Blueberry Cheesecake Galette

 

I must confess that I am a bit intimidated by pies, so when I was stumbled upon this recipe on Kitchen Meets Girl I was intrigued.

Of course, I must also confess that I had never even heard the term Galette, much less knew what it was. Ashley (the Girl that Met the Kitchen noted above) conveniently described a Galette as "basically a round, flat, free-form crusty pastry.  I call it an open-face, easy to make and quick to get to my pie-hole…well, pie."

So a pie-like pastry without the pie-like intimidation moved this goodness to Recipe #1 on Operation Blueberry Madness 2014.

Blueberry Cheesecake Galette

Ingredients

• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 1 large egg, beaten, plus 1 egg yolk
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• Coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Unroll the refrigerated pie crust and place it on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. While your pie crust is chilling, make your blueberry filling: in a medium bowl, toss together the blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and salt.
3. In a separate bowl make your cheesecake filling: whisk together cream cheese, egg yolk, the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the nutmeg.
4. Spread half of the cheesecake mixture over the top of the unrolled pie crust, leaving a 1 ½ inch border. Top with blueberries, and fold the edges of the crust over the filling. Spread the rest of the cheesecake mixture over the top of the berries and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Place an inverted cookie sheet in the lower third of your oven and preheat oven to 425. Brush the edges of the crust with a beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar (like sugar in the raw). Place baking sheet with the galette on it directly on top of the inverted cookie sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is golden. Allow to cool slightly before slicing.

 

 

My Notes to Recipe & Instructions

• I have no idea what a Silpat-lined baking sheet, so I used parchment paper. (Yes, I realize I could Google that and sound far less novice... maybe later.) I used the Pampered Chef baking stone and kept the parchment paper beneath it for baking. The crust was absolutely perfect after bottom rack, 20 minutes... the parchment though was burned to a cindered ash-crisp. Not sure if that was related to the stone or the temp, but duly noted to not bake it on the paper next time.

 

• Fold the full 1.5 inches of border crust in and over the edges of the filling. This gap with instructions caused me great confusion for some reason, making me have to undo and re-do the fold, and not ending up with anything particularly lovely.

 

• This is not a "hearty" dessert. In a family of 3.5, it is gone as quick as it is made. The pic makes it look far more "deep dish" than the reality. Cameron actually picked up his slice to eat pizza-style... It is delish though!

 

 

 

 

 

Slow Low Country Boil

This was my first post to Instagram Friday night. I know, I know, not too long ago I was just on this very blog proclaiming to boycott the (not so) newest social media trend. Then... I caved.

I will quickly be one to laugh at the Key Clubbers when they take pics of their food at convention or on other adventures. It's as if "they's not use to such fancy eatin' ." So, it's a little ironic that I post a meal pic. However, I told Jason that I was documenting the dinner meal I cooked so if he were to so foolishly suggest that I never cook, I could produce evidence otherwise. Of course, we are near approaching a week since the displayed meal and I have yet to crack an egg since then.

The cheddar biscuits are from a Red Lobster box mix. The recipes for Slow Low Country Boil and Coca-Cola Cake (a Cracker Barrel knock-off recipe) are posted below.

Slow Low Country Boil (a crockpot meal)



Ingredients

4 quarts cold water
1/4 cup Old Bay or other spicy seasoning
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste
4 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 yellow onion, diced
1 head garlic, halved
2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
4 ears corn, shucked, each cut into 4 pieces
2 pounds smoked sausage, cut into 1 1/2-inch slices
2 pounds medium shrimp, in the shell, deveined
(halved lemons for garnish, optional)


Directions

In a slow cooker combine the water, Old Bay seasoning, salt, celery, onion, garlic and potatoes and cook on low heat until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 4-6 hours.

Add the corn and sausage to the crock pot and simmer until the corn is tender, 1-2 more hours.

Add the shrimp and simmer until opaque, 20 to 30 minutes more. Taste the broth and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serve immediately.


Notes

This made a massive amount of food! Our family of 3.5 hearty eaters got two full meals from it! Also, we have a pretty large crockpot, which could only hold 4 quarts of water. So, following each step I have to remove a few cups of water to fit more food in the pot, and it all worked out deliciously fine. The pic may make the meal appear a bit bland, but after swimming in an Old Bay broth for two hours (there is no substitute for this Eastern Shore girl!), all the contents were very flavorful (and cooked just right using the low end of all the time estimates provided). Happy Eats!


