We rang in a quiet but lovely New Year’s Eve this year here on Orcas Island. A little food and drink at our local favorite wine and tapas bar, The Barnacle, in Eastsound and then a drive past a couple options of music and dance. Pausing near the front entrance, with the music escaping and small groups of people laughing, milling in, out and about, filled our social card for the night. A movie and a split of champagne would fulfill our needs.
But the following week… we had friends over to share a lovely meal, wine, specialty brews and an herbal Schnapps we brought back from Germany that is made by the family of one of Ollie’s former students. We hope to see it someday imported to the US. We stayed up far past our bedtimes, chatting, laughing and exchanging thoughts, advice and ideas. It was so Kinfolk… except most of us that night had maybe fifteen years on their median target. Don’t get me wrong, I love the magazine and really it has no age limit. Casual entertaining with style and purpose. And wouldn’t you know the new issue is appealing to the elders (which I don’t believe I have earned the title of just yet). Love it!
I’m sharing with you our appetizer.
I used my favorite crust recipe that always starts with sifting.
250g of all purpose onto a piece of parchment paper makes a snowy little mound.
In cooking school we rarely used machines. We had to know how to use our hands, knives and manual tools. Now I use a processor to add and cut in 125g of unsalted butter and 1 tsp salt. But I still take it between my hands after and work out the bits till the butter is all incorporated.
1 egg yolk and 50ml cold water. Here I doubled the recipe to make 2 crusts.
Then I take a couple fingers and mix it up before I turn it out on the counter.
I couldn’t tell you how many times we made this simple pate brisee. Puff pastry was regularly made as well. I think to remove the fear and mystery.
Now turned out onto the counter, I add finely chopped, fresh thyme.
It’s lightly brought together and gets three good strokes with the palm of my hand. Then turned to a disc, it rests in the fridge for 30 minutes.
The filling consisted of the Hempler’s pre-cooked, uncured ham I had bought for New Year’s Day eggs benedict (which was eaten with homemade english muffins) after we went to the annual Polar Bear Plunge. Maybe someone will be taking photos of us jumping in next year. Have to slip in a couple pics…
The lake was wrapped in a gray gauze blanket.
And here’s our mascot.
Where was I… gray mists, freezing water, plunge, eggs benedict, oh yes… ham.
Hempler’s ham (no pic as it was leftover) fresh chèvre- I get this in the big log.
And leeks that were caramelized. Still a few of these standing strong in the garden.
The dough comes out of the fridge after 30 min. If it goes longer you’ll have to warm it up a little and maybe give it a couple whacks with your rolling pin.
Fill up the middle with your goods
And fold the edges over starting at one point and continuing till you are back round the circle and have kind of pleats.
You can make this in the morning and hold it in the fridge till the evening. It will need about 45 minutes at 375°. Keep an eye on the ham that it doesn’t blacken.
This savory galette was delish to nibble on with our apps but also carried over to breakfast and snack.
And for that reason, among other recipes I tend to snack on all day, I’m just finishing up a three day juice cleanse… but more on that later- I’ve gone off enough for one post.
I have to mention what a fellow blogger, Celi, said in a post that I think is so true. Sometimes it’s hard to stay on topic and not divert a tad here and there. And life is like that, it often goes off topic. It’s how I think, how I write and how I relate.
You can find some of the ramblings on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or maybe even Pinterest.
JMJ it’s hard to keep up!
Galette Crust:
- 250g all purpose flour
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 50ml cold water
- 1 large yolk
- 2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
Filling:
- 3 leeks, cut in half then sliced
- 6 oz chevre
- about 2 cups diced ham
- drizzle of olive oil
- sprinkle of fresh thyme
Garnish:
- sour cream diluted with a little heavy cream in a squirt bottle… a dollop would do fine!
Wendy's Place 
Mm! This looks delicious! 🙂
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Thanks. It was pretty darn good!
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Sounds & looks delicious! In my UK pastries cookery course we had no machines either, and ever since I have neglected my Bosch kitchen machine and keep doing everything by hand, albeit with rubber gloves as I despise the stuff getting under my fingernails 🙂
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I think they just want you to be prepared and not freak if your kitchenaid breaks down.
