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 Winter weather like we've been having (highs that don't climb out of the negative, frost on all the old windows and snow drifts piled on the back porch) calls for hearty fare. Give me meat and give me starches, that's my motto. Actually, I've never uttered those words, but the recipes we've been enjoying of late seem to follow that mandate.
Homemade Gnocchi using leftover mashed potatoes
I was skeptical at first, too. But mashed potatoes usually languish in the fridge and finally get pitched on trash day. Never again. Making cold mashed potatoes into gnocchi was easy and they even freeze just fine.
Pork and Pappardelle Pasta
We've done this recipe several times in the last few weeks. We've varied the meat in the dish to try carnitas, leftover roast and store bought rotisserie chicken. All of them work just fine.
Pasta Dough
The best pasta dough recipe is from Tamara over on domesticesq.com.
3 Envelope Roast
I am sad to say I am one of those people that require a recipe for roast. Every. Single. Time. But this one is a keeper and maybe someday I will commit it to memory.
Stay warm and full, my friends!
My eyes have seen the light - and it lays in a simple salad. I tell you I had no idea that a salad could be so good when proper techniques are applied in its making. I had talked about a fantastic salad in my review of Pizzeria Mozza, calling it 'fluffy' and marveling at how I could actually learn to like, maybe even love, that weed they pass off as lettuce called frisee. I didn't use those words exactly, but that's how I felt. But the salad stayed in Los Angeles and I came home to St. Louis and the love affair ended. Or so I thought...until a year and a half later I got the smarts enough to search for a recipe. It took five minutes to find.
The real secret to this salad are the rules that can be applied to any salad (all credit goes to Nancy Silverton for unlocking the secrets of a salad) :
- Use fresh and in-season ingredients.
- Dress the leafy greens a little at a time and massage the dressing into the greens. This allows for enough dressing to coat the salad so it isn't under or overdressed.
- Layer the salad so the ingredients are evenly distributed and the salad isn't compressed. (dressed lettuce, toppings, dressed lettuce, toppings)
- Any salad should have a crunch. That doesn't necessarily mean croutons as crispy lettuce can serve that purpose as well.
Here is the salad I've been obsessed with for the last month ( adapted):
Lemon Vinaigrette
- 1 shallot (or less), minced
- 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp champagne or rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salad
- Mix of lettuce like Belgian endive, radicchio, curly endive (or frisee) and arugula
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Dress the lettuce and massage the dressing into the lettuce. Add if needed and massage again. Place a layer of dressed lettuce and top with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat with alternating layers of lettuce and grated cheese.
Mmmm, Manchego cheese salad. Yes, please! Oh, and I will have some Brussels sprouts, almonds and dried fruit with my cheese. When Daniel came home from a work trip to L.A. and recreated a salad he had a La Grande Orange Cafe, my mind was blown that Brussels sprouts could be used a salad green. When the salad used Manchego cheese, too (only the best cheese EVER), well...things were really getting good. The original recipe was hunted down by the LA Times, we modified it a bit for easy-to-find (or on-hand) ingredients.
- Assemble the ingredients - Mustard Vinaigrette:
• 2 Tbs. honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar (or Rice Wine vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 3/4 cup light tasting olive oil
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper |
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until the oil is completely incorporated.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Channel your inner chef and add more vinegar or mustard if you need more kick.
- Chill (the dressing). Whisk just prior to use.
Note: This will make more than you need, but will keep for 1 week covered in the refrigerator. Dole it out to family and friends by advertising it as 'honey mustard vinaigrette made from scratch.'
- Assemble the ingredients - Salad:
• 1 pound Brussels Sprouts
• 2 tablespoons dried cherries
• 2 tablespoons toasted almonds (we used slivered)
• Mustard Vinaigrette (above recipe)
• Manchego cheese |
- Get some water on to boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
- In the meantime, cut the ends off the Brussels sprouts and peel off a few layers to be used for your salad. You can take the core of the Brussels sprouts and set them aside for another day (perhaps Balsamic Brussels sprouts with pancetta).
