Cherry & Chèvre Galettes with Arugula and Balsamic

It was a warm, July morning, the kind of morning where temperatures had dipped over 85 degrees by 8am.  I was staring at my supply of cherries trying to revisit the inspiration that had so clearly dawned on me days before when I had ambitiously tossed them into my shopping cart.

I waffled over ideas as the maintenance man banged away at this and that.  Not surprisingly, everything in our little abode began malfunctioning the day we resigned our lease.  As my power came in and out, I was shifting back and forth between mental images of buttery galettes stuffed with ripe cherries and a cherry-studded arugula salad with a tangy, molasses-like balsamic drizzle and candied pecans.  

Unable to decide upon my fruit's fate, and being that I stem from a generation infamous for its "have it all" mentality, I opted out of choosing and married the two visions into one.

I spun up a bit of pie crust in my food processor - it's the only way to go - and popped it into the fridge before darting out the door, list in hand, on my 'goat cheese and lemons' mission. 

For me, goat cheese has a very small window in which it can truly shine.  Often I find it unpleasantly overpowering, but when it is good, it is very good indeed.  Determined to fit within that safe spot of triumph, I mellowed out my chèvre a bit with some cream cheese for added richness.  

So often in a kitchen-dweller's life, the answer is just a little extra fat. 

The savory filling was piped into the center of each miniature pastry crust and then acted as a sort of cushion in which I tucked my cherries.  

Now would be the moment to mention that adding a cherry pitter to your kitchen toolbox is a very good idea.

P.S. They work for olives too.  No uni-taskers around here.

For so many years, I made shoddy pies with drooping, under-baked crusts.  Thankfully, through extensive practice, and with the help of my pie-baking Bible, I learned that most mistakes can be remedied with patience.  Popping these little galettes into the freezer after they have been filled and shaped gives the crust the extra sturdiness it needs to keep its shape once the heat is on. 

While the galettes cooled down to an edible temperature, I prepared a salad.  

My affection for arugula has increased tenfold this year.  Perhaps my palate has at last grown up enough to appreciate its grassy bite.  I like to dress it very simply.  With such a tender, fiddly green, heavy dressings just destroy the texture.  I am a lemon juice, olive oil, salt & peppa lady myself. 

Do you like this trend of topping carbs with salad as much as I do? 

After the greens were piled, I finished my salad with drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar for a little extra something. 

I think this would make such a lovely lunch or brunch for you and your favorite ladies. 

Having it all looks pretty good.  

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Cherry & Chèvre Galettes with Arugula and Balsamic

makes four // crust recipe adapted from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book

pie crust

1/4 cup cold water 

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

handful of ice cubes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, very cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

In a small measuring cup, combine water, vinegar and ice; set aside. 

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in the work bowl of your food processor and pulse to combine. Drop in the cold butter cubes and pulse several times, until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is in pea-sized pieces.  Slowly drizzle in a small amount of the vinegar mixture and pulse until the dough just holds together when squeezed gently.  You may need to add more of the vinegar mixture but start small and increase as needed - if the dough becomes too wet it is hard to turn back.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a small disc.  Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  While the crust is chilling, prepare the fillings and preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

chèvre filling

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 ounces chèvre
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar 
• 2 egg yolks

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Beat in goat cheese, salt, sugar, and eggs; mix until smooth.

Transfer the filling to a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use. 

cherry filling

• 1 cup rainier cherries, pitted
• 1 cup dark sweet cherries, pitted 
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice.  Toss until all the fruit is evenly coated. 

assembly and arugula

• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar 
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 
• 4 heaping cups fresh arugula 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• olive oil
• sea salt 
• freshly ground black pepper

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water. 

Turn your chilled pie crust out onto a well-floured surface and roll to about 1/4-inch thickness. Using a small bowl or round of paper as a guide, cut 5 1/2-inch circles out of the dough. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet.

Pipe a 2 3/4-inch circle of the chèvre filling into the center of each piece of dough.  Stud the cream filling with the prepared cherries.  Then, form small galettes by pulling the edges of dough up and around the edges of the fillings, overlapping the dough and pinching to seal.  Place the galettes in the freezer for 20 minutes. 

After the galettes have chilled, brush the outer crusts with the prepared egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  Bake for 35-40 minutes; until the crusts are deep golden and shiny.

While the galettes are baking, place balsamic in a small saucepan and reduce by half by simmering over medium high heat until thick and syrupy.  Set aside to cool. 

Transfer the baked galettes to a cooling rack and cool until warm while you prepare the salad. 

Prepare the arugula by dressing with a heavy drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Toss and set aside.  

Cook's Note: I prefer to let the greens rest for 5-10 minutes after dressing.  This gives them a chance to soften a bit. 

To serve: Top each galette with a heaping cup of the greens and serve immediately with a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.  Enjoy!  

