Hey Paison!

Yes. You heard me right. Hey Pasion!

That's exactly what you will hear yelled out when you walk into this little nondescript deli in Burien, Washington.

For those of you who live in Seattle, that was not a typo.

B U R I E N

Burien, the gloomy suburb to the south is dotted with strip malls and gigantic streets that feed into the airport. And, in the past, I would have said there was little to sell me on the place. However, B-town is going through a revitalization of sorts. There's a new library. There's a brewery and a new indie movie theater where you will be able to imbibe alcoholic beverages!

Movies + Beers = Fun

Best of all, there is Hey Paison! If you are anywhere near Burien, I highly recommend you try it. Don't be scared off by the dreary street on which it sits or the strange quiet feeling of the area. It's a real gem. These Italian sandwiches are the REAL deal. Thinly cut prosciutto. Sweet peppers and eggs. Cheese steak. It's a sandwich lovers dream. It is also the latest addition to my list of favorite haunts. I warned K, however. This is not going to be a weekly sort of deal. I might die of a heart attack.



It is a treat. A real treat. I do love Salumi, but this might be better. Dare I say?

Happy Happy Weekend

It's the weekend and there is bacon in the refrigerator. That is the perfect combination. K and I will feast on it tomorrow after we see a show and sleep for many many hours.

What are your plans? If you are here, I feel compelled to warn you that it will be freezing. Very very cold. Bundle up. Wear something cozy. Bake something fabulous. And, please, report back.



Oh, and by the way, I have good news. K and I won the Thanksgiving Eat Local Contest. Thank you all for viewing our video!

Have a great weekend, lovely people.

Rerun

I was very excited to hear that hulu is now showing episodes of the Greatest American Hero. Not only was this one of the best and, admittedly, most ridiculous televisions shows ever created, but Ralph Hanley was the fantasy man of my youth. That red leotard. Those blond curls. It was all very hot.

Yes. I love reruns. I am not ashamed to admit it.

I grew up on reruns. In fact, I learned to tell time by watching Three's Company. I am not kidding. I understood each episode to be 30 minutes long. Therefore, when my mother indicated that dinner would be ready in 30 minutes, I knew that was just one romp through the lives of Janet, Jack, and Chrissy (not Terri-- gasp). Who says television isn't educational?



I am still fond of the rerun. I'll buzz down to the Regal Beagle any old time. There is nothing wrong with a routine in my book. And, in the kitchen, a rotation of quick and hearty meals comes in quite handy. You probably didn't notice, but I've been preoccupied lately with new ventures outside of the kitchen. Thus, I am ever thankful for the easy evening meal that not only works for dinner, but provides leftovers for the desperate days following.

I give you manicotti. I think you'll like it. While some manicotti recipes are bland, this one is tasty and hearty. The weather is cool. You deserve a good comfort meal.

I have to run now. K promised to put on a red leotard and cape. I can't wait!



Sausage Manicotti

12 ounces Italian sweet sausages with fennel seeds (about 3 1/2 sausages)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes with basil
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
8 large fresh basil leaves, slivered
2 cups fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese or one 15-ounce container part skim-milk ricotta cheese
1 cup 1/4-inch cubes mild provolone cheese
2 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 pound manicotti (large tubular pasta)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Pierce each sausage several times with tip of knife. Place sausages in heavy large saucepan; add onion. Cover; cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes. Turn sausages over; stir onion. Cover and continue to cook until sausages release some fat and onion begins to color, about 5 minutes. Uncover; increase heat to medium. Add wine and simmer until wine evaporates and onion is golden, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Fit food mill directly onto pan. Add tomatoes with juices and puree through mill into pan, leaving only seeds behind and scraping all tomato pulp from underside of food mill into pan; or puree tomatoes with juices in processor, then strain out seeds and add puree to pan. Add crushed red pepper. Simmer very gently over low heat until sauce thickens and reduces to scant 2 cups, stirring sauce and turning sausages occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Add slivered basil and simmer sauce 5 minutes longer. Using tongs, transfer sausages to plate and cool. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Place ricotta in medium bowl. Mix in provolone cubes, 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, and black pepper. Cut sausages into 1/4-inch cubes; stir into cheese mixture. Season filling to taste with salt. (Sauce and filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill.)

Cook manicotti in large pot of boiling salted water until still somewhat firm to bite and about 3/4 cooked, about 7 minutes (depending on brand). Using tongs, carefully transfer manicotti from pot to foil-lined baking sheet and cool.

