Goat Cheese and Onion Tartlets

I haven’t always loved to cook, but I have always loved to eat.  In the second grade, my teacher assigned our class a project to describe what we believed was the most beautiful thing in the world. My fellow classmates described their mothers or our country’s purple mountains majesty, illustrated by watercolors and crayons in the shades of the sunset.  Unlike the others, I seized the opportunity and declared my love for food. My project read, “The most beautiful thing I've ever seen is low-fat cottage cheese and pepper.” And I drew an interpretation of the dish to accompany my declaration.

I’ve been into food of all shapes and sizes for as long as I can remember, but relatively recently found the joy of cooking. When I was a little girl, it seemed to be a chore, a task my mom had to force me to help her with—definitely not something I enjoyed until I was on the receiving end of things.

Moving out of the house and living on my own is what ultimately helped me to realize my potential. Sick of the cafeteria at my college, I became curious about the kitchen. One of the first recipes I took ownership of were these delicious goat cheese and onion tartlets.  I found it in a vegetarian cookbook I gave my mom for Christmas one year.  He captures a range of cultures through a vegetarian perspective, delivering breakfast, appetizers, soups, main dishes and desserts.  It is the type of book that has you drooling over every page.  I love eating the tartlets, and what’s more, I love cooking them. They are simple and straight forward, and most importantly, very, very delicious.

I have found these to be a real crowd pleaser—serve them as appetizers in 2-inch squares at holiday parties for the perfect bite, or larger squares as a side to a tossed salad. They are best enjoyed warm, but can be made a day ahead of time.  Prepare the tartlets on the baking sheet and put in the fridge until just before your company arrives. I like these to be more rustic; they do not need to be perfect, so don’t feel the need to trim the edges. As is our motto at Knife and Fork, always make recipes your own and play around with them.  Brie works well in place of goat cheese, and feel free to try different herb options, such as rosemary or oregano instead of thyme.

Low-fat cottage cheese with pepper is no longer the end-all-be-all for me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t take pleasure in simple things. Whether it be preparing these tartlets paired with a salad tossed with Elizabeth’s dressing or pushing myself to make a flawless soufflé, I am eternally grateful to the cooking gods for luring me in.

Happy eating,

Lindsay

Goat Cheese and Onion Tartlets

Adapted from Easy Vegetarian

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups of thinly sliced onion, 1 lb.

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½  tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped

12 oz. puff pastry dough, thawed if frozen*
8-ounce log of goat cheese

Flour, for dusting

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425°F. Put the butter in a skillet, melt over low heat, then add onions, garlic, and thyme. Sauté gently for 20-25 minutes, until softened and golden. Season with salt and pepper and let cool.

Put the pastry dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to form a rectangle, roughly 8 x 16 inches, trimming the edges.  Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise (hotdog, for those of you who relate better to that terminology) and into 4 crosswise, making about eight 4-inch squares.

Divide the onion mixture between the squares, spreading it over the top and leaving a thin border around the edges. Cut cheese into eight slices and arrange in the center of each square.

Transfer squares to a large baking sheet lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper, and bake for 12-15 minutes, until dough has risen and the cheese is golden. Let cool a little and serve warm.

Dressings for Life

When I was nine, I had to write a report on the Shoshone Native American tribe. If you grew up in the Golden State during the last twenty years and attended public school, you know the majority of the fourth grade is spent learning about settlers, the Gold Rush and, well, the Native Americans.

I’d known about this report and its due date for months, but chose to research, write and execute the entire project the day before it was to be turned in. My parents never questioned my work habits because I always finished on time and got great grades to boot; thus, when they saw me furiously scribbling into the wee hours of the morning, they assumed it was an extremely difficult project and not that their eldest child had completely mismanaged her time. I was exhausted the next day, but proud I was able to hand in the entire assignment while acknowledging it was some of my sloppier work.

Suffice it to say I was surprised a few days later when my teacher held up my report as one of the prime examples. My report and two other classmates’ were the “above and beyond” projects and had each received an A+.

I felt like a complete fraud.

Not that I brought that to anyone’s attention, of course.



Procrastination personified.



This is how I feel when people love my homemade salad dressing. It is so incredibly easy even my nine-year-old slacker self could have whipped up a batch, and with flourish.