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Chocolate Chip Cannoli Tartlets

Once upon a time, about 4 years ago, I endeavored to make homemade cannoli.

Cannoli are one of my favorite sweet treats and I will always find room for one or two, regardless of how much pasta I have eaten beforehand.  I could not wait to have the power to make them at whim.  

I like to pride myself on being somewhat fearless in the kitchen, but that day I walked away with burnt arms that would eventually scar, a defeated heart, and two dozen or so cannoli which, while delicious, had a faint flavor of tears and anger.  "Never again," I declared.  

You see, cannoli would really be a very simple effort if not for trying to fry delicate little tubes of dough.  Dough that will do everything in its power to slip and slide off of those metal molds and stick to the bottom of your pan. 

Just thinking about it now is making me type with a small degree of rage.  My fearless friend and I tried hanging on to the molds with tongs to keep them from resting on the bottom of our dutch oven, but they had a tendency to slip, thus splashing very hot oil onto our arms and creating a deep-set hatred for cannoli shells in our hearts.  Well, at least in mine. 

Over the years, I have denied my cravings and stuck to my vow, but my love for the beautiful, Italian-grandmother-made cannoli has remained. 

Recently, the cravings resurfaced and while I had no interests in singed arms, I was curious about a cannoli alternative.  Something that could mimic the flavors and textures of those delicate Italian...cookies?  Gosh, what are they anyways? 

So, it is with great pleasure that I give you cannoli petit fours, or mini tarts, or tartlets, or yummy little things that should be served at your next bridal shower, baby shower, or any other girly affair where bystanders will appreciate their cuteness.  Oh yes, Mother's Day too. 

These tartlets begin, not surprisingly, with tart shells - our substitute for the traditional, beastly shells that I have forever put behind me. 

While these miniature cups of pastry did not leave me burned and battered, they did present a few challenges of their own, namely the age-old issue of sinking. 

 I should begin by saying that I did not go out and purchase two dozen tiny tart tins, but instead used an item all of us likely have tucked away in some neglected corner cabinet - the mini muffin pan. 

Sinking crusts are not a new problem, every pie-baker has known the pain of watching a carefully-made crust slip into an unattractive mound at the bottom of the pie pan.  It would seem, however, that drooping sides are a bit easier to combat when it comes to larger crusts because we can look to pie weights for our aid.  Tartlet crusts are a bit trickier.  The first time I made these, as evidenced by the photographs, my sides sunk.  No amount of freezing could battle the melting properties of buttery pastry.  The second go-round, however, I was lucky enough to find Deb's foolproof recipe and applied her tart principles to my miniature tarts.  The results were perfectly shaped, high-sided shells. 

While I could have simply filled these shells with the cannoli filling, I felt like a little extra chocolate might be a good idea.  It usually is.

Crisp, buttery pastry, rich chocolate ganache, and the creamy, chocolate chip-studded ricotta that we all adore so much.  Everyone knows that the filling is the reason we love cannoli anyways. 

I will not try to convince you that these tartlets are better than traditional cannoli, but they are a delicious substitute. 

This time I walked away rage-free, without a burn, and my cannoli cravings satisfied.  In some ways these far out-rank the original. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Chocolate Chip Cannoli Tartlets

makes 24 tartlets

for the tartlet crust

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar 

- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

- 9 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes 

- 1 large egg, gently whisked 

- 1 egg white, whisked

In the work bowl of your food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt; pulse to combine.  Scatter the butter over the flour mixture and pulse several times, until the butter is in roughly pea-sized pieces.  Add the egg and and pulse in 10-second increments, until a dough begins to come together.  

Turn the dough out until a lightly floured surface and knead just enough to pull the together any dry bits.  Shape into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for two hours. 

Place the dough on a well-floured surface and roll with a rolling pin to about 1/8-inch in thickness.  Cut into twenty-four circles using a 2 1/4-inch biscuit cutter.  Gently press the dough into a miniature muffin tin, forming tiny cups.  Use the tines of a fork to dot the crusts with holes for steam.  

Cook's Note: For my particular mini muffin pan, the 2 1/4-inch cutter is the perfect size. However, I realize that these pans are not standardized, so feel free to test a couple different sizes to make sure you have a proper fit.  You are looking for just enough dough to come up the sides of the cavity and just barely reach over the edges. 

Freeze the tartlet crusts for at least thirty minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

After the crusts have chilled, take a large sheet of aluminum foil that has been greased with nonstick spray on one side and press the greased side down over and into the crusts, sealing tightly.  This will help those crusts stay in their proper places.  Place the muffin tin on the center rack of your oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crusts look almost done.  (You will have to peek under a corner of the aluminum foil to evaluate.)

