This is a dish of contrast. The bright green of the brussels is beautiful next to the orange squash and the butter-colored mushrooms. The acidity of the vinaigrette balances the sweetness of the butternut squash and the nuttiness of the brussel sprouts. The crispness of the bacon is balanced by the tenderness of the squash and the crunchiness of the occasional hazelnut.

All of this contrast works, however, because this dish encompasses many of the wonderful flavors of Thanksgiving. It makes a wonderful, quick-cooking, bright-flavored side dish that adds color and nutrition to your table. You just might find yourself making it again before the next Turkey Day rolls around.

This recipe is much easier and less stressful if all ingredients are prepared before you begin the cooking process.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 lb. of brussel sprouts, cleaned and cut in half, lengthwise
• 1/4 lb. Chanterelle or other wild mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
• 3 slices of good bacon, cut into 1 in. pieces
• A handful of hazelnuts, chopped and toasted
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare a large ice bath by filling a large mixing bowl with water and ice.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt liberally and add the butternut squash.  Blanch for about three minutes and then add the brussel sprouts.  Blanch for another four minutes and remove from heat.  Immediately strain and place vegetables in the ice bath.

In a large, deep skillet, cook the bacon pieces over medium high heat.  Once the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy and brown on both sides, remove the bacon and set aside for later on a paper towel.   Then, reserve most of the bacon fat in a bowl to use for the vinaigrette.

Add the olive oil to the hot skillet, and add the brussel sprouts and squash.  Saute for about five minutes, letting the vegetables caramelize.  Add the garlic and the fresh rosemary and thyme.  Add the Chanterelle mushrooms.  Continue to saute for another three minutes, or until the squash is tender, and then remove from the heat.

In a small nonstick skillet, toast the chopped hazelnuts over medium heat.  Stir frequently until the nuts begin to become a light golden-brown.  Do not walk away!  They will burn!

To the bowl with the reserved bacon fat, add the dijon mustard and the juice of the lemon and whisk until the mixture emulsifies.  Poor the vinaigrette over the vegetables, toss or stir well to coat, and serve immediately, topped with the crispy bacon and toasted hazelnuts.

As the holiday season approaches, and the invitations to pot-lucks, company parties, and family dinners begin to circulate, we often find ourselves searching our repertoire for crowd-pleasing recipes. I have found that winning dishes for these occasions are those that offer an element of tradition, but also have the ability to surprise us.

This holiday apple tart recipe does just that. It is apple pie’s more sophisticated and better looking older sibling. And the merits don’t end there. The design also allows for a more consistently crisp crust, and is more fool-proof for the novice baker. We have all cut in to an apple pie to find a filling that is too liquid to be eaten with a fork. The open top allows the steam to escape freely, which results in a pleasing, thick, molten filling.

This tart recipe makes a wonderful vehicle for all kinds of dishes. I would recommend trying different fillings. It would be delicious with pears, or with a mixture of apples and berries. Try mixing nuts or raisins in with the fruit. Or, try using a savory pastry crust and using blanched squash, onions and rosemary as your filling.  Once you have the dough making down, your imagination is the limit, and you will never have to stress over what to bring to your in-laws again!

To make the pastry dough:

(Makes enough for two-three tarts, freezes well!)

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting, rolling
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. good quality cold butter, cut into cubes
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large eggs
• a splash of milk

Sift the flour and the sugar into the food processor.   Add the butter and pulse until the mixture becomes crumbly and fine.  Add the lemon zest.  Pour in the eggs and the milk.  Pulse for a few more seconds until the mixture comes together.   Flour your work surface and gently work the dough together until it is in a ball.  Do not overwork.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To make the filling:

• 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. lemon zest plus 1 tsp. juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• (Optional) 2 tablespoons sprinkling sugar
• 1 egg white mixed with a splash of water for an egg wash

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix all of the above ingredients well, except for the sprinkling sugar and egg white.

Dust your work surface with flour.  Cut your dough into two or three pieces, depending on how large of a tart you want.  Hand roll the cut dough into a ball, and roll out with a rolling pin into a circle that is about 18″ in diameter, turning frequently to make sure it is not sticking.  Sprinkle more flour as necessary.  Trim the sides to make a pretty even circle and place it on the baking sheet.

