Plum Hazelnut Galette

Ingredients for pate brisee:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

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Ingredients for galette:
1 T all purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 cup finely ground toasted hazelnuts
2 T light-brown sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pounds (about 5) plums, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
3 T granulated sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten, or heavy cream, for basting the dough
1/2 cup plum or red-currant jam

Preparing the dough:
Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky, no longer than 30 seconds.

Divide dough in half, and shape into disks. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.

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Preparing the galette:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, with rack in lower third.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pate brisee to 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges to form an 18-by-16-inch rectangle, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine flour, hazelnuts, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt; spread to cover middle of dough, leaving a 3-inch border all around.

Arrange plums in rows on top, slightly overlapping the slices and alternating direction of each row. Sprinkle plums with granulated sugar. Fold dough to enclose edges; brush dough with egg wash. Chill 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees F, bake until pastry is golden brown and plums are softened, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool to room temperature. Heat jam in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted. Let cool a few minutes; brush evenly over plum slices.

Serves 8

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Buttermilk Soaked Barbecued Chicken

2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons hot sauce
4 bone-in, skin-on, chicken breasts, about 8-ounces each
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

BBQ Sauce

Preparing the chicken:
Combine the buttermilk, hot sauce in a large plastic zip top bag, add the chicken breasts, and turn to coat in the mixture. Place the bag in a large bowl and refrigerate, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Heat the grill to medium heat. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and pat dry with paper towels. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and place on the grill, skin side down and grill, without touching, until the skin is golden brown and crisp, about 7 minutes. Turn the chicken over and brush the top side liberally with some of the barbecue sauce, close the cover and continue grilling until the bottom is golden brown about 5 minutes. Brush the top with more of the barbecue sauce, turn over, close the cover of the grill and continue grilling until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center registers 155 degrees F, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from the grill, brush with more of the sauce, loosely tent with foil and let rest 5 minutes before serving. This will allow the internal temperature to increase to 160 degrees and the juices to redistribute.

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Grilled New Potatoes With Herb Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
2 lbs. small red new potatoes
1/4 cup canola oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Ingredients for roasted garlic-mustard-herb vinaigrette:
8 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves or fresh basil leaves, or a combination of both, plus more for garnish

Preparing the vinaigrette:
Put the garlic, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.

With the motor running, slowly add the oil and blend until emulsified. Add the herbs and blend a few seconds just to incorporate.

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Preparing the potatoes:
Put the potatoes in a pot of salted cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes or until a paring knife inserted into the center meets with some resistance. Drain and let cool slightly before slicing in half.

Heat the grill to medium heat. Brush the potatoes with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the potatoes on the grill, cut-side-down, and cook until lightly golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the potatoes over and continue grilling until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

Remove to a large shallow bowl and add half of the roasted garlic-mustard-herb vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the rest of the vinaigrette over the potatoes and garnish with fresh herbs.

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Chicken With Tangerine-Honey Glaze

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh tangerine juice or tangerine-orange juice
5 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 cup clover honey
kosher salt and black pepper
3 T Spanish paprika
1 T ground cumin
1 T dry mustard powder
2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
2 T canola oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 oz. each)
2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Preparing the glaze:
Combine the juice and thyme in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 1/2 cup; remove the thyme stems and discard. Whisk in the honey until incorporated and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Preparing the chicken:
Heat grill to medium-high.

Stir together the paprika, cumin, mustard powder, fennel, and 1 teaspoon each of the kosher salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Brush both sides of the chicken with the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Rub the top of each breast with some of the spice rub and place on the grill rub-side-down. Cook, without touching, until they’re lightly golden brown and a crust has formed, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the breasts over, brush the tops liberally with some of the glaze, flip them, and continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 155 degrees F. Remove from the grill, brush the spice-rub side with more of the glaze, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4

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Paltrow & Poultry

She's got an interesting technique for roasting potatoes.

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Peach Galette

Ingredients for galette:
2-4 fresh ripe peaches depending on the size, peeled, pitted and sliced
2-4 T granulated sugar (depending on the tartness of the peaches)
2 T jam of choice (optional)
1 T castor or coarse sugar for dusting

2 T unsalted, chilled butter, cut into small bits

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Ingredients for dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

heavy cream for brushing over the dough

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Ingredients for custard filling:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 T melted butter
1 T granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
1/4 cup cream or half & half

Optional: sliced almonds, ground hazelnuts, other stone fruits

Preparing the dough:
Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky, no longer than 30 seconds.

Divide dough in half, and shape into disks. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.

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Preparing the galette:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick silpat liner.

Place the peach slices in a bowl and toss with sugar, more or less, to taste.

On a floured surface, roll out pie crust to approximately 14 inches in diameter. Place the dough on the parchment-lined baking pan.

Spread the jam over the dough leaving a 2- to 3-inch border around the outside edge.

