Honeyed Walnut Tart

Sense of Home Kitchen

Do you ever have those cravings?  You know the ones, you want something, but you are just are not sure what. Something sweet, maybe a little salty, crunchy and chewy at the same time, filling and very satisfying.  Perhaps a honeyed walnut tart is what you are craving?  Flipping through the October 2005 Bon Appétit I came across a photo of this tart and immediately marked this page.  Not sure why this recipe did not catch my attention back in 2005 when the magazine was new, but another time, another place and I had to make this one for myself.  This recipe comes from Susan Herrmann Loomis, I read her book On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town when it first came out back in 2001 and loved it, to attend even one class of her cooking school would be a privilege.  A few changes to the recipe to suit our tastes and pantry and I was ready to bake.

We have this wonderful local honey that people stock up on while traveling through town.  The honey is raw and pure, made from the nectar of sweet clover, wild flowers, and sunflowers.  Raw honey means that it has never been heated and contains some pollen, this is why it is beneficial to eat local raw honey, the pollen helps to reduce the sensitivity to hay fever.  The man our health food store buys honey from is old school and has no website, we always stock up in the fall so we have enough to last until the next honey harvest.  If the raw honey begins to crystallize, simply place the jar in a pan of water and warm over a low flame, do not boil.  It will be runny enough to drizzle over toast soon enough.

This recipe uses a simple crust and while a traditional tart pan with removable bottom would be best, any pan would work, just roll out the crust pour the filling on top and fold up the edges.  Don't get hang up on having the perfect pan to bake with, use what you have, and if you find you enjoy making tarts, then invest in a good tart pan.  Toast the walnuts first to help them keep their wonderful crunch.

Honeyed Walnut Tart
~from the Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appétit, October 2005~
8 servings

Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling
3 cups toasted walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange liqueur

1 egg, whisked to blend with 2 teaspoons water (for glaze)

Crust:
Blend flour and salt in processor.  Add butter; using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Add 5 tablespoons ice water; process until moist clumps form, adding water by teaspoonfuls if dry.  Much of this will depend on the amount of humidity in the air.  I have to add more water in winter when the air is dry, less in the summer.  Gather into a ball and flatten into a disk.  Wrap in plastic and let stand for 1 hour (do not chill).  This is a very easy crust to work with, holds together and rolls out well.

For Filling:
Mix first four ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk eggs, honey, lemon juice, and orange liqueur in another medium-sized bowl.  Add egg mixture to nut mixture; stir until well blended.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Roll crust out on lightly floured surface to an approximately 14-inch round.  Transfer to an 11-inch-diameter tart pan with a removable bottom, allowing crust to drape over pan (or use any pan that can withstand the 400 degree heat and shape as you please).  Pour filling into crust, spreading evenly.  Fold edges over filling pleating as needed.  Brush with egg glaze.

Bake tart until filling is deep golden and almost set, about 40 minutes.  Transfer to a rack; cool 15 minutes.  Carefully insert small knife between top edge of crust and pan sides in several places to loosen tart.  (And here is where the removable bottom comes in so handy.)  Gently push up on tart bottom to release tart from sides of pan.  Cool completely.  (Can be made 1 day ahead, cover with foil and store at room temperature.)  Cut tart into wedges and serve with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream.


Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Desserts / Pastries

Potato Soup with Bacon

Sense of Home Kitchen

The other day while among a group of friends our conversation turned to food, we discussed what we had cooked for dinner the night before and what we planned to cook for that evening's meal.  I have noticed that conversations with friends always seem to come back to food; a terrific restaurant someone ate at while traveling, a new recipe someone tried, or how a particular food is prepared.  I have both male and female friends that love to cook and try new foods, their adventures in the kitchen inspire me to try something new or remind me of a dish that I have not made in a long time.  Good old-fashioned, homemade potato soup was one of the dishes we touched on in our conversation and it reminded me that I had not made potato soup in a long time and I have never written down my recipe, never even taken the time to measure ingredients, just threw it together in approximately the same fashion time and again.  Now I have a recipe if anyone asks, or if I forget what made it so good last time.  

