Tap, tap. Is this thing on?
Yup, turns out the internet is still here. And don’t worry, I didn’t have any disillusions that everything would burn down if I took a month off of posting marginally inspiring recipes at a cadence of once per week. I didn’t think anyone would notice, and I didn’t think anyone, except my mother, would really care. I needed the break and I’m glad I took it. It helped me clear my head and embrace my own unimportance when it comes to contributing something meaningful to food.
As I said in my temporary goodbye, I’ve realized that I need to go back to the original idea for Things I Made Today: a place for me to document the food I’ve made that I want to repeat for my friends and family. The blogging world has this tendency to get you carried away and despite being the biggest critic of it all, I still somehow managed to get sucked into it, even if I didn’t want to admit it.
I applaud the people who have built their businesses on their blogs, but to be honest, the phrases “personal brand” and “living your authentic life” have over the years gone from something unique that a few talented individuals captured to something that has been marketed to the point of ad nauseum, and I genuinely question just how real anyone who lives their life out on the internet can be. Call me cynical, but my eyes may actually roll out of my head soon.
To put it bluntly, there is just so much shit on the internet, and I’m amazed that everyone feels like they have something new and original or important to add to it. And I take my own share of blame. I’ve written some real meaningless crap over the years here. But at least I have never brought you the millionth 5 ingredient crockpot recipe or made you look at a picture of taco dip, because fuck taco dip.
I’ve spent the last month cooking through and taking inspiration from some real brilliant cookbooks. My latest deep dive has been Taste and Technique by Naomi Pomeroy, a self-taught chef who started the underground supper club craze in—you guessed it—Portland. She had amazing wins and painful crashes in her career, and in the cookbook she shares the building blocks she’s learned along the way to becoming a professional chef. Her chicken breast recipe, brined and basted and finished in the oven, is the first time I’ve made chicken breast that I didn’t want to claw out of my mouth because it was so dry. Her technique for cooking salmon produced a fish so delicious and buttery that I’ll never make salmon any other way.
I trusted her enough to make this pseudo puff pastry dough, even though I’ve traditionally struggled with doughs like this. But that’s what I’m spending my time on now: actually learning something, making something new, growing my own repository of ideas and recipes and techniques to feed the people around me. These are the things I’m excited to share back here. More for future me than for you really, but maybe you’ll stick around for the ride.
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup cold (straight from the refrigerator) crème fraiche or sour cream
- ¼ cup gruyere cheese, shredded
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon chives, chopped
- 12 thin spears of asparagus, woody ends snapped off
- Olive oil
- In a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add a few cubes of butter at a time and pulse 15-20 times to incorporate. Continue to add butter and pulse 15-20 times until butter is broken up into small, pea-sized pieces. Add crème fraiche directly from the refrigerator and pulse a few more times until fully incorporated.
- Form dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Tap the dough on the counter to form into a 3 by 5 inch rectangle, then flatten the top to create an even shape. Place dough in refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour or up to 24.
- Unwrap the plastic and rest dough for 15 minutes. Lightly flour your work surface and roll dough into a 6 by 9 inch rectangle with the long edge parallel to the countertop. Fold the rectangle in thirds so that the folds are vertical (like a book). Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll out into a 6 by 9 inch rectangle again. Repeat the fold, and rotate once more. Roll out into a rectangle that's about ¼ inch thick.
- Gently transfer dough to a 13 by 4 inch fluted tart pan. Press dough into edges and trim, leaving about ½ an inch overhang as the dough will shrink. Prick all over with a fork, then place into freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425F. Bake dough for for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375F and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven.
- In a small bowl, mix together gruyere, ricotta, pepper and chives. Spread mixture gently into the center of the dough. Arrange asparagus spears on top, drizzle with olive oil and a little more black pepper. Bake for 2-3 minutes, until cheese is a little melty. Serve immediately.
Dough recipe adapted from Taste and Technique by Naomi Pomeroy.
your best post ever
writes scottI’m glad the super salty tone resonates.
writes Vicky CassidyLooking forward through making these, Vicky … I’m sure asparagus season will be here as soon as it stops snowing. Also like your salty tone.
writes CindyYeah, not an inspiring start to spring, but fingers crossed that there is an end to this snow!!
writes Vicky[…] Click here for the delicious, flaky dough recipe.Savory Spring Asparagus Tart PrintPrep Time 1 hour 30 minsCook Time 25 minsTotal Time 1 hour 55 mins Author: Vicky CassidyRecipe Type: SideServes: 6 to 8 servingsIngredientsFor the dough: […]
writes Savory Spring Asparagus Tart