easier than pie

tangzhong style bread, wishful thinking and bread baking day #46

2012-01-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

it has been way too long since i participated in a bread baking day challenge. each month, a host is selected and a theme is announced. this month, the challenge is being hosted by noor of ya salam cooking and when i read it, i couldn't wait to bake a loaf of bread. i know, what a party animal; she bakes bread for fun. no really, i am but the theme for this month is to bake a loaf of bread from a place you would like to visit. so if you want to go to france, bake a croissant. if you want to go to italy, bake a loaf of pannetone. you get the idea, i know you do. so did i and i finally had a reason to try the recipe i had bookmarked for tangzhong bread. tang-what? it is the most unusual bread technique i have encountered and it comes from a place i hope to visit some day; china. the technique is credited to a chinese woman, yvonne chen, who wrote a book titled 65c bread doctor. in this book the technique of making a "water roux" starter is demonstrated. while the technique is attributed to the chinese, it is apparently very popular in japan too. so either way, my bread is a nod to a place i would like to visit, and if somebody wants to buy me a ticket, i'll go to either china or japan, i'm not that picky!

i discovered the technique by accident. i was trying to find a conversion table for ingredients so that i could convert a recipe in ounces to grams when i stumbled upon the website christens recipes. while looking at some of her recipes, i found the tangzhong recipes and bookmarked the page for a day when i had the time to test the recipe. for all of you that know me, you know that i can bake-i do it for a living but bread is not my specialty and as much as i have worked with bread, it still intimidates me. well, after making two loaves with this technique, i may not ever be scared again!

my first batch of tanzhong bread, hokkaido milk bread using the recipe

found on kirbie cravings

my second batch was a multi grain loaf from une-deux senses

look at the beautiful crumb of this bread! so light and moist and easy to slice. wait until the next day and you will get picture perfect slices-no one will believe you made this at home! the best part, no chemicals, no stabilizers or conditioners and nothing artificial! the extra boost in moisture from the tangzhong helps to keep the bread fresh. the only thing i would suggest, if you do not like your bread to taste sweet, cut the sugar. for the multi grain loaf, i reduced it from 3 tablespoons to 2 and i like it much better than the white loaf. the white loaf is still very good, just not my first choice for a savory sandwich but i bet it would make great french toast!

the two loaves side by side. i will make this again and i hope to find the book someday-reading it will be a challenge though...

since there are several important steps to take when making this style of bread, i am not printing the recipes here but rather including the links to the websites i used. on all of these pages, you will find valuable information along with detailed step by step photos that would do so much better than anything i could post here so i encourage you to use these sites and make a batch of wonderful bread!

kirbie cravings-milk bread
une deux sensés-multi grain bread
christine's recipes-bacon and cheese bread
65c bread doctor by yvonne chen

a big thanks to noor for such a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. feeling brave, bake a loaf and head over to ya salam cooking and join in on the fun!

lemon-lime cheesecake muffins

2012-01-18T13:44:00.000-08:00

citrus fruits are at their peak during the dreary months of winter. many desserts made around this time of year are flavored with lemons, limes and oranges. but there is something comforting about cheesecakes and pairing it with lemons and limes makes these little muffins an irresistible treat.

quick and easy to mix up, you will have many little treats in no time. i doubled the recipe and you can too if you want more than a dozen.

fresh from the oven. the topping sinks during the baking and creates a pocket of rich citrusy cheesecake filling

remove them from the pan after 10 minutes or they will be soggy on the bottom.

now brew a cup of tea or coffee and indulge! this is my entry into the food52.com contest of the week and you can use my original recipe by viewing it here. and if you do, send me a photo, i will post it here!

reliving my childhood

2012-01-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

hard to believe it is already the second week of january. i had hoped to post this sooner but my life got in the way! when i was growing up, we would go to my uncles on christmas day every year. all of the family would gather for an informal dinner followed by dessert and then presents. the best part of that celebration were the cookies that my aunt and uncle would make for us. one of my favorites was always the wheat cookies. a rolled sugar cookie with whole wheat flour, they were very simply decorated with just a piece of glaceed cherry. so simple yet so memorable. this year, i made a batch with my younger daughter-i rolled and cut, she applied the cherries.

the original recipe, my mother says it is in my uncle's handwriting and that she added the note not to use butter. heed the warning-i tried and it ended up in the trash! i would also recommend leaving out 1-2 tablespoons of each of the flours and adding them only if needed. mine didn't need them and rolled out nicely.

apply the cherries before baking and they will be attached to the cookies, just be sure to blot them if they are wet with syrup or it will leave dark brown splotches on the top of the cookie.

anadama bread with walnuts and sage

2012-01-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

since the 52 week pie challenge ended, i have been asked what i will do next on this page. now that the holiday season has ended, i can give that some thought. my plan? not much actually. i am going to try and participate with the group that will be baking their way through the book baking with julia by dorie greenspan. you may remember that the group was baking their way through dories book, baking: from my home to yours and posting every tuesday; they called themselves "tuesdays with dorie". next month they plan to start baking with julia and dorie and since i have the book, i hope to join them. in the mean time, i am bumbling around in the kitchen with cats underfoot and a husband hoping for treats. i have also taken the time to explore other sites such as food52.com and this week, my post is a recipe that i entered into a contest on the site.

with a theme of walnut-sage, i knew it had to be bread. right now, sage is one of the few herbs still available in my garden and with that in mind, i decided to make a batch of bread. after searching, i settled on anadama bread and finally chose a recipe from peter reinharts book, the bread baker's apprentice. there is a group that blogged their way through his book and this recipe was featured on the blog, brown eyed baker. what i love about the recipe is all of the information that comes with it. the bloggers also did a great job of posting lots of step by step photos so that i could look at several sites and see whether or not i was doing things correctly. this recipe is also one that is easily manipulated and the few changes i made did not cause any trouble!

one of the first things i did was to pick a cornmeal. sounds difficult doesn't it? well if you are me and you have 4 different ones to choose from (not including the cornmeal masa) it can be. my selection was brinsers best roasted yellow cornmeal. it is a golden yellow color with a slightly toasted flavor.

to make the soaker, boiling water is added to the cornmeal and it is allowed to sit out overnight. now you can see the color difference that the roasting adds, can you imagine the flavor?

the soaker is added to a sponge and this is allowed to age for an hour or two.

fresh picked sage leaves from the garden

the sponge is now ready to be kneaded into bread

toasted walnuts added along with the sage

ten minutes of kneading and now we wait...90 minutes later, loaves are ready to proof!

mmmmmmmm.........

looks wonderful and it made fantastic blt's! we used a recipe for tempeh bacon from happy healthy life, picked some lettuce and arugula from the hoop garden and made blt's with avocado. let's just say that dinner was fabulous! as a cookbook author, i understand the need for people to buy books so i will not post the recipe again here but you can look at it on the brown eyed baker's blog or read my version here.

and just because i am done with pies doesn't mean i don't want to hear from you! make it and send me a photo, i will post it here!!!

greek style zucchini pancakes

2011-12-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

not having to make a pie each week has left me searching for something to do. who wants to clean the house or do laundry? me neither!!! so i jumped at the chance to participate in a community pick recipe test on food52.com. my choice was the greek style zucchini pancakes. zucchini is one of my favorite things from the garden and i miss it now that winter has arrived. luckily, my herbs were still growing and i had plenty of mint, parsley and chinese leeks. the recipe calls for chives but chinese leeks are so similar in appearance and while they have a hint of garlic in the flavor, they are a great substitution.

mint on the left, leeks in the middle and flat parsley on the right. with the cold temperatures, these herbs are still producing and are not sending out flowers. we also have some oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary out there too.

the directions called for grating the zucchini, placing it in a colander lined with cheesecloth and then salting it to draw out the moisture. when i did this, i could hear a sizzling/bubbling noise and it was amazing how much liquid i was able to squeeze out. i was skeptical that what started out as nearly 5 cups of grated zucchini would eventually end up as two cups but it did. just look at all of that green juice!

the recipe was very simple to follow even with a typo; the ingredient list called for baking powder but the instructions referenced baking soda. a quick email to the author fixed that-use baking powder! hopefully she has fixed that on the site at well.

to save time, i used a small portions scoop-#50 to be exact. it helped me get a consistent size and the recipe stated i would get 24 small pancakes and i got exactly that-24. my old paella pan gets a frequent work out and it was perfect for frying these pancakes.