It took a while to understand the inner workings of a delicious salad; that is to say, I was twenty-two when I mastered the art of making dressing. I had come to a point where I wanted to push the envelope on my cooking skills and create dishes I love, salad with French vinaigrette being one of them. I could never figure out how chefs and home cooks took oil and vinegar and whipped up something thick, rich and luscious. The answer, my dears, came with my comprehension of a word that I’m hoping will change your life as well: emulsion.

Most people know that oil and vinegar do not naturally mix; it takes whisking the two together to get them to combine. Essentially, when one adds oil to vinegar (slowly) while whipping it with a whisk or fork, the particles of the two break down and cling to each other, making a completely different mixture all together. Enough with the chemistry lesson though; my brain hurts.

With the addition of Dijon, salt and pepper, you have a true French vinaigrette and a delicious, go-to salad dressing for any occasion. 




The usual suspects (French, naturally).

 Once you know the basics, you can pretty much create any dressing in the world. This is not an exaggeration. Unfortunately, from this point out, the store bought variety is going to taste subpar… Sorry about that.



Possible future guest stars.

 Our dear friends the Brewers moved to northern California a month ago, and I promised Micaela (wife of Kyle) a selection of some of my favorite dressings. I’ve not only included the basic French vinaigrette that started my personal revolution, but one involving champagne vinegar, maple and shallots, as well as a tried and true jar dressing sure to impress all who try it. Usually, the recipes make more than necessary, but it’ll store beautifully in the refrigerator for one to two weeks before it is no longer edible.

Or you can eat it in one sitting… which you know I’m prone to do.

Happy Eating,

Elizabeth

French Vinaigrette

¼ cup vinegar (balsamic, white or red wine and champagne vinegar all work beautifully)

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (I LOVE Trader Joe’s version)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper (feel free to add a small pinch of sugar if you wish). 

Once combined, slowly add the oil in a drizzle, while constantly whisking the mixture. The more you whisk and the slower you pour will determine how quickly or slowly your dressing will start to separate back into oil and vinegar. 

Toss with mixed greens and any favorite accompaniments (I love this with goat cheese and walnuts). Make sure to add your dressing slowly to your salad while tossing the leaves, to thoroughly coat them, but not to the point of saturation. Also, if you want to make less dressing, but don't know the ratios, remember that vinaigrette's can be achieved with one part vinegar to three parts oil. 

Variations: Add any of the following to the mixture before adding the olive oil to get a different, but still delicious, dressing:

½ clove minced or smashed garlic

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

Chopped fresh herbs

One thinly sliced shallot

Mix all ingredients in a jam jar and shake to combine. Makes one cup of dressing.



Pre-shake



Post-shake


Farmer’s Market Salad Dressing
Courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow for goop.com

1 small shallot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 ½ teaspoons real maple syrup

2 teaspoons champagne vinegar

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, whisk together the shallot, mustard, maple syrup and vinegar. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and season the dressing with salt and pepper.

Toss with salad greens and any favorite accompaniments (I love toasted pecans, blue cheese and Asian pears with this salad).

Cyndi’s Special Mexican Dressing

½ Canola oil

½ teaspoon celery seed

½ small white onion, grated

3 Tablespoon sugar

¼ cup white cider vinegar

½ teaspoon yellow mustard

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Meet Brett.

Meet Brett.

Aside from being a great friend, he’s a gem in the kitchen and has thus earned the honor of being our first home cook feature.

When Lindsay and I decided we were setting out on our Knife and Fork Adventure, we knew we wanted to celebrate everything having to do with food; not just recipes and restaurants, but also the people who love eating and cooking as much as we do.

Brett’s currently attending law school at Pepperdine University and, luckily for us, moved down the street from Elizabeth and Kyle just a couple months ago. He lives with his life partner, Brittany, who happens to write this blog and co-owns this stationery company (both awesome, by the way).



Presenting Brettany... Cute, right?! 



Their new place is perfect for dinner and dog parties as it has a fabulously large backyard complete with fruit trees and a soon to be developed community vegetable and herb garden. Essentially, we get together, eat some delicious food, drink some delicious wine (or beer) and watch our dogs kind of, sort of play with each other (their dachshunds, Humphrey and Bogart, regulate any sort of merrymaking and Moe happily submits to their demands).
 

 (I pretty much use any excuse I can to post dog photos.)

