Deglazing

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

 

Pineapple and Macadamia Nut Tarts and Other News

So the bake off started in earnest this week.  I decided to get my butt back to the kitchen and get started.  I have to say it was a pure delight to be in the kitchen again.  For Christmas I got a new Ipod  (I have some sort of electro magnetic discharge that destroys all electronic devices, especially any Apple product, not sure why really, so this is like my 8th Ipod or something).  The Ipod is almost always with me in the kitchen.  I love 80s rock music and with my Ipod I can dance and sing with abandon in the kitchen.  Fortunate for my neighbors I got a shade for the kitchen window recently.  I am sure they appreciate not having to see me dancing around singing into my whisk. 

The new issues of my food magazines have been coming in recently. When I saw the Feb/Mar issue of Fine Cooking it was love. I knew I would be in the kitchen making the pineapple tart. This tart is a real beauty. There’s something so nice about a dessert that is as beautiful as it is tasty. This tart delivers in all categories. It might have something to do with the whole pineapple and 1 1/4 cups of macadamia nuts. I love macadamia nuts. Tim made the astute observation that macadamia nuts are a lot like cashews in flavor the other day. I hadn’t really thought of it, but it’s true. Macadamia nuts are like tropical cashews with a little more crunch. The flavor is slightly mellow and creamy and nothing short of delicious if you ask me. It’s like a cashew that went away on a tropical vacation. This dessert looks complicated, but it’s really not.  The food processor does most of the work for you.

The really fun part of a dessert like this is arranging the fruit. It’s like a work of art.  When you are finished it looks like a flower.  I loved that.  The layering technique is quite similar to what you would do for a French Apple Gallette.  Once the pineapples are thinly sliced enough it’s super simple to arrange the slices into this pretty design.

Here’s the finished product.  The pineapple cooks down nice and tender and a little glaze over the top makes for a lovely finish.  I added 1/2 a vanilla bean to the glaze, that’s what the little flecks are on the top of the tart.  The filling is kind of like a custard.  It’s amazing to think you can make a paste with nuts, butter, flour, and sugar and have it come out with a custard consistency, but here we are. 

This dessert screams tropical getaway and it’s a wonderful way to shake off the winter blues (although winter hasn’t really been much of a winter in our neck of the woods).  If you make this tart, you will be surprised how few ingredients are in this lovely dessert and how simple it really is to make.  Think of it like a more sophisticated cousin of the pineapple upside down cake.  It has similar flavors, but it’s a little more dressed up. 

Pineapple and Macadamia Nut Tart (From Fine Cooking Feb/March 2012 issue)

by Dabney Gough

For the crust:
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, toasted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4-1/2 oz. (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
1/2 cup (4 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:
3/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 oz. (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. light or dark rum
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the topping:
1 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 medium fresh pineapple (about 3-1/2 lb.), peeled, cut lengthwise into quarters, cored, and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
3 Tbs. mild honey, such as clover
2 Tbs. light or dark rum

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Make the crust:

In a food processor, pulse the nuts and sugar until finely chopped, 12 to 15 one-second pulses. Be careful not to overprocess; you want to keep some of the crunchy nut texture. Add the flour and 1/4 tsp. salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse just until the dough resembles coarse sand and starts to gather into clumps, about 8 one-second pulses. Drizzle the egg evenly over the mixture and pulse just until blended in, 5 to 6 one-second pulses. Do not overmix.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a disk (it will be very sticky). Wrap it tightly and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Using your fingers, press the dough evenly into the bottom (not the sides) of a 9-1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. If the dough sticks to your fingers, dip them in water. Freeze the crust for 20 minutes.

Make the filling:

In a food processor, grind the macadamia nuts until they resemble coarse sand. Add the remaining filling ingredients and process until completely smooth, about 2 minutes.

Top and bake the tart:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.

Using a small offset spatula, spread the filling over the bottom of the tart shell, leaving a 1/4-inch border, and then sprinkle with the flour. Working from the outside in and leaving a 1/4-inch border, arrange the pineapple tightly in overlapping concentric circles over the filling. (Each circle should overlap the previous circle by 1/2 inch.) Use larger pieces of pineapple for the outer circles and smaller pieces as you work your way toward the center. If necessary, trim pieces to fit. You may not need all of the pineapple, but it’s better to use more rather than less, since it will shrink as it bakes.

Bake the tart, rotating the pan after 20 minutes, until the crust is light golden-brown, 30 to 35 minutes. If the edges brown too quickly, cover them with foil.

