Holiday Appetizer: Mushroom and Chevre Galette

It has been quite a while since I blogged about pies. If you think I have stopped making and eating them, you are mistaken! The truth is, I have prepared so many of my favorite pies in the past few months that I haven't had time to blog about them. But now that the holiday season is well under way, I think that this is the perfect chance to write about pie possibilities for you and your guests. What better time to try new recipes?

I am always looking for different party appetizers, but tend to stick to my old standbys, so I was fascinated when I saw a recipe in my new pie book for a "Mushroom and Chevre Galette". This is another recipe from Ashley English's pie book  A Year of Pies.  This recipe called for mushrooms, goat cheese, garlic, chicken stock, red wine, and an herb mixture called "herbs de Provence", which can be found in the spice section of the grocery store.  The crust is a basic butter pie crust, which is made ahead, rolled out, and then chilled on a baking sheet.

The  garlic, mushrooms, wine, stock, and herbs are sauteed together until the liquid is almost evaporated. This mixture is placed in the center of the chilled crust, and the edges of the round crust are rolled inward. Goat cheese (chevre) is crumbled on top of this, and the edge of the crust is brushed with beaten egg yolk. The galette is baked for 30 minutes, and is then cooled for 30 minutes before eating.

I ate this as an entree, and liked the taste, although I thought it seemed a little salty, This is also a very rich dish. The next day, I re-heated some slices of the galette from the previous night. Much to my surprise, the galette had a much better flavor, and seemed less salty! I also realized that because of the richness of this dish, it makes a better appetizer than an entree. It can be thin sliced, and one slice would be a delicious appetizer. Of course, I was reading the recipe again, and the author had suggested that the galette is the perfect appetizer, so I had not discovered this on my own!

I would definitely make the mushroom and chevre galette for my next party, or as an appetizer for my holiday meal. It is tasty, healthy and a different kind of pie. I am beginning to understand that all pies do not need to be dessert! Pies are versatile, and a great way to experience something different for the taste buds, whether eaten before or after dinner!

House of Horrors

It was the Saturday before Halloween and Sia held her annual party, usually attended by famous guests. She was still reeling from her hit "Chandelier"and her  reputation was such that anyone who was anyone attended her party.

First to arrive from the TV hit "Game of Thrones" was  Daenerys Targaryen, looking her beautiful self. Following her was David Spade from "Joe Dirt" fame, mop in hand

Next through the door was Rey from the movie "Star Wars". Sia was pleased to see Rey, and thought "This might be the best party I have ever given".

Little did she know what was going to happen next. Unbeknownst to her, a bear had been wandering from Asheville and walked right through the door! Of course she was horrified until she saw Davy Crockett rush in with his rifle, ready to take care of the bear. "Davy" was actually an odd Asheville man, who routinely dressed up like Davy Crockett, and had followed the bear to the party.

Relieved, Sia heard a knock at the front door, and there stood a road construction worker, who said she had smelled bacon and wondered if she could have some! She was willing to do take on odd jobs if she could just have some of that bacon.

Sia's caterers had outdone themselves this year, preparing the biggest piece of bacon anyone had ever seen. She could understand why the worker wanted some, and agreed to let her stay, thinking that she could bribe the worker into voting for her for the "Most Impressive Person" award.

When Sia thought things couldn't get any worse, she turned around and saw two hasbeens from a second rate 70's movie, These fools had the mistaken impression that they were still "famous", and had invited themselves to the party! Additionally, the old man had also smelled the bacon. Sia took pity on the poor couple, and let them stay, thinking that she would bribe them for their votes and then put them in a nursing home.

At last came the time to vote for the annual "Most Impressive Person" award. Sensing that the voting might be rigged, Rey and Daenerys had talked Davy Crockett into "monitoring" the voting, to ensure that no irregularities would take place. 

When all the votes were counted, Daenerys  was the winner. narrowly defeating David Spade.. Actually, no one should have been surprised, as "Game of Thrones" is certainly one of the most popular television shows on the air.

Sia breathed a sigh of relief that the party was coming to an end. If things couldn't get any stranger, in a bizarre twist, "Davy" decided not to shoot the bear, but to move in with her! Sia decided that this would be her last party! However, she thought this night of horror might make a good song!