People often ask for the recipe when they find out I make something at home from scratch, not a premix or canned or frozen product.  Most recently it is my trail mix I have been asked about.  I always carry a container of homemade trail mix in my car so that when I am out and about for the day I have something ready for lunch or a quick snack to eat rather than driving through a fast food establishment.  I have been amazed by the number of times I have heard the comment, in reference to my trail mix, "you made this?!".  It is not as though I grew all the fruits, nuts, legumes and seeds in the mix.  I simply purchased a pound or so of each item at our health food store and mixed it together, sometimes adding fruit I dehydrated at home, but not always.  Actually, though, when you compare whatever mixture I currently have put together to the bagged trail mixes you buy at the big box or local convenience store there is a noticeable and, I believe, improved difference.  I understand  the desire for a recipe, whenever I taste something homemade that I think is really good I pick the cook's brain for tips or even the recipe, written down, word for word.

This homemade potato soup is worlds apart from that canned potato soup I would rather leave on the shelf. This soup is packed full of flavor and nutrition with the dill weed, parsley, onion, garlic, potato skins and of course, bacon. However, I think the key to a good soup is to start with a good stock.  Not only is homemade potato soup worlds apart from the purchased canned stuff, homemade chicken stock is worlds apart from the chicken broth you buy in a can or box at the store.  My stock has simmered for hours with the bones, meat, and vegetables until it forms a gelled consistency when cooled.  It is full of flavor and could be a meal onto itself.

Potato Soup with Bacon
~from the Sense of Home Kitchen~
If you are using fresh herbs rather than dried, add them at the end of the cooking process when you add the half and half and remember 1 teaspoon of dried herb = 1 tablespoon fresh.  In other words, it is a 3 to 1 ratio, 3 teaspoons fresh = 1 teaspoon dried.  Dried herbs need more cooking time, fresh herbs are better added at the end of the cooking process to keep their fresh flavor.
Serves 6

1 pound red-skinned potatoes (about 4 medium-sized)
4 slices bacon
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
1 quart (32 ounces) chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup dry white wine, such as a Chardonnay
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 cup half and half
Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash and scrub potatoes very well, you will not be peeling them.  Chop potatoes into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes.  Using a kitchen scissors or knife, cut bacon into small pieces and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until nearly crisp.  Add diced onion and celery and cook until soft and bacon has crisped.  Add garlic and sauté another minute, stirring.

Into a soup pot pour the chicken stock and wine, add onion, celery, garlic and bacon mixture, potatoes, carrots, parsley, dill weed, and a little salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender.  Once potatoes are tender add half and half and rewarm over low heat, do not boil.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!


Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Soup

Chocolate Nib Zucchini Cake

Winter is here with avengeance.  We had been enjoying one of the mildest winters in some time, but this week the temps have dropped below 0 and winds are creating wind chill temps in the -35 degree range.  When temperatures are this low you bundle up good and make sure your winter survival kit is in the car before heading down the road. You take all necessary precautions so you are not out in the elements for too long.  I had the first two covered, I was wearing my below zero gear and I had my winter survival kit in the car, but I made a foolish mistake that could have kept me out in the subzero temps longer than would be healthy.  You see my daughter and her husband are currently in Costa Rica and I am keeping an eye on the cats.  They live approximately 20 miles out in the country with few neighbors near and when I stopped to check on the cats I got a phone call, after taking the call I foolishly set the phone and my car keys down on the kitchen counter and went out with food for the outdoor cats.  Closing the door behind me I headed out not realizing the door would lock.  Now I was locked out with both the car keys and phone inside and with the nearest neighbor a few miles away, not at all certain they would even be home.  I am not sure if it was the extra adrenaline or if I am stronger than I thought, but I now know how to kick a door in and repair the door jamb damage (this time with longer screws for a tighter hold), all within a few minutes.  Lesson learned!  Think before acting in these extreme temperatures!  All's well that ends well, but it could have been a different story if that door jamb had not given way so easily.

