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Holiday Recipes: A Rosemary Potato Tart With Rustic Tart

 

Stephanie at Rustic Tart

Chicago pie company Rustic Tart has been enriching the lives of locals for some time with its delicious selections. We at Unison were delighted to work with owner Stephanie Lock this summer for our Summer Pie Story (featuring an amazing blueberry tart), so we made sure to bring her back for a fall collaboration using Rustic Tart’s Ready-to-Roll Dough.

Stephanie started Rustic Tart as a subscription-based pie company that offered two fruit pies a month during the growing season. As her business grew, she heard from more and more people that they loved the pies, but were too intimidated by the idea of making the dough to try baking on their own.

Ready to Roll dough
Falcon Red Prep Set

As Stephanie says, “[s]o I turned my focus to the dough, developing Ready-to-Roll Dough and leading classes here and there. The handcrafted all-butter disks of frozen dough, which come in sweet and savory varieties, are designed for the home baker and cooks, for making pies, tarts, quiches and pastries. You could even make a pot pie! Found in grocers’ freezers (Whole Foods, Plum Market, Publican Quality Meats, Standard Market, Sunset Foods Highland Park), Ready-to-Roll can solve all your dough-making problems.”

Backed by Midwestern savvy passed from one generation to the next, Rustic Tart has become a great resource for all things pie, offering everything from Ready-to-Roll Dough to recipes, how-to web videos and pie classes in and around the Chicagoland area.

Enjoy the Rustic Potato Tart!

Rustic Potato Tart
adapted from David Tanis’ Savory Potato Tart

Rustic Tart
Grace Gray Dinnerware + Heima Cast Iron Candle Holder

Dough:
1 package Rustic Tart SAVORY Read-to-Roll Dough™, defrosted and rolled to 12-inches in diameter.
Line a 9-inch pie plate with the rolled dough and refrigerate.

Filling:
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup crème fraîche
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of grated nutmeg
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

For the egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cream

  1. Place oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 375ºF.
  2. Slice potatoes as thinly as possible, using a mandolin or sharp knife.
  3. Put potato slices in a large bowl and add crème fraîche, salt, pepper, nutmeg, garlic and rosemary.
  4. Mix well with hands, making sure all slices are coated and well distributed.
  5. Add potatoes to chilled dough in even layers making sure to not leave any of the crème fraîche mixture behind.
  6. Gently fold dough over itself and the filling.
  7. Brush dough top lightly with egg wash.
  8. Bake for about an hour or until the filling is bubbling and the dough is browned.
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Summer Pie with Rustic Tart

We’ve been big fans of Rustic Tart‘s amazing desserts for quite some time now, and when the chance to work with owner Stephanie Lock on a beautiful blueberry tart for summer, we jumped at the chance. Read along to learn more about Rustic Tart’s signature Ready-To-Roll Dough + how easy it is to make your own Blueberry Tart, perfect for all those summer parties.

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Just a handful of top-quality ingredients make up Rustic Tart’s Ready-to-Roll Dough, with European-style butter (never shortening) taking center stage. Owner Stephanie Lock puts not only her masterful skill, but also her Midwestern sense into the handcrafted disks, making great pies happen. (Shop Falcon Plates + Eve Chrome Flatware)

BLUEBERRY TART RECIPE:

Rustic Blueberry Tart

Here’s Rustic Tart’s favorite blueberry tart recipe developed just for your Ready-to-Roll™ dough. 

Happy rolling—Stephanie 

DOUGH:

1 package Rustic Tart Ready-to-Roll™dough, thawed overnight in refrigerator 

For finishing dough (optional):

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon coarse sugar (such as turbinado sugar)

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FILLING:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel (or more to taste, up to two teaspoons)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch salt

5 cups fresh blueberries (or 5 cups frozen, unsweetened blueberries)

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

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  1. Prepare crust following thawing and rolling instructions (steps 1 through 5) on Ready-to-Roll™dough package. (Shop the Baker’s Stripe Apron)

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2. Combine sugar with grated lemon peel in a small bowl; rub together with fingertips to release the lemon oil. Add flour, cinnamon and salt to sugar mixture and combine.  (Shop the Falcon Prep Set)

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3.Gently toss blueberries with lemon juice in a large bowl; add sugar mixture and combine. 

