Sweet and Savory Tarts

Oh my, I am way behind on my posts! I’m ashamed to say that this is from May. Yikes! I taught a class on tarts at the At Home Store. It was really fun and I had a great group of students. I made two types of crusts and five different fillings, both sweet and savory. One of my favorite ingredients to use in baking is rhubarb. I like it nice and tart and makes your lips pucker a little. For the rhubarb tart, I used some orange juice and a bit of zest, I actually used a recipe I came up with last spring.

I also made a tart with a light pastry cream (made without eggs) and fresh raspberries. Geri did a fabulous job arranging the berries and the mint!

I made two different asparagus tarts, one was more like a Quiche and the other was asparagus spears and jarlsberg cheese (gruyere would be even better!)

The roasted vegetable tart was especially fun, I prepared a bunch of individual tart shells so everyone could create one. I roasted beets, butternut squash, and onions with some fresh herbs. I also had some fresh goat cheese for people to use if they wanted. After everyone assembled their tarts I popped them in the oven so the flavors melded together a little.

Just as we sat down to eat, the power went out on our block. Perfect timing, we lucked out!

The early bird gets the worm

This morning I woke up, got my favorite market basket, (it’s from Ghana via the At Home Store, and I just love it! It fits so much produce and has a great leather-bound handle)….

….and headed out the door to meet my dad. I got to the farmers market and began my stroll down the aisle, I like to see who has what before I make my purchases. I saw my dad at the other end of the park and so I wandered over.

On my way down the row of vendors I spotted something amazing, something I never expected to find at the farmers market in Iowa. I rushed to get my dad, uttered a single word to him and we both made a bee-line right back to the booth. On the table lie big, sweet, green artichokes! Yes, artichokes! In my excitement I asked “did you make these?!” (I couldn’t even create a coherent question, silly me.) Well, of course she didn’t make them but she did grow them and they are beautiful! My dad and I bought several and walked away.

After collecting a few more goodies–carrots, radishes, cilantro, and onions–I went back to the artichokes and snatched them all up, I just couldn’t resist. Who in their right mind could. On my car ride home, the smell of artichokes filled the air, so sweet and fresh.

It has been two hours now and my hands still smell of them. I plan to devour them tomorrow for lunch, steamed. Melted butter optional. Followed by a glass of water, it might sound odd but next time you have an artichoke follow it up with some water.

Pizza class with Steve

We recently had another great cooking class at the store. Our friend and great teacher, Steve Boss taught us how to make pizza dough and pizza sauce as well as tricks for getting the best results. We also played around with lots of different topping ideas.

Steve spreads his “little bit longer sauce” over a partially baked crust…

Steve squeezing roasted garlic on a pizza crust…

Here is a pizza margherita (minus the fresh basil) hot out of the oven! The crust was nice and crispy, slightly charred underneath.

Boss Style Pizza:

makes 6, 10″ crusts

1 c. semolina flour

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. farro flour

1/2 packet of yeast (3.5 grams)

a big pinch of salt

1 1/2 c. warm water, between 120-130*F

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the water and using your hands or a polish dough whisk mix the dough until it gathers into a ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 7-10 minutes.

Lightly oil a clean mixing bowl and place the ball of dough in it. Cover with a cloth at let it rise in a warm location for 1-2 hours.

When Steve is making pizza for a large group, he likes to pre bake the crusts. This is how he does it…

Divide the dough into six pieces and roll out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Bake in a 450*F oven for 1-2 minutes, until the dough begins to rise. Let cool. If you are going to be using them the same day, set them aside in a stack leaving the parchement between each crust. If you aren’t going to use them the same day, wrap them really well so they are airtight, they can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for a few weeks.

Quick Sauce:

Lightly pulse a 28 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes. Add a little salt and a little sugar (if necessary.)

A Little Bit Longer Sauce:

Prepare the “Quick Sacue” and add:

1 Tbsp. salt packed capers, rinsed

dried oregano

dried thyme

fresh pepper

1/4 c. grated parmesan

4 cloves roasted garlic

Simmer on low for about an hour.

To assemble the pizza:

Place a pre-baked crust on a pizza peel and rub a touch of olive oil on it, spread a thin layer of sauce on it, add topping of choice and cheese. Bake on a pre-heated pizza stone in an oven set as high as it can go. As every oven is different, I would recommend checking it after 5 minutes. Check the bottom of the crust to make sure it has some nice dark spots. Remove with pizza peel. Slice and serve.

