Goin' Nuts for Blue Cheese - Gorgonzola & Walnut Tart

 Every once in awhile, I get a hankerin' for something SUPER cheesy.  Normally, when this happens, I turn to Macaroni & Cheese in all it's myriad permutations.  After all, what better way is there to showcase cheese than pouring it's rich, gooey and melty deliciousness over a mound of pasta? 

But if you are a blue cheese lover, as I am, this tart that will roll your cheese wheel right out the door.  It's so rich, creamy and cheesy that even I can only eat a small slice, to be accompanied by Watercress soup and a very VERY large salad, to break up the cheesiness. 

This is a French tart that has no equal.  You can consume your whole daily caloric intake in one fell swoop with this one.  But it's sooooooooo good.  The filling is simply a cheese laden custard (similar to a quiche) that is them sprinkled with toasty walnuts to add some crunch.

I actually prefer Gorgonzola for this one.  It seems to me that Gorgonzola melts a little smoother than some other crumbly Blue Cheeses.  I also think that it's flavor profile better pairs with toasted walnuts and the peppercorns in the pastry crust. Which reminds me.  It's not simply the tart filling that is rich and high in calories, the crust I like to use for this is my infamous Sour Cream/Peppercorn pastry dough that I usually reserve for certain quiches and my Asparagus / Gruyere Tart. 

Gorgonzola & Walnut Tart

1 recipe for Sour Cream Peppercorn Pastry Crust
1 cup (100g) Walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 cup (236ml) Heavy Cream
3 large Eggs
2 large Egg Yolks
6 oz (170g) Gorgonzola, crumbled (you can use Stilton, Saga, or Roquefort if you prefer)
Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C) degrees.
Meanwhile, prepare the Sour Cream Peppercorn Pastry dough; roll the pastry out to fit a 10 inch quiche dish or a fluted tart pan and chill while the oven continues to preheat.

When the oven comes to temperature, toast the walnuts for 5 minutes.

When the Walnuts are finished, remove the pastry from the refrigerator, line with foil or parchment and fill with beans or weights then bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the foil and beans/rice/weights and bake for an additional 5 minutes. (just until the crust is cooked, but still very pale)

Reduce the oven temperature to 350F (180C) degrees.
Whisk the Eggs, Egg Yolks and Heavy Cream together in a small bowl.

Add the crumbled Gorgonzola and stir.

Season with Salt and Pepper, then pour the filling into the warm tart shell.

Sprinkle with toasted Walnuts.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven, just until the top begins to brown.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before attempting to cut.

Delightfully cheesy and UBER rich.  This is most definitely NOT a diet food, that is for sure.

Mangia!!
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Wordless Wednesday - Pizza Bianca

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A Scone, A Scone, The United Kingdom For a Scone! - Savory Black Pepper & Gruyere Scones

While in England back in '99 I became addicted to scones.  Sometimes delicately light and fluffy, other times tender and flaky.  Upon returning to the U.S. of A. I found myself in a state of yearning for those delectable treats to accompany my coffee or tea.  Being the eternal optimist, I always try the scones at whatever coffee house I happen to find myself in. Sadly, my optimism is soon crushed by bleak reality.  Cause lemme tell ya... Be it San Diego, Portland, San Francisco, L.A., Uniondale, Palm Springs, Yuma or Seattle, they are always like hockey pucks.  Which I don't understand at all.  Maybe they have just been sitting around too long or something, cause those horrendously dry crumbly things are NOTHING like what I was eating in England.

I find it frustrating.  I think I am going to start smuggling my own homemade scones into the coffee shop.

Now I must go on record as stating that while a traditional lightly sweet scone lavishly adorn with Devonshire Cream or Crème Fraîche and topped with Lemon curd or Raspberry preserves is the paramount addition to any cup of coffee and tea, occasionally I am in the mood for a savory scone.  Enter the Black Pepper & Gruyere scone.  They are awesome.

Because of the extra fat from the cheese, I tend to stick with my "Cream Scone" recipe, which is a flaky scone made without eggs, as opposed to Buttermilk scones or what I call Basic Milk scones; both containing Eggs and they tend to be fluffier.  Because of the "turning" of the dough, I cut my cream scones in triangles; where as with Buttermilk and Basic scones, I just use a 2 inch biscuit cutter.  After all, that was how they were made in England, like lightly sweet wee biscuits.  Now Bannocks; those were pressed into a round and sliced into wedges... But that is another post.

Black Pepper & Gruyere Scones

10 oz (285 g) AP Flour
1 TB Baking Powder (Aluminum Free please)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
5 TB Unsalted Cultured Butter (they better the butter, the better the scone)
1.5 oz (45 g) Gruyere cheese, finely shredded
8 oz (235 ml) Heavy Cream

In a medium bowl, whisk the Flour, Baking Powder, Salt and Black Pepper together.

Add the sliced Butter.

Rub the Butter into the Flour until you have small pea sized bits.

Add the Gruyere cheese and toss to get it coated.

Form a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the Heavy Cream.

Mix with a fork until a soft dough begins to form.

Knead the dough as necessary until it comes together.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle that is roughly 7x10 inches.

Fold the dough over into 1/3rds (just like you would for Puff Pastry dough or Croissants)

Then roll it out again into a 7 x 10 inch rectangle (this is called "turning" the dough) repeat the folding and rolling 2 more times for a total of 3 turns.

When you have completed the 3rd folding, roll the dough out again, into a 7x10 inch rectangle and, using a VERY sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 Triangles.

Move these to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cover with Plastic wrap and chill the dough for 1 hour.

At the 1 hour mark, begin preheating the oven to 425 degrees (go ahead and leave the scones in the refrigerator... the extra 10-15 minutes of chilling won't hurt them)
Remove the scones from the ice box, remove the plastic wrap and bake the scones for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Move scones to a cooling rack as soon as possible or the bottoms may become a little soggy and loose their crispness.

