Roasted Golden Beet Tart - Foodbuzz Fest Part Two

I couldn't find a T-Shirt that read; "ShowFood Chef Went to FoodBuzz Festival and All I Got Was This T-Shirt". So instead, I'm giving you this recipe that was inspired by one of the exquisite courses prepared for our Gala Dinner.

My Roasted Golden Beet Tart
w/Balsamic Candied Red Beets & Arugula

I really enjoyed the dinner catered by Paula LeDuc Fine Catering in San Francisco. I was amazed at the consistently well-cooked scallops and lamb. Those are not easy to cook well for a crowd. Everything was presented so beautifully and paired perfectly with Bonny Doon wines.

Here's part #2 of my first FoodBuzz Blogger Festival that includes a dinner recap along with pics of the fun. If you weren't there, hopefully I'll make you feel like you were, then leave you with a nice Roasted Golden Beet Tart recipe to make on your own:

Saturday morning began with several casual breakout sessions:
I attended the Video Blogging session with ChezPim, RhodeyGirl and FoodWishes. The biggest take-away from the session was a renewed sense of ambition - just do it, go for it, try new things.

I also attended the Writing session lead by three of my favorite bloggers: SaltySeattle, Sippity Sup and FoodWoolf. In the session we were encouraged to stretch our brains and creativity further, to stay away from the over used words to describe food (awesome, tasty, delicious, yummy). We were also given a chance to play in a Twitter game during the Tasting Pavilion: tweet a 140 characters (or less) comment about the food without using any of the forbidden words. Guess what? I won $100.00 with a winning tweet that admittedly was pushing not only creativity, but rating's boundaries (according to my mom.) I'll still include the tweet under the picture of its inspiration. (See if you can guess my winning words.)

Just about the time I was getting hungry, I attended the Alaskan Seafood session and met this guy:
He would be fish cakes in the hands of the gorgeous and adorable Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill, etc. fame.
She turned salmon and halibut into these tantalizing teasers -
...but we could only take pictures and not eat until later at the Pavilion.
Once, at the Metreon, we enjoyed the sky-high views of San Francisco and blogger-blabbered in the sunshine until they opened the doors.
Once the chow-bell rang, all food heaven broke loose:Poached Gulf Prawns And Chile-Gazpacho from the Waterfront Hotel.

Prather Ranch Meats - "Whiskey soaked maple sausage - hello, are you dating anyone?"

Several Food Bloggers were giving demos for recipes that had won them a spot in the Tasting Pavilion (including Julie from Willowbird Baking and Josie from DayDreamer Desserts. )

Cream of mushroom from Americano at Hotel Vitale.

Mission Minis cupcakes…
Olive Oil with Meyer Lemon that really shined from WeOlive.com, Inna Jam and
Go Pop Candy found on Foodzie.com along with many of the artisan foods that popped.

After a quick rest (AKA: more drinks in the lobby bar) it was time for the Gala Dinner presented by Cooking Channel and wines by Bonny Doon Vineyard.

Our first course (also the inspiration for my recipe)-

Roasted Golden Beet Tart
Crimson beet, Feta, Currants & Basil Puree
(paired with 2009 Bonny Doon Ca'del Solo Albarino)

Seared Scallops w/Braised Fennel and Fried Fonds
(w/Bonny Doon Vineyard Verjus Beurre Blanc)

Our next course (not pictured) was a Rosemary Garlic Infused Rack of Lamb w/Wild Mushrooms and Butternut Squash Puree (paired with 2006 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant).

Dessert: Tarta de Almendras
w/ Orange and garnished with a toasted Parmigiano nest.

(paired with 2008 Bonny Doon Vineyard Vinferno)

Good Food and wonderful people - they're hard to forget. Blogging is one way to journal about moments and meals that you want to share. I loved the idea of Show and Tell in school, it always gave me a chance to see into my class mates lives and personalities beyond the playground and tiled world of plastic desks.

Show Food Chef is my way of letting you (when you have time and desire) into my world. This week I wanted to develop a recipe that captured the taste of the mellow tart served to me during the Gala Dinner. This is NOT their recipe, but I have to say it was damn good. I hope you have the chance to try it.

RECIPE: Roasted Golden Beet Tart -

Classic 3-2-1 Pastry Dough for pie shell *(See below)

3 Golden Beets (roasted - see instructions)
3 Tbls. Buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
4 oz. goat cheese (room temp)
[Makes 4 6inch tarts or 1 9inch tart]

1) Wash and cut the Golden Beets in half. Place cut side down into a baking dish. Pour in 1/4 cup water, cover with foil and roast the beets for about 40 minutes at 350F (or until fork tender).
2) Remove from oven, uncover and let rest/cool for a few minutes. Peel the tender beets and cut into large chucks.
3) Put the beet cubes into a food processor and puree.
4) Add the buttermilk, eggs, zest, cinnamon, salt & pepper.
5) Puree together until a smooth custard
6) Pour beet custard into a bowl and stir in the goat cheese until just incorporated.
When the pie or tart shells are ready and prebaked, pour the beet custard into the shells and bake at 350F for about 20-30 minutes, depending on size of tarts or pie. They are ready when the center of the custard is just set and not loose. Remove and cool for a few minutes before carefully taking out of pans.

