To Blog the Process? YES (Con't. Sunday Brunch with the Ladies: Pear and Fig Tart)

I've debated whether or not I should post recipes that are in progress on this blog. You know what I mean? Recipes that I try and fall into "ehh" or "bleh" categories, or "really good but too much work" or "really good but too unhealthy!" categories. So, why not share the process here? After all, part of my goal in writing this blog was to force myself to write down the recipes as I work on them, so that I would not forget the ingredients in the future.

The Pear and Fig Tart falls into the "ehh" category. I made it a couple weeks ago, for the Sunday brunch-meets-clothing swap. I had just purchased a lovely large container of fresh figs, so I planned a very figgy menu, including Fig and Bacon Focaccia (with some Manchego Cheese) and this Pear and Fig Tart. The focaccia turned out brilliant, and one of my new all-time favorite flavor combinations! The tart on the hand was good, but not great. In the future, I think I would make it a bit differently.

Pear and Fig Tart: First Attempt
This was my first try. The pear was perfect. The fig was sweet, but monotonous in its sweetness. The crust, while having a wonderful flavor and texture, was far too thick, took up too much of each bite. In the future, I plan to make a similar crust, just less of it, and to use a lot of thinly-sliced pears ... Oh, and even though the flavor wasn't all I'd hoped for, the tart still came out looking like a star!


Crust
1 c. organic whole wheat all-purpose flour
1 c. organic spelt flour
11 T. cold butter
2 egg yolks
1/3 c. organic sucanat sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Fruit and Glaze
6-8 fresh figs, sliced
6-8 organic seckle pears, thinly sliced (with the skins still on)
juice of 1/2 an orange
1 T. pumpkin beer
1 T. maple syrup
2 T. butter
1 T. granulated sugar

1) Mix the flours, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
2) Add the salt in little pieces and mix with a fork or with your hands until the texture of sand.
3) Add the egg yolks and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended.
4) Place the dough in a tart pan (8" or 9"), and spread out gently using your hands. Be sure the thickness of the crust is consistent.
5) Place the thin slices of fruit in a bowl and squeeze some juice from the orange over the slices. Toss.
6) Arrange the thinly-sliced fruit in overlapping concentric circles. At this point, begin preheating the oven at 375 degrees.
7) Sprinkle with the granulated sugar, and dot with butter.
8) Bake in the 375-degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Be sure crust is golden, but not overly brown.
9) Squeeze the rest of the juice from the half orange into the bowl with the remaining orange juice. Mix in the beer and maple syrup. Pour this over the warm tart.
10) Serve when cool!

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* There are many fruit tart recipes that included a layer of cheese or creme, which I avoided. So, this tart is far lower in cholesterol than those cheese-based or creme-based tarts.
* Most tart crust recipes call for 1/2-3/4 of a cup of sugar, but I personally find the whole wheat and spelt flour to be slightly sweet on its own. Then add in the fruit and light glaze! There's really no reason to have a sugar-heavy crust.
* NEXT TIME! It will be even better. Less crust means less flour and butter. More fruit means more tenderness to each bite and more vitamins and fiber. My plan for less crust and more fruit will mean a lower-calorie and lower-cholesterol tart with more flavor and nutrients.

Here are more pictures from the process.

Butter + orange + fruit = grace

Sunday Brunch (con't): Fig and Bacon Focaccia & Onion and Bell Pepper FocacciaRed

Last weekend, I had some fine dames over for a great Sunday brunch-meets-clothing swap. And for the occasion, I broke out the yeast and made some slow-rising vittles. It was a great way to cook, and while the dough rose, I had gaps of time during which I could clean and get ready.

Specifically, I made focaccia, two types:
* Fig and Bacon Focaccia (with some Manchego Cheese)
* Onion and Red Bell Pepper Focaccia (with some Parmesan Cheese)

Classy, Classic Focaccia & Variations
I doubled this classic focaccia recipe in order to make my two variations. It was easy to prepare the toppings while the dough rose.


Classic Focaccia (single batch, which I doubled):
based on a recipe from "How to Bake" by Nick Malgieri
1 and 1/3 c. warm tap water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope active dry yeast
5-6 T. organic olive oil
3 and 1/4 c. organic whole wheat all-purpose flour
2 t. salt

1) Whisk the water, yeast, and 3 T. of the oil together in a bowl.
2) In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Once well mixed, add the yeast mixture and stir until the flour is evenly moistened (with a plastic spatula or wooden spoon).
3) Beat vigorously for 1 minute (by hand with your utensil, or with the bread paddle attachment to your mixer).
4) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, which will take about 1 hour.
5) Use your hands to spread 1 T. of the remaining oil onto a sheet pan. When the dough is fully risen, turn it out onto the oiled pan. Gently stretch the dough until it fills the sheet pan. NOTE: You may need to let the dough rest for a few moments before it is limber enough to stretch without ripping.
6) Put 1 T. of oil on the fully-stretched dough, and spread thoroughly over the dough with your hands, then cover in plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise again until it is doubled in size in the pan, which should take about 1 more hour.
7) Use your fingers to gently create dimples in the dough. Then, add the prepared toppings--See the recipes for the toppings below. (If you want to create plain focaccia, drizzle with 1 more T. of oil and season with sea salt/course salt and pepper.)
8) Bake in the middle rack in a 450-degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until a lovely golden brown.
9) Serve immediately, or serve cold. Delicious either way!

