Pear and Goat Cheese Tart

March 10, 2009    |    Print Print

Pear TartThis recipe is from Laura Werlin’s, “The All American Cheese and Wine Book”. I realize the book as been out for a couple of years, but I continue to use it as a reference when pairing recipes I create and the wines that might go with them.

One classic cheese pairing is drizzling artisan honey on a tangy blue and enjoying it with a port along with roasted nuts. Wanting to continue exploring sweet and savory cheese combinations, I made this particular dessert several times over the last couple of months using local chevre from Stickney Hill Farms, Kimball, MN.

Dough:
1 ?cups (7.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Filling:
8 ounces fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
¾ teaspoon vanilla
¼ – ?  cup pine nuts
3 medium-sized pears (about 1 pound), preferably Comice or ripe Bosc, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼-inch thick
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ teaspoons large-granule decorative sugar, or use regular sugar

To make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse twice. Add the butter and process just until the mixture looks a little like cornmeal. 8 to 10 seconds. Don’t over-process or your crust will turn out tough.

Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing between additions. The dough should begin to hold together, but you do not want it to form a ball. This will mean there is too much water. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Pat it into a flattened disk, wrap with the plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place the rack in the bottom third of the oven. Have a fluted 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom ready.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Roll out a 15-inch circle of dough and carefully place it in the tart pan. Fold the overhang back into the pan and pinch to form a ¼-inch rise above the pan. Line the bottom and side of the dough with foil and fill tart pan with pie weights or dried beans. Cook for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, remove the foil and weights and let crust cool.

To make filling: In a medium bowl beat together the cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the pine nuts. Spread a thin layer evenly over the prepared tart shell.

Lay the pear slices over the filling, close to the edges, slightly overlapping, in a circular pattern, continuing in toward the middle of the tart. Brush the pears with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the edges of the tart are golden-brown and the pears have softened and turned brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.

Photography by David Paul Schmit

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Midori Floating World Cafe

March 7, 2009    |    Print Print

Jon called me at the office the other day with a hankering for sushi. So we picked up our good friend Joe after work at the Light Rail Station and headed over to Midori’s Floating World Cafe. It’s not far from our home in the Longfellow Neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Now, I’ve lived in the Longfellow Neighborhood for more than 10 years and Midori’s Floating World Café’s has been there for more than six years, yet this was our first visit. I thought to myself, “Where have I been?” Then I remembered oh yeah, I was one of my friend Matthew’s caregiver’s for a couple of years then we remodeled our kitchen which took more than 2 years — my how time flies!.

Looking back, waiting this long is no excuse. We ate way too many times at the Longfellow Grill during our days without a kitchen when we could have been eating at what, I think, is one of the best sushi restaurants in the city. And we’ve eaten at quite a few, including Origami, Fuji-Ya, Saji-Ya, Bagu, Jade (in the Global Market) and most recently Tiger Sushi (Tiger Sushi is a whole other story and not a pretty one at that.) Thank goodness the neighborhood supported this family-run gem until we were able to get our feet in the door and chopsticks in our hands.

We started our leisurely Tuesday evening dinner with an order of Edamame – boiled & salted soy beans in the shell $3.95. They were hot, tender pods with the perfect complement of salt. Joe and I were also intrigued by the Takoyaki – octopus dumplings $5.50. According to Wikipedia it is made with batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura pieces (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce and japanese mayonnaise, originating from Osaka. The ones we had a Midori were much simpler but very tasty. This may be a stretch but they reminded me of a miniature savory aebleskiver. Both are fried dumplings cooked in a half-spherical molded, cast iron pan.

Shrimp Tempura – deep fried shrimp & vegetables in light batter $6.95 came next to our table by the window. Three perfect shrimp in a tempura batter cooked to perfection and without a hint of oil. Accompanying these tasty morsels were vegetables including a sweet potato spear, broccoli floret and a wedge of sweet onion. The $4 maki rolls during happy hour included a Spicy Tuna Roll – tuna, scallions, with spices, a California Roll – crab, cucumber and avocado, a Philadelphia Roll – smoked salmon, cream cheese & cucumber and a Dynamite Roll – tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and spices. All were fresh, delicate and full individual flavors.

