Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS

This was a nice change to the typical hummus we have. Next time, I'll add an extra clove of garlic but, other than that, this was very good! I followed the recipe almost exactly. The only things I changed was that I streamed in a little olive oil to get the hummus to a consistency that we liked and I roasted the red pepper under the broiler. My changes are bolded below.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

(Food Network - Robin Miller)

INGREDIENTS:

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained

1 cup sauteed red peppers (I roasted 1 red pepper)

1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 to 4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves (I used dried)

Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your broiler and then broil the red pepper for a couple minutes, turning it once the skin has blistered and blackened. After all sides of the pepper look charred, remove it from the broiler and put it in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to let the pepper cool.

When the pepper is cool enough to handle, peel the skin off (it should come off easily at this point) and slice it.

Rinse and drain 1 can of the chickpeas. Place drained chickpeas in a blender and add red peppers, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and cumin. Process until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with parsley.

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette

So, I was bouncing around on blogs looking for something to whip up and came across Smitten Kitchen. Let me just say . . . this blog is amazing! Not only did I stumble across this blog, taraandkyle06 recommended it when I was searching for something to bake for a brunch this weekend.

This was my first pastry-from-scratch attempt and it came out great! I couldn't resist and ended up eating some of this and gave the rest to my dad. So, needless to say, this didn't end up making it to the brunch today!!

This is such a fancy looking dish and would make a great appetizer for a party of some sort!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CARAMELIZED ONION GALETTE

For the pastry:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

¼ cup sour cream

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup ice water

For the filling:

1 small butternut squash (about one pound)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of sugar

¼ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

¾ cup grated fontina cheese

1½ teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves

Make pastry: In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Remove the large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour-butter mixture. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Prepare squash: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a ½-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on foil lined (for neatness sake) sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if your oven bakes unevenly. Set aside to cool slightly.

Caramelize onions: While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in cayenne.

Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.

Assemble galette: On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.