Pile the filling high in the middle (it will shrink), leaving about 3 inches around the edge.  Fold the edge over the filling, overlapping as necessary, folding and pinching layers to make a tight edge.  Brush  the edge with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake the tart at 400 degrees until the crust is golden and and the apples are tender, about 55 minutes.  Carefully transfer to a rack to cool.  Slice into wedges and serve with fresh whip cream or ice cream.

This was my favorite mezze from Oleana in Cambridge, MA the first time I visited, and to say the least I’ve been back a few times.  Reason being?  This is perhaps the perfect accompaniment for some delicious and soft foccacia or other warm bread.  There are lots of feta dip recipes out there, but this one is truly unique.  The reason for that is the abundance of 3 types of chili peppers which blend together to give this appetizer a rich, spicy and smoke flavor.

Two of these chilis are somewhat exotic, but if you’re attempting to make this dish, don’t substitute!  Trust me, I tried this and it didn’t come out nearly as good.  The 2 keys to this dish are Aleppo and Urfa chilis, both of Turkish origin and both delicious.  The Aleppo is sort of like the ancho chili – it’s got a certain sweetness to is also, with some smoky undertones.  The Urfa is a bit spicier – akin to red chili flakes but with a totally different consistency.  I also use Paquillo peppers in this dish instead of the roasted red peppers that the recipe calls for. Use what ever you like, but these Paquillos have been a common staple in the fridge at casa Mott lately.

This is also a good party appetizer and has such unique flavors to it that you’re likely to have some takers.  Enjoy and please try out Oleana or Sofra if you’re in the Boston area!!  Here’s the recipe:

• Around 2 cups of Sheep’s milk feta cheese (or other feta, but the sheep’s milk variety is preferred) – crumbled
• 5 Paquillo peppers (find them at most grocery stores). You can also use roasted red peppers here.
• Medium handful of Aleppo chilis (around 2 tsp.) – Buy them here
• 1.5 tsp. Urfa chilis – Buy them here

• 1 tsp. smoked paprika (or more if you like your dip smokier)
• Lemon juice to taste – start with 1-2 Tbsp. though
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Some good bread of your choice – good sourdough or focaccia is recommended!

The preparation here is extremely easy, but will definitely help with the addition of a food processor.  If you don’t have one, you should try to get one, it’s one of the most indispensable kitchen items in our house and gets used almost everyday.  And yes, I still use the Cuisinart from my Mom that she purchased in like 1985 and it still works great.

Add the crumbled feta and the peppers (Aleppo, Urfa and Paprika) to a large mixing bowl and gently mix them together.  Add the mixture to the food processor along with the lemon juice.  Whip the mixture together and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the mixture is spinning.

Once it’s well combined, transfer the feta to a bowl and let it chill in the fridge to harden and rest together for a while before serving.  Enjoy!

When I was a kid, I was an exceptionally good eater.  Perhaps this was due to the amount of time I spent with my mom in the kitchen, watching her create beautiful and aromatic dishes, helping her dice and stir and season.  How could I not eat something that I had just spent the last hour helping to prepare?  This is undoubtedly the reason I was requesting things like grilled sauteed spinach and lamb chops for dinner before I was ever able to even spell these things.  I am grateful to my mom for this.

As sophisticated as my palette was, however, the only food I remember having a real gripe with was eggplant.  I think this is a pretty common ingredient for a child not to like, but lately I have heard many adults claim they, too, dislike the flavor of eggplant.  The reason for this, I am certain, is that, in this country especially, not everyone knows much about what to do with these big, strangely colored and even more strangely textured vegetable.  And, eggplant is bitter in its raw state.  When an eggplant is not cooked enough, that bitter flavor remains, and sticks with the exposed taste buds long enough to discourage a person from ever eating it again.  I understand!  I, too, was victim to this aversion, but I have since learned that, when prepared properly, eggplant is the incredibly sweet and mild in flavor, and I believe that if first tasted in this form, most people would find it hard to resist.   I now think upon my childhood years with shame, just thinking of how many perfectly good eggplants I turned away from in disgust.