greek style zucchini pancakes

recipe #14816 from food.52.com, member dymnyno

Makes 12-3 inch pancakes, or 24 bite sized pancakes

2 pounds green zucchini, 2 cups aftergrating and squeezing as much moisture as possible
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons chives, minced
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh curly parsley, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest(finely zested)
4 tablespoons crumbled Greek feta
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
olive oil for frying pancakes

using the large holes on a box grater, shred the zucchini. line a colander with cheese cloth and put the zucchini in the colander. sprinkle about a tablespoon of salt and toss the zucchini. try to extract as much liquid as you can from the shredded zucchini. pick up the cheesecloth and wring as much more as you can until you feel the zucchini is pretty dry. add the herbs, pepper flakes and zest and mix. add the flour and baking powder and eggs and mix. pour a very thin layer of olive oil into a frying pan and heat over medium high heat. using a tablespoon, scoop a heaping spoonful into the pan and flatten the top a little. this should make a 3 inch patty. repeat until the pan is full. fry until a nice brown and flip and cook the other side. for bite sized appetizers, use a teaspoon. set aside on paper towels and finish the rest of the pancakes.

serve alone or with your favorite yogurt (Greek, of course). The sauce should be very simple, like just with some lemon zest or chives, because there are so many flavors going on in the pancakes.

almond butter hummus with kale chips

2011-12-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

has it really been a month since the pie challenge ended? wow-time flew! while i have been contemplating my next project, i have allowed myself to be totally sucked into the holiday madness. the husband and i have both been busy with work-him way more than me, such is the life of the executive banquet chef for a university. that has left me at home alone for more than a few meals. when i am left to cook for myself, you can be pretty sure that it will not be an elaborate meal and it will most likely be vegetarian and quite possibly vegan.

lately, without our girls at home(both are living elsewhere right now), we have taken to purchasing more organic produce and are shifting our diet towards less meat laden meals. as i have mentioned before, i have had a few blood tests come back with higher than normal levels of cholesterol. thankfully, the highest number so far has been less than 220 but that doesn't mean i shouldn't be concerned. a diet change that eliminated many dairy products has helped me get that number back down below 200 and i hope to keep it there.

my recent obsession with the cookbook, appetite for reduction has given me a new weapon for my arsenal too. that book is chock full of great vegan recipes that even a carnivore can find satisfying-providing they eat veggies, beans and grains. while i do not plan to make the leap to a vegan diet, i am happy to say that i can easily eat vegan meals and not feel deprived. darry is also learning to enjoy some of these changes and he recently experimented with some organic kale chips, a tasty addition to my favorite meal for one, hummus on crusty bread. and before you say "hummus, how boring" keep in mind that i never do anything boring-of course i have changed it up a bit! i am not a huge fan of tahini; it tastes a little bitter to me and the level of saturated fat is high enough to cause me to think twice before consuming it. so a thought occurred to me, what if i used unsweetened almond butter instead? wow!!! what a concept and what a difference-i am sold and will probably never reach for tahini again!

almond butter hummus with kale chips

yields about 1 1/2 cups hummus

1 (15oz) can of chick peas

4 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter

2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

salt-if desired

kale chips-purchase or home made (great recipe here)

baguette slices or other bread

drain the chickpeas but reserve the juice. place all of the remaining ingredients into the bowl of a food processor with the drained chickpeas and pulse to combine. scrape the bowl and run until it is smooth adding the reserved liquid as needed to reach the desired consistency.

to serve, top each of the baguette slices with a tablespoon or two of the hummus and top it off with a kale chip. enjoy!!!

and if you would like to try this out, please do and remember that the pies are no longer the focus here but the power of pies will always be with me...

that can't be a quesadilla...

2011-12-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

one of my coworkers is from el salvador. every now and then, she will arrive in the cafe with a bag of sweets from her favorite bakery, la espiga. even though it is a mexican bakery, they often have traditional little el salvadorian cakes called quesadilla. yes, quesadilla and no, it doesn't have tortillas in it. these cakes are popular all over el salvador and are made with cheese-usually a freshly crumbled farmers cheese, but frequently parmesan cheese. they are wonderfully rich with a slightly cheesy aroma. and much to my surprise, even better if they sit for a day.

on a recent visit to a new mexican bakery near my house, i spied a tray of quesadillas in the showcase and added it to my tray. all of the mexican bakeries are self serve; you pick up a tray and a pair of tongs and make your selections from the cabinets and racks and then give it to the cashier.

not bad for less than $5 dollars. from the left: bolillo(i bought 2 but the other is missing...), concha, quesadilla, butter cookie(that tasted a little like coconut to me) and a cheese turnover.

the quesadilla from la conchita panaderia y pasteleria. they had a little bit of a sandy texture from what i am guessing is rice flour. the cake is sweet and even though it contains parmesan cheese, i could not detect it in the flavor.

now that i am not obsessing/stressing over pies, i decided that it might be fun to try and make some of these at home. a quick surf and off i was baking my own quesadillas. after about 5 or 6 batches, i finally settled on a recipe that isn't too buttery but is plenty moist with a noticeable cheese aroma.

i can have cake? twitch likes cake...

no cake for twitch!!!

the fine, moist crumb and slightly cheesy flavor makes these good with a cup of dark roast coffee. a few notes; i tested these with rice flour, equal parts of all purpose and rice flour as well as masa harina(buy the plain stuff not the tortilla/tamale mix). every recipe i read called for either all purpose or rice flour or a combination but either will work. one recipe i read called for cake flour but i did not try that. i used buttermilk but it could be sour cream, mexican crema or just milk. and if you do not want to use parmesan, try a mexican crumbling cheese, just be sure to break it into small pieces.

el salvadorian quesadillias

yields 6 muffins

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup rice flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

sesame seeds

preheat the oven to 325. grease and flour a 6 cup muffin tin. melt the butter and set aside to cool. in a mixing bowl, whisk the rice flour, sugar, cheese and baking powder to combine them. pour in the butter and the buttermilk and stir to make a paste. whisk in the egg and combine completely. divide the batter between the cups in the tin. sprinkle some sesame seeds on the top and bake until a pick inserted comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes then turn them out to cool completely.

enjoy!!!

secret ingredient pie, #52 of 52-the final pie of the challenge!

2011-11-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

wow-the final pie. how quickly the year went. well, now what? don't know yet but i will be sure to do something crazy, something inappropriate, something stupid and who knows what else but in the mean time, i've got some splaining to do...

i decided to have some fun on thanksgiving and all at the expense of my family and guests. they were kind enough to play along-some more than others (kids-what are you gonna do with them?) and they were served a pie and told to guess what i made it from. it kinda looked like it could be some sort of squash pie but alas, it wasn't...only one of our guests was able to figure it out-and he nailed it!

the inspiration for this pie came from my job. every day, or at least it seems like every day, i partially bake pie shells for use in my pie recipes. to do this, i line each pie shell with a restaurant sized coffee filter and fill that with pinto beans. the beans act as a weight and keep the crust from puffing up. the running joke is that the bean pies must be popular since i bake so many...yes, those are crickets chirping-i don't find the joke very funny either; after hearing it on a nearly daily basis for 7 years, can you blame me? so anyway, what was funny though was the day one of my latino coworkers had the realization that if she bakes those bean pies every day, they must taste good-he then proceeded to taste some of the beans. did i mention that i reuse the beans, a lot, until they stink so bad that i replace them? we never did talk about those beans he tasted and trust me, he never tasted another. but anyway, i came across a recipe for navy bean pie in an old farm journal cookbook and decided to give it a try but not tell anyone what was in the filling.

a few notes, first of all, anytime i am going to fill a pie shell with a custard filling, i partially bake it to be sure that the bottom crust is baked and not gummy when the pie filling is finished baking. the recipe calls for evaporated milk which is something i never use and i have found that half and half is a perfect substitution. to save time, i used canned beans that were drained and rinsed and then pureed in a food processor.

white bean pie

1 (9") pie serving 8-10

adapted from farm journals navy bean pie recipe

1 (9") pie crust must be an extra deep crust or a 10" crust, partially baked

2 (15) ounce cans white beans-i used great northern beans

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 eggs

12 ounces half and half

preheat the oven to 350. place the partially baked pie shell on a sturdy baking sheet to make placing it in the oven and removing it a little easier. drain and rinse the beans and then place them into the bowl of a food processor. add the brown sugar and pulse to combine and then run till smooth taking the time to scrape the bowl a few times to get every last bean pureed. add the honey and spices and pulse to combine. add the eggs and run till smooth, scraping the machine at least once. finally, add the half and half and combine. pour it into the prepared pie shell and bake until it is set, 50-55 minutes. allow it to cool and serve it as you would serve a pumpkin pie.

and there you have it, the last pie...on wards and all that to what ever comes next. bake one and send me a photo, i will post it here. may the power of pie see you safely through the next year...

