A galette is a flat, round, free form, single crust, rustic like tart. It can be sweet or savory. I concocted this recipe because I had several things in my frig that I wanted to use…pie dough, leeks and cambozola cheese! I also had some tomatoes and thought that they would add a wonderful flavor to the rest of the combination.

You can make this with pre-made pie dough, or make your own. It would also be real good with puff pastry or a pizza dough, or even layered phyllo dough…pick your base!

Whenever using leeks, you should cut off the real green parts at the top and make sure you clean them well since sand tends to be all up in the layers, since they are grown in sandy soil…but don’t throw the green parts away. Wash them well and throw them in a pot of water, about 8 cups, with a halved onion, some celery, a carrot, salt and peppercorns and simmer away for about an hour to make a flavorful veggie broth that can be used in soups or other dishes that call for a broth/liquid.

Have you heard of cambozola cheese? I LOVE it. It’s the baby of gorgonzola blue cheese and brie! You get that beautiful creamy texture, as in brie, with that pungent flavored cheese as in the blue cheese. If you love those cheeses you will definitely love cambozola! Of course, you can substitute any easy melting cheese for the cambozola, such as gouda, fontina, gruyere, goat cheese or feta, if you aren’t a fan of it or if you don’t have easy access to it.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 ounces Cambozola cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 leeks, dark green parts removed, cut in half longways, washed well between layers & sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Pinch of salt & pepper, to taste
• 20 grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 rounds of store bought pie dough, or make your own or use puff pastry
• Olive oil, to brush on dough before baking

Steps:

1. Make bechamel by melting butter on medium low heat then adding flour to it to make a roux, combine well with a whisk, and let cook for 20 seconds.
2. Slowly pour in milk as you whisk, you want to make sure that you work out any lumps.
3. Simmer, as you stir, until the sauce thickens…you can check it by coating the back of a spoon and draw a line with your finger…if the sauce, around the line, stays on the spoon it is good. Sauce should not be too thick…more like a smooth and creamy cake batter.
4. Turn off heat and add 4 oz of the cambozola cheese, stir to melt.
5. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, set aside to slightly cool.
6. On medium heat, saute the leeks in the olive oil with a pinch or two of salt and some pepper, until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
7. Time to assemble. Roll out dough on parchment paper covered sheet pan.
8. Spread about 1/2 cup of the bechamel sauce on the dough.
9. Add 1/2 of the sauteed leeks on top of the sauce, followed by half of the halved tomatoes, and a few small pieces of cambozola scattered throughout the galette.
10. Sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper and fold ends in to make about an inch border.
11. Brush olive oil around the dough border and repeat with the second dough. You will have some of the sauce left, about 1/2 a cup…you can use it on top of a steak or slathered on bread and baked for a form of cheese bread…OR you can stir in some chopped artichoke hearts and top with some Parmesan cheese and bake it to make a dip and serve with crostini.
12. Bake at 425 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until crust is golden brown and top is slightly bubbly.
13. Garnish galette with some more cambozola, if you like, and serve with a green salad. Enjoy!

Kali Orexi!

Have you had those Asian chicken wraps at Costco with that flavorful dressing? Well, surely they are not as healthy as making them at home. These are one of my daughters, Lexi’s, favorite wraps so I thought I’d try to recreate them for her with some added ingredients that I think would taste yummy in them 🙂 .

You can use a store bought rotisserie chicken for this just to make it extra easy for you to put together but I thought I’d just roast one, it’s more economical and you can control what you want to add to it. You can also just roast 2 bone in breasts. Whatever you have leftover can be used in a soup (plus the pan juices), on top of a salad, for enchiladas, or a different type of sandwich…the possibilities are endless! Plus, an added bonus, the house smells so good from all the wonderful seasonings added to the chicken…ummm.

Another ingredient that you can just buy is the coleslaw mix. It has cabbage (both green and purple) and carrots in it already. If you use a bagged mix then make sure you cut up any huge pieces that may have made it in 🙂 . As for the tortillas/wraps, you can use whatever type and flavor you like, but I recommend you use a 10 inch version, at least, so it’s easier to wrap. If you use smaller ones then use a lot less filling. You can even forgo the bread and make them into a lettuce wrap, less carby (is that a word?), so you can save yourself some calories, and just as delicious. You can also leave out the meat and make it vegetarian!

You will need:

• 2 cups breast meat from 1 whole chicken (roasted my own but you can use a store bought rotisserie chicken instead or just roast 2 bone in breasts)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt, pepper and poultry seasoning blend, to taste
• 1/2 of a 16 oz bag of coleslaw mix (or shred your own cabbage & carrots to total 8 ounces, and mix)
• 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons tahini (makes it creamier and sesame-er…here I go making up words again 🙂 )
• 1 lime, juiced & zested (at least 1 tablespoon of juice)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 4 to 6 ten inch tortillas/wraps, plain or flavored
• 1/4 cup almonds, sliced, chopped or slivered
• 1 can chow mein noodles, you won’t need them all

Steps:

1. If roasting your own chicken, lay chicken in a pan and slather it with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and your favorite poultry seasoning blend.
2. Roast at 350 degrees for approximately 2 hours, if whole (20 minutes per pound or when the meat shows an internal temperature of 165 degrees).
3. Remove chicken from oven and let cool to the touch.
4. When cool, remove about 2 cups of breast meat from chicken and set aside. Of course if you prefer dark meat, or a combination, then use that instead.
5. Mix the coleslaw, scallions and cilantro in a bowl, set aside.
6. Mix the rest of your ingredients well, from the sesame oil to the ginger, for your dressing. Put in a jar and shake, shake, shake…set aside. Now, you are ready to wrap!
7. Set your tortilla down, almost in the center, closer to the top towards you, pile with about a cup of coleslaw mix, a tablespoon of almonds, 1/4 cup of chow mein noodles and then about 1/2 cup of chicken.
8. Fold the side of the tortilla closest to you over the filling, and bring in each of the sides, then roll the rest of the way, as tightly as you can without tearing the tortilla.
9. Finish with the rest of the tortillas and serve with dressing. If you are going to eat them all right away you can always mix some of the dressing into the coleslaw mixture before filling the tortillas so you get a wonderful bite. If you think you will have leftovers I wouldn’t do this with all of them because the wrap will become soggy eventually.

Kali Orexi!

When I was cooking in one of my classes in Thailand one of the Chef’s taught me how to make flowers out of carrots. It was so simple and fun. It’s like arts and crafts with your food! You can use the same simple technique with a daikon, cucumber or any other fruit or vegetable that can be easily squared off. See steps on pictures below.

Garnish you plate with these or serve them on a platter with some dip and listen to your guests go “oouuu and ahhhh” 🙂 .