A couple weeks ago, we had a tasty vegetarian dinner a la Brett featuring roast corn salad, salsamole and curried potato and squash tacos. The salad was his spin on a recipe courtesy of famed chef Bobby Flay, but the tacos and salsamole were all his (and all fantastic!).

He’s a smart, well-spoken guy, so we figured a Q & A session with him about his cooking and recipes could only be a good time. Here’s a brief summary of the things that inspire, excite and have helped Brett progress on his own food adventure. 

Why did you choose to cook the recipes featured?

I chose these recipes for a couple reasons. The squash/potato tacos are a super easy dish, but they're also really unique. I mean, how often do you see curry in Mexican food? And the corn, because, besides just grilling it and eating it straight off the cob, that Bobby Flay preparation is my favorite way to enjoy summer corn. And this was not planned, but I wound up with a vegetarian meal, which we seem to do a lot around our house without meaning to. Maybe next time I'll cook you guys a whole pile of bacon to make up for it.

When did you start becoming interested in cooking? Were there any people or things that inspired you to delve into it?

I think I was always interested in cooking. When I was young I found out the best way to eat what I liked was to cook what I wanted. I used to love making French toast in the morning before school. My mom, because she allowed me to help out in the kitchen. As a little kid I think I learned a lot just from watching her, but also from her allowing me to cook things myself. And I've always thought of her as a great cook.

What is you favorite cusine or type of food to cook?

I don't know if I have a favorite. I have this horrible compulsion, first of all with not reading recipes well, and second, with not wanting to cook the same thing twice. And I think along with that, I am always looking for something new, so I've never sat down to really explore one cuisine. I do love southeast Asian foods, even if what I'm doing is a facsimile and probably a gross misrepresentation of the actual dish, I still find it fun to try.    

Where do you get food inspiration from?

I take some inspiration from blogs, food magazines, but really, I take most of my inspiration from two places. First, and this is for the feel, the aesthetic, the philosophical underpinnings, along with the amazing food, is Anthony Bourdain's show No Reservations. And second, eating out. I love the challenge of recreating a dish I've had somewhere, coming up with my own interpretation of what they've done.

For who do you most like to cook?

I will tell you what I don't like, or who I don't like to cook for: me. I am first of all my own worst critic, and second, I just don't find as much pleasure in dining alone. I think that there's a deep satisfaction from sharing food at a table with someone, and so if I'm by myself I usually just eat some takeout or something. This past summer has been a difficult one in terms of food, as I spent a lot of the time alone on nights where I would usually be cooking for my girlfriend and myself. That being said, in terms of volume I cook most often for my girlfriend, but I love cooking for anyone who appreciates good honest food, good wine, and conversation, because that's what I want out of a meal. I want that communion. That's really why I cook. If you cook like shit, it makes it difficult to convince people to come back and share in that experience again.

What is the most interesting thing you have learned about cooking recently?

Hmm. I don't know. I guess it would be how much more I have to learn, which is good because it means I can never get bored cooking.

Are you self taught or did someone teach you to cook? Any classes?

Self taught. I'm sure it shows in the execution, but I like to think that my taste makes up for it. Besides, I'm never going to be plating haute cuisine, so do I really care if I can't properly julienne a carrot?

What are your favorite food magazines and blogs? Any cookbooks you swear by?

My go-to blog is smitten kitchen. Deb just has impeccable taste; everything she does appeals to me, and I've yet to have a recipe of hers turn out poorly. I get Bon Appetit, and have some Gourmets, and some cookbooks. I like Alice Waters, and Ina [Garten], but because I'm so bad at following recipes, I go long spells without opening the magazines or books.

What are the dishes or ingredients you look forward to most each season?

During the summer, I love stone fruit, berries, corn, and tomatoes. They all stand on their own, and when at their peak they're good enough to eat fresh, but I am a sucker for a nectarine and blackberry crumble, or barbecued corn with a little butter spread on it, and of course, heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella might be one of my favorite meals of all time. And in the fall, apples and pears. They get the same treatment as the nectarines. I combine the two and make a crumble with massive amounts of topping.


Salsamole


4 medium avocados
3 heirloom tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped (the taco recipe uses half a bunch, also)
Juice of 3-4 limes (or to taste)
3 Tablespoons ground cumin (or to taste)
1-2 serrano or jalapeno peppers (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper (try white for a subtle twist)


This is almost more of a salsa with the amount of tomato added. Chop your tomatoes, add to a bowl with the lime juice. Split your avocados and add the fruit to the bowl. 

