Morel and Fiddlehead Fern Tart

Sometimes it's nice to get out of town, even if it's just for the day. A change of scenery, cooler weather and a bit of adventure is often just what you need to break out of a rut. This past Saturday, my friend Amanda and I took a mini-trip to San Francisco. Not much was on our agenda- just the desire to putter around, get some fresh air and grab a delicious lunch.

Pulling into town, we hit up the Ferry Building to check out it's myriad of culinary goods and to take a peek at the farmers' market. The produce selection that day was about what it is in Sac, just twice the price. We did find two great mushroom stands though...one in the building and one in the farmers' market. Amanda bought these gorgeous pink (yes, pink!) Tree Oyster mushrooms.

I bought some morels, nameko mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns at the indoor stand. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to use the nameko mushrooms for but I did whip up an amazing tart with the morels and fiddlehead ferns on Saturday afternoon. If you're unfamiliar with the two-- morels are a mushroom that have a spongy, honeycomb-like texture and a wonderfully complex, meaty taste. Mr. S loves them and looks forward to them every year. They have a very short season, you can usually purchase them for a week or two in the spring. Morels love to grow in forests near dead or decaying trees and also in areas that have been burnt by a wildfire.

Fiddleheads ferns are the tightly coiled fronds of a young Ostrich fern. They're called fiddleheads because they resemble the curled end of a violin or a fiddle. This wild edible can usually be found in the early spring. They're a bit elusive, so you most likely won't find them at your local supermarket but sometimes you can find them at the farmers' market, if you're lucky. Fiddleheads are a great source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, potassium, iron and fiber. They are green, crunchy and have a grassy, slightly bitter taste similar to asparagus.

Morel and Fiddlehead Fern Tart

Ingredients

1 frozen pie crust, defrosted (I like the ones at Trader Joe's)

1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking spray

10-12 fresh morels

10-12 fresh fiddlehead ferns (woody ends trimmed)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 oz. goat cheese, softened

2 eggs

1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

1/4 cup half and half

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tablespoons chives, chopped

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Instructions

1.  Cut each morel in half lengthwise. Place morels in a large bowl of cold water. Swish around to loosen any dirt or critters. Soak for about 10-20 minutes, Lift the morels out and dump the water and debris. Gently pat the morels dry with paper towels. (Do your morel cleaning right before making your tart. Do not do it earlier as the morels can get soggy after being cleaned.)

2. Boil a pot of salted water. Blanch fiddleheads ferns for two to three  minutes. Remove and place in  a small bowl of ice cold water to shock the fiddleheads and stop the cooking process.

3. In a large pan, heat the butter. Sauté the morels and fiddleheads for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

4. Roll out pie crust. Spray 12" tart pan with cooking spray. Place pie crust in pan. Trim to fit. Poke a few holes in middle with fork to aerate. Par bake according to instructions. Remove from oven and let cool.

5. In a large bowl, beat together goat cheese, eggs, Parmesan, half and half, garlic, thyme, rosemary, chives, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. (I like to use my Kitchenaid mixer so that I can make sure the filling gets nice and smooth. You don't want any lumps.)

6. Spread evenly over pie crust. Place morels and fiddleheads ferns on top.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Stick a knife in the center and if it comes out clean, it's done.  Remove from oven. Can be served hot, warm or at room-temperature.

8. Can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days and reheated.

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Goat Cheese and Apple Tart

"You can't just eat good food. You've got to talk about it too. And you've got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food.”  - Kurt Vonnegut, "Jailbird"

I love going out to dine with friends but equally fun in my book is attending a potluck, a dinner at a friend's home or just getting together for a cooking night. I've always felt lucky that I have so many friends that enjoy talking about food and cooking as much as I do. Mr.S. is great about indulging my endless chatter about articles I've read in Saveur or my intent search for a hard to find ingredient; however, nothing beats getting together with my amigos and shooting the breeze about new recipes, techniques and restaurants over a table full of good grub and a few glasses of primo vino.  This month was especially full of fun food-centric activities. I attended a tamale making party at my friend Amanda's where we made Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales. I had never made tamales from scratch before so I found the event fascinating and not quite as daunting of a task as I thought it would be.

