Tomato Blue Cheese Tarte Tatin

24 Aug

I’ve been busy enjoying life on a beautiful island in the Pacific Northwest, in a petite rustic cabin with no running water and no electricity. For 4 days, I was peeing in the woods and not taking showers. I wore a headlamp and lit candles to see at night. The days were filled with hiking and bushwhacking up mountains and through meadows, and the evenings with melting marshmallows by a fire on the beach. It was totally dreamy to be out in nature, to be one with the biting bugs and scurrying animals and calm waves of the ocean’s tide coming in and out.

It’s amazing what one can miss with just a week absence of internet. The moment I had access to my computer again, I started plowing through, trying to catch up on all the blogs I read.

Heidi’s tomato tarte tatin immediately caught my eye, especially since I had a pie crust in my freezer just waiting to be used.

I made a big trip to the farmer’s market today, where I found heaps of gorgeous tomatoes, onions, green and yellow beans, cucumbers, melon, and white peaches. I even bought my lunch at the farmer’s market–whole wheat focaccia with eggplant, spinach, and goat cheese.

This tarte tatin is basically an upside down pie. Filling on the bottom, crust on top. I sautéed onions and combined them with fresh tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and salt. Into a pie plate and sprinkled with blue cheese. I think blue cheese and honey are a swoon-worthy combination, so I squeezed a bit of honey over everything for good measure. Pie crust on top. Egg wash. Salt. Oven.

The blue cheese melts right into the tomatoes, the juices so rich they give off hints of a beefy French onion soup.

Real talk: I used the cap of my canola oil to cut out the circles in the center of the pie crust.

Also, I like to place the pie plate onto a baking sheet. It just makes it easier to take in and out of the oven.

Tomato Blue Cheese Tarte Tatin

adapted from Heidi, of 101 cookbooks

serves 6-8

**NOTE: Use whatever pie crust you like. I think Heidi’s rye crust sounds great. I used David Lebovitz’s recipe (see below) that can go into a savory or sweet pie. 

1 extra large (or 2 medium) onion(s), chopped

1-2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 pounds (24 oz.) small tomatoes

scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1-2 tablespoons flour

2-3 tablespoons blue cheese

1 teaspoon honey, for drizzling

1 pie crust

1 egg (for egg wash), whisked

flaky salt, for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 400F / 205C.

While the oven is warming, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium and saute the onions. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are deeply golden and caramelized, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.

While the onions are cooking, cut any larger tomatoes in half. You can leave the small cherry tomatoes whole. Add the tomatoes to the caramelized onions along with the sea salt and balsamic vinegar. Transfer to a deep pie dish. If you get the sense that your tomatoes are quite juicy, and might release a lot of liquid, you can toss the mixture with a tablespoon or two of flour at this point. Sprinkle mixture with crumbled blue cheese and drizzle with a touch of honey.

Roll out your pie dough, cut out 3 circles around the center, and cover the tomato mixture – tucking in the sides a bit. Brush the crust with the beaten egg wash and bake in the top third of the oven until the crust is deeply golden and the tomatoes are bubbling a bit at the sides, 25 – 30 minutes. Let it rest for a few minutes, then serve.

Prep time: 10 min – Cook time: 45 min

Pie Crust

from David Lebovtiz’s Ready for Dessert

makes 2 rounds

**NOTE: You only need 1 round for the Tomato Blue Cheese Tarte Tatin. You can keep the other round in the freezer.

2 1/2 cups (350 g) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 ounces/225 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch (3-cm) cubes and chilled

6-8 tablespoons ice water

In a large bowl using a pastry blender, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the chilled butter cubes and mix just until the butter is broken up into rough 1/4-inch pieces.

Add 6 tablespoons of the ice water all at once and continue mixing just until the dough begins to hold together. If necessary, mix in the additional 2 tablespoons ice water.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 1 hour.

STORAGE: The disks of dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

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Farmer’s Market Veggie Explosion with Miso Curry Dressing

6 Aug

A variation on the Miso-Curry Delicata Squash that I was making over and over again last fall.

This time around there’s eggplant, heirloom tomato, baby potatoes, and zucchini from the farmer’s market. And tofu for protein!

Dressed with a smash and a stir of white miso, red Thai curry paste, and extra virgin olive oil. Finished with a squeeze of lemon, fresh herbs, and slivered almonds.

I was inspired by the produce at the farmer’s market. I suggest you do the same and use whatever strikes your interest–corn, peppers, sprouts, peas, baby eggplants…

I think my favorites right now have to be the cherry tomatoes. Farmer’s market tomatoes taste SO much better than any grocery store variety. Just remember not to put them in the refrigerator or they will lose their luscious tomato taste. They are great roasted or raw.

Looking for another quick, farmer’s market-inspired dinner idea? Tacos are always the answer in my book.

