Showing posts with label pie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pie. Show all posts

11/21/10

Giving Thanks Menu



Instead of posting another recipe, I'm going to give you a roundup of some of my Thanksgiving fave's from ABK .
And tell you this. If you've been with me for a while you know this is my all time favorite holiday. This year, double bonus. It's my bd and my fave holiday. All on one day. People ask, do you cook on Thanksgiving when it falls on your birthday?? YES. And I love it. Food, family, friends. A pause from everyday rush-rush to eat and give thanks.
I'm thankful for: (the short list)
My family. I am blessed to be a daughter, wife, mom, sister and aunt. Know what I aspired to be when I was young? A mother. I know it sounds trite, but I love being a mom and wife.
Grant. 28 years and counting. We are truly blessed.
My friends. I have been blessed with the best girlfriends. Ever.
Good Health.
Freedom. The opportunity to live in the land of the free and home of the brave. So thankful to Service men and women who are giving up being with their own families to protect mine.
Happy Thanksgiving.
love,
Si

Click on the text for link to the blog post/recipe.


Perfect appetizer for the big day...



You want simple? This is it.


























Happy Cooking!

11/18/10

Sweet Potato Pie with Ginger Pecan Crust






There are two types of people. Those who love sweet potatoes and those who don't. Same with sweet potato or pumpkin pie.
Personally, I'm a once a year, one slice kind of girl, with regard to this type of pie. I've never made sweet potato pie before. Only pumpkin. But when I saw this recipe in Food and Wine mag recently, I knew it had to go on my list of pies to try for Thanksgiving. It was the crust and the meringue topping that hooked me.
I usually LOVE a big dollop of real whipping cream or ice cream on top of pie at Thanksgiving. And I usually only love meringue on lemon. Hello. This is not your mother's meringue. First, you make a sugar syrup, then beat the egg whites stiff, slowly add the sugar syrup to the whites. Know how meringue is usually light, fluffy, and frou-frou temperamental??? Not this meringue.
Move over. This is serious meringue . I whipped some up, Jake taste tested and immediately used some to top his hot cocoa. Tastes like a home made marshmallow.
Y U M.
Fresh filling.


And the crust. Gingery, sweet, nutty, graham.
You have to try this.
Now.



Sweet Potato Meringue Pie with Ginger Graham Crust
adapted from Food and Wine Magazine November 2010


CRUST
1 cup (4 ounces) pecan halves
11 whole graham crackers, broken
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FILLING AND TOPPING
Four 8-ounce sweet potatoes
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
3 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


MAKE THE CRUST
Preheat the oven to 325°. In a pie plate, toast the pecans for about 10 minutes, until fragrant and browned. Let the nuts cool completely.
In a food processor, combine the pecans, graham crackers, ginger, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon; pulse until crumbs form. Add the butter and process until incorporated. Press the crumbs evenly into a 9 or 10-inch pie plate. Bake the crust for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Using a rubber spatula, press down the crust and let cool completely. Wipe out the processor.

FILLING AND TOPPING
Place potatoes in pot cover with water. Boil sweet potatoes until soft, about 30-40 minutes. Peel and let cool. You should have about 2 1/4 cups.
Transfer the sweet potato to the food processor and puree until smooth. Add the brown sugar and eggs; process until blended. Add the heavy cream and process again, just until incorporated. Pour the filling into the crust and bake for about 50 minutes, until set and the top looks dry; cover the crust edges with foil if they darken. Let the pie cool completely. Preheat the broiler.
In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat without stirring until a candy thermometer inserted in the syrup registers 240°, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites with the salt until soft peaks form. With the machine on, carefully drizzle in the hot syrup and beat at high speed until the whites are stiff, glossy and warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
Mound the meringue over the sweet potato filling, swirling it decoratively. Broil the pie 4 to 6 inches from the heat for about 30 seconds, until the meringue is lightly browned. Cut the pie into wedges and serve.