- Blanch the Brussels sprouts in the boiling water until the color is nice and vibrant and they are just a bit tender. Take out the sprouts and shock them in the prepared ice bath to stop the cooking. Admire the color.
- Drain and dry the Brussels sprouts.
- Divide your sprouts amongst your plates. Toss with the dried fruit and almonds, then dress lightly with the mustard vinaigrette. Make it look pretty.
- Shave (using a normal vegetable peeler) a healthy helping of Manchego cheese on top.
Note: The leaves of 1 pound of Brussels sprouts will make 1 dinner size portion, 2 side salads or 4 smaller appetizer salads. The picture, above, is one of 2 side salads.
Strawberry season is upon us - evident by the loads of cheap strawberries to be had at the grocery store or local farms where you can pick your own. If taste alone doesn't tempt you to devour strawberries, then think of your poor organs: (info from WedMD)
- Good for your heart: increases good (HDL) cholesterol, lowers blood pressure
- Contains more vitamin C than an orange in one serving (8 strawberries)
- One of the Top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity
- Sodium-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free and low calorie
What are you waiting for? Get crack-a-lackin'!
Fresh
[+] Chocolate covered strawberries
Fresh, but not pretty
[+] Any other smoothie you can think of, plus most of the recipes in the Fresh, but not pretty section (above)
No longer salvageable
[+] First of all, that's a bummer, but I understand.
Odd how my ice cream maker didn't see much action this summer, but now the temps are hovering around freezing I get the urge to churn out frozen treats. This hankering for some frozen yogurt was somewhat specific: I wanted Pinkberry's raspberry frozen yogurt. As I saw it, I had two options: 1) drive 260 miles to the nearest location or 2) make my own. Obviously I chose the latter. A brief online search yielded a good base recipe and I modified it just a touch.
- Assemble the ingredients:
• Frozen or fresh raspberries (I used a frozen 12 oz. bag)
• 1/2 cup, plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• ~4 cups 2% Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 cup half and half |
- Put the raspberries in a pot with 3 tablespoons sugar and heat up. Mash and cook the raspberries until you have a nice liquid.
- While that's stewing, combine your yogurt, milk, 1/2 cup sugar and half and half.
- Take your raspberries off the heat and strain into the Greek yogurt mixture.
- Chill the mixture in the fridge.
- Place the chilled mixture in an ice cream maker and spin until desired consistency. Freeze until served.
Note: Best served shortly after churning. If you plan on serving it on a different day, be sure to soften before serving - the large amount of liquids causes this yogurt to freeze pretty solid.
Just in time for peach season is this amazing caramelized peach and goat cheese crostini recipe Daniel devised and whipped up one night. It is like a savory adult version of dinner-for-breakfast French toast and it is de-lish. Goes great with a simple side salad and the recipe itself is very relaxed. Hurry before peach season wraps up!
- Assemble the ingredients:
• Bread - a loaf of french, sourdough or similar
• Goat cheese (soft)
• Olive oil
• Peaches - don't be stingy, about 1-2 per person
• Brown sugar
• Good balsamic vinegar (optional) |
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, slice your bread and brush lightly with olive oil. Pop the prepared bread in the oven until lightly toasted.
- Combine water and brown sugar in a skillet and let them cook together until they reduce a bit to form a nice syrup. This step has a lot of leeway depending if you want the peaches to be drenched in syrup or a more au naturale approach. We've done it both ways and it is equally delicious, a little bit more on the syrupy-side helps with the dryness of the crostini.
- Pit and cut your peaches (diced, sliced or however you like them). Add them to your syrup mix and cook until they are softened and warm.
- Meanwhile, take your bread out of the oven, and spread soft goat cheese over the warm bread. The warmth of the bread should make the cheese spread easily and melt it a little.
- Ladle a good helping of the peaches over each crostini.
- Finish with a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar.
My best friends over at Real Simple magazine have done us a solid by putting out a super delicious soup recipe for the slow cooker. And by best friends I mean magazine professionals I've never met before...but the way to my heart is through my stomach, or something along those lines.
