Goat Cheese, Onion, and Tomato Tart

Sorry for the long lull, folks. This recipe is from Gourmet, I'm not sure if it's from the magazine or one of their cookbooks. My dad made it one time when I was visiting, and now it's a summer tradition for me. It's good both hot or cold, and I serve it with a simple side of baby greens tossed with vinaigrette.

You need:

1 (9-inch) prepared pie dough, thawed if frozen
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
6 oz. crumbled goat cheese (1 1/3 cups)
1 lb. plum tomatoes, thinly sliced crosswise

To prepare:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
  
• If necessary, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round and fit into tart pan.
  
• Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang inward and press against side of pan to reinforce edge.
  
• Lightly prick bottom and sides with a fork.
  
• Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights [I use dried beans, it's cheaper].
  
• Bake in middle of oven until pastry is pale golden around rim, about 20 minutes.
  
• Carefully remove foil and weights and bake until golden all over, 8 to 10 minutes more.
  
• Cool in pan on a rack.
  
• While tart shell is baking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook onion with salt and black pepper to taste, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
  
• Preheat broiler.
  
• Spread onion over bottom of tart shell and top with 1 rounded cup goat cheese.
  
• Arrange tomatoes, slightly overlapping, in concentric circles over cheese.
  
• Sprinkle with remaining cheese and salt and black pepper to taste and drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil.
  
• Put foil over edge of crust to prevent over browning.
  
• Put tart pan on baking sheet and broil tart about 7 inches from heat until cheese starts to brown slightly, 3 to 4 minutes.

I've also used a frozen pie crust already in a foil pan and just blind-baked it according to package directions.  I'm considering trying to substitute beets instead of tomatoes for the tomato-haters out there, I'll let you all know how it goes.

Vinaigrette (oil and vinegar salad dressing)

My vinaigrette tends to be a bit on the strong side, so if you don't like anything but ranch dressing on your salads, you probably want to avoid this. On the other hand, you can also adjust the amount of vinegar and mustard to your tastes.

You need:

Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
Garlic, minced
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

• I start with a small plastic container with a lid.
• Put one clove of minced garlic inside
• Add one teaspoon of strong dijon mustard [I like this stuff]
• I tend to add equal parts vinegar and olive oil, but you could add more oil to mellow it out
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Put the lid on, and shake vigorously to combine

Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches

You need:

Large portobello mushroom caps (one per person)
1 or more red (or orange or yellow, not green) bell peppers, depending on how many you're serving
1 container herbed, spreadable cheese such as Boursin
Large sourdough rolls (or whatever looks fresh, tasty, and is burger-sized), split to resemble burger rolls
Mixed baby greens
Vinaigrette
Soy sauce
Garlic, minced
Vinegar (Red wine or rice vinegars work well)
Honey

To start:

• Mix soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, and honey to taste in a sealable container
  
• Clean off the mushroom caps and add them to the mixture
• Seal the container and refrigerate for a few hours

Next, prepare the peppers:

• Cook them under the broiler, about 4 inches away from the heat until the skin is blackened and blistered
• Put them in a paper bag (or even a plastic grocery bag), close the bag and leave until cool
• Peel off the skin, then seed them, and chop them into large slabs

Final steps:

• Remove the mushroom caps from the marinade, shaking off the excess liquid
• Grill them on either an indoor or outdoor grill, and grill/toast the cut sides of the buns at the same time
  
• Toss the greens with vinaigrette
• Smear both sides of each bun with the herbed cheese
• Place a bed of greens on the bottom, top with a mushroom, and then place a few slabs of roasted red pepper on top of that, then place the top bun...on top
  

Vegetable Stew

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsps. olive oil

1 pkg. carrots (about 6 carrots), chopped into 1/2-1 inch chunks

4-5 medium sized russet potatoes, chopped into 1 inch chunks

1 medium onion

4 cloves garlic

1 can diced tomatoes

Approx. 64 oz. of vegetable broth (I like the clear broth like Swanson Organic, as opposed to some of the muddier-looking broths that are available)

2 Not-Beef bouillon cubes (or any other vegetarian or vegan brand of bouillon cubes)

2/3 cup pearl barley

1 small bag frozen peas, thawed

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. rosemary

1 tbsp. tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

Put it together:

• In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium-high and cook the carrots and onions for about 5 minutes (You will get a brown crust on the bottom of your pot, don't worry about it)
• Add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly
• Add the veggie broth and diced tomatoes (with their juice), as well as the tomato paste and bouillon cubes
• Add the pearl barley and potatoes
• Make sure it comes back up to a boil, taste, adjust salt and pepper, then cover and reduce heat to low
• Simmer, covered, for an hour, or until barley is softened
• If the stew is not thick enough for your tastes at this point, take the lid off and simmer uncovered until thickened
• If the stew is too thick for you, add water
• A few minutes before serving, add the thawed peas, heat them through, then serve

Variations:  You could use butternut squash instead of potatoes, or use fewer potatoes and add some cubes of squash, too.  If you hate peas, you can use celery, or a leafy green like kale or chard, though if you go that route, you probably want to add those earlier in the cooking process so they can soften and cook down.

Pizza Dough

This comes from, I believe, Artisan Baking. It's a simple recipe, for the most part. The friend who sent it to me annotated it extensively, and then so did I, so hopefully it has not become confusing.

