Cherry & Chèvre Galettes with Arugula and Balsamic

It was a warm, July morning, the kind of morning where temperatures had dipped over 85 degrees by 8am.  I was staring at my supply of cherries trying to revisit the inspiration that had so clearly dawned on me days before when I had ambitiously tossed them into my shopping cart.

I waffled over ideas as the maintenance man banged away at this and that.  Not surprisingly, everything in our little abode began malfunctioning the day we resigned our lease.  As my power came in and out, I was shifting back and forth between mental images of buttery galettes stuffed with ripe cherries and a cherry-studded arugula salad with a tangy, molasses-like balsamic drizzle and candied pecans.  

Unable to decide upon my fruit's fate, and being that I stem from a generation infamous for its "have it all" mentality, I opted out of choosing and married the two visions into one.

I spun up a bit of pie crust in my food processor - it's the only way to go - and popped it into the fridge before darting out the door, list in hand, on my 'goat cheese and lemons' mission. 

For me, goat cheese has a very small window in which it can truly shine.  Often I find it unpleasantly overpowering, but when it is good, it is very good indeed.  Determined to fit within that safe spot of triumph, I mellowed out my chèvre a bit with some cream cheese for added richness.  

So often in a kitchen-dweller's life, the answer is just a little extra fat. 

The savory filling was piped into the center of each miniature pastry crust and then acted as a sort of cushion in which I tucked my cherries.  

Now would be the moment to mention that adding a cherry pitter to your kitchen toolbox is a very good idea.

P.S. They work for olives too.  No uni-taskers around here.

For so many years, I made shoddy pies with drooping, under-baked crusts.  Thankfully, through extensive practice, and with the help of my pie-baking Bible, I learned that most mistakes can be remedied with patience.  Popping these little galettes into the freezer after they have been filled and shaped gives the crust the extra sturdiness it needs to keep its shape once the heat is on. 

While the galettes cooled down to an edible temperature, I prepared a salad.  

My affection for arugula has increased tenfold this year.  Perhaps my palate has at last grown up enough to appreciate its grassy bite.  I like to dress it very simply.  With such a tender, fiddly green, heavy dressings just destroy the texture.  I am a lemon juice, olive oil, salt & peppa lady myself. 

Do you like this trend of topping carbs with salad as much as I do? 

After the greens were piled, I finished my salad with drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar for a little extra something. 

I think this would make such a lovely lunch or brunch for you and your favorite ladies. 

Having it all looks pretty good.  

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Cherry & Chèvre Galettes with Arugula and Balsamic

makes four // crust recipe adapted from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book

pie crust

1/4 cup cold water 

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

handful of ice cubes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, very cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

In a small measuring cup, combine water, vinegar and ice; set aside. 

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in the work bowl of your food processor and pulse to combine. Drop in the cold butter cubes and pulse several times, until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is in pea-sized pieces.  Slowly drizzle in a small amount of the vinegar mixture and pulse until the dough just holds together when squeezed gently.  You may need to add more of the vinegar mixture but start small and increase as needed - if the dough becomes too wet it is hard to turn back.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a small disc.  Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  While the crust is chilling, prepare the fillings and preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

chèvre filling

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 ounces chèvre
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar 
• 2 egg yolks

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Beat in goat cheese, salt, sugar, and eggs; mix until smooth.

Transfer the filling to a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use. 

cherry filling

• 1 cup rainier cherries, pitted
• 1 cup dark sweet cherries, pitted 
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice.  Toss until all the fruit is evenly coated. 

assembly and arugula

• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar 
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 
• 4 heaping cups fresh arugula 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• olive oil
• sea salt 
• freshly ground black pepper

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water. 

Turn your chilled pie crust out onto a well-floured surface and roll to about 1/4-inch thickness. Using a small bowl or round of paper as a guide, cut 5 1/2-inch circles out of the dough. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet.

Pipe a 2 3/4-inch circle of the chèvre filling into the center of each piece of dough.  Stud the cream filling with the prepared cherries.  Then, form small galettes by pulling the edges of dough up and around the edges of the fillings, overlapping the dough and pinching to seal.  Place the galettes in the freezer for 20 minutes. 

After the galettes have chilled, brush the outer crusts with the prepared egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  Bake for 35-40 minutes; until the crusts are deep golden and shiny.

While the galettes are baking, place balsamic in a small saucepan and reduce by half by simmering over medium high heat until thick and syrupy.  Set aside to cool. 