- Assemble the ingredients:
• 1 pound dried white beans
• 1/2 pound andouille sausage links, cut into big bite pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme | • 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 bunch collard greens, cut into bite-size pieces (throw out stems)
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• Cornbread muffins (optional) |
- Combine the beans, sausage, onion, celery, thyme and broth directly in the slow cooker.
- Put a lid on it and cook 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. It is considered cooked when the beans are tender.
- For the last 20 minutes - pull out the thyme stems and add the collard greens. Cook until the collard greens are tender.
- Add the 1 Tablespoon of vinegar and the salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve it up with cornbread muffins.
NOTES:
• We've made this with both andouille and kielbasa and the sausage is a huge factor in flavor. If you like a bit of mild spice, then definitely make it with the andouille. Substituting in kielbasa will blunt the overall flavor.
Our first foray into flatbreads was quite successful. Being that I am all about alliteration today I deemed this combination of meats, cheese, mushrooms and veggies as a Forest and Farm Flatbread (what else besides mushrooms would be the forest part, I don't know). So, light up the grill and give it a go with your favorite toppings.
- Assemble the ingredients:
• Pizza dough (we bought pre-made)
• Flour
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Toppings - Go wild. We did pesto, fresh mozzarella, baby spinach, small potatoes (ha ha ha), shitake and crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, and prosciutto |
- Prepare all your toppings - the flatbread crisps up quickly and then the toppings need to be ready to go on.
- Warm up the grill.
- Roll out the pizza dough using liberal amounts of flour so it doesn't stick. Make it easy on yourself and just go with any shape that allows you to have a good thickness - don't worry about it being a perfect circle or a nice rectangle. If anyone gives you crap then let them know this style cooking is called 'rustic' and make a mental note to not invite them over anymore.
- Brush olive oil on both sides of the flatbread.
- Grill the flatbread for a few minutes each side until golden brown.
- Pile high with your toppings and finish the bake on the grill.
NOTES:
• If you choose to do potatoes you will want to cook them completely before using as a topping.
 Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine baking in my slow cooker, but I am downright giddy now that I know it is possible. I'm not sure which says more about me: that my dreams are that tame or that I am so excited about baking in a slow cooker. Anywho, all patheticness aside, it is possible and works quite well. Mixing the ingredients is ordinary, but instead of putting it in the oven you pop it in the slow cooker. Daniel asked me why I thought this method was so great and at the time I could only think of the novelty of the process. It was like Easy Bake Ovens for grown-ups and I've always wanted an Easy Bake Oven. Since then, I've composed a list of reasons why baking in the slow cooker is useful:
- During the summer you don't have to run your oven.
- You can take the item to a potluck or dinner where oven space is at a premium, but outlets aren't.
- No cake pan? No worries - this recipe puts the mix directly in parchment paper in the slow cooker.
- Did I mention Easy Bake Oven? The novelty of baking in a slow cooker is still enough for me.
Thank the food geniuses at Real Simple for this recipe.
- Assemble the ingredients:
• parchment paper
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
(room temperature)
• 1 1/4 cups plus 6 tablespoons sugar | • 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar (optional)
• whipped cream (optional) |
- Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Beat the butter and 1 1/4 cups of sugar on the medium high setting of a mixer until nice and smooth.
- Add the eggs and continue beating on medium high until the mixture is fluffy (approximately 2 minutes).
- Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon zest and poppy seeds and beat until incorporated.
- Set the mixer to low and slowly add the dry ingredient mix (from step 2).
- Place a sheet of parchment paper in the slow cooker and pour the cake mixture into the slow cooker. The parchment paper should contain the mixture.
- Cook the cake on high until baked, about 2.5 hours. If in doubt, use the trusty old toothpick test: stick a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
- Mix together the lemon juice and remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar and drizzle over the top of the cake.
- Pull the cake out of the slow cooker by lifting up on the sides of the parchment paper. Let cool.
- Dust with confectioners' sugar and a dollop of whipped cream (both optional) and enjoy!
