Puff Pastry! October 24, 2010
Posted by Teresa in : Dinner, Lunch, Snacks/Party Food , add a commentI bought a package of puff pastry on sale, but I had no idea what to do with it. I thought I might make a messy apple pie (galette) or something else, but then I thought of cheese. Mmmmmm… Cheese.
So here’s what I came up with!
Garlic and Cheese Galette
1 piece prepared frozen puff pastry, about 30 cm x 30 cm unrolled
1 cup leftover brown or wild rice
1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese
1 cup grated old cheddar cheese
1 tsp heavy cream (whipping or coffee cream)
1 – 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
~1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp dried basil (or a few tbsp fresh basil if you have, chopped)
Few pinches of salt — I used himalayan rock salt
A pinch of nutritional yeast (optional)
Thaw puff pastry on the counter. Move it to a cookie sheet and unroll it. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, then pour out into center of the pastry, leaving about 1″ of pastry showing on all sides. Starting at one corner and working your way around clockwise, fold the sides up until the filling is mostly enclosed – it’s okay if there are gaps. Put it in the oven for 25-30 minutes until pastry is golden brown.
You could try lots of other fillings and spices, like mushrooms, chopped bell peppers, cayenne pepper, pine nuts, etc. Let your leftovers inspire you! 
Cheese Straw Heavenliness December 23, 2009
Posted by Teresa in : Snacks/Party Food , add a commentOh, these are the best things ever! I am making a batch at this moment, and realized I haven’t posted them here! Oh, they are so delicious! The recipe comes from 101 Cookbooks. My notes are in blue.
Buckwheat Cheese Straws
The buckwheat flour here gives these cheese straws a depth that others made from all-purpose flour don’t have. That being said, you could certainly give these a shot using all whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour. Or experiment with other flours in place of the buckwheat flour.
1/2 cup buckwheat flour — Of course, I don’t have buckwheat flour, so I run buckwheat (easy to get in grocery stores) through my food processor for a couple of minutes. The crunchy bits left just add to the flavour!
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour – I use the “best for bread” kind we can get in Canada.
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped – I also made these with rosemary once – yum!
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup (2 1/2 ounces) white cheddar, shredded on a box grater — I used aged cheddar
1/2 cup ice cold water
Combine the flours, salt and thyme in a bowl of a food processor. Put the 1/2 cup water in the freezer. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles little pebbles in a beach of sandy flour (about 20 quick pulses). Alternately, you can cut the butter in using a knife and fork. Transfer to a mixing bowl and toss in the cheese. Sprinkle with ice water and use your hands or a spoon to stir it through and bring everything together into a ball of dough. Flatten the ball into a 1-inch thick square patty, wrap well in plastic, and place in the freezer for thirty minutes (or outside in a Canadian winter for five). 
In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat, and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
I find it easiest to work with one half of the dough at a time. Remove the dough from the freezer, cut in half, re-wrap the half you won’t be using immediately, and place it back in the freezer. If the dough gets too warm it is difficult to work with. On a well-floured surface roll out the remaining dough into a rectangle roughly 6×12-inches and 1/4-inch thick. Use a knife to cut 1/2-inch wide strips, each about 6-inches long. Now take a strip of dough and gently pinch it all along its length so that it is easier to roll out into a straw shape roughly 12-inches long. If the dough is giving you trouble, consider chilling it a bit longer. Place each straw on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining strips, leaving at least 1/2 inch between each straw.
Bake the straws one pan at a time for about 8-10 minutes, or until the straws look set, and the cheese is golden where it is touching the pan. Flip each straw and bake for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Keep in mind if your straws are on the thin side, they’ll bake in a flash, if they are slightly thicker they will need to go longer. Remove from oven and let cool, they will crisp more as they cool.
Sometimes I bake off half the dough, and keep the other half in the freezer for another day, but feel free to bake all of it – repeating the process with the second half of reserved dough.
Makes about 4 dozen straws.
Thank you, Heidi, for such a delicious recipe!!
Upside Down Apple Pie May 29, 2009
Posted by Teresa in : Dessert , add a commentI found this excellent, easy apple pie recipe… from one of my favourite TV chefs, Michael Smith. Not that I watch a lot of Food Network, but I do watch him from time to time. Reference
Upside-Down Apple Pie
Yield: 4
Ingredients:
The Pastry
- 1 cup pastry flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup frozen butter
- 4 tbsp ice water
The Apples
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 x golden delicious apples, cored and sliced into 6 pieces each
Directions:
The Pastry
- Put flour into a large bowl and whisk in sugar and salt.
- Grate in frozen butter and blend lightly with fingertips.
- Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time and stir until dough comes together. Pat into a flat disc and refrigerate for at least a half hour.
The Apples
- Melt butter in an ovenproof skillet and add sugar.
- Swirl pan around to help dissolve sugar and then let it caramelize.
- Add apple slices in an attractive pattern and let them cook until they begin to brown and get soft.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Roll dough into a 10-inch round and lay it over the apples in the skillet, tucking edges around apples.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until pastry is golden.
- Invert onto a serving platter while tart is still warm.
I love the frozen butter trick for pastry! How cool! I made mine with a bit less pastry, and it cooked about 10 minutes faster. I also used light brown sugar and a touch of Sucanat, which gave it a slightly molasses flavour! Delicious!