*************

oh, by the way, do you remember when i was baking pies with my daughters? my younger daughter, devon and i baked an apple pie together. well, she is currently living in northern california with her grandparents while she attends school. they were having a little pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving dinner and she baked one with her grandmother.

and here it is! they used the same recipe that she and i used, the one straight out of my book. looks beautiful and they enjoyed the pie! so get in that kitchen with a kid or a grandparent or somebody else that is truly important to you and bake some sweet memories! you will have more than fun, you will have a memory that will last much longer than that pie no matter how it turns out!!!

it's a pie, it's a cheesecake, no wait! it's both, pie #51 of 52

2011-11-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

so it was the week before thanksgiving and all through the house...wait, wrong story...well, it was the week before thanksgiving and i got completely derailed from my plan of posting this before the holiday. it ultimately ended up being done in time for thanksgiving but sadly, not in time for anyone to see and attempt it. hopefully, you will forgive me and then run out and buy the ingredients to try and bake one for the next big holiday celebration.

remember last year's big thing-cherpumple cakes? when i saw them posted all over the internet, i wanted to try one. then i saw the recipe-frozen pies and cake mix...major disappointment! no time to play with that many scratch recipes this week. instead i decided to bake my own version based on things my family enjoys. there was one holiday season that after baking about a bejillion pies in the cafe, i refused to make any for our annual thanksgiving trash can turkey extravaganza. needless to say, even though they enjoyed the pumpkin cheesecake i baked, they missed having a pie on the table. this year i decided to combine two pies with a cheesecake and see what would happen.

word of warning, this is not a quick dessert. to do it right, right meaning so that it doesn't fall apart, it will take you more than a day to complete, possibly 2 to 3 evenings if you have limited time to work on it. another important note, i never use springform pans or a water bath to bake cheesecakes!!! this recipe uses heavy gauge cake pans and if you follow the directions, the cake will work just fine. you may even want to consider baking your cheesecakes in a cake pan all the time; it is so much easier to use than a springform pan and a water bath!

first step was to make half of a pecan pie in a 6" cake pan. it was so cute! after baking it, i chilled it completely so that i could take it out of the pan without destroying it. by gently warming the bottom over very low heat on the stove, i was able to turn the cold pecan pie out in one piece. since the crust stood a little taller than the filling and got a little dark, i carefully cut it off using a serrated knife.

the cheesecake filling was quickly assembled in the food processor. the cookie crust was pressed into a 10" cake pan. i set the pecan pie in the center of the crust and carefully ladled in the cheesecake filling. it was baked and then completely chilled overnight before i set out to make the turtle pie topping.

the cheesecake is removed from the pan using the same method as the pecan pie. cover a flat platter with plastic wrap and lightly spray it with pan spray. gently warm the bottom of the cake pan, place the prepared platter upside-down over the cheesecake and invert it. the cheesecake should slowly slide out of the pan. then you can place your serving plate onto the bottom of the cake and invert it again. sounds tricky but it works!

the turtle pie topping is made from a single can of sweetened condensed milk that has been baked to caramelize it. on the left, straight out of the can and on the right, after two hours of baking.

neatly spread the hot caramel over the cheesecake portion of the cake. spread it out evenly. then back into the fridge to chill it so the chocolate topping can go on. the chocolate topping is made very quickly in the microwave and is easily applied to the pie with a piping bag.

pecan pie in a pumpkin cheesecake

1 (10") cheesecake serving about 14

pecan pie

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon liquid-i used buttermilk

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 cup pecan pieces

preheat the oven to 300. cut the cold butter into small cubes. place the flour, powdered sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor. sprinkle the butter cubes over the top of the dry ingredients and pulse together until it resembles a coarse meal. add the egg yolk and the liquid and pulse until it forms a soft dough. using your fingers, carefully press the dough into a greased 6" cake pan. line the crust with paper and fill with weights and bake until it is no longer glossy on the bottom and it barely shows any color, about 30 minutes.

while the shell partially bakes, make the filling by mixing the brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl. whisk in the butter and mix until smooth. add the eggs, one at a time and mix each one in completely. finally, whisk in the corn syrup. when the crust is ready, remove from the oven, turn the oven temperature up to 350 and carefully remove the weights and the paper from the pan. place the pecans in the crust and pour in the custard filling. return the pan to the oven and bake it until it is set all the way across, about 40 minutes. allow the pie to cool and then chill it until it is completely cold and unmold the pie as described above.

pumpkin cheesecake

2 cups cookie crumbs

4 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 pound cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

4 eggs

1/3 cup sour cream

preheat the oven to 300. make the crust by combining the cookie crumbs, sugar and butter. carefully press the mixture into a greased 10" cake pan. to mix the filling, place the cream cheese, pumpkin, brown sugar, flour and spice into the bowl of a food processor. pulse to combine and be sure to scrape the bowl at least once. with the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. scrape the bowl again and add the sour cream. pulse it, scrape it and pulse it again.

to assemble, place the cold pecan pie in the center of the cheesecake pan. carefully spoon the filling around it without getting any on top of the pecan pie. bake the cake for 45 minutes then carefully run a knife around the edge of the cake to release it from the pan and prevent cracking. turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven with the door just slightly open for 15 minutes. remove from the oven, the cheesecake should be slightly puffed and feel almost firm to the touch. let it cool and then chill it overnight before proceeding with the turtle pie topping.

turtle pie topping
1 (14) ounce can sweetened condensed milk

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/4 cup half and half
heat the oven to 350. pour the sweetened condensed milk into a small covered casserole dish. place the dish in a pan of water so that the water comes up to the same height as the milk. carefully place in the oven and bake. every 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and whisk the milk completely to ensure even caramelization. this will take about 2 hours and during that last 30 minutes, you may have to do this a little more often to prevent scorching. using the photos above as a guide, top the cheesecake portion (after you have taken the cake out of the pan!!!) with the caramel. chill completely before topping it with the chocolate mixture.

break up the chocolate and place in a microwave safe bowl. add the half and half and using 15 second intervals, heat on the lowest setting until the chocolate melts. stir it until smooth. place in a piping bag with a small (#4 to #6) straight tip and make the lattice top by using a quick back and forth motion. turn the cake a 1/4 turn and repeat the action to get a chocolate lattice design. allow the cake to chill for about 30 minutes to set the chocolate.

and now that my food coma is lifting, bake one and send me a photo-i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com

mexican chocolate tart with cinnamon toast crunch crust, pie #50 of 52

2011-11-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

pie # 50...have to let that sink in for a minute. i realize that it is a little late in being posted but that couldn't be avoided-i lost 3 weeks when the house was robbed and i am still trying to get back to normal, don't know if i ever will. last two pies will be part of our trashcan thanksgiving extravaganza so look for them this week.

anyway, since the kids are both out of the house for the foreseeable future, my husband and i have been able to find the bottom shelf of the pantry closet as well as see to the back of it. amazing what has been lurking in there. i found two boxes of ibarra chocolate and the unopened box of cinnamon toast crunch cereal that i purchased for a visiting 6 year old-had no idea that a 6 year old wouldn't like cereal that was sweet. no matter, it makes a fantastic crust for a no bake tart.

the chocolate is flavored with cinnamon and almonds and is rather grainy in appearance due to the sugar crystals. ibarra is meant to be used for hot chocolate style drinks but it has long been a favorite of ours for cooking and baking. my husband will drop a puck into a pot of chili and i have favored it blended with bittersweet chocolate to dip biscotti in, specifically my blue corn pecan biscotti.

to make the crust, i crushed the cereal after i measured it. don't turn it into a powder but rather a collection of crumbs that are not completely uniform in size. to punch up the almond flavor, i toasted some almonds in a skillet on the stove so the tart was truly a no-bake tart!

mexican chocolate cinnamon crunch tart

1(9") tart serving 8-10

crust

1/2 cup sliced almonds

4 cups cinnamon toast crunch cereal

1/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot

toast the almonds in a skillet over medium heat until they are golden brown-be sure to watch them constantly as they will color quickly. remove from the heat and turn them out onto a plate to cool. using your hands, crush the cereal in a bowl until it is mostly small crumbs with some powder and very few large pieces. roughly chop the almonds so that they are roughly the same size as the cereal crumbs. add the almonds, sugar and hot butter and mix to combine. dump the mixture into a tart pan with a removable bottom and press it evenly up the sides and across the bottom. set aside.

chocolate filling

9 ounces ibarra chocolate-i used 3 pucks

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2/3 cup half and half

place the ingredients in a microwavable bowl and using the lowest setting, heat it in 30 second intervals taking the time to stir the mixture after each heat cycle. when the chocolate has all melted and is smooth, pour it into the prepared crust and make the white chocolate swirl.

