::Pear & Gorgonzola Tart::

Ingredients:

2 pears (peeled and cut in half and cored)
2 cups sugar
2 cups white wine
1 cup water
4 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
4 ounces gorgonzola (room temperature) OR Goat Cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon thyme (chopped)
1 large egg yolk
1 walnut pie shell (fitted in tart pans and pre-baked)

Directions:
1. Place the pears in a large sauce pan with cut side down followed by the sugar, wine, water, peppercorns, and bay leaves and simmer covered until the pears are tender, about 10-30 minutes. (Note: The simmer time can vary depending on how ripe the pears are.)
2. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature in the liquid.
3. Slice the pears thinly.
4. Mix the gorgonzola, sour cream, honey, thyme and egg yolk inf a food processor until smooth.
5. Spread the filling out over the tart crust and top with fanned sliced pears.
6. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the filling is set, about 10-15 minutes.

Walnut Butter Pie Crust :

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground walnuts (toasted before ground)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter (cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
4-5 tablespoons water (cold)

Directions:
1. Pulse the flour, ground walnuts, salt and sugar in a food processor to mix.
2. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, about 6-8 times.
3. Add a tablespoon of water at a time pulsing in between until it starts to clump together.
4. Place the dough on a clean surface and shape it into a disc.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
6. Roll the dough into a 12 inch circle about 1/8 of an inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
7. Place the dough into a 9 inch diameter spring form pan with the edges going up the side of the pan.
8. Place a piece of parchment paper in the pie and fill it with rice or beans to hold it down.
9. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 15 minutes.
10. Remove the parchment paper and weight and poke the bottom of the crust with a fork a few times.
11. Bake until a light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

::Pecan and Warm Apple Salad::

Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) pecans
1 head romaine lettuce
2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) cider vinegar
½ tsp (2 mL) liquid honey
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
2 to 3 grindings black pepper
2 oz (60 g) old cheddar, shaved about ¾ cup (175 mL)
3 red apples such as Cortland, Braeburn or Spartan, divided
1 tbsp (5 mL) butter
1 tbsp (5 mL) granulated sugar

1. Spread pecans in single layer on baking sheet. Toast in a preheated 350ºF (180ºC) oven 8 to 10 minutes or until very fragrant; cool. Meanwhile, tear or cut lettuce into bite-size pieces; there should be 8 to 10 cups (2 to 2.5 L). To make dressing, whisk oil with vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Use a vegetable parer to shave cheese. Set both aside.

2. When ready to serve, core and slice 2 unpeeled apples into wedges about ¼-inch (5-mm) thick. Heat butter in a large nonstick or well-seasoned frying pan over medium heat. When hot and bubbly, add apple slices. Stirring frequently, sauté for 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; sprinkle apples with sugar. Turning frequently, sauté apples another 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly golden.

3. Meanwhile place romaine into a large salad bowl; toss with dressing. Set aside 8 perfect pecans. Core and slice remaining raw unpeeled apple for garnish.

4. Add hot apples and remaining pecans to lettuce; toss. Serve immediately, garnishing each serving with raw apple slices, cheese shavings and reserved pecans.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

I will never go back to store bought tortillas after making this recipe

::Ontario Bean Soup with Basil::

Caelah and I made this recipe while studying the pioneering days. It is autumn comfort food. I made a few changes: I used celery salt, instead of celery. No potatoes. And just navy beans.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 large onion (Chopped )
• 1 garlic clove (Chopped )
• 4 medium potatoes (Cubed )
• 4 medium carrots (Chopped )
• 2 stalks celery (Chopped )
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes (Chopped )
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 bunch fresh basil (Chopped )
• 1 cup peas
• 2 (14 ounce) cans romano beans
• 2 (14 ounce) cans white kidney beans
• 1 cup pasta shells
• 2 tablespoons parsley (Chopped )
• romano cheese (Grated)

Directions:

1. Saute onion in butter for 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
3. Saute for 5 minutes.
4. Add stock, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and basil.
5. Boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add green beans, peas, both beans and pasta.
7. Simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Add parsley and serve sprinkled with cheese.

Montreal Style Bagels

I have been making my own bread/buns for the last 6 months or so and now that I have that down to an exact science I decided to branch out into other types of yeast-breads.  Josh LOVES montreal-style bagels so when I found this recipe I thought I would give it a try.  It is amazing! and they really taste exactly like Kettleman's bagels.  I halved the recipe and did all the mixing/kneading in my food processor for 3 min. beacuse I don't like hand-kneading and my processor cannot handle more then 3-4 cups of flour at a time.
Here is the recipe

:: Bruschetta with Garlic Cream::

I innovated a recipe! Every now and then I get it right.

Garlic Cream
In a food processor, mix:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large clove garlic
chives
fresh shaved Parmesan, to taste
fresh basil
salt & pepper

Tomato Mixture
2 tomatoes
1 large clove garlic
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
fresh basil, shredded
chives
freshly shaved Parmesan
salt & pepper

What To Do: Cut a baguette into rounds. Brush with olive oil. Broil until golden. Top with garlic Cream, followed by Tomato Mixture.

::Rustic Strawberry Tart::

This is a spinoff of my Rustic Apple Tart. Same crust. Different Filling.

FLAKY PIE CRUST:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 sticks (8oz) chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Filling:

• 1 1⁄2 lb strawberries, hulled
• 1⁄4 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1⁄2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1⁄8 tsp ground nutmeg

FLAKY PIE CRUST:

Combine water, salt, and sugar in measuring cup. Stir and put cup in fridge for at least 15 min. (to chill water and to dissolve sugar and salt). Chill mixing bowl and paddle if possible.

Combine flour and butter pieces in mixing bowl. On medium speed, cut butter into flour till butter pieces are the size of chickpeas. With the mixer running, pour the water into the butter mixture. Mix till the dough comes together.

Separate dough into 4 discs. Wrap each with film and chill.

Filling: Halve 1⁄2 lb of the berries (choose ones similar in size) and reserve. Quarter the remaining 1 lb strawberries lengthwise. In a medium bowl, toss 1⁄4 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and nutmeg until blended; add quartered berries and butter, and toss to coat. Remove dough from refrigerator. Pile berry mixture in an even mound in center of dough within 2 in. of dough edge. Gently lift the unfilled dough edge up and onto the filling. Brush dough with egg; sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp sugar.

Bake 40 minutes, or until crust is golden and filling is juicy. Remove from oven; slide parchment onto a cooling rack. Let cool 15 minutes. Arrange remaining halved strawberries cut side down on top of cooked filling. Lightly brush berries with red currant glaze. Cool completely.