You need:

3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water

• Mix the flour, yeast and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
• Add the water and mix until the dough is shaggy and most of the water has been absorbed.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead, without adding extra flour, until it is just blended but not too smooth.
• Cover the dough with a bowl and let it rest for 10 to 15 min. to allow the yeast to fully hydrate.
  
• Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is fairly smooth, using a dough scraper if it is difficult to handle.(The firm dough should feel sticky at first, and then soft but dry to the touch. Adjust the dough's consistency with extra water or flour only if it is excessively sticky (add 1 tbsp flour at a time) or stiff (add 1 tbsp water at a time))

• On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces, each 7 oz.
• Shape each piece of dough into a tight ball: Roll the dough up like a carpet, turn the roll around, position it seam side up, and roll the cylinder up again. Roll the cylinder perpendicular to itself a third time.
  
• Turn the dough so that the seam is on the bottom and round the dough under your palm into a tight ball.
• Roll each rounded piece in flour and arrange each on a floured tray.
• Cover the tray tightly with plastic wrap.
• Let the balls of dough proof at room temperature until they are soft and puffy but still springy, 5 to 6 hours. Or refrigerate the dough, after shaping it, for up to 36 hours. Remove it from the refrigerator and let it finish proofing at room tempature for 7 to 8 hours. [The dough tends to get sticky if refrigerated]

• At least one hour before baking the pizzas [possibly longer so the oven gets super hot], arrange a rack on the oven's second-to-top shelf and place a baking stone on it.
• Clear away all racks above the one being used.
• Preheat the oven to its highest-possible temperature setting.
• Hopefully this will be between broil and clean -- you are trying for 750 degrees, but 550 degrees or even 500 degrees will still work.

• Flour your work surface well and place a fully proofed dough ball on it. Flatten the ball with your hands and press it into a disk. The easiest way I have found to shape the dough is to just pull it out gently between your hands, rotating the disk as each side is pulled.
• To perfect the shape, place one hand on the center of the dough (to prevent it from getting too thin, which it hass a tendency to do) and gently tug around the edges until the dough is about 1/8 in thick in the center and about 1/4 inch at the very edge ["whatever", says my buddy E.].

• Place the shaped dough on a sheet of parchment paper or, if you are more confident, directly on a lightly floured peel, which could be any lightweight, rimless baking sheet.
• Spread about 1/4 c. sauce on the dough and scatter with 2 oz cheese.
• Peel the pizza onto the baking stone or slide it, still on the paper, on to the hot stone.
• Bake until the crust has colored slightly, burning in spots and staying pale in other areas, and the cheese has melted.
• The baking time should be around 4 minutes if your oven is hot enough, up to 6 if it is cooler. Do not overbake the pizza.
• To serve, drizzle on a little olive oil and arrange 4 basil leaves decoratively on top.
• Shape, top, and bake the remaining dough balls one at a time but eat the hot pizza right away.

So here's where I really start to deviate from the recipe. I don't have a pizza stone, and I'm not planning to buy one. I tried heating my oven as hot as possible and putting the pizza on a sheet pan with cornmeal on it, and while still tasty, I ended up having to chisel the pizza off the pan. I have an indoor, countertop grill (open-faced, not like a george foreman) and I heat that up, then shape the pizzas. I brush olive oil on one side, and slap that side on the grill, then brush oil on the other side. When side one is baked, I flip it over, top the other side with sauce, veggies and cheese, then put a large lid over the whole thing because that helps the cheese melt.

Semi-homemade Cornbread

Not to be confused with the Food Network show, I've been making this stuff for years. I can't really come up with a formal recipe, but here's what you do:

• Take a package of Cornbread Mix (not Jiffy)
• Mix according to directions
• Add one can of drained, canned corn
• Add 1-2 chopped, fresh jalapenos
• Bake according to directions

Vegetarian Chili

Now, if you are one of those folks who doesn't think chili is made right if it contains beans, you probably shouldn't be attempting vegetarian chili anyway, and this recipe might not be for you. However, I found it on vegweb.com years ago, and it was similar to a recipe in a cookbook my parents had when I was in high school. It's fantastic.

I made it for a friend's chili-themed birthday party. After all the guests had gone, it was late, and the chili dishes, including the meat chilis, were left out overnight. Guess which one they caught his roommate's cats eating? That's right, this one. Not the meat.

You need:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 chopped onions
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bell peppers, chopped [red, yellow, orange, or green, your choice]
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large can, undrained, of tomatoes, chopped
1 cup water
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups fresh or frozen corn [you can also used frozen chopped green beans, thawed, which sounds odd, but it adds some similar freshness to the dish]
1/2 cup bulgur [AKA bulghur wheat, often available in bulk foods areas, though you can buy it packaged, too, possibly near the rice or dried beans]
salt and pepper

Construction:

• In a large pan, saute the onions and spices.
  
• Add peppers and garlic for 1 min.
  
• Add cocoa, tomatoes, and water; bring to a boil.
  
• Add kidney and black beans, corn and bulgur.
  
• Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 min. or until bulghur is cooked.
  
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Like any chili recipe, this can benefit from being stored in the fridge overnight, to let the flavors mingle, then reheated the next day. I recommend serving with semi-homemade cornbread.