Layer sliced peaches over the jam and any other ingredients, like other fruits and/or nuts. Sprinkle chilled bits of butter over the top. Fold up the outer edge of dough over the fruit. Brush cream over top of the dough and sprinkle with turbinado or caster sugar.

If the galette is fruit only with no custard filling, bake it at 400 degrees F for approximately 40-50 minutes or until the fruit is tender.

If the galette will be filled with custard, leave out the chilled bits of butter and whisk together all custard ingredients in a small bowl. Remove the galette from the oven after 25 minutes and very gently pour the custard though the center and it will trickle down inside. It may not take all of the custard mixture; suction out (turkey baster) fruit juices to make room. Continue baking for another 15-20 minutes or until custard is set and the crust is a golden brown and fruit is bubbling.

Remove from the oven, let cool for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with a dollop of lazy cream or good quality vanilla ice cream.

Refrigerate any leftovers of galette with custard.

Serves 6 to 8

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Fruit Galette

Ingredients for the dough:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornmeal, coarse
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup very cold butter, cut into small bits
1/3 cup buttermilk

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Ingredients for fruit filling:
stone fruits (cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, etc.), alone or in combination, enough that when pitted and thinly sliced, they equal about 4 cups
1/2 cup granulated sugar (vanilla sugar, if you have it on hand)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 T cornstarch

Optional: freshly grated ginger (about 1 teaspoon)

heavy cream for brushing on dough
turbinado sugar for sprinkling over the top before baking
2 T unsalted butter, cut up into small bits

Preparing the dough:
Combine flour, sugar, cornmeal, and salt in a processor; pulse 2-3 times. Add butter and pulse 4-5 times, or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With the processor running, slowly pour the buttermilk through the chute, processing until the dough forms a ball.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

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Preparing the fruit filling:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and toss gently, making sure that the cornstarch is coating the fruit.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough into a 14- to 15-inch wide circle. Place the dough with parchment paper on a baking sheet. Add the fruit mixture to the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Sprinkle the chilled bits of butter over the top of the fruit.

Fold the border over the filling, overlapping where necessary and pressing gently to adhere the folds. Brush cream on the dough and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 1 hour, or until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature, alone or with excellent quality vanilla ice cream or lazy cream.

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Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredients for pie:
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked, unsweetened coconut** (if too dry, flake up more in food processor, possibly mist with water in a ziplock bag to moisten)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 T butter

1 9-inch baked pie shell (recipe follows)

1/3 cup toasted coconut

lazy cream


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Ingredients for pie crust:
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 T sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
6 to 7 T ice cold water


Preparing the pie crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Add the shortening and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water and let sit 1 minute. Either using a fork or your hands, carefully press the mixture together to form a soft ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Gently fold the circle of dough in half and then in half again so that you can lift it without tearing it, and unfold into a 9-inch by 2-inch deep-dish pie pan. Crimp the edges and chill again for 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake pie shell until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before using.

Makes 1 pie shell

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Preparing the coconut cream filling:
In a nonstick 1-quart saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, coconut milk, and 1 cup milk. Scald mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch together to make a slurry. Whisk egg yolks with salt in medium bowl. Temper yolks by adding 1/2 cup scaled milk mixture to yolks and whisk well. Add yolk mixture and slurry back into milk mixture and whisk vigorously over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes*. Remove from heat and add coconut, vanilla, and butter. Whisk until uniformly incorporated.

Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Chill the pie completely, about 2 hours.

To serve, top with toasted coconut and a dollop of lazy cream.

* This mixture should be very thick in order to set up; it may take longer than 2 minutes.

** If using sweetened coconut, cut down on the sugar to 1/2 cup.

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Pate Brisee

Ingredients for dough:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup ice water

Preparing the dough:
Place flour, salt and sugar in the work bowl of a food processor. Add butter pieces and process for about 10 seconds, or just until mixture resembles a coarse meal. With machine running, add ice water, drop by drop, through food-processor feed tube. When dough holds together but is not wet or sticky, stop adding; do not process for longer than 30 seconds. Test dough by squeezing a small amount together. If it is still crumbly, add more water. Divide dough in half and turn out onto two large pieces of plastic wrap. Press dough into flat circles (this makes rolling easier than if the pastry is chilled as a ball). Wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour.

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Vinegar Pie Crust

Ingredients for pie crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 T vegetable shortening
1 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
4-6 T ice water

Preparing the crust:
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until it is the size of small peas. Add the vinegar, egg, and just enough ice water to moisten the dry ingredients.

Form the dough into 2 equal balls, then flatten into disks. Roll out the crusts right right away, or wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball to a thickness of 1/8 inch.

To prebake an empty crust, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Press 1 rolled-out crust into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Line with parchment paper and weight the crust down with dry beans or weights to keep the crust from bubbling or shrinking. Bake for 10 minutes, until firm and lightly browned. To parbake the crust, remove it from the oven after 10 to 20 minutes, when you first see a golden hue to the crust.

Makes two 9-inch crusts

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