The Great Plant Race

One of the most highly anticipated events for gardeners in North Carolina is Raulston Arboretum's Annual Plant Distribution. This yearly occurrence at the state arboretum in Raleigh is referred to by most of us gardeners as the "plant giveaway"  The only requirement for being a part of this great occasion is to have a membership at the Arboretum. If there is one thing gardeners appreciate more than being outside in their gardens, it is getting free plants! We just can't help ourselves. It doesn't matter that we may have no idea where we are going to put them. We will dig up new areas in our landscapes if we need to! I was unable to attend last year, but reportedly hundreds of gardeners stood in rain and ran in mud to obtain their precious freebies.

Having a sister and brother-in-law who live in Raleigh, and are plant enthusiasts like myself is fortunate for me. (they were among last year's rain-soaked participants, by the way)! My sister, her husband, my husband, myself, and a college friend, arrived at the Arboretum when the gates opened at 7:30 am in order to have a better chance at getting the plants that we wanted.  I must say that standing in line can be a fun experience as long as the weather is cooperative. It is always interesting to converse with other serious gardeners, especially those who have been coming to the giveaway for years. There are good stories to hear, and getting a chance to see the Arboretum gardens surrounding us is a treat! If you have to wait in a line for 1 1/2 hours, this setting is hard to beat!

A plant list is made available online the week of the giveaway, so participants can go ahead and decide what to go for. The list contains the names of available plants and the stake numbers where they will be. Some participants make a list of those plants they want and take it with them; others, like myself, write the names and stake numbers on their hands or wrists for easy viewing. The plants are arranged in quadrants with stake numbers, and there is an additional area which contains unlisted plants. Prior to the 9:00 start of the giveaway, an Arboretum staff member announces the rules of the giveaway. The main ones are:  There are four rounds. A horn is blown before each round, at which time participants can grab three different plants on their want list for the first three rounds. Participants re-position themselves after each round, then wait for the horn to blow again. After three rounds, each person should have 9 plants. In the fourth and final round everyone is allowed to grab as many plants as they can! People bring boxes and wheelbarrows to hold their plants. Interestingly, the written rules say that fellow gardeners should respect each other at all times. However  there is nothing that explicitly says that they cannot push or knock each other down in pursuit of plants!

Truth be told, I have never seen anyone knocked down, although I have witnessed scheming, lying, and Olympic worthy running by gardeners at this happening. Sometimes, fellow gardeners will actually cooperate with one another to get the plants they want. The great plant race, from start to finish, takes about 15 minutes! Thousands of plants are grabbed and the display space is emptied in this short time! Perhaps the most difficult ordeal of the day is carrying one's plants back to the car! At day's end, my husband and I managed to obtain over 20 plants. Next to our stash, the best part of the day was the post-giveaway brunch made by my sister! What could be better than plants and brunch? I am already eagerly anticipating next year's event. Now if I can just figure out where I am going to put my new plants!

A Tasty Surprise: Maple Orange Walnut Pie

Making different and unique pies is one of my favorite activities. Recently, my sister was visiting me, and was flipping through one of my pie recipe books, precisely A Year of Pies, by local author Ashley English. I have prepared several pies from this book, and my taste buds have been very pleased! The pie that caught her attention was "Maple Orange Walnut Pie". She thought the combination of orange, maple syrup, and walnuts sounded intriguing. I will admit that this was not a pie that I had marked as "need to try", but since my sister is an excellent cook, I thought I would trust her instincts.

The pie crust was the first step of the pie, and needs to be made ahead of time and then chilled. This is a typical butter crust. The ingredients for the filling were simple: eggs, maple syrup, flour, butter, salt, orange zest, orange extract, and chopped walnuts. All of these except the nuts are simply beaten together ( I used a an electric mixer) until well blended. The walnuts are stirred in and then the mixture is poured into the chilled pie crust.

This was all so easy! Then I ran into a problem: The mixture was supposed to bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, mine took close to an hour! The problem, however, was not with the recipe but with my oven! I feared that the pie would be ruined because of this.

The good news is that this pie still tasted delicious! It is apparently forgiving if cooking conditions aren't perfect. The flavor of the orange, maple and walnuts was yummy and different. The texture was very similar to a pecan pie, but the orange and maple provided a sweet, tangy flavor. I made this pie for my sister, whom we were visiting, although I sneaked a small slice before bringing it to her to make sure that it was okay! We all enjoyed more pie, and my sister didn't object when I left the rest for her and her husband. I would definitely make the "Maple Orange Walnut Pie" again. In the meantime, I need to look for a new stove to ensure my continued success with pie making!