Jon and I made a second visit to Midori’s Floating World Café, this time to check out their new space at the corner of 26th Avenue South Lake Street. While their new digs have more “room” it doesn’t have quite the atmosphere their former location had. The new space of 40 seats seems cavernous with tables just a bit too far apart. The walls are painted a light pink with darker maroon accents and a natural pine bead board wainscoting. The ceiling was painted, what looked to be the original tin ceiling near the front entrance. Beyond the greeting space you will find parasols hanging upside down from the ceiling. On the walls there were, what I would classify as, modern Japanese art – pleasant and colorful. Hanging over the bar area there are arts and crafts-styled lighting. The opportunity for a larger kitchen and the fact that the new space sits on Lake Street was the impetus for the move.

The music left much to be desired as they were playing a combination of Beatles along with some other older styled music. When we arrived, there were only two other tables occupied so it was much too loud and distracting.

For dinner, we again had the Octopus Dumplings, along with a Dynamite roll, California Roll and a veggie tempura roll as it was happy hour. I wasn’t as bowled over this time around. Atmosphere plays a huge role when I am dining whether in or out. The aforementioned music, unfortunately, put a damper on our second experience.

We’ll definitely go again, as it’s in the neighborhood and locally owned. My hope is that they will get in the groove in their new space and that the experience of the new will be a good as the old.

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Move Over Krispy Kreme

March 2, 2009    |    Print Print

Doughnuts

My partner Jon grew up in a household with his mom whipping up a batch of doughnuts on the first snowy day. I, on the other hand, grew up in the South, occasionally selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts in front of a post office on Saturday mornings as a Boy Scout.

Jon has raved about these doughnuts for as long as I’ve known him. The first snow fall has long past, but liking his tradition better than mine, we decided to make a batch of his mom’s recipe on a recent snowy Saturday morning. After the first attempt, using her recipe and finally eating these sticky wonders at about 2 p.m., I decided that the amount of active time had to be reduced. Not even I would rise at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning to make doughnuts. So I consulted my copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François to find another method that might work for my “new-improved” doughnut dough.

Mind you, this recipe is for a raised doughnut. So here’s what to do to have doughnuts before noon. (Unless, of course, you’re in the camp where doughnuts aren’t just for breakfast anymore – think Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame. He serves his doughnut and doughnut holes with a cappuccino semifreddo for dessert.)

The night before, mix the dough and let it sit in a bowl or container for 2 hours to rise. Place it in the refrigerator. About 2 hours before you’re ready to sink your teeth into what some say is the perfect food, pull the dough out of the refrigerator and proceed with the recipe as written.

Total Time: 3 ½ hours
Active Time: 45 minutes
Makes about 2 dozen doughnuts and doughnut holes

DOUGH
1 cup whole milk (8 ounces)
1 (¼ ounce ) package. active dry yeast (2 ½ teaspoons)
3 ½ cups (15 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Canola oil for frying

TOPPING
1 cup sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar, if desired

GLAZE
2 cups (8 ounces) powdered sugar
6 tablespoons half-and-half
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon pure vanilla sugar

In a small saucepan or in a microwave, heat milk to 100ºF (just warm to the touch as too hot will kill the yeast). Pour into a 3-quart bowl or container with a loose-fitting lid. Add yeast and stir to dissolve. Let stand for about 10 minutes.

To the milk/yeast mixture, add flour, butter, eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt and stir to combine. Cover with damp cloth or loose-fitting lid and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size. At this point, the dough can be covered (not airtight) and refrigerated overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator and let dough come to room temperature (about 1 hour). Remove dough from container and pat or roll out to a ¼- to ½-inch thickness. Using a 2 ½- inch doughnut cutter, cut out as many doughnuts (and holes) as possible and place each on a Silpat-lined baking sheet pan.

Gather the remaining dough, roll out again and continue making doughnuts until all the dough has been cut. Cover the doughnuts and holes with a slightly damp towel and let rise for another hour in a warm place or until 1 time their original size. (Don’t let them raise much, or it will be difficult to remove them from the pan.)

