Chopped Challenge: Today we are FRENCH.

The strange things about these Chopped Challenges, isn't just the basket ingredients. It's that I am starting to worry that my skills are about to hit their limit. Cooking without a recipe requires more then a basic ability to pair flavors together, it requires a knowledge of techniques. And although I watch more cooking shows, read more blogs and listen to more podcasts on cooking then I would care to admit, I don't actually have the breadth of knowledge necessary to make any grand idea come into formation on the plate, even though I may have seen the technique once or twice.

This is especially true when it comes to Baking. Where cooking is a art, baking is a science, and it takes a lot of repeat baking to learn what in a recipe is REQUIRED and what is merely window dressing. Ratios are INCREDIBLY important. Even the order that ingredients are added can matter. I like to bake, but it would be a cold day in hell before I baked without a recipe. Unfortunately, there are certain basic baked goods I would like to be able to use when The Husband sets a basket in front of me. So, yesterday, I spent a good 2-3 hours reading, and re- reading and memorizing various ratios for.... pie crust. Why you ask? So that when The Husband sat The Basket in front of me on Monday, I already had an idea in my head as to what I was going to do with it. 

When I opened The Basket and noted the contents: Bone-in Shell Steaks, Smoked Mozzarella, Macadamia Nuts, and Asian Pears. I smiled knowing my plan would be easily set in motion. As I sent The Husband to the store for some Arugula. Threw the meat into the freezer (more on that later) and then I got started on the dough for my Galette.

• "Galette?" you ask, ponderously.
• "It's a free form tart" I respond gently
• "What do you mean by that?" 
• "I mean what I said, now stop asking questions and take pictures."

Ok that was a conversation that happened between myself and The Husband. Not between you, dear reader, and myself. You know enough to just flip to the end of the blog and see for yourself what a Galette is. The Husband on the other hand, refused to take "free form tart" for an answer and continued to ask me, with some frequency, what exactly it was. Needless to say I will try and explain for your benefit. A Galette is like a pie without a pie plate. It is a pie crust that is flakey and delicious which encases or  surrounds either sweet or savory fillings. And it's delicious.

For the pie crust I cut  into my flour and salt (no sugar since this is a savory crust) a stick of butter. First I used my pastry cutter, but that proved to cumbersome (I really need a new one) and I switched to my hands. Make sure your butter is cold, but not ice cold, and work quickly to avoid over heating the butter and flour. once the butter is cut into so the pieces are no bigger then a pea, add in the ice water and egg and mix until it comes together in a ball. Put that ball into a piece of plastic wrap and let rest.

With the dough resting I peeled and cored two of the asian pears and gave them a quick slice on my mandolin, cut proof glove securing my fingers from emergency room trips.

Then I took a good hard look at the cheese and pondered if it would slice on the mandolin. Figuring it was worth a try I slowly and carefully sliced away. It did work but I would  not recommend it. Cheese is sticky and sticky foods mean an increased chance of slippage on the mandolin so unless you are stupid, like me, it's probably best to find another way to slice your cheese. But I'm stupid so I did it anyway.

Final step was to deal with the meat. It had been sitting in the freezer for a half hour now, which adds some stability to the meat while you work with it. Makes it less squishy, so to speak, and therefore great for slicing. After boning the steaks I got about 4 thin slices off of each steak. What you need to do is take the flat of your hand and press gently down onto the meat then , delicately, slice with your knife (serrated is easier but it has to be sharp) about a 1/4 inch down with your knife parallel to your hand and to your board. Don't move quickly while doing this you WILL slice into your hand. You want to move slowly and deliberately, feeling the flat of the blade moving underneath your fingers. BE FRIGGEN CAREFUL. I did this one chop at a time, leaving the others in the freezer until I was ready to use them to keep maximum solidity.

Once everything was cut down I lay the slices out in a single layer and covered with plastic wrap. Then I beat them with a heavy sauce pan to see if they would flatten some more. Final step was to season with some salt and pepper.

Now it was time to put it all together. First I took the dough out of the fridge and rolled it out into a round about 1/8 inch or so thick. I placed that onto a baking sheet, it's ok if it folds over the edges of the sheet. Next I arranged the cheese in a circle on the pie dough about 2 or so inches from the edge. I filled in the circle as well, making sure the cheese overlapped so that there was no pie crust showing through. On top of that, with about 1/2 inch around the edges, I put the slices of pear. And on top of that I put the meat. Once my filling was arranged I folded the excess edge of the crust over on top of the filling, pleating as I went a long mostly for aesthetic value. Make sure when you pleat you press the edges of the crust together to keep them from unfurling in the oven. A nice sheen of egg wash and she was popped into the oven.