My rule of thumb for eggplant is the softer it becomes, the sweeter and more delectable it is, and this is achieved not by salting, as most people claim, but by steaming.  And this cooking method, which comes from a Moroccan dish I found in Food and Wine magazine, will get you there every time.  So put down the salt shaker for now, as this recipe calls for no pre-salting.   Try instead a new way.  And if you have yet to introduce your kids to eggplant, do them a favor and start here.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants (the big, dark purple ones work best for this recipe)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4-6 heirloom tomatoes of mixed shapes, colors, and sizes, chopped (could be substitutes with a can of whole tomatoes, chopped, in winter)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Poke your eggplants in a few places with a fork.  Place them in a large, heavy bottomed pot, over medium high heat and cover.  Let them steam this way for twenty to twenty-five minutes on each side, turning once.  When they are soft throughout and the skin is slightly charred, remove them from the pot and place in a colander to drain in the sink for ten minutes or so.  Then, scrape the insides out of the skin, mash with a fork or wooden spoon, and set aside.  You may need to add some water to your pot and return it to the heat to scrape up some of the charred bits of skin before the next step.

Heat the olive oil in the same pot.  Add the onions, and allow them to sweat through for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then, add the garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and salt.  Continue to stir and cook for another three to four minutes or until the onions are translucent.  Add the eggplant and the tomatoes and stir well to combine.   Reduce the heat to low and add the parsley and cilantro.  Taste for salt.

Continue to cook over low heat until the tomatoes are soft and their liquid has evaporated a bit, another ten minutes or so.  Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a little bit of chopped parsley if you would like and serve immediately.

This dish is great with rice and is a good compliment to chicken, white fish, or lamb.

There are few treats from Mother Nature that are sweeter and more pleasing than a plum. Plums have such a beautiful balance of sweet and tart, which makes them a refreshing snack all on their own, or a nice addition to a variety of entrees and desserts. I had a surplus of plums on hand from my last visit to the farmer’s market and a pot luck lunch at work to prepare for, and I decided I wanted to make a plum cake. Not only would it promise to be delicious, I liked that it wasn’t a mainstream dish.  I thought it would be sure to impress the coworkers.  Because I was feeding a larger crowd, I went with a full cake, but you could half this recipe and use a pie or round cake dish for fewer servings, but I’ll warn you now that you might regret it.

This cake is prepared in much the same way as a pineapple upside down cake, and can just as easily be made with many different kinds of fruit, including pears, cherries, apples, berries, and peaches, depending on your preference and the time of year. Whatever fruit you choose, this method involves placing it on the bottom of the dish, covering it with a layer of caramel, topping that with cake batter, baking it, and inverting it to serve.  This leaves you with a beautiful presentation, as the fruit is visible as you serve.  I suggest you try your favorite, but the plums really do add a nice tartness and a beautiful color that is both festive and rustic.

The cake batter in this recipe does not call for any baking powder because I find the texture to be a better compliment to the softness and the moistness of the plums.  Let me know what you think!

Ingredients

• 10 plums, black or gold
• 1  1/2 sticks of unsalted butter (12 tbsp), room temp., plus extra for greasing the pan
• 4 extra large eggs, room temp.
• 3 cups of granulated sugar, divided in half
• 2/3 cups milk
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2  1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Whipped cream or ice cream (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your oven safe, 9 by 13 inch baking dish.  Cut your plums in half and remove the pits.  Place them cut side down into your baking dish.

In a small nonstick sauce pan, heat 1  1/2 cups of sugar with 1/2 cup water over high heat.  Don’t stir, but swirl the pot around from time to time while it boils until it becomes a dark amber color.  You may do other things while this happens, as long as you don’t leave the kitchen and you keep an eye on it, as it can go from clear to burned quickly.  Pour the caramel over the plums.  It will harden as it hits the baking dish, but it will turn to liquid again when you bake it.

In a kitchen mixer at medium speed, cream the butter and the remaining 1  1/2 cups of sugar until it becomes light and fluffy.  Beat in one egg at a time.  Add the milk, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla and continue to mix until they are well incorporated.  Reduce the mixing speed to low and add a little bit of the flour at a time until it is all incorporated.

Pour the batter over the plums and caramel and smooth it out in an even layer.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cake becomes golden and a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool for 15 minutes and invert onto a large platter or baking sheet.

Serve alone, or with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.  Makes 15-20 servings.  Refrigerate after 24 hours.

