t o m a t o e s & t e q u i l a

I was in California last week. It was a much needed respite from the long Colorado winter that is causing me to verge on melt-down.

I was in Palo Alto, San Francisco, Truckee and my hometown, Auburn. This time of year, my parent's house is nothing short of perfection. The yard is the vibrant green that only spring can bring. The air is saturated with the smell of just blooming flowers. Their back porch is fully equiped with chairs for rocking, a bistro table for a cup of coffee in the morning, and our cute sleeping cat, Henry. Or, as the hubby calls him, Henri (insert french accent here).

Visiting CA was amazing and tough at the same time. I miss it so, so very much and so being there can make me feel sad that it is only a short visit. On the other hand, being home with my parents re-juvinates me in a way that only one's family can do.

And so, as I reminisce about California, I wanted to post this most California dish - Sausage, Red Pepper, and Potato Galette with Arugula. It is fresh and light but comforting and casual all at the same time, the true essence of California cuisine. The flavors compliment one another wonderfully - the peppery arugula balances the sweet peppers, and the savory sausage goes well with the mild potatoes. This dish was a huge winner and I would absolutely make it again, especially when I am feeling home sick.

I do hope you will try this, and you must have it with a lovely glass of California chardonnay.

SAUSAGE, RED PEPPER AND POTATO GALETTE WITH ARUGULA RECIPE
(adapted from Sunset Magazine)

Serves 2-4

1 pre-made. store bought pie crust
1 sausage link of your choice, cooked and sliced into about 1/8 inch slices
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese, or any strong cheese you like
1/2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled and thinly sliced
1/2 c. sliced red bell pepper
2 c. arugula

Pre-heat oven to 425 F. degrees.

Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or lay a piece of parchment onto the baking sheet.

Lay out the pie dough on the baking sheet. Leaving a two inch border around the edge, sprinkle the cheese. Lay the sliced potatoes on top of the cheese. Next, layer the sausage on top of the potatoes. Lastly, layer on the sliced bell pepper.

Fold the edges over the filling. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Toss the arugula over the galette and slice to serve. Serve warm.

Is there anything better than a lovely breakfast on the weekend? The hubby and I got ambitious this morning and went all out - eggs, bacon, and strawberry scones.

I nearly messed up the scones - don't worry though, crisis averted. I used a simple basic scone recipe from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, you know, the one we all have but don't use much. Anyway, I added defrosted, macerated frozen strawberries which created all too much moisture as scone dough should be very dry. After adding the strawberries and seeing the mess I had created, I furiously added more flour but the dough was still too moist to knead and cut into triangles. So, I threw the whole lump of dough into a spring form pan, baked as normal and sliced it when it had cooled. I actually think I like this method better since I hate dealing with too much gooey dough on the counter top as a traditional method would have you do.

PLAIN SCONE RECIPE
(Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

2 1/2 c. Flour
2 tbl. sugar
1 tbl. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. butter
2 eggs, beaten (I used egg beaters that I had on hand)
3/4 c. whipping cream (I used low-fat buttermilk, its lower in calories and has a nice tang)

Preheat oven to 400F. degrees.

In a large bowl (I highly recommend using a food processor for this instead) combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender (this is where the food processor is easier) cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs - or in my case, just run the food processor for about a minute and then dump the mixture into a large bowl.

In a medium bowl combine eggs and 3/4c. whipping cream (or buttermilk). Add the egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. This is where I added about 1c. defrosted macerated strawberries - you could add anything you want, scones are a blank canvas for ingredients. Using a fork, mix until just combined. I added about 3/4c. more flour since the strawberries were so full of moisture, the dough should be dry.

Spray a 10 inch spring form pan with cooking spray. Dump dough into spring form pan and push to edges. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

I have officially mastered baking at 7,200 ft. and I'm feelin' pretty good about it. For Christmas I got "Pie in the Sky," by Susan G. Purdy. There is an "adjustment table" in the back of the book that lists adjustments for different altitudes and when followed, yields lovely baked goods void of the frustrating hallmarks of high altitude baking. The funny thing is, when I tried an actual recipe from the book I got the flattest cookies I have ever made - no seriously, flattest EVER. Which resulted in a lot of swearing and stopping around the kitchen.

Anyway - I used to make these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies in California and initially did not have success with them in Colorado. But, I tried again last week and voila - lovely, poofy, moist cookies. I win, high altitude! Take that!

These are seriously awesome too, soft on the inside with a chewy outside. Do try them immediately.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES RECIPE
(from smittenkitchen, originally adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (+ 8tbl. for high altitude)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda (- 1/4 tsp. for high altitude)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (- 1/8 tsp. for high altitude)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature
1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar (- 3 tbl. for high altitude)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk (+ 1 tbl. for high altitude)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips (I did not have these on hand so I used peanuts and thought the result was wonderful - the peanuts add a nice crunch)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern (I used the back of a small offset spatula to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not. (I baked for 9 minutes - I like mine cookies slightly undercooked and let them finish on the hot baking tray - this keeps them from drying out or getting hard)

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.