Apple Crisp Tart

Why limit crisp topping to oatmeal?  I add quinoa here for a richer topping. Why not get a little protein as you are being decadent?
3 apples, about 3 cups
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp raspberry jam
dash salt

Crisp Topping:
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 stick butter, cubed 1/4-inch, very chilled

Half recipe hazelnut crust:
1/4 cup hazelnuts
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 stick butter, cubed and placed in freezer for 10 minutes
3 Tbsp ice water

Prepare the dough for the crust. First toast the hazelnuts in a 375F oven (I use a toaster oven) for about 3 to 5 minutes, shaking once or twice. Watch the nuts closely, being very careful not to burn them, which can happen quickly. Keep oven preheated at 375F.

Let the nuts cool and then tip them into a large food processor. Pulse them to form a fine, but dry grind, being careful not to over process to almond butter! Add the flour, salt and sugar and pulse together.

Next, add the butter and pulse together just enough to form a coarse mixture. Pulse in the water by the tablespoon-ful. Add only enough just so that the dough pulls together.

Tip dough out onto a floured counter and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss together the apple, lemon, vanilla and jam in a bowl. In a separate bowl, toss together the crisp topping ingredients

When the dough has chilled, roll it out on a clean surface with some flour, to the shape of the tart pan. I used a non-stick 4x14-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the dough into the pan and trim the edges. Pour the apple mixture into the crust.

Top with the crisp topping.

Bake about 30-40 minutes, until the tart is brown and bubbly and the apples have cooked through.

Makes one tart.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Face it.  Thanksgiving is coming.  And what's Thanksgiving without pie?  Get ready and start practicing with this one - my favorite pie.
Pie Crust:
3 cups white flour
1 stick butter, cubed and chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp chilled ice water

1 egg plus 1 Tbsp water, whisked together
1 Tbsp coarse sugar

Filling:
3 cups chopped rhubarb
3 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cornstarch

2 Tbsp butter, diced

Chill the butter in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

Set out a bowl of water with ice cubes - this keeps the dough nicely chilled so it will be flakey.  Dust a clean counter with flour.

Pulse the flour, butter, sugar and salt together in a food processor until you get a coarse meal.

Slowly add the water, one tablespoon at a time and pulse to incorporate. Only add as much water to just form a dough that pulls together, sometimes only five tablespoons. Carefully remove dough from processor to the well-floured counter and consolidate into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Preheat oven to 400F. Meanwhile, toss filling together in a large bowl and allow to macerate while crust refrigerates. Stir every once in a while.

Remove dough disks to a well-floured counter and roll the first disk to a diameter big enough to over the base of a well-buttered 10-inch pie plate. Lay dough carefully on pie plate, overlapping the edges a bit. Tip the strawberry-rhubarb mixture into the pie plate and even out.

Dot with the 2 tablespoons butter. Roll the second crust out and lay over the pie. Use your fingers to crimp the two crusts together. Cut a few decorative vent holes in the top of the crust, and pain the crust well with the egg wash (but don’t allow egg pools to form).

Sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for about 45 minutes, checking and turning pie halfway through. Crust should be well browned and filling should be bubbling up through vent holes.

Makes one 10-inch pie.

Fresh Maine Peach Gallette Anci

The Galette in France has many forms, from a cookie to a pie to a pancake.  Galettes constructed as a free form pie, sport a crust simply folded over the edges to form its shape.

The crust here is adapted from Melissa Clark of the NYT.  With an egg and some cream, it was flaky and crispy - fantastic for wrapping our cousin's fresh peaches from Maine.
1 egg brought to 1/3 cup with light cream

Crust:
1-1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, cubed and chilled in the freezer

3 cups peeled, pitted and sliced peaches
1/3 cup sugar
4 Tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup raspberries (or blueberries, or blackberries)

remaining sugar: about 1 Tbsp

Whisk the egg and cream together. It should make 1/3 cup.

Pulse together the flour sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse a few times to get grains the size of chick peas. Add about half the egg and cream mixture, pulsing just enough to pull the dough slightly together. The trick is to keep it on the dry side, but yet still stick together. Try pinching some dough together if you are uncertain - if it stays together, you are probably done. Normally I have about 1-2 Tbsp left over - and you’ll need those, so save them.