Meanwhile, combine the honey and rum in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until just slightly reduced, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Brush half of the honey syrup over the pineapple topping, taking care not to move the pineapple slices. Continue to bake the tart until the crust is deep golden-brown, 5 to 15 minutes more.

Transfer the tart to a rack and brush a bit more syrup on the top (you may not use it all). It’s OK if the tart looks liquidy in the center; it will thicken and firm up as it cools. Let cool completely and serve.

Make Ahead Tips

The tart can be made 1 day ahead. Cover it with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

 

So onto the other dealings of life right now.  The gluten free experiment is going well.  Thus far I have adapted quite a few recipes into gluten free without much trouble including muffins, tortillas, coffee cake, etc.  The real trick has been C4C flour.  I can’t say enough good about this stuff.  It’s making it so much easier to rework things. Yesterday I tried it in a classic recipe I have been using for years, flour tortillas.  I have been using Mark Bittman’s recipe for flour tortillas for what seems like forever.  It’s pretty simple.  You put 1 1/2 cups all-purpose (or in this case, C4C flour) into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Pulse with a pinch of salt and 2 Tbsp. cold butter until it resembles coarse meal.  Add 1/2 cup warm water through the feed tube and pulse for 30 seconds or until the flour forms a ball on top of the blade.  Remove from the processor and wrap in plastic and set to the side.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes or so.  Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.  Shape into balls and keep covered with clean cloth or plastic wrap.  Roll out each dough ball into 6 or 8 inch rounds.  Use a large non-stick pan or cast iron pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.  Place a round of dough into the pan and allow it to cook until bubble form and the bottom is lightly browned.  Flip and cook on the other side for 2 minutes or so.  Cool completely on wire racks and use as you would flour tortillas. 

The photo you see above is using gluten free C4C.  As you can see, it looks identical to a classic flour tortilla.  The texture is exactly the same as the classic flour tortilla.  So, if you have a gluten sensitive family member these tortillas would be wonderful for you.  Keep in mind C4C flour has milk powder in it.  If you have a sensitivity to dairy and wheat, then C4C would not work for you.  I am looking at testing this flour out with breads starting really soon.  I will get back to you on any developments.

John and I have been playing with the camera.  She has an awful habit of opening her mouth just when my shutter is releasing.  It makes for very funny and cute photos.  I love this big mouth photo from yesterday.

She can sit still for photos like this one of her eye.  She is such a beautiful cat, it’s fun to try and get more artsy photos of her like this one. 

So that’s the last from our kitchen and world.  Hope the new year is treating you well. 

Waffle House Pecan Waffles

I’ve always been a pick yourself up by the boot strap kind of girl.  I’m not big on wallowing and self-pity.  As one of the sweetest people I ever knew said, “Chin up.”  I always loved that saying.  Chip up, in other words move forward.  That being said there are times when chin up is a lot harder to accomplish.  But it’s that moving forward that proves to us that life goes on and there’s still beauty all around us if we just pick our chins up off the ground.  The last couple of months have given me a serious a$$ kicking.  It’s been difficult to get back to it.  By it I mean me.  I haven’t been keeping up with things like I normally do.  My photos have suffered, my cooking has been mostly for survival and less for pure joy, the blog went to the wayside, and in short, I just haven’t been myself.  You know crazy, silly, joyful.  It’s funny how it takes getting to the bottom of the slide to realize you were falling down, way down.  But when you get there it’s kind of beautiful.  It’s liberating.  It’s freeing.  It’s time to shake the dust off and shake your fist at the skies.  So this week is the week.  Funny how it coincides with the new year, but things happen like that occasionally.  Time to move forward.  My apologies for the little disappearing act.  I am coming back and that’s a good thing.  I am not going to give you all sorts of health food for the new year.  That’s just not my style.  I will be sharing the things I am making.  The things I honestly eat and the things I am testing out.  The test kitchen is back and my aprons are cleaned and ready to rock.

While in the funk I did test out new recipes I just didn’t have the energy to document them and share them here.  Toward the end of the funk I started taking pictures again.  I got a picture of one of my favorite funk recipes.  I am big on breakfast all the time, but even more when I don’t have the energy to do much else.  I was still reading all of my cooking magazines and this recipe is one of the best ones I tried.  There’s a restaurant chain called the Waffle House in the south.  They make great waffles.  Food Network decided to replicate the recipe for their readers.  These waffles are delicious and super easy to put together.  I changed the waffles only slightly – I stirred the toasted pecans into the batter instead of serving them over the waffles and I added cinnamon.  The cinnamon addition was simply because I love cinnamon, nothing less, nothing more.  I thought these waffles were a good recipe, nice and crispy.  A good all around waffle recipe for a quick weekend breakfast. 

