Ratatouille

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
3 onions
2 medium Italian or globe eggplants
2 red peppers
4 medium zucchini
2 pounds Roma tomatoes, (or one 14oz can diced tomatoes)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2T fresh thyme
Salt & pepper
2T fresh basil, chiffonade

1.    Cut the onions, eggplants, peppers, and zucchini into a medium dice. Set aside. 

2.    In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions and cook 10-15 minutes until soft and transparent. Add the garlic and cook 5 minutes, stirring often so that the garlic doesn’t burn.

3.    Add the eggplant, toss with the onions, and cook 10 minutes.

4.    Add the peppers and zucchini and toss with the onion/eggplant. Cook 10 - 15 minutes.

5.    Add the tomatoes and thyme. Cook 10-15 minutes more until all the vegetables are soft and the tomatoes have released their juices.

6.    Season with salt and pepper.

7.    Transfer to serving bowl and top with basil. Serve warm or cold.

TIPS & TRICKS

•    Use your largest sauté pan or even a soup pot to sauté the veggies. I like to use my 6qt sauté pan it is big enough that all the vegetable fit in it nicely.
•    By adding the vegetables in stages, they have a chance to cook and soften but do not become a mushy mess. They are colorful and full of flavor.
•    I use 2 wooden spoons to “toss “the vegetable (like you would a salad) Toss them frequently until they are well mixed and slightly soften. 
•    Ratatouille freezes beautifully.

Perfect Grilled Steak with Bleu Cheese Butter

Ingredients

8 1½ inch thick New York Steaks
Salt & pepper

Butter:
8oz unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
4oz Bleu, Gorgonzola, or Roquefort Cheese, cut into pieces
2T chives, finely chopped
½ tsp. black pepper, ground
Salt

1.    Butter:  In the bowl of a food processor, add the butter, Bleu cheese. Pulse until combined.

2.    Add the chives and pepper. Pulse on and off until well combined.  Season with salt.

3.    Tear off a piece of plastic wrap, about 12x12 inches. Place the butter in the center of the wrap, fold the edge over, and shape into a log shape. Twist the ends closed. Place in the refrigerator until firm.

4.    Steak: Preheat your BBQ Grill for approximately 20 minutes.  

5.    Remove the meat from the packaging. Pat dry with a paper towel and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling.

6.    Season well with salt and pepper immediately prior to grilling. 

7.    Place steaks on a preheated grill. Leave the grill lid open and grill for about 6-7 minutes. Turn steaks over and grill for about another 4-5 minutes. Then check the internal temperature. Remove at 110-115º F for rare.

8.    Remove steaks from grill and place on platter. Top steaks with slices of Blue cheese butter. Loosely cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Allow the meat to rest 5-10 minutes. This will allow the butter to melt and the meat will carry over cook an additional 10-15º making the finished cooking temperature 125ºF for a perfect-rare steak. 

9.    Spread the melted butter over the steaks.

10.  Serve the steak whole or slice into slices and serve on the platter. Serve immediately

TIPS & TRICKS

•    The Bleu cheese butter can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator a week. It also freezes beautifully.
•    I use a board scraper to help shape it into a log. 
•    You can serve the butter on top of fish or chicken too! It makes a quick delicious sauce.
•    Just like you preheat your oven, you need to preheat your grill! It is important to get the steel grill grates very hot in order to sear and char your steak. To achieve the fancy crosshatch pattern that steaks have in restaurants, place the steak at a 45-degree angle to the grill grates. Cook for about 4 minutes then rotate the steak 90 degrees for an additional 3 minutes. This will produce the seared crosshatch pattern. Turn steaks over and finish grilling. Serve with the pattern side up. 
•    Note: every grill is different and you must get to know your own grill’s temperature zones and settings. Each grill has a “hot spot” where the food will cook more quickly. It is important to learn where yours is. 
•    When you remove a piece of meat from cooking, it does not stop cooking immediately. It continues to “carry over cooking.” The internal temperature can rise 10-15º degrees, so you should remove the meat before it reaches its ideal temperature and allow the “carry over” to bring it up to its perfect doneness.
•    If you prefer your meat more medium-rare, cook till 120-125º F on the grill and allow it to carry over until it reaches 130-140º F.

Apricot Galette

Ingredients

Pastry
1½ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. granulated sugar
1 stick, 8T butter, cut into cubes and cold
8T ice cold water

Filling:
1½ pounds apricots
3T ground raw almonds
5T granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten

1.    Pastry: In a food processor, add the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse a few times until combined. Add the butter and then pulse until the mixture has bits of butter the size of peas.  

2.    Add the cold water and pulse just until the mixture starts to come together. It will look shaggy.

3.    Dump the dough onto a piece of plastic film. Use the plastic to bring the dough together.  Flatten the dough into a disk and chill for at least 1 hour.

4.    Preheat oven to 400° F. If you have a pizza stone, place it on a rack in the middle of the oven.

5.    On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a circle about 14 inches diameter. Then transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet pan. Place in refrigerator for 10 minutes. 

6.    Fruit: Cut the apricots in half and remove the pit. (If they are large, cut into quarters).

7.    Remove the pastry from the refrigerator. Sprinkle the ground almonds onto the dough, leaving a 2-inch border.  

8.    Place the apricots skin-side up on top of the almonds, fitting them closely against each other. Sprinkle the 3tablespoons of sugar over the apricots.

9.    Fold the dough border over the fruit, forming pleats and making sure that there are no holes. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

10.    Place the tart into the 400° F oven onto the pizza stone for 40-45 minutes, until brown and bubbling.

11.    Remove the tart from the baking sheet by pulling on the parchment paper and sliding the paper and the tart onto a cooling rack. Cool for 20-30 minutes until the fruit juices have set.  

12.    When cool, cut into slices. It’s even better served with whipped cream or ice cream.

TIPS & TRICKS

•    I make several recipes of the pastry dough, wrap them in the plastic film, and then place them in a freezer zip lock bag. They will last in your freezer for six months. When ready to use, remove one from the freezer and allow to defrost in the refrigerator. Then follow the recipe from step #4.
•    You can substitute the apricots with other stone fruit, such as peaches, nectarines, or plums. 
•    You can buy ground almonds or just take a ¼ cup of whole raw almond and “grind” them in your food processor. The nuts add a little texture to the crust and help absorb some of the fruit juice.
•    You can substitute turbinado sugar for the granulated sugar for a little extra crunch.
•    Cooking the galette on the pizza stone helps makes the crust very crisp.
•    Sliding the galette on to the cooling rack helps keep the crust from getting soggy while it cools.
•    Galette is best severed warm to room temperature.