an old standby

Three hours before we were supposed to be at a birthday party, Andy informs me it's a potluck (why is it that boys are never on top of that stuff??). So I returned to the old standby. My landlord Jon had a secret stash of fresh rosemary hidden somewhere and gave me the most gorgeous bouquet of it. This recipe is one of my favorites and it is due time that I share it with you all! Taken from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop it has never failed to be a crowd pleaser.. I hope you enjoy.

Rosemary Crust:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter

4-5 tablespoons ice water

Tomato-Goat Cheese Filling:

6 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

3 medium tomatoes cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick and blotted dry with paper towels

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

For the crust: Place flour, salt and rosemary in food processor and pulse several times to combine. Add the cubed butter and pulse until pea sized. Gradually add the water adn pulse briefly after each addition. Process until dough just comes together. *DO NOT OVER PROCESS!!*

Flatten into disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

oven - 375

Unwrap dough and roll into a 12-inch circle. Lat it over a 10 inch tart pan fitting it into the bottom and up the sides. Roll the rolling pin over top to cut off excess dough.

To fill and bake: Scatter crumbled goat cheese evenly over bottom of tart then arrange the tomatoes over the cheese. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until the crust pulls away from pan and is golden brown 45-50 minutes.

Allow tart to cool a bit before serving.

Enjoy!

it might be a bit premature...but I think it's for real

While Andy was taking a big snooze this afternoon on the couch I was surfing away on the Internet (and in dreamland) as I sometimes do about food. As usual I got a bit carried away by the strong waves of passion I feel about wood fired ovens and upon awaking Andy got an ear full of a grand new scheme in the works about said wood fired oven that, I must add, we had already planned on building come Spring. Well this oven began as a simple clay ordeal and quickly turned into a full scale (once again the "full scale" is part of my dreamland) oven with timber frame and slate roof...(turns out Andy is quite the dreamer as well...thank god).

That being said I was looking at some Portland, OR inspiration as I sometimes do and realized that here in the mid-coast I have experienced nothing that even comes close to the pizza I have been a part of at the bakery in Flat Rock, NC or at Tastebud in Portland, Oregon and I think amongst the crew that I am beginning to meet it would be quite a hit. Sooooo, Andy got in on the scheme... wood fired pizza here in Union once or twice a week, maybe some music by friends (okay...dreamin' again)...but really, amazing pizza and simple desserts out of the oven. How magical!!

Really.... who's with me??!!

(it might be a bit premature, but I couldn't help myself...it's mid February in Maine and the fire is a bit low, this was just the thing I needed tonight!)

......................... dreaming of wood....ovens....fire...and really yummy pizza

savory onion and mushroom scones....

oh man....oh man....

We had a bunch of mushrooms at work that needed using up...so I found this recipe in La Brea Pastries. The mushrooms are sauteed in olive oil then dry sherry is added and reduced. Toss in some fresh thyme at the end and let cool. Saute the onions in the same pan in 1/4 cup of oil (it is recommend to keep the onions held together in their concentric circles..that was a challenge) with a lid on the pan until soft but not colored. Remove from the pan (intact if possible) and set on a sheet pan.
For the dough:

2 1/4 c all purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat

1/2 t salt

1 T plus 1t baking powder

4 T. plus 1 1/2 t butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup heavy cream

process everything except heavy cream until it looks like dry meal

dump into a bowl, toss in the mushrooms. Make a well and add the cream.

Mix together until just combined.

Roll or pat onto lightly floured surface until 1/2" thick (or a little more)...

cut out 2" circles

brush top with a little heavy cream

gently press the onion rings on top.

bake at 350 until firm to the touch and nicely browned about 30-40 minutes

and voi la!

enjoy!