I also attended a soup swap at my friend Sarah's (of Undercover Caterer). Yes, I know National Soup Swap Day was back in January but with the erratic weather Sacramento has been having, holding the soup swap this weekend made perfect sense. As a result, I now have a freezer full of some fantastic soups to dive into during the upcoming week of inclement weather (Michelle's pasta fagioli, Sarah's $800 chili, Lacy's hot and sour, Ellen's red lentil-coconut curry and my mushroom barley). Can't wait!

Have you done any fun food-centric parties or activities with your friends? Anything unusual or that you particularly enjoyed? I'd love to hear about it!

Below is a recipe for a goat cheese and apple tart I threw together to take to the soup swap. It's super easy to make and if you want to save even more time you can use a ready-made pie crust (Trader Joe's makes a great one that tastes almost homemade). The best part is that if you're lactose-intolerant this creamy filling won't bother your stomach.

Goat Cheese and Apple Tart

Ingredients

1 pie crust (your favorite recipe or store-bought)
2 Fuji apples, cored then thinly sliced
1.5 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons lavender honey (regular honey works just as well)
1.5 tablespoons cinnamon
8 oz. goat cheese, softened
1/2 cup coconut milk creamer (So Delicious makes a good one and is available at most grocery stores in the Natural Foods section or where the coffee creamers are)
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Press your dough into your tart pan. Cook as directed in your recipe. (Mine requires 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.) Usually halfway through I check in on the pie crust and if it's puffing up, I give it a couple of stabs with a fork to aerate it.

3. While the crust is baking, you want to prep your apples. The easiest way to do this is to use an apple corer, like this:

Push it down, remove the core and then slice each wedge into thin slices. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice. Toss. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, coconut milk creamer, egg, sugar and vanilla. (I used my mixer so that I could get it nice and smooth- you don't want any chunks.)

5. Pour the goat cheese mixture into the crust. Smooth it out in the tart pan so that it's spread evenly. Arrange your apple slices on top of the goat cheese.

6. Sprinkle with cinnamon then drizzle with honey.

7. Place tart back in the oven and bake at 450 degrees for another 15-20 minutes.

8. Remove tart from oven and allow to cool. Serve. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge.

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Vegetarian-Friendly: Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta

I've been home from my trip for a week now and my suitcase is STILL sprawled on my living room floor and I've been picking things out of it as needed like a vulture picks at a carcass. Ugh! I don't know why, but unpacking feels like such a chore. Not that packing a suitcase is more fun but at least it has the added aspect that you're packing to go somewhere, an impending travel adventure.

On a related note...do you know what your packing style is? I never gave it much thought until I started dating Mr.S. He starts packing for trips a few days before the trip and packs A LOT. Me? I tend to pack light and the night before (or sometimes even the morning of) a trip. Guess who tends to forget things more often? You got it--him. I think my packing style drives him crazy, but what can he do? And yes, he also is the type that has to immediately (and I mean immediately) unpack his luggage the minute we get home. As soon as we hit the door, he's throwing dirty shirts in the laundry, returning the toothbrushes to their upright position in the bathroom mug and the suitcases are emptied and put away before my butt can hit the sofa.

(photo source: unknown)

Anyhow, if your significant other is like mine, let him sort out and put away the clothing, toiletries and travel souvenirs; while he's doing that, hit the kitchen and make this barley risotto for the two of you. It tastes amazing and is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter's night. My friend, Michelle, ordered a similar dish at a Midtown restaurant (Tuli's) about a month ago and gave me a taste. Inspired by it's many mingling layers of delicious flavors, I looked around for the recipe and stumbled about this version in Yotam Ottolenghi's book, Jerusalem. Be sure not to skip making the feta with caraway seeds- it really add an amazing dimension of flavor to the dish. I had never used caraway seeds in a dish before and was surprised at how aromatic and tasty they are- kind of a nutty, anise-like taste. The barley risotto itself has a nice chewy texture and a deep tomato flavor. This scrumptious dish works great as a main course or as a side dish and is an easy meal to prepare for vegetarian friends. Although barley risotto is definitely less temperamental to prepare than traditional risotto, remember to still stir often so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Yotam Ottolenghi's Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta (you can find the original recipe in his book, Jerusalem)
makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup pearl barley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 stalks celery, diced
2 small shallots, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
4 sprigs thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
4 strips of lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon chile flakes
1  14-oz can chopped tomatoes (I used Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes)
1 1/4 cups of passata (I used Pomi's strained pureed tomatoes instead)
scant 3 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
10.5 oz  feta, crumbled
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
salt, to taste

Instructions
1. In a mesh strainer, rinse the barley and leave it to drain.

