I have been obsessed with Meg Cowden and her container gardens for some time. I follow her on Instagram @seedtofork, and there was a drone overhead shot of her yard that I watched ten times. I am heading out on a book tour in my van for a few weeks and will be bringing this book with me and obsessing about my Ely Hilltop Garden improvements for next year.
If you are still harvesting, here is a great rice side dish that uses a ton of cherry tomatoes. You can also make this butter tomato sauce that you can freeze in a mason jar.
It’s apple season, so the Star Tribune featured my Chicken, Wild Rice, and Apple and Pecan recipe in their orchard round-up. It made me hungry for it, so I made it again! Try your hand at the Tarte Tatin apple recipe below that my Mother In Law Dolores has perfected.
Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
* 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
* 3 tbsp sugar, divided
* 1 tsp kosher salt
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 8 tbsp chilled, unsalted butter, cut into ½-in. cubes, divided
* 2 tbsp cream
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* Four large Honeycrisp apples (1 lb. total), peeled and cored, each cut into 6 wedges
Instructions
* Preheat the oven to 375°F. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, the salt, and the baking powder. Add 3 tablespoons butter and the shortening and, using your fingers, rub the fat into the flour mixture to form coarse, pea-size pieces. Add the cream and egg, and stir until just combined. Press the dough together with your hands and refrigerate until firm to the touch, 30–35 minutes.
* When ready to cook, thickly coat the bottom of a 10-inch heavy ovenproof skillet or tarte Tatin pan with butter. Sprinkle sugar evenly on top.
* Cut one piece of apple into a thick round disk and place in the center of the skillet to serve as the “button.” Arrange the remaining apple pieces, each one standing on its flat end, in concentric circles around the button. Keep the pieces close together so that they support one another, standing upright. They will look like the petals of a flower.
* On a floured surface, roll out the pastry about 1/8-inch thick. Place an upside-down bowl or pan on the pastry and use the tip of a sharp knife to cut out a circle about the same size as the top of your skillet. Lift out the circle and drape gently over the apples. Use your hands to tuck the pastry around the apple pieces, hugging them together firmly
* Transfer to the oven and bake until the crust is golden and apples are tender when poked with a knife, 40-45 minutes. (If the edges begin to brown before the fruit is tender, cover them with strips of aluminum foil.)
* Let cool 5 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a round serving plate by placing another plate over the top and flipping it over. If any apples remain stuck in the pan, gently use your fingers or a spatula to retrieve them and rearrange on the pastry shell. Cut in wedges and serve warm with heavy cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream. Set the tart aside to cool at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Chicken Wild Rice and Apple Pecan Salad
Ingredients
Ingredients for Vinaigrette
* 2 large cloves of garlic micro planed
* ⅓ cup rice vinegar
* 2 Tbsp soy sauce
* 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
* 1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
* 1 tsp orange zest
* 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger on a micro plane grater
* 1/4 cup sesame oil
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 tsp kosher table salt
* 1 tsp pepper
Ingredients for the Salad
* 2 boneless chicken breasts
* 2 cups wild rice
* 4 1/2 cups chicken stock
* 1 cup cubed honey crisp apple
* 2 celery stalks chopped with leaves
* 1 cup scallions chopped
* 1/2 cup red onion chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped Italian Parsley
* 1/2 cup toasted pecans
Instructions
* Place all vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar and shake until emulsified.
* Place the wild rice in a saucepan or pot. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on top of the rice.
* Add 1 tsp salt to the chicken rice mixture and cover with 4 1/2 cups broth. Bring the stock to a boil. You'll see some white scummy foam collecting on the surface of the stock as it comes to a boil; it's fine to leave it..Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let the chicken and rice simmer.
* Cook the chicken for 15 minutes and fish out of the pot and set aside to cool and continue cooking rice for another 30 minutes.
* Meanwhile, toast pecans in a cast iron skillet over medium, heat until fragrant and brown, and set aside.
* Cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes
* Take the rice off the stove and drain in a colander, and cool
* In a large mixing bowl, add apple cubes and toss with vinaigrette. Add cubed chicken, rice, celery, scallions, red onion, parsley, and toasted pecans. Toss again until all the ingredients arewell-coated.
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