Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I decided to make a dessert with what I had on hand.  I don’t often use canned pie filling, but at Christmas time I bought a can of raspberry pie filling to make a breakfast pastry.  I never got around to using that recipe; can’t even find it now.   The can of raspberry pie filling has been sitting in my pantry for a while now.  One of my favorite desserts is Ina Garten’s Apple Crostata.  Why couldn’t I substitute raspberry pie filling for the apples?     It sounded like a winner to me.

Just don’t expect it to look like this apple crostata above.  You see, I neglected to take into consideration that the apples were raw and not juicy when added to the pastry circle.  They released their juices while baking but never became runny.  The canned raspberry was juicy from the beginning.  It resulted in leakage and expansion.

Thank goodness I baked the tart on parchment paper.  It was easy to clean up the errant juices.  As a matter of fact, this tasted really good.  So here is my mistake in all of its messy glory.  I’ve had two pieces so far.  Next time I think I will bake it in a pie pan.  The canned raspberry pie filling has potential.

RASPBERRY TART

For the Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbls. cold butter
4 Tbls. vegetable shortening
2 Tbls. ice water

For the Filling and Topping:

1 18 ounce can of raspberry pie filling

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbls cold butter, diced
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.  Pulse a few times to combine.  Add the butter and toss quickly with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour.  Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas.  With the motor running, add the 2 Tablespoons of ice water all at once through the feed tube.  Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together.  Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form into a disk.  Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface.  Transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Alternately, place in a 9″ pie pan, trim and flute the edges.  If cooking on the parchment paper, add the pie filling to the center of the pastry circle leaving a 1 1/2 ” border.  Fold the edges up over the pie filling, pleating as you go.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.  Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.  Pour into a bowl, add the almonds and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together.  Sprinkle evenly on the pie filling whether on parchment paper or in the pie shell.

Bake the tart in the hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove and cool before serving.

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After spending a week in North Carolina in the cold and snow, I have a new appreciation for the Florida weather.  For all of you who live in the northern climates, I understand the need for warmth and comfort in your diet.  But even here in our milder climate we crave the same things; roast beef cooked long and slow, simmering soups and warm bread.  Winter vegetables are usually the root variety; the kinds that can bury their goodness below ground away from the chill of the season.  We have been eating carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes and beets.  But I did find some Florida grown green beans the other day.  They were fresh with a good snap to them.

Green beans, by themselves, can be kind of boring in my opinion.  So I decided to amp up the flavor by adding onions; lots of them.  Have you noticed how many recipes start out with “chop up an onion”.  We probably eat more onions that any other vegetable.  When cooked slowly they caramelize and become sweet and pungent.  They are a good counterpoint to the crisp green beans.  Add in some balsamic vinegar and you have a tasty side dish.

Florida strawberries are in the markets now too.  I love getting a jump start on Spring.  This is the time of year I yearn for the sight of daffodils and cherry blossoms. It won’t be long before we return to North Carolina and the flowering dogwoods.  Spring in the mountains is glorious.  But in the meantime I will enjoy my seasonal Florida fruits and vegetables.

BALSAMIC GREEN BEANS WITH ONIONS

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3 onions, halved and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 pound of green beans, tops trimmed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Blanch beans in boiling water for 2 minutes.  Remove and place in a bowl of ice water to set the color.  Place on paper towels while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Melt butter and oil in a skillet over moderate-high heat.  Add onions and cook stirring often for about 6 minutes.  Add garlic and saute 1 minute more.  Add chicken broth and cook for about 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Add the blanched green beans to the skillet along with the balsamic vinegar, cover and cook for about 4 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Note:  I did not blanch my beans first and found them to be too crisp and not as green as I would have liked.  Next time I will do them as I have indicated here.

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We are in North Carolina celebrating our Grandson’s second birthday.  The weather has been cold and snowy.  It was a treat to walk into our Son and DIL’s home for lunch the other day.  Big fluffy flakes of snow coated our hair and eyelashes and the landscape was being quickly transformed from winter brown to winter white.  Opening the door we were greeted with the aroma of freshly baked butterscotch bars and simmering homemade tomato soup.

The children were excited about the snow and there was a festive air to our lunch consisting of Kristen’s soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on sourdough bread.  The soup was piping hot and had a depth of flavor you just can’t achieve by opening a single can.  It was a little smoky from the bacon, bright from the fresh basil and thyme and rich from the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth and cream.  That is why I am calling this “The Best Tomato Soup”.  It was indeed the best I have ever eaten.

I think you will agree.

THE BEST TOMATO SOUP

olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots – diced
6 strips of bacon – chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 garlic cloves – diced
2 tbsp. chopped thyme
2 tbsp. chopped basil
1 tbsp. sugar
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
3 oz. tomato paste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth

Directions 

In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat.  Add shallots and cook until soft.  Add bacon and cook until golden brown and crispy.  Add garlic, thyme, basil, and tomato paste and continue to cook for another minute or two.  Add white wine to deglaze pan.  Simmer until reduced by 1/3.  Add crushed tomatoes, cream, chicken broth, salt and sugar (to taste).  Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and puree soup in the pot with immersion blender until it reaches the consistency you desire. Return to heat and keep warm on low (or medium low) until you’re ready to eat.

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We love New Orleans.  We have been there several times and are always charmed by the food, culinary talent, and history of the city.  We don’t spend much time on  infamous Bourbon Street; been there, done that years ago.  But there is so much more to the city.  One of my favorite shops in The French Quarter is Lucullus.

