TWD: Pizza Rustica

Sheeeshhh I completely forgot to post about Pizza! I made mine for Sunday dinner... it was filled with caramelized onions and bacon and whole milk ricotta from scratch! Thank you very much! Ok ricotta from scratch is just dumb... at first glance it seems simple but its time consuming and mine didn't yield all that much. If I had more patience I probably would have had a better outcome but I think that my Pizza Rustica would have tasted exactly the same regardless. In the end it tasted like a quiche with a sweet crust. My honey seemed to like it but I just couldn't get over how wrong it all tasted together...

You can grab the full recipe on pages 430 and 431 or from the bakers over at Capital Region Dining or The Place they Call Home.

Next time Lemon Loaf Cake! Yum!

Mango Cranberry Chutney

A few weekends ago we went out to help my parents with their rental house. They live in the Devils Inferno of Southern California, aka the High Dessert. As my reward for helping and somehow not bursting into flames the entire weekend my mom gave us a couple of Yellow Mangoes which I found out are called Ataulfo Mangoes. They are super tangy compared to the everyday mangos I'm used to so chutney immediately came to mind.

I set out last weekend to turn them into just that.

Mango Cranberry Chutney
Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

• 2 C. Granulated Sugar
• 1 C. White Vinegar
• 6 Ataulfo Mangoes (peeled and cubed)
• 1 C. Maui Onion (finely chopped)
• 1/2 C. Dried Cranberries
• 1 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1 tsp. Dried Ginger

Stir everything together in a large heavy pot and cook for about and hour and a half on low until the mangoes break down and the mixture thickens.

To can your delicious chutney you pour the mixture into sanitized jars and process in a water bath for 15/20 minutes. I got a total of 9 half pint jars from my batch.

In hindsight it might have been funner to make some Chicken Curry and invite some friends over for a party......

FFwD: Hachis Parmentier [Shepard's Pie]

This was so damn good... no really, really good. We ate 1/2 of it and I'm sure it was meant for a family of more than two people. I can't wait until tomorrow so I can has leftoverz.

Me and my honey made the quick version when we got home from work today. It didn't take that long to put together which is cool because we will be making it again

We threw in some peas for good measure and used some Dubliner Irish Cheddar, if you've never tried this cheese you should right away.

If you haven't gotten your book go here and get it already! And join the group of other cookers at French Fridays with Dorie. I promise you will not be disappointed ;)

FFwD: Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

I finally got my book around my french table from Amazon! Pretty funny that the first recipe I get to make for the new group French Fridays with Dorie is Vietnamese...

Anyhoo... I actually love making soup, I whip up soup all the time because I can somehow make it out of pretty much anything we have around and we eat like kings peasants for a few days because there's always some leftover.

I think the most exhaustive thing about this soup is the ingredients, I couldn't find coriander seeds, white pepper or ginger. Well I found ginger but it looked like a science experiment so I just left it in the store. Fresh and Easy wasn't living up the 'fresh' part today. Other than that its a breeze to make. It did smell a little funky I must admit, probably the fish sauce or something but it did taste good in the end ;) I think I would leave the fishes out of it next time.

YWP: Sage Cheddar & Goat Cheese Tart

The Herbs & Spices challenge picked by Elizabeth at Cake or Death had my head spinning. I knew I had some sage cheddar in the fridge that I wanted to integrate into something. Then I thought maybe something with an Indian spice twist... then I thought something fruity and spicy.....

When in doubt go back to your first instinct right? So I settled on a sage cheddar, Goat Cheese and roasted yellow pepper tart.

I lined two mini tart pans with puff pastry and par baked them while I roasted a big yellow pepper on the bbq, cooled and cut about 1/4 of it in a small dice. I shredded the sage cheddar and mixed it with the goat cheese, egg yolk a bit of cream, the diced yellow pepper, salt, pepper & garlic. I filled the par baked tart and baked it at 350 until it was super bubbly and golden brown. While it was baking I tossed the remainder of the pepper into the blender with plain yogurt, a little cream, garlic oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Ok holy smokes this was good. My honey doesnt like stuff like this but I hope he tries it anyway because it was delicious. The thing is, I didnt measure anything so I dont know if I could make it all again! Sadness.... oh well I will appreciate what I have made even more this way I guess.