Yummy Chilli!

Ingredients are based on TASTE. Use what you love, use what you have.

This is a great way to do a pantry purge. You could add any beans you have, any spices you want, any vegetables you want. Have at it.

Chili

• 2-3 Bell Peppers [different colors if you got'em]
• 1-2 Small Onions
• 1-3 Cloves Garlic
• 2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 cans Tomato Sauce (or more as needed)
• 1 can Small diced tomatoes
• 1 can Tomato paste
• 1 can White Beans (drained)
• 1 can Black Beans (drained)
• 1 can Kidney Beans (drained)
• 1 can Pinto Beans (drained)
• 1/2 Quart Vegetable Stock, Water, or Chicken Stock (w/o Chicken Stock it is Vegetarian)
• 1-3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1-3 Teaspoons of Cajun Seasoning, or Old Bay Seasoning (optional)
• 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (more for hot, less for mild).
• 1-3 Tablespoons Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Slurry If needed
• 3 Tablespoons Flour or Corn Starch
• 1/4 COLD Milk, Soy Milk, or Water (Use Soy of Water and it’s Vegan)

—

Get a BIG pot. Heat the Oil.

Saute Onions and Peppers until soft. Add Garlic. Saute a minute or so. Don’t let it burn.

Add Spices and Seasonings. Go LIGHT on the spice and salt – you can always add more. Stir to coat veggies.

Add Beans, Stock, and Tomatoes. Bring to boil. [add stock first if you have brown bits on the bottom - this will deglaze the pan and add that flavor into the chili]

Taste. Add more spice if needed.

Simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Taste. Add more spice if needed.

If thick enough for your liking – Serve with garnish of your choice. I like Cheese and Sour Cream with a side of Corn Bread.

If it isn’t thick enough, get a small Tupperware container or bottle and add the flour to the cold liquid. Shake vigorously, add to the Chili and simmer for another 15 minutes. It’ll be nice and thick.

Enjoy!

Mmm Cake!

Inspired by seasonal, local ingredients we made a Chocolate Beet Cake. Now, just because it has beets in it doesn’t mean it tastes like beets. The beets add body and depth to the batter. Made with dark chocolate, the cake is not too sweet, and is great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Beet Cake
makes one bundt cake

Chocolate Butter Glaze – optional

• 4 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 8 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Cake Batter

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup vegetable oil (or other mild-flavored oil; do not use olive)
  • divided in recipe
• 3 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• 2 cups pureed cooked beets (3 medium beets)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat over to 375°F

Steam the beets for about 30 minutes; then puree them if you haven’t already.

Lightly coat a 10-cup Bundt pan with oil and dust it with flour. Put the chocolate and ¼ cup of the oil in bowl on top of a double boiler. Heat just until the chocolate melts; remove from heat and stir to combined. Return to heat as needed until chocolate and oil are well integrated.

Combine the eggs and sugar in a bowl for an electric mixer and beat with the beater attachment until fluffy. Slowly beat in the remaining ¾ cup of oil, chocolate mixture, beets, and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together and gently stir the flour mixture into the egg and chocolate mixture just until flour is mixed in.

Be careful when working with beets; they stain.

Pour the batter into your prepared bundt pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. It depends on what kind of pan you use and your oven. Everyone is different. Bake until done.

Cool for about 20 minutes before inverting from pan.

While your cake is cooling prepare the Chocolate Butter Glaze. You can skip this step and just dust your cake with powdered sugar.

In a double boiler melt the chocolate. Remove from heat when the chocolate is nearly melted and stir until smooth. Add the softened butter. slowly stir with a rubber spatula until no visible traces of butter remain.

The glaze should be glossy and smooth with a temperature of 80-85 degrees. (I didn’t temp my glaze.) When stirred, it will hold a line on the surface for about 10 seconds before disappearing.