I know that this Miso Curry Veggie Explosion requires you to turn on the oven. If you just can’t take the heat, make a raw salad with some kale, tomatoes, snap peas, corn etc. You could still use tofu. Just cut everything in bite size pieces and drizzle the miso-curry dressing with a little lemon and chopped herbs, and add the nuts or seeds for texture. No oven required. Stay cool.

Endless possibilities.

Veggie Explosion with Miso Curry Dressing

adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday 

serves 4

1/4 cup/ 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil

Scant 1/4 cup/ 2.5 oz/ 70 g white miso (I purchase mine at Whole Foods)

Scant 1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste

1 14-oz package of extra firm tofu, cut into cubes

1 large handful of small potatoes, unpeeled and cut into chunks

1 medium eggplant, cut into small chunks

1/2 of a medium zucchini, cut into strips

1 large heirloom tomato, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (half a lemon)

1/4 cup slivered almonds

small handful of fresh basil or cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, miso, and curry paste.

Combine the tofu, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and tomato in a large bowl with all but 2 tablespoons-worth of the miso-curry paste. Use your hands to toss well, then turn your vegetables onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment and arrange everything in a single layer. Roast for about 30 minutes, until everything is tender and browned. Toss once or twice along the way, after things start to brown a bit. When the veggies come out of the oven, squeeze half of a lemon over them.

Serve the veggie explosion with some toasted almond slivers, fresh basil or cilantro, and a spoonful of the remaining sauce with a little more lemon.

NOTE: You can always make a raw salad. No oven. Dressing is the same. Enjoy.

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Carrot Cake With Orange Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

30 Jul

Yep. I made a gigantic layered cream cheese-frosted carrot cake. In the middle of summer.

Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut. My gut wanted carrot cake.

There’s walnuts and fresh ginger. Those are the kickers. Sweating like a crazy lady, I grated 1.3 pounds of carrots by hand. I called it my workout for the day.

I baked the cake in two 9-inch cake pans to make a two-layer cake. They baked off with nice, flat, even tops, so I did not have to trim the cakes before frosting. Hallelujah.

I’ve used bundt pan in the past. You could make your life easy and do it that way, too. Or you could join in me in the madness of layer cake making in the middle of summer.

Pro tip for ultra silky frosting: You MUST MAKE SURE YOUR BUTTER AND CREAM CHEESE ARE ROOM TEMPERATURE so that everything whips up nice and silky smooth. You may want to sift your powdered sugar to get rid of lumps.

When I frosted the cake, I used a combo of different techniques I learned from reading, watching videos, and working in restaurants. In the end, I did it in my own free-form sloppy way, but somehow it turned out looking pretty great.

Cake frosting is a bit complicated, there’s this thing called a crumb coat, then the cake gets refrigerated for about 30 minutes, and then I put on the final layer of frosting. You could read Joy’s tutorial to help you get started. Melissa Clark has a great video tutorial as well. I recommend using a small offset spatula. I don’t have a cake stand or cardboard cake rounds. I just used a flat plate and turned the plate as I frosted. Works fine.

Oh, and never frost a cake that is right out of the oven. Make sure it is completely cool. Meg Ray from Miette Bakery in San Francisco will vouch for this tip.

I hope I didn’t scare you. Maybe one day I will attempt to do a more in-depth cake frosting tutorial, but I’ve got to get a little more confident first. Just have fun. Good luck. Don’t forget to share.

Carrot Cake with Orange Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from Martha Stewart

NOTE: The original recipe calls for 3 sticks of melted butter. I swapped canola oil for the butter to reduce the saturated fat content of the cake. I wanted to save up and use the butter in a rich cream cheese frosting instead.

Serves 10-12; store any leftovers it in the refrigerator (I actually think the cake tastes better a few days later cold from the fridge…)

Ingredients

* Unsalted butter, for pans
* 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
* 1 cup walnut halves
* 1 1/3 pound large carrots, peeled
* 3 large eggs, room temperature
* 1/3 cup buttermilk (I have used plain Greek yogurt in the past and it works just as well)
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 ½ cups canola oil
* 1 ½- 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (depending on how spicy you like it)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Cream Cheese Frosting (this makes a LOT of frosting, you will probably have some left over)

*3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
*3 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
*3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
*1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
*2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
*Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans (or a bundt pan). Dust pans with flour, and tap out any excess. Set pans aside. Spread nuts in a single layer on an ungreased baking pan, and toast in the oven until lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and let stand until completely cool. Reduce temperature to 300°F. Roughly chop the nuts, and set aside.

2. Peel the carrots and grate them to yield 1.3 pounds, or a little over 3 cups (you could also use a food processor).

3. Peel the ginger (I like to use a metal spoon) and use a microplane to grate the fresh ginger.

4. Place carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, vegetable oil, and ginger in a large bowl; whisk until well combined.

5. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined. Fold in the toasted nuts.

6. Divide the batter between the two cake pans (I weighed my pans to make sure they were even), and bake until a cake tester inserted into the middles comes out clean, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove pan from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack; let stand until completely cool.