Tips:
-When making meringue, it is very important the whisk attachment is clean and free of any oil. Also, it helps to have the bowl chilled.
-I felt the crust really could have been cut by about 1/4. So you may want to adjust the recipe accordingly.
-You may make the crust and filling and bake the pie a day before serving. Refrigerate. Take the pie out of the refrigerator when making the meringue topping. Don't skip the meringue. It's the best ever.
-Store pie in refrigerator.

10/1/10

Boston Cream Pie


Photo (above) by the beautiful and talented Whitney Kofford
check out her photography blog here.




Remember the last time we cooked/talked about cooking? We talked about:

Conquering fears.
Stepping outside the box.
Maybe a little one-on-one time.
You and me.
Baking.
My kitchen.

Hold this thought....

This summer I received a call from Whitney, a young (younger than me) friend and neighbor. She wanted to make a Boston Cream Pie for her dad, for Father's Day. She knew she was a little late (2 months) but it was his fave dessert, and she wanted to learn how. I told her that I had never made a BCP, but would love to learn how, then teach her.
I didn't tell her, that one time, a long time ago, I purchased a whole BCP, took it home, ate a couple of bites, and decided to put it on my very short list of desserts I never wanted to eat again. My fam felt the same way. I actually threw it in the trash after a few days. Wasteful, I know. I mean, if kids in Africa wanted the crust off of my sandwich (according to your mother), they would LOVE the BCP we threw out.

A peek into that day:

1 PM: Make the first trial "pie". Note to me- this is not a pie. It's a cake. Why do they call it a pie? Google that. Read it. Hmmm. Said something about waaay back when, home cooks prob didn't have the money to purchase both pie and cake tins, so they made the sponge cake in a pie plate.
First lesson. This is not a normal cake. Maybe that is why it's called a pie? The layers turned out FLAT. What could I have done wrong? Maybe the eggs weren't fresh enough. Go to the store, buy fresh(er) eggs. More milk. Whole milk.

2 PM Make another cake. Hmmm Not quite as flat, but still flatter than a normal layer cake. I want this cake to be fluffy. The cake is not cooperating. Wrap up the first cake, freeze for later use. Thought to self- I WILL conquer this cake/pie/whatever it is.

3PM make the custard filling. Taste. Yum. All is well. Refrigerate.


See the custard sandwiched in between the FLAT layers?

4PM Start making the glaze. Set aside. Things are looking up.

6PM Whitney arrives. Teach her how to make the (3rd) cake. We make and bake two more layers. Still flat. Does this cake have a complex?! Maybe it won't be a fluffy cake, because it's being told it's a PIE?


Our friend Melanie joined us, we love Mel.


7PM Teach Whitney how to make custard and glaze. Set aside to cool. Pull out the pre-made layers, filling and glaze. This cake is beautiful. Accept the fact, this is not a traditional cake. Maybe that's why it's called a pie? Yes, I'm a slow learner.
Take pics of Mel and Whit with phone, bc I can't find my camera.


7:30-8ish PM finish all of the baking. Assemble Whitney's cake.
Can't find camera. Tell Whitney to take pics at home.
Send her on her way with the finished product.
Look at the extra layers and custard and glaze. Decide to assemble another BCP and give it away, since we aren't BCP fans.
Wow. Looks yummy.
Well, maybe just a slice. Have Jake run the whole pie (minus two slices) down to Melanie's.
8:30 Eat a slice with Jake.
Look at each other.
Send Jake back to Melanie's for more BCP.


Back to the last post about conquering fears. In the kitchen. So I was not really afraid of making BCP. Just unsure of how to do it. I had the luxury of taking the better part of a day to learn how. Often, I hear peeps say, I don't make ______, bc it's too hard. Too time consuming. Too intimidating. I understand. Really, I do.
Here's my thought process- for what it's worth. If you don't ever try, and maybe try a few times, you'll forever be reduced to buying a store bought crust. Or rolls. Or whatever. One night at about 2 AM (insomnia) after solving many of the world's problems, my thoughts turned to food. I know you are shocked.
I thought about the BCP experience. I love that- now, I know how to make a BCP. NO WONDER I thought I didn't like BCP. It was store bought. I thought, maybe I should ask what my friends want to learn. And if they live close, we could have a little session. Group or individual. Do what I did with Whitney and then share with those who don't live close enough to participate.
Leave a comment, or if you aren't comfy doing that, email me at ABountifulkitchen@gmail.com and let me know what you want to tackle.
I'll be sitting right here.
Waiting for your response.
:)