If the glaze is too hot it will all run off your cake; If the glaze is too cool it will not run smoothly down the sides. You can test it on a spoon until you are comfortable with the consistency. Pour over you cake, let the glaze cool a few minutes before cutting.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream.

adapted from Peterson, John, and Angelic Organics. Farmer John’s Cookbook. Gibbs Smith: Salt Lake City, 2006.

Spring has Arrived

We went to the Farmer’s Market like we do every Saturday. Picked up some asparagus, fingerling potatoes, salad greens, and rhubarb.

We grabbed the puppies and were off to visit my parents. The weather was perfect. A great day. Wednesday and Schuman had soooo much fun running around and jumping in the muddy swamp that sits near the house that they had to get baths before they could come inside.

Now, I’ve never been a rhubarb fan. Probably because I’ve always been such a picky eater, and wouldn’t branch out and try new things. Well…

Today was The Day of Rhubarb. Joe made a Rhubarb Upside-down Cake [Recipe below], and my mom made a Rhubarb Pie. Both were glorious.

AND dinner was just as fabulous. Herbed chicken, grilled asparagus, steamed and statued potatoes, micro-green salad, and sourdough bread from Eugene City Bakery.

We also had a chance to watch Juno again. My parents hadn’t seen it yet. I’m going to try and watch it with the commentary before we have to return it. It is such a great movie!

A day well spent.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
makes one 9″ cake

Topping:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¾ cups brown sugar
• 2 ½ cups small, diced rhubarb (about 3-4 medium stalks)

Batter:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tarter

Preheat over to 325-350°F.

Over low heat, melt the butter in a saucepan stirring in the brown sugar until it dissolves. Pour into a greased 9″ cake pan and form to coat the bottom. Toss the chopped rhubarb with about 2 TBS sugar before arranging it neatly over the brown sugar mixture, covering the bottom completely. This is going to be the TOP of the cake when you flip it. Set the pan aside while you prepare the cake batter.

With an electric mixer, in a very clean bowl, whisk the eggs whites with the cream of tartar until they are stiff enough to hold a slight shape. Set aside. (You can dump them in a glass bowl and wipe our the mixer bowl for the rest of the batter).

With the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar until pale, light, and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, and egg yolks. One at a time, scraping the bowl to make sure all the butter in incorporated. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add them to the batter alternately with the milk. Begin and end with the dry ingredients.

Fold by hand the egg whites into the batter a third at a time.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly over the rhubarb. Make sure not to disturb the rhubarb too much. Bake for 20-35 minutes, until the top is browned and the cake pulls away slightly from the edges of the pan. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before turning it out. Serve with whipped cream, or even better Ice Cream!

You can do this same cake with pears, plums, peaches, cranberries, or any berry or stone fruit really.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: Fleming, Claudia. The Last Course: Desserts of the Gramercy Tavern. Random House, New York: 2001.

Off Season

Spring Pasta! Sometime I just have a craving. I know it’s not Spring, and I really do try and be the best locavore I can be. However – when I have an intense urge for VEGETABLES and not sweets I must give in! As you can tell I’ve done a lot of baking lately. Cookies galore. Green Beans have been on my mind for weeks. I feel so much better now.

Pasta Primavera is pretty versatile – whatever you have on hand, whatever you want. Mix and match. More ideas and options at the bottom.

Red Bell Pepper
Green Beans
Red Onion
Brussels Sprouts
Corn

Bacon (cooked)
*optional

Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper

Spaghetti (or any other pasta)

If you haven’t already, cook your bacon. You may use any method of cooking bacon that you see fit. I find that baking is the easiest way. Place the bacon in a single layer on an oven safe rack on a baking sheet. Make sure that it has a lip to catch the fat that drips off. Place the bacon in a cold oven, THEN preheat to 425°F. Once preheated check every 5 minutes until done. Depending on style, thickness, and desired texture the time varies. For this recipe you don’t want the bacon too well done or crispy as you will be cooking in further. Burnt bacon is not good bacon.

You can prep your vegetables while the bacon is baking. Clean and trim the beans, core and slice the pepper and onions. They should all be roughly the same size. Half your brussels sprouts. [we used frozen, so we nuked them for a few minutes to defrost] Gather your corn and other ingredients.

