Easy as Pie!

I had 5 apples that I had to use before they went south so along with a lemon, some sugar, flour and shortening--pie is born. Anytime you have raw fruit to work with, you'll need to add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the sugar you combine with your fruit (pictured above).

The apples are sliced by quartering and cutting out the core pieces. I always like my fruit to taste "bright," so adding lemon juice is a must. Apples are tossed with the lemon and sugar/flour mixture and set aside. 

shortening and sugar

shortening, sugar and oil

Putting pie crust together is more an art than science; though I'm certain Alton Brown and his buds would disagree! I feel my way through, as the pics show here.
In a medium sized bowl, for a largish pie, spoon a generous cup of solid vegetable shortening and add to half of the shortening lump about 1/4 cup sugar. Beat together the sugary shortening and about 1/4 cup liquid vegetable oil. Leaving solid shortening will create that flaky pie crust we all love.

 Put twice as much flour as shortening into the bowl. Add a pinch of salt and then carefully use your hands to mix. Gently work the shortening into the flour, leaving small pebbles of solid shortening. These pebbles will flatten out when rolled and make the crust layered with flakes as the hot air turns it to liquid. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

 After your dough looks like cornmeal with pebbles, STOP! Don't overwork it! Put a fork to it and toss as little by little very cold water is drizzled into the dough until it pulls together into larger, stickier lumps. Again, STOP! Don't over mix! Some of the flour mixture will look a bit dry, especially on the bottom of the bowl--that's okay.

add cold water and toss

Turn out onto a plastic wrap covered surface, bring the plastic up around the dough and press into a circle. Open it up and cover with more plastic wrap. Roll from the center outward until it is a consistent thickness--thicker is more "rustic." I like thicker, free-form pies.

After you press your dough into a circle, it helps to chill the dough for an hour or so in the frig. While this is not absolutely necessary, it makes the fats solidify and then really pop in the hot oven.

 After you roll out your dough, remove the plastic from the top. Slide your right hand under the bottom plastic wrap and with your left hand, cover the dough with your pie plate or cookie sheet. Flip it quickly so that your right hand is now on top and the crust is in the pie plate. Peel away the remaining plastic wrap and fill with fruit. Top with small chunks of butter and sprinkled sugar. Pictured below: Free form, "rustic" apple pie.

 It usually takes about 40-50 minutes for a large pie to bake if you're using raw, dense fruit like apples. To check for doneness, stick a sharp knife into the apples--if they're soft but still a bit firm, you're golden! If you want a shiny crust, brush it with a little half and half before baking and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Add vanilla ice cream if you're feeling extravagant. Enjoy!

Holy Crepes!

I peer into the frig. Hmmmm, what to make, what to make. I need to grocery shop. I see a few eggs, bits of cheeses, a bunch of asparagus, leftover mashed potatoes...that's it! Crepes!

Jan's Basic Crepe Batter 
2 C. milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 C. flour
pinch salt, 2 TBS. oil

I'm not sure why everyone quakes at the thought of making crepes. You need a non-stick saute pan, wire whisk, spatula and simple techniques (and of course, filling). Fillings can be just about anything, sweet or savory. Experiment! I'm using leftovers; as grandma used to  say--waste not, want not!

Whisk together milk, oil and eggs. All at once, add flour/salt and whisk the dickens out of it.  Use a ladle and pour a dollop of batter into a small, non-stick saute pan preheated to med-high. As soon as the batter hits the pan, swirl to coat evenly on the pan's hot surface by tipping up and around (pic below).

No need to flip, just turn the pan upside down over the plate and they'll flop right out. You'll need to help just a bit by loosening the edges with a rubber spatula just as they look cooked through. The batter shouldn't have any gooey-ness on the surface of the crepe if it's done. Cover the stack with a damp paper towel and set aside while you assemble the filling.
 Don't worry, they won't stick together.

I've peeled the asparagus stems and foraged fresh, spring dandelion greens. Both get lightly steamed, drained and chopped.

I've cut up a medium sized onion, caramelized in butter and deglazed with my current favorite white wine (Moscato--fabulous!!)

Now, for the leftovers. I grated all the cheese bits from the cheese drawer with some shredded mozzarella and combined the above ingredients with the mashed potatoes. I seasoned with garlic powder and nutmeg. One at a time, fill the crepes and roll up. Place them seam side down into the baking pan.

