Top
Navigation
Cooking Blogs
CookEatShare Featured Author
view my recipes
CookEatShare Featured Author

Entries in Heather's Recipes (33)

Wednesday
22Jul2009

Peach Tart

DateWednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:12AM

Peaches from the Orchard


A pretty, fresh peach tart by Heather Forsyth.Fresh Peach and Chevre Tart by Heather


I'm lucky enough to live less than an hour away from one of the country's best peach orchards, and visited it last weekend during the Porter Peach Festival.  Home with an entire bushel of fresh peaches, a peach extravaganza began!  This recipe is a variation of the little strawberry tarts I made earlier this season, but is a bit more carefully constructed.  It's not a spur-of-the-moment creation, and I'm not sure it really falls into the “lazy cook” category, but just a little extra effort gives you a pretty glamorous dessert.  You don't have to roll out the crust, it can just be pressed into the pie pan. The hazelnut flour in the crust can be pricey, but worth it here.  Be sure to keep any leftover nut flours in the freezer.  If you just can't bear the work, you can always buy a plain, premade pie-crust, but it won't be as good!


Peach Tart


Ingredients for the Tart Shell:



  • 1/2 c. (generous) unbleached white flour
  • 1/2 c. hazelnut flour
  • 2 T. cornstarch
  • 1/4 c. (scant) sugar
  • 1 stick of butter, cut into 8 pieces
  • pinch of salt


Ingredients for the Filling:



  • 1/2 c. soft, fresh chevre (goat cheese)
  • 4 oz. plain low-fat yogurt
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 4-5 medium peaches
  • 1/4 c. honey
  • 1 t. lemon juice


Directions:



  1. Put the ingredients for the tart shell into the bowl of a food processor and process, in pulses, until dough comes together and forms a ball around the blade.  Remove, wrap in plastic or wax paper and put in the fridge for an hour.
  2. Meanwhile, blend together until light and smooth the chevre, yogurt and sugar.  I used an electric mixer, but you could do it by hand if you have a strong arm.
  3. Peel the peaches, slice in half and remove the pit.  Thinly slice each peach half.
  4. Remove the tart shell dough from the fridge.  (If you leave it in there too long it will become too hard to work with, so you'll need to leave it out at room temp until pliable again.)
  5. Preheat oven to 450.
  6. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and partway up the sides of your pie plate, making it extra thick around the edges. I usually start by rolling or pressing the dough into a large disk on the counter, then transfer the dough into the pie pan to complete the job.
  7. Prick the shell all over with a fork, put it in the oven, and bake for about 10 minutes.  Watch it carefully as it may try to puff up with steam (despite your fork holes).  If that happens, just press it gently with the back of a wooden spoon until it behaves properly.
  8. Reduce heat to 350 and bake about 15 minutes more.
  9. Cool on rack to room temperature.
  10. Spoon cheese and yogurt filling evenly over pie shell.
  11. Top with sliced peaches, overlapping the slices, and making as pretty a arrangement as you can.
  12. Warm the honey and lemon juice together and brush the peaches generously with this mixture.


You can serve this at once, but it's really best if you can chill it for an hour or two before serving.

Peach Tarts on Foodista
AuthorTrevy Thomas | CommentPost a Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
in ,
Wednesday
22Jul2009

Farmers Market Salad (Peach & Tomato)

DateWednesday, July 22, 2009 at 2:58AM

Farmers Market Salad with Peaches A fruit and vegetable summer salad by Heather Forsyth


 


 


I wouldn't normally presume to give a "recipe" for salad, but I had two salad revelations recently that I thought were worth sharing.  First, as lovers of peach salsa have already figured out, tomatoes and peaches are great together (perhaps because a tomato is actually a fruit?!).  Second, you can slice fresh, raw okra and put it in a salad!  It's the new kiwi!  Really!  Choose small, tender okra, slice into rounds, give them a quick cold water bath to rinse off the okra goo, and you have cute little crisp disks that add a wonderful visual element as well.  So this recipe is the result of my "aha" moments -- it's a great summer salad because it holds up in the heat much better than leafy greens, it's picnic-friendly (can be served at room temp) and goes great with grilled foods.


