Recipe: Savory Cherry Crostatas

Thanks, Fox9, for having me on Saturday morning! We made Savory Cherry Crostatas...and they're really good! The recipe looks long + complicated, but it's really not. I prefer to make my pie crust, but the grocery store kind works just as well!

In the Kitchen: Cherry Crostatas: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

Savory Cherry Crostatas
Servings: 24 appetizers
Pie Crust
Ingredients:

• 4-5 Tbsp. ice water, plus more as needed
• ¾ tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 9 Tbsp. (4 ½ oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Recommended equipment:
food processor

Procedure:

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to blend. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal; there should be no pieces of butter bigger than a large pea.
    
2. With the motor running on dough setting, slowly add the water-vinegar mixture, processing just until the dough forms a ball.
    
3. Turn the dough out onto a wooden board or clean countertop, and gather it, massaging and pressing, until it just holds together. Shape it into a ball, and press it into a disk about 1 ½ inches thick. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and then press it a bit more. Refrigerate the wrapped dough for at least 2 hours
   
   Note: Dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw it in refrigerator overnight before using.
    
4. Before rolling it out, allow the dough to soften slightly at room temperature.

Filling - Cherry Balsamic Reduction
Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried, pitted sour cherries
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar

Procedure:

1. Place all 3 ingredients in a small saucepan over med-high heat
    
2. Bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer until liquid is reduced to a few tablespoons

Caramelized Onions
Ingredients:

• 1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 T fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1 T fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 6 oz quark (German-style cream cheese) or fresh goat cheese

Procedure:

1. In a large sauté pan, coat bottom with olive oil and heat over med-high heat.
    
2. Add onions, and coat in oil
    
3. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally
    
4. Remove cover, and increase heat to med-high
    
5. Cook until liquid has evaporated and onions are browning
    
6. Season with salt, pepper and the fresh herbs

To Assemble Crostatas:

1. Roll out pie dough and cut into 4” circles or desired size with cookie cutter.
    
2. Place 2 teaspoons of cheese in middle of circle
    
3. Add small amount of onion and cherry balsamic reduction directly on top of cheese and press lightly
    
4. Fold edges of dough circle up and just over the edge of the filling, overlapping as needed
    
5. Drizzle with olive oil
    
6. Bake at 400°F for about 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown

Food Find: Kitchen in the Market

And, wow. It has been 3 whole months since my last blog post. Well, it hasn't been an idle 3 months, that's for sure! During my break from blogging, we had a busy catering season, built out a brand new kitchen and started a cooking school. Seriously. And, to toot our own horn, it's really awesome!

Check out Kitchen in the Market. It is a shared commercial kitchen space for caterers, food manufacturers and food trucks. We provide affordable commercial kitchen space, so they can run their delicious businesses. And then we bring some of that deliciousness to you with a grab + go counter, commercial grade kitchen small wares and LOTS of wonderful cooking classes.

So, check us out...and often! There's always something new coming out of our Kitchen (even if we don't always get around to writing about it)!

Recipe: Monkey Business Cocoa

Adult add-ins to cocoa are nothing new, but this version is definitely not your run of the mill cocoa! It's like drinking Chunky Monkey Ice Cream in a cup. Um, yum.

photo courtesy of eDiets.com

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photo courtesy DeKuyper

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Monkey Business Hot Cocoa

Happy Holidays!!

Recipe: Black Tea Spiced Pork Tenderloin + Roasted Pears and Carrots

A Gourmet Meal for 4 that's under $20? Yep. Super tasty, too! (if the video is not visible, click here)

Black Tea Spiced Pork Tenderloin

serves 4

2-pound pork tenderloin

5T black tea leaves

1T mild curry powder

2t ground cumin

1/2t ground anise

1t ground cayenne

1T fresh ginger, chopped

-in a spice grinder, add tea, spices and fresh ginger and grind until finely ground; add a little olive oil to thin into a paste

-season pork with salt + pepper

-rub pork with paste on all sides and let rest in refrigerator for 20 minutes

-pre-heat oven to 400˚F

-roast pork until done, about 20-30 minutes

-let rest 10 minutes, then slice and serve over Cumin Rice

Roasted Pears & Carrots 

serves 4

4 carrots, peeled, halved and cut into sticks 

2 pears, halved cored and cut into small wedges 

olive oil 

salt & pepper 

balsamic vinegar

-Pre heat oven to 400F 

-line a baking sheet with aluminum foil 

-place pears & carrots on baking sheet 

-drizzle with olive oil and a splash or two of balsamic vinegar 

-season with salt & pepper -toss to coat thoroughly 

-spread evenly into a single layer on baking sheet 

-roast in oven until carrots are tender and pears are still firm, about 20 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking 

-serve warm or room temp

Note: this dish is easy to make into a more grown-up side or salad for entertaining by adding some crumbled bleu cheese and/or toasted walnuts!