Presenting The Faux Gourmet!

The Faux Gourmet has been on hiatus for a while. I began this blog as a creative outlet during law school. After law school, I started other blogs on other topics and no longer needed this as a creative outlet, not to mention my diminishing free time.

But I kept cooking, kept taking food pictures and garden pictures, kept wanting to share the little tidbits of what I'd made. I occasionally did this on my personal blog (to which, I'm sure, people yawned and wondered when I'd post another cat picture). But I started to miss this space. Of all the blogs I have, this format, culled over several dedicated years and incorporating that adorable illustration by Sam Wedelich (see info the left) is by far my favorite.

So I'm back!

Expect short and sweet posts. Less food porn, more recipes and tips. If you want food porn you can look at any of the 5000 million existing food blogs. I don't have good lighting in my apartment and don't have time to style plates. I just want to make something yummy and eat it. If that sounds ok with you, stick around.

Looking forward to being back in touch!

xx

The Faux Gourmet

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    Thursday, August 6, 2009

    Galette Thee to a Bakery


    Presenting: The Lazy Person's Pie
    (What else do you expect from The Faux Gourmet?)



    Taste & See: Sometimes you have time for pie. Sometimes you have time to roll out two neat little layers of crust, to gently press the edges with a fork or layer a lattice topping. Sometimes you want your finished product to look cute and picturesque, ready for a photo-op with a pitcher of milk and bowl of cherries.

    Other times, you just want a tasty little workhorse, a little "rustic," code for, "frazzled on the edges," but in a warm & homey kind of way. With pie as with life. But crown an ugly duckling pie with mounds of bursting berries, or drape with caramelized onions and dot with chevre, and suddenly the workhorse is looking downright beautiful.

    Enter the galette
    . A galette doesn't put on pastry airs. No offense to pâte brisee mavens, but a galette puts the crust where, in this humble chef's opinion, crust ought to be: a supporting act to a brilliant filling.

    A galette is a kind of French open-faced pie. There's only one layer of crust, rolled out big and wide. The filling, which can be pretty much anything, savory or sweet, is placed in the middle. The edges of the are then crust tucked over, creating a kind of a stuffed-crust-pizza of a pie.

    There is no need to be neat; in fact, the charm is in the untidy folding of the crust, bursting out at reckless, uneven angles. And...that's it. That easy. And with a food processor, the crust practically makes itself. With this perfect last minute dessert in your bag of tricks, you'll need to get thee to a bakery no longer.

    Do It Yourself: Rather than give you a precise recipe, I describe the basic structure & give a few ideas to get you started. For more complete instructions, see this article break it down. If you're the type who prefers precise recipes, or just want further inspiration, scroll down for a list of links that will have you up to your ears in rustic pastries in no time.

    Crust: Use a “classic” pie pastry recipe (think flour, salt, cut with butter, ice water), and press go; the mix will roll itself into a little ball, which you, oh talented chef, need not knead or fuss with. Just roll it out (I often use a wine bottle) into a nice large mass (no extra credit for perfect circles), sprinkling as needed with a touch of flour for easy handling. Bake--it takes about 45 minute at 350 for the crust to turn golden brown--and serve.


    Savory: Inspired by a reader's letter in a past Gourmet magazine, this savory galette features butternut squash. Cut a squash in half, remove seeds, & brush with butter. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Peel off outer skin and mash with a hunk of chevre (I used about 6 oz for one medium sized squash) which should melt right in to the hot squash. I also added some sliced scallions for color and seasoned with salt & pepper. I also tossed assorted dried herbs—oregano, sage--in with the crust.



    Sweet: There's nothing quite like grilled pears. They caramelize into a lovely, mouth-melting mess, just begging to be topped with a bit of crunchy sea salt for contrast, both in texture and flavor. Slice a few pears and cook on a skillet in a bit of olive oil; toss with a tablespoon or so of sugar to ease the caramelizing process. I flavored the crust with a bit of sugar and lavender to give the pears a sweet place to rest and used wheat berry for crunch.

    For some more ideas see the following:
    Plum or Apricot Galette, courtesy SimplyFoods
    Apricot Cherry Galette, courtesy Cafe Fernando Food Blog
    Blackberry Galette, courtesy Savour Fare
    Savory Sausage & Fennel Galette, courtesy Food Blogga

    7 comments:

    Grace Like Kelly said...

    love it, i cant wait to try this...I love how its so not perfect...but yet still looks so amazing. I will try and make one and post pics for you on my blog!

    The Faux Gourmet said...

    Not perfect but still amazing, a good metaphor for life in general! Please do post pics...can't wait to hear how it turns out. Today I made the apricot recipe linked at the bottom of the blog (with chili pepper & cardamom!) & I keep catching myself sneaking back into the kitchen for more bites...naughty!

    erica said...

    Hey I was inspired by you to make a galette tonight! oooh so yummy. Made it with peaches and a hazelnut-almond crust, and I posted a picture of it on my blog http://apricosa.blogspot.com. :o) I think I will be sneaking into the kitchen for a second pretty soon!

    The Faux Gourmet said...

    I'm so glad my blog inspired you to cook; that's the hope! And hazelnut almond crust sounds awesome. I'll have to check our your blog!

    Anonymous said...

    Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

    The Faux Gourmet said...

    Why thank you. That is a funny way to give a compliment but I'll take it- I'm all for improving & growing. Things will improve even more when I get a new camera in a couple days- keep your eyes out for great new photos soon!

    Anonymous said...

    Nice story as for me. It would be great to read something more about that topic. Thanx for posting that info.