{"id":2246,"date":"2011-03-31T23:17:58","date_gmt":"2011-04-01T05:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/?p=2246"},"modified":"2019-04-29T23:00:23","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T03:00:23","slug":"alfresco-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/alfresco-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"Alfresco Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2290\" title=\"Picnic - Alfresco Friday\" src=\"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Picnic-Alfresco3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" \/><\/span><\/h4>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Occasion<\/span><\/h4>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The first picnic of the year on a cool and cloudy early spring day. <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Menu<\/span><\/h4>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Homemade pain de mie<\/em><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Morel &amp; Gruy\u00e8re Tart<\/em><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Mead, Honey Wine<\/em><\/div>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Theme Song<\/span><\/h4>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em> <\/em><\/div>\n<div>\n<center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Oextk-If8HQ?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><br \/>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Color Story<\/span><\/h4>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2264\" title=\"Alfresco Friday Color Swatch\" src=\"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/ColorSwatch.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"826\" height=\"180\" \/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>Quiche is the intuitive cook\u2019s secret weapon. It\u2019s perfect for cooking in the moment, as you need very few ingredients that are probably in your pantry right now. The only ingredients required are all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, and eggs for the pastry crust and eggs, cream, and any flavors you want for the custard filling. I keep a disc of tart dough in my freezer for when the urge to make quiche hits me.<\/div>\n<div>Once you have quiche in your repertoire, let the seasons be your guide. For a spring quiche I used morels and gruy\u00e8re. In summer you could use tomatoes and zucchini. In <a href=\"http:\/\/shop.marthastewart.com\/The-Martha-Stewart-Living-Cookbook-The\/A\/0307393836.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics<\/a>, there is a recipe for \u201cCaramelized Onion and Gorgonzola Quiche\u201d that would be lovely in autumn.\u00a0 During winter you could serve a quiche made with bitter endive and cheese or bacon flavored Quiche Lorraine. Basically, if you have a recipe for the custard, you can add any flavorings you want- experiment!<\/div>\n<p><\/br><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2266\" title=\"Alfresco Friday Ingredients\" src=\"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Friday1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/div>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<div>No special equipment is needed to make quiche. Sure, every recipe starts out \u201cprocess the ingredients in a food processor until combined.\u201d I must tell you that I hate food processors. I know they are considered a must have in every kitchen, but I make it just fine without one. Food processors are big and bulky. Their many attachments and discs clog up my kitchen drawers. I find the bowls and tubes cumbersome to clean. Instead I use a good old fashioned pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour. It\u2019s important to make sure both the ingredients and the pastry blender are cold, so that you don\u2019t melt the butter. A flaky pastry crust is achieved by quickly working ice cold butter into the flour and not overworking the dough. Also, I have yet to purchase a tart pan with a removable bottom. I use my (well-buttered) 10 inch porcelain quiche dish and have no problems with the quiche sticking to the pan. Cooking in the moment is about working with what you have. Think it through and adapt. Not so long ago people had to do things by hand.<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2267\" title=\"Alfresco Friday Dish\" src=\"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Friday2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"245\" \/><\/div>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<div>A recipe for \u201cDried Porcini and Gruy\u00e8re Tarts\u201d from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Preserved-Johnny-Acton\/dp\/1906868026\/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301629828&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Preserved<\/a>, by Nick Sandler and Johnny Acton inspired this early spring picnic. If I had a smoker I would do as they suggest and hot smoke the tart for an hour- think of the flavor! I decided to use the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marthastewart.com\/339731\/tart-dough\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tart dough<\/a> from <a href=\"http:\/\/shop.marthastewart.com\/The-Martha-Stewart-Living-Cookbook-The\/A\/0307393836.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics<\/a> because I can\u2019t seem to just be simple and follow one recipe for one dish. Here is how I made my version:<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<h5>Morel &amp; Gruy\u00e8re Tart<\/h5>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<div>Blind bake the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marthastewart.com\/339731\/tart-dough\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Martha Stewart tart dough<\/a>. This is done by first pressing the dough into your quiche pan, pricking it all over with a fork, and freezing it until firm (about 30 minutes). Then line the tart shell in parchment and fill with dried beans to weigh it down. Bake the tart dough at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until the crust is firm at the edges. Take out the parchment and beans and bake the crust until it is pale golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before pouring in the custard filling.<\/div>\n<p><\/br><\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2269\" title=\"Alfresco Friday - Morel Tart\" src=\"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Friday3b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"276\" \/><\/div>\n<div>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<div>For the filling I re-hydrated a small handful of dried morels in hot water. As the morels were soaking I saut\u00e9ed 2 shallots and 2 garlic cloves in a generous amount of butter. Then the drained morels were added to the pan with some dried thyme. After a couple of minutes I poured a bit of the morel soaking liquid (carefully drained of grit) onto the morel mixture and simmered it until all the liquid was gone. While the mixture was left to cool I whisked together the filling: \u00bd cup cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche, 5 eggs, 1 cup grated gruyere, salt, pepper, and some freshly grated nutmeg. This filling was poured into my pre-baked tart shell and cooked in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven until the custard set (about 30 minutes).<\/div>\n<div>The result: flaky pastry, rich custard, earthy morels, and pungent cheese. For the picnic I brought homemade bread and a bottle of Mead, honey wine. The air smelled of earth and rain and even though it was a dreary day, I could feel spring coming ever closer.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/div>\n<div><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Occasion The first picnic of the year on a cool and cloudy early spring day. Menu Homemade pain de mie Morel &amp; Gruy\u00e8re Tart Mead, Honey Wine Theme Song Color Story Quiche is the intuitive cook\u2019s secret weapon. It\u2019s perfect for cooking in the moment, as you need very few ingredients that are probably in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[9,90,91],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2246"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19481,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246\/revisions\/19481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}