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Peach Galette & A Cheese Story

I would like to tell you that the everything you are about to read was planned to happen. But it was not. How the Peach Galette turned out perfectly is as shocking to me as it may be to you. The cheese… well that is just down right crazy.  Read on and feel free to laugh or cry.  I’m having a glass of wine. A very large glass of wine.

Who Moved My Cheese?

I was at the grocery picking up a few things I needed for my fresh peach galette crust. (who keeps unsalted butter in the house?) As I was gathering my reusable grocery bags in the rear of my SUV, I reached for one of my insulated frozen food bags, and it seemed a bit heavier than it should. Peering inside and much to my surprise was a wedge of goat gouda cheese that I bought at Costco sometime in mid-July. Hmmm, I wondered what happened to that cheese. I remembered buying it and saw it on my receipt, but I just assumed I left it at the store when bagging up my stuff.

As I said, it had been about six weeks but did I mention that my car sat in the uncovered airport parking lot for eight days while on vacation. This cheese experienced some heat. The vacuum wrapper was no longer taunt, and water sloshed around in the package. (sorry, I was so excited, I took it out of the wrapper before I got a picture to share with you). My brain is racing.

Adventurous Eater

Now I am no Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods on Travel Planet, but I have been known to eat foods that are not necessarily following US food safety standards. So as I walk the aisles at Publix, I am googling – “left cheese out for over a week.”  As I am doing this, I am thinking of all the places in the world I have been where cheese is not kept in the refrigerator. (Walk into any tapas bar in Spain).   I almost stopped googling because the more I thought about this, the more I figured it would be ok to at least taste. But the many posts on the internet assured me that eating a hard cheese that has been left at room temperature for an extended period is fine to eat. It may be funky smelling, but it will not kill me.

Drum Roll, please

I brought it home and immediately unwrapped it (again, sorry). I dumped off the excess water and rinsed the now smaller and denser block of cheese. The smell was intense but very pleasant, almost nutty. Goat Gouda is an off-white cheese. Yes, white in the cheese world means yellow and yellow means orange, but normally this cheese is white. Well, until you leave it in your car for over a month. Now it is an aged yellow similar to parmesan.

As I plunged my knife into the cheese, a small chunk broke off. I picked it up and smelled it again. You can smell the age and the richness from losing about a 1/2 cup of water. I pop it into my mouth and…. wait… give me a minute I am still trying to focus. OMG, this was an orgasmic experience.  Nutty, and somewhat buttery in taste. It is still creamy on the palate as it crumbles in your mouth. It is definitely drier and harder. The taste is as intense as it smelled, perhaps more so.  The tang that is typical in goat cheese is mellowed to the point of being almost non-existent.

who moved my cheese

Now What?

This cheese is incredible on its own with a crusty baguette. It should also work well in a salad, or shaved over tomatoes fresh from the garden.  Depending on my mood, if I desired a white wine I would pair it with a Reisling or Gewürztramminer. If it had to be red wine then, perhaps a Rioja or a Zinfandel.

This accident is now food porn that I may just do again. Only next time it will be on purpose with other cheeses. Let the self-aging cheese revolution begin.


An Undisciplined Baker

I really should not bake. As a friend said about my last baking experience, I am an “undisciplined” baker. Rest assured that is not a compliment and quite frankly, I resemble that remark.  So please indulge me as I provide the recipe. I will also explain what I did wrong. And if you missed the last baking fiasco – look here.

This whole Peach Galette got started on Wednesday when I stopped by the West Ashley Farmer’s Market.  I was making my weekly bread run when I decided to pick up some eggplant for dinner as well. As I walked up to the produce vendor that had a massive table of South Carolina grown peaches. (Side note – Even though Georgia is the Peachtree state, more peaches are grown in SC than in GA.) Anyway, the peaches were huge and tasted delicious, so I picked up a basket and decided it was time for a peach galette.  I chose to make a galette because in my head this was “less precise.” Oops!  FYI: A galette is defined as a flat round cake of pastry generally topped with fruit. In other words, a freeform one-crusted pie that is baked on a sheet versus in a pie pan.

So I had the peaches. It was time to make the galette.


Fresh Peach Galette

peach galette

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small (1/2-inch) cubes, chilled in freezer for an hour
  • 4 to 6 Tbsp ice water (I used 5)

Filling:

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Zest from half a lemon
  • 3 large peaches peeled, halved, pitted, and cut into 1/4 inch-thick wedges. (or six smaller peaches)**
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Turbinado or other coarse sugar

Preparation

In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt, until well mixed. Add the cubed butter, and pulse until the butter is the size of peas in the mixture.