For anyone who participates in any kind of farm share or organic food delivery service, as Adrian and I do, you find yourself needing to get creative when you end up with, say, Swiss chard for the 12th week in a row.  I happen to love Swiss chard, not only because it tastes good but also because of its rich nutritional properties.  However, after its ninth or tenth appearance in our box, I grew desperate to find a way to make it appetizing again.  After sauteing it with everything I could think of, rolling it into dolmas, throwing it in pastas, and baking it in quiches, there it was in our box again, and I thought of something:  creamed chard.  Why not?  After all, I love creamed spinach.  It is comforting and a little decadent, but still a solid way to get those vitamins and iron.

Because I also love creamed onions, and I had just gotten some really nice sweet white onions from the farmer’s market, I decided I would incorporate them into this recipe for texture and sweetness.  Although there is butter in this recipe as well as cream, there isn’t that much of either one, but if you are concerned, use olive oil and milk instead.  I am of the philosophy to use the real deal and just eat a little less, but you make the call.  Either way, I am willing to bet that even veggie-phobes could learn to love this dish.

If you prefer, you can make this same dish with spinach, using the exact method below, or even kale, if you blanched it first, since it has a bit more of a bite.  It would also be delicious if you used mushrooms instead of onions.

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of Swiss chard, stems removed, thoroughly washed and dried, and roughly chopped
• 1 sweet white or yellow onion, sliced thin
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1/2 cup of cream
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of finely ground white pepper
• Salt to taste

Heat a large, stainless skillet over medium heat.  Add the butter, the thyme, and the onions and a pinch of salt.  Saute until the onions become soft and translucent, about 6-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute another minute or so.  Add the Swiss chard and saute until it wilts, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour and stir to incorporate for a minute or so.  Then, add the cream and stir well, scraping any cooked bits from the bottom of the pan.  Reduce the heat to low and continue to stir until the cream has thickened to your liking.  Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.  Serves four.

A good olive tapenade recipe is great ammunition to have in your culinary cannon, especially during the holidays.  Not only is tapenade a crowd-pleaser, it looks great and is super easy to make, especially if you have a food processor.  It is also easy to make ahead of time as it will keep in the fridge for up to a week, but it will impress your friends when you tell them it is homemade.   It also makes a great sauce for chicken, pork, or fish!  One of my favorite sandwiches pairs tapenade with tuna salad on a crusty baguette.  Perfecto!

This recipe is easy and only has a handful of ingredients, but the flavor was awesome!  It is so much better when you make it yourself, I promise.  Olives and capers are pretty standard ingredients, but the remaining ingredients all play a critical role.  The fresh garlic gives it a nice zing (make sure your prospective make out buddy has some too!), and the anchovies add a nice nuttiness without tasting fishy.  The lemon and fresh herbs add freshness and acidity to cut the saltiness.  Just right!

This year, I put together a few extra batches and jarred them up as gifts.  The leftovers are going with me to my sister-in-law’s house as a contribution to our Christmas Eve meal.  And there is a huge financial incentive to making this yourself:  the last time I checked at the grocery store, a small container of tapenade was $5.99.  Yikes!  I need to get into that business!  For that amount  you could make three full jars on your own!  The recipe below makes about two cups.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1 cup pitted green olives
• 1/4 cup of capers
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
• 1/4 cup of roughly chopped parley

• 1 teaspoon of chopped thyme
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 3-4 anchovy fillets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• Crushed red pepper to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon)

Double check to make sure the olives are pitted; they could seriously damage your blade.  Put all of the ingredients above in a food processor (I guess you could use a blender, too!).   Pulse the ingredients until they are still chunky but well incorporated.  Serve with sliced fresh baguette or crackers. You’re all done!

Aside from the turkey, the next most important piece of the Thanksgiving meal has to be stuffing, so I thought I would hurry up and do a post on my favorite kind of stuffing.  I didn’t grow up eating cornbread stuffing.  My mother always prepared stuffing with freshly baked, crusty French bread which she would slice the night before and leave out to stale up a bit overnight.  She always included lots of onions and celery, and every year she would alternate the other ingredients, including sausage some years and chestnuts others.  I never thought it could get any better than that stuffing, and believe me, I still appreciate her methods.  But there is just something about cornbread.

