Eggplant & Tomato Galette

A while back, we had made Andrea's Caramelized Onion & Zucchini Galette. It was delicious and, despite the fact that it had no meat, Nick said that he really liked it. The leftovers in particular worked well in his lunch (he never had time to heat up lunch and regularly ate leftovers cold). So, we knew we were galette fans. Immediately, we started to think up other ideas for galettes but they fell by the wayside as we became busier and eventually we forgot all about them...

We had an extra eggplant lying around and needed something to use it up. So often, eggplant is relegated to the side dish area of a meal, but we had a whole eggplant so a little more than side dish material. After some deliberation, this recipe came to be.

I happen to love it. The eggplant gives it enough "meaty" material that it's filling while the tomato and feta sauce give it a bright, tangy note that compliments the earthiness of the eggplant. The light crust of the galette dough keeps the meal from getting too heavy. They were yummy straight from the oven and eaten cold as leftovers (well, Nick says so).

Eggplant & Tomato Galette

Ingredients:
1 recipe galette dough (recipe follows)
1 recipe feta sauce (recipe follows)
1 small eggplant, sliced thin & sweat with salt
3-4 plum or on the vine tomatoes (we used Campari), sliced thin
salt
pepper
basil leaves, chiffonade, optional
feta crumbles, optional


Roll the galette dough onto parchment or wax paper to form a 10" circle. Place in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll (on a floured surface) to form a 16" diameter circle. Place the rolled out dough on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel or lined baking sheet.

To assemble the galette, start by spreading the feta sauce onto the galette dough, leaving 3 inches around the edges. On top of the sauce, arrange the eggplant in a slightly overlapping spiral pattern around the galette, moving towards the center until you have covered the surface. Evenly top with tomato slices and lightly salt and pepper the assembled galette.

Once assembled, gently fold over the edges of the dough to form a "crust." Start by folding a small portion of the dough onto the assembled portion and continue to pleat the dough until a circle has formed holding all the contents in place.


Bake the assembled galette in a 350 F oven for approximately 45 minutes or until the crust is slightly golden and cooked through.


Galette Dough:


Ingredients:
1 1/2 c flour
1 t table salt
1 stick butter diced
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c ice water
2 t lemon juice

In a food processor, combine flour, salt and cold butter. Pulse 10 times (1 second each) to form crumbles. Mix in the sour cream, ice water, and lemon juice and pulse 10 more times, until the mixture starts to form a ball. Remove from the food processor and place on a silpat or parchment paper. Press out into a 10" diameter circle, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.


Feta Sauce:
adapted from this Food Network recipe


Ingredients:
2 c. plain yogurt
1/2 c. feta crumbles, well drained
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch cayenne
1 tbsp. dried mint leaves


Line a strainer with a layer of cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Place the yogurt in the strainer and refrigerate. Let the water drain from the yogurt until the yogurt has reduced to 1 cup. It will take about 2-3 hours.


Combine the feta, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and cayenne in a blender and blend until smooth, adding more oil if needed. Add the yogurt and pulse to combine. Also add in the mint and blend until combined. This can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

Thanksgiving ReMix - Turkey Cranberry and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

My fab hubs came up with this one night and it sounded so good we used up the last remains of our turkey to make this. It was delicious. Creamy, meaty, savory, sweet, spiced. Yum!

Ingredients:

4 oz. roasted turkey breast, shredded or sliced very thin
1/2 c. cranberry sauce
1 1/2 c. Ricotta cheese (we used Ricotta Salata rehydrated to have the traditional Ricotta consistency)
18 Jumbo Shells
salt and pepper
nutmeg

Mix the turkey with the cranberry sauce and Ricotta cheese. Add a pinch of nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste.

Boil the pasta shells in a pot of salted water until al dente.

Fill the shells with the filling and place in a shallow oven-safe pan lined with gravy.

Top with the gravy (recipe below) and pecorio romano, bake in a 350 F oven until the cheese browns and bubbles - about 30 minutes.

Gravy

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 shallot or 1/8 sweet onion, diced fine
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 c. turkey stock
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp heavy cream
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until the onions are transparent. Stir in the all purpose flour and mix to combine with the butter. Gradually add in the stock. Whisk to combine the stock with the rue. Add in the parsley and cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until desired consistency.

Thanksgiving ReMix - Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie was an easy recipe to think of - the amount of leftovers this recipe used was amazing. We used half a turkey breast, turkey stock, gravy, 2 cups mashed potatoes, two carrots, 3 ribs of celery, 3 turnips, 1 white onion, thyme and mushrooms - all of which we had floating around in the fridge from either our Thanksgiving dinner or from making our vegetable stock (which was made for Thanksgiving). Our refrigerator breathed a sigh of relief as we unloaded crisper drawers and tupperware containers.