white chocolate swirl

1 1/2 ounce white chocolate

1 tablespoon half and half

mix the ingredients in a microwavable bowl and heat it on the lowest setting until it is melted, about 30 seconds. stir until smooth and then using a small spoon, drizzle all over the top of the tart. take a tooth pick and swirl the white chocolate into the tart so that it is marbleized. carefully place the tart in the fridge to cool and set for at least 2 hours. to serve, remove the ring and carefully insert a thin palette knife between the crust and the metal bottom. move the palette knife around to completely release the crust and then slide it onto a flat serving platter. to cut, use a hot, wet knife taking care to completely clean the blade between slices for perfect cuts.

and as always, make it and send me a photo, i will post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

apple butter-walnut linzer tart; pie #49 of 52

2011-11-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

when apples come into season, i love to make applesauce. the rest of the time, i indulge in apple butter-i love the spicy flavor. linzer tarts have always been a favorite of mine. the spicy, nutty dough is so rich and the tartness of the traditional raspberry filling go so well together. since it is definitely fall, i decided to left these two favorite things collide and see what came of it.

i took a traditional linzer tart dough and used some walnuts in it. the tart shell was filled with purchased apple butter, topped with a lattice and baked until golden brown. the filling was slightly tangy and a perfect compliment to the rich walnut dough. since the apple butter is the predominant flavor , use a good one that you like, either purchased or home made.

apple butter-walnut linzer tart

1 (9") tart serving 8

dough

3/4 cup almonds, natural sliced

3/4 cup walnuts, pieces

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups apple butter

preheat the oven to 350. toast the almonds and walnuts until fragrant and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. allow the nuts to cool. turn the oven down to 325. place the sugar in the bowl of a food processor with the nuts and pulse together until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. add the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, cloves, salt and baking powder and pulse it to combine thoroughly. sprinkle the butter cubes over the top of the mixture and pulse to form a crumbly mass. add the egg yolks and vanilla and pulse to form a soft dough. shape a disk using 1/3 of the dough, wrap it and chill it. press the remaining dough evenly into a tart pan with a removable bottom. place the tart shell on a baking tray and line the shell with baking paper or coffee filters, fill with baking weights and partially bake the crust until it no longer looks shiny in the bottom and has just barely begun to show color, about 30 minutes. turn the oven back up to 350. remove the tart shell from the oven and carefully lift out the weights and paper. spread the apple butter evenly in the tart shell. roll the remaining piece of dough out about 1/8-1/4 inch thick and cut 3/4" strips of dough. lay the strips over the filling to form a lattice top. bake the tart until golden brown on top and the apple butter is bubbly, about 50 minutes. allow it to cool before removing from the pan.

the end is very near...may the tart be with you...send a photo and i will post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

the holidays bring sweet memories of my grandparents; torta di nonna, pie #48 of 52

2011-11-16T14:09:00.000-08:00

sweets have always played a part in my life. as a very young child, i was lucky enough to spend time with my great grandmother and she always had some sweet treat waiting for me. maybe it was a bowl of jello-most likely a bowl of jello and on occasion, it was one of those crazy crown jewel jello cakes. i can remember lots of little italian cookies and pastries, most of which i am sure she didn't make but remember them i do. the strong flavor of bitter almonds and anise...creamy, cheesy fillings studded with candied lemon peel or chocolate chips, mmmmmmm... as the holidays approach, i am thinking of my grandparents; my irish grandfather who always had a bowl of hard candies and candy ribbons at christmas, my italian grandmother who would have a box of cookies and pastries from the italian bakery in town and her mother, my great grandmother who has inspired me to learn all i can about baking. so, with this in mind, i made something that i am sure my italian relatives are familiar with, torta di nonna or grandmothers tart which has a sweet flaky crust flavored with lemon and a creamy custard filling that is loaded with vanilla. it can be served cold but it tastes best as it cools to room temperature.

torta di nonna

1 (9") tart serving 8

crust

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest, about 1/2 lemon

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 egg

1 egg yolk

preheat the oven to 325. place the flour, sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor. pulse to combine. sprinkle the butter pieces over the top of the flour mixture and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. add the eggs and pulse until it comes together and forms a soft dough. press 2/3 of the dough into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom making certain that the dough is evenly distributed. refrigerate the remaining piece of dough for the top crust. line the tart shell with baking paper or coffee filters, fill with weights and place on a sturdy tray. bake until the bottom no longer looks glossy but no coloring has begun, about 30 minutes. while this bakes, make the custard filling.

custard filling

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla bean

2 eggs

place the cornstarch in a heat proof bowl. whisk in a small amount of milk to make a smooth paste. whisk the eggs into the starch and set aside. place the remaining milk in a sauce pot with a heavy bottom and add the sugar and vanilla bean. heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally to melt the sugar, until it comes to a boil. temper the eggs by whisking in 1/3 of the hot milk. place the milk back on the heat and whisk the hot eggs into the milk. while stirring continuously, bring the custard to a boil and allow it to boil for a full minute. remove the weights from the partially baked tart shell and pour the custard through a mesh strainer into the tart shell. set this aside, turn the oven up to 350 and roll the remaining piece of dough into a 9" circle. cut a hole in the center and carefully transfer the top to the tart. sprinkle sugar over the top of the tart and bake until a nice golden brown, about 35 minutes. allow it to cool completely before trying to remove it from the bottom disk of the pan.

as always, let the power of pie be your savior. bake one, send me a photo and see it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com.

two for one: butterscotch pie and blueberry pie with almond crunch topping, pies #46 & 47 of 52

2011-11-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

for months, my husband has been asking me to make a butterscotch pie. personally, i like fruit pies better. so, rather than try to figure out how to make a fruity butterscotch pie, i went ahead and made two pies. luckily, we had some visitors and they helped us eat the pies!

butterscotch is a tricky flavor to achieve. many recipes simply expect the use of butter and brown sugar to give the flavor. that's a start but not likely to give you that buttery caramel flavor found in the little yellow hard candies. to really get that flavor, you need to caramelize some brown sugar and combine it with dark rum and a pinch of salt. caramelizing brown sugar is very tricky; it can quickly go from slightly colored to black and bitter. with that in mind, i opted to go with plain granulated sugar since it is easier to see the color gradations.

on the blueberry pie, i didn't have fresh berries on hand so i used some frozen berries and if you ask me, that is just fine. if you are lucky enough to pick your own fresh berries, do you let them go to waste? i'm thinking not and that what isn't consumed quickly, is frozen for later use. yes i know that there are purists out there that will scoff at the idea of using frozen berries, but i am not one of them. sometimes, you have to use what is available and at this time of year, those frozen berries will have much more flavor than anything fresh coming to us from the other side of the world. if you do use frozen berries, just be sure to let them thaw completely before baking and to add the juices to the pie. baking a pie with frozen berries in the filling will add a lot of time to the baking and it could mean a burned crust or topping! to make this pie a little different, i decided to give it a crumb topping made with almond paste and toasted sliced almonds. blueberries and almond go together very nicely. and for those of you, like myself, that do not have a kitchen scale handy, purchase the almond paste in the can. you can remove both ends of the can push out the paste, cut the cylinder of paste into half and then cut each half into 4 equal pieces and get your 1 ounce of almond paste. don't worry, you can freeze the extra and then anytime a recipe calls for almond paste by the ounce, you will just need to thaw the required number of 1 oz. wedges.

butterscotch pie

blueberry pie with almond crunch topping

each recipe yields 1 (9") pie serving 8

butterscotch pie

1 (9") pie shell, fully baked (can be any kind you like, even graham cracker)

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon corn syrup

3 tablespoons corn starch

2 cups half and half

3 egg yolks

1" piece of vanilla bean, split open

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons dark rum

place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a sauce pot (at least 2 quart capacity) with a heavy bottom. cover the pot and place over medium heat until it boils for about 1 minute. remove the lid and check to see that there aren't any sugar crystals on the sides of the pot. if any crystals are present, use a wet brush to wash them away. allow the mixture to boil until it begins to color. while this is boiling, place the corn starch in a heat proof bowl with about a 1/4 cup of the half and half and whisk it smooth. add the egg yolks to this mixture and whisk together. place the remaining half and half in a pot with the vanilla bean and the salt and heat over medium low heat but do not allow it to boil-just get it hot. when the sugar begins to color, gently swirl the pan to color it evenly. when it is a nice amber color, carefully pour in a small amount of the hot half and half-THIS WILL BOIL UP AND RELEASE LOTS OF STEAM!!! this step can be dangerous if you are not paying attention or if you try to pour it all in at once, so please, do this in batches and with caution. when all of the half and half is in the pot with the caramel, stir over medium heat to dissolve any sugar that has settled to the bottom. when this reaches a boil, pour a small amount into the egg yolk mixture and whisk it smooth. replace the hot half and half on the burner and carefully whisk in the tempered egg yolks. continue to cook, stirring gently, until it reaches a boil. boil the mixture for a full minute to cook the cornstarch and thicken the mixture. remove the pot from the heat, stir in the dark rum and pour the hot mixture through a mesh strainer right into the baked pie shell. spread the filling out evenly, press plastic wrap to the surface and refrigerate it until it is cold. to serve, top with whipped cream or serve it with whipped cream on the side.

