Saturday, November 28, 2020

Cranberry Crumb Pie

This pie had the perfect filling!
A great balance between tart and sweet, plus, 
it was not runny and messy.

The pie did get bubbly in the oven, so be sure to 
put a cookie sheet under the pie pan to catch all the drippings. 


Creating the crumb topping ahead of time allows 
for the crumb to clump, which then when added to the pie
gives great texture and chunks to the topping. 


Overall this pie was a great success and a family winner! 
The recipe is easy to follow and can be made ahead in parts, 
which is always great when you have many items to prepare for 
the Thanksgiving meal. 


As Always,
ENJOY!

Recipe Source: Food Fest 2020 - Kitchn

INGREDIENTS

For the pie dough:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 cup ice water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter

For the oat crumb topping:

  • tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • cup all-purpose flour
  • cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

For the filling:

  • cups fresh or frozen cranberries, divided
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • teaspoon finely grated orange zest
  • tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

Make the pie dough:

  1. Place 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon fine salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Place 1/4 cup ice water and 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup or a small bowl and stir to combine.

  2. Cut 1 stick cold unsalted butter into 1-inch cubes. Add to the flour mixture and toss to gently coat them. Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut the butter into the flour. You should have various-sized pieces of butter, ranging from sandy patches to pea-sized chunks, with some larger bits as well.

  3. Drizzle in about half of the ice water mixture and stir lightly with a fork until the flour is evenly moistened and the dough starts to come together. If the dough seems dry, add a little more ice water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. The dough will still look a bit shaggy at this point. If you grab a small piece of dough and press it slightly with your hand, it should mostly hold together.

  4. Dump the dough out onto an unfloured work surface and gather it together into a tight mound. Using the heel of your hand, smear the dough a little at a time, pushing it away from you and working your way down the mass of dough to create flat layers of flour and butter.

  5. Gather the dough back together with a bench scraper, layering the clumps of dough on top of one another. Repeat the process once or twice more; the dough should still have some big pieces of butter visible. Shape the dough into a disk and flatten it. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

  6. Lightly flour a work surface. Place the dough on it and roll with a rolling pin into a 12-inch round that is 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough into a 9-inch pie dish, and relax the dough into shape of the pie dish, leaving a 2-inch overhang around the edge of the dish.

  7. Crimp the crust: Start by folding the extra dough under itself. Use your index finger and thumb of one hand to crimp to create a letter C and push the thumb of your opposite hand against it, pushing gently into the pie dish as you crimp, working your way all around the edges of the crust. Make sure that your crimp is resting on the outer edge of the pie plate.

  8. Freeze the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, and then define your crimp again so that it will hold its shape when baked. Freeze the crust while you make the topping and filling.

Make the crumb topping:

  1. Melt 1 stick unsalted butter. Place 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon fine salt, and 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg in a medium bowl and stir with a fork until completely blended.

  2. Pour in the melted butter and toss with your hands until the butter is incorporated, creating a crumble texture from small to medium-sized clumps. Once the mixture will hold different sized clumps in your hand when squeezed, it’s ready! Scatter the mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes to ensure it will hold its texture when it bakes.

  3. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 375 °F. Place a parchment paper-lined baking sheet on a lower rack to catch all the juices that fall when the pie bakes.

Make the filling:

  1. Place 3 cups of the cranberries in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment or a blender. Pulse a few times until lightly crushed. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the remaining 1 cup whole cranberries, 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 1 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon grated orange zest, and 1 tablespoon orange juice. Gently toss until combined.

  2. Pour the filling into the chilled crust. Top pie with the crumble, making sure you have various sized chunks on top to create texture. Bake on the middle rack until the crust is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Let the pie cool on a wire rack 2 to 3 hours before serving.




 

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Green Tomato Pasta


 Gorgeous Green!  
An unexpected sauce maker, these green tomatoes make a beautiful
thick green sauce, that just clings to pasta!


Using a potato masher on this sauce, takes it from tender chunks
to a blended sauce with all the flavors incorporated.


Add the pasta right to the skillet of sauce and toss.  
Add a little of the pasta water if the sauce seems to thick.
Then toss with the cheese and serve.

Once plated, add more cheese or parsley if desired. 
Serve with additional hot peppers, as they do in Abruzzo!

As Always,
ENJOY!