Slowly add the ice water – first add two tablespoons, then pulse the dough. Add two more tablespoons, pulse again several times. You should be getting close. Now add just one more tablespoon and pulse. You want the dough just to start to clump. If needed, you may need up to 1 more tablespoon, but I doubt it.

 

Remove the dough from the food processor bowl onto a lightly floured surface and gently form the dough into a small disc. Do not overwork the dough or knead the dough, just bring it together dusting each side with a thin layer of flour. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Once the dough has properly chilled and rested, you can now pull together the filling. Now also preheat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack in the center of the oven.

Peel and slice the peaches into 1/4 inch thick wedges and place in a medium sized mixing bowl. If your peaches create extra juice, you may want to pour that off as to keep the galette from bubbling over. Add in the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest and toss to coat the peaches. Set aside.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.  You want the dough to be about an eighth of an inch thick and round-ish, about 12 inches in diameter.

^^

Now gently roll the dough onto your rolling pin to transfer it to the baking sheet pan and unroll. (or roll it out on parchment to easily transfer)

About one and a half inches from the edge of the dough begin to arrange the coated peach slices in a single, circular layer.   This should form an 8-inch circle of peach slices.

Fold over the edge of the dough allowing for slight overlap as you move around the circle. Brush the turned over dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the Turbinado sugar.

Place in the oven and bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is nicely browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes before serving.

peach galette

Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or go all out and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

**Note about the peaches.  You want the peaches to be ripe but firm with a slight give. If the peaches are hard to the touch allow to ripen for a day or so until they are ready.

Downloadable Recipe here: Peach Galette

^^OK, THIS IS WHERE THE SCREW UP BEGAN.

This part will not be included in the downloadable recipe, but I am telling you for pure entertainment value.

Alright, at the point I was supposed to roll the dough onto the rolling pin to transfer it to the sheet pan… I forgot. Sorry, busy day… I just forgot and proceeded to assemble the galette on my kitchen counter. As I was brushing on the egg wash, I paused and let out a screech that was filled with cuss words. What I intended to do was roll it out on parchment paper, but now that ship has sailed, and I have a raw peach galette on my kitchen counter, getting juicier by the second and I only have a lipped sheet cake pan to put it on. (As soon as I am done writing this post, I am buying cookie sheets)

I had NOTHING wide enough or strong enough to now transfer the assembled galette onto the sheet. As I look in every cabinet and every drawer, I know that if I wait too long the bottom will get too soft and the filling will come oozing out when it tears as I am moving it.

{Imagine me screaming now… repeating the f-word about a hundred times in 10 seconds}

I grab four metal spatulas of every shape and size; then I grab my widest and longest knife. I gently, slowly, and carefully get each one as far under the galette as I can without causing a tear. I look at the pan. Ok, if I use my hands to hold all these utensils how can I also hold the pan? Remember it has a 3/4″ lip. There is no way just to slide it on, it is a lift and plop.

{more f-words}

I grab the pan and wedge it between my belly and the gap between the counter top and our new under-counter Bosch dishwasher. It seems to be working.  Now I have to spread my fingers out as far as they will go so I can grasp all these handles and gently and carefully lift this thing and into the pan.

{please don’t get a cramp in my fingers and oh Mr. knuckle; please do not stick like you do now with my arthritis}

{why did I want to make a peach galette instead of a pie anyway!}

one…. two…. three…lift!

 

Well, it worked. I got it into the pan. I needed to create a couple of patches, but it was good to go.  Sprinkle with Turbinado and bake! It is delicious!

peach galette

And Peach Galette with Vanilla Ice Cream? It’s divine!

That is all for now.

Cheers,

rick

 

 

3 Comments

  1. Kyle

    Wow, Rick! You are a more adventurous foodie than I- that cheese would have hit the trash so fast your head would spin! The real question, did you tell Gary the story Before or After you had him taste it? And I loved the image of you balancing the pan while transferring the galette. Still smiling! I am not a cook or baker, but you are very inventive!

    • Oh Gary was told first… I like living too much!

  2. That peach galette looks delicious! I’m also an “undisciplined” baker. I’m so glad your cheese was okay! That would’ve been such a bummer. I’m a major cheese fan, and I’m going to be on the lookout for that gouda, too!

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