for the whipped cream topping in the photo, i whipped 1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract until it was stiff and then spread it over the cold filling.

blueberry pie with almond crunch topping

1 (9") pie shell, home made or purchased

1/2 cup sliced almonds

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

zest of 1 lemon

1 pound of blueberries-can be fresh or frozen (and thawed)

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 ounce almond paste, cut into small pieces

preheat the oven to 350. place the pie shell on a sturdy baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper and greased. toast the almonds on a separate tray until slightly browned and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes, cool them completely. in a mixing bowl, rub the sugar with the cornstarch, ginger and lemon zest until it is combined. add the blueberries and toss them to coat them (include the juices too if you are using thawed berries). pour the filling into the pie shell. to make the topping, place the almonds, flour, brown sugar and baking soda into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. sprinkle the pieces of butter and almond paste over the top of the mixture and pulse it until it looks sandy and it begins to clump. spread the crumb topping evenly over the pie filling and bake it until the fruit filling is bubbly and the topping is browned, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. cool completely before cutting or the filling will not hold it's shape and will run out.

may the force be with you...and as always, make one and take a photo and i will share it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com

oh honey, it's jess pie; honey chess pie, #45 of 52

2011-11-11T16:20:00.000-08:00

this is one of my favorite secret weapons (well, as much as one can expect from a pie as a weapon) when it comes to dessert. it doesn't get much more southern than chess pie. go anywhere in the south from potlucks, meat & threes (another southern staple), country markets to any place that sells desserts and you will most likely encounter a chess pie. they are an intriguing combination of butter, eggs and sugar-lots of sugar. always bordering on the edge of a diabetic coma, the combination is usually a little creamy and if made well, it brings even the most crotchety of folks back to their childhood and before you know it, you are listening to endless stories of mama and her chess pies. unfortunately, most of them are just sweet and a little crumbly-not very appetizing or worth the extra roll in your middle. but, as the pastry chef of a restaurant that is a southern dining destination-i had no choice but to include chess pies in the line up. as a yankee pastry chef, i was at a loss for a good recipe. i asked around but no one was willing to give up mama's best chess pie recipe.

my salvation came when a coworker handed me a copy of edna lewis and scott peacocks book, the gift of southern cooking. in that book i found a recipe for lemon chess pie and so began my education of what a good chess pie is. for one, while it is sweet, it should have a creamy texture and a balanced flavor. i was soon the proud owner of a good plain ol' chess pie recipe.

not too long after that, i had a minor epiphany in the form of honey. while measuring some wildflower honey, i was taken in by the aroma which led to my tasting it. first of all, let's get this straight, i am not a big fan of honey-too sweet, sometimes a little bitter, just not my choice of sweeteners. so when i tasted this local wild flower honey-wow!!! is all i can say. it was produced by a menonite community in kentucky and the complex flavor was amazing. i gave it some thought and knew i needed to come up with a pie recipe to showcase that honey. the light bulb went off and honey chess pie was born. since honey is the predominant flavor, use a true wildflower honey and make sure it is a brand that does not filter or process the honey-that changes the flavor and can make it bitter tasting. as a beekeeper, i suggest you look for a local beekeepers association and purchase honey from their members. what difference does it make? small scale beekeepers are not likely to mix their honey with corn syrup, remove the pollen, pasteurize it or subject it to any other undesirable process. and one more thing, if a honey producer claims to be organic-put the bottle back on the shelf. do you really think you can tell a bee to only gather honey from organic flowers? bees can fly as far as 8 miles in one trip-they go where they want to go. a bee will produce about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in a lifetime which lasts about 6 weeks. a healthy colony will have 40,000-50,000 bees in it. be sure to give the girls some respect and then make this pie and savor every honey packed spoonful!

honey chess pie

1 (9") pie serving 8-10

straight out of my book-desserts from the famous loveless cafe

1 (9") pie shell, partially baked

3/4 cup wildflower honey

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons cornmeal-preferably white

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 eggs, at room temperature

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup heavy cream

preheat the oven to 350. place the pie shell on a sturdy baking sheet and set aside. place the honey, brown sugar, butter, cornmeal, flour, vanilla and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor. pulse until the mixture is smooth. with the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, processing until blended and scraping the bowl after each addition. with the machine on, add the lemon juice and then the heavy cream through the feed tube. scrape the filling into the pie shell. bake in the center of the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until the edges puff up slightly and the center is firm. let cool completely before serving. pie will be easier to slice if it is cold, use a hot and wet knife-clean it between cuts. however, it tastes best if closer to room temp so let it stand out at room temp after cutting.

and there you have it. bake one, send me a photo and see it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

shoo fly, don't bother me...pie #44 of 52

2011-11-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

and so it starts-the catching up that is. so many pies, so little time to spend here sharing them. first, let me say that it is wonderful to be able to share those pies. after 3 weeks of wallowing in the whole robbery drama, i am now connected and secured but damn, i'm still mad! i lost 10,000 photos and tons of files as well as one fantastic camera. but, i need to move on...

so, first up is a personal favorite, shoo fly pie. it even comes with its own catchy little song, "shoo fly, don't bother me! shoo fly, don't bother me..." just don't ask me to sing that too you. the inspiration was a trip to pennsylvania and a chance to roam antique stores with my mom. i was up there to appear on qvc and if you like, you can watch my appearance on "in the kitchen with david" here. what an amazing experience that was and david is every bit as nice and friendly as he seems on tv. but, i digress, while out hunting with mom, i spied a nifty little pie dish and it came with a recipe for shoo fly pie-i had to give it a try.

i loved the design and colors but honestly, i had my doubts about the recipe.

as you can see, there aren't any clear directions and the amounts are a bit sketchy too. but i managed to figure it out and forged ahead with the plans. something so simple, so easy and believe it or not, quite tasty. however, being in the south, i used sorghum rather than molasses and for anyone who wants to make this, i suggest you do the same if you can find it.

shoo fly pie

1 (9") pie serving 8

1 (9") pie crust

1/2 cup sorghum (or molasses)

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup dark brown sugar-packed

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

preheat the oven to 325. partially bake the pie shell using the method described in pie #29 but do not bake the pie shell completely since it will be going back into the oven. raise the oven temp to 350 and mix the filling as follows: whisk the sorghum with the water and baking soda. pour into the prepared pie shell. rub the flour, brown sugar and butter together to form a crumb topping. sprinkle over the top of the filling and no, it isn't going to sink! bake until the filling sets in the center and the crumb topping is a little toasty, about 45 minutes. allow it to cool before serving.

so folks, stay tuned, i have at least 5 more to post just to get caught up and then i am going to go ahead a little so that my big finale will actually be posted before thanksgiving. may the power of pie be with you! and as always, bake one, take a photo and send it to me-i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com

now that's a rainbow cake!

2011-11-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

it's been a month, exactly one month today, that my house was broken into and my computer was stolen. what a month it has been! my media tour is moving along and i have replaced my computer-added a security system to the house also since just replacing the doors a second time seemed useless. let's hope it makes a difference. time has flown and things have blurred a bit so imagine my surprise when i realized that i had missed more than half of mary, the food librarians annual bundt fest!!! i just had to fix that and send some bundt love her way and i couldn't think of anything better than a little zebra action. but for those of you who know me, you know that i wouldn't be happy with just two colors, no, after the month i had, i needed the whole damn rainbow!!!!!!! get ready mary, here comes the rainbow bundt...

after mixing the batter, i separated it into 5 equal parts. then i added color to 4 of the portions and left one plain. all i had to use was a package of mc cormicks neon egg colors which consisted of pink, purple, blue and green. each color mixed in differently and they each needed different amounts to get the color saturation just right. to get the stripes, you carefully pour in spoonfuls of each color batter to the same spot in the pan to make rings. the rings spread out and fill the pan and if you use a bundt pan like i did, it looks really amazing.

now, how cool is that? the stuff that dreams are made of if you ask me. okay, i admit it, the stress is getting to me-obviously, neon colored cakes are all it takes to amaze me...

a few notes before we get started. first, i increased the recipe by half to fill the bundt pan, after all, mary is having a bundt fest. second, i omitted the cocoa powder in the recipe since i wanted a rainbow cake.

rainbow bundt cake
adapted from king arthur flour
1 twelve cup bunt serving 12-16

6 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup canola oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
liquid food colors, as many as you like
preheat the oven to 350. grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan. place the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt into a large mixing bowl and on medium, whip until it thickens-about 10 minutes. slowly pour the oil in taking care not to hit the beaters or you will wear it and so will your kitchen. if you are using a hand held mixer, put it away now, and if you are using a stand mixer, remove the bowl from the machine and pour the batter into a large but shallow bowl. sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and carefully fold it into the batter. fold the milk in last-if you have followed this order, you should not have any lumps. if you have lumps, run the batter through a mesh strainer to break up the lumps and smooth out the batter. divide the batter into 5 bowls (1 1/2 cups each) and tint as desired. using a serving spoon, carefully pour spoonfuls of each color into the same spot in the pan to create a bullseye pattern that spreads and fills the pan. bake until a tester inserted comes out clean, about an hour to an hour and 10 minutes. allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then carefully turn it out onto a rack to cool completely.

be sure to check out mary's month long bundt fest-i love big bundts 3 and do bake one with her!

oh, one more thing. before you start wondering about my photos, and whether i have lost my mind, my camera was also stolen. those photos were taken with my not so smart phone (no iPhone or droid for me).

where did she go?