Almost Famous Pecan Waffles (From Food Network Magazine December 2011)

Makes 6 standard waffles (not Belgian)

• 3/4 cup pecans
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for brushing and topping
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted and cooled
• Maple syrup, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet; bake until toasted, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool, then chop. Reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk the egg, milk, buttermilk and vanilla in a separate bowl until combined. Stir the egg mixture, melted butter and shortening into the dry ingredients until just combined. (The batter will be lumpy.)

Preheat a waffle iron and brush with melted butter. Ladle some batter into the iron (about 1/2 cup, depending on your waffle iron); sprinkle with 2 tablespoons toasted pecans. Cook until golden brown, then transfer the waffle to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining batter. Top the waffles with butter and maple syrup.

Playing in the Kitchen

John loves new photo toys. I got a really cool guerilla pod for Christmas and we have been playing with it some. It is a great gift and I can't wait to test it out some more. I am not usually good at setting up tripods when I shoot, so I hope this little guy will help me overcome that.

Fall Comes to New England

One of my absolute favorite times of the year is happening right now.  The time between Labor Day and New Year’s Day is absolutely magical.  Small New England towns are the towns you see in postcards about Christmas.  Fall is a wonderful early start to the holiday season.  The trees just seemed to be set ablaze in the last week.  We took a three day weekend and really got out to enjoy it. 

Jordan Pond is always a fun little hike.  This weekend the colors made the walk even more enjoyable.

Red and orange leaves are always my favorites when the trees change in Maine.  This red leaf was so bright and beautiful I just had to take a picture of it.

Sunset on Cadillac is always beautiful. The colors were very subdued this weekend, but beautiful nonetheless.

The winds really were ripping most of the weekend, but with temps in the 60s it was still very pleasant. I can honestly say I have never seen the waves so large in Acadia on such a beautiful day.

Getting Closer

The dining room is coming together. This weekend we worked for two days straight getting the office moved upstairs and setting up the dining room. I still have work to do, but it’s starting to look more and more like a dining area. I have to say it’s really nice to have a place to set up lunch and dinner. Today I painted a giant menu board on the wall. This week I have to stain up the trestle bench we bought at an unfinished furniture store. I still need to set up the bookcases and a buffet for serving, but all and all it feels like a lot of progress in a short amount of time.

I found a really cool finish for the table. It’s called polycrylic finish. It’s a lot like polyurethane without all of the smell and it’s not nearly as messy. It worked out amazingly well and I could work with it without the fumes. The other great thing is how quickly it sets. It’s dry in 2 hours and it only took two hours to set.

Not much cooking went on this weekend except for the usual lunches and dinners. I didn’t have time to do much else. I did get a new cookbook – called So Sweet. I can’t wait to try it out and let you know how it goes. It has a bunch of no fry donut recipes. I have an adorable little donut pan that should work perfectly with these recipes. It should be fun testing them out. I will let you know how it goes. Until then, onward.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend or are lucky enough to have an extra day tomorrow!

A Busy Week

This week was an extremely busy week.  Lots of projects started, completed, and still in process.  We are finishing up the REMV app, moving the office, and working on creating a formal dining room.  To create the dining room first I had to make the table.  We love the reclaimed wood tables that have become so popular in the last couple of years at places like Pottery Barn and West Elm.

(This photo is one from West Elm’s website)

What we didn’t like was the price tags ($700 – $1000) for most of them.  So I set out to build my own this week.  It’s taken the better part of three days, but I am very close to completing it.  It should be placed in the dining room this weekend.  I can’t wait to start creating the runners and table top designs.  Next week I will begin work on the chairs and bench.  Here’s a photo of the top of the one I built.  I still need to put the finish coat, but I love the color and texture of the wood.  I will put up more pictures when it all comes together.  It’s been a really fun project.

I have been putting together the stuff for our holiday cards and such.  I have been getting ready to create the Christmas cards for Signal Consulting Group.  I am pretty sure I have the design I am going to use all set. Thankfully, we only have a dozen to couple of dozen to send out.  I have also been researching crafts.  I have been reviewing the new Martha Stewart Holiday Crafts book and I love it.  So many ideas, I can’t wait to get started.  I also got a new set of glitter and a stamping set. It makes phenomenal cards.  I had a ton of fun working on card designs last weekend. 