Transfer the baked galettes to a cooling rack and cool until warm while you prepare the salad. 

Prepare the arugula by dressing with a heavy drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Toss and set aside.  

Cook's Note: I prefer to let the greens rest for 5-10 minutes after dressing.  This gives them a chance to soften a bit. 

To serve: Top each galette with a heaping cup of the greens and serve immediately with a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.  Enjoy!  

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Peach & Cherry Cornmeal Cobbler with Rum Whipped Cream

Sometimes you drive two and a half hours to pick peaches only to be told that you're not going to be picking any peaches.

No. No peaches for you because everyone else was rude and picked them all.  So you can go back peachless or take the ones the orchard-keepers have picked for you.  Okay, not so bad.

Oh, but you wanted to revisit the spot where you got engaged?  Too bad.  The orchard is closed, because we are fancy enough to be able to close a section of a mountain.  Yes we are.  But please, buy another donut. 

Ok, ok, bye.  

P.S. I'll take half a dozen donuts, please and thank you.  

Though last Saturday's venture was a bit disappointing, the peaches were nonetheless delicious, because we had not picked them ourselves. 

I have been baking and blanching and freezing for days, but this simple cobbler was the most delicious reward, and it made the drive worth every minute. 

I am always looking for new ways to add more texture to my favorite recipes, and ever since I saw Tracy's Raspberry Cobbler I have had cornmeal on the brain. 

I love the subtle, but distinctive crunch that it adds to baked goods. 

Cold butter, cornmeal, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and a bit of all-purpose flour come together in a rough dough after a few pulses. I really love when I can make a crust in my food processor.  

I have had half of a bag of black cherries in my freezer for about two weeks, so I decided to toss them in with the peaches.  Their flavors worked so beautifully together and the colors were more vibrant than my old Lisa Frank notebook. 

I get unreasonably excited at a chance to blanch peaches, but it is just SO MUCH FUN!  Every time I do it and those soft, fuzzy skins peel away with the slightest pull, I am amazed and I have to share my astonishment with whomever is closest. Sometimes that's just snap chat. 

Blanched peaches happen to be really slippery, so be extra careful when slicing. 

One third of the buttery, cornmeal crust is crumbled onto the bottom of the pan, making a bed for our fruit that will soak up an excess juices. 

The remaining crust is pinched into small pieces and sprinkled atop the fruit. 

This would be a good time to line a baking sheet with foil and place it under the rack that you will be baking on.  Bubbling fruit juices have a nasty tendency to drip all over your clean oven. 

After some quality oven time, this cobbler will be bubbling and that cornmeal crust will have reached a lovely shade of golden. 

We could call it a day right now, but I felt as thought this bake was begging for a creamy counterpart. 

Rum whipped cream perfectly fit the bill.  The subtle notes of rum were the perfect compliment to the rich, sugar-kissed fruit.  It's also excellent eaten by the spoonful... 

This was my snack, my dinner, and breakfast the next morning.  It's fruit, so, you know - healthy! 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Peach & Cherry Cornmeal Cobbler with Rum Whipped Cream

serves 6

for the cobbler topping

• 1 1/4 cup fine cornmeal 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes 
• 1/4 cup ice water

In the work bowl of your food processor, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and ground cinnamon.  Pulse until well-combined.  

Add butter to the flour mixture and pulse several times, until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.  Slowly stream in ice water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until a rough dough just comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a disc.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for thirty minutes.  

for the filling

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 4 medium, ripe peaches
• 1 cup black cherries defrosted, if frozen
• 1/2 whole lemon, juiced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place a sheet pan lined with foil on the bottom rack.

In a medium bowl, whisk to combine cornstarch and granulated sugar.  Toss the fruit in the cornstarch mixture and add lemon juice. 

Divide the chilled dough into thirds and pinch one third into pieces.  Sprinkle in the bottom of 9-inch pie plate.  Cover with the fruit filling.

Crumble the remaining 2/3 of the dough over the top of the fruit.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, on the center rack, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is crisp and evenly browned.  

Allow to cool for about thirty minutes before serving.  While the cobbler is cooling, prepare the cream.

for the rum whipped cream

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar 
• heavy splash of rum 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat cream on high speed until it holds soft peaks.  Beat in confectioner’s sugar and rum until just combined. 

Serve atop warm cobbler.  Enjoy! 

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