Holiday Cooking

Spinach and Artichoke Tarte Soleil (the joys of puff pastry) – January
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Spinach and Artichoke Tarte Soleil (the joys of puff pastry) – January

One of the items in my freezer is a package of puff pastry. I have found it invaluable. Countless numbers of both sweet and savory easy recipes are just around the corner using a sheet, and they all look impressive. Far more impressive than difficult.

For example, take a look at these savory tarts…

 

 

Or what about sausage rolls? Perfect with a cold beer for Super Bowl Sunday. Just slice them for individual servings. They aren’t exactly traditional since there isn’t a hard boiled egg anywhere, but then there isn’t any frying involved.

For a starter at Christmas I wanted something a little more impressive. The cookbook Delicious Gatherings, author Tara Bench (from TaraTeaspoon), had just the thing I was looking for.

spinach and artichoke tarte soleil

spinach and artichoke tarte soleil

She describes it as a show stopper, I heartily agree. It isn’t that difficult to make. You could use the same design for all kinds of fillings. This one uses canned artichoke hearts, baby spinach, scallions, an egg, and feta. She includes dill, it’s not one of my favorite seasonings so I left it out and substituted parsley.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of crumbled feta (about 2 oz)
  • 2 packed cups of baby spinach (about 3-1/2 oz)
  • 1/4 cup of chopped scallions
  • half a 14-oz can of artichoke hearts in water, drained and rinsed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon of water
  • All purpose flour for dusting
  • 1 (17.5-oz) box of puff pastry, thawed
  • Sesame seeds

Topping:

  • 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped scallions
  • Zest of a half lemon
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Method:

  1. For the tart: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with the rack in the lower third. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add feta, spinach, scallions, and artichokes. Pulse until very finely chopped.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water together to make an egg wash. Set aside.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one to the sheets into a 12-by-12 inch square. Cut a 12-inch-diameter circle out of the pastry using a plate or mixing bowl as a guide. Place the round onto the parchment paper on the baking sheet.
  5. Spread the feta cheese mixture evenly on the pastry, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Brush some of the egg wash around the edge of the first pastry sheet.
  6. Roll out the second sheet and cut into a 12-inch-diameter circle, place it on top of the first. Press gently around the edges to seal.
  7. Using the rim of a 3-inch cup or bowl, press it gently into the center of the puff pastry to make an indentation without pressing all the way through. This will guide your cutting.
  8. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle in quarters, cutting from the indentation in the center to the edge. Leave the strips attached at the center. Cut each quarter in half, the same way, creating 8 strips. Then cut each 8th into 3 strips, making 24 strips total. Carefully twist each strip twice without breaking it off.
  9. Brush the tart with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  10. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Cool before serving.
  11. For topping: Combine the parsley, scallions, and lemon zest. When you are ready to serve the tart, drizzle with the honey and sprinkle with the herb mixture.
spinach and artichoke tarte soleil

spinach and artichoke tarte soleil

New Year’s Eve supper included another dish using puff pastry. This time a potato tart garnished with crumbled potato chips.

Potato Chip Tart

Crispy Potato and Sour Cream Tart

It was perfect with an arugula salad and glass of chilled champagne. Just a smidgen of caviar to celebrate the end of the year.

Potato Chip Tart

Crispy Potato and Sour Cream Tart

 

I am taking this along to Fiesta Friday, perfect food to share at a party. Fiesta Friday is hosted by Angie. It’s Fiesta Friday #520 and the co-host this week is Jhuls from The Not So Creative Cook. 

In My Kitchen – December 2020
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In My Kitchen – December 2020

Well, here we are in lockdown again. Cases are not so bad here on the North Coast of Mendocino County in California, but more inland they are booming. It hasn’t been a good month for optimism and frankly, I am tired of cooking every night. Not to mention tired of Covid all together. We have been within our own small social bubble for too many months now. I appreciate all the articles on food and cooking in the newspaper, but they are wearing thin. Maybe I’ll just settle for a grilled cheese sandwich and a margarita, or a baked sweet potato and roast vegetables, or a pizza…yes a takeout pizza sounds just fine. With a glass of Anderson Valley red wine of course.

On the other hand, I am grateful that we have food on the table, many don’t at this point.

So, it’s without much enthusiasm I tell you about what’s In My Kitchen.

I did make a quart container of brandied fruit for the holidays. My intention was to make fruitcake, however fruitcake for just the three of us was not appealing. Next year. The brandied fruit would be a wonderful holiday dessert spooned over pound cake with vanilla ice cream.

Brandied Dried Fruit

Brandied Dried Fruit

I am not fond of the candied fruit in fruitcake, this one has none of that. It’s a simple recipe that is endlessly adaptable.