Favorite Plants for a Changing Climate

This September in Asheville has thus far been the warmest that I can remember. Add to this the lack of measurable rain in the past month, and growing plants has been a challenge, to say the least. My garden has begun to look stressed, even if I miss a single day of watering.  Periods of drought have certainly occurred often the past. In the 90's, the hot, dry climate initiated the "xeriscaping" movement that encouraged people to design landscapes based on the water needs of different plants, and their ability to withstand dry conditions.

With climate change, we may have warm periods with little rain, but we may also experience extremes. Heavy rains and floods may occur more frequently, and winter temperatures might still be quite cold. So we gardeners should consider our planting choices carefully. Which trees, shrubs, and perennials can best withstand these extreme conditions? I have taken notes this summer and I will share with you some of my best performers for difficult conditions.

Perennials
1. Sedum - Sedums are probably my favorite plant for extreme conditions. They grow happily in dry weather but will not complain if rain comes along! This has been a good year for all of mine: the creeping sedums like yellow green Sedum repestre  'Angelina', or the sedum spectabile with red or pink flowers, have been star performers in the garden, and very rarely need to be watered.

2. Salvia - Salvia has not historically  played a significant part in my garden, except for my using them occasionally in summer containers. However, I had a wonderful surprise this year when I realized that Salvia 'Hot Lips' that I had planted last year for summer color, had returned strongly as a perennial! Although it is listed as a Zone 6 plant for cold hardiness, I had not had success with it coming back the following year. The red and white blooms were a fun sight in my cottage garden. Another salvia (Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue') also returned and was a great combination with 'Hot Lips'. Besides the constant blooms of these beauties, the best thing was that I never had to water them! I hope that these tough plants will return next year.

3 .Hakone Grass- This perennial grass, also known as Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra) has performed very well in this hot dry year. I grow this low growing grass in part sun, and water very little. I would love to get more of this, and probably will at some point, although it is a rather pricey perennial. But its easygoing nature makes it worth the money!

4. Verbena - My  Verbena 'Homestead Purple' has not always survived through the Asheville winters. However, this year I was amazed that it not only made it through the cold, but bloomed well and required almost no additional water in this dry month. The purple blooms are lovely trailing over my stone wall. I am hopeful that this easy care perennial will make a return next spring!

5. Yucca - I used to actually hate yucca, as it seemed so common and appeared in every landscape, it seemed. But some of the smaller, variegated varieties make nice additions to the full sun garden. The best thing about yucca, I believe, is that they can be almost totally ignored. Even the newly planted ones don't need extra attention. I must apologize to yucca for hating it for so long!

Others: Native Columbine, Begonia (tender perennial or annual), Hellebore

Shrubs 
1. Roses - When I used to teach garden classes, I often gave praise to roses for their drought tolerance. Class members would generally have startled looks, as most people think of roses as being very high maintenance plants. While it is true that roses have their share of pests, it is also true that very wet weather in the summer contributes to the black spot fungus in roses. The hot dry weather, coupled with disease resistant roses such as "Bonica", and "The Fairy", made for healthy looking, floriferous roses this summer. The key is to look for disease resistant roses, which are sold at most local garden centers.

2. Abelia - Abelia has always been known for its blooms in the heart of summer, and its easy care nature. I really appreciated this hard worker this summer. There are many good varieties of this great shrub, including 'Rose Creek", 'Confetti', and the well known 'Edward Groucher'. I grow several varieties, including one given to me by my neighbor, a variegated variety whose name is unknown.
All of these are easily grown in a sun or part-sun location.

3. Aucuba - Aucuba is one of those rare shrubs that can survive in shady conditions without consistent moisture. The variety 'Gold Dust' has yellow spotted leaves, which makes it a standout in the shade. I have watered this shrub very little in this dry month, and it has continued to look good.

4. Purple Beautyberry - The purple berries of these showstoppers are always noticed by visitors to my garden. Purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma) is also very drought tolerant, and one of the few shrubs in my landscape that I have not worried about this summer. The Japanese beautyberry has more vibrant color and more berries than the native beautyberry, in my experience. They will grow in either full sun or part sun.

Others: Blue mist shrub, Spiraea, Boxwood

Trees
Crepe Mytrle - Crepe myrtles are considered by many to be the star tree of the summer garden. They bloom for a long period of time in the full sun and summer heat. Although crepe myrtles do bloom earlier if they have adequate moisture, they will do fine with little rain, and need very little supplemental water.

