Heirloom Tomato Tart

This gorgeous savory Tomato Tart was both a simple recipe and a great photo.  The recipe we got from one of our favorite food bloggers, David Lebovitz, who calls it a French Tomato Tart.

The highlight for our take on it was the varied assortment of heirloom tomatoes we got from [...]]]>

Heirloom Tomato Tart

This gorgeous savory Tomato Tart was both a simple recipe and a great photo.  The recipe we got from one of our favorite food bloggers, David Lebovitz, who calls it a French Tomato Tart.

The highlight for our take on it was the varied assortment of heirloom tomatoes we got from our CSA, Vermont Valley Farms.  We may be biased, but we thought the bright clash of different reds, oranges, and yellows really made this dish visually pop.

With this recipe, even the crust was a snap to make.  Cutting the butter into the flour and mixing with our fingers made it really easy to pull together.

And the secret ingredient is the Dijon mustard, spread on the crust before adding the tomatoes.  It provided just the right amount of kick, without taking over.  He also mentions using honey, however that wasn’t in the cards for our version, and we didn’t feel like we missed the sweetness at all.

Grilled Fresh Peaches With Mascarpone Cheese

This is one of those dead simple desserts you can do in summer with just fresh fruit.  You don’t even need to start making it until after everyone is done with dinner.

Simply heat your grill to medium-high, and once it’s ready, just put the pitted halves of fresh peaches cut side down on the grill.

Once they’ve had a chance to char and cook a bit (2-3 minutes), remove to serving plates.

Top the halves with a dollop of fresh mascarpone cheese (BelGioioso of Green Bay makes a great one), and then drizzle honey across the tops.  A sprig of mint from our tangled mess of an herb garden added some nice color as well.

The peaches, mascarpone, and honey work together to make a decadent tasting dessert, without the fuss of a complicated preparation.  Perfect for summer dinners on the back patio!

Chicken Ballotine Stuffed With Spinach And Mushrooms

Although we wish our iPhone could have captured this better, this deboned chicken stuffed with sauteed spinach and chopped mushrooms was one of those visual stunners that take a bit of work, but turn out to be very worthwhile as a Sunday dinner.

Mr. Foodie is a big fan of Jacque Pepin, especially the different TV series he had on PBS  a ways back.  From one of his shows, he demonstrated how to quickly debone a chicken, then stuff it and tie it in a roll.

It was kind of like a TurDucken, but without the Tur or the Duck.

Although it seems complicated up front, like most of Jacque Pepin’s demonstrations of cooking technique, in the end it comes off as rather straightforward.   And although it took quite a bit longer than Chef Pepin’s quick demo, Mr. Foodie was able to pull it together rather respectively.

Below is the video demonstration by Jacque Pepin of making a Ballotine (or Galantine, as the cold version is known).  We especially liked his side demo of making chicken “lollipops” from the wings.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAekQ5fzfGM

Here is hoping you all had a great 2011, and are looking forward to an even better 2012.

Annemarie and Paul at Madison Foodie

And for those who don’t, Thanksgiving can be a trial that can bring [...]]]> We are hosting Thanksgiving Dinner this year after a two year hiatus. And while we love cooking, especially for friends and family, the event status of Thanksgiving can be a little daunting, even for those who know their way around their kitchens.

And for those who don’t, Thanksgiving can be a trial that can bring up nightmares of in-laws staring over your shoulder in the kitchen, wondering out loud “Well I’ve never used corn starch in MY gravy when I was cooking Thanksgiving Dinner.”

So while there are a lot of recipes out there, here are some tips we’ve found that can make the day and the dinner go smoother, so maybe you can actually enjoy the meal instead of worrying about it.

1 – Sharpen Your Knives

Most people’s knives were sharp when they first got them as a wedding gift, but over the years they’ve grown duller and duller, until even cutting an apple is a challenge.  With all the food prep, let alone carving the turkey, sharp knives will make things much easier, as well as being much safer:  no one likes blood on their drumstick.  Either take them to a local shop that does sharpening or you can learn the skill for yourself from this Gordon Ramsay video.

2 – Fewer Cooks In The Kitchen

If someone asks to bring something, steer them towards something that won’t need the oven or stove for the 45 minutes prior to dinner.  The old adage “Too many cooks in the kitchen” is never more true than on Thanksgiving.  In order to keep friends and relatives out of the kitchen when you need all the space for the turkey, gravy, and other items that need to be heated before serving, ask them to bring something that can be brought directly to the table, like salads, pies, rolls, or wine.

3 -Don’t Stuff Your Turkey

An unstuffed turkey takes less time to roast, cooks more reliably, and is a lot safer from a food safety perspective. By adding a little cream and chicken broth to a baked stuffing, you can create a great dish that tastes as good as if it were cooked in the bird (we like the Cook’s Illustrated corn bread and sausage recipe) and then you can use the juices from the turkey to make a tasty gravy.

4 – Have A Plan

Starting the weekend before Thanksgiving, we pull out all our recipes and cookbooks and finalize our menu. We then make a list of what needs to be done and when, and then post that plan on the fridge.  We then put the cookbooks back on the shelf and out of the way. Guests may poke fun at your “lists” but when you’re trying to get it everything on the table warm, it helps to have a written list to refer to, not a pile of cookbooks.

5 – Cook Ahead

A roast turkey benefits from a half hour rest on the cutting board for the juices to resettle in the bird.  Use that window of time before carving to pop pre-cooked side dishes such as casseroles or gratins into the oven for a final crisping. You can also pre-cut up vegetables the night before and store in bags, so you’re not chopping on a day you should be cooking.

6 – No Time For Experiments

Don’t use Thanksgiving Dinner as the first time to make some new complicated recipe that your favorite Top Chef has featured in the holiday issue of Food and Wine.  Or if you do, give it a trial run a couple weeks before (we experimented with Expatriate Kitchen’s Crispy Brussel Sprouts last week, and learned all the steps and found out that the dish worked just fine without the parmesan and pine nuts.)

7 -Use Swanson’s Chicken Broth

Yes, foodies are supposed to spend the weeks before Thanksgiving making stock from scratch to use in the gravy, stuffing, and what ever other dishes call for it.  However, we go through a lot of it on Thanksgiving, and the thought of making it all from scratch is a little too purest for us.  Swanson’s broth in the square box (not canned) has a good flavor, a good ingredient line, and can be bought in a low sodium version. The box package means you can reclose whatever you don’t use and store it back in the fridge. (This is an unsolicited and unpaid endorsement; we just like the product.)

8- Set The Table Ahead Of Time

If you have a separate dining room, or can afford the extra space, set your table ahead of time.  Also, this is a good job for those relatives who absolutely need something to do while your cooking.  And if you can talk them into ironing napkins for you, even better.

9 – Clean Out Your Fridge

A few days before Thanksgiving, and before you do your holiday grocery shopping, go through your fridge and get rid of old contaners of condiments and leftovers.  With all the food for Thanksgiving, you will need every bit of space in your fridge.  We also like to set up  a folding table in the garage to give us a bit more cool storage on the big day.

10 – Serving Dishes

Pull out your serving dishes ahead of time.  Give them a rinse and mark them with a post it note telling what dish they will be used for.  This is extremely helpful when you are delegating tasks to your helpers.  They will know what dish to use for the brussel sprouts, and which one gets the cranberry relish.

Finally, take time to stop, pause, and remember what the holiday is all about.  It’s much easier to be thankful for all you have and all your loved ones, if you aren’t hunting in the closet for the napkin rings as the doorbell is ringing.