2. In a large pot, melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the celery, shallots and garlic. Cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes, until softened. Then add the barley, thyme sprigs, smoked paprika, bay leaf, lemon peel, chile flakes, chopped tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, stock and salt. Stir to combine.

3. Bring the mixture to a nice boil, then reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for about 45 minutes (uncovered). Stir frequently to prevent the barley from sticking to the bottom.

4. While your barley risotto is cooking, toast your caraway seeds in a small, dry pan until they start to impart a toasty, nutty smell. Remove from heat immediately. Place in a bowl (or with a mortar and pestle set) and gently crush the seeds.

5. In a medium sized bowl, combine your toasted caraway seeds, crumbled feta and remaining (4 tablespoons) olive oil. Mix to combine.

6. When the barley is soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, remove the pot from the heat. Divide your barley portions into bowls and top with marinated feta and a sprinkle of fresh oregano.

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Blue Heaven-Pear Tart

It's pear season! And what goes best with pears? Cheese, of course! Awhile back, the nice folks at Rogue Creamery in Oregon sent me a shaker of their new Blue Heaven powder to try. Blue Heaven is a project they have been working on for more than ten years and just recently unveiled for Rogue Creamery's 80th Anniversary. Rogue Creamery is most famous for producing award-winning, gourmet blue cheeses so it should be no surprise that Blue Heaven is a blend of their popular Oregon Blue, Oregonzola, Crater Lake Blue and their special reserve blue cheeses. The cheeses are dried and then mixed with nonfat organic milk powder. Why should you try it? Because it tastes great! Blue Heaven is also convenient, shelf stable and made from certified sustainable raw cow's milk. It can be used in all kinds of delicious dishes- to add some zing to your mashed potatoes, to accent your soups or even as a savory seasoning sprinkled on your popcorn. There's all kinds of creative ways you can use Blue Heaven to transform your dishes. I decided to use my complimentary shaker of Blue Heaven in making a pear tart. I had picked up some fresh, juicy Bartlett pears during my excursion to Courtland this weekend and was just itching to make something with them. I used a basic tart shell recipe and made a filling of sliced pears, Blue Heaven and cream cheese. (I wanted the filling to be a bit creamy, hence the cream cheese.) Since pears tend to get tender when baked, I also tossed in some toasted almond slivers to give the tart some added texture and crunch. The Blue Heaven ended up lending a nice mellow blue cheese taste to the tart filling which I liked. It wasn't overwhelming at all.

The end result? My cottage was filled with intoxicating aromas all yesterday afternoon and the Blue Heaven-Pear Tart got an enthusiastic thumbs up all around from my taste testers and one, "Nom! Nom!" The Kidlet even liked it.

Blue Heaven powder can be ordered online via the company's website. It is also available at Laurent Dubois, one of France's finest cheese shops, and Simon Johnson's specialty food stores in Australia, for you international folks.

Website: Rogue Creamery
Facebook: Rogue Creamery
Phone: (866) 396-4704


Blue Heaven-Pear Tart

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup AP flour
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
2 fresh Bartlett pears- sliced   (To peel or not to peel- it's your choice.)
3.5 to 4 tablespoons of Rogue Creamery's Blue Heaven powder
2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons almond slivers, toasted
2 tablespoons honey, warmed    (optional)


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. In a small pan over medium-high heat, toast your almond slivers. Flip and stir them often. Be sure to keep a close eye on them as they can go from toasted to burnt very quickly.

3. Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar with mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add flour, continue to mix. Remove dough from mixer bowl and place in a 9-inch quiche pan (a springform pan will also work). I prefer the quiche pan because it gives the tart a more polished look with its crimped edges and the removable bottom makes for easy release and serving. Nordic Ware makes a good one that runs about $11 and comes in a variety of colors.