Fig and Bacon Focaccia (with some Manchego Cheese)
7-9 fresh figs
3-4 thick-cut gooood bacon (I get Wellshire Farms)
Manchego cheese
sea salt
ground black pepper

1) While the focaccia dough is rising, cook the bacon until it is about 2/3 of the way cooked through. Dice into 1/8-inch pieces.
2) Thinly slice the figs.
3) Before putting the focaccia dough into the oven, evenly top with bacon and figs. (No need to add extra olive oil as when making a plain focaccia!) Add a little salt and a little ground pepper. Then, use a vegetable peeler to make thin peels of manchego to add to the top.
4) Bake following the directions for classic focaccia above.

Onion and Red Bell Pepper Focaccia (with some Parmesan Cheese)
1 large organic onion
1 large organic red bell pepper
1-2 T. butter
fresh rosemary (NOTE: Chop fine and add to the dough before the second rise)
Parmesan cheese
sea salt
ground black pepper

1) Thinly slice the onions and red bell peppers. (Use a mandoline if you have one!) Add the butter to a frying pan on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and cook for a moment or two before adding the red bell peppers. Cook until the onions are translucent and the onions and red bell peppers are just starting to brown.
2) Before putting the focaccia dough into the oven, evenly top with the onions and bell peppers. Add a little salt and a little ground pepper. Then, use a vegetable peeler to make thin peels of Parmesan to add to the top.
3) Bake following the directions for classic focaccia above.

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* I added a little spelt flour for part of the flour, as usual. I can't remember how much exactly, which is why I didn't note it here, but it worked great.
* The recipe is intended to be used in a smaller baking dish, but I prefer the larger sheet pan. That means that the focaccia is a tad thinner, and creates (in my mind) a better balance of carbohydrates and toppings ... so my guests and I aren't just filling up on refined carbs.
* The shaved cheese is great! First of all, I think it is in keeping with the principle of simple dishes, simple food. Second of all, it allows for the flavor of cheese without inundating the dish in a layer of dairy-based cholesterol.
* The bacon I use is a bit expensive, but it's worth it! It's family owned, and it's free of preservatives, nitrates, nitrites, and antibiotics. I use only a little, and I use it rarely. Saves my budget, saves the Earth, saves my heart valves. But dicing it small, as in this recipe, means I get a nice taste of savory bacon every couple bites, which is perfectamundo!

Here are more pictures from the process.

Here are a couple pictures of the focaccia with toppings before going into the oven.



Now, some pictures of the focaccia fresh from the oven ... pre-sliced.



Piles and piles o' slices of fresh focaccia!

Sunday Clothing Swap with the Ladies: Menu

Last Sunday, I had a few fine dames over to my house for a clothing swap. You know ... First, you and a few friends go through your closets and find those gently-used/good condition clothes you want to donate. Then, you all bring 'em over to a friend's house and find "new" things in each other's stuff. Lastly, all the extras get donated to a Goodwill or local church. It's a fun way to spend a day with friends!

For this past swap, I tried out a few new recipes! Fun.

The menu I came up with was very easy to prepare, with a nice mix of no-fuss items and a couple of foods made from scratch.

Here's the menu for the day.
(***indicates that I'll be posting the recipe here soon)
- Pear and Fig Tart*
- Onion and Red Bell Pepper Focaccia with Rosemary and Parmesan*
- Fig and Bacon Focaccia with Manchego*
- Fresh organic Empire apples picked by a friend who attended and who leased an apple tree from Little Dog Orchards (how cool is that? you can lease your own tree!)
- Hummus and organic carrots (store-bought)
- Crackers and cheese (store-bought)
- An assortment of olives (store-bought)
- Mimosas (hell, yeah)

In addition, I'm lucky enough to know Chef Deb, and she brought over some of her insanely amazing pumpkin cookies (large and small ones) and pumpkin pie cake (with pumpkin cream cheese frosting). Ohhh, mama! Her tasty baked treats can be ordered via her Etsy site; these treats and others can be ordered from Chef Deb's Pastry Shoppe site.

Don't they look delish?

A Little Snackeral: Homemade Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

I never really got America's love of the ice cream cookie sandwich. As a kid, I somtimes got one of those standard ones at the grocery store--you know, rectangular chocolate cookies in waxed paper. Pretty good as a kid on a hot summer day, slurping it up as the ice cream melts and begins to resemble fluff. They serve their purpose well, satisfying my occasional spontaneous sugar-craving-meets-nostalgia sort of needs, but they're nothing I'd ever plan to eat.

So, I never thought that much about ice cream cookie sandwiches. Until last week, when I made some chocolate chip cookies and happened to also buy brilliant Alden's Organic Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream (some of the best ice cream, if you can get it).

Chocolate-Chocolate-Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich
Chocolate chip cookies, chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips. I can barely type this out without drooling a little over my chin and blouse. Insanely good. Who knew?


2 homemade chocolate chip cookies (I use the recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag)
1 small scoop of slightly soft Alden's Organic Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* Alden's is reasonably priced organic ice cream. Love it! Fewer pesticides or unnecessary antibiotics.
* When I made the standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, I used organic eggs (to avoid the unnecessary antibiotics and such), organic all-purpose flour, a little bit of organic spelt flour, and organic sucanat sugar (unrefined brown sugar). All good ways to decrease the pesticide use on farms, in our soil, and in our bodies.
* Funny thing. Normally, I like a bowl of ice cream for dessert. Or, alternately, a few cookies. But both my husband and I found that an ice cream cookie sandwich made with a little bit of ice cream and two small cookies was insanely tasty and insanely satisfying. So, it seems like a crazy splurge, yet we ended up with a smaller dessert portion than normal ... all in all, less cholesterol and fewer fats than if we'd had ice cream or cookies separately! Who'da'thunk'it!

One more picture just cause we finished all the cookies, so these pictures are all I have left ...