Fast, Simple, Delicious Dinner: Beet & Goat Cheese Tart with Spring Onions, Thyme

Super easy and incredibly delicious quick, spring meal.

• Makes one 9-inch tart
• Start to Finish: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed overnight

1 leek or spring onions, halved and thinly sliced 

3 medium beets, peeled and thinly sliced. I use Love Beets which are pre-cooked
 - available at Costco, Whole Foods

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup crumbled goat cheese

4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from the stem

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Unfold the puff pastry onto the prepared baking sheet. 
3. Place a cake pan or a plate that’s approximately 9 inches
   in diameter onto the pastry dough.
4. Use a paring knife to trace around it. Remove and discard the excess dough.
   Score the puff pastry all over with a fork.
5. Sprinkle the leek slices evenly over the round of puff pastry. 
6. Arrange the beets in circles on top of the leeks, then drizzle evenly with the olive oil.
   Season with salt and pepper.
7. Sprinkle the goat cheese and thyme on top of the beets. 
8. Bake the tart until the crust is golden and the beets are fork tender, 30 to 35 minutes. 

The tart can be eaten warm or at room temperature.
Take some liberties:

1. Add tomatoes
2. thinly spread a mixture of mustard and a bit of lemon on the pastry
   before the leeks and onions go in.

Inspired (mainly) by: Beet and Goat Cheese Tart | Recipes - PureWow 

voilà le mien!

Beet & Goat Cheese Tart with Spring Onions, Thyme Uploaded by atl10trader on April 19, 2015. Some rights reserved. Follow this link to see and comment on this photo: https://www.flickr.com/x/t/0097009/photos/davidmarcel/17019021749/

Homage to the Tomato

Tonight's dinner menu was inspired by tomorrow's Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival at Atlanta's JCT Kitchen:

Everything was cooked in my sous vide machine which is reclaiming its spot as an important culinary device thanks to the Vac Master P112 chamber vacuum sealing machine. Can't do sous vide without a good, functional vacuum sealer.  This duo will hopefully be working together for a while.

Above is the tomato and blueberry shooter with parmesan crisp.  Recipe: http://www.wildblueberries.com/recipes/tomato_shooter.php

Above is the tuna tartare. Recipe: http://www.zencancook.com/2012/02/ahi-tuna-tartare-w-avocado-crispy-shallots-soy-sesame-dressing-and-a-little-update/

It's a shame but when the evening gets going, I am often forgetful in taking pictures especially as the meal progresses!  The better the dish, the more likely I dive in without snapping a photo.  Will try to refrain in the future.

Some additional photos from another photographer who participated in the meal last night:

Saffron Scented Halibut

Plan Ahead for Next Year Using This Year's Thanksgiving Dinner Recap

Chez atl10trader Atlanta, GA, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

This will not happen next year.  It would be too soon to host 12 persons.  That's not as huge a number as you might guess but it includes parents and in-laws so it becomes more than just an exercise in eating food.  Fortunately everyone gets along amazingly well. But hey, next year it's someone else's turn.

Maybe yours?

Here then is a recap in photos along with some of the recipes of what made it to the table.  Oh and things get off to a good start by serving some non-vintage Champagne with warm cashews and almonds.

First Course

Thanksgiving Chez atl10trader Atlanta, GA, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

Roasted Fennel with Parmesan and Warm Radishes in Harissa Butter. Easy first dishes to excite guests.

Roasted Fennel for 12:

1. Clean 3 bulbs and cut off stalks.  Slice off the very bottom of the bulb.
2. Slice 1/4" thick the fennel and toss in a bowl with sunflower (or other high heat) oil, salt, pepper, and optionally a dash of zatar spice.
3. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spread the fennel on the sheet.  
4. I caramelized the fennel by cooking it at 325 degrees F at the bottom of the oven with the turkey for 2 hours and it turned out amazing OR
5. Cook the fennel at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes in the middle of the overn until a little char starts to form.
6. Drizzle with some good olive oil. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve warm.

Main Dish and Sides

Thanksgiving Chez atl10trader Atlanta, GA, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

Cider Braised Turkey with Lager Gravy Served with Mushroom, Celery, Caramelized Onion Stuffing, Green Beans with Shallot Vinaigrette, and Cranberry Compote

Cider Braised Turkey with Lager Gravy:

This recipe came straight from the pages of Food&Wine magazine November 2011.  I only substituted a kosher turkey for the steps involving salting the bird overnight.  A kosher turkey is an excellent way to enjoy a bird that retains its juices and cooks flavorfully.

The Wine

Thanksgiving Chez atl10trader Atlanta, GA, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

It's Pinot time and few are finer than Gary Farrell.

I'm sharing notes collected by CellarTracker.com.  I personally think the community way under scored the wine - possibly because many (including me) are drinking it a bit early. No matter. I gave this beauty a 93.  Excellent American Pinot showing restraint in offering notes of cherry, strawberry jam, and cola/hazelnut. Went perfectly with everything served.  Very enjoyable.

Dessert

Thanksgiving Chez atl10trader Atlanta, GA, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

My children hopefully will have permanent and fond memories of cooking these pies with their grandmother.  Featured above are apple, pumpkin, and my favorite, mince meat.  Even if I had the recipes for these beauties, I would not have the touch or hand to pull them off as good.

And that's one of the best ways to make hosting a Thanksgiving dinner possible: Make it a potluck.  Give everyone a task to do - even if it's to get out of the way: Go outside to toss a baseball or sweep the deck!

I'm most interested in your sides eaten at Thanksgiving.  Feel free to share in the comments.

The Sous Vide Machine Comeback

My own homemade sous vide machine, a photo by atl10trader on Maison Marcel.

The sous vide machine made its first appearance in almost 6 months tonight.  In anticipation of holiday guests this year, I nominated a kosher beef brisket in my freezer to be my trial run.  Luckily the machine still operates perfectly - much to my surprise.  My only question was how long to cook it and at what temperature.

The internet has all kinds of suggestions.  'It depends' is a standard issue response.

• How thick is the cut? (thicker = higher temps, longer times)
• What kind of cut is the meat? (the more sinews and connective tissue = higher temps, longer times)

I read 80 degrees Celsius for 24 hours. I read 48 hours at 55 degrees.

My machine has a constraint: I don't get above 70 degrees Celsius for fear that it starts to melt my water circulation pump. Had that happen once already - the tribulations of a home built machine from someone who knows the feat is impossible to repeat.

Here's how I cooked the beef brisket:

24 hours at 66 degrees Celsius.  The result was a pink all the way through cut of meat that was tender and flavorful.  The meat was medium and I like my beef medium rare i.e., with a little more free flow of juices which this attempt slightly lacked.  I made a very effective and delicious harissa gravy using the liquid from the bag.  The dish was rounded out with roasted acorn and butternut squash and a Chad Merlot.

Roasted Butternut Squash, a photo by Bruce Tretter on WestboroughPatch.

The meal won praise from my toughest critic, and I enjoyed the meal.  My improvement for the next time will be to lower the cooking time to 18 - 20 hours and give the meat a good sear and resting period before serving.

My next project will be to do short ribs for 48 hours +.  It's really the cut of meat the most praised when cooking sous vide.