Mushroom & Goath Cheese Gallette

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Gallette


Ingredients



Dough

■2 ½ cups + 3 teaspoons unbleached all purpose flour
■1 teaspoon salt
■12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes
■3 Tablespoons cod solid vegetable shortening
■1 cup of ice water


Filling

■2 tablespoon olive oil
■2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
■1 cup white leeks, sliced and washed
■1 cup gruyere cheese, grated
■½ cup goat cheese
■2 large eggs, beaten
■½ teaspoon thyme
■½ teaspoon salt
■½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
■4 tablespoons of Parmesan
■1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
■cornmeal
Instructions:



For the Dough:



1.Add flour and salt into food processer fitted with metal blades; pulse a couple of times. Add butter and shortening all at once and pulse until mixture forms little balls.
2.Move dough from processor to counter. Add 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time to the dough. The dough should be crumbly but holding together.
3.Cut dough into ½, wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.


*You can also substitute any pre-made dough from your local grocery store.



To make the Gallette:



1.Sauté cremini mushrooms and leeks in olive oil. Let cool for 5 minutes.
2.Mix grated Gruyere with goat cheese and eggs. Add thyme and seasonings. Combine with mushrooms and leeks.
3.Roll out 10’’ pastry circle. Place on baking sheet, sprinkled with cornmeal.
4.Brush pastry with 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
5.Place filling into center of pastry circle and fold edges to hold mixture.
6.Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown

Comparing School Lunches from around the world

France School Lunch - Poultry and Potatoes
Contents: Poultry, potatoes, vegetables, salad, cheese, dessert.
Notes: Not unlike something you would order at a restaurant. Any guesses as to what is for dessert?



Russia School Lunch
Contents: Orange juice, baked pudding, salad with cheese, ham and mushrooms, coleslaw and apple, mashed potatoes, cranberry juice.
Notes: Looks pretty good to me. All items you would find in the USA as well, though not always in a school lunch.



Japan School Lunch
Contents: Fish, rice, cucumber salad, strawberries, miso soup, soy beans and milk.



Brazil School Lunch
Contents: Rice, Beans, Bread, Meat with vegetables, banana and alface, acelga salad


USA School Lunch
Contents: Pizza, corn, lowfat milk and half an orange.


Sweden School Lunch
Contents: Potatoes, cabbage, beans, cracker, Lingon Berry juice

Shirmp Avocado Toast

Sometimes on Sunday's just for the heck of it, I create a little canape for the family to snack on before dinner. I don't usually make a lot, just enough for one or two bites per person, but it's a fun way to try experiment with some appetizer recipes. I usually try to work with stuff I already have at home.

This weekend, I wanted to use up some flour tortillas that I had in the freezer. They had become all bashed and battered around the edges from being buried under the frozen turkey and all those frozen ice cube trays. They were no where near suitable for making wraps anymore, I don't know why I bother freezing them, I usually end up with a bag full of broken flour tortillas pieces. But it lead me to create this recipe, so I guess it's all good.

Shrimp and Avocado Toasts

3 large flour tortillas
16-20 medium size cooked shrimp
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 ripe avodaco
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
salt and pepper
lime zest

1. Using a 2" inch cookie cutter, cut as many circles as you can out of your flour tortillas.

2. Brush the tortilla circles lightly with olive oil and fry them in a medium hot skillet on both sides until browned and crispy. Remove them to cool.

3. In a small bowl, mash the avocado with a spoon, be a rebel and leave a few lumps (it's better that way). Stir in the lime juice and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Place about a tbsp of the avocado mixture on each tortilla toast, and top with a cooked shrimp. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with lime zest.

NYC Restaurant Gossip....