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4. Assemble and bake following steps 6 through 8 on Ready-to-Roll™dough package. In step 6, dot filling with butter pieces before folding dough over the filling. 

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Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Thanks for the recipe Stephanie! Check out more recipes + get your own Ready-To-Roll Dough here.

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Summer Alfresco Entertaining

The summer season has officially started here in Chicago, and the urge to spend every moment outside is hard to resist. We love the idea of bringing the same modern simplicity in your home and taking it outside, whether it’s a picnic in the park or throwing your own backyard summer soirée.

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We’ve put together some great pieces for the occasion that are not only stylish, but super durable too. Even better, we’ve partnered with our favorite neighborhood distillery, Rhine Hall to serve up a great cocktail with all the best flavors of summer including mango, orange + lime. Read on to see our product picks + the full cocktail recipe.

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Bistro Ivory 5 Pc Placesetting, $70 + Cubic Placemats, $7

Inspired by the clean-smart style of classic Parisian bistros, this French designed set is sharp, strong, and crisply modern. In warm ivory, it’s an inviting and versatile addition to your outdoor tablescape. Add the Cubic Placemats for a geometric accent that looks great and because it’s made of Textaline, it’s easy to clean and stands up to the elements with ease.

ZakTrays

Gallery White Large Tray, $30.99 + Gallery White Small Tray, $15.99

With high walls to prevent spills and integrated handles that are sleek and easy to hold, this glossy tray is ready for entertaining prime time. With a modular design and notched bottom edge, this tray easily stacks without sliding. And its generous size allows smaller Gallery Trays to nest inside. So when you mix and match the perfect collection to fit your serving needs, you’ll know they’ll all play together nicely.

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Opal Stemless Acrylic Wine Glass, $7.99 + Cabana Coasters Set of 4, $16.50

Crafted of Tritan, the Opal Stemeless Wine Glasses are virtually impossible to shatter, making them the perfect addition to any backyard-beverage scene. Although, once you’ve enjoyed your first sip from this elegantly shaped and weighted “glass,” you’re sure to find yourself reaching for it everyday, in any season. Cheers!

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Now after all that work putting together your summer party plans, you deserve a drink! Mix up some summer refreshment with Rhine Hall’s “Drama in the Bahamas” cocktail, and you’re sure to be the talk of the party.

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Pizza On The Grill With Last Ingredient Blog

We’ve got another great recipe from Paige Adams at Last Ingredient Blog and this one is perfect for summer, pizza on the grill! Here’s Paige with recipes for the pizza crust, yummy pesto + topping ideas:

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Pizza is on regular rotation at my house, and it’s not because of my three-year-old. I’m the one who would be happy devouring a slice at every meal. Sheet pans, baking stones—you name it, I’ve made a pizza on it. The closest I’ve gotten to restaurant-worthy pizza is by putting the dough straight on the grates and grilling it. Thanks to the high heat of the grill, you get the kind of chewy crust with slightly charred edges you thought only was possible in a wood fired oven.

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The process is very simple. You roll out the dough, grill it for a few minutes on each side and take it off the grates to assemble the toppings. You then return the pizza to the grill to quickly melt the cheese. My preference is to go light on cheese rather than cover up that perfect crust. I focus on sauces like tomato and pesto along with flavorful toppings that don’t require much, if any, prep before they are added to the pizza.

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I like to make my dough and sauces from scratch, but store-bought, readymade ingredients will work, too. The olive bar at the grocery is the best spot for toppings. I stock up on roasted tomatoes, artichokes, peppers and of course, olives in all varieties and colors—just make sure they’re pitted. Charcuterie and delicate greens like arugula are also fair game, but they should be added after the pizza has finished grilling.

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(Shop Falcon Enamelware + Grid Small Rectangle Tray)

These are a few of my favorite combinations:

  • Pesto + roasted tomatoes + shredded Italian cheese blend
  • Tomato sauce + pesto + roasted tomatoes + olives + artichokes + shredded mozzarella
  • Tomato sauce + peaches + arugula + prosciutto + fresh mozzarella

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(Shop Galvin Black Flatware + Cast Tumblers + Cabana Black Tumblers)

Grilled Pizza

Makes 1-12-inch pizza
(You also can roll it out in individual smaller pizzas.)

