TWD/BWJ: Tomato and Cheese Galette

Galette, where have you been all my life? Delicious quickie meal! Especially if the dough is already prepped in the fridge. The crust has a nice crunchy texture thanks to the addition of cornmeal. And the filling could be anything. Last year it was fruit, and this week's recipe called for tomatoes, cheese, and basil. Which will be fabulous when our garden tomatoes are ready. Unfortunately, the garden got a bit of a late start this year (heck, it was COLD until mid-May!) so I was forced to use grape tomatoes from the grocery. A variety of cheeses got tossed in - jack, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, parmesan, and something wonderful that I found at Whole Foods called "seaside cheddar". For those family members who insist on meat, I added some pastrami to one. 

There's one problem. They're small. So, future self, make two no matter what. Unless you're home alone. 

Now, by way of explanation as to why this post is over a week late... ROAD TRIP! Here's a taste:

Planetarium at the Tellus Science Center in Cartersville, GA

Discovery of the week! Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream has a store!
in Nashville.

Children's Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell, TN

World's largest Wind Chimes in Casey, IL

Mammoth Cave!  in Kentucky

World's biggest golf tee. 

world's longest historic covered bridge, Medora, IN

World's largest cedar bucket, Murfreesboro, TN

world's biggest baseball bat, Louisville, KY

And a shoe, from right down the street here at home:

TWD/BWJ: Savarin

I've never heard of Savarin before Tuesdays With Dorie, and was afraid it might be one of those two-day thousand-step recipes. Happy surprise! It was easy. And tasty.

And I'll fess up to something else. I had no idea what "poire eau-de-vie" was. Thought it might be some sort of fancy pear sauce from the gourmet section of the grocery store. Looked and looked in vain. So when the first LYL entry mentioned "brandy", it was a light bulb moment. No wonder I couldn't find it at the grocery - I needed a liquor store! Off I headed to the Smokerise Bottle Shop (where they have EVERYTHING). And yes, they had pear brandy, but maybe you can see from the picture what the problem was. Uh, no thank you, I don't think I'll spend $44 for something to sprinkle on cake. Although I was tempted to buy it just to figure out how they got that pear in the bottle. They had pear-flavored vodka, but is it appropriate to put vodka on a cake? I didn't know. The empty-handed ride home was a disappointment. Fast forward 24 hours and a second liquor store. This time I came away with a $15 bottle of pear liqueur. Close enough. Score!

Turns out the pear liqueur was my least favorite thing about the cake. Probably would've preferred a sprinkle of Cointreau (which already sits in the pantry waiting to be used). But at least I have a recipe to experiment with now. I've learned so much. My first soaked cake. Sugar water and liqueur? Far from unpleasant! Nothing to complain about here. And perfect with the organic strawberries that arrived in my CSA box.

Heating pad helped with the rise

Couldn't believe that tiny bit of batter rose this much

My husband said
"it looks like a big slice of pineapple"

Pretend you don't see that Reddi-whip...

The recipe for this cake can be found here and the other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers are here.

And here's a shoe for your viewing pleasure. Have a good week!