7. To make the frosting: place butter in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add sugar, orange zest, ginger, and salt, and beat for 5 minutes.
*any leftover frosting can be kept in an airtight container for about 7 days (I had a little over a cup leftover).
Frost the cakes as you wish. I recommend watching some online video tutorials first.

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Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

24 Jul

Fettuccine Alfredo. A classic childhood favorite.

Here’s a recipe that can satisfy your craving without weighing you down. Yep, this recipe is vegan, dairy-free, cholesterol-free, saturated fat-free. Now don’t you worry, there is still a heck of a lot of creaminess going on. Cashews=creamy, buttery, rich. Cashews get soaked in water, drained, and blended with aromatic onions and garlic. Unctuous, silky sauce.

The Alfredo sauce really comes together with a few dashes of lemon juice and white miso paste (Chloe says this is optional, but I love white miso and I would not skip it; you can purchase white miso at Whole Foods).

I added some peas and a few halved grape tomatoes to my noodles, and slurped it all up alongside roasted asparagus spears.

I kid you not, this tastes like traditional fettuccine alfredo. Maybe even better since I know how much healthier this version is…

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

From Chloe’s Kitchen

serves 4-6

1 pound fettuccine

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup raw cashews or blanched almonds*

2 cups water

2 teaspoons white miso paste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

optional: chopped Italian parsley, frozen or fresh peas, halved grape tomatoes…

*Soak your cashews or almonds in water overnight to soften. This ensures that the sauce will blend up nice and smooth. Alternatively, you could boil the nuts for 10 minutes and then drain.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook according to the package directions. If you are using frozen peas, drop them (I used about 1/2 cup?) into the water about 2 minutes before the pasta is done cooking. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and let cook until soft. Add garlic and let cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat.

In a blender, combine the onions and garlic, cashews, water, miso paste, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Process on high until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

Toss the hot pasta with the sauce until the noodles are evenly coated. Adjust seasoning to taste. If the sauce gets too thick, add a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Garnish with fresh tomato slices and parsley, if using.

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Cast-Iron Skillet Blueberry Pancakes

22 Jul

Fresh blueberry pancakes. All of the best breakfast flavors joined forces and jumped inside these ‘jacks. There’s almond extract in the batter. And oats. And buttermilk. And a touch of OJ.

Let me tell you a little secret. I didn’t really use buttermilk in these pancakes. I faked it. Stir together 1/2 cup of milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar (I used cider vinegar, but white vinegar or even lemon juice work great, too). Let it sit for 2 minutes or so. Now you have ‘buttermilk.’ Easy in a pinch.

Once upon a time, I was afraid of my cast-iron skillet. I wanted one so bad, so then I bought one to be like all the cool kids. BUT, I was never quite sure how to clean it, I never knew if I was using it correctly, I was just confused and scared. Not to worry, we can work through this together.

To start, here are 2 great resources for cast-iron skillet cleaning and care: One. Two.

I believe the more I cook with my skillet, the better it will get. In other words, more cooking means a more “seasoned” skillet, which, in English, basically means more of me cooking like a mad woman will create a lovely non-stick indoor grilling device.

You can grill dogs in the cast-iron skillet. You can make a Dutch Baby come out of the oven. I highly recommend you make a Cherry Clafoutis before cherry season is over. Cast-iron skillet quesadillas? Yes, please.

If it weren’t for my cast-iron skillet, I would have never produced such a perfectly golden seared pancake this morning. Truth.

Pancake Massacre. Warm blueberries exploding in your mouth with every bite you take. Sweet n’ juicy breakfast heaven.

Serve with more blueberries and perfectly ripe peaches. A winning combo.

Blueberry Pancakes

adapted from the JoytheBaker cookbook

serves 2 (4 pancakes each) **if you want more, double the recipe or triple it, etc…

NOTE: If you are making a larger batch of this recipe and want to keep your pancakes warm, heat the oven to 200 degrees F and place finished pancakes onto an ovenproof plate or tray while you cook the remaining batter. 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 medium size egg

1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 1/2 cup regular milk + 1 teaspoon cider vinegar)

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon of butter, divided, for frying the pancakes

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, orange juice, and almond extract.

3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry, and whisk until just combined. Fold in the blueberries. Let the mix sit for 5 minutes while you heat your griddle or cast-iron skillet.

4. Heat the cast-iron skillet for about 5 minutes over medium heat to get it warmed up (I made some coffee while waiting for the skillet to heat). Drop in a small amount of butter, enough to coat the skillet. I used a 1/4 cup measure to portion my pancakes. Drop the batter into the hot buttered skillet (I dropped 2 pancakes at a time). Let them cook for 2 minutes, flip, then cook about 2 minutes more. Re-butter the skillet as needed and cook the remaining pancakes the same way (they will start to cook quicker now that the skillet has been on for a while, just keep an eye out).

I served my pancakes with more blueberries, fresh peach slices, a hearty helping of good-quality pure maple syrup, and strong black coffee. 

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