Peach Galette

HI YOU GUYS! Remember me? The one who takes all the pictures of food? I’m still here!!

Please forgive my absence. I’ve been frolicking in the summer sun.

Ok, I’ve been locked away in an office. Happy? Dessert to the rescue.

This is a peach galette.

Galette /gəˈlet/ noun- A rustic pastry filled with fruit and sugary goodness. Rustic /ˈrəstik/ adj- rough around the edges. Just my style.

Husband: “That pie was good.”

Me: “That wasn’t a pie.”

Husband: “Right. The grouton?”

Me: “…”

He’s right, though. The grouton…err, galette, was the perfect combo of sugary dough and sweet fruit. You’ll see in the pictures below that before I could take a picture in proper daylight, we’d eaten half. Consider this a strong endorsement.

Once you’ve rolled out the dough, just slap your fruit mixture in the middle. Please note that I spent 5 minutes carefully arranging the outer layer of peaches before haphazardly dumping in the rest. Whatever, it’s rustic.

Before you bake, be sure to tuck in a little extra sugar and butter for good measure.

Bake, cool, enjoy, and pray a little is left when daylight comes. Bon appetit!

Peach Galette adapted from Simply Recipes

Yields one 12″ pastry

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, chilled

5-6 tbsp cold water

Filling

2 1/2 sliced peaches, just ripened

3 tbsp plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp plus 1 tbsp dark brown sugar (light would work fine as well)

1 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 egg

1 tsp turbinado sugar

Directions

Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Slice stick of butter into tablespoon-sized chunks and add to flour mixture. Pulse food processor 8-10 times, or until butter is mostly incorporated and pea-size or less. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time and pulse after each addition. After 5 to 6 tablespoons, you should feel the blade start to struggle against the forming dough.

At this point, stop mixing and turn the mixture (crumbs and all) out onto a hard, floured surface and knead just until soft dough forms. Mold into a disc and wrap in plastic. The dough should chill for at least an hour (up to 12) before being rolled out.

When the dough has chilled, roll it until it’s about a foot in diameter. The dough will be pretty thin, but that’s what you want. Roll the dough onto your rolling pin and gently transfer to a nonstick, ungreased baking sheet.

Peel and slice peaches and place in a medium bowl. Add sugars, flour and vanilla and toss to coat. Arrange peaches in the middle of the dough, leaving a 2″ border all around. Take your extra tablespoon of sugar, granulated sugar and unsalted butter and roughly mix. Dot mixture throughout the top of the peaches.

Complete the galette by folding each section of the dough border over the peaches. When this is done, lightly beat egg and use to wash over the dough. If you want, sprinkle turbinado (or any ol’) sugar on the dough to give a sugary glaze. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes, or until your galette is well browned and bubbly. Enjoy!

Time

20 minutes active, 1.5 hours inactive

Lately, Summer edition

I am at a loss. Vacation has been over for a week now, and I just can’t seem to get back into the swing of things. It would seem I just had TOO much fun in the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle, Victoria, and the great beyond– ALASKA!

If you find yourself there any time soon, here’s my advice:

1. Supercharge your camera. It’s stunning!

2. Let’s talk food. We spent a week on a cruise ship with an abundance of food, but left to our own devices, here’s how we did:

• Ivar’s: it’s a Seattle classic. Order fish and chips, then feed a few to the seagulls (or don’t). For a snack, grab a bag of calamari for $1.79.

• Pike’s Brewery: Located smack dab in the middle of Pike’s Market, it’s the perfect relief from a rainy day in Seattle (which it was), and full of tasty brews. My favorite was the Clam Digger.

• Afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel: Victoria, BC has a fantastic old British feel, and there is nothing better than an afternoon of finger sandwiches, scones and tiny treats. We at ECB fully endorse. Oh, and they also have tea!

• Virginia Inn: The perfect cap off to our vacation before actually heading back to old Virginny. This place had great local beers, and the moules frites were just perfect.

In summation, I’m still here! And I can’t wait to share some new recipes in the works after a fantastic few weeks away. Cheers to summer! xo

 

Ice Cream Sammies

Don’t worry…I didn’t roll anything in bacon this time.

But it did cross my mind.

Enough about bacon. In earnest, there are tell tale signs that summer is fast approaching.

1.  Humidity- we covered this one. I won’t keep complaining.

2. Tourists- so many in DC, and all on the Metro.

3. Television- All the best shows are ending. This may actually be a good thing (I loath thee Game of Thrones!)

4. Vacation- Is two short weeks away! Not that anyone is counting.

So for your ode to summer enjoyment, have an ice cream sandwich.

They’re jam packed with summer nostalgia (also known as vanilla ice cream).

Summer is just better with ice cream sandwiches. To keep you on your toes, I made mine with oatmeal cookies, and they were mighty fine.

Since I was so diligent in my cookie making, I cheated and used store-bought ice cream.

Decreased production time= increased sandwich consumption time.

Besides, it’s summer, take a break.

For maximum enjoyment, assemble, wrap, freeze, and enjoy on a hot summer day.

 

Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches, adapted from Quaker

Makes about 10 sandwiches

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2 3/4 cup oats (I used old fashioned)

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1 pint vanilla ice cream

additional sprinkles, chocolate chips and walnuts for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In stand mixer, combine butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add in eggs and vanilla and slowly mix until just incorporated.

In medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Slowly add in thirds to your mixer and beat until combined. Add in oats one cup at a time, along with walnuts and chocolate chips. When fully combined, drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 2-3 inches apart.

Cook at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes. Remove cookies and cool to room temperature.

Next, grab your ice cream and spoon between cookies. Smooth ice cream around the edges and roll in your favorite toppings. Wrap sandwiches individually in plastic wrap and refreeze.

Time

1 hour

Cilantro Shrimp Salad

Now making their debut on Eat Cake for Breakfast- vegetables!

That’s right, we’re not all cookies and cupcakes around here. No sir. We’d like to be, but vegetables are requisite once in a while.

Or so say the experts.

In other news– it’s almost summer! You heard it here first.

Pretend you haven’t been wearing your white jeans for months and dig them out of storage (or your laundry bin). Kick on the A/C and if you live anywhere below Pennsylvania, kiss your straight hair goodbye until September.

Ok I lied- October.

It’s not the heat that’ll kill you, it’s the humidity (…groan).

It’s actually been a pretty humid week here, considering it’s May, and this salad was a breath of fresh air. From my air conditioner. Inside my apartment.

But really, it’s light, colorful, full of flavor, and really just a bunch of stuff chopped up and tossed together (read: foolproof- my specialty).

Enjoy!

Cilantro Shrimp Salad

Yield 2-3 servings

Ingredients

2 avocados

2 medium tomatoes

16 oz can black beans

1 cob corn

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup loosely packed cilantro, unchopped

1 lime

1 clove garlic

3/4- 1 lb shrimp, uncooked and deveined

Directions

Dice avocado and tomato to desired size and add to large bowl. Slice corn from cob and add to bowl as well. Open the black beans and drain/rinse before adding to bowl (totally optional, but I didn’t want the juice to overwhelm the other flavors).

In food processor or blender, add roughly a cup of unchopped cilantro. Blend/chop and slowly pour in olive oil and the juice of half a lime. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Dice your garlic and mix with raw shrimp. Add salt/pepper and cook over grill/grill pan (or any ol’ pan will do) until just pink and cooked through. Remove from heat and add juice of the other half lime.

Pour shrimp and cilantro dressing into bowl and mix until evenly coated.

Time

30 mins