Boston Cream Pie
Cook's Illustrated September 1998
print recipe

Sponge Cake
1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs , room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Pastry Cream
2 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup cornstarch , sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum or 1 teaspoon rum flavoring
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Rich Chocolate Glaze
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
8 ounces semisweet chocolate , chopped into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. For the sponge cake: Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8- or 9-inch cake pans and cover pan bottoms with a round of parchment paper. Whisk flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl (or sift onto waxed paper). Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Remove from heat and add vanilla; cover and keep warm.

2. Separate three of the eggs, placing whites in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or large mixing bowl if using hand mixer or whisk) and reserving the 3 yolks plus remaining 2 whole eggs in another mixing bowl. Beat the 3 whites on high speed (or whisk) until whites are foamy. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of the sugar; continue to beat whites to soft, moist peaks. (Do not overbeat.) If using a standing mixer, transfer egg whites to a large bowl and add yolk/whole egg mixture to mixing bowl.


3. Beat yolk/whole egg mixture with remaining 6 tablespoons sugar. Beat on medium-high speed (setting 8 on a KitchenAid) until eggs are very thick and a pale yellow color, about 5 minutes (or 12 minutes by hand). Add beaten eggs to whites.

4. Sprinkle flour mixture over beaten eggs and whites; fold very gently 12 times with a large rubber spatula. Make a well in one side of batter and pour milk mixture into bowl. Continue folding until batter shows no trace of flour, and whites and whole eggs are evenly mixed, about 8 additional strokes.

5. Immediately pour batter into prepared baking pans; bake until cake tops are light brown and feel firm and spring back when touched, about 16 minutes for 9-inch cake pans and 20 minutes for 8-inch cake pans.

6. Immediately run a knife around pan perimeter to loosen cake. Cover pan with large plate. Using a towel, invert pan and remove pan from cake. Peel off parchment. Re-invert cake from plate onto rack . Repeat with remaining cake.

7. For the pastry cream: Heat milk in a small saucepan until hot but not simmering. Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan until mixture is thick and lemon-colored, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cornstarch; whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in hot milk. Cook milk mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly and scraping pan bottom and sides as you stir, until mixture thickens to a thick pudding consistency and loses all traces of raw starch flavor, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in vanilla, rum, and butter (if using) and transfer to another container to cool to room temperature, placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of mixture to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate pastry cream until firm. (Can be refrigerated overnight.) To ensure that pastry cream does not thin out, do not whisk once it has set.

8. For the glaze: Bring cream and corn syrup to a full simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Off heat, add chocolate; cover and let stand for 8 minutes. (If chocolate has not completely melted, return saucepan to low heat; stir constantly until melted.) Add vanilla; stir very gently until mixture is smooth. Cool until tepid so that a spoonful drizzled back into pan mounds slightly. (Glaze can be refrigerated to speed up cooling process, stirring every few minutes to ensure even cooling.)

9. While glaze is cooling, place one cake layer on a cardboard round on cooling rack set over waxed paper. Carefully spoon pastry cream over cake and spread evenly up to cake edge. Place the second layer on top, making sure layers line up properly.

10. Pour glaze over middle of top layer and let flow down cake sides. Use a metal spatula, if necessary, to completely coat cake. Let sit until glaze fully sets, about 1 hour. Serve.

Tips:
-I followed the recipe almost exactly. The glaze is more glossy, as in the first picture posted right after making. It takes on more of a satin finish later.
-I read many recipes before choosing this one. Felt like this one had the best reviews, and liked the combo of ingredients.
-It's tempting to use packaged goods, I know. If you take shortcuts and use boxed pudding in place of the custard, or use a cake mix, the quality of the finished product will be different.
That's the bottom line. Nuff said.