Remove the aluminum foil gently, then brush each crust lightly with a bit of the whisked egg white and return to the oven for an additional 2-5 minutes; until the edges have begun to brown and the centers are fully baked.*

Cook’s Note: The brush of egg white may seem like an extra step, but this will help to “laminate” the crusts so that they will not become soggy when we fill them. 

Allow the tartlet shells to cool fully before filling. 

(Tartlet crust adapted from Smitten Kitchen.)

for the ganache

- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips 

- 1/4 cup heavy cream

In a small, glass bowl, combine chocolate and heavy cream.  Microwave at 30-second increments, stirring well after each, until the chocolate has melted and is thick and shiny.  

Using a small spoon, place about 1 teaspoon of ganache in the center of each tartlet.  Allow the ganache to cool for a few moments while you prepare the cannoli filling. 

for the cannoli filling

- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

- 1 cup whole milk ricotta 

- 6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, sifted

- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

- 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips, plus extra for decorating 

- cocoa powder, for dusting

Using an electric mixer, beat heavy cream on high speed until soft peaks have formed. 

In a separate bowl, whisk ricotta until very smooth.  Stir in confectioner’s sugar and spices, then gently fold in the heavy cream.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  (Stirring in a bit of lemon zest would also be traditional, but I prefer to omit it.)

Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe about 1/2 tablespoon of filling onto the top of each tartlet.  Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and cocoa powder.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!!

Cook’s Note:  I would recommend serving these tartlets the same day that you make them.  However, you can make the tartlet shells and ricotta filling a day in advance and fill them just before serving.

(Cannoli filling recipe adapted from Alex Guarnaschelli.) 

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Lime Bars

I remember my mother making a pan of sticky, tart, yellow squares one afternoon in our tiny kitchen.  I remember my Aunt Meredith making the very best white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.

Last week, memories collided and danced around a bit in my head, and these lovely little bars were born.  

All of our dreams have finally come true, we can now eat white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and lemon (lime, actually) bars at the same time.  Why is that better than enjoying them separately in their pure, unadulterated states, you ask?  Well, it’s not better, it’s just different.  A wonderful kind of different.

It’s kind of like going shopping with two best friends instead of one.  Except these bars would never team up and break your heart by telling you that the dress you adore actually makes your hips look like Jennifer Lopez in a funhouse mirror.  Ouch. 

Let’s make some bars!  

We begin with a buttery, shortbread-like cookie crust.  Butter, sugar, flour, and a pinch of salt form the base of our dough. 

After the dough has come together, chopped macadamia nuts and white chocolate are folded in.  I ate at least 1/4 cup of macadamia nuts while I was chopping away.  I cannot get enough, they are just SO buttery.

The dough is pressed into a greased, 9x13 pan and then baked until just barely golden.  Those oven-kissed edges will be your favorite if you are a cookie/brownie corner-loving kind of person.  

Now for the filling.  This filling is going to look way too thin, but don't panic.  After the bars have baked and cooled, the filling will be the consistency of lemon curd - thick but gooey (I hate that word - new synonyms, please!). 

A whole lot of lime zest goes into this filling.  If you prefer your bars on the sweeter side, you may want to reduce the amount.  I like them nice and tart myself. 

I like the kind of tart where you can feel it in the back of your mouth.  Do you know that twinge I'm talking about?  I know you understand, you get me. 

Now, while these are fairly tart, they are not sour.  The three cups of sugar makes sure of that. Yes, I said three cups, memories in bar form are not fat free.  

Now for the oven!  These bars bake until the top is deep golden and the filling has set.

Then you have to wait for what feels like a lifetime to let them cool.  It's the necessary evil of bar-making. 

These are a "with coffee" kind of bar.  Their tart flavor pairs perfectly with a strong, smooth brew. 

This reminds me of early morning breakfast dates with my mama. 

I like when one memory leads to another. 

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Lime Bars

makes one, 9x13 pan (about 21 bars) / recipe loosely adapted from Ina Garten

for the crust

- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 

- 2 cups all-purpose flour 

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 cup white chocolate, roughly chopped

- 1 cup dry roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium high speed for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Sift in flour and salt and beat until well combined. Use a spatula to fold in the white chocolate and macadamia nuts.

Press the dough into a greased, 9x13 baking pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.  

Bake the chilled cookie for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are just golden and the cookie has set.  

Place on a cooling rack while you prepare the filling.  Leave the oven set to 350. 

for the filling

- 6 large eggs, room temperature

- 3 cups granulated sugar 

- 1 cup fresh lime juice 

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- zest of 2-3 limes (mine were small so I used 3)

- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, for dusting 

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar.  Whisk in lime juice, flour, and lime zest.  

Pour the filling over the cooled cookie crust and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and the filling is set.  Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until cool.  

Cut into 21 even bars and dust liberally with confectioner's sugar.  Store in airtight containers for up to 3 days!  Enjoy! 

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