Fresh Family Recipes

by Lee Virden Geurkink

Dansk Nøddetærte (Danish Nut Tart), ree Danes Baking Company

This lovely nut tart from Darlene Marks of Three Danes Baking is a marriage of two special family recipes. The linsedej (pastry dough) is from Darlene’s Danish grandmother’s (Katherine Poulson) cookbook, which her mother, Erna Poulsen Marks, brought with her when she emigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1960. The flling is a recipe shared by Darlene’s Danish cousin Matilde Andersen. Mathilde got it from her mother, Lone Hørmann Andersen, who is married to Darlene’s cousin Peter Andersen. Darlene said, “I adore this recipe… because when I make it, I am reminded that it is a collaboration of recipes shared and passed down by mothers to daughters through generations in my family. I hope you enjoy making it as much as I do!”

Ingredients

For the dough

200 grams salted butter, softened

400 grams unbleached four

100 grams powdered sugar

1 large egg

For the flling

100 grams walnuts, whole or in pieces

100 grams blanched, slivered almonds

100 grams blanched, skinless hazelnuts

100 milliliters heavy cream

50 grams salted butter

2 tablespoons honey

75 grams sugar

1 tablespoon four

Directions

Mix all the ingredients for the dough together using your hands, until it comes together in a ball. Place the ball of dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. This is very important!

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

On a foured surface, roll the chilled dough out into a round shape (about an inch larger than your tart pan) and place in the tart pan. If you are making mini tarts, cut the dough using a 5-inch round cutter into 6 circles and place into the mini tart pans. The dough should cover the bottom and about halfway up the sides of your tart pan(s).

Mix the walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts together and spread them on top of the dough in the tart pan(s).

In a small saucepan, heat the cream, butter, honey, sugar, and four over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the dry ingredients dissolve.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the nuts in the tart pan(s).

Gnocchi with Two Sauces, Beneventi’s Italian, Mingus, Texas

Located in Mingus, Texas, located 70 miles west of Fort Worth, Beneventi’s Italian Restaurant serves up delicious Italian dishes made from the Auda family’s recipes. More importantly, Beneventi’s is part of the Mingus Job Accelerator, a unique on-the-job training concept for adults with IDD (intellectual developmental differences). This delicious dish can be served with either one or, if you’re feeling adventurous, both of these sauces.

Ingredients

For the gnocchi

1 kilogram potatoes, approximately 2 pounds (Editor’s Note: you can use either Russet potatoes or Yukon Golds, but I prefer Yukon Golds because they taste richer.)

300 grams or 1 ½ cups four

1 whole egg

½ teaspoon salt

Dash of nutmeg

Water (measurements vary)

For the crema

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon garlic paste

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup heavy cream

Dash of salt

2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

For the gnocchi

For the ragù

2 to 4 cloves garlic, fnely minced

1 rib celery, strings removed and fnely chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and fnely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound ground beef (Editor’s Note: I used lean ground beef for this recipe.)

1 tube double-concentrated tomato paste

1 28-ounce can of petite diced tomatoes

Salt to taste

Dash of cinnamon (this is the Beneventi secret!)

Dash of allspice

Grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Either boil or bake the potatoes. Discard the skins and mash until smooth using either an immersion blender or by hand. (Editor’s Note: I use a ricer when making gnocchi. If you use an immersion blender, pay attention so you don’t over-blend and get gummy potatoes.)

Place the mashed potatoes in a mixer with a dough hook. With the mixer on slow, add in the four, egg, salt, and nutmeg. Slowly add in enough water until the mixture has turned into a workable dough. Remove from the mixer onto a foured surface. Pat the dough into a large slab measuring about ½ to ¾ inch thick. Cut 1-inch strips, dusting with four to avoid sticking. For the strips into a semi-roll lengthwise and cut into ½-inch pieces.

To cook the gnocchi, place the gnocchi in a pot of salted, rapidly boiling water. The gnocchi will foat to the top when cooked thoroughly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and season appropriately, depending on the sauce you choose. (See directions for sauces below.)

For the crema sauce

In a skillet or sauté pan, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the garlic paste and cook for about a minute, or until you can smell the garlic. Add the heavy cream and salt and bring to almost a boil over medium-high heat. Add in the grated parmesan cheese and stir until thickened. Toss the cooked gnocchi in the sauce and add more grated parmesan.

For the ragù

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crusts brown, and the flling is bubbly. Remove the tart(s) from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting. This can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.

Makes one 9-inch tart or six 4-inch mini tarts.

In a large saucepan or sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the garlic, celery, and carrot in the olive oil until tender. Add the ground beef and brown. Stir in the tomato paste and then add the petite diced tomatoes, salt, and cinnamon. Allow the sauce to simmer for at least an hour. To serve the gnocchi with ragù, place the cooked gnocchi in a bowl and sprinkle with a dash of allspice and another dash of cinnamon. Add a generous grating of parmesan cheese and toss with a heaving ladle of ragù.

Listen, I get it. You got married years ago. You’re reading this article because Tuscany is romantic, and weddings are romantic, and you want a little of that romance back.

Or because your daughter has announced plans for an international elopement, and you’re scrambling to be involved.

Or you, the bride, were just planning a “small thing” with a “few people,” but you’re dreaming. Unless…

Unless a terrifc Tuscan wedding might, in fact, be possible!

I can’t take credit for knowing that it’s possible or about terrifc Tuscan weddings in general, but my dearest pseudo-daughter/former nanny Courtney sure does. I’m borrowing her top-level expertise so that we might live vicariously through Courtney and her darling fancée, Taylor, as they plan her October wedding.

Join me on a brief fight of fancy to the rolling vineyards, blue skies, and persistent pasta comas of northern Italy while I talk tips.

Hire an Italian wedding planner. When there is a language barrier, you need a native speaker. Period. Courtney tried contacting venues herself, but she quickly discovered when the word “wedding” came tumbling from her all-American lips, the prices skyrocketed.