Mushroom Tarts

 This recipe is from Chef Rachel Bayes and  published in the Walleye Dec. 2021

Makes about 24 tarts

Mary Lou made these over Christmas.  She used them as a first course in a dinner with her neighbour. 

Make ahead: This recipe freezes well--just assemble, bake, and reheat at 350 F for about five minutes. Or you can assemble the tarts in muffin pans and refrigerate,  ready to pop in the oven as your guests arrive.

Ingredients and Method combined:

2 large onions, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

Add onions to the oil/butter and cook on medium-low for a looooong time, stirring often, until they are deep golden brown. You want them to cook slow and low to caramelize and deepen the flavours.

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

8 oz mushrooms, finely chopped.

Stir the salt, sugar, and mushrooms into the onions. Cook until the mushrooms are softened  and have released their liquid (maybe 10 minutes).

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried parsley

(you can sub in rosemary or Italian seasoning if you'd rather. Mary Lou used Donato's Italian seasoning)

Stir in the garlic and the herbs. Cook a couple of minutes more. Turn off the heat.

2 tsp lemon juice

Stir into oniony mixture

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

Unfold the pastry on a floured surface and role out to a 18" by 9 " rectangle. Cut into 18, 3" rounds (or squares). The size depends on the size  of the muffin cups you plan to use, as the pastry needs to fit into the muffin pans (bottom and sides). You can use mini pans or regular pans. Press scraps into a ball, roll out again, and cut six or so more. Press the cut-outs into the muffin tin cups.  Use a tooth pick to poke holes in the centres of the puff pastry cups to make sure they don't puff too much while baking.

1 egg

1 tbsp water

Beat egg and water together. Brush on pastry cups. Spoon2 tbsp mushroom mix into pastry cups (or less if  using minis).

1 cup finely shredded cheese (such as Gruyere, fontina, Asiago, Emmental, taleggio

Top tarts with 1/2-1 tbsp cheese and bake until they are golden brown, 18-20 minutes for the large ones and less for the minis. Remove from pans and garnish with chopped fresh thyme or parsley.

Weston Kelley Warenzek 2021

at Gammondale, Thunder Bay

  Zoe and Grayson Kelley Zapior         2021 at Clearwater Bay, Kenora

Foster Cosgrove and Zoe Zapior 2020 at Brewers Park, Ottawa

Eli Cosgrove, Grayson Zapior, Foster Cosgrove,Zoe Zapior 2020 at the Rideau River, Ottawa

Joanie's Port Tenderloin (2) in Puff Pastry

 This is a long time favourite of the Dukes. Passed along to Mary Lou by Joanie. 

Ingredients

397 pkg. Puff Pastry (frozen)-I  use President's Choice (thaw 2 hours)

8 slices prosciutto

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 pork tenderloin

pinch rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic powder

1 egg, 1 tbsp water

Heat over to 350 degrees, ungreased baking pan

Method.

Roll out pastry into 2 inch square (PC comes in 12 inch squares already)

Lay 3 prosciutto overlapping slightly 

Place tenderloin on pastry, tucking in small end

Spread meat with Dijon mustard

Sprinkle w/seasoning

Wisk egg and water--brush on edges of pastry

Fold pastry over pork--make slots for steam (You can use a fork)

Bruch entire pastry with remaining egg mixture

                                         Clearwater Bay July 2020

Harvest Pizza with Lemony Swiss Chard, Burst Cherry Tomates and 2 cheeses

 This pizza uses wonderful fresh harvest ingredients and adds Manchego cheese (Spanish sheep cheese). These are unexpected flavour combinations that work out amazing!  

This recipe makes one large or 2 small pizzas. You can easily double this.

Making it is a bit of a labour of love--took me about 2 hours to prepare everything from scratch. Note much of this can be made ahead (1-2 days) and assembled on the day of eating.

