Cherry & Apricot Crostata with a Ricotta Filling

Hello, again. It's been almost a week since I've had a chance to post this recipe.  This is the second dessert recipe in a row.  I don't have any dinner recipes ideas to share, because we are grilling just about every meal, and at that it's simple (but tasty) fare-- grilled chicken, salmon, veggies and burgers.

This recipe was a smashing success, I tell you!  Whole Foods had organic Bing cherries on sale for $2.99 a pound, and I stocked up.  Originally, I wanted to bake a cherry pie.  Then, I stumbled across two different recipes-- one was for a cherry-apricot tart.  I had never thought of combining these two summer fruits, but I knew instantly that these would pair well together.  Then, I stumbled on a recipe for a crostata at "Cowgirl Chef".  I liked the crust recipe and I especially liked the idea of a ricotta filling.  Crostatas (or Gallettes) are what I consider to be "free form" pies.  They're rustic. They're fast and easy.  You can use a store bought crust, but I prefer to make my own.  I'm always game to try new pie crust recipes, and this one used all butter and a touch of sugar.

The key to great pie crusts is to use very cold butter and don't over work the dough.  As a note, I am a full convert to buying only unbleached flour-- to be specific, I buy King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour.  Once the dough chilled for about an hour, I rolled it out to about 9-inches wide.  The uneven edges are fine, as I'll be folding the edges over.  I have a tutorial on how to make my fool-proof pie crust here.

I adapted the ricotta filling a bit.  I decided to add orange zest, and to omit using cinnamon. I simply whisked in two eggs and vanilla, and set it in the refrigerator ( you could easily do this the day before).  Next, I peeled and pitted 3 apricots and sliced them. I pitted roughly 20 Bing cherries.

I added about 1/4 tsp of almond extract and the juice of 1/2 small lemon. I sweetened the fruit with 3 Tablespoons of sugar and about 1 teaspoon of Clearjel (you can buy this at either King Arthur Flour or on Amazon).  If you don't have Clearjel, then you use always use cornstarch.  Set that aside.  On a whim, I decided to add a very thin layer of jam.  I do this, sometimes, to make sure that I don't end up with soggy crusts.  I didn't have apricot jam, but  I had  a lovely jar of Peach & Armagnac jam that the lovely folks at East India Company sent to me.  It's wonderful jam, and I'm sad that most of it has been eaten and thoroughy enjoyed.

I decided to change how I assembled the crostata from the original recipe, by reversing the steps.  I carefully spread the ricotta filling, on top of the jam-- leaving a 3" border.  Then, I piled the fruit on top of the ricotta filling.

I carefully folded the edge of the pastry over, and then brushed on an egg wash...

...then added King Arthur Flour sparkling white sugar, for the lovely crunch I like so much.

With the oven preheated to 350F I baked this for about 45 minutes.  Halfway through, I checked on my crostata and I was so sad... my lovely folded edges had melted into one flat pizza looking crust. I realized, too late, there was not enough flour in the dough (original recipe only called for one cup).  I should have gone with my gut instinct, as I felt that the dough felt very soft as initially I rolled it out.

Aesthetically, I was disappointed.  However, the crostata smelled wonderful, and I still had high hopes that the flavor would be a winner.

This is what the crust really should have looked like (this is a plum gallette that I make in the Fall.)

I let this crostata cool to room temperature-- just very slightly warm. I sprinkled my slice with a little bit of powdered sugar...

VERDICT:  The crust is quite lovely, really.  It was tender and buttery.   Next time, I'll add about 1/2 cup extra flour (already noted on the printable recipe card).   The ricotta filling was perfect-- I'm so glad I went with the orange zest.  It was a perfect compliment to the fruit. Oh, the fruit... the almond extract was very subtle.  Cherries and almond are a great flavor combo.  Cherries and apricots are lovely!  The crostata was sweet, but not super sweet. I absolutely loved everything about this recipe.   Would I make the same crust again? You bet.  Again, just adding more flour until the dough comes together a bit more would be the solution.

The ricotta filling is something I will make with any kind of fruit, year-round.  This almost reminds me of the Ina Garten Cheese Danish recipe that I've made in the past-- and which is also one of my most viewed recipes.   A printable recipe card is at the end of this post.

I am linking this recipe to A Latte' with Ott-A's Iron Chef Challenge, sponsored by King Arthur Flour.

Enjoy!

Peaches & Cream Pie (Would you like crust with that?)

I wish we had a peach tree in our own backyard.  Let me rephrase that. I wish we could plant a HUGE peach tree in our own backyard, and that we could have beautiful peaches by this summer.  I've hinted around with my Green Thumbed Husband, but so far I have the company of one Meyer Lemon Tree, one Eureka Lemon Tree and one fledgling Lime tree.  Now that I think of it, I wish we had an orchard of every kind of apple and stone fruit that grows well on the Central Coast of California!  Somehow, I don't think our little home plot of land could support my dream orchard. So, I wait for the first signs of California peaches at my local farm stand.  At last, the first peaches were spotted, but they weren't quite ripe.