11/22/09

Simple Pecan Pie

Pecan pie. It has to be the all time easiest pie to make. Every year, I make this pecan pie for Grant, because it's one of his favorites. He loves pecan pie so much he'll even eat those icky little pies...what are they called... ( sold only in gas stations, or Walmart). You know what I'm talking about?
If you, or someone you love is a pecan pie fan, you'll love this recipe.
Promise.




Simple Pecan Pie
A Bountiful Kitchen
print recipe

1 unbaked 9" pie crust
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup light corn syrup
3 eggs, beaten well
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Cream butter. Gradually add sugar. Mix in light corn syrup, eggs, vanilla and salt. Blend well. Stir in nuts, or pour filling in 9" pie shell and arrange pecans on top of corn syrup mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until filling is set.

Tips:
-If pie begins to brown too much, cover with foil tent.
-Bake on bottom shelf of the oven. 
-Don't serve this unless you have fresh whipped cream on hand.

11/17/09

Black Bottom Pie




Tessa brought this delish pie and shared it with me about ten years ago at our annual Pie Night party. It has been a favorite of mine since. Think grown up chocolate pie. Rum flavoring, home made custard, dark chocolate, whipped cream in a crust with a little bit of a bite. Don't make this unless you plan to serve it to a group. This is one you'll continue to take out of the fridge, and take a sliver. Then another. Another. Ok, tell yourself -tomorrow, sweat pants. One more taste. Enough! Wrap it up, have your kid take it to a neighbor.
Next morning- Wish you saved a piece for breakfast.





Black Bottom Pie
adapted from Southern Living Magazine, June 1998


Ingredients
2 tablespoons water, room temperature
2 tablespoons rum or 2 teaspoons rum flavoring
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels
2 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar


Gingersnap Crust
1 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs (about 26 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted


For Crust:
Stir together all ingredients. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.
Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes. Or just until crust starts to turn dark brown on the edges. Cool on a wire rack.


For Filling:
Stir together 2 tablespoons water and rum flavoring in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over mixture. Stir mixture, and set aside.
(this mixture will set up in bowl).
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan; gradually whisk in milk and egg yolks. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute. Stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved.
Stir together 1 cup custard mixture and chocolate morsels until smooth. Pour into Gingersnap Crust. Chill 30 minutes or until set. Set aside remaining custard mixture.
Beat whipping cream at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form.
Fold 1 cup whipped cream into remaining custard mixture. Spoon over chocolate mixture. Chill pie and remaining whipped cream 2 hours or until pie is set. Spread remaining whipped cream over pie before serving. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired.

Tips:
-Note if using rum, 2 tablespoons. If using flavoring, reduce the amount to 2 teaspoons. Flavoring is more potent than the real deal.
-I have used both name brand and store brand gingersnap cookies, the store brand are usually less than half price, and taste the same. This time I purchased Kroger (Smith's) brand.
-You will have four layers when finished. Crust, chocolate mixture, custard mixture, whipping cream.
-Make this early in the day or the day before serving, so the layers have time to set up. The crust will not get soggy if cooked properly.

11/11/09

Fresh Apple Cranberry Pie and GIVEAWAY! Closed








Of all the pies I make at holiday time, this is our family favorite. It's fresh, tart and sweet. Love the hint of almond flavor. What would Thanksgiving be without PIE? I don't even want to go there. You know how I love this holiday weekend. Family, friends, time to reflect on all of our blessings. Throw in football -the UTAH 8-1 (yay!) vs byu 7-2 (boo) game, food, the family turkey bowl, shopping. Love it. Making special food for the people I love is my favorite part. Baking PIE is my absolute fave.