Place all your vegetables on another lipped baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil. Enough to coat, be careful not to pour an excess. Splash on the balsamic vinegar, a good pinch of salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Toss to distribute. Spread out in an even layer.

Place in a 350°F oven on the middle rack. (The temperature is not critical. You can put these in the oven right after the bacon comes out and reduce the heat.) Stir occasionally. [now would be the perfect time to start your water for the pasta -- remember if you are making a larger amount it might be a good idea to start your water sooner.] Bake your vegetables for about 15-20 minutes until cooked through and tender. Raise the temperature to 400°-425°F. At this point you are not going to want to leave the kitchen. Crumble your cooked bacon and toss with the vegetables. This will add needed fat, salt, and flavor. Bake for another 5-10 minutes. [toss your pasta in the water - cook al dente, strain, and toss with a hint of olive oil to keep from getting sticky]

To impart the most flavor you are looking for caramelized, browned, veggies. The natural sugars concentrate and create bright flavorful food. Just before they look done – switch your oven over to Broil and raise the tray to the top rack. Keeping a VERY CLOSE EYE on it and tossing it often wait for caramelization to complete. Don’t let it blacken or burn. Keep tossing and pull it out when ready. It will probably only be under the broiler for 5 minutes at most. Remember all these times are relative to the size and amount and type of vegetables you have.

Plate your pasta, top with your yummy veggies, and serve. Heaven on a plate.

Most vegetables would work for this recipe. Possible additions –

Broccoli
Carrots
Peas
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Yellow Squash

Or any other crisp spring vegetable.

Experiment with spices and herbs for even more flavor. Such thinks as garlic, Parmesan cheese, herbes de Provence, Cayenne pepper, or anything you can think of. You can also toss in some poached chicken, or shrimp. It’s a versatile dish. Pasta Primavera means “Spring Pasta.” You don’t have to roast the veggies, you could do a cold version, or any number of things.

Let me know what you come up with – I would love to hear what you’ve done! //cheers//

Squeeze Me

Everyone needs a sweet treat! Lemon and Poppy seeds are one of my favorite combinations!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
makes 12~24 depending on size

Dough
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel (about 2 lemons)
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon slat
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Coating
You will roll the dough in this mixture before baking. Exact amounts depend on the size of your cookies.
about 1/2 cup sanding sugar (raw sugar)
a few tablespoons of poppy seeds

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

Prepare your oven by preheating it to 350°F.

Start the dough by beating the granulated sugar and softened butter in an electric mixer on medium until creamy. Beat in the egg and lemon peel. Mix until combined. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt). Gradually add this to the butter and egg mixture. Once combined add 1 tablespoon of the poppy seeds. Mix on low until firm and completely combined.

Mix together the sanding sugar and some poppy seeds in a small bowl. Using your hands or two spoons create balls of dough about 1-2 tablespoons in size. Roll in the sanding sugar to coat. Bake about 2 inches apart for 11-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand on cookies sheets for a minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool.

Something I learned from Betty Crocker is to bake a test cookie. If you have the time (and you should, never bake in a rush) bake just one cookie. All by it’s lonesome. Take it out and let it cool. Eat it! You will be able to tell if you need to add a minute or subtract a minute. This is a life saver and can save you ruining 8 cookies instead of just one.

For the glaze, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix well and drizzle over the cookies. The glaze takes about 20 minutes to set.

Enjoy!!

Merry Ex-Mas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday, whatever it was that you celebrated. Coming back from a four day weekend is hard! But, I’m finally back in the swing of things, and have a chance to update the blog. I’m lucky enough to have had a great and mostly relaxing vacation. Spending most of my time in the kitchen at my parents house baking. I was very excited to try out a new-to-me recipe for marshmallows. I’ve never tried marshmallows before, and was slightly intimidated. I was inspired by Alexis Stewart of Whatever Radio who made the coconut version for Christmas. The original recipe is here on epicurious as was published in Gourmet (Dec 07).

