Rosie Makes A Tomato Galette.

 

You know it’s summer when your kitchen counters are covered with vine-ripened tomatoes freshly picked from your garden.   You’ve waited all year for this.  You’ve suffered through those tasteless, insipid, and soulless imposters throughout the winter months and finally, you have the “real deal-“ a sun-kissed tomato, nearly bursting with juice, having that perfect balance of acids and sugars, resulting in a flavor that’s the essence of summer.  You’ve made tomato sandwiches, marinara sauce, salsa, gazpacho, tomato soup, panzanella, tomato salads, stuffed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled tomatoes, fried green tomatoes, and you’re thinking, “What else can I do with all these glorious tomatoes?”

Rosie to the rescue, here.  Make a tomato pie, or in this case, a tomato galette. 

  A galette is a rustic form of a pie.  It’s not contained in a dish.  The pastry is rolled out, the filling, which can be sweet or savory, is spooned on, then the edges are pulled up and partially draped over the filling, free-form style.  I'm going with a savory tomato galette today, but if you're in the mood for something sweet, you could check out

  my  cherry galette.

 







and my peach galette.

    

Tomato Galette

For the pastry:

1 cup flour

¼ tsp kosher salt

6 TB unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces

3-4 TB ice water

Combine flour and salt in processor and combine.  Add butter and pulse a dozen times or so until crumbly.  Add water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing to combine until dough just comes together in a ball.  Place on lightly floured work surface and press into a 4-inch disk.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

For the filling:

1 ¼  pound tomatoes

½ tsp kosher salt

½ cup chopped Vidalia onion

½ tsp minced garlic

¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

2 tsp Gray Poupon Dijon mustard

1 ½ oz. Gruyère cheese, grated  (approximately 1 cup)

3-4 TB grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

Basil, chopped

Peel the tomatoes.  I drop them into boiling water for about 20 seconds.  Drain and cool, then the skin will slip right off. 

Chop the tomatoes, discarding core.  You should have 2 cups.  Toss with the salt and place in a colander.  Let drain for at least 30 minutes, occasionally shaking the colander to get rid of excess juice.  

Combine drained tomatoes with chopped onion, garlic, ground pepper, and thyme.

Assembly:

Take pastry disk out of refrigerator and let rest for 10 minutes before rolling it out into a 10-inch circle, about ⅛ inch thick.  Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Brush mustard evenly over surface of dough then sprinkle Gruyère right onto the pastry.  This helps waterproof the dough so you don’t end up with a soggy bottom.  Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the Gruyère, leaving a 1-inch border all around.  Grate Parmesan over top.

Fold edges of dough up and over the filling, overlapping, gently pressing to seal, working around the circumference of the galette.

Brush dough with the beaten egg.  (You won’t need all of the egg.)

Bake in a 375° oven about 50 minutes, until crust is golden brown and tomato mixture is bubbly.  Let cool about 10 minutes, then transfer galette to wire rack and cool until warm.  Sprinkle with chopped basil and extra cheese. 

And now, for the step-by-steps:

Pulse the flour and salt together, then add in the pats of cold butter.

Pulse.  Forget what they say about pulsing until you get the texture of "coarse cornmeal."  You don't want a homogeneous mixture.  You want different sized pieces of butter in there.  From small to pea-sized.  

Start dribbling in the cold water and pulsing.

Until you get a mass like this.

 

Then place it on a lightly floured work surface and bring it together in a nice ball.

 

Press into a flat disk.

Wrap in plastic and chill.  For at least an hour.

While the dough is chilling, prepare the tomatoes.

I bring some water to a boil and drop the whole tomatoes in and leave 'em for about 15-20 seconds.  Then I peel them.  The peel comes right off.

Next, chop the 'maters and toss in a colander with some salt.  Let the tomatoes drain.

I got almost 1/2 cup of liquid out of these tomatoes.  Save the liquid for soup, to drink, or however you want to use it.

Remove dough from fridge and let it sit a bit to take the chill off and to relax.