I was craving peaches, and then I remembered a recipe in the June 2011 issue of Cook's Country Magazine that I had bookmarked.  Peaches and Cream Pie isn't anything new.  In the style of the family of Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Country wanted to re-work the recipe so that the pie crust doesn't get soggy.  In order to accomplish this, this recipe required the roasting of the peaches, with a little sugar,  to release it's moisture. That made sense to me.  The pie crust is also partially blind-baked with pie weights and aluminum foil.  I'm not posting how I make my pie crust, as I have several different versions. If you want to use a commercially purchased one, please do so.  Otherwise, my favorite  pie crust recipe,is a mixture of shortening and butter and a "how to" is posted here.

The peaches are roasted, for about 30 minutes,  on the top rack of the oven, while the pie crust is baking below.  I liked the time-saving convenience of this procedure.

 Then it hit me.  I forgot to peel the peaches, before roasting them. D'oh!

After chewing myself out, for not following the directions that were clearly there, I was saved by discovering that the peels came off quite easily.  No harm, no foul.

The peaches are quartered and layered into the pie crust.

The filling comes together in a snap-- flour, salt, heavy cream, vanilla and egg yolks (the yolks helps the filling to set better.)

The filling is poured over the roasted peaches, and then baked until firm in the center-- 45-55 minutes.

While the pie was cooling, I noticed that the crust had shrunk quite a bit.  I'm guessing it's because I used a large deep-dish pie pan and I didn't quite have enough pie dough.  I decided to remove the pie and serve it like a tart. It worked quite well.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

...I had leftover peaches and filling. On a whim, my leftovers filled two ramekins. These were baked for about 30 minutes and came out bubbling and smelling wonderful. Ooooooooooh, crustless pie!  I have a confession to make.  Ready?  I'm not a huge fan of traditional pie crusts.  That's why I prefer fruit  crumbles or crisps.  The day before I made this pie, I made a creme anglaise and a raspberry coulis sauce.  I had an idea...

I served the pie slices, to my husband and guests, with the Creme Anglaise and Raspberry Coulis sauce. They loved the pie and the crust.  One of our dinner guests is from Atlanta, Georgia.  He should know what good peaches are all about! 

As for me-- I ate one of the crustless pies from the ramekin. Oh, boy!

TASTING NOTES:  Though the peaches weren't quite ripe, this recipe roasted and baked them to perfection.  I loved the crunchy and chewy texture of the pie filling, while the peaches tasted like "summer".  The edges of the ramekins had slightly caramelized the pie filling.  The pie crust was not soggy! The Creme Anglaise with the Raspberry Coulis sauce made this a glorified Peach Melba, in my book. Vanilla ice cream would be a perfect substitute.  I intend to make this same recipe, using fresh berries and I think it would work extremely well with apricots-- but I'm going to use all ramekins.  This pie disappeared within two days. As for that second ramekin-- I hid it.  It was all mine!  

With or without a pie crust, this is a pretty simple way to enjoy peaches. This recipe goes into my Family Favorites recipe file.  I hope you try it.  A printable recipe is at the end of this post.

Enjoy!

Ina Garten's Easy Cranberry & Apple Cake

While I enjoy making savory dinners, there is always room for dessert.  There, I said it.  I like dessert.  I don't eat dessert every night.  But once in a while I like to keep an arsenal of quick dessert recipes, for when the fancy strikes me to make something sweet.  I record some of my favorite Food Network shows, but sometimes it takes me days, weeks, months to find time to watch them.  Last week, I watched a recorded episode of "The Barefoot Contessa".  I watched Ina Garten make this very easy dessert, and I quickly searched for the recipe on line.  D'oh! It's in my latest Ina Garten cookbook "How Easy is That?" that I purchased, and I had forgotten about it.

As luck would have it, I had one more bag of frozen cranberries left, after I made the Cranberry-Almond Poundcake.  I had apples that needed to be used.  This would be tonight's dessert! 

I decided to use two Granny Smith apples, rather than Ina's one, in her recipe.  Cranberries can be a bit tart, so I wanted to increase the apple.  My apple corer helps me to peel, core and slice apples in less than a minute. It's one of my newest favorite kitchen tools.  You also need the zest of two oranges (1 Tbsp.)  and about 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice.

Because I didnt' want the apples to dominate the flavor, I used my secret ingredient, "Boiled Cider." (I buy this online at King Arthur Flour.) 

Combine cranberries, apples, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of  cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set it aside.

It took less than 15 minutes to make the batter.  The beauty of using butter in this recipe is that you melt it, and let it cool-- no having to wait to bring it to room temperature. You also need eggs, sugar, flour, sour cream, vanilla extract and a pinch of kosher salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Can we talk about the paddle attachment that I use? It's a beater blade that I ordered online.  I love it, because it scrapes the sides of the bowl really well.  To know me, is to know that I love gadgets that make my life just a little easier!With the mixer on medium, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt. Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate. Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely.