2011-10-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

actually, no where and everywhere all at the same time. the explanation-my house was broken into and one of the things taken was my computer. that said, i have been a little lost and out of sorts-slightly pathetic, don't you think? never thought i would miss that thing as much as i did when it was suddenly gone. word to the wise (strange word for describing thieves, no?) don't try that again-i won't give this one up without a fight!!!

so, even though i was disconnected, i still managed to bake some pies. look for some photos and recipes to be posted soon. a preview of those recipes: honey chess, shoo fly, blueberry with crunchy almond topping and butterscotch pies! may the power of the pie be with you and keep your computer safe...

baking sweet memories with my daughters, part 2: crumb topped apple pie, #43 of 52

2011-09-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

in my previous post, i baked a tart with my daughter alix; a sort of all growed up/movin out on my own party for the two of us. this week, i was given the opportunity to do the same with my daughter devon. you see, she too has moved out and is now in california where she will be attending school. it was important to me to take the time to teach each of them a little about baking with the hope that they will take this new skill and use it to make their lives a little sweeter. and in devon's case, it was a chance to pass a baton; apple pie is my father in laws favorite pie and since she is now living with my in laws, it is something that she can make for him.

no matter what, i enjoyed every minute of baking with my daughters and cannot wait for the next chance to do so. for now, i am adjusting to an empty nest and a husband who works all different shifts; in other words, i am spending a lot of time by myself. it may be a little quiet here but it gives me a chance to do all the things that a book release requires. my book was released the first week of september and it has been a little hectic. since the book is out there, i decided to use my recipe for apple pie as this weeks challenge.

miss devon peeling and slicing 5 granny smith apples

tossing the apples with the spices and cornstarch

we got a little crazy and used a 7" pie plate and piled the apples in a tall dome

the pie was topped off with the crumbs and into the oven she went. the height of the pie made a slight increase in the baking time. it was tasty served warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream-perfection!

arkansas sweetly spiced apple crumb pie

serves 6-8

1(9”) pie shell, unbaked

6 cups sliced apples, any variety suitable for baking

3/4cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1-teaspoon cinnamon

1/2teaspoon nutmeg

1/2teaspoon cardamom

1/4teaspoon cloves

1-cup crumb topping, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a sturdy baking sheet and line it with foil or parchment paper and grease that as well. Place the pie shell on the baking sheet and set it aside. In a bowl, rub the brown sugar, starch and spices together until blended. Add the apples and toss them to coat them. Dump the apple mix into the pie shell; scrape any sugar mix and juices into the bowl as well. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the pie leaving about a 1-1/2” border around the edge-as the apples bake, they will sink and the entire top will have crumbs. If you put the crumbs close to the edges, they may run out with any of the juices that boil over and then you may not have much topping near the edges. Bake for about an hour and 15 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the crumb topping is lightly browned all over. Allow it to set before cutting, although this will be tough to do, who can resist warm apple pie?

Crumb topping

Makes about 1-1/3 cups

1/2cup all purpose flour

1/2cup rolled oats

1/3cup dark brown sugar

1/2teaspoon cinnamon

1/8teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and slightly cold

Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them gently to break up the sugar but take care not to break the oats. Add the butter and use your hands to gently rub the ingredients together to make small clumps. Your final result should be a free flowing mixture with some lumps that will clump together when squeezed in your hand. This can be done in the food processor with the pulse button, a quick time saving method, but will result in the oats being cut. It can also be done in a stand mixer with the flat beater, which is the method we use in the cafe.

so get in that kitchen and bake some sweet memories with someone you love-send me a photo and i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com

baking sweet memories with my daughters, part 1: chocolate pecan tart, pie #42 of 52

2011-09-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

it has always been a hope of mine that my two daughters will embrace the art of home made food. to me, a well made meal is an event and when shared with family, there isn't much out there that can top it. over the years, both of my girls have shown a desire to bake, mostly cookies with the occasional cake thrown in. but with all of these pies i have been baking, i have wanted to spend an afternoon baking a pie with each of them. this last week, i finally got that wish. alix was home for a visit and to help her sister get packed for the big move west and i took advantage of the time to bake a tart with alix. when asked what kind of pie she would like to make, she chose chocolate pecan-you can't go wrong with chocolate and when you add pecans, it's even better!

we quickly mixed up a batch of tart dough using the food processor and alix pressed it into the pan with her fingers-no rolling pin required! be sure to use a tart pan with a removable bottom to make cutting serving the easy.

using my foolproof method for partially baking a tart/pie shell, alix lined the shell with a large coffee filter and filled it full of marbles-my choice of pie weights.

while the tart shell baked, we mixed up the filling. for a smooth filling every time, it is important that the ingredients are combined in the proper order. otherwise, the custard separates in the oven and it the chocolate will float to the top. to emulsify the filling, the brown sugar is whisked with the melted butter and chocolate mixture, the cinnamon and vanilla. then the eggs are whisked in one at a time. the final addition is the corn syrup. be sure to scrape that bowl as you go.

alix whisking in the corn syrup-gotta love the action shots!

toast the pecans if you like and then chop them up and fill the shell with them.

pour the custard over the chopped nuts

decorate it with pecan halves

baked to fudgy perfection! let it cool completely before removing it from the pan or it may crumble

chocolate pecan tart

serves 8

for the tart shell, use half of the recipe for tart dough from pie #39. freeze the second half for another time and partially bake the tart shell at 325 for 20-25 minutes. the dough should no longer look glossy and it will not have begun to color. remove the weights and proceed with the recipe.

filling

1 cup pecan pieces

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

3/4 cup corn syrup

pecan halves to decorate the tart, at least 1 cup

preheat the oven to 350. toast the pecan pieces on a baking tray until fragrant, about 5-7 minutes. place the pecans in the partially baked tart shell. melt the butter and the chocolate together by placing them in a microwave safe bowl and using the lowest power setting. place the brown sugar in a mixing bowl with the vanilla and cinnamon. whisk in the melted chocolate and butter. whisk in the eggs, one at a time. be sure to scrape the bowl between additions. finally, whisk in the corn syrup and pour the custard into the prepared tart shell. carefully arrange the pecan halves on the top of the tart. bake until it puffs up and is almost set in the center, about 30-35 minutes. allow the tart to cool completely before removing it from the pan or cutting.

as always, if you bake one, send me a photo and i will post it here. may the power of pecans be with you...bakinbabe116@aol.com

they're all growed up

2011-09-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

lately, my posts have been a bit sporadic and i apologize to all of you who follow this blog. you may recall me mentioning my book-the actual purpose for starting this blog (once it was finished, i moved on to pies) and the publication of that book. well, it's out there and doing well. it is fun to look it up on amazon and see the ranking-i frequently find it in the top 3 for pies along with martha stewart's pie book. curious? look here and scroll down to see the ranking. some of the media events for the book have made my schedule a little tight and that is only part of the reason for my late posts.

the real reason i have not been keeping up is that suddenly, my nest is empty. we have two wonderful daughters and this past summer, both of them graduated; one from college and one from high school. it has been a summer full of family and parties and i have enjoyed every minute and every opportunity to see extended family from out of state. there was tons of food and lots of baking and plenty of good wine to wash it down. but now that our first has moved and settled in atlanta, our second is preparing to fly west; she leaves today. and as every parent will tell you, you work so hard to get them ready for all that life will throw at them but when the time comes, letting them field the balls is the hardest thing you will ever do. so with a little motherly worry, i will let her go. the good thing is that she won't be totally on her own, she will be with her grandparents.