Add your cilantro, garlic, peppers and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Mix, taste, add more salt if needed, and enjoy.

Curried Potato Tacos

1-2 white potatoes
1 squash
1 package mushrooms 
2 cloves garlic, pressed
3 Tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon sumac
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper


Chop and prepare your potatoes and squash so that they're a little smaller than the mushroom slices (you want the potatoes small enough so that they fully cook in the pan).

Add some olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the potatoes. Stir the potatoes and let them cook for a couple minutes by themselves; then, add the squash and spices. Let this cook again for a few minutes, then add in the garlic, mushrooms, and a little more than half of the cilantro (reserve the rest for the salsamole). Add a little more oil if the pan is too dry. 

Cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes; the dish is ready when the potatoes are tender and ready to be eaten). Salt and pepper to taste. Place mixture in a warm corn tortilla and add your favorite taco accompaniments (Brett served his with grilled onions and queso fresco- cotija cheese works well, too).


Note- Brett uses spicy curry powder, but mild will work fine too.

Grilled Corn Salad with Lime, Red Chili and Cotija
Courtesy of Bobby Flay and Food Network, 2008


8 ears fresh corn, silks removed, husk on, soaked in cold water 30 minutes
Canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup creme fraiche (sour cream is a fine substitute)
2 limes juiced and 1 zested
1 Tablespoon ancho chili powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup grated cotija cheese


Heat grill to high. Grill corn until charred on all sides, about 10 minutes. Take off the grill and removed the kernels with a sharp knife. While you are cutting the corn, put a cast iron skillet on the grill to heat.

Add the corn and the remaining ingredients to the hot pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until creamy and heated through. Serve and enjoy.

Hello, Seattle.

In keeping with the tradition of this season’s unusually cool weather, it only made sense to end our summer on a high note- in rainy Seattle, of course. In town for a lovely wedding, we used our four-day adventure to stuff ourselves silly with the city’s culinary delights, explore a couple “must see” spots and pay homage to one of our favorite fellow bloggers.

Flying in with Kyle early Friday, Elizabeth got a bit of head start on Linds (who didn’t join until later that evening). With her in-laws and husband in tow, E made her way to Pike Place, a legendary outdoor market that has not only been around for more than a century, but is also one of the nation’s oldest continually operated markets (thanks, Wikipedia!).

Naturally, Elizabeth obsessed about the ridiculously gorgeous and insanely cheap flowers, and has decided that should she ever reside in Seattle, her home will be filled to the brim with arrangements (in every room! Even the bathroom and maybe the garage!).

Continuing our tour of the market place, we stopped by the first Starbucks, the first Sur La Table (yes!) and ended up grabbing some hot, fresh donuts from one of the little stands. The cinnamon sugar combo was hands down our favorite, but the powdered sugar topping was nothing to scoff at.

Dinner commenced at a restaurant that is easy to miss while you’re trolling the market, but definitely worth seeking out if you’re in the mood for an unpretentious, sumptuous meal. In order to get there, look for the golden pig, then head directly through the alley behind it. 

Place Pigalle serves up Northwest cuisine with a French flair, and while E didn’t get to indulge her francophilia as much as she would have enjoyed, the drinks and dishes alone were enough to satiate her. As you know, we appreciate any cocktail that’s made from freshly pressed fruit juice, and the bourbon citrus concoction the waiter brought out was a delight to say the least. Sometimes, when restaurants present too many intriguing appetizers, Elizabeth forgoes an entrée and picks a selection of smaller offerings, which is what she did at Place Pigalle. She split a roasted beet salad with her husband, as well as some bitter greens and beans, before moving onto onion soup gratinee and steamed Mussels Pigalle (cooked with bacon, celery, shallots and balsamic vinaigrette… drool). There was a random appearance by a magician, which we won’t go into, but even with the trick wielding performer and his satchel of cards, the restaurant was sublime. The rest of the night was spent uncomfortably, complaining about the pain in our overstuffed bellies (as well as picking up Linds from the airport!), but well worth it.