I have stumbled upon a new tea over at Teavana that I am crazy for and have added to my regular tea collection.  It’s a mix of Youthberry and Orange Blossom.  It’s an herbal tea and it’s incredibly flavorful with hibiscus and citrus.  It’s also great iced, but the price is a little steep (no pun intended), so it’s a special treat kind of tea. 

Not much else going on.  Just thought I would update you on all the goings on in the world of Nick.  I plan to have more posts for you next week.  I think it’s time to expand the topics a little around here, so get ready for all the crazy food ramblings of Nick.

Friday’s Random Thoughts

I still get giddy when Friday rolls into town.  It’s the excitement of another great weekend.  This weekend is shaping up to be beautiful.  Temps in the 60s and me in Bar Harbor, couldn’t ask for anything more. 

Today’s post is going to be rather random, but that’s how my mind works most of the time so here goes. 

This morning I got a lovely surprise at the Starbucks.  Someone before me in the drive-thru bought my drinks and left me a pay it forward card.  It was such a sweet and lovely gesture and proof positive that there are kind people out there.  It was so nice that tomorrow on my way to Bar Harbor I am going to stop and pay it forward for the guy behind me.  Such a sweet thought.  So, who ever you are thanks for making my day a little brighter. 

I have been re-thinking Deglazing, yet again.  I realized that my discomfort was from the feeling that no one reads this useless food drivel, so I should hang up the apron.  But, I decided that it was the last thing I wanted to do, so I am going to continue to post and hope that the stuff I do reaches the people it needs to reach and that’s enough.  I turn the idea of deglazing over in my head at least once or twice a year and every time I return to the basic fact that I love food too much to shut up about it.  I also love to talk to people about food, so if you are out there and want to find something drop me a line I will help any way I can.  I hope that if nothing else I can help other people with their food dilemmas or recipe searches.  I have also come to realize that I can write about things other than food if I want to, I mean it’s my space after all.  Hence, the recent posts about crafting (another one of my favorite things to do)

Hard to believe that September is half in the bag already.  Crazy if you really think about it.  The holidays are fast approaching and I can’t wait for them to get here.  I just saw a post about the Christmas creep into stores and it made me smile.  I once got banned from posting comments on a blog for saying I disagreed with everyone who hated the retailers bringing the holidays in earlier each year.  Funny, what get’s you banned in social circles these days.  Positivity, it’s a dangerous thing, so stay away from me people I’m dangerous. The other funny thing is how much that bothered me.  I guess I figured I at least deserved another shot, but the world can be a catty place and it’s best to not get caught up in those sorts of things.  To this day it still makes me smile, banned for having a thought beyond what the rest of the group thought.  I guess that black sheep mark just doesn’t wash away too easily.  It was indeed a powerful lesson in hearing my own voice and not allowing it to be squashed so easily.

I look forward to posting all sorts of wonderful pictures and anecdotes from my travels this weekend and maybe, a thing or two about food next week.  Have a wonderful weekend and remember it’s okay to be 3 standard deviations from the center of the bell curve!

What a Great Weekend!

Fall comes into New England in the most spectacular of ways.  The days are sunny and warm and the nights crisp and cool.  The skies are the most beautiful shade of blue you have ever seen.  The trees start to change and the apples are ready for the picking.  It’s really the most amazing time of the year.  I love September and all the way through to the holidays.  There’s so much to do and see.  This weekend was a glorious introduction to what’s to come in the next few weeks.  Temps were in the high 60s and the skies were crystal clear.  We had a lovely weekend.  Here are some of the photos of the food and fun. Hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

First off, the girls.  They truly are camera hams and these two shots prove it.

We had great food this weekend.  Classic, simple, old-fashioned style recipes.  Two of the highlights were chewy chunky chocolate chip cookies and banana walnut buttermilk pancakes.  Delicious, to say the least!

We went to visit my parents.  They both have birthdays in September.  So, Happy Birthday to my Mom today!  I love you.  On Sunday we went to the Augusta Arboretum.  It was the perfect chance to capture the flowers before they all die from the frost.  It was lovely day for a walk.

The big 15!

 

This time of the year UMaine calls to me.  There are so many wonderful memories of my years there, none as important as the start of the rest of my life.  15 years is a long time, even if it feels like yesterday.  Happy 15 crazy, wonderful years!  Here’s to pizza bread, Pat’s, the coffee shop, Tommy, and the start of the Acadia fascination.