Brush olive oil over bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; spread 3 tablespoons sauce over. Using teaspoon, fill each of 12 manicotti with about 1/3 cup cheese-sausage mixture. Arrange stuffed pasta in single layer in prepared dish and spoon remaining sauce over. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan atop sauce. Bake manicotti uncovered until heated through and sauce is bubbling on bottom of dish, about 20 minutes. Let manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

Adapted from Bon Appetit.

A Little Video

Hi there.

Just a quick note before the weekend. K and I made a video about "eating local for Thanksgiving" for a video contest. We'd love it if you watched it. If anything, it was super fun to make. It's pretty great to look back over the past year and see all those great fresh meals. And, of course, eating local whenever possible, is the way to go. It's just better.



We hope you also take the pledge to eat local for Thanksgiving.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Some News and A Promise.

Alright. It's been a while hasn't it? I'm quite sorry about that. Life has been a bit cuckoo since the wedding. Good cuckoo. Not bad cuckoo. I will tell you all about it shortly. First, I would like to make good on a promise.

I promised you wedding photos.

You thought I forgot, didn't you?

Well, I didn't forget.

I owe lots of pictures to lots of people. And, I have lots of excuses. Most of those excuses, however, are not so interesting so I'll get on with it.



As you know, K and I were married at the end of September on Orcas Island here in Washington.

It was the last brilliantly beautiful crisp day before the rain came. Eagles were flying. There were deer everywhere and fresh plums dotting the grass.

We were married on a cliff overlooking the Puget Sound at the Inn at Ship Bay.

A beautiful crowd of family and friends surrounded us while my very dearest friend officiated.



Everyone cried. We cried. It was gorgeous.




My dress was made by Elizabeth Dye of The English Department in Portland. Elizabeth is fantastically talented and my dress was everything I wanted. It had little pink flowers and tiny pearls. There was a skirt of polka dot tulle. I even had a frilly little jacket for warmth as the air cooled.



I felt very lovely.

I'm desperate to wear it again. Can you invite me someplace dressy? I am accepting offers. It is very muddy around here and I don't believe I will have another occasion to wear it.



My girls dressed in dresses from Simple Dress with fantastic ruffled collars. Aren't they sweet?

And, the food . . . oh, it was spectacular. Geddes and Maryanna at the Inn at Ship Bay know their food. We feasted well. Very well.

K and I have no regrets. It was a very magical day.



After the wedding, I was a bit sad the deed was done. I wasn't sad to be married, but sad that all of my family and friends won't come together like again anytime soon. Did this happen to you? Maybe it did.

I'm happy to report those feelings were short-lived. I'm very excited for our life together.

That brings me to my news. I have something fun to tell you about. It is not more fun than wedding photos, but it is still really exciting for us.

I opened up my own etsy store. It's a dream come true and, really, a lifetime in the making. As a little girl, I spent hours making pretty little things in my bedroom. I did not treasure these things, but tried to sell them to friends, family, and baby-sitting clients! Not much has changed, I guess.



When you get a chance, check out my little labor of love. It would make me so happy if you did.

Have a lovely weekend. I will post a fabulous comfort meal next week.

Happy Weekend.

I wish you a happy happy weekend. Go out in the rain. Get muddy. Or, stay warm with a baking project. Make these muffins?

I am going to try my hand at brioche. We shall see.

The blitz continues.

Oh, and could you help me get my husband out of house? He is doing portrait sessions this weekend if you are interested and in Seattle. The last of the Fall leaves make brilliant pictures!

Blitz.

First, I'd like to set the record straight.

I am not pregnant.

Thanks for the sweet inquiry.

The picture in the pumpkin patch is deceptive in that it shows a puffy jacket (too rainy for the pre-planned cute Fall sweater), which suggests a big belly. And, while I may not be the smallest girl on the block, I assure you I do not have a bun in my oven. Also, in case additional clarification is necessary, the photo shows an attempt to eat a raw pumpkin. I did not actually try to eat the raw pumpkin. Rather, I gestured in this way to hint to my husband that it was time to leave the pumpkin patch. I try to keep him up to date on my tummy so that he does not experience the wrath of my low blood sugar. This is our agreement.

On some reflection, however, I do suppose it's possible I am packing on a sort of fleshy winter coat. This might be attributed to my recent baking blitz. Have you noticed? Bread is on my mind and in my oven. Could it be the cooler weather? Could it be the new wife in me?



I think it's probably a combination of things that fuels my urge to bake. Really, the most palpable reason is my nose. You see, I'm actually a bit of a bloodhound. It's both a blessing and a curse. My mother is the same way. We can smell a gas leak a mile away.