I came home and made chocolate cake.  This recipe was born out of a desire to do something with a sample bag of organic cacao nibs I recently received.  I had been debating how I wanted to use them, panna cotta with caramel sauce and cacoa nibs on top would be good but I wanted the nibs inside and truffles with nibs sounded good, but would be sweeter than I wanted.  I decided what I really wanted was chocolate cake with bits of nib, no frosting, just a touch of coconut vanilla ice cream on top.  Cacao nibs are raw chocolate, they are pieces of roasted cacao beans, the basis of a chocolate bar.  Actually, they are quite healthy, high in potassium and magnesium.  Just what a girl needs after an adrenaline rush.  This raw form of chocolate contains more catechins, an antioxidant, than green tea. You can eat them plain, but they taste better mixed in with some other delicious ingredients.

It is also that time of the year when I need to make sure I am using up all that free zucchini I shredded and froze. Frost burned zucchini is not nearly as appealing.  I freeze my zucchini in 2 cup measures since that is what most recipes call for, but when the shredded squash is thawed it is no longer 2 cups worth.  That is fine, it has just shrunk a little, use whatever amount it measures to after it is thawed and drained.  

Chocolate Nib Zucchini Cake
~from the Sense of Home Kitchen~
With the addition of zucchini, this is a very moist cake, the nibs provide a nutty texture and the coconut oil adds a subtle flavor.  Top with a small scoop of coconut vanilla ice cream and you have a perfect welcome home.

Makes one 13 x 9-inch cake

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil (melted over very low heat)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cups freshly grated zuccchini (or frozen, thawed and drained, measured at 2 cups when fresh)
1 cup cacao nibs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butter and flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.  Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.

Beat sugar, butter, and melted and slightly cooled coconut oil in a large bowl until well blended.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.  Mix in vanilla extract and yogurt.

Stir in sifted flour, cocoa, and other dry ingredients.  Then mix in grated zucchini and cocao nibs.  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 50 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.  Cool and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Broccoli, Kale, and Feta Quiche

Sense of Home Kitchen

I realize many people are thinking about eating light, cleansing, dieting, whatever you want to call it, but let's face it, winter is still with us and will be for awhile, it is cold outside, maybe even a little snowy, and we sometimes need some good old comfort food.  This quiche is comforting and yet on the healthy side, though I have no idea how many calories it has, and I don't care.  I make sure my food is healthy and control the portion size, but I don't count calories, more power to those who do, I just can't keep track of those kinds of things.

With ingredients like broccoli, kale, garlic, onions, eggs and feta it is not a heavy meal, it is a meal packed with nutrients.  The crust holds butter (this is where the calories would ratchet up) and whole wheat flour, not so terribly unhealthy either.

Basically this recipe was born out of a desire to not waste any of the food I had in my refrigerator.  I had a little bit of broccoli and kale leftover from another meal and for some reason I had 3 dozen eggs.  Then there was that wonderful block of feta, not that I wanted to use it all in this dish, no, half would do.  And so the Broccoli, Kale and Feta Quiche was born.

Broccoli, Kale, and Feta Quiche
~From the Sense of Home Kitchen~
Makes 1 quiche

Pie dough for a 9-inch pie

12 eggs
1 cup feta, crumbled
1 medium onion
1 cup kale, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Olive oil for sauteing

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare and roll out pie dough.  Place in a 9-inch pie pan and prebake with foil and pie weights at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, cut onion in half from stem to root.  Peel and thinly slice both halves.  Saute onion over medium-high heat in a small amount of olive oil until translucent.  Add garlic and saute another minute.  Add kale and broccoli, sprinkle with salt and pepper and continue sauteing for another three minutes stirring often, careful not to let the garlic burn.

Whisk eggs and stir in crumbled feta.  Add sauteed mixture, green onions, fresh oregano, and salt and pepper to taste, mix well.

Pour mixture into prebaked crust and place in 350 degree oven.  Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until quiche is puffed and eggs are set (the center will tremble slightly when shaken, but will set up as it cools).


Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Eggs