NOTES:
• I made this in a 6 quart oval slow cooker and it baked for just around 2.5 hours. Factors (a.k.a. sciencey things) like altitude, surface area and temperature of your slow cooker may cause your cake to bake differently, so be diligent on the first bake.
• We stored ours on the counter in the parchment paper and it seemed to work out nicely. It only lasted 2 days and I wouldn't suggest keeping it out for too much longer than that for fear of it drying out.
Happy Valentine's day! I must admit I am just coming around to this holiday after years of fake gagging myself in response to sappy cards forced on a legion of unassuming schmucks to demonstrate their love once a year. Now I see that I was missing the point: a chance to bake and eat tons of sweets in the name of love. Ain't love grand? This year I selected cupcakes with buttercream icing. Supposedly this recipe is as close to the famed Publix grocery store's buttercream icing as a home effort has come, according to this icing forum (thank you, icing gurus, for all your hardwork). Stop reading now if you truly love icing and have no idea how it is made, because finding out about icing is an awful lot like finding out about how hotdogs are made. Now that I've totally killed any romantic notions you had dancing about in your head, here is the recipe: - Assemble the ingredients:
• ½ pounds butter (2 sticks)
• 2 cups Crisco vegetable shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
| • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 lbs. confectioners sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon meringue powder |
- Mix butter, Crisco and salt together on low speed for 5 minutes.
- Add vanilla, butter flavor and almond extract and beat until blended.
- With the mixer off, added the meringue powder and half of the confectioners sugar. Turn the mixer on the slowest speed until the powder has combined in the icing mix. Add the remaining confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup at a time until the sugar is mixed in.
- Crank the mixer up to medium and beat the mixture for approximately 5 minutes. The icing should be smooth and creamy at the end of this time.
NOTES:
• Meringue powder you can find at speciality baking stores or at Michael's craft store in the baking section.
• Butter flavoring you can find in the spices section of your grocery store near all the other extracts. It is a little bottle of liquid, not the butter flavoring granules you sprinkle on baked potatoes and things.
• The original recipe stresses sifting the confectioner's sugar, I started to do this, got antsy and dumped the confectioner's sugar in unsifted. I didn't seem to have a problem, but my confectioner's sugar wasn't too hard or clumped together.
• You can store the icing in the fridge overnight to preserve it. Before using, warm it to room temp and beat the icing in the mixer for 2-5 minutes. Otherwise just eat it straight out of the fridge with the largest spoon you can find.
Have I got a real treat in store for you today. This, my friends, is the recipe for an easy and very tasty pumpkin bread. Too boring, you say? Not this one. It has a ribbon of a cream cheese filling that really is icing on the cake, if you want to stick with baking clichés. Bake up a batch, stick it in the fridge and watch as you uncontrollably eat it for the next 23 hours - you won't even make it 24 hours. (Okay, so I accidentally typed 23 instead of 24 and then got dramatic). 
- Assemble the ingredients:
For the bread
• 1 cup pumpkin filling
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
| For the filling
• 1 package cream cheese (large), softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel (optional)
|
- Preheat oven to 325° F.
- Grease and flour your bread pans. The recipe calls for two 7 1/2 x 3 1/3 loaf pans - but I do a medley of pans and fill until I run out of batter.
- For the filling, beat cream cheese, sugar and flour together in a small bowl. Add egg, mix to blend. Stir in orange peel, set aside.
- Make bread by combining pumpkin, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Add sugar, salt, cloves, cinnamon, flour, baking soda, mix to blend.
- Pour ¼ of the batter into your greased and floured pans. Carefully spread the cream cheese mixture over the batter. Add remaining batter, covering the filling.
- Bake at 325° F for 1 ½ hours, or until bread tests done with wooden pick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.
- Store in refrigerator.
NOTES: I keep meaning to double the filling part of the recipe to get a nice, big ribbon of cream cheese, but have never done it. Something to try out if you want to flex your culinary muscles or if adding fractions together is really your thing.