If you are like me, and you love cornbread, you will like this recipe.   It is just a little sweeter than regular stuffing, with a nice texture from the cornbread.  I would recommend preparing the cornbread the day before, both to alleviate some of the work the morning of Thanksgiving, and because it will firm up a little bit, which is you want.  Don’t be ashamed to prepare the boxed version.  You are making the stuffing from scratch and you have plenty of other things to worry about.  I would recommend the Trader Joe’s variety.  It is super easy and really quite delicious!  To save yourself even more time you could stop by your favorite local bakery and pick it up pre-made.  Just don’t eat half the loaf on your way home!

As with any stuffing recipe, feel free to substitute with any ingredients that you love or anything that screams Thanksgiving and honors your family’s traditions.  If you really like stuffing with sausage, go for it.  Or if you are up to the challenge of roasting up some chestnuts, that would make a delicious addition.

I think it is also worth mentioning that it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to make stuffing.  I will often stuff Cornish game hens or chickens throughout the year, as you will see in the picture below.  I love stuffing smaller poultry because then everyone gets their own miniature little bird on their plate.  It is pretty easy to do and it really impresses guests!

The recipe below is enough to stuff a medium sized bird and serve six people.  You may adjust according to your guest list.  Here are the ingredients that you will need:

• 1 loaf of cornbread (9X9X3)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, cleaned and chopped
• 3 peeled carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of dried apricots, chopped
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, removed from the stems
• 1/4 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups of chicken stock

Cut the cornbread into 1 inch cubes and place into a large mixing bowl.  In a heavy skillet over medium (not high!) heat, melt the butter.  Add the vegetables, apricots, salt, pepper, and thyme, and cook them until they have softened, about ten minutes.

Add the vegetables to the mixing bowl with the cornbread.  Add the stock.  Combine the ingredients by folding them in so that you don’t break up the cornbread too much.

Stuff your turkey at this time, if you plan to do so, and put the rest of the stuffing in a casserole dish or dutch oven.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until it becomes golden brown on top and is heated through. Enjoy!
Serves 6

For most families, the thought of cranberry sauce evokes images in your mind of the gelatinous substance that slides out of the can, little ridges still intact, that you can slice with a knife and smother over your turkey.  I know this is an American classic, and I am not here to suggest that you should leave it out of the shopping cart this year.  If that is too much of  a stray from the traditions of your family,  I am simply suggesting that you try making this super easy, super delicious cranberry sauce as well.  That is what I do in my family, mostly for my step dad Paul, who appreciates my efforts but would never dare substitute the canned variety with anything else.

If you do give it a try, what you will gain is a wonderful texture as a result of the apples and whole cranberries, a nice sweetness from the orange juice, and a freshness from the orange zest.   Another bonus to making the fresh cranberries, aside from delighting your family with the extra effort, is the absolutely beautiful, bright red color which will help to make your table look gorgeous.

Here in Massachusetts, we are very lucky because most of the cranberries in the Unites States come from bogs right here on the South Shore.  I was able to find local, organic cranberries from Duxbury, MA that were bright red and firm.  If at all possible, use fresh cranberries.  Even if they do not grow in your area, they travel well and are widely available this time of year.

Feel free to make this recipe up to a week in advance.  It will keep very well in a sealed container in the refrigerator.  This will take pressure off of the big day!  If someone else is hosting you this Thanksgiving, this might be the perfect things to offer to bring.  It also makes a great gift if you package it a mason jar with some nice, fall-colored ribbon.

Ingredients:

• Two 12 oz. bags of fresh cranberries
• 2 oranges
• 1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups of water

Rinse all of your cranberries in a large strainer.  Comb through them to look for soft cranberries and stems and remove these.  Put the cranberries in a deep pot.  Next add the chopped apples.  Using a microplane or a grater, remove the zest from one of the oranges and add it to the pot.  Add the juice from both oranges.  Add the sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.  Add the water and stir the ingredients well.