The recipe we used was based on this recipe. We made a few changes based on our leftover situation, but isn't that the point of these types of recipe - to use up all the mis-matched ingredients you have on hand? So, you can use this as inspiration and throw in whatever else you may be needed to use from your fridge. Ours turned out a bit on the runny side, so in hindsight, I would sub butter for olive oil and use 2 tbsp with 2 tbsp flour so that the rue was thicker, but other than that, the flavor was awesome. We will be keeping this recipe for use with next year's leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped white onion

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

1/4 tsp Essence (see Emeril's recipe for it here) 

2 pinch salt

pinch of ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp thyme leaves (we used dried)

 6 oz. mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned and sliced

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp flour

1/3 c. tomato sauce

2 1/2 c. roasted turkey breast, meat shredded

1 1/4 c. turkey stock (you could use chicken)

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, mixed with blended turnips

3 turnips, boiled and blended with immersion blender 

1/4 c. Manchego cheese

1 c. grated Goat's milk Cheddar

1/2 c. leftover gravy 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan. Saute the onion, carrots and celery with the Essence, salt and pepper.

Once the onions are clear and tender, toss in the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds to a minute. Then toss in the mushroom, thyme and bay leaf.

Once the mushrooms have wilted, toss in the flour and coat everything in the flour. Then add the tomato sauce and turkey breast and stir to combine. Slowly add the turkey stock and stir to combine. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

Pour the mixture into a 9" x 9" pan and top with the turnip mashed potatoes. Top with the Manchego cheese (which melts into the potatoes and adds a nice buttery flavor). Top that with the Cheddar and place in a 400 F oven for about a half hour, until the potato is crisp and the cheese is bubbly and golden.  

Serve and drizzle some leftover gravy for a yummy use of all those odds and ends.

Thanksgiving ReMix - Turkey Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

We had leftover salad and turkey. So, turkey salad was an obvious choice. The cranberry dressing makes it wonderful of course, and is another favorite that I found during that college dinner party (on Allrecipes.com).

Ingredients:
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 c. olive oil
1/3 c. fresh cranberries (mine was heaping!)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 tbsp water

Blend the vinegar, cranberries, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and water in the blender or food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and blend to combine.Our salad consisted of turkey, red onion, avocado, tomato, sliced & toasted almonds, and cucumber. Delish. We served this with the stuffing stuffed mushrooms. :)

Thanksgiving ReMix - Stuffing Stuffed Shrooms

Stuffing Stuffed Shrooms.

Try saying that three times fast. Whew. But they are tasty. And a quick side or appetizer. You could use smaller baby bellas or common white mushrooms if you want small appetizer portions, but we used portobellos and served with a salad.

Ingredients:
2 portobello mushrooms
1/4 c. pecorino romano
1 1/2 c. leftover stuffing (my recipe follows)

Not that I need to explain, but place the stuffing in the mushrooms. I don't add any olive oil or salt and pepper since the stuffing is seasoned nicely and contains enough moisture to ensure a second baking. If yours is a bit on the dry side, just drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 15 minutes (or until heated through) on 350 F. Top with cheese and bake for another 5 minutes.

Stuffing

I first made this in college when my roommate and I threw a dinner party for our upstairs neighbors. I really liked the flavors and so I've kept it and made it any occasion that I could have since. I first got the recipe from recipezaar, but have made a few revisions since.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
3 c. onions, chopped
3 Granny Smith apples,cored, peeled and chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tbsp dried sage
1 pinch nutmeg (but you know, pinch a lot)
2 loaves french bread
4 c. chicken stock
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
3 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
salt and pepper (to taste)

Melt the butter on medium heat and saute the onion, celery, apples and garlic. Once soft, add the dried sage, nutmeg and the bread cubes. Toss to mix the veggies and the bread cubes. Add the stock, fresh thyme and fresh sage. Season with the salt and pepper and spread in a 9" x 13" pan. Bake in a 350 F oven until the top is golden. It's a moist stuffing that has never dried out on me and I really like the apple flavor with the turkey - and later, mushrooms :)

Thanksgiving ReMix - Open Faced Turkey Sandwich Bites

A Turkey Sandwich.

A post-Thanksgiving staple. We decided to switch it up from the typical cold turkey sandwich and use some of the ciabatta bread we had from Thanksgiving dinner. We spread it with some creamy peppercorn mayonaise and topped with turkey.

We toasted that in the microwave and then topped it with gravy and cranberry sauce.

Thanksgiving ReMix - Pumpkin Spice French Toast with Cranberry Sauce

How was your Thanksgiving? I hope it was wonderful and delicious.

How is your leftover situation? Of course, we have plenty. We had a neighbor over for dinner, but the three of us barely put a dent in our 15 pound turkey. We also had extra of the our side dishes - green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and my favorite, cranberry sauce. Really, after the three of us went back for seconds it still looked as though we hadn't sat down to eat.

This week (and maybe next) I'll be posting some of the ways we used up some of our leftovers. The first leftover meal we had was breakfast. We made these french toast with the leftover french bread that we had made for the stuffing, so it was sufficiently stale - not so great for leftover turkey sandwiches, but perfect for next-day french toast. It tastes sort of like a spicy jelly donut. Yum. 

