The Gouda Life

Well things have just been all over the place here lately, haven’t they? 

I’ve spent this past week slightly under the weather and not wanting to do much but drink peppermint tea and watch The Real Housewives (of every city….). I’ve been sitting on a really delicious recipe for a few weeks now and I figure I’d better get it out to you before all your heirloom tomatoes are rotten or -gasp- frozen! Ok, maybe frozen is a little wishful thinking on my part. I’m anxiously awaiting the first snowfall. And now you know how terribly insane I am. 

It’s a chilly day here in Ottawa. One that begs more for a slow cooked beef soup or creamy risotto than a Galette. But you know what? I have a Galette for you so you’ll just have to bear with me and enjoy it. I promise it will be worth it. 



If you’re unfamiliar with the term ‘Galette’, it’s a general term in French Cuisine referring to an array of flat, round, free-form tarts. Rustic, unfancy, but so perfectly satisfying when piled with your favourite sweet or savoury fillings. There is something so unassumingly charming and welcoming about a flaky dough round, filled with fresh ingredients. That first slice into the tart, when the crust shatters like glass into little shards of buttery dough, always makes my heart flutter. 

I had some beautiful Heirloom tomatoes sitting pretty atop my window sill that begged for something different than my usual heirloom tomato salad…. delicious as it is. A Galette was an easy alternative to my go-to dishes that really pushed the unique-looking tomatoes to new heights of flavour. 



Heirloom Tomato Galette with Cornmeal Crust
adapted from Look I Made That

You could easily use any tomatoes you have on hand. Roasting them really helps bring out the most of any tomato. 

Dough
adapted from Fine Cooking
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal 
1 tsp sugar 
1-1/4 tsp. salt 
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2” cubes
3 tbsp olive oil 
1/4 cup ice water

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until evenly distributed but still has some large, visible pieces present. 

Add the olive oil and slowly add in the ice water, mixing, until the dough starts to come together. Gather dough in your hands and shape it into a small disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour up to overnight. 

Filling
3-4 large (or 6-7 small) Heirloom Tomatoes, sliced into 1/2” rounds
1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated 
handful basil, sliced into ribbons
coarse salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375.

On a floured board, roll dough out into a round about the size of a dinner plate. See? Rustic means we’re not being fancy here. 



Leaving about 1.5” around the edge of the dough clean, slather your Dijon mustard over the dough. Top mustard with grated Gruyere. Arrange tomatoes over the cheese and sprinkle with coarse salt, pepper and basil. 





Carefully pick up the edges of the dough and fold it over the filling. If
the dough breaks, just pinch it back together and call it a day. There are fancier ways to fold the dough if you’re looking for something with a little more ‘ooooooh’ appeal, but I love the simple, messy look of this method.



Bake on a preheated pizza stone or baking sheet for 10 minutes or until browned on top. Reduce heat to 325 and continue cooking until tomatoes are gooey and baked, about 40-50 minutes. 



Serve with some lightly dressed micro greens or a simple arugula salad to give a nice spicy contrast to the rich tomatoes.

 

Today’s entry is for the ladies or gentlemen who have partners with refined palates (read: kinda/sorta/maybe a little picky. But don’t tell them that….they don’t like knowing they’re picky). The one who cringes at the thought of a Brussels sprout, a dash of hot sauce, or a pinch of curry powder. And who rolls their eyes at the thought of souffle of this, or sous-vide that. You know the one? Yeah! This is for them.

As previously mentioned in a few entries, my boyfriend is one of them. It’s not that he doesn’t try things. He does. And he’s more often than not really open to my suggestions. He’s the best picky eater I know. But he just doesn’t care for a lot of things and prefers familiar foods. And there isn’t anything wrong with that.  Especially when he puts up with someone like me who tries to make him try everything over and over 

“No, no, this one is cooked differently. It’s sauteed, not steamed. Seriously. I really think you’re going to love it!”.

So every so often I try to make him something that knocks his socks off that includes the things he likes cooked a little differently. Just to add some originality to the usually mundane, you know?

Tonight I saw a recipe on The Pioneer Woman Cooks for some chicken breast with a little zip. So I figured that would be something Allan would love. And… I don’t mean to brag (I totally do), but I make the 2nd best (2nd only to my mom) mashed poatoes in the world. Smooth, whipped, garlicky, buttery, light and fluffy mashed potatoes. I really think you should try to make them yourself… because they are good. No, they are amazing. And I didn’t say they were low fat…. ok? I’m only one woman. I can only do so many amazing things as once.

I also steamed some broccoli for myself. But… you don’t want to hear about that, do you? I didn’t think so. On to the meat and potato party!  

Cheddar Bacon Chicken Breasts w. Whipped Mashed Potatoes
(it’s not a very original name…but something like this doesn’t need one!)

Chicken w. Bacon & Cheddar

2-3 Chicken Breasts, boneless/skinless
6-9 strips of bacon (I used normal stuff but thick cut would be next level!), cooked
6-9 Pieces of good cheddar cheese
1/2 C dijon mustard (I used grainy)
1/2 C pure maple syrup
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Special Equipment:
A meat mallet,  heavy rolling pin or heavy pot/pan
Saran Wrap or Wax Paper

Put your boneless/skinless chicken breast between two pieces of wax paper/saran wrap leaving a good inch of extra wrap around the edges.

Using your meat mallet/heavy rolling pin or pan, smash the chicken breast until it’s even in thickness. About 1-1.5 inches. The purpose of this is to help the chicken cook more evenly. It’s also more flavour per bite since it’s not a giant, thick hunk of chicken. More like a scallopini. Oh…and it’s great for getting out a little post-work temper tantrum…  for those who still have them… like me.



In the bottom of a rectangle pan or tupperware, add the dijon mustard and maple syrup. Mix to combine. Add the chicken breasts. Let sit for at least a half hour.

Preheat oven to 350.
In a good heavy skillet/cast iron pan, add the oil and butter. Let it get hot over medium/high heat. Add chicken breast and let brown on each side for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.



Once all chicken is browned on both sides, place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through.

 

Remove from oven and place 2-3 pieces of bacon and 2-3 pieces of cheddar on each chicken breast. Cook for another 5 minutes at 350 and an additional 1-2 minutes on broil to really get the cheese bubbling!

Remove from oven and eat!

Garlic Whipped Mashed Potatoes

6-8 good sized yellow fleshed potatoes (like Yukon Gold), skin-on and cut into 2”x2” chunks
1 tbsp salt
2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed and skins removed
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4C milk
Salt, to taste

Add 1tbsp salt and crushed garlic cloves to a big pot of water. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook for 20 minutes or until easily pierced by a fork. Strain. Add butter and mash until fairly smooth. Add milk and whip with hand held electric mixer until silky smooth. Taste and add salt if needed.