Farmers Market Salad with Peaches


Ingredients:



  • 1/2 small sweet onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, cut lengthwise into quarters, and seeded
  • 1/2 lb. tender green beans, topped and tailed, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 big beefsteak (or similar) tomato, sliced thickly
  • 2 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into bite-sized chunks
  • 10-12 small okra, sliced horizonally into 1/2" disks
  • spash each of olive oil and lemon or lime juice
  • 1/4 c. thinly cubed feta (optional)
  • salt, to taste


Directions:



  1. Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 1 minute (and only 1 minute!), plunge into cold water, drain and dry.
  2. Slice okra (discard "hats") and swish the slices around in a bowl of cold water for a minute or two, drain, then repeat, to rinse off the goo.
  3. After you've peeled and seeded the cucumber, and sliced it lengthwise into quarters, cut each "stalk" into 1/2" disks.
  4. Cut thick slices of tomato into quarters (you want these pretty hefty so they don't fall apart).
  5. Combine onions, cucumber, green beans, tomato, peaches and okra in a salad bowl.
  6. Add the feta if you'd like.
  7. Dress with a splash of olive oil and a couple of good squeezes of lime (or lemon), more or less to taste.
  8. If you've used the feta, you probably won't need salt, but add to taste (carefully, too much salt will throw off the flavors of this particular salad).


These quantities make about 6 servings.

AuthorHeather Forsyth | Comment2 Comments | Print ArticlePrint Article
in , , , ,
Saturday
11Jul2009

Cucumber Salad

DateSaturday, July 11, 2009 at 7:16AM

A cool, refreshing way to use some of the season's bounty of cucumbers by Heather Forsyth.


Cucumber Salad 002


The first cookbook I ever bought was an early vegetarian cookbook called The Vegetarian Epicure, by Anna Thomas.  It was published in 1972 (yes, I was a child cook!) and was one of the first vegetarian cookbooks that offered (for the time) a more sophisticated approach to vegetarian cooking -- not a piece of tofu in sight.  There's a lot of butter, cream and cheese, far more than most cooks would use today, but my tattered copy is still on my bookshelf, and I've made many recipes, some over and over again, from its pages.  Soups, salads and sauces are especially good.  If you can get your hands on a copy, I recommend it, both for the recipes and for her fun approach.  It's the only cookbook I know of that talks about passing a joint around before dinner -- she's obviously a child of the 60's!


This cucumber salad is one of Anna's recipes.  I use yogurt instead of sour cream, and usually add a little chopped mint as well -- I've made it at least once every summer for over 30 years.  It's easily modified to make more or less, this version serves 4-6.


Cucumbers in Sour Cream


Ingredients



  • 4-5 medium cucumbers
  • 1 1/2 T. salt
  • 2 Tbs. sour cream (or yogurt)
  • 1 T. chopped fresh chives
  • 2 T. chopped fresh dill
  • 1 T. chopped fresh mint (optional)
  • 1 clove garlic, put through a press
  • fresh ground black pepper


Directions



  1. Peel the cucumbers, quarter them lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds.
  2. Slice the long strips at an angle, into even little disks.
  3. Add the salt, mix well, and set aside for 1 hour.
  4. Rinse the cucumbers well and blot off excess liquid.
  5. Stir in remaining ingredients (black pepper to taste).
  6. Chill at least one hour, stir again, then serve.

AuthorHeather Forsyth | CommentPost a Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
in , , , ,
Wednesday
24Jun2009

Chicken & Risotto

DateWednesday, June 24, 2009 at 11:28AM

Chicken & Risotto 002


 


A rich, flavorful chicken dish with leg quarters and wine by guest author, Heather Forsyth.



Like most foodies, I have a place where I keep old menus, hints, ideas, magazine clippings and just random food thoughts.  Over the years the back of a cookbook became a jar, the jar became a box, and now the box is a large basket that fills one of my bookshelves.   While rummaging through this treasure trove recently (of course, there's no order), I ran across a note scribbled on the back of a hotel confirmation -- stew chicken legs in tomatoes, sausage, onion and red wine and serve on risotto made with leeks and white wine.  Now I was looking for a slow cooking chicken recipe, and I happened to have both leftover red and white wine in my fridge (a rare occurence), and on such things happy incidents are born.  This dish is crazy rich and silky, and when we ate it the silence in the room was broken only by much sighing and lip-smacking.  Only for those who don't mind a little grease on their chin-os!