Brandied Dried Fruit – makes 1 quart 

  • 4 oz of currents or raisins or a combination
  • 4 oz of dried cranberries
  • 2 oz of dried cherries or figs
  • 1 oz of dried apricots or prunes
  • 1 orange, zested
  • 1 lemon, sliced thinly and chopped
  • 1 T of grated fresh ginger
  • 2 star anise
  • 1/2 tablespoon of freshly grated black peper
  • 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamon
  • 1/2 cup of brandy or other spirit (I used B & B)

Method:

  1. Chop the fruit into raisin sized pieces.
  2. In a large bowl combine all the chopped dried fruit, the zest of the orange, and the the chopped lemon and spices. Mix well.
  3. Pour them into a quart jar, add the juice of the orange and the brandy.
  4. Cover. Turn several times to mix. Place in a cool place.
  5. Turn the jar over every day to mix the fruit with the brandy.
  6. After about a week; place in the refrigerator. Allow to cure for about 3 weeks before using. ‘

The type of dried fruit is quite forgiving. I knew I purchased cherries but couldn’t find them in the pantry so used dried figs instead. Use your favorites. Ditto with the spirits, I think bourbon would be just fine.

Also in my kitchen are sausage rolls. These are definitely a nostalgia item as I remember my English grandmother making them. These are quite different; using lamb, currents, jarred red peppers and chopped almonds. They were quite delicious served warm with a glass of pinot noir.

Lamb Sausage Rolls

Lamb Sausage Rolls

And really, that is about all that is interesting in my kitchen right now.

We had a small and very lovely Thanksgiving holiday with sous vide turkey thighs and our favorite stuffing (a sausage and cornbread one). It is likely Christmas dinner will be very similar.

And are any of you experiencing the same run on Christmas trees as we are here on the coast? We don’t usually put up our tree until the weekend after the Thanksgiving holiday but all the nurseries have been sold out!!!! Is this the same as the toilet paper run? We are going to have to drive 2 hours to Santa Rosa to pick up a tree this weekend! I think folks are ready to close out 2020 as soon as possible and have something positive in their lives.

This post is part of a regular “In My Kitchen” blogging party. Let your fingers lead you over to Sherrys Pickings for the December In My Kitchen, a collection of posts from kitchens around the world.

Have a wonderful holiday, stay safe and well.

 

November – Sous Vide Turkey Thighs
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November – Sous Vide Turkey Thighs

I have edited and am reposting one I did in April of this year, just after the shut down here in California. I think it will be very useful at Thanksgiving 2020. Most of our holidays are going to look very different this year. Certainly they will be smaller and, and maybe because of that, less elaborate. In our household of three a whole turkey is out of the question. Turkey parts are the answer. Everyone has their favorite part so you can choose which you will serve. Some families will only consider the white meat of the breast, others the dark. We are all thigh folks in this family so that’s the way we’ll go.

I was able to score some organic bone in turkey thighs at the grocery store and immediately seasoned them with salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence. I then vacuum packed them and put them in the freezer for Thanksgiving. They will cook away starting the day before with no fuss on my part. I can concentrate on the dressing and side dishes and the birthday cake since it coincides with a family members significant birthday.

You can sous vide food directly out of your freezer. You don’t need to defrost it, just add some additional cooking time. The flavor and quality of the meat will not suffer one tiny bit. You may need to do some browning once it is cooked, but that is a last minute thing.

I generally cook the dark meat for 24 hours (yes, no mistake) at 150 degrees F. This time, because the thighs were going to be cooked while frozen solid, I added another 3 hours to the cooking time. This recipe would also work for whole legs.

I know that 27 hours sounds like a lot, but almost all of it is unattended. Just add the vacuum packed and frozen thighs or whole legs to the preheated water, let it go overnight. If you start in the afternoon of the day before, they will ready for dinner the next day. The turkey comes out tender and juicy, almost the texture of pulled pork, and it can be used in similar recipes.

Sous Vide Turkey Thighs

Sous Vide Turkey Thighs – Looks Like Pulled Pork

Since my sous vide machine doesn’t like 150 degrees for some reaon, I used a temperature of 149 degrees F/65 degrees C for 24 hours (not frozen). I added an additional 3 because they were still frozen. So a total of 27 hours cooking time.

Be sure to cover you sous vide water with plastic wrap or a lid to cut down on evaporation. Otherwise you could wake to a pan or container with the water gone or a beeping and complaining machine.

Sous Vide Turkey Thighs

Sous Vide Turkey Thighs – After Cooking, Before Browning

You can use the turkey meat immediately for chili, or tacos, in a salad or brown the skin and have them as a holiday meal.

Some recommend browning them before vacuum packing, I sometimes do that. It does add an extra layer of flavor and it is easier to press the meat into the hot pan for uniform browning when they are raw. You then can crisp them in a hot pan or the broiler as well after they finish cooking sous vide. I didn’t pre brown them this time as I was intent on getting them into the freezer. I do find that once cooked they are more solid and it’s difficult to uniformly brown all the skin unless you deep fry them. I don’t think it will be a problem at this dinner because the raisin and sausage dressing will have plenty of crispy bits.

Here they are post sous vide cooking and browning in a hot cast iron skillet.

Sous Vide Frozen Turkey

Sous Vide Frozen Turkey

They were sliced and served with mashed potatoes, a side, and dressing. You won’t believe this is turkey, the texture and taste is more similar to duck confit.

Finished baked Dressing

I am taking this to Fiesta Friday #354 as it may be useful to some members of the party just before the holiday. Fiesta Friday is hosted by Angie. Click on the Fiesta Friday link to get all kinds of ideas for the coming holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.