Before Saturday’s nuptials, we headed back to downtown Seattle and took part in Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour. We should mention here that Bill Speidel is dead. Don’t worry; he lived a long life before he kicked the bucket, and helped Seattle preserve many of its historical buildings while he was alive. Not delving into the history of Seattle (because our adventures are already taking up quite a bit of space), let us just mention downtown Seattle was built on a mudflat (way to go, Seattle founders from the 19th century!), burnt to the ground in 1889 and rebuilt itself 30 feet above its original grounds. We got to walk through parts of the remaining underground “sidewalks” and while our favorite tourguide, Emily, was unable to show us around (she was at Bumbershoot, after all), Ray was a delight and very informative.


We also had a delicious, quick lunch at a stand inside Pike Place. Grilled fish with Cajun seasoning, clam chowder, vegetables, grilled garlic bread and brown rice done up with grilled onions, soy sauce and sesame oil (a worthy combination to try in your home)… Ummm, fresh, fast heaven. Yup. Heaven.

The wedding, the wedding! In the interest of time and your attention span, we’ll break it down for you, sweetly and quickly:

1. We love weddings where the bride and groom almost kiss each other multiple times before they’re supposed to during the ceremony. 
2. We hate car rides that should take a total of 5 minutes, but end up taking an hour (we’re looking at you, Google Maps). However, we did love the laughs it provided. Thank goodness for exercising our frustrations with props:

3. The botanical gardens at the University of Washington… WOW.
4. Spectacular, magical, romantic send off with hundreds of lit candles. And dancing the night away...
5. Congratulations, Genevieve and Andrew!


Sunday came around lazily, as it sometimes tends to do, and we didn’t get a move on until early afternoon. We attended a lovely post-wedding BBQ hosted by the bride and groom’s families at Lake Washington, featuring pulled pork sandwiches, lakeside breezes and bursting blackberry bushes.

Eventually, the Seattle chill sunk into our bones and we headed down to the Ballard Locks before dinner. Without going into a detailed discussion on physics and biology, the Locks provide a connection between salty Puget Sound and the freshwater lakes in Seattle. Boats can parade about in the sea; then, when they’re ready to come back to port, they shoot into a canal, which closes off, fills with water, and puts them back into the lake.

There’s also a fish ladder and, though we never thought we’d find ourselves cheering on a group of wild salmon, crazier things have happened (the photos turned out terribly, so you’ll just have to use your imaginations with this one).

And finally, yes, finally, we were off to the meal we had been waiting for all weekend.

Delancey is the love child of husband and wife team Molly Wizenberg and Brandon Pettit. To say we have a crush on these two is putting it mildly. Molly is the writer of one of our favorite food blogs, Orangette, and the author of a book we both happen to own, love and use often (buy it; you won’t be sad you did).  She’s been chronicling her life with food since 2004 and managed to meet, date and marry through her blog (Brandon had a major crush on her, too, apparently). 


They opened Delancey last August and serve up some of the most delicious pizzas we’ve ever tasted (and we've eaten a lot of pizza in our time). Brandon’s at the helm of the wood-fire oven, skillfully churning bubbly, melty pies out all night, and the simple, seasonal menu’s offerings made it difficult for us to hone in on a few selections.

We settled on the marinated olives, burrata salad and Billy’s Summer Gem Tomatoes salad to start. All were painfully tasty. Since there were five of us, we thought splitting four pies would be a good call, and ended up ordering their fennel salami, house-made sausage and crimini mushroom pizzas, in addition to their White Pie (housemade ricotta, fresh and aged mozzarella, garlic and Grana). All were fabulous, but the winner was by far Mr. White. Elizabeth had to order a side of the Padron chiles as she’d read about them in Molly’s July write-up in Bon Appetit (oh, did we forget to mention that she has a monthly column in one of our favorite publications as well?). The chiles, it turns out, are for people who like SPICE, and luckily E does.

Dessert… well, what can we say about dessert? Their chocolate chip cookie with gray sea salt was delicious, but honestly, didn’t hold a candle to the nectarine, honey mousse and bourbon caramel angel they created. Often times, we think it’s hard to improve on a perfect piece of stone fruit (and these nectarines WERE perfect), but we have been dreaming about this concoction since we returned home.  

Also, Molly wasn't at the restaurant that night, which was a bit of a disappointment, but the girl clearly has a lot on her plate (pun most definitely intended). We'll just have to have our copies of A Homemade Life signed the next time we stop by. 

Which we hope will be soon.   

So Seattle, it was fun. It was delicious. 

We can't wait to do it again.

Happy Travels (and eating...),

Elizabeth and Lindsay