Last year I had a short-lived obsession with pickling after an irresistible deal at Soulard Farmer's Market saddled me with way too many cucumbers. A quick venture into the world of pickling yielded several cans of gray pickles that I didn't have the heart (or guts) to pawn off on anybody. BUT, when I was searching for pickle recipes in my copy of Country Wisdom and Know-How -- what every self-respecting Midwesterner household should own* -- I came across very enticing recipes for flavored vinegars. It was located in the section on Preserving, Pickling, Canning, Distilling - I kid you not. The text stated raspberry vinegar was considered one of the best and with raspberries just wrapping up their season, I decided to go for it. We used the batch of 'homemade' raspberry vinegar until the last drop fell about midway through the year. You bet your sweet bippy I whipped up another batch this year.
 [Raspberry vinegar in the making] - Assemble the ingredients:
2 to 2 1/2 cups fresh red raspberries, lightly mashed
2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
2 cups red wine vinegar |
- Combine all the ingredients in a (non aluminum) double boiler over boiling water. Turn down the heat and cook over barely simmer water for 10 minutes, uncovered.
- Put all the contents in a canning jar and store for 3 weeks.
- Strain out the solids, pressing on the raspberries to get out all the juice.
- Optional: Strain through a coffee filter to make the vinegar less cloudy.
- Place the vinegar in a bottle for use.
Drumroll, please: A delicious vinegar that makes a mean vinaigrette. Sure, you can buy raspberry vinaigrette at the store, but it won't be as tasty or as country-wisdomy as this stuff. *Dripping with sarcasm for all those out there thinking we (Midwesterners) are all a bunch of bumpkins. As for the book, a very cool compendium of projects and recipes.
When the end-of-summer harvest hands you sweet corn, you make...sweet corn ice cream. This was actually a request by my (pregnant) sister who was inspired by an episode of Iron Chef to eat the confection and I eagerly obliged. Running out to the store I found the very last of the sweet corn available for the season and snapped it up. I found a custard-based sweet corn ice cream recipe online and with just a small tweak the sweet corn ice cream became a reality.  - Assemble the ingredients:
6 ears of fresh sweet corn
2 cups milk (I used whole milk)
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
9 large egg yolks |
|
- Shuck and clean the corn, then cut the kernels off the cob. Break the cobs into halves or thirds.
- Place the kernels and the cobs in a large saucepan. Add the milk, cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring and then turn off the heat. Remove the cobs and puree the mixture (using an immersion mixer or a blender). Let sit for 1 hour.
- Bring the mixture back to a simmer, then turn off the heat. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Temper the egg mix by slowly adding the cream mixture to the eggs, stir the entire time so the eggs don't scramble. Add the cream/eggs mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat while stirring constantly until a custard forms. The custard should be think enough to coat a spoon (no drips when a line is made on the back of the spoon).
- Pass the custard through a sieve - be sure to press down on the corn kernels to release the flavor - and then discard all the solids left in the sieve. Chill the custard in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
- Freeze in your ice cream maker.
- For garnish, top with a few kernels of the raw sweet corn. This is optional, of course.
SPOILER ALERT: In the end, my gifts of sweet corn ice cream were met with plastic smiles and empty thank-yous, for good reason. The Cliff's Notes version basically reads that this was little more than frozen creamed corn. So the success I mentioned in the title is more from an academic standpoint...as in, I successfully made sweet corn ice cream.
Here is my new non-alcoholic drink of the week...or two weeks...or maybe drink of the month. It is both delicious and super easy, requiring only 2 ingredients and no blender. AND unlike the good ol' cucumber/pineapple/ginger concoction I think this one always turns out pretty. What a relief!
 | - Assemble the ingredients:
Peach nectar ( found in the juice section)
Sparkling apple cider |
- Add 2 oz. of chilled peach nectar to a champagne flute and top off with the chilled sparkling cider. *
|
*For those of you wanting to get a little booze action, substitute champagne in for the sparkling apple cider. Just mix it with the peach nectar, take a sip and then call me up and tell me how much better it is then silly sparkling cider.