Roll it out in about a 10-inch diameter circle.  (Lightly flour so it doesn't stick.)

Transfer dough to parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Next, brush on some Gray Poupon Dijon mustard.

Sprinkle some grated Gruyère over the dough.

Next, I added the chopped, drained tomatoes and chopped onions.

Grate some Parm over top.

Then grate some more Parm.

Start pulling up the sides of the dough and draping it over itself.

Pleat all the way around.

Brush pleated dough with egg wash.

Bake in a 375° oven for about 50 minutes, rotating halfway through.

You want the crust a nice golden brown.

Grate some more Parmesan over top.

And give it some basil lovin'.

Enjoy!

Mo' Ice Cream. Strawberry And Peach And Coffee.

Ice cream.

Love it.

And with the fresh fruits of summer?  It gets better and better.

I just posted vanilla ice cream, made from a custard.

But these ice creams are even easier - no custard is involved. 

I have a trio of ice creams for your pleasure today - strawberry, strawberry/peach, and coffee.

Please enjoy!

This might be the easiest ice cream ever.
No eggs are involved.  No custard.  No cooking.
It's just cream and milk.  Sugar.  Vanilla.  Strawberries.  And an ice cream maker.

Strawberry Ice Cream
2 cups chopped strawberries
1 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
6 oz. skim milk
2 oz. heavy cream
1 TB vanilla
pinch kosher salt

Rosie Note:   In place of the 6 oz. skim and 2 oz. heavy cream, you could use 8 oz. whole milk.  I never have whole milk on hand, but I always have skim and cream, so I substitute. Technically, the correct substitution for a cup of whole milk would be 7 oz. skim and 1 oz. heavy cream, but I happily err on the side of fat.  

Coarsely chop up strawberries and toss with 1/2 cup sugar.  Let sit for at least 15 minutes so the strawberries can release their juices.

In a blender or processor, pulse the strawberries a few times.  Pour into large bowl and add remaining sugar, heavy cream, skim milk, vanilla, and salt.

Pour mixture into ice cream maker and process, occasionally scraping down sides with a spatula.  Takes about 30 minutes.

If you like soft ice cream, serve immediately. 
If there's any left, freeze it.

Nothing screams summer quite like ripe, juicy, luscious peaches and this next ice cream is summer in a bowl. 

You don't have to stick to a "recipe" when you're making these ice creams.  I happened to have a can of evaporated milk just sitting in the refrigerator, staring at me.  It was leftover from when I made my apple purties not too long ago, so I used it up for my peach ice cream. 

 
 This is an apple purty.







If you don’t have evaporated milk, not to worry.  Simply substitute whole milk or a combination of skim and cream, or 1%, or 2%.  Trust me.  It will work and it will be delicious.

I had both peaches and strawberries on hand, so I'm using both.  If all you have is peaches, use them.

Peach and Strawberry Ice Cream
1 cup chopped peaches
1 cup chopped strawberries
½ cup sugar
¾ cup evaporated milk
¾ cup skim milk
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup sugar
1 TB vanilla
Pinch salt

Combine peaches and strawberries with ½ cup sugar and let sit for 15 minutes at least to allow the juices to release.
Mix fruits and their juices with the rest of the ingredients.  Pour mixture into an ice cream
machine and process, occasionally scraping down sides.






Serving suggestion:  Add slices of fresh strawberries and peaches, sprinkle with Grapenuts, and drizzle with honey.

When making ice creams, the flavors are limited only to your imagination.  What to do with leftover morning coffee?  Make coffee ice cream!

Coffee Ice Cream
1 cup evaporated milk
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
1 ¾ cups skim milk
1 cup coffee  (The stronger the better.)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp espresso powder
1 TB vanilla
Mix all ingredients, whisking to dissolve sugar.
Pour into ice cream machine and process, scraping down sides every now and then.
Pour into containers and freeze.  Makes 3 pints.

Rosie Note:  Again, I had leftover evaporated milk in the fridge, but you could certainly substitute an equal amount of cream and/or milk. 




