To cook, line a large rimmed baking sheet with a brown paper bag or paper towels. Using a food-safe thermometer to gauge the temperature, heat the oil in a wok or cast-iron Dutch oven to 375ºF. Gently place doughnut rings and holes in the oil and cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until lightly brown.

Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, remove cooked doughnuts and place on the paper-lined baking sheet to drain and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine 1 cup sugar and cinnamon. When doughnuts are cool enough to touch, roll in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.

If a glazed doughnut is what you desire, mix glaze ingredients in a bowl. Over a bowl and using a spoon, drizzle doughnuts with glaze and thread each on a dowel to dry.

Doughnuts are best served while still warm with ice cold milk or piping hot coffee.

Photography by David Paul Schmit

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Tortilla Soup

February 22, 2009    |    Print Print

This is a recipe I created for a private class recently. The last time I made it, however, I used homemade chicken stock. Regardless of whether it’s totally vegetarian, count on it to be a warming, flavorful soup. Also, instead of putting all the tortilla strips in the soup, I fried some of them which added a deliciously crunchy garnish.

Here in Minnesota, we just had about another 3-inches of snow fall making this a perfect soup on a cold day.

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
medium yellow onion, ½-inch dice
3 medium carrots, ½-inch dice
1 medium jalapeño chili, seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon chili powder
5 cups homemade or canned vegetable broth or enough to cover vegetables
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1 ½ cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned if out of season
1-15 ounce can black bean or black soy bean, rinsed and drained
1 medium zucchini, ½-inch dice
1 medium yellow summer squash, ½-inch dice
2 cups cooked chicken, diced (optional)
4 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas, cut into ¼-inch-wide strips

Over medium-low heat, heat large Dutch oven with oil. Add onion and carrots; cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeño cook about 30 seconds to 1 minute, being careful not to let the garlic burn.

Stir in tomato paste, cumin and chili powder. Add the stock and 2 tablespoons cilantro; raise the heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Add tomatoes, beans, zucchini, squash (and chicken if using) to soup. Cover; simmer until zucchini and squash are tender, about 10 – 15 minutes and the beans are heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro. Top with the fried tortilla strips and serve.

Photography by David Paul Schmit

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Say Cheese!

February 17, 2009    |    Print Print

I am teaching a dessert and wine pairing class called “Say Cheese!” at The Chef’s Gallery in Stillwater, Minnesota, Saturday, February 21st. Here is a photograph of one of the desserts; a Vanilla Bean, Fresh Thyme, and Fromage Blanc Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote. The cheesecake and graham cracker cookie are two separate components as you can see in the photo.

My friend David Schmit came over recently to give me some pointers concerning how to photograph food. He’s the one that took the photograph. He and I were chatting about offering a class in food photography. If you might be interested in such a class, please let me know. Also, if you are interested in learning more about making cheese the star of your dessert, be sure to sign-up for the class on Saturday, February 21, 2009 at The Chef’s Gallery.

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Black Olive and Swiss Chard Tart

February 1, 2009    |    Print Print

Swiss Chard TartSince one cannot live on doughnuts alone (contrary to the belief of some, like our friend Barbara), I decide to make a Swiss Chard and Black Olive Tart. This particular recipe is from the Traveling Through Provence Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase.

This savory tart can be served hot or room temperature. Serve it alongside a green salad and a Côtes-du-Rhône for a scrumptious weeknight dinner or after eating too many homemade doughnuts.

Pastry:
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
Pinch of sea or coarse salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
2-3 tablespoons ice water or more as needed

Make the pastry. Place the flour, rosemary, salt, and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the mustard and enough ice water so that the dough begins to form a ball as the machine is pulsed on and off. Gather the dough into a flat disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for a least 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled pastry dough to form a 12-13 inch circle. Transfer to an 11-inch tart pan and trim and crimp the edges decoratively. Spread the chard filling evenly in the tart shell. Return it to the refrigerator until ready to fill.

Filling:
1 large bunch Swiss Chard (about 1 lb), washed, stems, and thick center ribs removed, leaves patted dry
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Pinch of grated nutmeg
½to ¾ cup freshly grated Gruyère Cheese
2 large eggs
½ cup light cream or half and half
Sea or Coarse salt
1 ½ cups pitted Nyons or Kalamata olives, cut in half
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons pine nuts

Preheat oven to 400°F.