1. Make Pizza dough using your favourite recipe. See Perfect Pizza Dough by Mary Lou.

2. Make Burst Cherry Tomatoes:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

cherry tomatoes (about 12)

kosher salt

2 garlic cloves, sliced

Oregano (1/2- 1 tsp)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until skins start to blister and split, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and toss to coat. Cook, lightly pressing on tomatoes with spoon to release juices without smashing completely, until garlic is softened about 2 minutes. Mix oregano into sauce; taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

3. Make Lemony Swiss Chard (can be made ahead and refrigerated)

1/2 bunch swiss chard

        2 tbsp olive oil

        kosher salt and freshly group pepper

        1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

        1 garlic clove

        1 lemon (need rind only)

        1/2 oz parmesan cheese, finally grated (about 1/4 cup)

Cut swiss chard leaves away from ribs and stems, and then cut crosswise into 3 in wide strips. Discard woody parts. Finely chop ribs and stems.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ribs and stems and cook with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until they release some liquid, look slightly  shriveled and are a shade or two darker, about 5 minutes. Add leaves and red pepper flakes and toss to coat. Season with more salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium. Cook, tossing occasionally, until leaves are bright green, wilted and tender about 4 minutes. Transfer chard mixture to a bowl and cool slightly.

Finely grate garlic into bowl with chard, then finely grate in zest from lemon; mix well. Add Parmesan and mix again to combine. Taste and add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes as needed. 

4. Make Tomato Passata (can be made ahead and refrigerated)

        1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes

        1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

        2 tsp kosher salt

Puree tomatoes in a blender or with immersion blender until smooth. Extra passata can be frozen for up to 6 months. 

5.  Assemble toppings onto pizza shell. 

        Add pepperoni or Salami if desired. 

        Add Mozzarella and Manchego cheese. 

Below are some photos of our last trip to Clearwater Bay in July 2021.

        

                                       Collage inspired by Beverley Kelley

Grayson Zapior age 9

Grayson 9 and Zoe Zapior, age 7; Weston Kelley Warenzek 16 month

                     Mary Lou and John in our Tie-dye shirts (family project)

 

         

Friday night's Perfect Pizza Dough and the secret of the double bake revealed!

 Makes enough dough for 1 large or 2 small pizzas

3/4 cup warm water

1 tbsp sugar

1 pkg instant yeast

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1. Combine warm water and sugar, stirring to dissolve. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand until foamy, about 5 min.

2. Stir yeast mixture. Drizzle in oil and stir to combine.

3. Place 1 3/4 cups flour and salt in a food processor fitted with a dough blade; process to combine.

4.  Add yeast mixture and process just until dough comes together and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Dough will be soft.

5. If dough is too sticky, add additional flour, 1 tbsp at a time, and process until dough comes together and forms a ball.

6. Using greased hands shape dough into a ball. Dough may be prepared to this point  and frozen in an airtight container. 

7. If frozen, thaw dough in the refrigerator before proceeding. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl; turn dough to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap (or a tea towel). 

8. Let stand for 5 minutes if fresh and 15 minutes if thawed from frozen before rolling out. I roll out with a rolling pin. 

This makes a thin, crisp crust.

John and I have an Italian deli across the street that makes take out pizza with a great crust. I learned from them the secret of the double bake. They bake the crust (brushed with oil) for 5 minutes BEFORE adding the toppings. Then add toppings and bake at 400 until cheese is melted and toppings heated through. Crust should be nice and crisp.

                               Weston Kelley Warenzek at age 18 months. 

Pesto - time to harvest the basil!

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup Olive oil
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 garlic cloves, finely minced

 Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.

Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.
Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months.

Lemony dip for fish or fries

 2 tbsp mayonnaise

6 tbsp sour cream

lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

minced garlic to taste (about a clove)

1 tsp lemon zest

Add ingredients together and mix.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Hot Hamburger Dip

 2 lbs ground beef

1 large onion chopped

2 lb processed cheese (eg. velveeta)

1 can mushroom soup

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Brown ground beef and onion. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips. 

Bev and Weston enjoying the summer 2020, despite covid.

Susan Nickerson's Waffles

 I lived with Susan, Mary and Steve in Victoria in 2002 while I was doing my PhD at University of Victoria.  A highlight was when Susan would make these waffles. I think the secret of their exceptional lightness is that she whipped the egg whites separately and folded them into the batter last. Try it! 

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups of flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3  eggs separated, whip the egg whites

1 1/2 cups milk (Susan uses butter milk and adds a bit extra)

1/3 cup canola oil 

Method

Sift the dry ingredients together. Add milk, egg yolks and oil.  Whip the egg whites and fold them in last. 

Use lots of maple syrup, fresh strawberries or blueberries. Whipping cream is also an option!