Gather the crust together and form a disk of about 4-inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Meanwhile, toss the peaches together with the sugar, corn starch and salt.

Allow to sit at least 30 minutes. If the peaches are very liquidy, strain them. They should be very moist but not flooded by their juices - not swimming in them. If they are too wet, they will overwhelm the Galette. Save the excess juices for your next smoothie! Preheat the oven to 400F.

Roll out the crust to a disk about 14-16” in diameter. Place the peaches in the center.

Pull back an extra 2-inches of dough back, repetitively, about 6-8 times to wrap the filling at the edges.

Transfer to a baking sheet.  Scatter the raspberries about the open space of the fruit. Brush the edges of the crust with the remaining egg/cream mix. Sprinkle the crust with the remaining sugar as desired.

Bake about 35-45 minutes, until the filling bubbles and thickens, and the crust is well browned.  Cool off a bit, slice and serve.

Anci's Fresh Maine Peaches

Southern Blueberry Nectarine Cobbler

I love the idea of adding just a bit of cornmeal to the cobbler topping; a bit southwestern, an idea I got from reading Texas recipes. You could use flour instead, but give this a try for a warm, rounder cobbler crust.4 cups fresh blueberries
1 ripe nectarine, peeled and finely diced
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
Grated nutmeg

Crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl, mix the fruit With the sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg. Let the fruit macerate for about 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

In another bowl, mix together the flour and cornmeal with the baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter with a dough mixer, knives or your fingers, to make a fine meal. Stir the vanilla into the milk and turn the milk into the flour. Mix just until incorporated.

Oil a 9x13-inch casserole and pour in the fruit mixture. Top with dollops of the batter, spreading a bit into islands. Top with the sugars. bake for about 30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

Fruit Salad with Pineapple and Coconut

About 3-4 cups diced seedless watermelon
About 2 dozen green grapes, sliced in half lengthwise
1 ripe fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
About 1 rounded Tbsp grated coconut
About 2 Tbsp orange liquor
Juice and zest of 1/2 lime

Mix all ingredients except the coconut together in a bowl. Allow to macerate about 30 minutes. Turn salad into a serving bowl and top with the coconut flakes.

Cook's Note: A Tbsp of julienned fresh basil is awesome with this salad - I love pairing watermelon with fresh basil. Can't wait for summer herbs!

Gateau au Fraises - Strawberry Cake

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp granulated Castor sugar
Scant 1 lb strawberries, sliced
Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously butter a 9-inch cake pan (I use a spring-form pan). Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, blend together the sugar and butter for 2-3 minutes, until smooth (I use a Kitchen Aid blender for this). Add the egg and blend to incorporate. Add the milk and vanilla just to mix. Slowly pour in the dry ingredients as you mix with the blender, and mix just until smooth – about minute. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out evenly. Top with the strawberries, evenly, laid out. Sprinkle with the Castor sugar (use regular sugar if you only have that).Bake at 350 for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 325 and bake for another 60 minutes or so, until the cake and fruit are set. Remove from oven and cool in pan about 15-20 minutes. When cool enough, remove cake from pan and place on platter for serving. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.

Or you can do the same thing with raspberries.

Banana Plum Bread

Based on Babette's Best Ever Banana Bread, this is a variation on a her theme, and a great way for me to remember her warmly by. I use whatever leftover fruit we have hanging around, even maybe sometimes a bit too soft, that's OK. Or I add frozen fruit like berries, or diced mango which is really very good! Babette was always into nuts and whole foods - and we cooked a lot of whole grains together; I also sometimes add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and/or 1 Tbsp bran or ground flax seed when the urge hits me. This makes for great variety but consistently fantastic banana bread variations. Thanks Babette!

Wet ingredients:
½ cup cream
½ cup milk
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 ripe bananas
1 cup diced ripe plums (about 2 plums)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

Dry ingredients:
1½ cups sugar
2½ cups flour
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
3 tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325F. Oil four 16-oz or two 32-ox loaf pans. Mix together cream and milk with vinegar; alternatively you can use 1 cup buttermilk. Mash bananas in a big bowl and fold in all remaining wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Fold into wet ingredients and distribute among loaf pans. Bake 45 minutes, or until crusty and brown on top.