You are funny. I have stumpy little nails so it’s not a problem. But I do have to get the gunk out of my diamond ring with a toothpick. And I have to take it to the jewelers once a year for a proper clean. He’s like what the hell is all this crud?
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Wow, looks fantastic!
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Hi there- thank you for checking it out. I’m liking that stack of pancakes with whipped cream you have there for your gravatar:)
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Wendy, Happy New Year! I love love love the sound of this recipe – me being Mr. Savory — thank you for sharing! By the way, that mascot — interesting 🙂
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Thanks Danny. It’s fun for a party. Not sure if it’s Super Bowl nosh but could be.
That guy is out there every year. It’s a fundraiser for the local rowing club.
cheers…wendy
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I love this savory version of the galette. I love agalettes for their rustic look.
That Polar Bear plunge looks like great fun as well.
Happy New year!
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Thanks so much. I love crust whether it’s supporting a sweet or savory filling. I’m about due to make a good old fashion apple pie at that!
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It makes me so happy to see someone else out there who makes their pastry by hand. What a beautiful, thin crust you made! I always loved doing puff pastry and croissant dough by hand. Such a meditative process.
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I still do my crepe batter by hand too. Great to connect today. I’ve not made puff pastry in quite a while. I might have a go at it when the January health kick fades out.
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Food is to be touched and caressed to perfection, when done it reflects the love and care the cook has put in. Effort in cooking pays off more often than not. Here it seems to have done wonders.
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Looks delicious Wendy! We had a polar bear plunge where we live too…I always thought those people were crazy! 😉 Maybe I’ll have to try it one day!
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Thanks Christina- I’m kind of in the ‘one day’ camp myself.
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Happy New Year, Wendy! There’s nothing I like more than a quiet NYE! I was asleep by 10 pm this year, lol. Your savoury galette looks incredible! Thank you for taking the mystery out of making the pastry (it’s still something that I struggle with, which just means i need to make more of it, right?). All of these photos are absolutely gorgeous!
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Thank you! The pastry thing just takes practice. Once you get it- it’s a no-brainer.
Hope you had an amazing trip. I am ready for sun and warmth. cheers… wendy
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These photos! Gah! Gorgeous. And the galette – perfect in it’s simplicity. No over complication of flavours and ingredients. I can practically taste it…
Also, that polar bear? Awesome. (Not enough to make me jump in a frozen lake, but awesome nonetheless.)
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YUM – I might have to try that looks delicious – and there was ice on my windshield this morning!!!! I need cold weather food
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Oh what a most lovely and delicious looking galette! Definitely keeping this on hand for a weekend breakfast or for guests. Decadent! Hope you’re doing well my friend! xoxo Karista
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The plunge looks like great fun! I bet it was chilly though! Also, the galette looks glorious.
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G’day! What a funny event!!! what was the water temperature?
Galette looks really tasty, usually I make it sweet, have to try your option 🙂
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OK Wendy – I made this last night as well as an awesome quiche (we have a million eggs so I am breaking out the heavy egg recipes LOL) I was lazy and didn’t make the pastry from scratch (in my defense I made the quiche pastry from scratch…) but it was still a hit I used garlic and herb Chevres and pancetta – everyone loved it and the leftovers went fast
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I love the delicious snaps and mise en place of your galette. The little cubes of speck, just perfectly so against the bright and vivid green. This is one of the loveliest posts I’ve seen around in a long time! Beautiful.
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Simple New Year’s Eves are the best kinds 🙂 This galette looks totally delicious! What wonderful ingredients to stuff into that tasty herbed crust!
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We might have a few more “big hurrah” new year’s nights in us- but this year wasn’t going to be one of them. We felt quiet and enjoyed being on our own.
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What a cool idea to put thyme in the pastry dough! I have never thought about putting spices into the dough itself, I typically would focus on the filling. Chevre is also one of my favorite foods, so I will definitely be trying this recipe. I might try to use prosciutto and see how that tastes! Thanks for sharing!
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It’s gorgeous!
I do something like this w/o eggs or chevre, but its still delicious, and fun to eat!
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This galette is exactly the kind of rustic dish I like to make – it looks fantastic. Love the bear mask swimming costume too!
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This is a good one to fall back on. I love being reminded myself! A great vehicle to host lots of summer veggies as well.
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