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Award-winning Chef Phyllis Segura has cooked for people in all walks of life both in the U.S. and E.U. Chef Phyllis has been cooking for special people since 2000.
She attended the Apicius Cooking School of Lorenzo de’Medici in Florence, Italy; received a James Beard Foundation scholarship; attended various New York cooking schools; and watched her grandmother very carefully.
As a personal and private chef Phyllis cooks for individual clients and offers cooking demonstrations regularly. She specializes in small elegant dinner parties, and intimate dinners - plated or buffet, weekday meals and private and group culinary instructions.
The chef prepares a wide variety of cuisines. Whereas a restaurant chef might have a specialty that is served daily, as a personal or private chef Segura applies her skills to the requirements and palates of her clients. Fresh and seasonal ingredients make the best dishes. She is not shy with herbs and spices and will go out of her way to source ingredients.

Vegetarian, Vegan, Macrobiotic, Kosher, grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, blood type, diabetic and other special diets are available. Chef prefers to use organic, pesticide and antibiotic free, non-GMO and local products as much as possible.
Consultations with nutritionists are recommended for special needs and diets for proper guidelines.

References and a rate sheet are available. She currently lives in Saugerties, NY.
In 2013 she offered cooking classes in her home kitchen in Spencertown,NY www.reddoorcookingworkshop.blogspot.com

Send an email: info@cookingontheriver.com

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Friday, June 11, 2010

APPLE ROSEMARY GALETTE
Serves 8

NOTE: PHOTOS TO FOLLOW

This recipe calls for a bit of rosemary sugar that is made by simply grinding fresh rosemary and sugar together to get a fragrant blend. Use a clean coffee grinder that is used for spices only or your food processor. Although only about a tablespoon or so is needed, to get a good blend you’ll need to do a slightly larger batch. The remainder can be used on toast or mixed into hot oatmeal or a good pound cake recipe.
 This dough recipe makes enough for two galettes. You can freeze half the dough for later use if you’d like. I used Fuji apples but choose your favorite baking variety. Keep in mind that sugar levels vary greatly in fruit, so always taste the fruit to gauge the desired level of sweetness. You’ll often see that my recipes include the phrase “to taste” to accommodate personal preferences. So taste, taste, taste.




Galette Dough
2 cup All-Purpose flour
1 tablespoon organic sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 oz. unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cold water

Filling
4 apples
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons rosemary sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
sugar to sprinkle

To prepare galette dough, whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl to combine. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have mostly small pieces the size of tiny peas and some just a bit larger. You can use a food processor to do this.  Be sure each piece of butter is coated with flour. Add the cold water and pulse gently  until the dough just starts to come together. Gather the dough on a work surface. Use a pastry scraper or metal spatula to fold the dough back onto itself and gently pat down with your hands into a loose disc. Repeat this process again once or twice until the dough looks like it’s coming together. Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap. Gather tightly and chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

When you are ready to roll out the dough, remove from the refrigerator and rest it on a lightly floured board for a few minutes so it can soften just a bit to prevent cracking. Then roll the dough out to a 14” circle about 1/8”thick, moving the dough after each roll and keeping the board lightly floured as needed. When you have the desired shape, lift the pastry onto a parchment covered pizza pan or baking sheet. Chill for about a half hour.

Prepare rosemary sugar by grinding about 15 coarsely chopped rosemary leaves and about 3 T granulated sugar together in a clean spice grinder or a food processor. The rosemary should be as finely ground as possible. Set aside.

Squeeze juice of half a lemon into a large bowl. Peel, core and slice apples into thin wedges. Toss in lemon juice and sprinkle with 2  tablespoons of plain sugar. Toss thoroughly to coat all the apple slices.

Remove prepared galette dough from the refrigerator and sprinkle about 1-1/2 tablespoons rosemary sugar evenly across the bottom, leaving about a 1 1/2” border all the way around. Arrange or scatter sliced apples on top of rosemary sugar as you wish. Now start to lift and gather the dough up and on top of the fruit, being careful not to create any cracks. Work with both hands, pressing gently to keep the dough in place. If any crack occur fill them by wetting your fingers with a bit of water and pulling the dough together. Chill for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the border of dough and the fruit with melted butter and dust the dough and the fruit with a generous sprinkle of rosemary sugar. Bake for about 40 – 50 minutes, until the dough is crisp and browned. Cool on a wire rack to keep the bottom of the galette crisp.

Friday, June 04, 2010

Please send me photographs of the inside of your refrigerator.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

I love you blog and I'm sorry I forget about you so often.

Check me out this Saturday, June 5th,  when I will be doing an improvisational cooking demonstration at the Palisades Farmers Market at 11AM.  The local Rockland Health Department said I (and others) need to pay them $45 for a permit in order for people to be allowed to sample the food. Hey, do you really think $45 keeps people from getting sick. This is especially odd since everyone will see exactly what is being prepared right before their eyes. The rules on these things get stranger all the time. I've been cooking for over ten years and have approval and a permit, no charge, from the Department of Agriculture to make baked goods in my very own kitchen. Oh well, such is such.  I'll be there cooking anyway and about the tasting I just can't say...... There is a great article in the Dining Section of the NY Times about people making food to sell. You gotta read it.
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