Topping ideas:

-fresh arugula (after baking)

-capers and olives

-roasted garlic and rosemary

-feta, olives, and artichoke hearts

-roasted red peppers

-fresh basil (after baking)

- just tomato sauce (pizza marinara)

Asparagus for dinner

After a week of cool and cloudy weather the sun finally came out this weekend which means that our asparagus patch took off! I went outside and harvested several pounds of tender spears.

Tonight for dinner I made myself a very simple and delicious meal. I took two sheets of feuille de brik (a Tunisian phyllo dough-like pastry) and brushed them each with a little melted butter and olive oil.  I selected several spears sliced them and sautéed them in a little water and butter.

I divided the asparagus amongst the two sheets, I then added some Prairie Breeze cheese (a local cheddar) to one and an egg to the other.

I folded them up and placed them in a hot frying pan. When they were almost finished I popped them in the oven under the broiler for a minute or so to get them extra crispy. I also made myself a very simple salad of feta cheese and sweet peppers.

Candy and Candied Flowers

Ever since I was little, I have wanted to be able to make candied violets that end up looking presentable; although I am not completely there, I am at least getting closer. My backyard is full of  violets so the other day I went outside with a little basket and collected some of the prettiest ones.

I made a simple syrup 2:1 sugar and water and added a little rose-water to it to enhance the flavor. I pounded some sugar in my mortar and pestle so it was “superfine” and then began to candy the violets. I dipped each flower in the syrup…

…carefully opened the blossom back up with a fine paintbrush, and sprinkled them with the superfine sugar – being careful to coat the front and back of the flowers. I placed the flowers on a sheet of waxed paper to dry. They have been drying for a day now and are still a little moist. I am hoping that when all is done, they won’t crumble.

I also am in the process of making a bunch of marzipan roses. Yesterday at the store I got some almond paste (which I prefer over marzipan because it is less sweet) and some natural food coloring, made from beets. I added the red coloring to the almond paste until it was the shade of pink I was going for. I took a small portion of the almond paste, rolled in to a log and covered the rest with plastic wrap so it wouldn’t dry out. I sliced off 6 small pieces and rolled them into little balls.

I then gently flattened them out with one end of the disc thinner than the other. I found the having a little bowl of water nearby to rinse my fingers every once in a while helped keep the “petals” from sticking to my fingers.

When all 6 petals were ready, I started rolling them together with the thinner end at the base of the blossom.

Overlay two petals and begin to roll them up, add a third petal and roll a little more, repeat until all the petals have been incorporated. (These pictures were taken in low light, I apologize for the poor quality but they should give you an idea of how to put the petals together.)

You can trim the end at an angle to help the flower sit upright.

Both types of flowers make great decorations, especially for cakes.

(Note: As long as the marzipan is stored in an air tight container you can make the flowers in advance. They are very simple to make but they do take quite a bit of time so plan ahead, maybe recruit some helpers if you need a lot.)

Chocolate Strawberries

This afternoon I made some chocolate covered strawberries. I have dipped berries in chocolate before but I will admit, I have never actually tempered the chocolate. I figured it was time to do it right so I tempered it, since I don’t have a nice big marble slab I chose to use the “seeding” method. It is really very simple, you chop some chocolate (about 1 lb.)…

…bring it up to about 110*F in a double boiler mixing constantly at this point all the chunks should have melted. Let it cool to about 100*F and then add some more chocolate (about 4 oz.) which will bring the temperature down further still. When the chocolate reaches the desired temperature, in this case about 90*F  remove the solid chocolate.

Since I was using the chocolate for dipping, I placed the bowl of tempered chocolate in a bath of water that was a few degrees warmer in order to keep the chocolate liquid for dipping.

I dipped clean and DRY strawberries in the melted chocolate and set them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. When I had finished, I  put the tray of berries in the fridge to set up.

Tempering the chocolate resulted in a smoother finish and a crisper break when you bite through the chocolate. It only took a little more time but I think it is definitely worth it.

Morels

This morning, while taking a walk, I stumbled upon a morel–the first of the season. I plucked it from the side of the trail and took it home. It was pretty small, about 2 inches high but since it was an early one, it doesn’t matter since I know there are more to come.  I sliced it in half and fried it in a little butter and ate it with hot toast (my sister made me a bunch of bread this weekend) and some black pepper.

Such a perfect snack for this cold and hazy afternoon.