I know that many of you are intimidated by our friend, PIE. So, I thought this giveaway might help ease you into a friendly encounter with pie making. Pie, the cookbook is 640 pages long and contains 300 pie recipes! There are 57 pages devoted to pie crust alone. This is the pie bible. Which reminds me - the other day my dear friends Laura and Melinda gave me a huge Cooks Illustrated (America Test Kitchen) book for my bday, containing TEN YEARS worth of Cook's recipes. I was so excited. So excited, that I blurted out, 'These are like scriptures!" Ok, so I got a little carried away. Anyway - you are going to love this cookbook. PIE is written by Ken Haedrich, a man who must have devoted an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen covered in flour to produce such a comprehensive cookbook about Pie.



Here is the deal:

Leave a comment about what you are most grateful for this time of year. The winner will be picked by the Random Counter. Entries must be in no later than Saturday, November 14 at midnight. You'll have this book in your hands in time for Thanksgiving week!



Fresh Apple Cranberry Pie
print recipe

Filling:
6-7 apples any type, peeled, cored and sliced ( I like Granny Smith)
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, washed
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon almond extract
juice from 1/2 of a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
dash salt

Crust:
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup solid shortening
1/2 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place rack on bottom third of oven. 
Place flour and salt in medium sized bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender. Add cold water all at once, stir with fork, just until all of the flour mixture is moistened. Gather the dough together in a ball. Split the dough in to two parts. Flour a surface and rolling pin. Mold half of the dough into a ball. Roll out from center to about 1/8 inch thickness. Fold dough in half. Lift onto a 9" pie plate. Open and shape to pan. Roll out the other half of dough, and set aside.
Place apples in large bowl and mix with cranberries. Add rest of filling ingredients and mix well. Fill bottom crust with apple cranberry mixture. Place other half of rolled out dough on top of filling in pie plate. Crimp edges. Make slits on top of pie for steam to escape. Brush with egg wash if desired, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.
Place pie onto foil lined cookie sheet (important, this usually bubbles over a bit.
Bake for about 60 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if pie is getting too brown.
Continue baking for about 10-15 minutes or until pie is bubbly and golden. Total baking time is usually 1 hour and 10 minutes.


11/2/09

Fresh Pear Pie with Dried Cherries and Brown Sugar Streusel




I went to a holiday dessert gathering last week, and thought it would be fun to try a new pie recipe. The crust was an all butter crust that called for "blind baking". It seems like every cooking magazine I read lately talks about "blind baking". What is it? It's another name for lining a pie shell with foil or parchment paper, filling with beans, rice or pie weights and then simply pre-baking crust. After following this recipe, I'm not a fan. I'm sure there are some pies that could benefit by blind baking. But this recipe is not one of those. By the time the crust (which we'll talk about in a minute) was completely baked, it was tough and almost chewy. HELLO, fancy cooking magazine people- pie crust is suppose to be flaky, tender and light.
This recipe calls for an all butter crust. Now, you know how I love butter. Every time I try an all butter crust, I end up going back to my tried-and-true-most-simple-and-best-crust-in-the-world recipe. This happens about once every two or three years.

Kind of like my repeated sewing adventures: (skip this part if you are over my silly rambling stories) Enter fabric store, for some unknown reason? Good thing they don't make you show some type of "license to sew" before entering and being allowed to purchase, or require a note from your Home Ec teacher Ruth Schold. Mine would say "even though you passed 7th grade sewing, when you wore your completed project (a lovely polyester t-shirt) to school, the sleeve fell off" Unfortunate. Back to the fabric store adventure- look at all of the beautiful fabric. Sit down and look at patterns. Convince myself I can make something with the sewing machine my mother bought me because "you have four kids, you need a sewing machine". Spend a bunch of $ on fabric, notions, pattern. Drive home, lay out the fabric, cut out the pattern. Cut off all of the little triangles on the outer edge of the pattern. Call a friend who sews. Ask- what's a bias and how do I tell which side is the "right side"? Swear off sewing and ban myself from all fabric stores. For a few years.

Crust- where were we... butter crust, like sewing, always sounds like a good idea. NEVER again. All butter pie crusts are inferior to crust made with shortening. Trust me. I'm a pie-aholic, I know these things. See more obsessive notes about this pie below the recipe. I would make this again, but omit the attached butter crust and use my favorite crust instead. Happy baking.