2/3 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil plus more for bowl
1 cup bread flour plus more for work surface
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a small bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar and olive oil. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, whole-wheat flour and salt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Once a shaggy dough has formed, turn it out on a floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.* Place it in an oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until it has doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

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Preheat a gas or charcoal grill on high heat. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough. (Shop Falcon Prep Set + Stoneware Containers)

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Place the dough directly on the grates and grill for 2-3 minutes with the lid closed until it has grill marks and has puffed up. Turn the crust over and grill for an additional 2-3 minutes.

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Take the pizza off the grill and add your desired sauce and toppings. Return the pizza to the grill for a minute or so to melt the cheese.

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(Shop Oak Paddle Board)

*Note: The dough can be kneaded in a stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment or using a food processor.

Homemade Pesto
Makes about a half cup

2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup walnuts plus more for garnish
1/2 ounce Parmesan, grated, plus more for garnish
1 generous handful basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

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Pulse the garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor until they are minced. Add the walnuts, Parmesan, basil, salt and pepper. Puree the mixture and while the motor is running, drizzle the olive oil through the feeder tube until the pesto is fully combined.

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Thanks Paige! Find more recipes at Last Ingredient Blog

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Ceviche Celebration: A Recipe for Cinco de Mayo

We love that Americans have embraced Cinco de Mayo as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage.  After all, there’s a lot to love about the vibrant hues, foods, and fun of our sister to the south.

This year, to get ourselves in the mood, we whipped up a batch of Ceviche Estilo Sinaloa from Mexico: The Cookbook. This version of the old world South American dish hails from the Sinaloa region, also known as the “breadbasket of Mexico” due to its widespread agricultural production.

But with or without the carbs, this little number is worth your time & effort. Simple to make and fresh on the palette, it’s sure to be a crow pleaser, no matter your crew.

Ceviche Estilo Sinaloa

– 1 1/2 pound / 700 g red snapper fillets, skinned and diced
– juice of 8 limes
– 2 tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
– 3/4 white onion, finely chopped
– 1 large cucumber, seeded and finely chopped
– 3 pickled jalapeño chiles, membranes and seeds removed and finely chopped
– 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (coriander)
– sea salt and pepper
– extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
– tostadas, to serve
– 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced, to serve

Put the fish into a bowl, add the lime juice, and let marinate in the refrigerator for about 3 hours or until the flesh changes color without losing its texture. Drain off the liquid.

Combine the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and chiles in another bowl and season with salt and pepper. Gently fold in the cilantro (coriander) and fish and drizzle with olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Serve on tostadas covered with sliced avocados.

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Ceviche served in our Biobu Low Bowl and Mini Bowls with extras
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Mexico: The Cookbook
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Holy Holidays, Batman! Recipes for Celebration.

With Spring, we welcome the beloved festivities of Passover and Easter. Do these religious holidays feel refreshing because of their profound historical and spiritual significance? Or because of the budding of warmer weather, the familiar pastel palettes, and the fact that they’re happily less commercially exploited than their December counterparts?

No matter. What’s important is that Passover and Easter represent important reasons to celebrate. To gather family, tap into traditions, and enjoy the beauty of simple pleasures.

Allow us offer some sweet tastes & tidbits for the occasions:

An Andalusian Passover Dish

Dare to be great? Try the Santiago Cake recipe from Spanish chef Ferran Adrià’s wonderful cookbook, The Family Meal. With this recipe, Adrià – who is widely considered one of the best chefs in the world – has modernized an original Andalusian Passover dish named for a cathedral to which pilgrims travel: tarta de Santiago de Compostela. Translation: delicious.

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To reflect your clean taste alongside this tasty dessert, serve the sugar-dusted squares on crisp Circa White Platters, with a mix of striking blue napkins in a Nippon, Harvest, or Tiles pattern.