To make the filling. Cut the Swiss Chard leaves into ½-inch-wide strips. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook until garlic is fragrant (about one minute). Add the chard and cook until the chard leaves have wilted and any water given off has evaporated, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and gently mix in the cheese.

Beat the eggs and cream together in a mixing bowl, grate nutmeg over egg mixture, and set aside.

Spread the chard filling evenly in the tart shell. Pour the egg and cream mixture over the filling. Arrange the olive halves in concentric circles over the top, pressing lightly into the filling. Sprinkle the pine nuts in between the olives.

Bake the tart until the crust is golden and the filling is set, 30-40 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

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Maple Syrup Crème Brûlée

January 7, 2009    |    Print Print

Recently, I was thumbing through Bistro Cooking at Home by Gordon Hamersley with Joanne McAllister Smart and ran across this recipe. Since I have three quarts of Wisconsn Maple Syrup from Maple Leaf Orchards in my freezer, I thought I’d try this recipe.

I was 1/4 cup short on the heavy cream, so I topped off the two cups with 2% milk. There was no noticeable difference in taste or texture. I also baked them off in brûlée ramekins instead of the traditional one as called for in the recipe. Consequently, the cooking time was only 45 minutes instead of 50 to 55 minutes as called for in the recipe.

1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
1 large whole egg
4 large egg yolks
½ cup maple syrup
Pinch of kosher salt
1 to 1 ½ tablespoons sugar

If using a vanilla bean, cut it in  half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add it, as well as the pod halves, to the cream in a medium saucepan. Bring the cream to a boil and then remove it from the heat.

Combine the whole egg, the yolks, and the maple syrup in a medium mixing bowl. Slowly whisk about ½ cup of the hot cream into the eggs and wait a minute for the eggs to temper. Then whisk in the remaining cream and salt. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the vanilla bean and any bits of stray egg that may remain. If using vanilla extract, add it to the strained custard.

Heat the oven to 300ºF. Divide the custard evenly among 4 ramekins. Put the filled ramekins into a baking pan or roasting pan and pour enough hot water into the pan to come about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake the custards in the center of the oven until the custards are just set with a slight jiggle in the center, 50 to 55 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and remove the ramekins from the water bath. Cool to room temperature for about 30 minutes before refrigerating for at least 4 hours.

Just before serving, sprinkle the custards with enough sugar for a complete, even coating, about 1 teaspoon each, then caramelize the sugar with a blowtorch or under the broiler.

Okay I had to take a bite! Yum Yum.

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Ricotta and Lemon Curd Filled Cannoli Shells

December 29, 2008    |    Print Print

I am very fortunate to work with a wonderful woman who happens to be of Italian descent. She and I were chatting about her Christmas Eve dinner and particularly her spaghetti sauce. One ingredient in the sauce that I had never thought of adding but which added a wonderful flavor was celery salt.

When I realized that seven would be at Bret’s Table for Christmas Day dinner I decided to take the recipe she recited and see if I could recreate it. It turned out to a truly wonderful red sauce and one that I hope she will let me add to my cookbook.

To continue with the Italian theme, I served Cannoli Shells (Alessi Brand). I made a lemon curd into which I folded some whole milk ricotta and sweetened whipped cream. for the filling.

Here’s the recipe for the Lemon Curd:

8 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest from two lemons
1 cup lemon juice
Pinch of kosher salt
8 ounces unsalted butter

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until evenly blended and set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt until the sugar has melted.

Whisk about ¾ cup of the hot liquid over the eggs to temper them. Return the egg mixture back into the saucepan and whisk until the curd thickens; about 3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the butter.

Spoon the curd into a clean bowl and cover the top with food film, pressing it down directly on the curd. Set aside to cool slightly, then place in the refrigerator to set completely.

I whipped about 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/3 cup of powdered sugar. I folded this into about a 1/2 cup of whole milk ricotta. Then I folded in the lemon curd. I returned this to the refrigerator to set-up (can be made the day prior).

When ready to fill the shells, I placed the filling in a piping bag and filled the shells. I sprinkled the ends of each with toasted chopped pistachio nuts and crystallized lemon peel.

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