Summer of the Pies

This summer I decided it was time to conquer my fear of pie crust. It has been my nemesis for quite some time. I'm not sure why but every time I've tried to make pie crust, it's resulted in either tears or expletives (or some combination of equally frustration-reliving actions). There have been multiple pie crusts that have just ended up in a ball in the trash.
We were giving Addilyn a lecture about the importance of practicing new skills (riding a bike) to learn how to do something better and it clicked. The only way I was ever going to conquer the pie was to practice...a lot. Since then, I have made 10 pies (counting the one I made today). Here is the first in my series.
The first pie crust recipe I tried was Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust. It's got perfect in the name so that's got to be good, right?

Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust
tastykitchen.com

1 1/2 cup Crisco
3 cups all purpose flour
1 whole egg
5 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 to 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 Tbsp of cold water, 1 Tbsp of white vinegar, and 1 tsp of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
2. Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 even sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large freezer bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about 1/2 inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you are using them immediately, freeze for 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)
3. When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working you way out. If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it's about 1/2 inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.
4. With a spatula, lift the dough carefully form the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

Makes 3 crusts.

The filling I chose for the first pie was inspired from a pie Tyler adored when we lived in Manhattan. He's been asking me to make it since we left but I could never find a recipe. This isn't exactly it but it works just as well.

Easy Peach Cream Pie
tastykitchen.com

1 1/2 lb fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (about 4 peaches)
1 unbaked pie shell
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
dash salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

1. Place peaches in pie shell
2. Beat eggs slightly in a bowl; blend in sugar, flour and salt.
3. Stir in cream and vanilla; blend well. Pour over peaches.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until center shakes slightly when moved. Serve warm or for a firmer pie, chill before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers. (It also freezes well.)
   

As you can tell, my first attempt wasn't gorgeous. I didn't have the cute fluted-edge I would have liked but there wasn't any holes and that was the important part. It baked up really flaky which was nice. It's a really good texture and the extra frozen pie crusts are really nice to have around. As for the filling, it was really, really good. This filling was actually used for pie #1 and #4. It cuts nicer when it's cold but it tastes heavenly when warm. So good.
Two down, eight to go.

Chocolate Mousse

This is my first recipe from the Julia Child's cookbook that Tyler got me for my birthday. Yay!

Chocolate Mousse
adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar (extra fine if available)
1 tsp vanilla
6 oz semisweet baking chocolate
4 Tb strong coffee
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar together until mixture is thick, pale yellow, and falls back upon itself forming a slowly dissolving ribbon. Beat in vanilla. Place the mixing bowl over a pan of not-quite-simmer water and continue beating for 3 to 4 minutes until mixture is foamy and too hot for your finger. Then beat over cold water for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is cool.
   
2. Melt chocolate with coffee over hot water. Remove from heat and beat in butter a bit at a time, to make a smooth cream. Beat the chocolate into the egg yolks and sugar.
   
3. Beat egg whites and salt until soft peak s are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the rest.
4. Pour into serving dish or individual dessert cups. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
   

Makes 6 to 8 servings.


The final product: chocolaty and delicious. This so good. It's creamy with just a hint of graininess (which if you don't like, could be fixed by using the extra fine or instant sugar); Tyler and I both love our chocolate dark and grainy so this is perfect. The chocolate is rich and intense. If you are susceptible to caffeine though, use decaf coffee or espresso. And definitely serve this with a healthy scoop of whipped cream. So good!!

Meals that I Like #2

While this is an Asher-friendly meal (that he likes), this is a meal that I daydream about. Therefore, it gets put in with my meals.

Chicken Marsala
from Cybele Pascal's The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook

1/3 cup oat flour
salt and pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 lb thin chicken breast cutlets
1/4 cup diced nitrite-free prosciutto(I just use bacon because I have bacon...lots of bacon)
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 cup sweet Marsala

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Put oat flour on plate and season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet until really hot. Meanwhile, dredge chicken in flour, shaking off any extra. Put in pan once really hot and cook until golden, a couple of minutes per side. Don't overcrowd the pan; you will probably have to cook in two batches. Transfer to a baking dish and keep warm in oven.
   
3. Add mushrooms and prosciutto (bacon) to pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook until mushrooms are softened and meat has crisped up a bit. Add Marsala to pan and deglaze by using a spatula to scrape up any bits that have stuck to the side, stirring to reconstitute them. Reduce liquid at a steady simmer, stirring frequently about 7 minutes until sauce has thickened. Add chicken back to pan and turn in sauce.

Serves 2-4.This is another picture from back in May but, like the cacciatore, it has become a regular in this house.
The final product: incredible! The chicken is good and relatively simple. It's the mushrooms and bacon that I adore beyond reason. They're sweet, rich and highly addictive. It can be served so many ways too. With potatoes, like I've shown, is good or you can use noodles or rice to sop up the extra sauce and be extra happy.

MTAL #8

It's time. My summer hiatus is over and now it is time to start posting all the things I tried this summer. There's actually quite a bit of ground to cover, including my quest to conquer the pie. We better get started.

