Asparagus Galette

I returned from a weekend in DC to a large bunch of asparagus waiting in the fridge. Eeva had made us a lovely rhubarb galette and that inspired me to create a savory galette to use up most of the asparagus. Yes her galette was sweet, but the lovely crust left me wanting to see if I could improve on the galettes I have been making. I have been using Alice Water's galette pastry recipe from her "Chez Panisse Vegetables" cookbook. This time I used the recipe Eeva used, Alice Water's galette pastry from "Chez Panisse Fruit". The ingredients are identical, but the technique is different and the result is much better. I also made fresh ricotta for the first time. It tasted very fresh, but there is definitely room for improvement. I used a recipe I found at www.epicurious.com. I'm going to research technique before I try it again.

Asparagus Galette

10 oz galette pastry (1/2 recipe from Alice Water's "Chez Panisse Fruit")

fresh ricotta--enough to cover pastry, leaving a 2" border

1/4 lb pancetta chopped and lightly browned

cleaned and trimed asparagus--enough to mostly cover pastry

olive oil

grated parmesan cheese

Roll out pastry and refrigerate for an hour. Spread ricotta over pastry, distibute pancetta over it. Toss asparagus in olive oil and arrange like the spokes of a wheel. Break to create pieces short enough to fit and fill gaps with the trimmed ends. Sprinkle parmesan over the asparagus. Fold over edges. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes and then increase temperature to 425 and bake until edges are browned, 5-10 minutes longer.

Oven Roasted Rhubarb

I picked up some lovely rhubarb at the Cabrillo farmers market and roasted it for the first time. It was so delicious. I just finished up the last of it with some crème fraîche, yum. Next time I think I will make double the recipe.

Roasted Rhubarb

1 lb rhubarb cut into 2" pieces

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup crisp white wine

zest of 1/2 orange

1/2 vanilla bean

Place ingredients in baking dish and roast at 350 for about 30 minutes, until tender. Stir occasionally. Serve over ice cream or topped with crème fraîche. It is good warm or cold.

The roasted rhubarb is wonderful with yogurt and granola for breakfast.

Tarte Flambée

When Len took his leave of absence we were able to spend a bit longer than usual in France. After visiting Jukka and Pipsa in Luxembourg we drove through Alsace. We stopped in Kayserberg for lunch and I had my first tarte flambé. It was enormous, but I managed to eat almost all of it. I have managed to recreate it at home, though sadly I can't cook it in a wood burning oven. Enjoy with a good beer or an Alsatian riesling.

Tarte Flambée

1 pizza crust thinly rolled and stretched into a large rectangle

1 large onion sliced

as much lean bacon as you will allow yourself, sliced

crème fraîche 1/2 to 1 cup

extra virgin olive oil (optional)

pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Place a pizza stone in the oven and heat to 500 degrees. Cook the onions in a little butter or olive oil until golden. Mix crème fraîche, onions, a pinch of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread on crust. I cook the bacon before distributing it over the crust, but the French recipes don't. If you like, sprinkle a little evoo over the tarte. Bake until the edges of the crust are browned, 8-10 minutes.

Eureka, a Goat Cheese Salad Len likes!

One of the things Len has never liked is goat cheese and so I even though I love it, I only make dishes that include it when I make something to take somewhere. I found a salad on-line at "the kitchn" and made it to take to a potluck. I found the original recipe too bland even for my timid taste buds and revamped it. To my amazement, when I served Len the leftovers, he asked me to write down what I had done so I could recreate it.

Meyer Lemon Grain Salad with Asparagus and Chevre

4 ounces uncooked farro

4 ounces uncooked pearl (Israeli) couscous

1 lb asparagus

olive oil

1 cup toasted sliced almonds

3 ounces soft chevre, crumbled

2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced

1 lg shallot, finely diced

1 tblsps olive oil

1 tblsp walnut oil

salt and pepper

chopped Italian parsley

Cook farro and couscous according to directions and allow to cool. Coat the asparagus with olive oil, salt it, and roast it. Slice the asparagus into bite sized pieces. Mix all the ingredients and add salt and pepper to taste.

This salad keeps well in the fridge and improves the next day. We had it with leftover chicken breasts and they were great together. The chicken breasts were dusted with salt, herbes de Provence, and chopped garlic, then drizzled with Meyer lemon juice. They were then sautéd in olive oil.