on our last day together (until she comes home again in about 8 weeks), we did things that she likes to do. her favorite thing-eat cupcakes! we went to the cupcake collection and had our fill.

the cupcake collection

the cupcake collection is located in the germantown neighborhood of north nashville in an old victorian house that has been renovated to accommodate a busy bakery. the staff is friendly and will answer your questions cheerfully. best part-the cupcakes are only $1.50 each. let that sink in a minute. i fully expected to pay about $3 each and was a bit surprised. then i realized that is why we waited in line-people come from all around the area to buy them at this price. but the best part is that they are actually baked from scratch-music to a pastry chefs ears!!! i've been to several cupcake shops and one used mixes-they were awful, one used tall towers of frosting to make the cupcakes seem gigantic and they were nothing special. so when i tasted these-i was totally impressed and completely sold. from now on, when it's cupcakes, it's the cupcake collection or make them myself!

my daughter and the loot-she picked out 6 different flavors to try

and i hadn't even gotten the car out of park before she dove in and ate her cookies and cream cupcake. at one point, she let out the familiar "no way!" when i inquired, she told me the middle was filled with frosting too-what more does a teenage girl need?

so having fed her dessert first, i then took her to lunch and then home to bake a pie. yes a pie. last week, our older daughter was home and i baked a pie with her as well. so my next two posts will be about baking pies with my daughters. for now, here's more about the fabulous cupcakes.

so, i know what i like-carrot cake. i very rarely get a piece of it so when i saw the cupcakes, i had to have one. we also came home with a wedding cake, chocolate, red velvet and strawberry.

as you can see, they use real ingredients-those are carrots and raisins. and what looked like not enough frosting was actually more than i needed-but don't think for a minute that i didn't enjoy the freshly mixed cream cheese frosting...so if you're in the neighborhood, check them out and if not, make some and share them with your kids(if you have them). trust me time flies and before you know it, you will be watching them fly away...

a taste of fall: pear frangipane tart, pie #41 of 52

2011-09-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

while i am sad to see summer come to a close, i am looking forward to the arrival of fall produce. as much as i love visiting the farmers market in summer, i find the trips downtown in the fall almost magical. the sight of so many apples and hard squashes...the thoughts of applesauce and butters and pies...mmmmmm, that's all i can say about it. while it is still very warm, with many days still 80+, it is no longer too hot to make baking impossible. the arrival of pears from colder climates made a pear tart irresistible.

not all pears make nice tarts. the best ones are those with a slightly soft texture that hold their shape when baked. for this reason, i generally use d'anjou pears that are a tad under ripe. for this tart, i had to choose between bartlett and bosc-neither being a favorite of mine. i went with firm, under ripe bartletts so that they would not turn to mush when i poached them. poaching is important for this type of tart-it prevents discoloration and ensures that the pears are soft when the tart filling is completely baked. it also prevents the pears from releasing excessive amounts of juices onto the top of the filling and that enables the filling to bake properly. the poaching liquid includes wine and the beauty of this tart is that you could use any type of wine and alter the taste of the pears to your liking. i used marsala because that is what was convenient but you could easily use chardonnay, sauternes, port, champagne or any other white wine. however, there is no reason that you couldn't use a mild, fruity red and give the pears a pink tint.

freshly poached and ready to be sliced. after removing the pears, place the pot of liquid back on the stove over low heat. the poaching liquid is reduced down to 1 cup and used as a syrup to drizzle over the slices as you serve them.

the tart shell must be prebaked first. then, mix up the frangipane filling, spread it into the tart shell and layer the sliced pears around the top in a spiral.

once the tart has been baked and allowed to cool completely, remove it from the pan and cut it into wedges. drizzle it with the syrup and you have an elegant fall dessert.

pear frangipane tart

serves 8-10

tart dough

half batch of tart dough from pie #39, second piece can be frozen for future use. place the dough into a greased tart pan with a removable bottom. with your fingers, carefully distribute the dough around the bottom and sides by pressing it and pushing it into place so that it is an even thickness throughout (no rolling pin required!!!). place the shell on a sturdy baking pan. line the shell with a coffee filter or parchment paper, fill with weights and prebake it at 325 degrees until the dough no longer looks shiny and appears opaque when you lift up the paper/weights, about 25-30 minutes.

poached pears

3-4 pears, peeled, halved with cores removed

3 cups water

1 cup wine

1/2 vanilla bean

1 star anise pod

3 green cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

1 lemon, squeezed-juice and fruit both added to the mix

1/2 cup sugar

combine the ingredients in a large pot. over medium low heat, simmer the pears until they are soft but not yet mushy, about 20 minutes. remove the pears to a dish to cool. remove all of the aromatic ingredients from the liquid and return the pot to the stove over medium low heat. allow the syrup to reduce and concentrate to just 1 cup. chill the syrup

frangipane filling

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 ounces almond paste

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup all purpose flour

in a mixing bowl, cream the butter, almond paste and the sugar until light and fluffy. add the egg and mix to incorporate. sift the flour into the batter and mix just to incorporate.

assembling and baking the tart

remove the weights from the tart shell and spread the frangipane filling evenly in the shell. cut the pears into 1/4" thick slices and using the photo above for reference, carefully arrange them in a spiral around the top of the filling. bake in an oven preheated to 350 until the filling sets, approximately 50-55 minutes. brush a small amount of the syrup over the tart while it is still hot to give it a shine and allow it to cool completely before removing it from the pan. cut into wedges and serve it with a drizzle of the syrup. if you would like to really indulge yourself and those you are serving this too, serve it with some vanilla or buttermilk ice cream.

as always, bake one and send me a photo, i promise to post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

scuppernongs, a native american fruit-pie #40 of 52

2011-09-07T00:27:00.000-07:00

i can remember the first time i heard someone talk about scuppernongs-i thought they were nuts. just say the name out loud and you may understand. it hardly sounds like something that anyone should be eating. years later, the trend towards native plants and foods makes this recipe somewhat relevant. the scuppernong, a bronze muscadine, is the only native grape found in north america and are easy to grow.

all muscadines have thick skins. you need to separate the pulpy insides from the skins by squeezing them. the skins are then simmered until soft and the pulp is then run through a food mill to remove the large seeds which are inedible(they aren't poisonous but are a little like gravel if you end up with them in your mouth). the recipe can be made with either the red or green (also called bronze) muscadines but remember, only the green ones are called scuppernongs. the flavor is a bit musky in comparison to grapes and they will take on other flavors easily so be careful not to overdo it when adding additional ingredients to the pie. since there aren't too many options for using the fruits, this recipe is a lot like everyone you will find online and that is about as good as it gets.

scuppernong pie

1 (9") pie serving 8

enough pie dough for a double crust pie

1 quart scuppernongs

1 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon lemon zest

egg wash and crystal sugar, if desired

separate the skins from the pulp of the fruit. place the skins in a sauce pan with the water and simmer until tender, can take as long as 30 minutes. allow the skins and the liquid to cool before using. run the pulp through a food mill to remove the seeds-this can also be done by hand; just pick out and discard the seeds. combine the sugar with the starch and zest. in a bowl, combine the skins, the cooking liquid, the pulp and the sugar mix and stir. preheat the oven to 350. roll out the bottom crust, line the pie plate with it and pour in the filling. roll out the top crust and cut a hole in the center to vent the steam. brush some egg wash around the edge of the bottom crust, place the top crust on with the hole centered and seal the edges. flute the edges if desired, brush egg wash over the top and sprinkle crystal sugar over the top of the pie. bake until boiling in the center, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. allow it to cool completely and set before cutting.

and there you have it, scuppernong pie. will i make it again, don't know but i would like to try making some scuppernong jam and perhaps i may even try to grow some. and as always, if you bake it, send me a photo, i will post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

plum galette, pie #39 of 52

2011-09-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

what a dreary day-we needed the rain and i am happy it has finally arrived but does it have to be so dark and grey too? enough of the whining, this pie can brighten your rainy day without a lot of work. galettes are a quick and easy pie because they aren't supposed to look perfect. it is a great go to recipe when you need a dessert that seems a little more elegant than usual without the hassle of classically prepared pastries.

plums bake up quick too but this can be made with peaches, apples, berries or pears. make the dough from scratch using the recipe below but freeze half of it for another day and use it to make a tart or more galettes.

plum galette

serves 4

dough

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into cubes

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons cold milk

Place the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl and blend to combine. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. In a food processor this will be accomplished by pulsing the mixture. Add the egg yolks and the milk and mix until the dough combines and forms a smooth dough. Divide the dough in two pieces, shape into 4” disks, freeze one for later and chill the other before using.

plum filling

4 black plums

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 of a vanilla bean-seeds only, pod reserved for another use

halve the plums, remove the pit and cut into thin wedges. in a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and rub them together with your fingers until completely mixed. toss the plums with the sugar mix and allow them to macerate while you roll out the dough.

