Hi friends!
I hope everyone enjoyed a long, relaxing LDW. Mine was spent still crashing at my parent’s house in St. Louis, Missouri. In case you were wondering, yes, I’ve gone full-blown Step Brothers status. We did right by the long weekend by sleeping in, laying by the pool and of course, eating until our jeans were tight.
Turkey and Prosciutto sandwiches from Nathaniel Reid Bakery; Hamburger and Onion pizza from Imo’s; and lastly, Stuffed Tenderloin (yeah, that’s crab on top) from Bartolino’s
With an extra day added onto our weekend, we also found time to bake. This week, we were baking galettes. And not just one, but two. Well, technically three. Because in the words of my dear friend Faith, more is more.
A galette is a french pastry similar to a tart or pie but way less fussy or fancy. Don’t let the french-ness of the pastry scare you off— galettes are totally doable. Essentially, it’s just buttery-dough wrapped around a pile of stuff. That stuff can be sweet or savory, and sure, you can make the “stuff” fancy if you want, but you definitely don’t have to. For us, we did one of each— a super un-fancy sweet galette and a semi-fancy savory one.
But before we jump into the recipes, let this week’s newsletter be a reminder that things don’t always go as planned with cooking. Remember when I said we made three galettes this week? Well, it wasn’t because we just couldn’t get enough. No, it was because my first blueberry galette fell from the fridge as I opened the door and landed completely upside down, shattering all hopes of enjoying a sweet treat that day.
When I started this newsletter, I promised to be honest about all the triumphs AND failures that come with cooking. And as my blueberry galette laid broken on the kitchen floor, I’ll admit that it felt like a big failure. Hence the full-on meltdown that proceeded. Yelling. Cussing. Tears. The whole shabang.
As I sat defeated on my kitchen floor, my sweet mother reminded me of something I always preach— you’re going to have fuck-ups in cooking. It’s inevitable. We’re only human. There will be mistakes, and that’s okay because like food, it’s impossible to be perfect all the time. And in the moments when things go wrong and all you want to do is scream and cry, then you go ahead and do it. Ride the emotional wave. Just don’t let it stop you from trying again. Like me, get up off the ground, clean up your mess like Janine in He’s Just Not That Into You, and try it again.
When I think about why I was so upset about the fallen galette, it truly was because I had made homemade dough. Because to be honest with you all, 9 days out of 10, I’ll just use a store-bought pie dough like this Pillsbury one. Between us friends, I don’t think store-bought pie doughs are all that bad! They’re pretty inexpensive, save you so much time and they’re way less of a clean up. And when I went to remake the blueberry galette later that weekend, you can bet I used pre-made dough instead of making it from scratch again.
But if you have time on your hands like I did earlier this weekend and you want to make homemade dough, I have a recipe for you. We followed this Fine Cooking recipe, which calls for:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
9 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
4-5 tablespoons ice water
We used the food processor to make our dough because even when you make something from scratch, you can still have some shortcuts.
To make the dough, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt to combine. Add the butter pieces, and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pea-size pieces. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of the water, and pulse until the dough comes together. If too dry, add the remaining water by the teaspoon, and pulse until the dough just comes together.
Form the dough into a ball, put it between two sheets of plastic wrap, and then press it into an 8-inch round. Wrap it tightly in more plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before rolling out. (Or freeze it for up to 2 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling it out.)
While the dough took a cat nap in the fridge, we made our fillings.
I’ll start by telling you about the galette that didn’t end up on the floor— a Heirloom Tomato Galette with Honeyed Goat Cheese, Caramelized Shallots and Fresh Thyme. This was the fancy one if you can’t tell.
In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned the abundance of tomatoes we had from my Aunt Julie’s garden. Well, we’ve been brainstorming ways all week to use more of them, including blanching and freezing some whole, making various pasta sauces, whipping up tomato jam (my idea which no one seemed enthusiastic about) and lastly, yes, using them in a savory galette.
For this galette, you’ll need:
4 shallots, thinly sliced (approx. 1 cup)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
8 oz goat cheese
2-3 tablespoons honey
3-4 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 large egg, beaten
Everything bagel seasoning
Start by sautéing your shallots with olive oil, over medium-low heat until shallots are lightly caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. When I’m at home, I use this one.
With a rolling pin, roll out the chilled dough into a thin sheet, and then transfer to your pan. Crumble the goat cheese over the rolled out dough, leaving a 2 inch border. Drizzle honey over the goat cheese. If you’re interested in my honey recommendation, check out Savannah Bee Company. Next comes your caramelized shallots.
Before adding your sliced tomatoes on top, season them with salt and pepper. I’ll never, ever not season a tomato. Add them on top of the shallots and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Lastly, sprinkle with fresh thyme.
Fold up the edges of the dough around the tomatoes, and brush the crust with the beaten egg. You could leave this as is, but we added some everything bagel seasoning on top because why not?
Bake the galette for 30-40 minutes until the crust is golden and the tomatoes have begun to char.
For the recipe I now know by heart because I’ve had to make it twice: Bev Cook’s Simple Blueberry Galette.
For this one, you’ll need:
1 ½ pint blueberries — the other half pint can be your snack while you bake
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg, beaten
Turbinado sugar
In a small bowl, combine the blueberries with the lemon zest, juice and sugar. Toss and let sit for a few minutes.
Like the tomato galette, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Roll out your chilled dough and transfer to the baking sheet.
Spread the softened cream cheese in the middle, again leaving a 2 inch border. I like to use an offset spatula, but a butter knife or back of a spoon will also work. Pour the berry mixture on top of the cream cheese, and gently fold the edges of the crust over the berries. Brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the berries are soft. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Although I didn’t necessarily have the best luck with galettes this week, I’m not going to let that stop me from making them again in the future. I love the fact that you can put essentially anything into a galette. Here’s some I plan on trying:
Alison Roman’s Deep Dish Honey Apple Galette
Bon Appetit’s Peach and Plum Galette
Bon Appetit’s Triple Threat Onion Galette
Leite’s Culinaria’s Vegetable Galette
Baking The Good’s Ricotta, Potato & Spring Pea Galette
For what’s giving me life this week, my inner cosmic goddess came out when I did my birth chart. I’ve been curious about birth charts ever since Mecca Woods was a guest on the Girls Gotta Eat podcast, and let’s just say, I’m a through-and-through scorpio. Please don’t judge me. I’ve also been carrying around this cherry quartz, not only because I love that it’s named after my favorite fruit, but because it’s intended to restore your life’s energy. Didn’t know I was a hippie? Well, now you do. Oh, and I’m obsessed with my nail color right now. It’s bringing me a lot of joy.
And lastly, how could I not mention this insane quantity of peppers I was gifted from my cousin’s roommate. There’s enough poblano and anaheim peppers for me to make stuffed peppers for my entire apartment complex this week. There’s also more jalapenos than I know what to do with. Not to be a one-trick pony, but like the tomatoes, I think I want to make a jalapeno jam. Don’t know how that’ll turn out, but sometimes the best reward comes with some risk, am I right?
Wish I was with you,
Maddie