Chicken & Risotto


Ingredients:



  • 2 T. veg oil
  • 4 chicken leg quarters (thighs and drumsticks)
  • 1/2 pound ground sausage, roughly chopped or crumbled (I used chicken sausage, but whatever you like will do)
  • 1 c. diced onion
  • 3 med. fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1c. dry red wine
  • 2 c. + 3 c. chicken broth
  • 2 T. butter (for chicken sauce) + 4 T. butter, divided (for risotto)
  • 1/2 c. diced onion (I didn't have any leeks, but go ahead and use them if you have them)
  • 1 c. arborio or other white, short-grain rice
  • 1/2 c. dry white wine
  • 1/2 c. finely grated parmesan
  • thyme, bay leaf, pinch of red pepper flakes & salt to taste


Directions:



  1. Season and chicken with salt and pepper and brown in the oil, in very large skillet, about 5 minutes per side.  Set aside.
  2. Add sausage, onion and garlic to the pan and cook until onion is soft and sausage is no longer pink (5-6 minutes).  Stir in red pepper, tomatoes, a generous tsp. of dried thyme, pinch of red pepper and a couple of bay leaves.  Add red wine and simmer until the sauce is very reduced, about 20 minutes.
  3. Add 2 cups of broth, stir well, then put the chicken back into the sauce, cover the pan and simmer gentely 40-50 minutes until chicken is practically falling off the bones.
  4. Remove the chicken with tongs and set aside to cool.
  5. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from bones, cut into bite size pieces and return it to the pan along with 2 T. butter and salt and pepper to taste.  Keep hot over low flame.
  6. While the chicken is cooking, begin the risotto by sauteeing onions (or leeks) in 2 T. butter for about 3 minutes.
  7. Add the rice, stir, to coat, then stir around a bit more until it begins to feel and smell toasty.  Add the wine, and stir over medium-high heat until the wine is absorbed.  Add the remaining 3 cups of broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring, until each addition is nearly absorbed before adding the next.  This whole process takes about 25 minutes.  Stir in remaining 2 T. butter and the parmesan.
  8. Let the risotto rest, covered, for a few minutes while you finish the chicken and sauce.
  9. Once everything is ready, spoon a generous portion of risotto into large shallow pasta bowls and top with chicken in sauce.
  10. Eat with lots of napkins and gusto!

AuthorHeather Forsyth | Comment2 Comments | Print ArticlePrint Article
in , ,
Sunday
14Jun2009

New Potatoes with Indian Spices and Yogurt

DateSunday, June 14, 2009 at 11:22AM


New Potatoes with Indian Spices 021 A rich, one-dish vegetarian meal by Heather Forsyth.




This dish was inspired by the new potatoes and onions I bought at the Farmers Market yesterday.  The first of the season's small, slim cucumbers went into homemade yogurt along with fresh slivered basil for a cool contrast.  This dish is complex in flavors and texture, so it's perfectly suited as a one-dish meal, but who wouldn't mind a grilled lamb chop on the side?


New Potatoes with Indian Spices and Yogurt


Ingredients for the Potatoes



  • 4 T. butter
  • 1/2 tsp. each cumin seeds, ground cumin, ground ginger and turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp. each ground coriander, ground cloves and crushed red pepper
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 2 small onions, quartered then sliced
  • a dozen or so small new potatoes (I used combination of red and blue potatoes)
  • 1 c. water
  • 1/3 c. heavy cream/or cream and plain yogurt combination


Ingredients for the Yogurt Topping



  • 1/2 c. plain yogurt
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 4 green onions, tops only, sliced
  • 10 or so small fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 small cucumber, peeled and diced
  • squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
  • a pinch each of salt, cayenne and sugar


Directions



  1. Melt butter in large heavy skillet over medium heat and add the spices.  Stir this around for a bit until spices just begin to color and smell toasty -- be careful not to burn!
  2. Add sliced onions, garlic and salt, and stir for a few minutes until onions begin to relax.
  3. Add potatoes, stir to coat with butter and spices, then add bay leaf, water and salt.
  4. Cover and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes or so
  5. Add the cream or a combination of cream and yogurt.  Keep heat very low.
  6. Smash a few of the potatoes with the back of a large fork to thicken the sauce a bit.
  7. Potoes should have a stew-like consistency -- not as thin as soup, but thin enough that you'd want to serve them in a shallow bowl rather than on a plate


While the potatoes are simmering in Step 4:



  1. Combine yogurt with remaining ingredients, and a little lemon juice depending on the thickness and tartness of your yogurt, and set aside.


When potatoes are done, ladle into shallow bowls and top each serving with a generous dollop of cucumber yogurt.  This made 4 servings at our house.New Potatoes with Indian Spices 020


 

AuthorHeather Forsyth | CommentPost a Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
in , , ,
Page 1 2 3 4 5 ... 7 Next 5 Entries ยป