Free-Form Apple Onion Tart

Pastry:
1½ cups flour
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
8 T. butter
1 T. white vinegar
4-5 T. ice water

Onions:
1 lg. red onion, peeled, root intact
2 lg. spanish onions, peeled with root intact
2 T. olive oil
2 T. dijon mustard
3 T. thyme
salt/pepper
3 T. balsamic vinegar

Apple Filling:
4 golden delicious apples
2 T. butter
2 T. sugar
pinch of nutmeg

Pastry: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to sift together. Add the butter, pulsing to mix until the mixture resembles sand. Mix together the vinegar and 4 T. water. Mix vinegar mixture into the flour, enough that the dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board, and knead until smooth. Shape into a flat, round, cake. Wrap in foil and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Onions: Preheat the oven to 400° F. Cut each onion into 6-8 wedges, keeping some root on each piece to hold together. Mix olive oil, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the onions, and toss gently to coat. Arrange onions in a baking dish, rounded sides down. Sprinkle with vinegar. Cover with foil, roast for 45 minutes. Remove foil, roast for 30 minutes more, until very tender.

Apples: Peel, core, and quarter apples. Cut each quarter into 3 pieces. In a large skillet, melt butter, add apples, and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Set oven at 400° F. Roll out dough on a floured surface to about 9x11 inches. Transfer to floured baking sheet. Place apples on dough, and onions on top of apples. Curl up edge of dough around filling. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until pastry browns.

From the Boston Globe, probably 15 years ago but I don't have the original recipe--Jay sent me a copy.

Bagna cauda

Bagna cauda has been on my radar screen since it was in the New York Times a few months ago.  I hadn't gotten around to making it, but then I saw a recipe in Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food.  It's more olive oil than butter, compared with Craig Claiborn's recipe which was two parts butter to one part oil.  I made a half recipe, which was a lot for two of us.  I'm sure that the buttery version would be good too, but I liked the olive oil-dominated recipe.  It wasn't too fishy from the anchovies, but they give it a nice savory umami flavor.

Broccoli with Bagna Cauda

6 tbl. butter
1 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic,minced
12 anchovy fillets, rinsed and dried
1 lb. broccoli

Melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Add the garlic and cook over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes.  It must not brown and turn bitter.  Add the anchovies, which will virtually dissolve with a bit of stirring.  Pour in the olive oil slowly, stirring all the time.  Simmer, not boil, for 10 minutes.  Blanche the broccoli in boiling water for a couple of minutes; keep it crisp.  Serve the sauce hot. in a bowl, stirring it up  with the drained sprigs of broccoli each time you dip them in.  Soak up the remaining sauce with hunks of bread.

Sun-dried tomato and pesto torta

I made an approximation of this recipe (via epicurious, from Bon Appétit in December 1999) as East Coast elite food for our election party. I used pesto from our freezer, roughly half regular pesto and half garlic scape pesto. The tomatoes were our own oven-dried ones. Since we keep these in the freezer (not packed in oil), I added enough oil until I liked the consistency. I didn't make quite as much cream cheese layer as the recipe calls for, and had two layers of each filling, in a loaf pan. Apart from the first layer on plastic wrap, they were easy to spread with a spoon or spatula sprayed with nonstick spray. I popped the pan in the freezer briefly, for perhaps 10 minutes, between each layer.

You can make this up to three days ahead; be sure to start at least one day in advance.

Ingredients

4 garlic cloves
1½ cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
¼ cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2⅔ cups cream cheese, room temperature (about 21 ounces)
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1⅓ cups drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
⅓ cup tomato paste
¾ cup butter, room temperature
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Fresh basil sprigs
Toasted pine nuts
Baguette slices, toasted

Finely chop garlic in processor. Add basil, 1/4 cup pine nuts, oil and lemon juice. Process until well blended. Add 1/3 cup cream cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Using on/off turns, process just until blended. Transfer pesto to medium bowl.

Coarsely chop tomatoes in processor. Add tomato paste and process until mixture is almost smooth. Add 1/3 cup cream cheese and blend well.

Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.

Spray 6-cup soufflé dish with nonstick spray. Line with plastic wrap, extending plastic over sides. Spread 3/4 cup cream cheese-butter mixture evenly over bottom of prepared dish. Top with half of tomato mixture, then 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture, then half of pesto mixture. Repeat layering with 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture, remaining tomato mixture, 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture and remaining pesto. Top with remaining cream cheese-butter mixture. Cover and chill overnight. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Invert torta onto platter. Peel off plastic. Smooth any uneveness with a hot knife. Garnish with basil sprigs and toasted pine nuts. Serve with baguette slices.