Yummy fresh pear filling



Fresh Pear Pie with Dried Cherries and Brown Sugar Streusel

For streusel:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted

For filling:
3 lb. ripe Anjou or Bartlett pears (6 medium), peeled and cored, cut lengthwise into 8 wedges and then crosswise into 1/2-inch slices (about 7 cups)
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped
grated zest of half of one lemon
1 blind-baked All-Butter Pie crust

Prepare Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
3/8 (ha really?) teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
4 tablespoons water

Put all dry ingredient into medium bowl. Cut or rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Drizzle the water into the mixture. Mix with a fork, gather the dough together and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour. Roll out dough onto floured surface. Place in pie plate. Trim and crimp edges. Prick the sides and edges with a fork if using for a single crust. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight. This will prevent shrinkage. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line the chilled pie crust with foil and fill it with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the beans or weights. Reduce oven temperature to 375. Bake until bottom looks dry but is not quite done and the edges are golden, 5-7 minutes more. Let cool while preparing filling.

For pie:
Position a rack in the center of the oven, set a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 350°F.

Make the streusel
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, blend the butter into the flour mixture. Set aside.

Make the filling
In a large bowl, toss the pears with the lemon juice. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the sugar mixture to the pears and toss well to combine. Stir in the cherries and lemon zest.

Mound the filling into the pie crust. Pour the streusel topping over the pear mixture.

Put the pie on the heated baking sheet and bake until the pastry is golden-brown and the filling is bubbly and thickened at the edges, 55 to 65 minutes. Rotate the pie halfway through baking, and if the pastry or streusel browns before the filling has thickened, loosely cover the top or edges of the pie as needed with a pie shield or a sheet of aluminum foil.

Transfer to a rack, sprinkle with a little granulated sugar and cool completely before serving. The pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Tips:
-The pie itself was yummy. The pear and dried cherry filling was unusual. A nice change from the predictable apple or cranberry apple my kids love. The more pieces I tasted, the more I liked it. I think next time I make this, I'll use golden raisins, instead of the cherries. The cherries do plump up nicely while cooking. And although I love dried cherries, I wasn't absolutely crazy about the change in flavor (of the cherries) after baking. The streusel created an almost carmel type topping for the pears. Really good the next day, after the pie cooled completely. Really good with a little vanilla bean ice cream.
-If you want to try the butter crust, go ahead, I would not pre or blind bake the crust before filling. Just increase the baking time to 1 hour at 400 degrees.

6/4/09

Fresh Strawberry Pie





Can you tell I'm in a strawberry mood? First the ice cream, now this. It's just too tempting. Every time I go to the grocery, there they are - calling my name. It's hard not to notice the strawberries on steroids. I mean, they are HUGE. Do you notice how much bigger the fruit is now days? Yesterday my friend Erin was eating an apricot the size of a small orange! Anyway. I keep buying berries, and tell myself - it's time to make jam...but I never get around to it. Last night, I remembered I had a tart shell I made a while back, now frozen, waiting to be filled and eaten. I pulled it out, baked it and looked for recipes for fresh strawberry pie. Recipe after recipe listed either "Danish Dessert" (icky, congealed, bright red, artificially filled gluey stuff) a substance you mix up and dump over the strawberries, or Jello as a main ingredient. I wanted the STRAWBERRIES to be the main ingredient. After a little experimenting, I came up with this deliciously fresh and very simple recipe. Did you know strawberries have long been associated with LOVE? It's true. My Simple Math:
Homemade Fresh Strawberry Pie + Your family= Love.