I must stay that I am very glad to see the rain today, as I am truly sick and tired of watering much of my garden! My moisture loving blueberry bushes are dying a slow death at this point! Good riddance! I think I will stick with the self reliant plants that have made my gardening life just a little bit easier. I plan to use more of these undemanding plants in my landscape in the future!

The Late Summer Garden: Plants Worth Sweating For

This time of the year I usually experience a case of the garden blahs. Being out in the sticky, hot weather while watering thirsty plants can be a real pain. After the glorious bulbs of spring, the floriferous roses in May, and the colorful hydrangeas of June, it seems as though late summer has little to offer in the way of garden excitement. Many plants seem to be struggling to stay alive, and they just appear tired. One day recently I was taking a break from my garden chores and walked around my landscape to see if anything caught my eye. To my surprise, I saw some plants that were worthy of photos.

Crossvine (Bignonia 'Tangerine Beauty') is robust, but does not spread aggressively like many vines. It blooms in the spring, and then, fortunately, will often re-bloom in late summer into fall. It is easy to grow in full sun, and does not appear to be bothered by insects or diseases.

Purple Ice Plant (Delosperma cooperi) is another re-blooming perennial that blooms in the spring and again in late summer. It appreciates hot weather, and is a standout trailing over rocks or stone walls. 'Homestead purple' verbena grows happily behind it.

Nothing says late summer wow like Sedums, particularly Sedum spectabile. I particularly like the variety 'Matrona', whose leaves are a little darker than those of favorite 'Autumn Joy'. I love the dark pink masses of blooms. Both make great additions to the late summer/fall garden, and are very tolerant of drought. In the background are roses, verbena, clematis, and salvia.

Crepe myrtles are the star trees of summer, and the red blooms of these in my landscape make a statement. I do not know the variety of these. When looking for crepe myrtles for your landscape, it is best to buy a named variety, rather than buying one labeled "pink" or "red" crepe myrtle. Although these are less expensive, they are more prone to getting powdery mildew than the named varieties.

Buddha seems happy being surrounded by Blue Mist Shrub. (Caryopteris x clandonensis). Also known commonly as Bluebeard, this small shrub blooms almost non-stop throughout the summer until fall. It seems to thrive in hot conditions with very little care. This shrub is a good substitute for the more commonly used butterfly bush, since it does not spread so aggressively.

Begonias, fuschias, and tropical plants are also great plants for the hottest part of the summer. Begonias are beautiful but tough, and require much less water than most people realize.They are also very easy to bring inside and overwinter. Fuschias do appreciate moisture, but thrive for me in mostly shady conditions, so constant watering is not necessary. 

So my garden stroll did reveal a number of lovely gems for the late summer garden. Including at least a few of these plants in your garden will insure that you have interest during this part of the summer, and even going into early fall. I guess I will continue to dig and sweat in the 90 degree heat after all!

How Sweet It Is: Sweet Cherry Streusel Pie

Since I have had my favorite pie book The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, by the Elsen sisters, I have been wanting to make one of the cherry pies. I have always loved cherry pies, even the frozen ones that you find in grocery stores! Just put a little ice cream on top, and you have a summer treat, in my opinion. But in my years of cherry pie eating, I had never eaten a "fresh from the oven" cherry pie. I looked at the fresh cherry pies in the pie book this summer and became more determined to make one. One day a friend mentioned that he had seen and eaten fresh sweet cherries at a local market, so I went to Greenlife to get the ingredients I needed for the "Sweet Cherry Streusel Pie".

This filling for this pie included 5 cups of sweet cherries as well as brown sugar, lemon juice, apple, cinnamon and potato starch. This pie had few ingredients and was relatively easy to assemble. But the hard part was pitting 5 cups of cherries! This task took me about an hour, and left my hands and fingers tired and stained with cherry juice! It was after completing this part of the pie preparation that I realized why I had never made or eaten a fresh cherry pie. It is obviously much easier to buy canned, pitted cherries! The pie crust was a butter crust on the bottom and a streusel topping. The streusel topping was an easy mix of sugars, butter and flour, which is refrigerated before putting on top of the filled pie.

