How have I gone this long not knowing about The Gabe Dixon Band?! I was lucky to be able to visit Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas a few weeks ago. While wandering around the grounds, and reveling in the whole "feeling" of the place and recognizing that I wanted to just stay there - it dawned on me that the music was just as much to credit as was the meticulous layout and design of the property. After a few songs, I pulled out my phone and used my Shazam app to find out who was singing to me. At that moment, I fell in love with Gabe Dixon and his band. As soon as I got home I purchased three albums of their music! This song is special as it gives me reassurance that, especially in my quest to be healthy, as I have setbacks among the successes, all will be well.
In my pursuit to find health and balance
I found that my approach
to food and it's preparation has changed.
Instead of seeing how absolutely decadent I
could make something, I started
considering how I could keep the
star ingredients as close to their
natural state as possible - preserving
their already great flavor.
I started cooking simpler.
It seemed the more I handled and "decorated"
my food, the more excess and unwanted
ingredients tended to creep in -
which usually translated into
more calories than necessary.
And the startling thing is that I don't really
miss the over-the-top decadence!
I've found that I really do love
food as it really tastes!
And you might think this an odd topic for
a post that delivers a dessert offering!
But, in fact, it describes exactly how I
approached the creation of this recipe.
There I was with some beautiful fall fruits -
apples, white-fleshed peaches, and beautiful pears.
And I had company coming for dinner.
It was a busy day but I wanted to
have something a little special.
My knee jerk reaction was
"MAKE A PIE!!!"
I do love pie!!
But all that pie crust
and all that sugar!
Read: all those calories!!
So what if I only used half the pie crust?
And what if I added a small
portion of the sugar usually used in pie?
How much sugar do you really need
in a pie anyway?
What if I made a galette?
Galettes are rustic freeform pastries.
They can also be referred to as crostatas.
You CAN make them fancy if you want.
But they're equally acceptable if they're
on the rough-looking side!
I tasted as I prepared, just to
be sure that my mission to
be more healthy didn't override my
desire to serve delicious food that my
family and friends would enjoy as well.
I started adding a bit of honey.
And then a bit of sugar.
And, according to my tastebuds,
it was sweet enough with just that!
I livened it up with a bit of cinnamon
and added a bit of flour to
thicken the juices.
I made up a batch of pie crust
for double crust pie but
only used half. Now I have an extra
ball of dough in the freezer for another time!
Just roll the dough out to a rough circle
and place on a parchment lined sheet tray.
You can just dump the fruit on
the dough, if you like, or
you can take a few minutes to arrange the fruit.
Since it was for company, I took just a few minutes to
fussy out the fruit - but not too much.
Remember that the pile of fruit will
soften and reduce down as it cooks.
Then I folded in the edges, leaving an opening in
the center for steam to vent.
When it was folded, I brushed a bit of heavy
cream on the outside of the dough and
sprinkled some chunky sugar over it.
You don't have to do this part, but, again, company!
I baked it at 375 degrees and started
checking it at 30 minutes.
It ended up cooking for 50 minutes.
So beautiful!
And it looked like it took a long time
but it didn't!
The thing about desserts like this is that
there's no way to taste it before you
serve your company so I was nervous!
But guess what?
It was FABULOUS!!!!!
I just added a small dollop of
whipped heavy cream, ever so slightly sweetened.
Fall Fruit Galette
Serves 6
3 pieces of fruit, I used an apple, a pear, and a peach
2 T. honey
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
1 Tablespoon of butter, in pieces
Pie dough (I used half the recipe and froze the other half)
Heavy Cream, optional
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Peel and core fruit and slice into uniform sized pieces and place in a bowl. Drizzle the honey over and sprinkle the sugar and flour over as well. Add the cinnamon and salt and toss until the fruit slices are evenly coated. Set aside.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the pie dough into about a 14" circle - but don't be fussy about it. It should look uneven. Fold the circle gently in half and quickly lift onto the parchment paper and unfold. Stir the fruit once more and scoop onto the center of the pie dough, leaving about a 2-3" empty space around the outside. Dot the top with the pieces of butter. Fold the edges back in toward the center, leaving an open space where the fruit is exposed and steam can escape as it bakes. If you like, you can brush the outside of the pie shell with cream and sprinkle some sugar over it.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until the crust becomes a dark golden brown and the fruit is bubbly. Remove and let cool. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
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