Recipe found at cdkitchen.

Lemon Blueberry Poundcake

INGREDIENTS

Cake

1/3 cup butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 egg white

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries

3 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 ounces) lemon yogurt

 

Glaze

1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

 

 

DIRECTIONS

 

Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until blended.

Add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in lemon peel and vanilla.

Toss blueberries with 2 tablespoons flour.

In another bowl, mix the remaining flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with yogurt, beating after each addition just until combined.

Fold in blueberry mixture. 

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to wire rack; cool for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Gradually brush onto warm cake, about one-third at a time, allowing glaze to soak into cake before adding more. Cake needs to still be warm!

NUTRITIONAL FACTS (Cover your eyes!)12 servings per cake: 1 slice equals 434 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 78 mg cholesterol, 281 mg sodium, 80 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 7 g protein.


Credit: Recipe from Taste of Home

 

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

Being from the Eastern Shore of Maryland (home of Perdue chicken, and Perdue stadium and Perdue School of Business, and many other building named in honor of the lucrative poultry business), chicken is a staple of my diet. Jason joked something to the factor of me trying to "turn (him) into a chicken" when we first got together because it was all I cooked. However, since Banquet frozen chicken was a staple of his diet, I overlooked his lack of love for my feathered friends.

I am also a big fan of coconut (preferably in tall drink glasses sporting little umbrellas). The only recipe that I use coconut regularly for involves Christmas cookies. Thus, when I saw this recipe for chicken + coconut, I was rather anxious to give it a try.

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Coconut Chicken and Apricot Sauce

Yield: 4 servings
1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside. Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once halfway.

To prepare the apricot sauce, mix the apricot preserves and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Freezer Friendly: After baking the chicken, let cool completely then freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 400˚F for 20 minutes.
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Avoid the temptation to sprinkle extra coconut on top of the dish before baking. I did this and those extra coconut flakes simply burned. I do wish it had more of a coconut coating though, so I will work on a method to accomplish that next time I make this dish.

I was also iffy on the sauce. It tasted very "mustardy" to me. So, I would strongly suggest adding half the recipe amount and taste-testing before stirring in more. I think I would prefer more of a Pina Colada sauce like what restaurants typically serve with coconut shrimp... maybe using the Yoplait pina colada yogurt, which is yum.


Recipe Source: Pennies on a Platter

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients:

• Pie Crust
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 beaten eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Dash ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (6 ounces)
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Line pastry sheet with a double thickness of foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 4-5 minutes more or until pastry is set and dry. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 Tbsp drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. Cook sliced onion in reserved drippings until tender but not brown; drain.

3. In a medium mixing bowl stir together eggs, milk, salt and nutmeg. Stir in the crumbled bacon and onion. Toss together shredded cheese and flour. Add to egg mixture; mix well.

4. Cover edge of crust with foil to prevent over-browning. Pour egg mixture into hot, baked pastry shell. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Paprikash

Ingredients:

• 2 - 2.5 lbs of meaty chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, drumsticks)
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 large chopped onion (1 cup)
• 3-4 tsp Paprika
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (or white cooking wine)
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Skin chicken. Rinse chicken and pat dry. In a 12-inch skillet, cook chicken in hot oil about 15 minutes or until lightly browned, turning to brown evenly. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

2. Add onion and paprika to skillet; cook until onion is tender. Return chicken to skillet, turning pieces to coat with paprika mixture. Add broth and wine to skillet. Bring to boiling then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Transfer chicken to a serving platter and keep warm.

3. For sauce, skim fat from pan juices. Measure 1 1/2 cups of juice, adding water if necessary. In a mixing bowl, stir together sour cream and flour; gradually stir into pan juices. Pour into skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.

4. Spoon some of the sauce over chicken. Serve with hot cooked noodles or rice.

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

I am not, in any way, a "foodie" or "food snob." However, I loathe canned sweet potatoes. We had a bounty of sweet taters left over from our visit to the Farmer's Market on Steroids, so I chopped them all up and steamed them to make tubs of puree to freeze for a quick grab in recipes... like this one (that originally called for canned yams, yuck!) Chopping sweet potatoes and steaming them for about 15 minutes is a quick and easy way to use fresh ones in your recipes... because baking them takes for-eva!

