sound out the words, “Hon-nee Cr-isp.”  The older woman who was with her encouraged the girl to pick an apple from the bin, to try.  As I watched the girl pluck an apple from the bin and her eyes light up over the feel of one of those perfect apples in her hand I knew I needed to get one too.  I grabbed four apples and followed the girl and the older woman to get my apples weighed and paid for.  After her apple was weighed the girl took a bite and had a look of pure happiness on her face.  That is fall.  The unadulterated happiness of the first fall apple bursting on your tongue.  From the sharp burst of the skin to the soft yielding flesh inside – apples are Fall and everything I associate with it, clean slate, new pencils, and fresh notebooks.

As I left the farmer’s market I fished one of the apples I had purchased out of my bag and took a bite.  It was perfect.  Ripe and sweet with a just-right tartness that makes your mouth water and crave another bite.  I finished the apple and entered the T-station, the friend I was meeting just had to try these.

Another Birthday Another Cake

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So this cake.  This cake is something that haunted/excited me for a week.  I was having dreams about it.  OK it was just a cake for a friend but it was also one of my first proper layer cakes – with pans that were the same :0 it was totally new.  So as with all good things though – it’s got a story.  While at John Harvards drinking beer – really really good beer (specifically the black watch stout) – my darling friend, let’s call her Hipster Girl, mentioned, in passing, that her birthday was next week.  I sat there appalled and asked her when.  She changed topics and tried to show me her newly spun wool.  I wasn’t dissuaded and asked my question again.  The 26th, she said, it’s no big deal, she said.  I’ll make you dinner, I said, and there will be cake (the rest of the dinner will be up later – it was epic).

So this is the cake, I sent HG an instant message the following day – I asked for a date she was available (she chose Weds the 1st) and then I created a menu.  The savory things were easy she had a main course she wanted and I was able to spin off of that fairly easily, but the cake – that required some research.  So I googled it – I looked at Smitten Kitchen, I looked at The Amateur Gourmet, I even looked at Cake Wrecks (mostly so I could tell what NOT to do).  The internet was unhelpful and I was distraught, until there was a glimmer of hope and I remembered this.  The bible of baked goods was sitting in my pantry clad in crinkly library plastic waiting to be hunted through for The-Perfect-Cake, and there in the middle of a section labelled “Celebration Cakes” I found inspiration – a four layer feat of epic proportions entitled “the-black-and-white-chocolate-cake”. 

So I researched it.  I read reviews and most people said that the cake itself was good but the frosting/cream was messy and tended to run, so given that I was cooking this cake in 90 degree weather I thought runny frosting was out.  What to do….  Obviously I did the sensible thing and came up with my own variations on the cake.  I used Dorie’s cake recipe – which was the best yellow cake I’ve ever had, seriously make this RIGHTNOW.  And then eat it warm – perfect.  But I created , from scratch, my own versions of a white chocolate frosting and a dark chocolate ganache.  I froze the whole thing and brought it out to watch my dear friend, HG, dance in circles with delight.  Frankly it was The.Best.Birthday.Cake.Unveiling.EVER. Even without the candles (which I totally forgot, whoops).

So the recipe – this is complicated, I won’t lie.  All the pieces are fairly simple, buttercream, ganache, jam, cake but there’s wait time and it really is one of those things that needs an opportunity to firm up so it is perfect (especially if there is a crazy heat wave plaguing your city and the butter keeps melting and getting everywhere and oh-seriously-can-we-please-not-try-to-make-anything-with-butter-again-when-it’s-this-hot-out).  True Story.

Kathy’s Decadent Celebration Cake
Adapted quite heavily from Baking, from my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Note: This cake recipe alone is Fan-freakin-tastic.  It has all the right kinds of happy, from the custard like flavor to the perfect moist crumb, it’s totally love at first bite.  Also the ganache makes wonderful Ice Cream topping.

Cake (double it if you’re making 9″ layers)
2 Cups Cake Flour*
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Baking Soda
10 Tbs Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
3 eggs, plus one egg yolk
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 cup Buttermilk**

Sift together the Flour, Powder, and soda – set aside.  Cream the butter until it is fluffy and light, about a minute.  Add the sugar and beat it for another 2 minutes or so until it’s evenly incorporated and its fluffy again.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute in between each, including the yolk and beating it too.  Add the vanilla.  (Dorie says that this may curdle but I didn’t have any problems, but if it does curdle it should come right back together).  Now add the flour and buttermilk alternately.  Mixing each in just enough to combine.  You should add the flour in three batches and the buttermilk in two.  Pour the mix into a buttered and floured cake pan, or use thisawesomespray, and bake it at 350 degrees until it’s golden brown and the top bounces back to the touch (20-25 minutes, or an episode of Avatar (not that movie-full-of-blue-cats), the Last Airbender).  If you are going to frost these, I suggest you freeze them – your life will be a lot easier.

If you made a double you will have a couple of cupcake amounts left over, I suggest making those cupcakes and eating them warm with a little tea.

Chocolate Ganche
1 Cup Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped (semisweet is acceptable too if you want something a little bit sweeter)
2/3 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tb Butter
2-3 Tbs Liquor (I used brandy but whiskey or cognac would also work, go with your preference) (optional)

Warm the cream up on the stove until it is almost simmering, it should be steamy.  Pour the cream over the chocolate in a medium bowl and stir.  The cream should be able to melt the chocolate down fairly well, if you find you still have lumps you can microwave it for 15-30 seconds and stir or put it back on the stove over a gentle heat (low to med-low) for a minute or two.  Stir in the butter and the liquor (if you’re using it) and put that ganache in the freezer to stiffen a little bit – 10 minutes or so.  Don’t forget about the ganache though as it’s not particularly spreadable when it’s frozen.  Best stay in the kitchen and have a dance party.

White Chocolate Frosting
4 oz good quality white chocolate, melted (look at the ingredients – if it has cocoa butter in it you’re solid, if it’s soy or something else DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY, I like the Ghirardelli Baking Bar)
2-3 Cups Confectioner’s sugar (powdered and icing sugar are the same thing)
1-2 Tbs Bailey’s (optional)
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter, softened

Cream the butter and chocolate together on medium speed until uniform, you may have to scrape the bowl a couple times.  Add the Bailey’s and vanilla and mix to combine.  Add the sugar 1/4 cup at a time until you have reached the consistency you want.  If you reach desired consistency but want more frosting and cream 1 Tbs at a time alternating with 1/4 cup sugar until you have the amount you want.  The white chocolate taste won’t be as strong but it’ll still be delicious.

Assembly
So, I am not a professional baker at all, as is apparent by my not-so-high-quality-but-I-love-it-anyway kitchen gear, but I recommend using your studier cake as the base for this cake.  Put it on your cake stand (if you have one) or just on a big flat plate, and line around the bottom with parchment or waxed paper to make it that much more awe inspiring when you bring it out to watch people squee.  Spread about 2/3 of the ganache filling on this layer of cake and throw it into the freezer and dance, or have a piece of cheese.  Pull the ganache covered cake out and spread a thick layer of your favorite jam on there – blueberry or strawberry is probably best.  Set cake number two on top and throw the whole thing back in the freezer while you make the frosting.  Pull that cake out and frost it.

Serve to oohs and aahs with a cup of coffee or milk.

* To Make your Own Cake Flour: Replace 2Tb of AP flour in every cup with 2Tb of Cornstarch.
**To Make your own Buttermilk: Measure one cup regular milk out, replace 1Tb of milk with 1Tb of vinegar.