Cook the cranberry mixture over high heat until it boils.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 30 minutes, or until all of the cranberries have burst and the apples are soft.  The sauce should be thick enough that it sticks to a wooden spoon.  Put the sauce in a covered container and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

This one was one of the first recipes that I noticed and wanted to try when I picked up the ‘Jaime at Home’ cookbook.  It’s one of those recipes that is fairly intimidating (you have to make your own pastry crust) yet ultimately totally rewarding (because it’s so damn good).  Jamie Oliver makes this with spinach…not having any around I opted for Kale, a favorite veggie of Fresh Dish lobster roll author Taylor Barstow.  One of the things I really like about this recipe is the Parmesan cheese, which I supplemented with some Gruyere – Mario Batali (along with many others) considers Parma ‘the king of all cheeses’ – and if you were a doubter before, try this recipe and you’ll likely change your mind.

The ham in the original recipe called for ‘smoked ham’, which I couldn’t find in the market and didn’t have the time to smoke the ham myself.  So instead, I opted to use some prosciutto (how can you go wrong, right?) and some standard black forest ham, which turned out to add a little bit of sweetness and was great.  I’d recommend it again. Also, don’t deterred about the 3 onions – I know it seems like a lot, but you’re going to want all of them, trust me.  I was skeptical, but this tart is one that will feed a family and leave leftovers.

I’ll admit, I’m not a baker (though I’m striving to learn), so making the dough was a little bit of a challenge.  Especially because the ingredient increments were in ounces, and I don’t own a scale.  Oh man.  I was able to sort of estimate measuring out the ingredients and it turned out great, thank the lord.  I was actually thinking that we’d be ordering pizza for a little bit.  In any case, if you have the time and want to make something truly memorable, try this:

For the pastry crust (make this first):

• 1  3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup lard or shortening – cut into cubes
• Leaves from one sprig of rosemary AND/OR a few sprigs of thyme – chopped
• 1 large egg – beaten
• 2 Tbsp. whole milk
• 1/3 cup shredded (not packed too tight) cheddar cheese
• Big pinch of salt

This recipe really works best with a food processor (at least I think so…I don’t have a mixer) but you can probably have a mixer if you have one.  Start by adding the flour, cheese and lard with a big pinch of salt to the food processor and combine them for around 30 seconds.  The mixture should become sort of grainy, but still rather fine.

Add the herbs, egg and milk and mix together for another little while, just until the mixture comes together.  Once it looks good, dump out the mixture onto a lightly floured board and clump the dough together into a ball but don’t knead it!  Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Ingredients for the Filling:

• ~1/2 lb. black forest or other ham
• 6-8 slices of Prosciutto – thinly sliced
• 2 cups creme fraiche
• 3 eggs
• Several sprigs of oregano – leaves picked, some chopped, others left whole
• 3 medium sized red onions – diced
• 1 medium bunch of kale – stems removed and finely chopped
• 3 medium cloves of garlic – finely chopped
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese – grated (reserve 1/2 of it for the topping!)
• 1/2 cup good Gruyere cheese – grated
• Extra virgin olive oil
• A small amount of butter for greasing sheet
• Salt and pepper

While your dough is in the fridge, start the onions in a pan over medium heat and sweat them until they’ve turned translucent, but don’t let them color.  Add in the kale, in batches (there will be a lot to add) and cook down, mixing it together with the onions.  Next add the chopped oregano and garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Add in the wine and cook until 3/4 of the wine has cooked off.  Once this is done, kill the heat and set the mixture aside.

Next, you should grab your dough out of the fridge and also grab a baking sheet.  Roll out your dough to around 1/4″ thickness.  Patch the dough as necessary, but don’t let it rip at all.  Grease your baking sheet with your butter and carefully place the rolled out dough onto the sheet.  Go around the rim of the baking sheet with a fork or knife and remove any access.  Prick the dough all over with a fork and place it into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

At this point, preheat your oven to 375 F.  Make the topping by mixing the creme fraiche, eggs and cheeses together in a mixing bowl.  Chop or rip the ham up to your desired size and set aside.

When you dough is ready, pull it out of the freezer and pop it right into the oven for 6-8 minutes or until it’s golden brown.  Remove it and you’re ready to build your tart.  I put the onion/kale mix on first, being sure to cover all of the tart shell.  Next, add the ham and prosciutto and top with the creme fraiche mixture.  Top with the reserved Parmesan cheese, the whole oregano leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.  Bake in the oven for around 15-20 minutes, or until the topping has turned golden brown.  Let cool for 10-15 minutes and cut as you like.  Enjoy!