Fresh Strawberry Pie
A Bountiful Kitchen

1- 8 inch baked and cooled pie or tart crust
1 ½ - quarts strawberries, washed and hulled, divided
½ cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
red food coloring, optional
Whipping cream

Mash about ½ to 1 cup of the strawberries in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and strawberry jam. Stir to dissolve. Whisk in cornstarch, and cook over medium heat until bubbly and mixture begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Add about 5-8 drops of red food coloring, stir. Set aside to cool. Cut the remaining strawberries in half and place in large bowl. After the sugared mixture is cooled, pour over the fresh strawberries, and mix gently. Pour all of the strawberries into the pie shell. Refrigerate for about 2-3 hours. Top with whipping cream.

Tips:
-Use the freshest strawberries you can find, without bruises or discoloration.
-Serve pie with in about 6 hours of assembling if possible.
-You may use either a single pie crust or a tart shell.
-Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
-Don't forget the whipped cream. Seriously essential.

11/16/08

My My My, My Key Lime Pie





Yummy home made graham cracker crust


Icky store bought graham cracker crust


Don't you love that Kenny Chesney song? When my kids were little, I used to tell them Kenny Chesney was my old boyfriend, but I blew him off, so I could marry Grant. Anyway, if you haven't heard that song, look it up, and get the ingredients together to make this pie.
Key Lime is always a favorite at PIE NIGHT. The first time I ate really yummy key lime pie, we were in Florida. See the last photo I posted (not my pic). It looks fine, as far as the filling and limes go... the crust- it's one of those AWFUL store bought graham cracker crusts that have been pulverized then pressed into a flimsy disposable aluminum pan. Take a few minutes, make this crust and filling, and you will think you have died and gone to key lime pie heaven. The crust is buttery and sweet, with a little hint of cinnamon. Filling is smooth,creamy, tart and sweet. I like a little fresh whipped cream on key lime pie. In my opinion, which you know I'm gonna share, meringue belongs on lemon pie. Not on lime, never on chocolate. Try this in a Springform pan, and top with whipped cream and lime slices. Oh, and don't ever, ever add green food coloring to the filling. That's sick.


My, My, My, My Key Lime Pie
printable recipe

2 cups graham cracker crumbs, crushed with a food processor
(about 1 ½ packages)
1/3 cup butter melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together in a large bowl. Press onto bottom and 1” up the sides a 9” greased spring form pan or a pie plate. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool.

3 large eggs, separated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup key lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
2 tablespoons sugar
1-2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla

Whisk egg yolks; add condensed milk and next three ingredients. Beat egg whites until foamy with mixer. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar beating until soft peaks form. Fold into yolk mixture, spoon into prepared crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until set. Cover and chill for 4- 8 hours. Beat whipping cream until stiff. Add sugar and vanilla.


**Key lime juice is found next to the lemon juice. Not plain lime juice, KEY lime juice.

11/14/08

Mom's Favorite Apple Pie




This is a family favorite. Really basic apple pie. Or add the cranberries for an "over the top" pie. If you get a handy gadget - the Apple-peeler-slicer-corer, you won't believe how much easier it is to prepare the apples for the pie. They cost about $20-25 at the hardware store. (I bought mine at Dicks Hardware) Don't buy one at a fancy kitchen store, they will charge you more for the same gadget. The really amazing thing about using the APSC is - your kids will fight over who eats the peelings. They come off in one Looooong piece. Try to buy apples that are uniform in size, and it will make using the peeler easier. This is a pie Corrine made a while back for one of our neighbors. Don't even think about buying one of those frozen pies for Thanksgiving. Seriously, this is SO much better than anything you can buy in a store or bakery. Remember, pie is your friend.


Mom's Favorite Apple Pie

6 large apples -I like Granny Smith mixed with a couple of Jonathan's
¾ cup sugar
1-2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoon flour
2-3 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Butter
Egg, sugar, cream for top crust

Peel, core and slice apples. Set in large bowl. Mix in sugar, spices, flour, and lemon juice. Place pastry in a 9 inch pie plate. Sprinkle with vanilla and almond flavorings. Dot with butter. Top with Crust. Crimp edges. Cut steam vents. Brush either beaten egg or egg white, sprinkle with sugar or brush with cream or milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375 for about 50 minutes. May need to cover with foil for half of baking time.