Serve with lightly dressed Arugula on top, and garnished with candied red beets or a drizzle of cilantro glaze.


Classic 3-2-1 Pie Dough:

1 1/2 cups AP Flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold butter
5-8 Tbls. iced water

1) In a food processor - pour in flour and salt, then add the butter cubed. Pulse to cut in the butter, just until its small pea-size bits.

2) Pulse in the water a little at a time just until the dough starts to hold together.

3) Remove dough to floured board and using palm of one hand, push dough forward and then pull into a ball (about 2 times only). Divide dough into halves, form a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour.

4) Roll each disk out between plastic wrap, removing and sprinkling with tiny bit of flour as needed to roll easier.
When the dough is rolled, cut into size as needed for tart or pie pan and place in pan.

5) Chill the pie shells for about 30 minutes (this helps keep them thin and solid when baking).

6) Cover the bottom of pie shell with parchment and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake in 350F oven for about 10-15 minutes (depending on size of pans). It should not brown, but just get a nice pre-baked texture to help prevent soggy crust when filled.

7) Fill pie/tart shells and bake as instructed by your recipe.
Thanks for stopping by - let me know your thoughts :D

Food Buzz at FoodBuzz

Welcome Food by FrogHollow Farms

This weekend I am living the dream of any food lover. I'm in gorgeous San Francisco, California at a Food Blogging/Writer's Conference where my job is to eat amazing food, and drink (thoughtfully) all the wine and fine brewed beer I can consume. Tough job, but somebody....right?

This conference is sponsored by FoodBuzz (click and read all about them.)Just for the major drool opportunity, I thought I'd post a few pics before I nap like a Roman Soldier and go back out there and be glutinous once again.The evening's food festivities began just as the sun was setting over the water at the Fort Mason pavilion . Hungry bloggers followed the "I (heart) Foodbuzz" signs, and grabbed a paper that told them which table was theirs, and also a few friendly instructions to follow as a way to get to know each other. Each of us brought a gift for exchanging with another blogger. I was SO fortunate to receive a gift of Teuscher Chocolates from Elaina at One Healthy Apple.
I gave my gift of jam, fruit paste and a few things from Hermosa Beach, California to Renuka of I Dream O Food.
Then, the rumbling charge to the food trucks and stands commenced.Sometimes I got the chance to make a food-pic, and other times it was devoured before my brain could tell my hands to pick up the camera. Here are a few of the goodies:
Namu Korean Taco Tacolicious
Roli Roti - Porchetta
Chez Spencer's Braised Lamb and Lobster CappacinoStraus ice creamsMission Mini Cupcakes
The second day includes break-out sessions about photography, writing and videos. After that there is a different pavilion full of food waiting for us to taste before we have our dinner of even more food. This calls for stretchy pants.

Make Your Own Seasoned Mascarpone Cheese (plus 3 ways to use it) - Simple Saturday

I know what you're saying, "Make my own Mascarpone cheese is a Simple Saturday?"
Here's the truth: it takes 2 ingredients to make your own (very expensive in the store) Italian Cream Cheese (Mascarpone). Then, to make it even more special (didn't that sound like Giada?)- I added Italian seasonings.
And then, and then... I'll suggest a few ways to use this creamy, flavorful cheese you can make yourself.

Italian Seasoned Mascarpone Cheese

RECIPE: Italian Seasoned Mascarpone Cheese-

2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tbls. Lemon Juice
Seasoning: 1 Tbls of Italian Seasoning blend or a mixture of Oregano, Thyme, Basil, salt and pepper

1) Pour about 2 inches of water into a deep saucepan, place a bowl over the saucepan of water. Bring the water to a low simmer.

2) Pour the cream into the bowl and stir often until the cream heats to 190F. (If you don't have a thermometer - best guess is about 20 minutes and it will have tiny bubbles forming around the very edge.)

3) When the cream reaches the proper temperature, pour in the lemon juice and continue to heat the cream and stir while the cream curdles gently and becomes thick enough to give a drag to the spoon and definitely covers the back of the spoon.

4) Stir in the seasonings well, then remove the bowl from the pan of water and the heat. Let the bowl of cream rest and cool down for about 30 minutes to an hour.
5) Prepare a sieve lined with 4 layers of damp cheese cloth. Gently pour the mixture through the sieve placed over a bowl.
6) Place bowl and sieve in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 12 hours. When ready, use a spoon to scoop out your cheese (glorious cheese) into a container. Keep covered in the refrigerator and use within 5 days, preferably.