I find it best to surround myself with good smells. A home awash in the smell of baked goods is pretty much the best thing in the world. Besides, I'm home a lot more these days (more on that later) and I have time to bake. And, while I am still a firm believer that baking is not a terribly intensive cooking project, you do have to be around to check in on the dough here or there. In fact, it's embarassing to admit, but there were several times when I was working full-time that I would not read a recipe to the end. This caused all sorts of problems particularly when I didn't read the part in the recipe about punching down the bread or the second rise that should be in a warm area and not a freezing cold house in the middle of a rainy Seattle winter. Lots of dough lost its life in my sad kitchen when I didn't have the time to pay proper attention to it.

No more bread deaths on my watch. Things are different these days. I'm working from home and can easily pop over to the kitchen to monitor dough. I'm even finding new tricks. For example, I found that placing my watery bowl of yeast on the open door of my warm oven works like a charm for getting that yeast to bubble. This was a revelation.



This week, I thew caution to the wind. Who kneads a no-knead bread when kneading a bread is the most satisfying task? The oatmeal and molasses combination is fantastic. The bread is hearty, but soft. We're eating it at all sorts of times of the day. It's good for a snack. It's great with homemade jam or a hot mess of butter.

Try it. Your home will smell like a fabulous bakery. You will find all sorts of good things can happen in a fine smelling house.

Oatmeal Molasses Bread

2 & 1/3 cup water
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats, plus extra for topping
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
2packages active dry yeast
5-6 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. sea salt

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Put the oats into a heatproof bowl and pour the water over the oats. Add the butter and molasses. Let the mixture cool to warm (105 degrees- 115 degrees)

By hand, in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm oat mixture and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in 3 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing well. Add the remaining 2-3 cups of flour as needed to make a soft dough.

Using a plastic pastry scraper, scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured work surface. Knead until it is smooth and elastic, dusting the work surface with flour to keep the dough from sticking, 5-7 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl wiht plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm draft free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.

Butter 2 9x5 inch loaf pans. Punch down the dough and, using the scraper, scrape it onto a clean work surface. Cut it in half with a sharp knife. For each half, evenly flatten the dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the top third down onto itself and seal it by pushing it gently with the heel of your hand. Continue rolling and sealing the dough until you have an oval log. Place the logs, seam side down, in the prepared loaf pans. Press on them to flatten them evenly into the pans. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm, draft free spot until they double in size, 45-60 minutes.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mist the top of the loafs with water. Sprinkle oats on top generously. Bake until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on top, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and pans. Let cool on rack.

Your Holiday Bread.

I would like to tell you that I eat pumpkin all year round. I should tell you about canning it and having a pumpkin pie after dinner in April or May. I know it's good for me but, unfortunately, I cannot tell you these things. It's not that I think canning pumpkin for spring meals is a bad idea. It's a great idea! I encourage you to do what I cannot. I love pumpkin, but there is something about the flavors of pumpkin especially when mixed together with nutmeg and cinnamon that (for me) is quintessentially autumnal.

Pumpkins are also harvested in the fall so this might also have something to do with this mindset. I'm really just a slave to the seasons.

However you feel about it, I highly recommend making this bread using fresh or canned pumpkin. This bread is fantastically moist due to the olive oil. It stays good for days. I had mine wrapped up with just a layer of cheap plastic wrap and was able to feast for nearly a week on this one loaf. I urged K to bring the other loaf to work because I was afraid I could not stop myself from eating it. Thankfully, he listened. He took the bread to work and, after setting it down on a table, the entire thing was gone in 60 seconds. He actually sent me an iphone photo of the crumbs. I believe this is a testament to a good bread.

The best part about this recipe is the simplicity. It could not be easier. In fact, I'm sure you have all the ingredients in your pantry right now. If you're short on pumpkin, hit the grocery store. Or, hit the pumpkin patch. You are never too old for the patch.

Yesterday, the rain stopped just long for a jaunt through the pumpkin patch at Fall City Farms. It was fantastic. Hayrides and hot apple cider. The fall colors were out and everything looked dreamy and romantic.

We found the perfect pumpkin, which I tried to eat on the spot.



K stopped me and we managed to get it home.



That pumpkin, however, is destined for greater things. It will be lighting up the porch on Halloween. So, instead, we used the canned pumpkin. Canned pumpkin, I must say, is remarkably convenient. You can whip this loaf up with a can of the good stuff in no time.

I love this bread. You can eat it with a fork or place it in a napkin and eat it standing up in front of your computer like me. It's just about perfect for Thanksgiving breakfast or afternoon tea. Give it as a gift or hoard it all for yourself. The recipe makes 3 smallish loaves or 2 biggo ones.

Enjoy.



Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup delicately flavored olive oil (such as Bertolli Classico)
2/3 cup water
2 cups pureed pumpkin (fresh or canned)
3 cups sugar
3 1/3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 1 lb. loaf pans (8.5-by-4.25-by-2.75 inches) with olive oil or spray with cooking spray (or bake in batches).

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the olive oil, water, pumpkin purée, and sugar and whisk with a fork to combine thoroughly. Sift some flour into a small bowl. Measure out 3 1/3 cups of sifted flour by spooning the flour into a measuring cup and leveling off the top with a knife. Then sift the measured flour again together with the salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and baking soda into the mixing bowl. Stir into the wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in raisins, cranberries, or nuts, if using.

into prepared loaf pans, nudging batter into corners. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely. The bread will keep at room temperature for more than a week if tightly wrapped in plastic. It also freezes beautifully.

Source: Serious Eats

The Weekend.

It is the weekend. I want you to go out there and enjoy it. It's the last weekend before Halloween and, for some reason, that's sort of a special weekend. Here in Seattle, it's the last weekend before the darkness settles over the city. That sounds ominous, I know. It's just that my California blood runs deep and the winter days here are quite short. No matter. Seattle summers are fantastic and the days are long and glorious. I shall not complain.

What are your plans? Run through the leaves? Clean up the garden beds? A trip to the bakery?

We are going to the pumpkin patch where I intend to find the perfect pumpkin and some gourds for the living room. I also intend to wear something autumnal. Fall is a redhead's season. However, you don't have to be a ginger kid to stand out at the patch. When everyone else is dressed in overalls and polar fleece, it's pretty easy to look good.



I will have a special recipe to share next week from our trip. I hope you'll like it. In the meantime, here's another good one. This dessert is perfect for fall. I don't know about you, but I love a bready heartier dessert when the leaves fall and the weather is crisp. I also love pancakes for dessert. It doesn't get much better than that.



Apple Oven Pancake

4 tblsp. unsalted butter
4 cups diced peeled tart apples
2 tblsp. firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
Juice, strained, of 1/2 of a lemon
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup whole milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place rack in lower third of the oven.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the apples and saute, turning as needed, just until tender, 5-7 minutes Sprinkle with the brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon and stir to combine. Remove from heat.

Place a baking dish 12 inches in diameter or 9 by 13 inches in the oven to heat for 5 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven, add the remaining butter and tilt the dish to coat. Spoon the apples into the dish evenly.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, and salt until just blended. Carefully pour the batter over the warm apples. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and, using a fine mesh sieve, dust the top with confectioners' sugar. Serve.

Source: Williams Sonom

Embrace the Squash.

Squash. I used to find it revolting. The color. The texture. I wondered why on earth anyone would take a squishy forkful of it and willingly put it into his or her mouth?

I guess it was one of the things in this world for which I needed to acquire a taste. Because, let's face it, we all have favorite foods today that would have sent us into a serious tantrum or (my favorite) a lengthy pretend coma as children. Squash is high on my list but so are brussel sprouts and kale. Today, however, I'll focus on the squash and leave the other war stories for another day.

Here is where I have to hand it to my mother. She placed a pile of yams in front of us every single Thanksgiving dinner. I treated them like the plague. My siblings did the same. I distinctly recall multiple freckled faces wincing as my mother nibbled away at the the orange mess.

But, despite that chilly reception, she kept right on cooking those yams every year. Was she dead set on converting us? I'll never know. It's quite possible she just liked yams and made a truckload of them just in case one of us was inclined to tiptoe into her yammy feast. And, much to my surprise, that is exactly what happened.

It was during my late teens when the sudden transformation occurred. I was home from college and feeling more and more sophisticated in my palate. I was possibly tired of dorm food, but more likely drawn to the one thing on the Thanksgiving table I could not possibly resist.

Marshmallows.

Oh sure. You think they're disgusting. And I suppose they are sort of grotesque. I do love them, however. And anyone who has been on a camping trip with me knows marshmallows hold a real power over me. I can't have a bag of them near me because I might clear it out in mere minutes and give myself a horrible stomach ache in the process. Candy pumpkins also do the trick.

Either way, it was just what the doctor ordered on Thanksgiving that year. There were so many marshmallows all melted together that they created sort of a blanket, which cleverly shielded my eyes from the main component of the dish. It was finally possible to eat yams.

Today, I love yams. I particularly love the way a roasted yam can be both sweet and savory at the same time. It's magical. It is also the gateway to squash. Add marshmallows or the combination of sage or brown butter to squash or yams and there is simply nothing out there like it.

In fact, I now look forward to autumn for more than just the cute fall sweaters. Those ugly tubular veggies really have my heart.