They were so much easier than I though they would be, and tasted fabulous. I did however learn a few things. Sugar soaks back into them if you aren’t careful and you’ll end up with a sugary sticky mess. (Though it’s still a tasty mess). Mistakes were made, but learning and experimenting is half of the fun – the other half would of course be eating them. I made a coconut/vanilla batch, and a plain vanilla batch. The coconut ones are perfect for eating just as is, they are a great treat. The vanilla were dropped in hot cocoa!!

I kept a few of the plain ones as large squares and they filled up the whole top of the mug of cocoa. We enjoyed them on Christmas Night after dinner and presents. They were so sugary and melty and chocolaty and warm! I was very happy with them.

And in case you didn’t know all the images in 427theblog are hosted on flickr.com. You can click on them to be taken to the image page to see a larger version. You can also download hi-res images to use for wallpapers, or whatever. Enjoy! and Good Luck!

Marshmallow Base
enough for 64, 1″ cube, marshmallows

3 (1/4-ounces) envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 cup water, divided in half
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt

Flavoring
For the plainest of marshmallows you can leave the base as is. Otherwise you can add between 2~3 teaspoons of extract. Usually if you are going to flavor your base you will add 1~2 teaspoons of Vanilla, and then 1/2~1 teaspoon of coconut, or whatever flavor you want. I’ve listed a few that I’ve tried, or want to try.

- Vanilla
- Coconut
- Almond
- Orange Extract or Grand Marnier (Orange Liquor)
- Lemon
- Coffee or Espresso
- Peppermint

Sealant
When you prepare and cut your marshmallows you will need to “seal” them otherwise they will be sticky and get everywhere. Choose a sealant that compliments your flavorings.
You will need at least 2 cups of sealant for the setting process as well as dredging while you cut.

- Powdered Sugar is the classic sealant for plain marshmallows.
- Unsweetened dried coconut, toasted, is perfect for coconut flavored treats. To toast coconut, preheat your oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle. Spread the coconut on a large cookie sheet and bake for 7~10 minutes. Stirring every 1~2 minutes. Make sure to keep and eye on it. Don’t over-toast or you will burn it.
- Toasted almond slivers or other nuts might be wonderful too, though I haven’t tried that myself yet.
- Dunking them in chocolate would make something really decadent. Make sure to temper your chocolate if you are going to do this.

Lightly oil a 9×9 pan. Sprinkle about 1/2 a cup of sealant on the bottom to fully coat the pan. Set aside.

Bloom the gelatin by sprinkling it over 1/2 cup warm water in a metal mixer bowl, set aside.

Start the syrup. In a small saucepan place the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water. Turn the heat to low, and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved. You will be able to tell when the sugar crystals have dissipated when you scrap your spoon over the bottom or side of the pan and you no longer feel “grit.”

Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and turn the heat to medium. Place a candy thermometer on the side of the pan. Make sure that the thermometer does not touch the bottom of the pan or you will get a false reading. Bring to boil without stirring. You can wash any sugar crystals down the side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. (This is only needed if you have excess crystals, it’s not really the end of the world if you get a little bit.)

In a separate saucepan bring 1″ of water to a simmer.

Keep an eye on the sugar mixture – when it reaches 240°F (Usually labeled on your thermometer as “soft ball stage”) remove it from the heat and set aside.

Your gelatin should have hardened in the mixer bowl by this point, while your syrup is cooling slightly place the gelatin over the simmering water. With a fork break up the gelatin and melt. Once the mixture is liquid, place on the mixing stand. Using the whisk attachment, and starting on slow beginning to mix the gelatin.

VERY CAREFULLY and with a good grip, slowly stream the sugar syrup down the side of the mixing bowl. Once all the syrup is incorporated, turn the mixer to high (or almost high, I used 8 out of 10 on my Kitchen Aide). Beat the base until very thick, about 15 minutes. Add your extract or other flavoring and beat for 1 more minute.

