Summer is finally here!! That means warm sunny, sweltry days with cool evenings and a slight breeze in the air. Come summer we love to spruce up the backyard a little bit, and love to dine with our family outside. That way we are not watching tv, and enjoying each other’s company, wining and dining on the patio, with the kids playing in the backyard. The scene is beautiful, reminiscent of the art of slow living, and enjoying the special moments together. Some weekend nights, my husband and I put on a movie for the kids, and we set up a romantic setting outside on the patio, such that we can converse, wine and dine in peace without any interference from the kids. We basically have the perfect date night on our patio 🙂 and it is the perfect way to have a lovely meal, in each other’s company.
 
Rooted in tradition and family values, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines is an award-winning wine brand that offers a robust selection of wines for every palette. J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines, has acres of land in the Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia highlands of Monterey County, Paso Robles, and Napa Valley. They specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. The winery was started in the 1970’s by Jerry Lohr, and it is fascinating to see how much it has grown in all these years, and established its name in the wine industry as one of the most respected wine brands. The wine showcases bold, concentrated flavors and vibrant sense of place, along with its wide selection. I feel honored to partner with this influential wine brand to create a meal pairing worthy of a in house date night on the patio!
 
One of our favorite summer meals to have outside on the patio, is this beautiful and super delicious rustic summer galette using all the fresh farmers’ market vegetables, along with mozzarella cheese and herbed sheep’s milk cheese. I use summer squash, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes and corn, along with fresh lemon thyme from my garden. I love to decorate the galette with the flower and leaf cut outs from the left over dough, to bring a little fun to the food! We start off with a small cheese platter, with summer stone fruits on the platter, along with jams, nuts, crackers and cheese. The galette and the cheese platter pair beautifully with a great Pinot Noir.  There is nothing better than sipping on a glass of wine outside on the patio on a warm summer evening. With a glass of J. Lohr Estates Falcon’s Perch in hand, it is a beautiful way to spend time enjoying a Pinot On The Patio™.  The Pinot Noir has a vibrant fruity flavor, with notes of red cherry and a talcy finish.
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The red wine pairs beautifully with the rustic galette, which is light with the summer vegetables, and of course with the always fun cheese platter to nibble on. Dessert is something light, maybe a panna cotta with summer berries, or a berry sorbet to end the beautiful evening. These evenings are required, and really precious, to be able to just talk with your partner and enjoy romantic moments alone, which are a rare commodity once you start your family :). Make sure to spend quality time with your spouse, even if it is in the comfort of your home, with a date night on your patio. These moments are always treasured.
This blog post is sponsored by J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines. All opinions expressed are my own.
Ingredients
- Savory Galette Dough:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 ½ sticks, unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 6 tbsp ice water (2 tbsp more if required)
- Basil Walnut Pesto:
- 3 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp cracked pepper
- ½ cup toasted walnuts coarsely chopped
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup olive oil
- Savory Galette:
- 1 zucchini shaved slices
- 1 summer squash shaved slices
- 2 heirloom tomatoes (different colors)
- ½ cup fresh corn kernels
- 1 small ball fresh mozzarella cut into ÂĽ inch slices
- 1/3 cup fresh sheep milk cheese or goat cheese
- Maldon Salt and cracked pepper to taste
- 3-4 small peppers sliced thin
- 5-6 sprigs of lemon thyme
- 1 egg wash(1 egg and 1 tbsp water/milk whisked together till smooth)
Instructions
- Galette Dough:
- Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, dried thyme and whisk until blended.
- Add the butter and using a pastry blender, mix until the butter is partially broken up but still chunky, like pea sized.
- Add 6 tbsp of the ice water, and toss until the dough is uniformly moist, and holds together when pinched. If it seems too dry, add 2 more tbsp of ice water.
- Gather the dough with your hands, shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to roll out.
- Basil Walnut Pesto:
- In a food processor, add the basil, walnuts, salt, pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese, and blend until it is all mixed well together. Slowly add the olive oil from the top of the food processor, while the processor is running, and let it blend well together for a minute. Store into a storage bottle, and add olive oil on the top to preserve.
- Store in the fridge.
- Savory Galette:
- Put baking steel in the oven, and then pre-heat to 400 degrees (for 45 min), or without baking steel until it goes upto 400 degrees.
- Using extra flour as required, roll out the dough on a flat surface, into an even circle about 14 inches wide. Cut out a 1 inch border, using a sharp knife. You can cut out shapes using the pie cutters from the border removed, to make the galette look pretty. If you do not want to cut out pie shapes, simply roll out the galette into a 12 inch diameter circle.
- Spread about 1 cup of the pesto in the center of the circle, leaving a 2 inch border to wrap up the galette. Now add the mozzarella slices as desired, along with the goat cheese or sheep’s milk cheese. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Now add the heirloom tomato slices as desired, along with the zucchini and summer squash ribbons. Sprinkle half of the corn as well. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Gently wrap the dough around
- the galette, so that the folds overlap slightly to form a pentagon or hexagon pattern. Sprinkle more corn on the top, along with the sliced peppers.
- Brush the egg wash over the galette dough gently as well the pie cuts. Now add the pie cutouts on top of the galette circumference to make it look pretty.
- Put it on your baking steel for 45 minutes, or until brown. It should not exceed an hour. Remove your galette gently from the oven and let it cool slightly for 10 minutes. Then slice and it is ready to eat!
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