Rustic Ham and Bean Tart

      This is a great dish, especially if you like ham and bean soup.  It's almost like a ham and bean pie, but with the creaminess of cheese and the crunch of fresh vegetables.  Using store bought refrigerated pie crust makes this easy to make for a quick lunch or dinner.

1 refrigerated pie crust
1 Tablespoon + 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb of ham or smoked pork, boneless, cut into thick pieces 
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped coarsely
3/4 cup of thick sliced white button mushrooms
1 Tablespoon of flour, plus some for dusting the table later
1 Tablespoon of your favorite wine
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup of pecorino romano cheese, grated fine
1/4 cup of cottage cheese
1/2 cup of cannellini beans
12 snow peas
6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 Tablespoon of celery leaves, chopped finely
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Let the pie crust come to room temperature.
 
Meanwhile, heat 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add ham.  Saute until brown and crisp on the edges.  Remove ham from the pan and set aside.  Lower heat to medium-low.

Add onion and saute for 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and saute for another 2 minutes.  Remove them from the pan and set aside.

Add another Tablespoon of oil to the same pan.  Stir in the flour and let it cook for a few seconds to cook out the flour taste.  Stir in the wine, constantly stirring until all of the flour absorbs all of the wine, about 30 seconds.  Whisk in the milk, lower heat to low, and slowly bring to a simmer, stirring constantly to prevent scalding the milk.  When it starts to simmer, add the grated cheese and the cottage cheese.  Add the onions and mushrooms to the mixture.  Bring back to a simmer and continue simmering 5 minutes so the sauce will thicken.  

Roll the dough out on a slightly floured surface to a diameter of 12".  Transfer to a round pizza pan lined with non-stick aluminum foil.  

Spoon the sauce to the pie dough to within 2 and 1/2 inches of the edge.  Add the ham on top, then the beans on top of the ham.  Fold edges over.

Bake until the center bubbles and edges are brown, about 15 minutes. 

When you take it out, immediately top with the snow peas, tomatoes and celery leaves.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.  Doing that immediately allows the tart to warm, but not cook, your vegetables.
 
Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Baked Mozzarella Medallions

     This is what happens when I think I should eat healthy with fewer calories.  I find a way to cut the calories and fat, then eat twice as much.  These were delicious and creamy, just like restaurant mozzarella sticks, except they weren't greasy like the fried version.  See...healthy.  Eat up!
 
5 fresh mozzarella balls
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of your favorite Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
cooking spray

Marinara sauce for dipping





     Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil, or regular foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

     Slice the mozzarella into thick medallions.  

     Pour milk into a small bowl.

     Mix bread crumbs,seasoning, garlic powder and salt together and place in a small bowl.

     Dip cheese rounds into the milk then dredge in the bread crumbs and place on the tray.  If you have left over bread crumbs when you are down, sprinkle them on top of the medallions.  Freeze for 1 hour on the tray.

     Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Back the cheese until bread crumbs are browned, 6 to 7 minutes.  Let stand 1 minute.  If they spread, you can reform them to any shape you want to while they are still on the tray.  When you move them to a plate, they will stay that shape.

     Serve with warm marinara sauce.

 

Guacamole

1 avocado
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 finely chopped onion
8 grape tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 teaspoon of salt


 

 Dice the avacado and add the rest of the ingredients and stir.  That's it!
Serve with your favorite dipping chips.

Creamy Seafood Sauce Over Pasta

4 slices of bacon
2 Tablespoons of butter

1 cup of scallops or shrimp
1/2 lemon
1 stalk of celery
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup of cold milk
1 Tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning
1/3 cup of cream cheese
Lemon thyme for garnish (fresh, not dried)

Drain on paper towels

     Saute the bacon over medium heat in a large skillet until crispy.  Add 1 Tablespoon of the butter and the scallops.  Continue to saute until until the scallops are browned.  

     Remove the bacon and scallops to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the pan.

 
     Squeeze lemon juice from the lemon over the scallops and bacon and set aside.

  

Add the Celery

     Lower the heat under the pan to medium-low and add the celery.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the onion, red pepper and remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter and continue cooking until the peppers are soft.  

    

Onions, peppers and butter added

 

Sprinkle in the flour

      Slowly, sprinkle the flour over the entire mixture, coating everything and stir for 5 minutes.  

     Return the scallops and bacon to the pan and stir in the milk, adding the milk all at once. Add the Old Bay seasoning.  Bring to a simmer, remove from heat and stir in the cream cheese.



     Serve over pasta.  Garnish with lemon thyme and salt to taste.  The amount of salt will vary depending on the saltiness of the bacon.

Platter of Snacks for a Cozy Afternoon

     It was a cold and stormy afternoon and she sat alone in the dim light...the start of a good murder mystery and also a great reason to have cozy snacks.  I decided to have the snacks, then grab a good mystery book.  

     This is a combination of sweet and creamy and tangy but any snacks will do, especially if it's not a nice day out and you have a book to keep you company.




1 cup of figs, stems removed
1 bunch of large black seedless grapes
Sections of 1 orange
1 pear, cut into wedges
Your favorite cheese (I like cheddar)
1 small dish of tangy mustard


Lay all of this out on a platter and enjoy. 

Savor the sweetness of the pears with the creamy cheese.  Make a "sandwich" of two orange slices with a fig in the middle.  Try dipping a fig into the mustard and taste the sweet and sour.

Prosciutto and Black Eyed Peas - In a crock pot

      I am told that, in the south they celebrate New Years with beans in a dish called Hoppin' John.  Since I am not from the south, but of a Pennsylvania Dutch background, I have sauerkraut and spaetzles with pork- the real spaetzles, not those teeny things I see so often.  But that's a story for another blog.  

      This recipe is my Northern, Pennsylvania Dutch adaptation of the southern bean dish.  In other words, as with most adaptations, they carry no resemblance to the original.

  I enjoyed them and I hope you do too.     


3 cups dry beans, soaked overnight (I used black-eyed peas)
2 cups water

Kale, fresh from the garden on a winter day

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 lb prosciutto
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 1/2 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
12 oz of tomato paste
1 cup chopped, trimmed kale
2 cups of cooked rice (optional)

     Bring the beans to a boil, cover and take off heat.  Set aside.

     Combine water, mustard, salt and thyme.  Whisk until thoroughly mixed.  Set that aside too.

     Chop the prosciutto roughly and put into a food processor to turn it into the rough texture of ground meat.  It won't be quite that fine, but that's okay, it's a "rustic" dish.  That means it can look like anything and it doesn't matter.  Even mistakes are a work of art in a "rustic" dish.  Set that aside too.

Okay, finally time to cook:
     

     


Heat oil in a large pot and add onion to the hot oil.  Saute 6 minutes or until just turning brown.  

Before cooking the prosciutto

After cooking the prosciutto

     Add the prosciutto and garlic and saute until the prosciutto starts to get brown and crispy. 

      Don't rush this step.  Bring it to that stage with medium to medium-high heat.  You don't want to burn your onions.


    

       Stir in the water mixture and bring up to a boil.  

Cover the beans completely

      Add the beans to the crock pot then pour all the contents of your cooking pot into a crock pot to cover the beans.  Add more water if necessary to make sure the beans are covered. 

     Cook until beans are tender - about 4 hours on high or 7 or more on low, but check them.  The age of the beans will change the time they need to cook, drastically.  Fresh beans may be done hours earlier and older ones may take longer.



     When beans are tender, add the tomato paste and kale and cook until kale is wilted -  Another hour or so.


     Serve with rice mixed in, if you like, or eat as it is.