Brown Butter Berry/Peach Tart

This crust is not the typical one that you roll out.  Instead you press it in with your fingers.  And it is so buttery and very yummy!  You can use other fresh fruit, berries or  peaches are good choices. 

           Crust:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted until brown bits form, using a saucepan wth a light-colored    bottom, (save pan for  melting butter for filling)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

            Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

12-ounces fresh berries or 2 large peaches, sliced

          For crust:

          Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F.

Using a rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Put dough into a 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto bottom and up the sides of pan about 3/4-1".  (I place a cookie sheet lined with a piece of foil with the edges folded up about 1/2" all around, just in case there is a leak through the bottom, for both baking the crust and once the crust is filled.)

              Bake crust until golden, about 18-20 minutes (crust will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

          For filling:

          Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Cook butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often, about 6-8 minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

          Arrange fruit in bottom of cooled crust. (Be careful of hot pan when filling with fruit.) Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over fruit. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet. Bake tart until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool tart completely in pan on rack.

          Remove tart pan sides. Place tart on platter. Cut into wedges and serve.  Good with ice cream or a little whipped cream.

Test-kitchen tip:

When browning butter, use a saucepan with a light-colored bottom so that you can gauge the color of the butter.

Recipe from this site.

Artichoke Squares

These have been served as appetizers forever, it seems.  Always a hit, and pretty easy to keep the ingredients on hand when you need something at the last minute.

2 jars (6 oz. each) artichoke hearts marinated in oil*

½ C finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 C fine dried bread crumbs

1/2 t each pepper and dried oregano

1/4 t Tabasco (optional)

2 T chopped capers

2 C (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

 4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray 10” glass pie plate or 9" square pan with oil.

2. Drain marinade from artichokes into a cup.  Chop all artichokes, cutting off tough leaves.

3. Heat about 2 T oil from reserved marinade into a frying pan over medium heat.  (Okay to get some of the marinade into the pan.  Discard rest of marinade.)  Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Turn off heat, then add artichokes, bread crumbs, pepper, oregano, Tabasco, capers, and cheese. 

4. Whisk eggs in a bowl to blend. Stir into the onion mixture.

5. Pour mixture into the prepared pie plate and bake, uncovered, until it feels set when lightly touched, about 30 minutes. Let sit at least 10 minutes before cutting into small squares or pie sized pieces, if serving for dinner.

Make ahead: Up to 1 day, chilled. Reheat, uncovered, 12 minutes at 325°.

*Trader Joe's has a 12 oz. jar.

Avocado Toast

I have no shame.  This comes from SmittenKitchen, where I get a lot of recipes, as well as from her cookbook.
This is so easy, as long as you have an avocado and a lemon.  I usually buy a bag of lemons, so I always have some on hand.  Oh, those days when I had access to a lemon tree and didn't take advantage of it!
     Apparently Avocado Toast has been around for awhile, but I had never heard of it until I read about it on Deb's website.  And it didn't take me long to try making it.  So easy for lunch!  And so yummy!  Why didn't I think of this!

1 slice of bread
1/2 avocado
1 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
pepper (Aleppo, cayenne, your choice)

1.  Toast a slice of bread.  This one happens to be a heavy sourdough, our favorite.  (Use something a little heavier than soft white sandwich bread.)
2.  Slice up half an avocado on the toast, and kind of mash it around with a fork to spread all the way to the edges.
3.  Place on a plate, drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice so they run off and get under the toast.
4.  Sprinkle with your choice of pepper.
5.  Enjoy!  Do again tomorrow for lunch!  Or breakfast or dinner.

Danish Pork Chops

This is a recipe given to me by the mother of one of my students when I taught in Germany.  It is always so GOOD, but a little on the rich side.

2-4 tablespoons butter/olive oil
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 small-medium onions, sliced < 1/4"
4 boneless pork chops, > than 1/2" thick
6-8 slices bacon
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 cup half and half cream

Optional: applesauce to serve on the side

Preheat oven to 350°.

Melt butter in a large skillet.  Sauté mushrooms and onions until onions brown slightly and mushrooms have released their liquor.  Remove to a bowl.  Brown the pork chops in oil on both sides.      Place the pork chops into a baking dish.  Cook bacon until crisp and drain on paper towel, then crumble or chop.

Layer the reserved onions and mushrooms on top of the pork chops.  Next put the bacon and then the parsley on top.  Pour the cream over all.  Bake for about one hour or until tender.

Strawberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

       Unlike most scones, these are tender and moist.  The fresh strawberries make these a special breakfast treat.  To enjoy these year round, or when I have extra strawberries (or other berries)  I cut them up into a 1/4" dice and freeze them in 1 cup portions.  Take out of the freezer so they thaw just enough to break them apart before adding to the dough.

       This is a combination of two recipes; the ingredients are mostly from King Arthur's Flour, and the directions are mostly from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book (pp. 34-5), with adjustments of my own.  Flour is best measured on a scale.  A loosely packed cup can weigh less than 4 ounces, but a heavily packed cup could equal 5 ounces.

1 cup strawberries, cut into 1/4" pieces, place on a plate and freeze.

2 cups all-purpose flour (240 g)                             

¼ cup granulated sugar                               

2 teaspoons baking powder                         

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel 

½ cup cold butter, (freeze, then grate most of it into flour)

¾ cup buttermilk 

1 large egg

Glaze: 

6 tablespoons powdered sugar

4 teaspoons lemon juice

1.    Preheat oven to 400°.  Place a piece of parchment on a baking sheet.  Place berries on a plate then place in the freezer while you prepare rest of the dough.

2.   Before your hands are covered with dough, get a plate and sprinkle with flour.  (You will need this in step 7.)

3.   In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest to blend. Add frozen butter, (grate until you barely have enough to hold) and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

4.    In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk and egg to blend. Add to flour mixture just until combined; do not overmix.

5.   Turn dough onto a floured surface and, with well-floured hands, knead gently 6-8 times until it just holds together.  Add a little more flour as needed to prevent sticking.

6.   Roll dough out into a 12” square.  Fold 1/3 toward center, then fold other end over to form a long rectangle.  Now fold 1/3 toward center with each side until you have a 4” square.

7.   Place on a floured plate and put into freezer for 5 minutes.  Do not overchill or let freeze.

8.   Remove from freezer and put onto lightly-floured board.  Roll into a 12” square again.  Spread berries evenly onto the square, leaving about 1” space at the end closest to you.  (If berries are not very sweet, sprinkle with sugar.)

9.   Roll into a tight log, sealing the ends, and place with the seam side on the bottom.  Press into a 12x4” or 15x3” rectangle.  Using a sharp, floured knife, cut into 4 or 5 rectangles.  Cut each of the rectangles on the diagonal into 2 triangles.

10. Place on baking sheet. 

11. Bake scones until tops are lightly browned, 18 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cool about 10 minutes on baking sheet.

12.Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over warm scones. Serve scones warm or let cool completely.

Yield:  Makes 8-10 scones  

* blueberries  or raspberries, [break apart raspberries after freezing]

*No berries?  Use frozen or ½ cup dried cranberries and ½ cup chopped nuts instead.

To make up to 24 hours ahead, stop at step 7.  Instead of placing in freezer, cover and place in refrigerator until ready to continue, then proceed to step 8.  If you continue, the frozen berries will bleed out.   It is better to add just before baking.)

To make up to one month ahead, complete through step 9, then freeze on a tray. Transfer to a freezer bag.  Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.