I made a little white sauce to nestle and top the crepes into the non-stick sprayed baking dish. Bake crepes, covered with foil, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until just heated through.White Sauce: melt 2 tablespoons butter over med-high heat, add 2 tablespoons flour and whisk for about 3 or 4 minutes. Add about 4 cups milk gradually as you whisk. When it reaches the lump-free gravy consistency you desire, stop adding milk. Add salt to taste.

Beside seared leftover meatloaf, crepes are most nom nom nom-ful!

Citrus Cookie "Bars"

It's the first of a new year. Let's start it right... with something bright and rich. Who wouldn't want to start a year like that?

Courtney's Citrus Cookie "Bars"

Makes one 9x13" pan of awesomeness

For the shortbread:

3 sticks softened butter

1 (scant) cup sugar

3 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

~1/2 tsp salt

1 generous tsp good vanilla

Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix until mostly combined (there will be a few
crumbles left out of the 'ball,' no worries).

Turn out dough (and crumbles) into a nonstick-sprayed
9x13" baking dish and press to flatten into an even thickness. 

Bake shortbread in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until edges are browned and pulled away
from dish slightly. Allow to cool while making the citrus curd topping.

For the citrus curd:

Citrus of your choice- you could do all one type, like lemon or orange, or a combo of several...

I used lemon, orange, and grapefruit. You'll need enough citrus for

1 TBS citrus zest

1 cup citrus juice

1 (scant) cup sugar

3 TBS cold butter (don't use substitutions!)

3 eggs, beaten in advance

In a good-sized saucepan, add zest, juice, and sugar, and mix
with a wire whisk. Don't turn on the heat yet!

To the zest/juice mixture, add eggs, and turn heat to a medium.
As mixture heats up, add lump of butter, and whisk constantly.
Continue cooking over medium heat until mixture thickens
and will coat the back of a spoon, then immediately pour
into a heat-safe bowl to stop the cooking process.

Score the top of the cooled shortbread with the point of a knife or a fork. Pour hot citrus curd over shortbread and place
in a cool place until set (about 30 mins). Cut into desired sized bars and devour.

Note: these bars have an unusually thick shortbread crust (compared to other citrus-y bars like lemon bars, for example), which is a nod to my mummy who as a child always wished for more cookie under her lemon goo. 

Enjoy, mom, and everyone else, of course!

Cast-Iron Skillet "Pie"

Most of my cooking experience comes from trial and error. Sometimes I learn a great new version of something. Sometimes I learn I should never do that again.

On one such trial-and-error instance, I was attempting to make cookies and left the leavening out. I had a bunch of plums sitting around, so I decided to use the batter in a cobbler-cake-pie application with the fruit.

It was a great new version of something. A Pie? No... a cake? Not really. Probably the closest to a cobbler... this recipe works with almost any juicy fruit, my favorite being stone fruits that are in season... and it's unbelievably easy. Today, I give you a cherry version. Enjoy.

Courtney's Cast-Iron Skillet "Pie"

Makes enough for about 8

~2 C chopped/pitted seasonal fruit

1/2 C toasted nuts (optional, I leave this step out most of the time

'cause the hubs doesn't like 'em... tragic)

1 + 1/2 C (scant) sugar, divided

2 eggs

3/4 C butter, melted

1 C whole wheat pastry flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)

1 tsp almond extract

pinch of salt

Preheat oven and well-oiled cast-iron skillet (though a heavy-bottomed oven-safe pan would work fine, too, though you won't need to preheat that!) to 350 degrees.

While oven preheats, mix fruit, nuts (if using), and 1/2 C sugar and set aside.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl until a thick batter is achieved.

When oven and skillet are preheated, take skillet out of oven and *carefully* pour in fruit/sugar mixture. Top with batter and spread as best you can without burning your fingers! Sprinkle with a little more sugar (important for forming an awesome crust on the finished product) and pop back into oven for around 45 mins.

Keep an eye on your "pie," with that much butter, it will burn pretty quickly. It's ready when it's golden brown all over, firm and bubbly in the middle, and smells like awesome.

Serve warm all by itself, or make it extra special with some fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!