Herbed Winter Squash Tart from the Woodstock Inn

Herbed Winter Squash Tart from the Woodstock Inn

Crust:
1 ¾ cups flour, plus more for rolling the dough
¼ tsp salt
12 Tbsps cold unsalted butter, diced
1-3 Tbsps ice water

For the Filling:
1 pound winter squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs each fresh rosemary and basil, stemmed and chopped
4 sprigs thyme, stemmed and chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups heavy cream
3 large eggs
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
First: make the crust dough. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt. Add the butter and work it until the dough looks like cornmeal with pea-sized lumps of butter. Add 1 Tbsp cold water at a time until the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball, press into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set a rack to the lower third position.
Prepare the Filling: In a large bowl, toss together the squash, onion, mushrooms, garlic, herbs and salt, then add olive oil and toss again. Arrange mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove and let cool until room temperature.
In a medium bowl, whisk the cream, eggs and nutmeg. Set aside.
Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface a 14” circle about 1/8” thick. Transfer to a 12” tart (or pie) pan and trim. Sprinkle half of the cheese on the bottom of the crust. Top with the squash mixture and then top with the remaining cheese. Pour the egg mixture over all. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, 30-40 minutes. Let cool. Makes 8 servings.

Hot Milk Cake

Due to the economic restrictions of the Great Depression era, home cooks had to get creative to make the ingredients they had stretch. One of the more deliciously inventive recipes from that time is this hot milk cake. Despite it’s simplicity, it has remained popular in some parts of the country due to its simplicity and great flavor. Here’s how you make it:
 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter 1 cup of milk 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 4 eggs 2 cups of sugar 2 cups of flour 2 teaspoons of baking powder 1 teaspoon of salt powdered sugar 

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and adjust your oven so that there’s a rack in the middle position. Grease up a Bundt cake pan as well. 2. Melt your butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in milk and vanilla until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan. 3. In an electric mixer with a whisk attached, combine your eggs and sugar on medium-high for five minutes. 4. In a side bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder and salt. 5. When the eggs and sugar have tripled in volume, gradually add your hot milk mix, mixing on low. 6. Add your dry ingredients as well in two parts, mixing after each pour. 7. Pour the resulting batter into the Bundt pan and bake it for an hour, checking five minutes before the time is up. Be sure not to overcook! 8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out to cool all the way. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Salisbury Steak

Generally when we eat salisbury steak, it’s out of a frozen or pre-made package of some kind. Still, it’s a recipe that dates way to the early 1900s that still tastes incredible—and you can make it yourself pretty easily. Even though it tastes incredible when it’s all combined, it comes out of very simple ingredients. Here’s how you make it:

Ingredients:

1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup 1 pound of ground beef 1/3 cup of dry bread crumbs 1/2 cup of chopped onions 1 beaten egg 2 teaspoons of chopped parsley 1 teaspoon of garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper 1/4 cup of milk 1 1/2 cups of mushrooms, sliced

 

Steps:

1. Begin by mixing a quarter cup of your soup with your ground beef, bread crumb, onion, egg, fresh parsley, garlic powder and pepper in a large bowl. 2. When it’s well-mixed, press the mixture into small patties. 3. Spray down a skillet and bring it up to a medium-high heat, cooking the patties until they brown on each side. 4. Take them out of the skillet and drain the extra fat. 5. Next, mix the rest of your soup, milk and mushrooms in the same skillet. 6. Add the patties back in as well, turn the heat down, cover it and cook everything for 20 minutes. Turn the patties over occasionally to make sure they’re cooked through. 7. When they’re all done, add parsley and serve.

Pink Pearl Rose Tart

The colorful pink hue of the Pink Pearl apple makes for one stunningly beautiful rose tart.

Servings:

1 tart

Ingredients

• For the tart:
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch pieces, chilled in the freezer
• 1 teaspoon chilled water
• 1 large egg
• For the filling:
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cinnamon stick
• For the apples:
• 12 small Pink Pearl apples
• 2 cups cold water
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 cup apricot jam

Instructions

1. For the tart: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse flour, sugar and salt to combine. Pulse in butter until pea-sized balls are formed, approximately 6 pulses./
2. In a small bowl, beat egg and cold water together, and drizzle into food processor until dough forms. Remove from bowl and knead into a disc. Chill in refrigerator up to 3 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. Press dough into a greased 9-inch pan with a removable bottom. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill. Remove from freezer and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool.
5. Make the filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg yolks. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and add vanilla and cinnamon.
6. Strain pastry cream filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour. Pour into cooled tart and set aside.
7. For the apples: In a large bowl, combine water and lemon juice. Thinly slice apples with a mandolin, and place slices in lemon water until all apples are cut. Drain the water, and microwave for 2 minutes until soft and malleable.
8. Line 8 apple slices in a row, slightly overlapping each other. Roll up apple pieces into a rose shape, and wrap larger pieces around the bud to make a larger rose. Place roses in a cupcake pan to keep their shape while all are made. Make various sizes until all apple slices are used.
9. Assemble the tart: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
10. Place apple roses in the pastry cream-filled tart to resemble a bouquet, placing various sizes throughout. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until apples are slightly golden and firm. While tart is baking, heat apricot jam with water until thin and runny. Once tart is done, coat with apricot jam. Let tart come to room temperature, and serve.
11. Tart will keep up to 4 days refrigerated.