While I was waiting for it to bake. I toasted the macadamia nuts until brown and floral. I then put them into a bag and pounded at them with the rolling pin until it was broken down into mid-size chunks.

I tossed these with the arugula, some more chopped up pear, salt, pepper, lemon juice and a little bit of olive oil. Then I checked on the galette. To my frustration, the meat had sweated A LOT and let out A LOT of juices. I was worried the crust would get soggy, so I went at it with a ton of paper towels. I had to do this a  couple of times. But it was probably worth it in the end result, likely would have been a gloppy mess.

When the galette in the oven looked like it was basically done (the crust should look dry and be starting to brown, the meat should also be browned) I placed a big handful of the salad in the middle and put it back into the oven for another 2 minutes to wilt. All that was left was to plate.

I have to say I am quite proud. I think the only thing I would change was to add a little more seasoning on the meat. Maybe some rosemary or something to stand up to the smoked mozzarella. I'm not sure. I'm really pleased that the cheese acted as a base which prevented all the liquid from the pears and the meat from leaking into the crust and making it soggy. It cut well and it tasted de-lish.

Judge's Corner

Welcome to another Judge’s Corner! This week I dined on a smoky beef and asian pear galette. 

This is my first foray into eating galette and was excited to break into the delicious looking dish. She and I are in mild contention due to the fact that she claims the plating should be based on the dish before it’s been served. I however think that it needs to be on its own plate to be judged. Since it’s her blog however I will go based on the dish as it is seen above. Not a lot negative to be said about this. Presented well with some nice color coming from the salad on top. The only thing that could have been nicer was a bit more color on the flat parts around the edge of dough.

The flavors of this dish really came together nicely. The smokiness of the mozzarella wasn’t hidden by all the flavors piled on top. I was thought the nuts were only going to be used as a garnish for the salad, but they brought a nice texture to the rest of the dish. Maybe a little bit of extra browning on the meat would have also helped to give a little bit of a different texture and additional flavor. The use of the cheese on the bottom of the galette was a great idea to keep the moisture from soaking the bottom of the dough.

Another week of very well used basket ingredients. Not only were all flavors and textures pronounced in the dish, but she really brought them together into a solid dish. My first galette was a delicious one and I look forward to more in the future.

See you next week for another exciting round!

Guest Judge:

This week at dinner we were joined by My Father who was very impressed with my cooking and my plating (thank you very much daddy). He said that he loved the way the flavors melded together and how the smokey flavor of the mozzarella came in nicely at the finish of the flavors. He went in for seconds, even though he just wanted a taste to begin with. That's praise enough!

The Recipe

• 2 cups (250g) flour
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 32 pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup ice cold water
• 3 1 inch shell steaks (bone removed) frozen for at least a half hour and then sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper.
• 2 large asian pears sliced 1/8 inch thick
• 1 large smoked mozzarella ball sliced into 1/8 inch thick slices
• 1/2 cup Macadamia nuts (toasted and crushed)
• 1 large handful of  Arugula
• 1/2 a lemon's worth of juice
• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to season

1. Form the Dough. Combine the Flour and the Salt Cut the cold butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, your hands, or a food processor. Beat the egg into the ice cold water (remove ice chunks if they are in there) and slowly incorporate into the dry mixture until you can form a ball. Turn ball into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least a 1/2 our or up to a day.
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Remove dough from fridge and roll out into a round about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a lined baking sheet (it is ok if the dough hangs over the sides).
4. Cover the dough with the mozzarella slices leaving about 2 inches from the edge of the dough. Then cover with the Asian Pears. Then cover with the steak.
5. Fold the excess dough over onto the filling, pleating as you go along to form a lovely pattern. Gently press the pleats together with your fingers. Paint the dough with an egg wash of one egg to about 2 tablespoons of water, beaten well. Bake for 15 minutes or until dough starts to brown around the edges and meat looks cooked through. Blot excess liquid and fat from the top of the Galette with paper towels. 
6. Top the Galette with a salad of Arugula, Macadamia Nuts, Lemon juice, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper and any left over pears (julienned or diced). Return to the oven for another 2 minutes. 
7. Remove from oven, slice into wedges and serve.