Stacked Crepe Torte

Today’s post is more of an ideas post than an actual recipe, but it’s an idea that you can take in uncountable directions, be that sweet or savory or as a main dish or a dessert. Another neat thing about this culinary concept is that you get to play the part of a pastry chef as you spread several layers of filling between stackable crepes. Unlike most pastries, however, a crepe torte is a lot more forgiving of less-than-professional techniques (which, when it comes to making pastries, mine certainly are) than just about any pastry you could name.

What I’m talking about is a stunningly simple — yet elegant! — idea: a layered torte made of stacked crepes with a savory or sweet filling in between them. As long as your chosen filling has a thick, spreadable, and non-runny consistency, you’re golden. (Salsa would obviously escape its crepe layers and spill back onto the plate, but guacamole would not.) From hummus to a thick and chunky tapenade, you can layer away to your heart’s content. If you wanted to go the sweet route, you could whip some fresh cream and alternately layer it into the crepes with some fresh fruit. Or you could make a rich chocolate ganache and layer that in, then top the torte with some crushed nuts and a drizzle of honey mixed with cinnamon.

No matter what kind of filling you choose, just be sure to use a sharp and thin knife to gently cut the torte into pieces — a big and/or dull knife would smash the layers down and make the filling squish out. Also, while you can certainly stack a batch of standard 6″ crepes, you might prefer to use a 9″ pan when you cook the crepes so that you’ll have a larger layer to work with later. This recipe for crepes will work for either size.

Stacked crepe tortes like this one I made with puréed smoked salmon and fromage blanc — the latter reminds me of smooth cottage cheese — will last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. You can also make the crepes a day or two ahead of time if you like, then stack and serve just before company arrives. (Or just before you get hungry for lunch or dinner.)

Enjoy!

Corn Spaghetti Tossed with Guacamole

A whimsical name for a whimsical dish: pasta tossed with guacamole.  I got the idea when I wanted to make guacamole but was out of corn chips.  What to do?  Use corn in a different form, I decided.  I did.  I also deepened the flavors of the dish by sautéeing the garlic and onion before stirring them into the smashed avocado.

This is a great way to serve extra guacamole…and people who object to the greenness of the dip may be more willing to eat noodles swathed in greenness.  (Dad!)  After all, pesto is green, and everyone loves that on pasta.  If a child is balking at the idea of a green meal, tell her you’re serving Shrek pasta for dinner.

“Monster” Pasta (Spaghetti Tossed with Guacamole)
Both gluten-free and wheat versions given

2 servings of a pasta of your choice, prepared according to package instructions (corn is best, but a mild brown rice or wheat would also work)*
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced into thin rounds
1 small onion, diced
1 avocado
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 T. fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

While pasta is cooking, sautée olive oil, garlic, and onion over medium-low heat in a small saucepan for about 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant and onion is translucent. Stir often to prevent garlic from browning. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a flat-bottomed bowl, mash avocado with a fork. (It works best if you can easily press down into the avocado flesh.) Stir in tomato, lemon juice, garlic, and onion.** Season to taste with salt and pepper, then toss with warm pasta. Serve immediately. A dollop of good-quality sour cream or Greek yogurt would be a nice garnish.

Enjoy!

* Use corn or brown rice to make this dish gluten-free.

** Note that this is how you make basic guacamole, whether you want to toss it with pasta or dip chips in it.  Just use raw onions and garlic rather than cooked ones and use about half (or less) the amount to account for the fact that they’ll be much stronger-tasting when they’re raw.

Hashmarked Potato Masher

The only thing better than getting your hands on a fancy new kitchen gadget is realizing that you can use an old kitchen gadget to do the same job.  (Thus saving you $$ to buy more new kitchen gadgets.)

Enter the potato masher.  Not only does it do its eponymous job, it mashes anything else that’s soft enough to give way to its crushing hash marks:  chickpeas, bananas, avocadoes.  Don’t want to get your food processor garlicky and oily?  Make hummus with a potato masher.  Don’t want to have a line across your palm as a result of trying to smush bananas for banana bread?  Use a potato masher.  (And you can just keep right on using it to stir the batter.)  Want silky-smooth guacamole?  Turn skinned avocado halves into green cream with a potato-turned-avocado masher.

Potato mashers also work wonders with cooked and softened fruits like apples (apples + masher = applesauce), various berries (blueberries + masher = jam) and tomatoes (tomatoes + masher = stewed tomatoes).  And don’t forget about them when you want to imprint marks on the top of bread or piecrust — depending on what kind of pattern your masher has, you might be able to use the finished product as a tic-tac-toe board!  (With raisins and peanuts as the markers.)

Huh.  Maybe we shouldn’t call them “potato” mashers any more — maybe they should be “all-purpose” mashers.