Dinner with Family

My cousin and his fiance invited my husband and I for dinner.  Whenever we get together we seem to have too much food.  Last night was no exception.  I brought Celery Root Potato Puree and an Apricot Walnut Crostada.    They got the grill going for steaks, pork loin chops, and portabello mushrooms  we had a huge salad and steamed vegetables that were finished in garlic bread crumbs (yum!).

The celery root puree came out great.  It tasted super rich with a nice twist of flavor from the celery root.  It was definitely a good match for our steak dinner.  The crostada is a version of something I saw on Giada at Home.  I swapped out the Taleggio cheese for mascarpone.  I am not sure if the flavor combination of the filling is something everyone enjoyed.  I really enjoyed it though, especially the crust.

Celery Root Potato Puree

2 small celery root, peeled and chopped

2 Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 TBS of olive oil

1/2 tsp of salt and pepper

2 TBS of  butter

2 tsp of fresh thyme leaves

4 TBS of grated Parmesan cheese 

1/2 cup of 1% milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine celery root, potatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly brown and soft.  Place contents of baking sheet into a large food processor.  Add butter, thyme leaves, and cheese.  Pulse a few times.  With the processor on add the milk slowly, stopping to scrap down the sides a couple times.  Place puree in an oven safe dish.  Bake for 15 minutes until the top is slightly brown.  Serve warm.  Enjoy!

Apricot Walnut Crostada

adapted from Giada at Home (tv)

1 1/2 cups of flour

3/4 tsp of salt

1 TBS of sugar

3 TBS of cold butter, diced

1 1/2 TBS of lemon juice

1/2 cup of mascarpone cheese

3 TBS of ice water

2 cups of dried apricots, halved

1/2 cup of walnuts

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

2 tsp of lemon zest

1/2 cup of mascarpone cheese

1 egg, beaten

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine the flour, salt, sugar.  Add the butter and pulse until it resembles coarse meal.  Add the lemon juice and mascarpone cheese; pulse a few times to combine.  With the processor running, slowly add the water until the mixture is moist and crumbly.  Do not let it turn into a ball.  Turn the contents of the bowl onto plastic wrap, shape into a disc, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.   preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Combine apricots, walnuts, cinnamon, lemon zest, and mascarpone cheese.  Pull dough from the refrigerator.  Roll into an 11 inch circle.  Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Pour apricot mixture into the center and spread out into an 8-9 inch circle.  Roughly fold the dough over the apricot mixture.  Brush the entire Crostada with the egg.  Bake for 20 minutes until just turning golden brown.  Cover loosely with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes more.  Enjoy!