The rumor mill is abuzz, and it looks like Andrew Carmellini and Josh Pickard (Locanda Verde) might be working on a new restaurant in the old Cub Room space. We'll keep you posted. In the interim, prepare to lace up some rented shoes: David Burke will be in charge of food operations at The Gray Lady restaurant, offering lane service or takeout at Bowlmor Lanes Times Square when it opens. Tom Colicchio and Sisha Ortuzar of 'Wichcraft are planning to open Riverpark in October, with Ortuzar running the kitchen. Crustacean lovers, don your bibs: Luke's Lobster has opened in a larger space with a slightly expanded menu. Chef Bamba Seydou (Lola, Le Petit Bassam) and Patrice Bihina-Parade (Boucarou) are opening Lina Frey, with a simple French menu and a sidewalk crêpe window. Alex McCrery (Commander's Palace) will start dishing out American classics from the Goods trailer in Williamsburg on the 9th, and the day after that, 75-year-old Eddie's Pizza will start selling whole pies from a truck. French dark dining chain Dans le Noir? will open a New York location in September, so you might want to start practicing eating with your eyes closed now. Also, Top Chef alumna Nikki Cascone has closed 24 Prince.

Sourdough Crumpets

For the past few months I've been quite successful in keeping my sourdough starter alive and thriving. I use it often so I don't refrigerate it - I leave it on the counter and feed it everyday. I don't like throwing so much starter in the garbage, so I've started making these crumpets with the excess. It is very easy.

Each night when I feed my starter, the portion I would normally discard goes into a little containter in the fridge. Once I have a cup, I make this recipe. You can freeze them and pop them in the toaster for breakfast. They are delicious with butter and jam.

Sourdough Crumpets
makes about 8 crumpets

1 cup sourdough starter
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

1. Preheat your griddle to medium heat.

2. In a bowl with room for expansion, mix the starter with the sugar and salt.

3. Stir in the baking soda. (The batter will get foamy and just about double in size).

4. Lightly spray your skillet and 4 egg rings with cooking spray. Drop 1/4 cup of batter into each egg ring. Cook slowly until the top of the crumpet is set (no longer wet). If you want you can flip them and give them a few seconds on the other side to make sure they are cooked through, but this isnt' traditional.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread
I don’t think I have met anyone who doesn’t have a fond memory of his/her Mother’s special banana bread or cake. It seems that we all grew up in homes where our Mother made the ‘best banana bread in the world’. Now either our mothers were all using the same recipe, or there is just something magical about Banana Bread. When Jo-Ann owned the Emerald Bakery in the city, her banana cake became quite famous. It was a covered in Chocolate Ganache & Banana Cream frosting. Yesterday's catering meal was finished off with these beautiful little Banana Cake’s, using Jo-Ann’s ‘best ever’ recipe!



Here is the recipe!

Jo-Ann’s ‘Best Ever’ Banana Cake

1 1/4 c Butter
3 c Sugar
6 Large Eggs
1 tbs Vanilla Extract
4.5 c Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1.5 c Sour Cream
4 c Mashed Bananas
2 tsp Baking Soda

Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs & vanilla and mix until incorporated. Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Combind sour cream, bananas and baking soda in a separate bowl. Alternate adding banana mixture and dry ingredients to creamed butter, sugar & egg mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon into lined muffin tins, about 2/3 full. Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 10-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Alternately pour into a two 9 inch cake pans and bake for 30-45 minutes. Test for doneness.

Ice with your favourite frosting!

Artichoke and spinach frittata

Spinach and artichokes are in season right now. The spinach and artichoke combo in the following recipe remind me of one of my favourite dips, the hot spinach and artichoke dip, which I can never get enough of.

I started with 2 medium sized artichokes, and I quartered them after picking off the inedible outer petals and peeling their stems. I then removed the fuzzy insides and quickly blanched them before adding them to the frittata. Preparing the fresh artichokes took a bit of work but it was worth it! I ended up with nice large pieces of artichokes that gave the frittata a rustic feel to it and they were definitely tasty! The spinach, feta and dill flavour combo has been one of my favorites for a while now and it worked really well in this frittata and the artichoke took it over the edge making it that much better! Luckily I made enough that I will be enjoying this frittata for breakfasts for the rest of the week.


Artichoke and Spinach Frittata
(makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach (roughly chopped, or frozen that is thawed and squeezed of excess liquid)
2 cups artichoke hearts (quartered)
6 eggs
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful dill (chopped)
1/2 cup feta (crumbled)



Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add the spinach and cook until it wilts.
5. Mix the artichokes, eggs, yogurt, salt, pepper, dill, spinach and feta in a bowl.
6. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook until the eggs are almost set, about 10-15 minutes.
7. Transfer the pan into a preheated 400F oven and let the eggs finish cooking, about 10-15 minutes.