I was more excited about taking this pie out of the oven and digging in than most fruit pies that I have made. I was curious about whether the fresh cherries would really make a difference in a cherry pie. First, the pie was beautiful to look at, with the colorful, dark red cherries visible in each slice. And the pie tasted as good as it looked! One aspect I liked about this pie was the texture, specifically the cherry filling. Most cherry pies are thickened with cornstarch, while this one used potato starch instead, which made it less "paste like". The fresh cherries made it the most unique cherry pie that I have ever had. I will say that the pie was very rich, so that a small slice was enough for a dessert. I loved the pie alone, but did try it with whipped cream and ice cream. Honestly, I thought this pie was good any way that it was served.

My husband and I were eating our way through this pie pretty fast, and I broke the news that I planned to freeze part of it to save for later. I had been making so many pies this summer, and thought that this would prevent us from having to do extra exercise to work off all of my pies. However, I changed my mind after eating about two-thirds of this pie. Oh, well - I will freeze part of the next one. For now, I will keep doing the extra walking!!

Melanzana e Dolce: Eggplant and Dessert

Several months ago, when we were in Italy, I was impressed by the wonderful food. (as is everyone that visits Italy). One incredible fact is that we did not put on the the usual 3-5 pounds that most of us put on after traveling. While it is true that we did a lot of walking, we probably ate enough so the we took in more calories than we burned off. As we thought about this situation, we agreed that the secret  may have been the freshness of the ingredients and the manner in which the food was prepared. Fresh vegetables cooked with olive oil and paired with freshly caught seafood is a pretty healthy diet. Many diet experts tell us that the "Mediterranean" diet is beneficial.

One of the foods we enjoyed very much in Italy was melanzana, Italian for eggplant. Whether it was eggplant parmesan, or sauteed eggpllant, we considered this a culinary treat. Fortunately, my husband enjoyed a bumper crop of eggplant in his garden this year. I began to look for various ways to prepare eggplant and found an intriguing recipe called "Ratatouille and Polenta Pie", in local food author Ashley English's book A Year of Pies. This recipe featured eggplant as the main ingredient, but also included garden fresh zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes. These vegetables were chopped, put in a roasting pan and baked for an hour with onions, olive oil, and shallots. (chopped shallots were my addition). The roasted veggies were then placed in a pan over the stove and sauteed with fresh parsley, thyme, oregano, olive oil and red wine. These savory vegetables were placed in a greased deep dish pie plate.

The part of the recipe that makes this a "pie" is the polenta topping. For those who may be unfamiliar, polenta is yellow corn meal, stone ground at either a coarse or medium consistency. I was able to find it at the local grocery Green Life. The corn meal is cooked over the stove with water for about 15 minutes. More thyme and parsley are added to the thickened mixture, along with salt and butter. The polenta is spooned over the vegetable mix and put in the oven to broil for about 8 minutes.

The resulting pie was beautifully browned and had a firm but moist texture. After letting this cool for about 15 minutes, we tasted this fragrant pie, and it was even tastier than I had expected. The roasted vegetable and polenta combination is truly different and delicious. This is an outstanding vegetarian entree, and could easily be the main course without a meat. However, since I also developed a love of prosciutto while I was in Italy, I served a few slices of this with the ratatouille pie.

Since I was on a roll with my cooking that day, I made another pie from English's fun pie book. Feeling in an Italian mood, I decided to try the "Nectarine and Lavender Crostata". Crostata is an Italian pie which has a "fold over" crust, similar looking to a pizza. I used fresh white nectarines (skin stays on), dried lavender flowers, butter, sugar, arrowroot, vanilla, and sea salt. Instead of putting the the rolled out butter crust on a pie plate, it is put onto a baking sheet. The fruit and accompanying ingredients are combined and then spread on the rolled out crust, with a 2 inch diameter of dough which is then folded over the filling. The crostata is  baked for 30 minutes. I actually took the crostata to a gathering with friends, so I only grabbed a small piece, but by all reports, this was a light, pastry like pie. A crostata could be filled with other fruits, like berries and pears.

I loved both of these recipes, and plan to keep going through Ashley English's pie book to try other delicacies. The only downside of my Italian inspired cooking day was that I was totally exhausted by the end of the day!  A friend and I were recently discussing the days when cook books were filled with recipes of casseroles using canned goods and potato chips! It takes a lot more time and effort to make dinners with fresh ingredients, but these meals not only taste better; they are better for us. And you will sleep very well after a full day of cooking!