Ingredients:

One 16-ounce can sweet potatoes

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Candied Pecans, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcakes pans with liners (for 24 cupcakes).

2. Puree sweet potatoes in food processor, and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and eggs.

5. Add flour mixture (#3) to egg & sugar mixture (#4).

6. Whisk in the sweet potato puree.

7.  Fill each cupcake liner in baking pan with 1/4 cup of batter.

8. Bake 20 - 25 minutes, then let cool.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until creamy.

2.  Add the butter and beat until well incorporated.

3. Add the light brown sugar and beat until fluffy.

4. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until well incorporated.

5. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Candied Pecans

Consider these an optional adornment. There is a narrow margin of time & talent between creating candied nuts and burned nuts. Considering the expense of nuts and how iffy this process was, I would just skip it next time. The frosting  is just so good that this isn't needed!

• Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Beat the egg white in a bowl until frothy; whisk 4 teaspoons water and the vanilla extract into the egg.

3. Stir the sugar, cinnamon and salt into the egg mixture.

4. Add the chopped pecans, stir to coat completely. Spread the pecans onto the baking sheet.

5. Bake the pecans, stirring about every 15 minutes and stir. Bake pecans an additional 15 minutes. The original recipe called for repeating this process every 20 minutes for an hour, but the nuts burned horribly so I wold suggest tyring this modification instead.

6. Allow to cool on the baking sheet.


This recipe was adapted from one created on a 2011 edition of Cupcake Wars!

Mississippi Mud Cake

The consistency of the cake is like a dense, nutty brownie.

The frosting will get a little firm to the touch but softens and "goos" over the cake when cut.

 It was a big hit at the party I took it to. The fine Southern ladies took a small piece... then went back for more...
and I spied one even cleaning the ooeey gooey chocolate goodess from the serving spoon! 

Ingredients 

• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one 9x13 inch cake pan.              

2. In a large sauce pan over low heat, melt 1 cup of the butter or margarine and the cocoa. Stir often. Remove from heat and add white sugar, beat well. Beat in eggs one at a time.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and stir into the egg mixture. Stir in the chopped nut and teaspoon of the vanilla. Pour batter into the prepared pan.               

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes. 

5. To Make Icing: Beat together the remaining 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the milk and the confectioner's sugar. Once well combined spoon over the still hot cake.

6. Remove cake from oven and spread the marshmallow cream over the cake. Spoon chocolate icing over marshmallow topping while the cake is still hot and spread. The cake will get "muddied" by the spreading action.

Zuchinni Bread

Last week, Jason and I attended the local Farmer's Auction... think "Farmer's Market on Steroids." We bought zuchinni, squash and sweet potatoes. Today, I finally got around to these veggie mountains:

Today's projects was Zuchinni Bread!

Ingredients:
1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium-sized)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup olive oil (or canola oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional extras: 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 cup raisins, or 1 cup chocolate chips
non-stick spray or butter for greasing the pans

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8x4" loaf pans.

Trim the stem and root-end from the zucchinis and shred them on a box grater. Gather the shreds in a clean kitchen towel or several layers of cheese cloth and squeeze to press out as much moister from the zucchini as possible.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, olive oil, and vanilla extract.

Toss the zucchini and any extras (nuts, raisins, chocolate chips) in the flour mixture. Pour the liquids over top. Gently stir and fold just until no more flour is visible. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.

Bake 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The finished loaves should have a golden-brown crust and feel springy if you give the top a little pat. Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Loaves will keep in an airtight container for several days. They can also be wrapped in foil and frozen for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or in a warm oven for 20 minutes.

The above picture and this recipe was provided by The Kitchn

I chose this recipe because it had some healthier ingredients, or portions of ingredients, than other options, yet it didn't call for anything that wasn't a kitchen staple. I tripled this recipe, planning to freeze a large portion of the batch (since this Homestead-style cooking is a rare... rare... experience for me.) I shredded about 15 zuchinnis before I began baking, so I had to estimate how much to add to the bread. At 12 cups, it was probably more than the recipe called for, but I like things "Messy," so added more nuts than listed also. I used the Pampered Chef mini loaves stone, which took about 45 minutes for each set of four.

Today I just added walnuts. Tomorrow I will play with some nuts, chocolate chips and craisins combos and make another triple batch... because I have oOooOoodles of shredded zuchinni left, not to mention half a mountain of zuchinni still not shredded!