Let's get some recipes between these Travelogues! Apple & Goat Cheese Tart. and Marinara Sauce

I'm sure a few of you will recognize the name of the recipe from the fad-tastic series The Hunger Games. Yes, I caved and read it.  Verdict: ehh.  Like Twilight, it definitely holds your attention but don't go into it expecting a literary masterwork of any sort.  Okay, regardless, I might be reading the rest of the series... Being the food obsessed person that I am, the mention of this Apple & Goat cheese tart near the end of the first book gave me some foodie inspiration!
I definitely had a little bit of Heimweh (homesickness) for Munich over this past month of pretty much nonstop travelling.  Don't get me wrong, it was an amazing experience and I am very, very grateful that I was able to see so many places!  However, living out of a suitcase and in European hostels amongst several other people will definitely take it's toll.  Needless to say, I was thrilled to see my little apartment on Saturday.  I was in serious need of some sleep and down time!
Now, I've just been getting re-settled in at StuSta, restocking my kitchen, and, of course, enjoying this lovely early-Spring weather - bring it on, Allergy Season.
Yesterday was my first opportunity to get cooking again (grocery stores are closed all day Sunday!!) and I sure did a lot of it!  I had lunch with a friend from the JYM program, Yvonne and then dinner with another friend from the program, Andrew.  I happily volunteered to do the bulk of the cooking for both events.

For lunch I made the Apple & Goat Cheese Tart.  It's incredibly easy to make and straddles the line between sweet and savory, add a touch either way to define it if you want.  I added a little honey, but I would think with maybe a little thyme and caramelized onions, it would make a lovely light, savory dish.  This recipe can be prepared at the last minute and looks nice and tastes great!  (Ours was mini because we cooked it in the toaster oven the quantities listed are correct for a normal jelly-roll-pan-sized tart.)

Apple & Goat Cheese Tart

Source: original recipe

1 sheet puff-pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten 

about 4 oz Chèvre Goat Cheese, more or less the amount is up to you

2 apples (Grannysmith or Braeburn) - cored, peeled and sliced into thin wedges

squeeze of lemon juice 

pinch of salt

2 TBSP butter, melted  

Now it up to you: 

sweet- melt the butter with about 2 tsp honey

savory- melt the butter with thyme and add caramelized onions 

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Line a jelly roll pan with foil or spray generously with non-stick spray

Roll the puff pastry out in the pan and pierce with a fork all over to prevent excessive rising and brush with the beaten eggfd

Peel and slice the apples and mix with the butter and honey (or thyme)

Add a squeeze of lemon juice - watch out for those seeds! and a sprinkle of salt

Crumble the Chèvre and you're probably going to have to get down and dirty with it using your hands - spread it evenly over the pastry, taking care not to break the dough

Line the tart with the apple wedges 

(add the onions over the apples if you decide on savory) 

Bake it for about 25-30 minutes, rotating halfway through to ensure even baking.  

Serve it warm as an appetizer, snack or light meal 

Guten Appetit!  

Dinner was Chicken Parm, we needed some comfort food after travelling!!  Sadly, I didn't take any photos of this one but I'll share the recipe for a classic Marinara.  

Most important here is to simmer the sauce for at least an hour, it makes all the difference.  

I don't normally measure any of the ingredients, instead I usually taste it several time through the process adjusting the seasoning as it cooks.  These quantities are more or less the amounts I used, but by no means consider them a boundary, use herbs/spices/whatever to personalize your sauce. 

Classic Marinara Sauce

source: original recipe

a nice glug of olive oil (or half oil, half butter - your call!)

1 onion, diced 

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp Italian seasoning 

Salt, Pepper 

1 large can whole, peeled plum tomatoes 

1 TBSP tomato paste 

1 Bay leaf

crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

1 TBSP butter

Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium-high heat

Add the onion, garlic and seasonings and sweat for about 10 minutes, until soft and the onions are clear.

Add the tomatoes and their juices (no need to chop them) along with the tomato paste, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes to your taste (1 probably used 1/2 tsp).  

Simmer that for a few hours, stirring and tasting regularly.

If it needs it, give it a little whiz with a hand blender or mash up those tomatoes with a potato masher if that's easier.

Stir in butter to add a little richness.  

Ideally you would want to have the sauce ready before the pasta.   

When making pasta, a few tips : 

• Add at least a tablespoon (yes, tablespoon!) of salt to the boiling water to bring out the flavor of dried pasta.  I've seen posts encouraging 3-4 TBSP, declaring pasta is best cooked in water as salty as the sea!!  So add it liberally! 
• Cook it al dente, remove from heat while it still has a little bit of a bite to it, it will finish cooking in the sauce 
• Reserve at least 1/2 c of the pasta water to add to the sauce, it will improve the flavor and adhere better to the pasta
• DON'T RINSE IT!! (unless you want to make a cold pasta salad) You want those starches on the outside of the pasta so the sauce sticks to it.  
• Add the pasta to the sauce with the reserved water and cook it back to it's original consistency.  If you're pasta wasn't completely cooked, you'll be cooking some of the sauce into the noodles as you do this

     Guten Appetit!

A blog (or two) about PARIS to come very soon!!