Cacio e Pepe

This is out of the February 2010 Cook's Illustrated. It's a good quick weekday pasta for which boiling the water is the biggest time suck. I've made it a couple times now and think it may be something of a replacement for my famous ham and cream pasta which often ends up too hot for Eeva's taste. I fudge a lot of the stuff in the recipe (don't measure or use a Dutch oven) and it turns out just fine.

6 ounces Pecorino Romano, 4 ounces finely grated (about two cups) and 2 ounces coarsely grated (about 1 cup)
1 lb spaghetti
Salt
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons finely ground pepper

1. Place finely grated Pecorino in medium bowl. Set colander in large bowl.

2. Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt;cook, stirring frequently. Drain pasta and reserve cooking water. Return pasta to bowl.

3. Slowly whisk 1 cup reserved water into finely grated Pecorino until smooth. Whisk in cream, oil, and black pepper. Pour mixture over pasta, toss to coat. Let rest, adding up to 1/2 cup more water to adjust consistency as needed. Serve passing coarsely grated cheese separately.

Tartiflette...Soul Food of the Alps

Approximately 1.5lbs potatoes At least 6oz diced smoked bacon/poitrine fumé/ streaky bacon 1 onion Whole Reblochon cheese Crème fraiche 1 glass dry white wine (optional, preferably Savoyarde or Alsacien)

Peel and boil the potatoes in water until cooked. Drain and allow to cool. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C or 425 F

Dice bacon into small pieces (thick, rectangular pieces) and dice onions. Start cooking the bacon first then after it cooks for a few minutes on medium throw in the onions. Cook until browned.

Thinly slice the cold potatoes. Rub garlic on a gratin dish then butter. Make up the Tartiflette in layers: First potatoes, then the lardon/onion mixture. Then spread a layer of crème fraiche.

Next, cut half of the Reblochon, rind removed, into thin slices and layer. Then add another layer of potatoes, and finish with the other half of Reblochon thinly sliced, this time with the rind left on.

I have not tried adding the dry white wine as some recipes have recommended, but I'm sure it would add to the flavor quite nicely.

Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, until the cheese has melted and browned. The last time I made this, I forgot to butter the dish and rub with garlic and I did not notice the difference...do not skimp on the quality of the bacon as the smokier the better!

Jordan's Tartiflette sounded so good I had to make it while we were in the Alps even though we were experiencing a heat wave. I also didn't use white wine. The only thing I did differently was just lay the bacon on the top. I must say the bacon I got from the butcher in Thones was fantastic. I had to cook it longer so that the bacon was crisp. The bacon flavor penetrated the entire tartiflette. My tartiflette is the round one. If you have a chance to eat tartiflette, go for it. Yum! Joan

We wanted to have tartiflette for our sheltered in place 2020 Christmas dinner and unfortunately it is impossible to find Reblochon cheese in Santa Cruz. I asked my French friend who works in the cheese department of Whole Foods in Capitola what cheese I could substitute. She recommended Rush Creek Reserve a soft-ripened cheese wrapped in spruce made by Uplands Cheese of Dodgeville, Wisconsin. It was definitely a good replacement. If you can find it and not find Reblochon, use it.

Christmas Pecan Pie

I have always thought that pecan pies were too sweet, but then I tasted the pies Chris made for Thanksgiving this year using maple syrup and no corn syrup. They were very good. He used a recipe from The Best Recipe Cookbook by Cook's Illustrated magazine. I looked at other recipes and basically went with the recipe Chris used, but added a couple of ingredients from the recipe in the cookbook from Tartine Bakery. The taste was great and I wouldn't change the ingredients. The crust was somewhat soggy. The filling was pretty cool by the time I poured it into the crust and that may have been the problem. Best Recipe's recipe is the only one I have seen that uses a low temp (275) to bake the pie. It is hard to believe that other cookbooks I respect would have recipes that produce inferior pies and they all use higher temps. Tartine uses 350 and I think next time I will go with that. The directions I am giving are therefore based on the Tartine method, not Best Recipe's low temperature method.

Pecan Pie

3 lg eggs

1 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp bourbon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

finely grated orange zest (from about 1/2 a large orange)

2 cups chopped pecans

prebaked 9" pie shell

In a saucepan, combine sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, and salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 min. Take pan off heat, add the butter, and whisk as it melts. Let the mixture cool to room temp. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add vanilla and eggs to cooled mixture and whisk to mix well. Stir in pecans and orange zest.

Bake until filling is just set, 40 to 60 mins. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with a piece of foil.