photography: Edward Pond

retouching / animation: Neil Wysocki

styling / eating: David Grenier

 

recipe: http://davidgrenierfoodstyling.com/blog/posts/330/plum+walnut+galette

 

preheat the oven to 450F. using a utility knife, score the skin of the pork belly.

 

rub kosher salt into the the skin and in between the cuts. place in a roasting pan and pop it into the hot oven for 30 minutes or until the skin starts to puff and turns to crackling.

 

reduce temperature to 350F and roast for 1 hour.

 

remove pan from oven, transfer pork to a cutting board and add 2 larger carrots cut lengthwise, 2 celery ribs cut into large chunks, 2 red onions cut into quarters, 1 head of garlic broken into cloves and a small bunch of thyme. baste vegetables with rendered pork fat and place pork on top.roast for another hour.

 

or until meat is fork tender, crackling is super crispy and vegetables are soft and caramelized. you can use the roasted veg to make a gravy but primarily they are used as an aromatic and a rack to elevate the pork so it is not sitting and boiling in its fat.

 

let it rest in the pan for 5 minutes. cut or slice the belly as desired. this can be messy.



and devour (a little goes a long way--this stuff is rich and decadent and habit forming).

 

you can use a blend of herbs and spices or dry rubs instead of straight salt.

 

photography: Edward Pond

styling: David Grenier

This rustic tart is my favourite dessert. Ever!

photography: David Grenier

plum + walnut galette

serves 8 - 10

 

pastry:

1 2/3 c. all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cups and levelled

1 1/2 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

10 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into bits (1 1/4 sticks)

4 - 5 tbsp ice water

filling:

8 plums, each sliced into 12 wedges

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

3 tbsp all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar, divided

 

Put first 4 ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and process briefly until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Sprinkle water and pulse just until the pastry comes together—only a few seconds. Remove pastry and form into a ball, roll it out on a sheet of parchment paper to a circle of 13-15 inches and transfer to a baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F. Put walnuts, flour and 1/4 cup of the sugar into processor and process into a fine meal.Remove pastry from refrigerator and spread walnut mixture evenly, leaving a 2 inch border all the way around. Arrange plums over walnuts in a concentric pattern and gently fold the edges over the fruit leaving centre exposed. If the pastry is too cold it will crack; simply wait until it has warmed up and pliable. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the fruit and pastry border.

Bake the galette in the bottom half of a hot oven for about 1 hour, cover with foil if it is browning too quickly. Remove from oven and cool. Serve at room temperature.

Other great fruit and nut combinations:

Apricots + Almonds

Peaches + Pistachio

Nectarines + Pecans

This gorgeously flavoured and textured cake mixes in one bowl and requires little effort.


photo: David Grenier

 

Orange Cornmeal Cake

1/2 cup olive oil (not virgin), plus more for pan
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar, divided
finely grated zest of 2 oranges

1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarse-ground yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with oil, line bottom with a round of parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together oil, eggs, 3/4 cup of the sugar and orange juice until smooth. Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and orange zest; fold gently to combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and a tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool in pan 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake, remove sides from cake and discard parchment paper. Let cake cool completely on a rack.

Serve with whipped cream.

Can be made in an 8" round cake pan: gently invert cake after 20 minutes of cooling in the pan, and re-invert it on a rack to cool.

photos: John Cullen for Chatelaine props: Jane Hardin

food styling: David Grenier

 

Roast Turkey

Recipe: Claire Tansey, Food Editor, Chatelaine Magazine

 

Preparation time 25 minutes

Cooking time 3 hours35 minutes

Makes 12 Servings

3 cups packed brown sugar 3/4 cup kosher salt 5-7.5 kg (13-15lb) turkey, thawed 1 bunch fresh sage 3 tbsp melted butter FOR GRAVY: 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup white wine 2 cups water Stir brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Rinse turkey and dry very well with paper towels. Place turkey in a large pan or large plastic bag, then pack brownsugar mixture all over the outside of the turkey as best you can, and place some in the cavity as well. Cover pan or tie bag, and refrigerate 12 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 450F. Rinse brine from the turkey, inside and out, gently rubbing under cold running water so it all comes off. (Don't worry if the legs and wings look purple, which is the result of brining.) Pat dry. Stuff sage into cavity. Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan. Bend and tuck wings under the body and loosely tie drumsticks together. Brush butter all over turkey. Loosely cover with foil. Roast for 30 min. Reduce oven temperature to 325F. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 175F, about 21/2 to 31/4 hours. Remove foil during final hour of cooking. Transfer turkey to a platter, tent loosely with foil and let rest at least 25 min before carving. To make gravy, carefully spoon most of the fat out of the roasting pan, leaving behind about 4 tbsp fat as well as all the brown bits. Place the pan on the stove over medium and stir in flour, whisking to completely incorporate flour into drippings. Cook for 30 sec, then whisk in wine and water. Increase heat to medium-high, whisking constantly, until thickened, scraping up and incorporating all the brown bits from the pan, about 10 to 15 min. Reduce heat to low. If needed, whisk in additional water or homemade turkey stock to reach the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turkey Tips:

Brining is a chef's trick for improving flavour and texture, and this dry method is easier than the wet method. It's essential to use kosher salt and to rinse all traces of the sugar-salt mixture from the bird before roasting. Another way to get a perfect roast turkey is to buy a fresh bird. Naturally raised or organic turkeys can be even more juicy and flavourful.

a super yummy, super easy, early fall cake.

 

plum cake with compote

 

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup greek yogurt

1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup chopped plum, about 3-4 plums

 

compote

1 cup plum jam

1/4 cup cranberry

1/4 cup port

6 plums, pitted, cut into eights

 

for cake, preheat oven to 350F. butter a loaf pan and line base with parchment paper.

in a large bowl, combine all cake ingredients except plums and beat with an electric mixer until well combined, about 3 minutes (batter will be quite thick). stir in plums.

spoon batter into prepared pan and bake until tester comes out clean, about 60 minutes. transfer cake to a rack to cool for 30 minutes, remove from pan, discard parchment paper and let cool completely.

 

for the compote, place all ingredients except plums in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. reduce heat to medium low, add plums and poach in liquid until slightly softened, about 5-7 minutes. remove plums, raise heat and boil sauce down until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. return plums and let cool.

 

serve cake sliced with compote and whipped cream or creme fraiche.

or, skip the compote and whipped cream completely and eat as is.
(adapted from: lucy waverman, globe and mail)