Pumpkin Spice French Toast with Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
3 eggs, well beaten
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp water
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg)
1/2 loaf leftover bread
2 tbsp butter
4 tbsp leftover cranberry sauce (recipe below)

To make the custard mixture, mix the eggs, milk and water together in a wide, shallow bowl. Add about 1/4 tsp of the pumpkin pie spice. I usually find that it floats on the top of the custard, so I add it in batches after each group of bread is soaked so that each piece gets a bit.

Soak each side of the bread in the sauce for a few minutes so that it has time to absorb the custard. If using fresh bread, it will absorb quickly, so leave in the mixture for a few seconds.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Remove the bread from the custard mixture and hold above the bowl with a slotted spatula or fork for a few seconds to allow the non-absorbed custard to drain off. Add a pat of butter to the pan and spread around the pan. Place the bread in the pan and allow to get brown and crispy. Flip to the other side when the first side has good color.

Place the cooked toasts in a 350 F oven for 15 minutes. This allows the outside to get crispy while the inside stays nice and custardy. Serve with maple syrup, a dollop of cranberry sauce and powdered sugar.

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup water
1 orange, zested
1/2 orange, juiced
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp grated gingeroot

Mix the cranberries, sugar and water in a saucepot over medium heat. Stir to mix the sugar and water and wait for the cranberries to pop. Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until all the berries pop. Add the orange zest, orange juice and spices. Continue to simmer until the mixture forms a syrup like consistency. Remove from the heat and chill.

Potato Salad

Just like mom makes it. Really. It's her hit recipe. She always carries a bowl to picnics and summer gatherings. It's a staple at the summer holidays and with my dad and I, five pounds never lasts more than a few days.

The first time I made it for Nick and I, I cut back the recipe, thinking five pounds would be way too much. But a short two days later, I was making another batch since Nick had devoured it. (Note: make more than you think you should!)

Ingredients (for 5 lb of potatoes. Use more or less of each depending on your tastes):

5 lb red potatoes
2-3 large stalks of celery, diced
4-5 green onion/scallions, sliced thin
1/4 - 1/3c Italian Dressing
2 eggs, hard boiled and diced
1 c. mayonnaise (more or less depending on your tastes, start with a half cup and work your way up to desired consistency)

To begin, rinse and cut the potatoes. Cut them into bite sized cubes - about 1 potato per bite is how large I cut them. The larger the potatoes, the less mushy and more firm the salad will be in the final product. Boil the potatoes in salted water until just soft - you want them to stay firm enough to hold their shape while tossed, but soft enough to eat. No mashed potato consistency here though - you'll end up with a mayonnaise and potato mush.When ready, drain the potatoes and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

While the potatoes are still hot, drizzle the dressing over the potatoes. The trick is to pour just enough for the potatoes to absorb, but not to make them greasy or leave a puddle on the bottom. Start with a smaller amount and work your way up, tossing when needed to coat. Once fully coated, cover and place in the fridge overnight.

The next day, add the celery, scallions, and egg to the potatoes. Also mix in the mayonnaise. There should be just enough to coat the potatoes. Place in the fridge, covered, for a few hours or as longs as you can stand it to let the flavors mingle.

Champagne Asparagus Risotto

This is a great risotto, light but full of flavor. It compliments almost any protein and is delicious as leftovers the next day. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients (for four servings, trust me, you'll want to make at least this much!):


8 thin slices prosciutto
6 c chicken broth
1 bunch asparagus spears*
4 tbsp butter, divided
2 shallot, finely chopped
1 1/2 c arborio rice
1 1/2 c Champagne
1/2 c freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Crisp the prosciutto slices in a 450 F degree oven (about 6-8 minutes). Set aside to cool.


Boil chicken stock in a pot. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and toss in the asparagus spears. I prefer to keep them whole stalks at this point (with the woody end removed**) since they are easier to fish out the the stock. Blanch them for a couple minutes, but don't over do it, since you want to keep them pretty firm and crunchy. Once removed, keep the stock at a simmer. Cut asparagus into 1 inch long pieces when they are cool enough to handle.

In a saucepan, melt 2 tbsp of butter. Add the shallot and cook until tender (a few minutes). Add the rice and toss with the shallot and butter. You want to toast the rice, so keep it moving in the pan with the butter until it turns in color from opaque white to more of a clear color (about 3 minutes). Add the champagne and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add the stock at a 1/2 c at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid in between additions. It's a slow process, but very worth it. Once the rice is creamy and tender, you can stop adding the stock and stir in the remaining butter, cheese and asparagus spears. Season with the salt and pepper. Top with crumbled bits of proscuitto and serve.

* I like to keep my asparagus spears in a water glass in the fridge. I find they keep fresher longer when I store them this way as opposed to a bag in the crisper drawer.

**To remove the woody portions of asparagus, hold the two ends of the stalk and bend, it will break at the point where the woody portion begins. Discard that bottom of the stalk and cut all others at that length (or break them all off individually). The tips are the best part (despite what my picky eater sister thinks!) so don't discard those!

This recipe was adapted from this recipe, by Giada De Laurentis.