3. Press the dough onto the bottom of the pan and about 1/2 way up the sides of the pan. Make sure the dough is spread out evenly.

4. Slice your pears and arrange on top of your dough. Sprinkle with 2/3 cups toasted almond slivers.

5. In a mixer bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar. Make sure the two are completely blended- no lumps. Add your egg and Blue Heaven. Mix well. (If you prefer a more robust blue cheese flavor, you can adjust the intensity by adding more Blue Heaven. At 3.5 tablespoons, my tart had a nice subtle blue cheese taste.)

6. Pour filling over pears. Spread evenly. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons of toasted almond slivers.

7. Bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce to 375 F and bake for additional 20-25 minutes.

8. Allow tart to cool.

9. Slice. Drizzle with warm honey if you wish, before serving.



* I was not compensated for this post other than receiving one complimentary shaker of Blue Heaven powder. All opinions are completely my own and I was under no obligation to write about the product.

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Artichoke & Goat Cheese Tart with Parmesan-Polenta Crust

I've been dying to make this recipe ever since I read about it in Maria Speck's book, "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals." Her book had some fantastic gluten-free recipes and has a way of making you want to incorporate grains more in your life without any heavy-duty food preaching. The tart sounded wonderful and I'm a huge fan of savory tarts, especially ones that use goat cheese. Did you know that fresh goat cheese has a third of the fat and calories of cream cheese made from cow's milk? It also has half the cholesterol and twice the protein. Plus for those of us who are lactarded, goat cheese is much easier to digest...not to mention, that it tastes delicious.

I pretty much followed Maria Speck's recipe as written but I did opt to throw in some shallots and garlic. (Is there anything I won't throw garlic into?) I also was out of Greek yogurt so I used organic, plain, lowfat yogurt in it's place...it worked fine. I thought the tart came out great, but next time I might go slightly lighter on the rosemary (but that's just my personal preference). If you're looking for something a bit different from your average quiche or frittata to take to a brunch, this would be a good choice.  This recipe would also work well with asparagus.

Artichoke and Goat Cheese Tart with Parmesan-Polenta Crust
(slightly adapted, from Maria Speck's book, "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals")

Crust:
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups polenta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring the broth and water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the salt. Slowly add the polenta in a thin stream, whisking constantly, and continue whisking for 30 seconds. Decrease the heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon every few minutes to keep the polenta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. Stir in the cheese, egg and pepper.

2. Grease a 10-inch tart pan or cake pan with olive oil. Have a glass of cold water ready. Spoon the polenta into the pan and press it out, pushing it up the sides. Dip a wooden spoon or your hands in the cold water to help the polenta along. Set aside for 15 minutes and then form an even rim about 3/4 of an inch thick with moist fingers, pressing firmly. Don't worry if the crust looks rustic.

3. Put a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375 F.

Artichoke filling:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt or organic, plain, lowfat yogurt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2-3 tablespoons chopped shallots
2 cloves, garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces artichoke hearts, canned or frozen
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Sauté the shallots and garlic in a small pan.

2. Whisk the yogurt, eggs, scallions, parsley, rosemary, shallots, garlic salt and pepper together until well-combined. Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters and distribute them evenly over the polenta crust. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top of the artichokes and pour the yogurt filling evenly over the artichokes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

3. Bake the tart until the top turns golden brown and the filling is set, about 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes, though 40 is better. The tart can be prepared up to one day ahead.

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Day Trip: Cowgirl Creamery & The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Store

Last week, the weather here in Sacramento took a turn and became quite uncharacteristically hot for April. To escape the heat and to have some fun, my friend Amanda and I decided to head out of town for a day trip. Embracing Henry Miller's saying of "One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things," we decided to hit up the small town of Petaluma and learn how some of our favorite cheeses are made at the Cowgirl Creamery. We arrived a little early so we decided to wander about the little industrial area where the creamery is housed. While reading a flyer about the town's annual Butter and Eggs Days in the window of a small café (Aqus Café), we were approached by a friendly Irishman. He turned out to be the proprietor of the stylish coffee house and was kind enough to walk us over to our destination. Glad he did because we might have passed by the creamery completely--walking by on the road, it's easy to miss the inconspicuous sign jutting out high above.