The following dish is quite amazing. I lived on it for several days. If I had children, I might try and pass it off as macaroni and cheese. So close are the rich flavors to the classic macaroni dish, that it just might work.

Happy Autumn.



Pasta with Caramelized Squash and Fresh Herbs

9 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 butternut squash, 2 1/2 to 3 lb., peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. finely diced shallots
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbs. minced fresh sage
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 lb. pasta of your choice,
1 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

In a braiser over medium-high heat, melt 3 Tbs. of the butter. Add the squash in a single layer and cook, without stirring, until browned underneath, about 6 minutes. Stir the squash and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes more. Add the sugar, broth, salt and pepper, cover and cook until the squash is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates and the squash is dark brown and glazed, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer the squash mixture to a bowl.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, melt the remaining 6 Tbs. butter until light brown spots appear, about 2 minutes. Add the shallots, nutmeg and sage and cook, stirring constantly, until the shallots begin to soften, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the squash.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the squash mixture and toss to combine.

Transfer the pasta to a warmed large, shallow bowl and sprinkle with some of the cheese. Serve immediately and pass the remaining cheese alongside. Serves 4 to 6.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

First Love. Last Love.

Honka Sandoni was my first love. He was my imaginary husband during childhood. Honka was Italian and a great cook who knew how to make a pot of spaghetti. We were both perpetually 28 years old with a litter of children. Those kids (or dolls), who were hip and more like our friends, were inexplicably in their early 20s.

Honka had a brother who was married to my sister L. Strangely enough, Honka's brother was also named Honka and about the same age. L and Honka II had approximately the same amount of children and it's quite possible we all lived in the same imaginary house. I can't really recall. Wherever it was, it must have been a large estate to handle the multitudes of Italian children.

I recall the Honka days fondly. We had a pretty good time raising our kids and partying with them as well. Sadly, I also remember Honka's sudden end. It happened when I introduced him to my mother. She told me that Honka was a nasty name and I shouldn't go about using it. I was devastated, but mostly ashamed. In the blink of an eye, Honka was dead to me. For years, I believed the word "honka" was a dirty word.

I now know and understand my mother a lot better. I recognize her tendency toward hyperbole and the emphasis she places on proper English and grammar. She didn't mean to suggest that "honka" was a dirty word but, rather, an improper word that sounded pretty ridiculous. Either way, that moment made a deep impact on me. I figure this might be why I never spent much time considering married life or planning out my fairy-tale wedding.

Today, I can honestly say that I let Honka fade into memory. I had to let him go so that I could meet and fall in love with K. It also allowed me to create a lovely wedding from scratch without any long-standing expectations.

My wedding day was lovely. It was full of warmth and light.

I'll show you pictures real soon. Maybe next week? In the meantime, I hope you understand why I've been so absent. The couple of weeks leading up to the event were a bit maddening. After we wed on Sept. 26th, it took about a week to decompress. I now realize why people go on honeymoons. We don't have the funds for such things, but the concept makes a lot of sense to me now. Relax. Savor it. Be present. That sort of thing.

I guess you won't be surprised to discover I've cooked only very little. I will say, however, that puff pastry can really be a girl's best friend in a pinch. I managed to whip this up last week to rave reviews. Give it a try. It's pretty rich, but a small portion pairs up nicely with a spicy green salad and a glass of red wine.

Mushroom, Goat Cheese & Leek Tart

3 lb. leeks, white parts and 1 inch of pale green parts, thinly sliced

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup crème fraîche

3 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, brushed clean and coarsely chopped

All-purpose flour for dusting

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed if frozen

In a fry pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 Tbs. of the butter until it foams. Add the leeks and sauté until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the thyme, bay leaf, stock, 1/2 tsp. of the salt and 1/2 tsp. of the pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the leeks are nearly tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally and being careful not to let the leeks brown, until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes more. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Transfer the leeks to a bowl. Stir in the crème fraîche and goat cheese until well mixed.

In another fry pan over medium-high heat, melt the remaining 1 Tbs. butter until it foams. Add the mushrooms, the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and the remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper and sauté until the mushrooms are soft and have released their juices, 3 to 4 minutes. 



Preheat an oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 

On a floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle 10 by 12 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Spread the leek mixture to within 1 inch of the edge of the dough, and fold the edges of the dough over the filling to make a tart. Bake until the crust puffs and both the crust and the leeks are golden, about 15 minutes. Scatter the mushrooms over the leeks and bake for 5 minutes more. 



Let the tart stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut into bite-size pieces and serve warm. 


Adapted from Williams-Sonoma