It is a wonderful antique shop that imports all kinds of French antique cookware.  I have a beautiful copper pot, circa early 1900’s, that I bought from the shop at least 15 years ago.  The name of the shop has great gastronomic significance.  Lucullus was a Roman general and politician in 80 BC.  He was known for his decadent banqueting and interest in food.  Today Lucullan means lavish, extravagant, and gourmet; ie, a Lucullan delight.

There are many wonderful restaurants in New Orleans.  My first food epiphany occurred in New Orleans.  I was newly married and we traveled there to a conference that my husband was attending.  Our friends, John and Georgia, who were also attending the conference, had heard of a small restaurant that was supposed to have great food.  We traveled across a bridge to reach it.  I wish I could remember its name.  It is long gone now.  We just called our old friends and they remembered the name.  It was called La Ruth’s.  Thank goodness for friends whose minds are still sharp.  There were only 30 seats but La Ruth’s was always busy.  Both David and I ordered Trout Meuniere.  Even today I can remember the taste of the buttery lemon flavored fish.  I think that was the beginning of my understanding that food could be a transporting experience.  We both still talk about that meal and have tried to duplicate the experience.  We are still working on it.  But sometimes there is only one first time; impossible to recapture.  I wonder if Julia Child ever duplicated her first experience with Sole Meuniere.

Today New Orleans is home to many culinary legends.  Among them is John Besh, a native son of Southern Louisianna.  He has nine restaurants.  Among them is La Provence in Lacombe, just outside of New Orleans.  Set on picturesque grounds with an extensive kitchen garden, La Provence looks like a typical Provencal auberge.  The stucco, tiled roof restaurant features an antique French bar, a huge stucco fireplace and oak beamed ceilings.  It has a sophisticated menu of French and Cajun inspired dishes.  But the closest thing you can find to Jambalaya would be a Quail Gumbo.  Nonetheless the recipe that I am featuring today is a John Besh jambalaya that was featured in People magazine of all places.

I must give credit where credit is due.  David found this recipe, bought the ingredients and cooked it.  He is still smarting over the fact that I never mentioned that he made the Braised Short Ribs that we had at Christmas.  Jambalaya is a Louisiana Creole dish with Spanish and French influences.  Meats and seafood cooked with rice is reminiscent of the Spanish paella.  The Provencal word Jambon, meaning ham, is more than likely the basis of the word’s origin.  David included both chicken and pork in this dish, along with andouille sausage and shrimp.  It was delicious.

It is good straight out of the pot.  But I “fancied up” the presentation a bit.  I saved some of the shrimp, sausages and sauce separately.  After the jambalaya was done I placed a serving of it in a round bowl, packed it down and then inverted it into an individual serving bowl.  I surrounded it with sauce and sausage pieces and placed three shrimp on the top.  I sprinkled it with snipped chives for a little color.  This makes a lot so it is good for company.

JAMBALAYA (Adapted from John Besh)

3 slices of bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
3 cups uncooked, converted Louisiana white rice
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2-1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
5 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce (I used Rao’s Marinara sauce)
1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (More for presentation)
2 cups diced cooked pork and chicken
3 green onions, chopped
Salt
Hot sauce

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, cook bacon over medium-high heat until fat is rendered, about 3 minutes.  Add onions, stirring often until browned.  Add green pepper, celery and sausage; cook, stirring often, 3 minutes longer.  Add rice, paprika, thyme and red pepper flakes.

Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, pork, chicken and green onions; bring to a boil, stirring well.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 18 minutes until rice is done.  (Add shrimp after rice has cooked for about 5 minutes into the process.)  Remove from heat.  Seasons with salt and hot sauce.

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What could be better than a crispy, crusty potato gratin?  When cooked in a single large casserole that crispy goodness is limited to the edges.  But when cooked in small gratin dishes it is everywhere.  I improvised by using my small tartlet pans because that was all I had.  I had to wrap the bottom and outside with foil so that the butter and cream wouldn’t seep out.

I bought a big wedge of Gruyere cheese while at Costco last week.  It is one of my favorite cheeses for potato dishes and quiches.  It was wonderful on this gratin.  I adapted the recipe from one in a Patricia Wells cookbook.  She says the recipe was named for the Jabron river in the Drome region of France.  It is served at the Relais and Chateaux designated hotel and restaurant La Bonne Etape.

The charming restaurant has earned one Michelin star and, although it is elegant, it is known for its classic bistro-style cooking.  I love the beamed ceiling and antique furniture.  The grounds include an organic garden, swimming pool and lovely outdoor seating.  It has been run by the Gleize family for generations.  It would be a great vacation destination someday.  It won’t be this year, although we are going back to France.  Our summer trip this year will be a motorcycle tour led by our intrepid French friends Laurent and Carole.  They have traveled the world on their bike.  Laurent wants to start a motorcycle tour business and we and our riding buddies from our Alaska trip will be his first customers.  He is taking us from the Loire Valley up to Normandy and Omaha Beach, then down into Dordorgne, Perigord and into Provence.  It will be a two week ride.  David and I will then spend three days in Paris before flying home.  I can hardly wait to go back.

In the meantime I will enjoy this little taste of France.

INDIVIDUAL POTATO GRATINS  (GRATIN DU JABRON)- Adapted from Patricia Wells

4 medium to large russet potatoes, peeled
Salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream

Place the potatoes in a single layer in a saucepan.  Cover with water, add salt to taste.  Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until nealy cooked through but still firm in the center, about 15 minutes.  Drain and let cool.  Cut into thin slices (This step can be done several hours in advance.)

Preheat the broiler.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the potatoes and garlic and saute, shaking the pan from time to time, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes.

With a spoon, transfer the potatoes to 4 individual 6-inch round gratin dishes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle with cheese, dot with the cream.  Broil until brown and bubble, about 2 minutes.  4 servings.

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