Inside the creamery, we were greeted by Vivien Straus of the Strauss Creamery in Marshall. (Cowgirl Creamery gets a lot of their dairy from the Straus farm.) Vivien was the perfect person to guide our tour- she's sweet, enthusiastic and has a true love for her work. The tour started with a simple demonstration on how cheese in general is made. We then moved onto learning about how the Straus family got involved in the making of cheeses with Cowgirl Creamery, how the various artisanal cheeses are created and packaged and how the Marin Agricultural Land Trust was formed. This was followed by a guided tour of the cheesemaking facility and of course the tasting of an assortment of delicious cheeses (including the Mt. Tam in various points of the aging process). My favorites were the Red Hawk (a pungent triple crème with a washed rind, that is very full-flavored with a slight hint of tang) and the ever popular Mt. Tam (a smooth triple crème with an edible bloomy rind and buttery taste). Can you say cheese nirvana? Yum.

At the conclusion of the tour, we were sent home with a couple of issues of Culture magazine (a publication devoted to cheese) and little Cowgirl Creamery refrigerated lunch bags that included a wrapped round of Mt. Tam, a container of Fromage Blanc (a clean tasting creamed cheese) and a cute little cheese knife.

419 First Street,  Petaluma, CA 94952. (866) 433-7834
www.cowgirlcreamery.com

* Tours are held on Wednesdays at 11:30am and are about a hour long. $30
* Reservations required.
* This facility does not offer retail sales.
* More info can be found here: Cowgirl Creamery Tour

After our tour, we headed over to downtown Petaluma. We decided to have some lunch at Della Fattoria on Petaluma Boulevard. In hindsight, I wish we had chosen somewhere else. Although the décor of the bistro was quite adorable, the food was nothing to write home about and the service downright awful. To make up for our craptacular meal, we decide to walk down the street and check out the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Store. This store is housed in a gorgeous historic building (it was constructed in the 1920's and formerly housed the Sonoma County National Bank) and offers a plethora of heirloom seeds (1200 varieties!), plants, gardening supplies, books and gourmet spices.

 

If you go downstairs, they have various gardening gifts and a small room devoted to air plants. While the sheer choice of seeds will awe you, make sure to look up and check out the ceiling of the store. The architecture is breathtaking.

(Photo of Seed Bank interior by Amanda Blosser)

 

* 199 Petaluma Blvd. N, Petaluma, CA 94952. (707) 773-1336. http://rareseeds.com
* Closed Saturdays and major holidays.

All in all, the town of Petaluma is quite charming. The weather was great, there's a lot of fun shops and businesses to explore and it's just a short drive from Sacramento. For those who are interested- the Butter and Eggs Days is coming up on April 27th & 18th. You can find out more info here: Petaluma's Butter and Eggs Days 2013

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Sweet Corn Cheese Roti / Paratha

Ingredients :

• 1.1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
• 4 tbsp soya flour
• 1/2 Cup boiled and crushed Sweet corn kernels ( makai ke dane)
• 2 tsp Ginger - Green chilli Paste
• 1/2 Cup Grated Cheese
• 1/4 cup Finely chopped Coriander
• Salt to taste
• Oil for kneading & cooking

Method :
 

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and knead it into a semi-stiff dough using enough water as required. Keep aside for 10 minutes under a wet muslin cloth.(P.N : keep dough aside for only 10 min , nor more than that ) Knead again using soya oil till smooth and divide it into equal portions.Roll out one portion of the dough into circle using a little flour for rolling.Cook the roti on a tava (griddle) over a medium flame using soya oil till both sides are golden brown.Repeat for remaining dough.Serve hot.

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Bread Pizza

Ingredients: 

•  6 bread slices
• 1/2 Cup Finely chopped Carrot
• 1/2 Cup Finely chopped Capsicum
• 1/2 Cup Finely chopped Cabbage
• Butter as required
• Tomato Ketchup as required
• 3/4 Cup Grated Cheese
• Paper Powder

Method :

Apply Butter to each bread slice followed by tomato ketchup. Spread some capsicum, carrot, cabbage on it. Sprinkle some paper powder and then some grated cheese. Heat nonstick-frying pan and bake bread till  cheese melts .Serve with tomato sauce.

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