Chicken Cacciatore
from Cybele Pascal's Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook

3 1/2-4 1/2 lbs chicken pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp poultry seasoning (which I never have so I use thyme instead; Pascal recommends equal parts thyme and sage if you have those)
1/2 cup white wine
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 onion, cut into about 10 wedges
12 mushrooms, cut in half (I use a whole cup)
8 black olives (which I omit)
2 cups red sauce (bought or homemade)
2 cups canned tomatoes
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pat dry chicken pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in oven safe casserole (such equipment would be great but since I don't have that, I use my largest skillet and then the largest baking pan I have). Brown chicken pieces skin side down, about 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/2 the poultry seasoning, reserving the rest for later. Flip chicken and cook the other side until slightly browned. Sprinkle with rest of seasoning. Remove from pan. You may have to cook the chicken in several batches, adding more oil as necessary.
   
2. Drain off all but 1 Tbsp oil and pour in the wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits that have stuck to the bottom. Put carrots, onions, and mushrooms (and olives if using) in the pan and stir slightly. If using a separate baking dish, transfer vegetables and sauce to dish. Cover with chicken pieces. Combine the red sauce with canned tomatoes. Spoon over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover pan or dish.
3. Cook cover for about 1 1/2 hours. Serve over rice (for Asher) or over hot noodles (such as linguine).

Serves 4-6.

This is actually a picture from clear back in May but as this recipe has become a staple in our household, it remains relevant.
The finished product: delicious! This is actually my second recipe for cacciatore but it's also my favorite. The sauce is good but the vegetables are what really sell it for me. I'm kind of a sucker for cooked carrots. This is great comfort food and yet it's so colorful and pretty that it's great for entertaining too. As I mentioned, it has definitely made its way onto our list of staple family meals.

Extra Chocolate, Please!

Who can go wrong with three kinds of chocolate in a crisp, dunkable form? No one, that's who.

Triple Chocolate Biscotti
from The Ultimate Cookie Book by Better Homes and Gardens

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white baking pieces
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, cocoa, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour, the white baking pieces, and semisweet chocolate pieces.
2. Divide dough in half. Shape each half of dough into a 9-inch-long loaf. Place loaves on the prepared cookie sheet; flatten each loaf until about 2 inches wide.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool completely on cookie sheet on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
4. Transfer loaves to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut loaves diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for 7 to 9 minutes more. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 25-30 cookies (although the original recipe touts 36).Sadly enough, this is the only picture I have of this recipe. I could make all sorts of excuses about how I was so busy while making these...blah, blah, blah. The funny thing is I had two chances to take pictures because after making Tyler one batch, I made him another not two days later. On a positive note, I made two batches of these because they were that good and that well received by all who tried them. Just to warn you: they can be a bit difficult to slice. I lost quite a bit of cookie in the slicing process. I think I may have only had 1 or 2 completely perfect slices from each batch. But you can use the extra crumbles as an incredible, chocolaty, crunchy ice cream topper, so I think that redeems them. Basically, as long as you aren't trying to sell these, they'll be super yummy and well worth the effort.

MTAL #7

We found another winner! It came more from desperation at having nothing to eat than from real inspiration. I was putting off my monthly shopping trip one more day and started scrounging in the pantry for just one more meal.

Fried Polenta

1. Make some polenta according to package directions. Pour into a greased loaf pan or narrow container. Let cool completely in refrigerator.
2. Remove polenta from container and slice into 1/2-inch slices. Fry up some bacon in a skillet. Fry polenta slices in the bacon grease (supplemented with canola oil as needed) until crispy and golden brown.
3. Serve with maple syrup, jelly, or honey (or whatever else might float your boat).

The final product: really good. It reminded me of something my grandmother used to make me when I was growing up: fried mush. I have since found out that it is essentially the same thing (fried mush uses ground corn meal with a bit of sugar added and cooked in much the same fashion). I thought her's was different because it was white but I have since seen white corn meal at Target so that explains that. Asher adored this even without the syrup and the rest of us really liked it too. It's simple and delicious and a very good Asher-friendly substitute for pancakes.

Meals that I Like

I am slowly finding plenty of meals that Asher likes. This is a meal that he tolerated but that I ADORED. Tyler wasn't so much on board (although when I suggested making it for company, he didn't object so he doesn't hate it) but I truly loved it.

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken
originally from tasty kitchen

2.2 lbs chicken, cubed
1 onion, peeled & halved
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 green bell pepper, seeded & quartered
1 can tomato paste
1 can coconut milk (400 mL)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp garam masala
2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1. Put chicken in crockpot.
2. Put everything else (except for water and cornstarch) in food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 6 hours.
3. One hour before serving, mix water and cornstarch and add to chicken curry. Mix well.
4. Serve over steaming white rice (Jasmine or Basmati are awesome with this!).

Serves 4-5.
The final product: seriously delicious! It is super easy and comfort food at it's finest. I will make this as often as Tyler lets me because it is awesome. Awesome, I tell you, awesome!!