I love, love, love baking requests. You want homemade fruit and chocolate tarts for a family dinner tomorrow? No problem. Anytime you see me I should have an offering of sour lemon sorbet for you? I will try ( I actually got this request from my precocious 'tween cousin). To me these requests are the ultimate compliment. So when Daniel forwarded me a recipe with a simple request to make Crack Pie sometime, I cleared my schedule to make it immediately. Who am I kidding? My schedule is always clear so I made it the next day.  Created and made famous by NYC bakery, Momofuku, Crack pie is supposed to be as addictive as its namesake. Imbibing in this decadent pie shouldn't land you in rehab (eat in moderation, people), but may be a gateway pie to the harder stuff. The good news is the recipe yields 2 pies so one for you and one for a friend, because who likes to eat alone? Taken from L.A. Times food section - I kept the recipe in 3 parts, but made some extra notes on the recipe based on my experience. Basically you make a big cookie, then crumble it up and it becomes part of the crust and lastly the filling goes in and you bake it up.  Cookie for the crust: - Assemble the ingredients:
2/3 c. plus 1 Tbs. flour
Scant 1/8 tsp. baking powder
Scant 1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) softened butter
| 1/3 c. light brown sugar
3 tables sugar
1 egg
Scant 2 c. rolled oats
|
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
- Cream together the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer at medium speed.
- Beat the egg into the butter mixture.
- With the mixer running, add the flour mixture gradually until incorporated. Then stir in the oats.
- Spread the mixture onto a 9x13 inch backing sheet and bake until brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool and crumble the big cookie to use in the crust (next section).
 Crust: - Assemble the ingredients:
Crumbled cookie for crust
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter
2 10-inch pie tins
| 1 1/2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
|
- Put all the ingredients a food processor and pulse until the contents resemble brown sugar. If you press some of the mixture between your fingers it should clump and loosely hold together.
- Divide the mixture between the 2 (10-inch) pie tins. Press the crust into each tin along the bottom and sides.
 Filling: - Assemble the ingredients:
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. plus a scant 3 Tbs. light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. plus 1 tsp. milk powder
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, melted
| 3/4 c. plus a scant 2 Tbs. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 egg yolks
2 prepared crusts (done in previous section)
Powdered sugar (optional) |
- Heat the oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl, bring together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter and the whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.
- Whisk in the egg yolks gently, be careful not to over whisk and add too much air. The mix will look like butterscotch pudding (in my opinion).
- Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells.
- Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 325 F and bake the pies until the filling is slightly jiggly in the center and golden brown. I finally achieved the description after 25-35 minutes. Let cool on a rack. The recipe I followed said this step would take about 10 minutes, but when I took it out, it was liquidy. So I popped them back in for 35+ minutes and they were a bit overbaked...so I am deducing that 25-35 minutes will be juuuust right.
- Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. The center will be ooey-gooey. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
The word is out that we are expecting...which means this blog is going to be totally dedicated to all things baby from here on out. Just kidding. It does mean that I guzzled enough sparkling apple juice and pretend sipped on any cocktail in front of me to coast through the holidays. But now that the secret is out I am ready to join the big kids table with some caffeine free, non-alcoholic drinks of my own. To start is a cucumber/pineapple/ginger agua fresca that is very refreshing and magically delicious. The picture on LA Times made the drink look like a tall sip of Ireland, but I whipped up the drink and it looked more like pond water. But not to worry, just serve it in a colored or opaque glass before serving to your more discerning guests.
- Assemble the ingredients:
Pineapple juice
1 cucumber
Ginger ale |
- Dice and blend the cucumber, then strain the juice. If you leave the peel on, be sure to scrub it first. And I tried mixes with and without the peel and it didn't make the drink any prettier.
- Mix 3oz. of pineapple juice, 3oz. cucumber juice and 3.5oz. of ginger ale.
- Pour over ice and garnish with a slice of cucumber or pineapple.
| | | |
Winter weather like we've been having (highs that don't climb out of the negative, frost on all the old windows and snow drifts piled on the back porch) calls for hearty fare. Give me meat and give me starches, that's my motto. Actually, I've never uttered those words, but the recipes we've been enjoying of late seem to follow that mandate.
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