Recipe Source: Simple Italy

Ingredients
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 6-8 large garlic cloves, minced (about ¼ cup)
  • 2 tender medium celery stalks, chopped (about ¾ cup)
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
  • 5-6 medium green tomatoes (2 pounds), cored and coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)
  • ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Pinch of baking soda
Instructions
  1. Put the olive oil and garlic in a large, heavy, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the celery and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the green tomatoes, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Stir in the baking soda.
  2. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally and crushing the tomatoes with a potato masher, until they are very tender, about 25 minutes. For a thicker sauce, remove the cover and simmer about 5 more minutes. Taste for seasoning.
  3. Note: Toss with 1½ pounds cooked drained rigatoni. Garnish with grated Parmesan and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.

Saturday, September 5, 2020

Ahi Tuna Toro Cut

This beautiful piece of fish just melts in your mouth!
Thank you to Fish And Olive for always having
such amazing selection!

Served here with a dipping sauce.

Season the fish with salt and pepper and a bit of 
5 spice seasoning.

Then add teriyaki marinade.  Marinate in the refrigerator 
for at least 30 minutes. 

Carefully sear this fish.
As the fat on the fish heats up and melts, it turns 
this toro cut into the most succulent melt in your mouth 
piece of fish. 

As Always, 
ENJOY!

 

Fire Roasted Hatch Poblano Chilies


Hatch Poblano Chilies

Fire roast these chilies on the grill or even over your gas stove. 
On the stove it is easiest done with metal tongs or a metal meat fork, 
it just takes a little longer, since on a grill you get them all done at the same time. 

let them cool, one they are well charred, but not burned to the inside. 
You can now either freeze them with the skin and stem still on in quart size freezer bags, 
and then they are ready for future use.  Or, if you are ready to use them right away, peel the charred skin, and cut off the stem, and slit one side open to remove the seeds. 

Now they are ready to lay on a burger or layer with cheese on top of grilled chicken. 
My favorite way to eat these chilies though is in queso! 
A famous Mexican cheese dip. 

When the chilies are prepared, they can be diced and added to shredded or cubed jack cheese, 
which is then melted in the oven for the most delicious dip!
A true crowd pleaser!!

As Always, 
ENJOY!

1 cup of diced roasted poblano peppers
1 lb. jack cheese cut into small cubes

Mix the peppers and cheese together in an oven proof dish, Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring once half way through to make sure the cheese melts evenly. 

Serve with sturdy tortilla chips.  

As the dip sits out, the cheese will begin to stiffen.  Put it back in the oven or in the microwave for a quick reheat!

 

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Pecan Sticky Buns

 Gooey and oh so good!
The best part of this recipe is that it is prepared 
the night before, and then baked in the morning. 

Place the chopped nuts in the bottom of a tube pan
(not angel food).

Place the frozen dough balls on top of the
chopped nuts.  Either Rhodes or Bridgeford brand. 


Some grocery stores do not carry this, so you can 
substitute vanilla if necessary. The key is that it is NOT instant, 
it is cook & serve. 


Sprinkle this dry pudding powder over the 
frozen rolls.

Melt the butter and brown sugar together with the cinnamon. 

Drizzle this butter, sugar mixture over the rolls. 

Spray plastic wrap with non-stick spray and place the sprayed 
side down over the pan. 

Cover with and inverted plate.

Allow to rise overnight on the counter or in the oven on a rack. 



These are a family favorite and just so easy!
As always, 
ENJOY!



Swiss Hazelnut Chocolate Loaf Cake

One of my favorite dessert flavor combinations!
Chocolate and hazelnut. 

This recipe was given to me by my Swiss friend, Renata. 
She explains that this style of loaf cake if served 
on a regular basis with coffee. 

Moist and delicious! 
Unfortunately, one of the main ingredients is zwieback toast. 
The type that was served to teething children.  This lightly sweetened 
dry bread was ground up and used as the "flour" for the cake. 
zwieback toast is no longer manufactured. 
A substitute would be necessary. 

I still enjoy making loaf cakes for a quick coffee snack!

As Always,
ENJOY!

Homemade Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Homemade Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, delicious in the summer with ripe tomatoes 
and fresh basil, plus a drizzle of olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. 

Once the cheese balls are formed, they can be eaten right away or covered and 
stored in the refrigerator for a 1-2 days.

 A gallon of milk in a stainless steel pot with the citric acid added, bring up 
to temperature. 

Once the rennet is added, curds will begin to form.

Drain the whey from the curds.  Here, the colander is lined with cheese cloth.

The cheese mass inside the colander is  then placed into warm water. 
This is to help the cheese mass begin to adhere(melt) to itself.


Gently stretch and fold the cheese until smooth. 


Once the cheese mass is smooth, form into a ball.  Place in a small ball, cover and 
refrigerate until ready to use.

As Always, 
ENJOY!

1 gallon of milk makes two cheese balls, approximately 1 pound of cheese. 

