Oh My Gosh! Running Late for TWD. . .But We're Here!

Everyone just has to check out all the wonderful Galettes here at TWD and see how a real galette is actually done. Really. . .I am not afraid to admit that I have blundered this time =D. Also, thank you Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs for selecting …
Summer Fruit Galette on pages 366 - 367 of Dorie Greenspan's cookbook "Baking from my home to yours". Delicious smelling dessert. I haven't tried mine yet, simply because it is still bubbling, fresh from the oven.

Aaahhhh! I am having a really hectic week! Holy Cows! My refrigerator was starting to go up so we got this new refrigerator. . .Yes? No! The refrigerator does not work and we had to have another one shipped in from Oregon (I live in Washington) then delivered to the house. Does this one work? NO! The temperature does for the inside but the ice in the door does not. Grumble, grumble, grumble. I have flour all over the floor, the kitchen is wayyyyy to hot again and I am baking this beautiful galette at the last minute. I think I may have acquired an eye twitch. Hopefully, the condition is not permanent. My dough was toooo warm and did the melting moments look. On the good side? The aroma drifting from the galette smells sweet, fruity, and wonderful. Oh yes. I am going to admit one other small detail. I used my canned fruit. I am panicking because I am not sure if the fruit is too soft for using in the recipe. The combination I used was nectarines, pears (which were Really Ripe when I canned them), and my homemade seedless, blackberry jam. I also thought I had trouble with Dorie's pie crust last time so I used my faithful Pastry Queen, Rebecca Rather's, tart crust. Guess what? The crust still looks melty so it is me once again. I definitely know my kitchen is too hot. I am trying to make corn cakes with BBQ pork piled on top and lime coleslaw piled on top of that for dinner with peach lemonade and I just have way to much on my plate tonight.

The tart crust is super simple and also delicious:
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1 c. butter (2 sticks) chilled and cut into small pieces
4 T. ice water

Directions:
In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse together 1/2 c. of the sugar with the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse 3 to 5 times, until mixture is crumbly. Pour the water through the feed tube. 1 Tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough begins to hold together. Remove the dough, shape it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. (If you are in a hurry, freeze the wrapped dough just long enough to prepare the fruit filling. It will be a little harder to work with, but it's an acceptable trade-off when time is short.)

The dough is in the refrigerator while I continue to work on dinner. What a mess I feel like I have gotten myself into. Yeesh!

Dorie asks that the dough gets rolled 1/8th inch thick and cut into a 13 inch circle. Then make another circle within that is about 9-inches. The jam and fruit will fill the 9-inch area.

I really do love the graham cracker crumb tip for absorbing excess liquid. The crust does stay much more flaky. Dorie is the first person I have ever heard of that uses this trick. I love the color of my seedless blackberry jam BUT I am dashing around the kitchen like a mad woman, trying to get this done on a Tuesday evening after work. Nothing is pretty.

Did I mention the aroma drifting from the galette is wonderful? I did feel good using my canned fruit but I am still worried about mushy texture. I will have to let everyone know if the galette was affected too much in a negative way. . .aside from the kitchen being to warm and me not chilling the dough long enough BUT I did it! High five me and everyone in the TWD group that made the recipe. . .Yay! us.

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Japanese Mushroom Egg Noodle Soup

Japanese Comfort Soup!

I just have to share this recipe. It is my first real Japanese Soup I have ever attempted and my family loves the flavors so much that I keep making the soup on a regular basis. I would like to add that different noodles can be used. . .all according to taste and availability. Some noodles will need to be cooked in the mushroom broth whereas other noodles will just be placed in the bowl with the ingredients and hot broth poured over all. I have used Udon noodles in the past but this last pot of soup, I used regular ramen noodles. My daughter, Ashley, perfers ramen noodles over all others ~ so why not? I have to tell you that the soft boiled egg completely soaks up the flavor of the mushroom broth and feels as if the egg will melt in your mouth. Delicious and worth trying. Sometimes dried mushrooms can be a little spendy. . .but so worth the effort and a little expense! =D

Japanese Mushroom Egg Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

10 cups water

2 ounces dried mixed mushrooms, such as porcini or shitake, about 2 cups

10 coin-sized pieces of fresh ginger

5 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pound fresh mixed mushrooms, such shitake caps or cremini, sliced very thin

Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper

4 large eggs

/4 cup medium-dry sherry

1 tablespoon soy sauce

8 ounces cooked udon noodles (or somen, buckwheat/soba, or ramen noodles)

1 to 2 ounces enoki mushrooms, optional

4 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced on the bias

Gomashio or sansho pepper, for seasoning

Directions:

In a large soup pot bring the water to a boil along with the dried mushrooms, ginger, and garlic. Adjust the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let steep, 30 more minutes.

While the broth steeps: Melt the butter over high heat in a large nonstick skillet, add the sliced fresh mushrooms and cook until crisp and brown, about 10 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, to taste, and distribute them evenly between 4 soup bowls.

Put the eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover, and let cook until almost soft boiled, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately rinse the eggs with cold water and set aside.

Strain the broth. Reheat and season with the sherry, soy sauce, and salt to taste. Distribute noodles, enoki mushrooms, if using, and scallions evenly in each soup bowl. Crack a soft-boiled egg into each bowl (to maintain the eggs' shape, take care to peel them carefully, or use as small spoon to free them from the shell). Ladle 2 cups of hot broth into each bowl. Sprinkle gomashio or shansho pepper over the soup, if desired, and serve immediately.