Working quickly and using a large spatula turn out the marshmallow base onto the sealant in your oiled pan. Spread smooth, and top with 1/2 cup more of sealant. Let stand, uncovered, until firm. About 2 hours.

Run a sharp knife around the edge of the marshmallow block to loosen it, and turn it out on a cutting board. I use a cookie sheet for this part as it keeps my mess contained. Using the remaining cup of sealant (and more if needed) you are going to dredge each cut so that nothing gets too sticky.

To keep your marshmallows in uniform shapes, start by cutting the block in half, then quarters, etc. This works much better than trying to judge the measurements of approximately 1″ strips. When you make a cut dip the newly exposed marshmallow in the sealant. You should end up with about 64 marshmallows.

Once all your squares are complete, double check to make sure all the edges are dredged in sealant. When storing keep them separate, and the layers between parchment or wax paper. Another tip is to leave them exposed for a few more hours to help “dry” the sides. If you store them away to quickly the have a tendency to “soak up” the sealant and become sticky again. This is especially true for plain marshmallows with powered sugar sealant. I made this mistake and ended up with a new mass of sticky that I am going to half to re-cut.

Let me know if you make these, I would love to hear and see what you’ve done!

~ Mike

Craving!

One part boredom, plus ne part left over chips, plus two parts hunger equals Butterscotch Chip Cookies. I’ve wanted to try Alexis Stewart’s Brown-Sugar Chocolate-Chip Cookies for as long as I’ve know about it. They are supposed to be flatter and less cakey than normal chocolate chip cookies.

After using all the chocolate chips in the house, and having half a bag left of butterscotch chips, I just had to make them. You can find the recipe here. NOTE: The image shown on the website is in actuality not the actual recipe (per Alexis Stewart on Whatever Radio)

I halved it as 50 cookies is quite a lot! Plus I didn’t have enough chips. After baking the first batch I saw that I made the drops too large, and there wasn’t enough flour in the batter. I added about 4 tablespoons more flour and reduced the size and voila! Yummy golden brown buttery goodness.

Simmer!

Tonight I made soup. Warm delicious soup. I was inspired by VeganYumYum’s post today about Minestrone.

Overall the seasoning turned out great. I did add a touch too much salt, but I’m getting better. I’m really happy. I made a White Bean & Vegetable Soup. Of course, again, I couldn’t find a recipe that I could use directly from the book. I didn’t have all the ingredients in stock. (I used all the onions in the house for the tart on Monday, among other missing ingredients.) I took some ideas from this White Bean and Vegetable Soup Recipe and the Tuscan Bean and Farro Soup from Chez Panisse Vegetables.

I rummaged around in the fridge, freezer, and pantry and found what I could. The following is the concoction that I made tonight. This kind of soup is very flexible and you can add any type of bean or vegetable you want. I would have loved to add some celery or leeks, (or onions!).

White Bean & Vegetable Soup
enough for 8+ servings

32oz box low-sodium Chicken stock (or Vegetable)
3 cups of water
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
1 15oz can of french cut green beans (rinsed)
1 15oz can of white beans (rinsed)
1 cup (about) of frozen corn
1 cup (about) of frozen peas
1/2 cup of diced carrots
1 strip of bacon (can be omitted to make Vegetarian)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2~3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of pink salt
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Open and rinse the beans. To keep the salt content down you’ve got to get rid of all that goop. Fresh beans would work great too. Small dice your carrots, crush and dice the garlic, and prepare any other vegetables. Once your mis en plas (Everything is in place) is done heat the olive oil in a large non-reactive (Stainless Steel, Glass, or Ceramic) pot.

Saute the garlic and bacon in the oil until soft. Drop in carrots and other fresh veggies. Cook until they begin to soften. Add tomatoes, beans, and spices (retain about half the salt to add as needed later in cooking). Marry for 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Add stock and water, bring to boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook for 45minutes to an hour. Check on it ever 15 minutes or so, giving it a stir.

After about 30 minutes taste. Add salt as needed.

