Zucchini and Mozarella Galette

 

The pastry recipe i used was a minor revelation. Having made many a pastry/pie crust in my time, the standard Gourmet mag ratio of 1 1/4 c flour to 1 stick butter with a 1/4-1/3 c drizzle of ice water ratio was always my go-to more for convenience (as those ratios are easy to remember) as my moderate success with it. I've tried the CI vodka recipe, but can't say the results are that much different than this tried and true ratio.

 

I had some light cream in the fridge so I decided to use that instead of ice water. Intuitively I knew it would contribute to a flakier more tender and indeed it did. I'm not sure why it's not more common place, maybe there is a scientific reason to use ice water. i have to admit the crust was very tender and I wonder if even a little water is required to develop some glutin and thus structure.

In any case, i was very happy with the result. I've always loved the idea of a galette - rustic, homey and oh so French - but for whatever reason always went for the full on pie, quiche or whatever. This was so easy and speedy to put together, I hope to make this part of the regular rotation.

Recipe adapted heavily from Smitten Kitchen
For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup sour cream light cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water
Filling:
1 large or 2 small zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 cup (about 1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon slivered basil leaves
Glaze:
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water


Make dough: Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Make filling: Spread the zucchini out over several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let drain for 30 minutes; gently blot the tops of the zucchini dry with paper towels before using. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil and the garlic together; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon of the garlicky olive oil together and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare galette: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet (though if you line it with parchment paper, it will be easier to transfer it to a plate later). Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the galette dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Shingle the zucchini attractively on top of the ricotta in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of the garlic and olive oil mixture evenly over the zucchini. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open. Brush crust with egg yolk glaze.
Bake the galette until the cheese is puffed, the zucchini is slightly wilted and the galette is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with basil, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

BACK TO SCHOOL RASPBERRY GRANOLA BARS

This is another great recipe from "Craft of Baking," Karen Demasco's compendium of homey yet elegant desserts. I especially like this book b/c even with seemingly typical seeming desserts (shortbread cookies, scones, chocolate cake), she gets the proportions right so you don't see recipes calling for 2 c's of sugar. Rather, of the recipes tried and on my list, everything strikes the right balance of sweet, salty, crunchy, smooth.

This isn't what you'd typically call "granola bar." It's more like a shortbread cookie, packed with crunchy walnuts and oats, with a thin layer of blueberry jam. I subbed about 1 c whole wheat white flour for the ap flour which I think gave it a dense wheaty complexity.

Talk about familiar yet elevated. These are not by any means your typical kid's snack but a crunchy, crispy, wheaty, totally balanced snack that i wish i could always have on hand.

BACK TO SCHOOL RASPBERRY GRANOLA BARS
makes 16 bars

12 T butter, plus more for the pan
1 c pecans, roughly chopped
1 1/2 c ap flour (1 c whole wheat; 1/2 c ap flour)
1 1/4 c rolled oats
1/3 c granulated sugar (1/4 c)
1/3 c packed dark brown sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 c raspberry preserves

Preheat oven 350. Butter an 8" square baking pan.

in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temp.

Spread the pecans on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool the sheet completely on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, brown sugar, salt, bs, and pecans. Pour in the melted butter, and using a wooden spoon, mix together until well combined. Transfer about two thirds of the dough to the prepared baking pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan, forming a firmly packed layer.

Using an offset or rubber spatula, spread the preserves over the dough. Evenly sprinkle the remaining dough over the preserves (lightly tamp down). Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the top is golden brown and fragrant, about 40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool completely. Then cut into 2" square.

The bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Banana Peanut Butter Cake

 

This is from Karen DeMasco's "The Craft of Baking"

Moist, dense cake. with only a little over a cup of flour, it's less banana bread, more dense torte with powerful banana flavor. The buttercream is rocks. Not too sweet; makes reasonable quantity and I liked how I spread it on top for a simple but elegant look. I used crunchy PB so it gave the frosting an unexpected texture. Maybe a needed a little more than just 1/4 c, if not only to give it more of a pb flavor boost but to darken the color a shade darker than the beige.


Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

Cupcakes
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c plus 2 T grapeseed oil
3/4 c mashed banana (about 1 1/2 medium bananas, mashed with a fork)
1 L egg
1 L yolk
1/3 c plus 2 T buttermilk
3/4 t vanilla extract
1 c plus 2 T a.p. flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Buttercream
2  L egg whites (1/4 c)
1/4 c sugar
8 T butter, cut into small pieces, at room temp
1/4 c creamy p.b.
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with liners. (or grease an 8" cake pan)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil. Whisk in the banana, egg, egg yolk, buttermilk and vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, bs, and salt. Using a whisk, mix the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full. Bake, rotating the tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Invert the cupcakes onto a wire rack, turn them top side up, and let them cool completely.

To make the buttercream, fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring it to a simmer. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl on top of the saucepan, and whisking constantly, heat the egg mixture until it is warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk on medium speed until the whites become translucent and shiny and form a soft peat, about 5 minutes more

With the machine running, add the butter, a cube at a time, and mix until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and add the PB, vanilla, and salt. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, beat until the buttercream becomes shiny and creamy, about 10 minutes. (The buttercream can be refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month. Before using, bring it to room temperature adn beat it for a few minutes until smooth.) Spread the buttercream over the tops of the cupcakes, swirling it decoratively.

The cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Raspberry Scones

These remind me of the giant breakfast scones I used to get at Mangia on 57th. The idea isn't to get impossibly flaky, buttery layered, biscuit-like scones. Rather, it's more a cross between a muffin and a hearty, dense scone. Crisp, enticingly browned on the outside and crumbly, buttery on the inside studded with dried raspberries and oats.

I may have overbaked it a touch....

Regardless, they're the perfect breakfast treat when you're in the mood for something filling and comforting, crumbly, crunchy and homey. they kept pretty well the next day.

Kale Sausage Whole Wheat Quiche

Kimchi

Devil Foods Birthday Cake

Compost cookie

Never had the real ones at Momofuku Milk bar but no matter beacause these are amazing.

Peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, potato chips, pretzels....

a very sticky dough is mounded into largish rounds that need to be refrigerated a few hours...

truly delicious, almost toffee-flavored cookies. they were very sweet and i'm wondering if i reduce some of the sugar whether i'd be able to retain the chewyness. It was a tablespoon of corn syrup which i assume contributes to the chewy texture.

Christina Tosi's Compost Cookies

1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Corn Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cups Your favorite baking ingredients
(Kelly used mini chocolate chips, raisinettes, rollos & cocoa krispies)
1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc)
(Kelly used goldfish, ritz, & fritos)

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.

When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.

Using a 6oz ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheetpan.

Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 1 week. DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.

Heat the conventional oven to 400F. (350F in a convection oven)

When the oven reads 400F, arrange your chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat-lined sheetpan a minimum of 4" apart in any direction.

Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.

At 9 min the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if these colors don't match up and your cookies stills seem pale and doughy on the surface.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh 1 month.

Yield: 15 6oz cookies

One-pot chicken and rice

1/2 c chopped shallots
3-4 cloves garlic chopped
8 dried mushroom rehydrated and sliced
3/4 lb chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 in pieces
1 1/2 c long grain brown rice, washed

2 c chicken stock (or combination with mushroom soaking liquid)
3 T soy sauce
2 T oyster sauce
1 t sesame oil
pepper
sliced scallions

heat dutch oven with oil. stir fry shallots and garlic until fragrant. Add chicken and mushrooms and cook until rawness of the chicken disappears. add liquid mixture and bring to a boil. stir in rice. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 45 minutes. Take off heat and add scallions. Rest for 10 minutes. mix up mixture.