Drizzle on a little homemade chocolate syrup for good measure.
Also, I found some chocolate covered espresso beans at Fresh Market which I added.  Yummy!

Enjoy!

I Scream. You Scream. We All Scream For Ice Cream.

Let's make ice cream.

Really rich ice cream

Vanilla ice cream.

Flecked with vanilla bean seeds

and further enhanced with vanilla extract.
 
 And then, let's pour on some chocolate sauce
and some caramel sauce.

Ready?

First, you have to break some eggs.

6 of 'em.
 Save the whites for later.  (They can be frozen.)

Or you can make a soufflé for breakfast.

Be careful separating the eggs.
You don't want any yolk in the whites.

We're using the yolks for the custard.
Not all ice creams require a custard base,
but for a really rich ice cream,
nothing beats it!

First, I'll give you my recipe,
then I'll go through the step-by-steps.

Generally, in making ice cream,
you'd use whole milk and heavy cream.
Since I never have whole milk on hand,
 and I do have skim and cream all the time,
I substitute 7 oz. skim and 1 oz heavy cream
for 1 cup of whole milk.
Or to make it even richer, you can go half and half.
Use what you have.


Rosie's Vanilla Ice Cream
7 oz. skim milk
1 oz. heavy cream
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of kosher salt
1 vanilla bean
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium sauce pan, combine skim milk with 1 oz. and 1 cup of the heavy cream, the sugar.

and the salt.  Heat over low until warm.  Scrape the seeds from the bean into the milk mixture and throw in the bean as well.  Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for an hour.

Pour remaining cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a strainer over top. 

In another bowl, whisk the yolks.  Slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly.  Pour yolk mixture back into sauce pan and heat over medium, stirring constantly, scraping the sides and bottom, until mixture thickens.

Pour the custard through the strainer, pressing with a spatula, and stir it into the cup of cream.  Put the vanilla bean into the custard mixture, pour in the extract, and chill thoroughly in the fridge.  

When chilled, remove the bean and churn in an ice cream maker.

For the step-by-steps:

Use a small, sharp knife to scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean.

Add the bean and the seeds to the milk, sugar, and cream mixture.

Heat.

Pour the heated mixture into the yolks, whisking.

Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan and ...

... heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Use a spatula to scrape the mixture from the sides and bottom.

Stir and heat until thickened.

Mixture should coat your spatula.

Pour thickened custard through a sieve 

into the remaining cup of cream.

Press custard through the sieve.

Add in the vanilla bean and chill before processing.

When thoroughly chilled, 

remove the bean

and process in an ice cream maker.

Perfection!

You can serve as is...

... or drizzle some homemade chocolate syrup over top.

Chocolate and caramel!

Make your own chocolate sauce. 

 It's so simple and so much better than anything you can buy.

I don't even have a "recipe" for chocolate sauce.

I just get a small saucepan and throw in some

semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, some cream and/or milk,

some sugar and/or corn syrup, and some vanilla.

Heat it up, stir it, and be done with it.

And the best thing about it

is that it keeps getting better through subsequent heatings-up.

Maybe, if I really HAD to give out measurements,

I'd say:

around 8 oz. good quality chocolate (bittersweet or semisweet)

around a cup of cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 TB vanilla

Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved

and mixture starts to simmer.

Remove from heat and spoon onto ice cream when syrup is warm.

If all you have is unsweetened chocolate,

simply amp up the sugar.

Now, as far as caramel goes,

it can be tricky.

When you're watching sugar melt in a sauce pan,

it can go from that perfect amber color

to a burned disaster rather quickly.

So, I've taken the worry out of caramel.

This, my friends, is caramel-for-dummies.

Caramel Sauce

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 TB water

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Combine all ingredients and

melt butter over low heat.

Turn up heat a bit and

let mixture boil for 5 minutes,

stirring occasionally.

Lower heat.

Pour in 1 5-oz. can  evaporated milk

and 1 TB vanilla.

It will bubble and steam.

Not to worry.

Stir until smooth and remove from heat.

I LOVE ice cream!