Enjoy while still slightly warm, slathered with copious quantities of cultured butter.

Scones are best when eaten the same day that they were baked, as they tend to become stale fairly rapidly.

Magia!!
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Rutabaga Ruminations - Rotmos (Rutabaga Mash)

One of the unsung heroes of tasty tuberdom.  The Rutabaga, also known as a Swede or Swedish Turnip, is the product of a natural cross between a cabbage and a turnip.  Which explains why Rutabagas and Turnips are often confused, for they look a lot like your standard white turnip, complete with purple top. 

The Rutabaga is blessed with a lovely golden color and tends towards a more mellow flavor than that of a turnip.  They also tend to be less watery when making a mash (rotmos), which is my favorite way to eat them.  Then again, any root vegetable can reach the pinnacle of deliciousness if you add enough butter to it... LOL

There will be some out there that disagree with me regarding the palatability of the Rutabaga.  For they contain glucosinolates that react to a human gene associated with "perceived" bitterness.  It's kind of like the "asparagus smell" phenomenon.  Not everyone has this active gene, but if you have the genotype PAV/PAV, you may find rutabagas completely inedible.  Not to sound callous or anything, but it's OK if you don't like them, that just means there are more for me. ;)   LOL

I should come clean here.  I did not grow up eating Rutabagas.  In fact, up until about 6 years ago, I could not tell the difference between a Turnip & a Rutabaga either.  No clue.  That is until I spent Thanksgiving with my best friend Stephanie and her parents.  Joanne, Steph's mom, makes the most awesomely delicious mashed "turnip".  But when I first tried to make it at home, it never turned out.  it was always watery and, sadly, kind of gross.  Well, I eventually found out that the reason Joanne's mash was so delicious, was because she used Rutabagas.  I always wondered why my turnip mash was  a different color.  ;)

This recipe is at once simple and yet complicated.   It's nothing more than Rutabagas, Butter, Salt and Pepper... But you need to know how to handle them, and you need to know how much butter to add.  I tried to capture the moment of full butter saturation, but I don't think the pictures turned out that well.  But I am going to try to convey the feel of the recipe anyway......

Rutabaga Mash

(Rotmos)

Rutabagas (about 3 lbs - they are heavy)
Water to Cover
Unsalted Butter (about 8 TB, maybe 10 or 11)
Kosher Salt
Cracked Black Pepper

Here is  a Rutabaga....

You need to peel them with a vegetable peeler, but be very careful to remove the green tinged layer that is underneath the skin (this layer will make them more bitter if it is left on)

Now cube them into 1 inch cubes (they will cook faster)

Cover with water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer.

You will continue simmering until they are fork tender and the color deepens to a rich golden orange.

Drain them well.

Then either smash them with a masher, or run them through a ricer (the choice is yours)
Now is the point of adding butter and stirring until it's melted.
Since I usually have about 3 "medium" sized Rutabagas, I always start with 8 TB of butter added in small pieces.

Stir this until it is melted and incorporated well.
Now here is the tricky part.  The texture of the mash will change.  It will become somewhat creamy looking and a little stiffer.

At this point, add 2 more tablespoons of butter and your pretty much good to go.  If the mixture has not stiffened nor taken on a creamy golden appearance, continue adding butter a couple tablespoons at a time.

A good rule of thumb is "When you think you have added enough Butter, add 2 more tablespoons"
Now simply season with a pinch or two of Kosher Salt and a few grinds of Black Pepper, and serve.

And there you have it, a lusciously creamy, pale golden and delicious alternative to Mashed Potatoes.

Mangia!!
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Garlic Roasting on an Open Fire; Asiago Nipping at Your Nose - Roasted Garlic, Thyme & Asiago Shortbread

Just so you don't read this whole entire post looking for how I did it... I did not really roast the garlic over an open fire.

I love Roasted Garlic Butter....  So this seems like a natural pairing for a butter rich shortbread.  Add to that, some Asiago d'allevo (aged Asiago), and you are good to go.

Asiago d'allevo is very similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano & Pecorino Romano.  In fact, all three are usually used interchangeably, however, I find that the somewhat sweeter nature of the Asiago compliments the garlic very well.  Don't let the smell put you off your shortbread.  The cheese is delicious if you can get past the pungent odor. (Just like good Parmigiano-Reggiano and P. Romano - the more it smells, the better it is)  Though I would not necessarily try making this with Limburger.  ;)

This year, I decided a little Thyme and Black Pepper would kick it up a notch.  I was VERY pleased with the results.  

Roasted Garlic, Thyme & Asiago Shortbread

2 oz Roasted Garlic, pureed
8 oz Unsalted Butter (note- not Cultured)
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 couple Grinds of Black Pepper
2 tsp dried Thyme
5 oz Asiago d'allevo Cheese, finely grated
12 oz AP Flour

Cut the tops off the garlic.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher Salt and wrap in aluminum foil.

Bake is a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

Grate the Asiago while you are waiting.....

Squeeze the cloves into a mini food processor and process until a puree is achieved.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the Butter & Salt until creamy then add the Roasted Garlic puree and continue beating until well combined.

Add the Thyme and Black Pepper, then beat some more.

Add Asiago Cheese and mix until thoroughly combined, even if a little lumpy looking.

Slowly add the flour, with the mixer on low speed and continue mixing until you achieve a nice crumbly appearance.

Work the dough into a ball with your hands.

Form into a rough square and wrap with plastic wrap, letting the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees....
Roll out on a lightly floured surface.

Cut out 2 1/2 inch rounds with a cutter.

Move shortbreads to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Let rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Mangia!!
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