I didn't pay attention to the directions, and I sprinkled cinnamon on top.  I should have sprinkled cinnamon-sugar.  The sugar will leave a nice crunch to the cake, so I'm definitely going to do that next time.
NOTE: Be sure to place the cake on a parchment paper lined baking tray, before baking it in a 350 degree oven.  I checked my cake at 50 minutes, rather than 55 and the cake was ready.  Only poke a toothpick into the dough, as the fruit is going to be gooey!

See what I mean?  The fruit will bubble and flow over the sides.  The baking tray and parchment paper makes for easy cleanup.  This cake is best served warm or at room temperature.

A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is perfect with this. (Or, fresh whipped cream.)

TASTING NOTES: I would call this a cross between a cobbler and a cheater pie, but the dough bakes into a tender cake consistency.  It's not too sweet, and easier than pie!  My husband thought the cranberries were a bit tart. Usually, I'm the one who is sensitive to sour/tart flavor. I actually thought the fruit had a perfect balance of sweet and tart.  My son agreed with me (for a change).  I plan to make this version with all apples. I also plan to make this with berries, and also when fresh peaches come into season.  

How easy is that?!

Now that I'm revisiting Ina's newest cookbook, I've bookmarked a few more recipes that I'll be cooking and baking over the next few weeks.  I love her recipes. This particular cookbook has a lot of easy recipes, and she does share some really great tips.  This book is worth the less than $25.00 investment.  The pictures, as always, are mouth-watering.

You can view and print the recipe at the bottom of this page.  Just scroll to the bottom of the recipe card, and you'll find the link that will take you to the "Cook, Eat, Share" website where you can print it.

Thanks, Ina!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie-- made in the nick of time!

Strawberry-Rhubarb is a combination that I often see in Blogosphere.  I have no idea why, but I haven't made this type of pie in years-- many, many years.  I love to shop at "The Farm", which is located off Highway 68 in Salinas, California.  Sarah is an added bonus to my frequent visits, because she goes out of her way to make sure that I get the freshest ingredients from their organic farm.  On a whim, I asked Sarah if she had any rhubarb.

"How much do you need?" she asked.

"I dunno.  Enough for a pie?" I answer.

 Sarah disappeared for a good ten minutes. I'm fine with that, as I sit outside and enjoy the view of their fields, with the backdrop of the Salinas mountains.  I hear her calling my name-- she has literally gone out into the field to pick the last of the rhubarb-- because the season is pretty much over.  What a gal!  I happily pay for the rhubarb and organic strawberries, at half price, since it's the end of the day.  I've gotten a bargain, because these are the sweetest and best tasting strawberries in town. Light is disappearing, so I hurry home to make a pie...per my son's request. My husband, on the other hand, doesn't seem excited to eat rhubarb. I'll show him....

Earlier in the day, I had made another batch of Ina Garten's Pie crust.  If you would like to see how to make this click here.

Did you know that rhubarb is related to the buckwheat family?  It's a hard flavor to describe, as I take a bite.  I'm undecided if I'm going to like this pie, myself.

 
I decide to use sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg and allspice.  I use Clearjel (King Arthur Flour, online) as my thickener, but you can use tapioca or cornstarch.  I add some fresh lemon juice, a few pats of butter and add the top pie crust. The "lattice" is fake, I admit. I have a Pie Lattice Cutter. 

Natural light is fading, as I place this into a 375F oven, for about 50 minutes.  I like to brush this with an egg wash and some coarse sugar.

I think that fruit pies should be allowed to cool for at least three hours. That way the filling can set and you won't have a mess.  Alas, it was dark outside, so I didn't photograph the pie.
VERDICT:  "Mr. I-only-eat-berry-pie Craig" liked the flavor combo a lot. Me?  I think that the blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice was just right.  The pie crust is tender and flavorful.  Of course, vanilla ice cream is a must. Next year, I need to buy rhubarb a little earlier in the season, though I think frozen rhubarb would work just as well.  In fact, I think this would be a perfect summer pie for the 4th of July weekend.

Even if you don't make Strawberry-Rhubarb pie, the pie crust is super delicious for any kind of pie.  While pie aficionados swear that one must use a pastry cutter I beg to differ.  With my food processor, I get tender and flaky crusts. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The very next morning, Craig and I left for our trip to Napa, California.  My son polished off the pie, as I hastily took a few photos to share with you.

Homemade ice cream is chilling.  I'm off to see what Sarah recommends as vegetable side dishes. I'm making-- what else-- another pie, for our BBQ with the family.

Keep scrolling to find a printable recipe, from my kitchen to yours!

Wishing all of you a safe and happy 4th of July,