It would have been great to serve it with a little Parmesan cheese, or thick crusty bread. We did without tonight. Take a look in your pantry – I’m sure you’ve got some stuff that would go great in a soup. I’m trying to get off my bum and make something. Mission Accomplished today!

~ Mike

Let’s Get Baking!

Baking an Onion and Potato Tart. I don’t know what got into me. I had fun yesterday making cookies and we’ve had these onions sitting on the counter forever! Joe was doing dishes when I got home so the kitchen was nice and clean for me to make a mess Sorry, hon.

I dried the dishes and got to it.

First thing was finding a Pâte Brisée recipe. Pâte Brisée is just basic pie dough. I say Pâte Brisée because I think it makes me look fancy. teehee. First, the recipe in Joe’s school book was for 5lbs of dough! I didn’t want to convert it. The one in Chez Panisse Desserts was a little too complicated, and I didn’t want to think that hard. Plus the pages kept turning on me and I didn’t want to get the cook book holder down. So I decided on an adapted recipe from a Season Baking Class hand out by Julie Fether. (I did have to half it, the exact recipe I used tonight below) I adapted it to fit my own style.

Pâte Brisée
enough for one 11″ tart, plus extra

1 cup AP Flour
1 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3~3/4 cup cold water
8 oz. cold butter

Sift flour, add salt. Cube cold butter. Working quickly use your finger tips to work the butter into the flour until you reach an oatmeal/cornmeal consistency. Don’t over work the butter as it will melt. Cold flakes of butter = Flaky dough. If needed you can toss the mixture back in the fridge.

Quickly and all at once, add the water and mix until incorporated. Always err on the side of less water. It’s easier to add water than take it out.

Once the dough has gathered, turn it out on a lightly floured surface and knead it gently. Don’t overwork the dough. There should still be “marbled” butter batches visible. Once the dough is smooth and firm shape it into a disc and wrap it in plastic, chill completely.

Lasts 3-4 days; 2 months in freezer.
Take the dough out a few minutes before working with it. Always work with a cold dough. If it begins to warm up too much, toss it back in the fridge.

Once I had the dough made and in the fridge I moved on to the filling. I was searching for Caramelized Onion Tarts in our cook books and online. This is the one I based my recipe on. There are many many variations all over the place. The filling isn’t an exact science – mix and match fillings and spices to your hearts content. Experiment!

Caramelized Onion & Potato Tart
enough for one 11″ Tart

5 small yellow onions (red would probably be great too, more sweet)
2~3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt, pepper
celery seed (you can use any herb or spice you like. keep it simple.)
3/4 cup swiss cheese (Gruyère would have been great, but we didn’t have any)
3~4 small red potatoes

Peel and slice the onions. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and sprinkle a little salt over them. Cook on high for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent. Just as they start to brown, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions should be cooked completely, not burnt, and when you taste them – there should be no crunch.

While the onions are cooking steam your potatoes for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the water level in your steamer (I ran out, and almost scorched my pot). You could probably microwave, or bake these.Preheat your oven to 450°F. Grate or chop the cheese, set aside. Take your Potatoes off the stove to cool. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes before rolling it out. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch diameter. Lift and lay in your tart pan. Trim the edges and dock the dough with a fort (poke some holes in the bottom). If you can, stick it back in the fridge to chill up.You are going to Blind Bake the shell before filling. Line the tart dough with some tin foil. Fill with some dried beans, or in my case some brown rice. This will simulate filling, and par bake (pre bake) the dough. Since the filling will be fully cooked before going in the tart blind baking will allow the crust to cook completely without burning the filling.

Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes. Remove the tin foil and rice/beans. Layer in your filling. Half of the cheese, slices of steamed potato, salt and pepper, celery seed or other seasonings, caramelized onions, and the rest of the cheese. Continue to bake at 450 for 10-15 more minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F for 20-25 minutes. The cheese should be bubbly and the crust should be golden.

Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

So Yummy! Serve with some crème fraîche, or sour cream. Best warm.

~ Mike