It’s the end of March and it’s 30-some degrees outside. This is not how I’d like New York to feel right now, and it’s not what I consider to be spring — so let’s call this week’s posts wishful thinking, since they are both meant to celebrate the new season that hasn’t arrived quite yet.

The dish — two kinds of galettes (a pie-like tart), one sweet and one savory — is very springy; the playlist is some recently released (and a couple soon-to-be-released) songs I’m into, that I’ll likely be listening to well into the season.

THE DISH
Galettes are pie-like tarts, and my friend Sarah and I made two different kinds: Half with asparagus, mushrooms and Fontina cheese, and the other half with blueberries, raspberries, fresh mint and mascarpone cheese. The asparagus and blueberries are the most spring-inspired ingredients, and both of these were super tasty. Recipes at the bottom.

THE PLAYLIST
http://listen.grooveshark.com/widget.swf

THE RECIPE
Dough, asparagus filling, berry filling. Makes about 16 galettes total. We did half and half, so if you only want one type of tarts, either double the filling or halve the dough.

The dough (adapted from Crumpets and Cakes)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 tbsp ice water
2 egg yolks (save the whites for the asparagus mixture!)

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mix boths flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter (already cut into pieces) and use two knives or your hands to mix in the butter until it resembles coarse meal.

• Add the ice water and egg yolks.

• Knead the mixture until the dough holds together.

• Flatten it into a disc shape, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Use this time to make your fillings (below the dough recipe)!

• After an hour, let the dough sit out to warm up for about 10 minutes.

• Flour your work surface and your rolling pin, and roll the dough out until it’s about 1/4-inch thick. It might be easiest to do this in two batches.

• Use a bowl or cookie cutter that’s about 4.5 inches in diameter to cut circles out of the dough.

• Based on how these turned out, I highly recommend baking these in lightly-greased muffin tins instead of on parchment paper like we did. Shape them into the cups, scoop in the filling (about 1/4 c), and fold any remaining dough over the top.

• Bake at 375 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until the dough is a little brown around the edges.

Berry filling

Ingredients:
6 oz mascarpone cheese
2 c berries (we used 1 c each of blueberries and raspberries)
1 T fresh mint, chopped
1 T honey
A few tablespoons of crushed almonds

Directions:
Mix all in bowl except almonds. Sprinkle almonds on top of filling once it’s in the crust.

Asparagus filling

Ingredients (mix all in bowl):
1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
About 5 small mushrooms (you can use more/less), sliced
1 scallion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 egg whites (leftover from the dough) + 1 whole egg
3/4 c shredded Fontina cheese
Salt, pepper and thyme