RECIPE: Pumpkin Baked Eggs w/ Italian Mascarpone

Ingredients -
1 Egg for each person
Pumpkin puree
Italian Mascarpone
Chopped Fresh Basil
Salt/Pepper 1

) Butter each ramekin or oven proof bowl (1 per person)
2) Into each ramekin, place 1 Tablespoon of Pumpkin Puree, 1 Tablespoon of Italian Mascarpone, then a pinch of fresh chopped basil. On top of these flavors, add one fresh egg and season with salt and pepper.

3) In a preheated 350F oven, place a deep sided casserole dish or baking pan. Place the filled ramekins into the large baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the baking pan and around the egg dishes (NOT into the egg dishes). Pour until the water is about 1/3 the way up the ramekins. You are creating a Bain Marie - a wonderful technique for slow cooking eggs and custard type dishes.
4) Bake for about 15-17 minutes (depending on how well done you prefer your eggs). Don't forget the eggs will continue to cook a bit when removed from the oven, just because the heat inside.

5) Serve the eggs in the ramekins on a heat proof dish.

OTHER IDEAS: 1) Stir a Tablespoon of Italian Mascarpone into your bowl of hot Tomato Soup, to give it a little creamy zing

2) Toast baguette slices, then top with a dollop of Italian Mascarpone and garnished with a Sauteed Mushroom slice.

You probably have a few more ideas that would be great with Italian Seasoned Mascarpone, right? I would love to read them and others would love for you to share them. Feel free to leave them in the comments. Thanks for stopping by.

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Pumpkin Spice Orzo Pasta

This Acorn Squash was so beautiful, I just wanted to bake and stuff it right away.

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed w/Pumpkin Spice Orzo Pasta

The other day, I was dashing through my local Farmer's Market happy to grab the few things I needed just before the tents were going down. With my favorite Honey B canvas bag filled with Autumn produce (Acorn Squash, apples, California Fuyu Persimmons), I had every intention of breaking rank and just sliding through between two of the stalls for a clever short-cut back to my car. It was one of those times when your mind and eyes register words and colors, but it takes a minute for your brain to catch up. I stopped mid-escape, realizing I had just seen a multitude of fall colored pastas. Pastas? Multi-colored? At the farmers market artisanal section? How could I, a giant nerd-ball Italophile obsessed with making homemade pasta, not pull a personal u-turn and check that out?
Even now, after way too many platefuls of golden roasted Acorn squash filled with Harvest Pumpkin and Spice Orzo (simmered in toasted pine nuts, apples and sage) I'm wishing for more.
I am honestly so happy I took that pasta-pause and purchased pumpkin orzo from these wonderful folks: Pappardelles Pasta (say THAT sentence twice, fast.)
Orzo means "barley" in Italian and is called that more for it's shape than anything else. A lot of Italian pasta has a name based on its shape or story behind how it was formed.
Orzo is used in a lot of Mediterranean dishes and served as a warm dish and also in cold pasta salads. I spoke with Kyle Crocker, a really friendly and knowledgeable guy, about how the Pappardelle artisan pasta company makes all its pasta in small batches, by hand or hand machines and air dried in rooms according to the best choice for each pasta shape. This is a company I could love. There were so many different sizes, shapes and flavors I could hardly hold back my Italy-style tears of over dramatic joy.

RECIPE: Roasted Acorn Squash stuffed with Pumpkin Spice Orzo Risotto

1 Acorn Squash
3 oz. butter
1 oz. olive oil (plus more for pan and rubbing squash)
1 shallot (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 cups Orzo (Pappardelles Autumn Harvest)
6 cups Vegetable stock
1 med. apple (peeled, cored, chopped)
dash of ground cinnamon and fresh nutmeg
salt/pepper to taste
Pinch of fresh thyme leaves, fresh chopped parsley, and fresh chopped sage leaves
3 Tbls. pine nuts (toasted)

Preheat oven to 350F
Grease large sheet pan

1) Cut Acorn squash in half and scrape out all seeds and filling. Rub insides of squash halves with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place cut side down on prepared baking sheet and roast in oven for about 1 1/2 hours til inside is tender, but not mushy.

2) In a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil together and saute shallot and garlic on low/med heat until tender (about 5-10 minutes) In the last minute, add apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir to mix well.

3) Add Orzo and stir, coating all the grains and heating for about 8 minutes.

4) Gradually pour in Vegetable stock, stirring constantly and incorporating all the flavors.

5) Cook, stirring, for about 15-20 minutes until Orzo has almost doubled in volume and is al dente (or tender to the bite.)

6) Stir in herbs, pine nuts and adjust seasonings.

Serve by filling the acorn squash with the Orzo Risotto and garnish with fresh sage leaves. When plating, scoop a nice serving of Roasted Acorn Squash with each serving of Pumpkin Spice Orzo Risotto, too.

This serves 4-6 with good portions, but could serve more if used as a side dish in a large meal (ie. Thanksgiving or Holiday menus). It's easy to give thanks for this golden toasty, crunchy autumn awesomeness! Happy stuffing.