Blue Napkin with Gold Utensils

 

Santiago Cake

– 3 extra large eggs, at room temperature
– 3/4 cup (170 g) granulated sugar
– 2 and 1/2 cups (250 g) ground almonds
– 1 pinch ground cinnamon
– zest of 1/2 lemon
– confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease the bottom and sides on a 9″ x 13″ (minimum) or 12″ x 20″ (maximum) rectangular pan with butter. Add the flour and tap it around the pan. Tip out the excess. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Break the eggs into a bowl and add the sugar. Using a free-standing mixer with wire attachement or an electric hand whisk, beat until thick and foamy, about 5 minutes.

Mix in the ground almonds (almond meall) and the cinnamon.

Finely grate the lemon zest and stir into the dry ingredients.

Gently add the ground almond mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Fold in carefully with a spatula to retain as much air as possible. Immediately stop mixing when the batter is smooth. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. The cake batter should be about ⅝-inch deep.

Bake in the oven for 17 minutes, or until evenly risen, golden, and shrinking away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

Remove the cake from the pan by lifting the parchment paper. Cut into portions with a knife or a cookie cutter / mold.

Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over the top using a fine-mesh strainer before serving.

From The Family Meal

A Cake for the Easter Bunny

What fluffy little egg-toting rabbit wouldn’t love his Easter festivities to include a cake made of carrots? It seems the perfect sweet treat for the day. And the incomparable Rose Carrarini offers up the perfect carrot cake recipe in her make-us-want-to-move-to-Paris cookbook, Breakfast, Lunch, Tea.

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The perfect backdrop for sweet-veggie decadence? A Tiles Mauve Tablecloth with a mix of same-hued napkins in a gingham or tiles pattern, plus our beloved Teema White Dinnerware.

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Carrot Cake

– Unsalted butter, for greasing
– 4 eggs
– generous 1 cup superfine sugar
– 1 and 1/4 cups sunflower oil
– 9 medium carrots, finely grated
– 2 cups plain all-purpose flour, sifted
– 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– 1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1 and 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

For the icing

– generous 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
– generous 1 cup cream cheese
– 1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
– 1/2 – 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, depending on how sweet you like your icing

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Butter a 9-inch cake tin and line its base with parchment paper.

Beat the eggs and superfine sugar until they are light and fluffy but not too white and meringue-like.

Pour in the oil and beat for a few more minutes.

Fold in the carrots and then the flour with the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Finally fold in the walnuts.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool the cake in the tin before taking it out.

To make the icing, beat the butter with the cream cheese for a few minutes till the mixture is smooth.

Add the vanilla extract and confectioner’s sugar.

When the cake is cold, ice the top with the icing – it can be as smooth or rough as you like.

From Breakfast, Lunch, Tea

A Satisfying Seder Finale

Toward the end of Passover Seder, many families dig into a welcome helping of macaroons – delicious, flour-free treats that are as fun as they are easy to make. Enter Ginette Mathiot’s time-honored bible of traditional French home cooking, I Know How to Cook – and, more specifically, the recipe for delectable almond macaroons found therein.

I Know How to Cook Cookbook

Once you’ve mastered the macaroons, serve them up on feast-worthy Harvest Table Linens. And pour your many glasses of Seder wine in Lempi Blown Glasses.

Bon appétit!

Harvest Napkin in Wood Napkin Ring

Almond Macaroons

– Butter, for greasing
2 and 3/4 cups ground almond
– 3 egg whites
– 2 and 1/2 cups superfine sugar

Preheat oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with buttered parchment paper. Put the almonds in a bowl and mix in the egg whites a little at a time. Stir in the sugar and mix well.

Form the dough into slightly flattened balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

From I Know How to Cook

Sweeten up the Sweetest Day

Easter is a day of sweeter-than-anything scenes: pastel-tinted egg hunts among fresh-blooming Easter lilies, toddling little girls donning frilly church dresses, and sugary treats galore.

On this sweetest of days, what could be more appropriate than coconut cake? It’s fresh, festive, and sure to disappear with much less elegance than it arrives when you serve it up from a Tier Cake Stand with Eve Brushed Gold Flatware.

Coconute Cake on Tier Cake Stand

Prefer more cocoa with your coconut? Try Casey Barber’s Coconut Cherry Suzy Q’s, deliciously featured on Design Sponge. And for extra ooh’s and ahh’s (and savings), present it all with our cheerful Gingham Kitchen Linens in any shade.