Apricot Almond Galette

With beautiful apricots overflowing at the farmers' market, I couldn't help but load them into this late-spring pastry.  Apricots go surprisingly well with almond, and their tartness is complemented by the sweetness of the almond cream and a sprinkling of coarse sugar. 

Rustic Leek and Mushroom Galette

Galette refers to a rustic, free-form tart.  They can be any size, filled with savory or sweet fillings, and they look beautiful and... well, rustic.  They don't take as much effort as a pie -- there is no gentle pinching of crust edges.  A galette just gets folded up onto itself and popped in the oven.  I love them.

Celebrating the Irish

I'm not a big St. Patrick's Day reveler, but I am half Irish and would be happy to celebrate that fact with some dark beer anytime.  With the holiday falling on Thursday during a very busy work week, I had every intention of letting the day pass with a hasty after-work beer toast and a night on the couch.  But that morning as I cleared my in-box I saw a recipe that caused me to pause.  Somewhere, somehow I ended up on Martha Stewart's daily Every Day Food listserve, which diligently sends me a dinner recipe every morning.  I often delete without opening, but am also occasionally interested and inspired by the recipes that come through, which is why I have not unsubsribed.  This particular morning's recipe was for Irish Beef Hand Pies.  Although this did not initially sound appealing to me at all, I returned to the deleted recipe as I remembered the Hand Pie's relative -- the Cornish Pasty.  Traditionally a buttery (or lard-y), flaky crust enveloping steamy roast meat, potatoes and other veggies, the perfect size to hold in your hand.