1 gallon of milk
1 1/2 tsp. citric  acid powder dissolved in 1 cup water
1 tablet rennet (junket) if liquid rennet less is used, dissolved in 1/4 cup of water. 
kosher salt

   Add milk to 5Qt. pot.  add citric acid and stir.  Bring mixture up to 190 degrees.  Turn of heat.  add rennet.  stir for 25 second.  cover with lid and leave for 5 minutes. Curds should have formed, and whey should be seen around the edges of the milk curd mass.  Using a long knife cut the curd both vertically and horizontally, reach all the way to the bottom of the pot.
 Heat again now to 105 degrees.  Gently stirring, curds should continue to clump and more whey released. 
remove or strain the curds. fill a bowl with warm water or the whey and add 1 tsp. kosher salt. continue folding and stretching cheese. The mass should become silky looking with not clumps. Continue heating water if necessary to keep the cheese mass warm. Once smooth shape in to balls.  Store wrapped in refrigerator or leave at room temp for 2-3 hours if using in the same day. 

Arrugula and Parmigiano Reggiano Ravioli with Browned Butter Walnut Sauce



So simple, yet utterly satisfying. 

These wonderful ravioli can be found at Trader Joe's. 
I love to serve them with a brown butter walnut sauce. 
Plate onto a bed of arugula. 

Serve alone or as a side with chicken or pork.

While the ravioli are cooking, brown a few 
tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan. 
Be very careful not to burn the butter. 

Add about 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. 
The butter will foam up. Warm for just about 
30 seconds, just to make the walnuts aromatic. 

Add the al dente cooked ravioli to the sauce pan. 
gently toss.  Add a bit of the hot pasta water for 
a luxurious sauce that coats the past. 
Serve immediately! 

As Always, 
ENJOY!

Pizza Crackers

Like a pizza dough,  but a bit stiffer. 
Plus the addition of fennel seeds or 
red pepper flakes for flavor. 

Roll out paper thin!!
Drape onto a hot pizza stone and bake 
for just one or two minutes. 
It will bubble and crisp!
Remove carefully and quickly from the oven. 
Store in an airtight container. 
It is so beautiful to serve these large sheets of crackers
either with a charcuterie or just by them selves.

As Always, 
ENJOY!

Chicken Enchilladas

Ready to go in the oven!
Enchiladas, no matter what they are stuffed with, 
is always a great option for feeding a crowd!

Delicious!  Hot out of the oven and ready to serve. 
Add a bit of chopped cilantro to the top, 
not only for visual appeal, but to add a 
bit of freshness to the baked dish.

As Always,
ENJOY!

Beef Taquitos

Fry until crisp. Drain well.  Serve with fresh guacamole!

Once the taquitos are all rolled, fry in small batches.

When making a large batch, as for a family gathering, 
roll all the taquitos ahead, with the pre fried corn tortillas and
the roasted and seasoned shredded beef. 
Then they are all ready to fry and serve warm when 
friends and family have arrived. 

As Always, 
ENJOY!

Oven Dried Figs

 
Wash and completely dry the figs with a dish towel.
Cover a sheet tray with parchment paper and space out evenly. 

Once the figs are dried, they can be stored in containers for future use. 

As Always, 
ENJOY!

     Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Line sheet pans with parchment paper.  Carefully rinse ripe figs, lay on dish towels to drain. Using another dry dish towel, pat or roll the figs to remove any water. 

   Place figs on sheet pan, and place in oven for one hour at 200 degrees.  Leave oven door ajar by placing a wooden spoon in the opening. Rotate pan, and turn all figs over.  Leave in oven for another hour at 200 degrees.  Then lower oven temperature to 150 degrees and continue drying figs for another 8-10 hours.  

   These figs were small and so they were thoroughly dried at the end of 8 hours. 



Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits

A great dinner to share with a new Parents!

Combining all the parts... carrots, peas, potatoes and chicken chunks.

Thickened herb gravy to cover all the ingredients with goodness!

Add, cut out biscuits on top of filling, and now
you are ready to bake.

Hot out of the oven and ready to share. 


As Always, 
ENJOY!





Trofie Pasta with Pesto and Shrimp

 A great meal for a Friday dinner in Lent.

I love gifts that are edible!
 This unique Italian pasta was gifted to me by Dominic!
Thank you!

Trofie is a fun pasta shape to eat, it is small but still has great
bite and chew.  You get a good forkful and mouthful when eating.

It is also a fun pasta shape to make by hand, if you have the patience.
The shape is small and so it requires lots of little pieces to
make a pot full of pasta!

As Always, 
ENJOY!