preheat the oven to 350. cut one disk of dough into 4 equal pieces. shape each piece into a round disk and roll them out to 7-1/2 inch circles. place the dough circles onto sheet pans lined with parchment

paper. arrange the pears in a circle on top of each round of dough leaving a 1" border around the edge. fold the edges up over the top of the plums to form a loose and free formed pie. drizzle a spoonful of the collected juices over the center of each galette. if desired, brush the edges with some water and sprinkle with additional sugar, but you can leave it plain as i did too. bake for 25-30 minutes or until nicely golden around the top and the juices are bubbly. allow them to rest on the pan for 10-15 minutes before serving and if you want to really go all out, serve them with some vanilla ice cream.

as always, bake one and send me a photo, i will post it here. now if you will excuse me, i am going to go and find some other song to play incessantly in my head-the carpenter's(rainy days and mondays) are killing me...bakinbabe116@aol.com

summer berry pie, #38 of 52 pies

2011-09-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

in what is quickly becoming a never ending game of catch-up, i am trying to get all of the pies posted...wish me luck, please!!!

on that note, i also found myself trying to keep the pie simple. that is not hard to do when berries are in season. a quick trip to the store and i had plenty of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries to make a pie that was as delicious as it was easy to prepare. by not stressing over the crust and just folding it in towards the center, the result was similar to a rustic galette but with a lot more fruit. one more note, if you find yourself with frozen berries (whether you picked them or bought them), go ahead and use them in this recipe. measure the fruit while it is still frozen and then let it thaw before using it-frozen fruit will drastically increase the necessary baking time and can mean a burned crust.

summer berry pie

1 (9") pie serving 8

pie dough for a single (9") pie shell

2 cups blueberries

1 cup blackberries

1 cup raspberries

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 teaspoons rosewater

crystal sugar

preheat the oven to 350. roll out the pie crust so that is it about 1-1/2 to 2 inches larger than needed to line the pie plate. place the crust into the plate and allow the excess to hang over the edge. combine the berries in a bowl. in a separate bowl, rub the sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest together with your fingers and completely combine them. toss the berries with the sugar mixture taking care not to mash them and then scrape the filling into the pie shell. gently lift the excess dough up and drape it on top of the fruit pleating it as needed to make it fit. sprinkle crystal sugar over the pie crust and bake until it is bubbly in the center, about an hour and 15 minutes.

as most berry pies are, this will be runny while it is hot. be sure to let it cool to room temp before trying to cut it. and as always, bake one and send me a photo i will post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

tomato pie with caramelized onions and fontina cheese, #37 of 52 pies

2011-08-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

for gardeners, tomatoes are the holy grail. every gardener you meet will have a favorite; hybrid or heirloom, red or yellow, sweet or classic flavored. the choices are abundant. in our garden, there are mostly heirlooms and they range in color from striped reds, purple and yellow. there are cherries and slicers of all sizes. at least that is what the tags promised. what the tags do not tell you is that if your summer is extremely hot and dry, you won't be picking much and what is there, the squirrels will get before it ripens...and if you are as lucky as we are, you will also get a dose of fusarium wilt in the bed to really make it difficult.

getting off to a late start hasn't helped much either. we had a cool and wet spring that caused us to put the plants in the bed later than we wanted but it also looks as if a couple of those hybrids we planted might make it and produce a few fruits for us. meanwhile, my tomato sandwich obsessed husband has had to satisfy his yen for white bread slathered with thick slabs of tomato and mayonnaise by purchasing tomatoes at the farmers market and i have had to cancel my plans to stand in the garden and stuff my face with cherry tomatoes still warm from the morning sun...

decent tomatoes can be had if you are willing to pay for them and pay you will! i found some kentucky heirloom tomatoes at my local supermarket for $4.99 per pound and while pricey, they had nice flavor and made it possible to bake this pie. this recipe isn't totally original but i did make some changes to it to punch up the flavor.

a red and yellow striped heirloom tomato from the supermarket. it not only looked like it was home grown, it tasted like it too. a little sweet and not very acidic, these are one of the varieties that will have you cutting it into wedges and eating it as if it were a peach.

taking the time to caramelize the onions will add lots of flavor and so will the use of fresh herbs. we have a lot of basil, oregano and sage in the garden and they made a flavorful addition to the pie.

tomato pie with caramelized onions

and fontina cheese

adapted from simplyrecipes.com

serves 6-8

1 (9") pie shell-home made or purchased and partially baked

2-3 large or 3-4 medium sized ripe tomatoes

2-3 tablespoons bacon fat (or olive oil)

1 large onion, sliced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/3 cup fresh herbs-measure them first then chop them

salt & fresh cracked pepper

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 cup freshly grated fontina cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

preheat the oven to 300 and prebake the pie shell using the instructions to pie #29 but do not bake it completely since it will be returning to the oven(partially baking the pie shell-it should just barely have color and the bottom crust will no longer appear shiny when you lift out the weights). turn the oven up to 350. cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out as much of the juice and seeds as you can. dice them into bite size pieces, place them in a strainer which is set over a bowl and place a weight on the tomatoes-you want to remove the juice without pureeing the tomatoes so do not use a heavy weight, just one that causes enough pressure to remove the juice. while the tomatoes drain, heat the bacon fat in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onions. as they begin to color, stir them to allow even caramelizing. add the garlic and the herbs once the onions have caramelized and saute them for a minute or two. remove the onion mixture from the heat and place it in a mixing bowl. measure out 3 cups of tomatoes and add them to the onions. toss them to combine them, season with the salt and pepper and then scrape the filling into the partially baked pie shell. in a clean bowl, combine the mayonnaise and the cheeses to form a thick topping. carefully spread the topping over the surface of the filling. bake until golden brown on top, about 45-50 minutes.

and as always, if you bake one, photograph it and send it to me, i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com.

vegetarian moussaka pie, #36 of 52

2011-08-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

a trip to the farmers market yielded these beauties. i love tiny eggplants-they are so tender and mild in flavor compared to the big ones. we grilled some and the rest became the inspiration for this pie.

traditionally, moussaka is made with ground meat but in my attempt to cook more vegetarian meals, i chose to substitute some wheat bulgur. to increase the flavor of the filling, i cooked the bulgur in vegetable stock.

i roasted slices of the eggplant in the oven and this both softened them and eliminated some of the juices that may have made the filling soggy.

the bulgur was sauteed with onions, garlic and herbs from the garden to make a flavorful substitution to meat.

i layered it all in a 4 cup casserole dish which was lined with some homemade pie dough that was mixed up using an expeller pressed non-hydrogenated vegetable fat-great for my low cholesterol diet.

a thin custard of ricotta cheese and egg whites (a lighter version of the traditional bechamel sauce) was poured over the filling.

a sprinkle of traditional spices over the custard was topped off by the casual folds of the excess dough

fresh from the oven, it was a filling meal that we didn't feel guilty for eating-chock full of whole grain and veggies and a lowfat custard made it a good choice for my low cholesterol diet.

vegetarian moussaka pie

serves 4 as an entree

1/4 cup wheat bulgur

4-6 finger sized eggplants (4-5 inches in length, 1 1/4" in diameter)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup diced onions

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

3/4 cup diced tomatoes-fresh or canned

salt and pepper

1/3 cup part skim ricotta cheese

2 egg whites

1/2 cup milk

a pinch each of cinnamon and allspice

enough pie dough to line a 9" pie shell

preheat the oven to 350. cook the bulgur according to the directions on the package using vegetable broth or water. slice the eggplants into 1/4" slabs and lay them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. bake the slices until they soften and dry a bit-10-15 minutes. remove them from the oven and set aside. in a saute pan, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until soft, add the garlic and oregano and continue to saute for another minute. add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper then set this aside as well. in a mixing bowl, mix the ricotta with the egg whites and whisk until smooth. add the milk, cinnamon and allspice and whisk to combine. line a 4 cup casserole with the pie dough allowing the excess to hang over the outside. lay half of the eggplant slices over the bottom of the dish. top this with the bulgur mix and cover the filling with the remaining eggplant slices. whisk the custard and pour it over the filling in the dish. carefully lay the excess crust over the filling so that most of the filling is covered. bake until golden brown and the custard is set, about 50 minutes. let it rest on the counter for 15 minutes or so before serving. a green salad completes the meal!

need a recipe for pie dough? try this one from pie #18. and as always, bake one and send me a photo-i will post it here!

lavender-vanilla panna cotta tart, pie # 35 of 52

2011-08-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

my life has been such a blur lately. days pass by in what feels like minutes. we watched both of our daughters cross the stage this summer, one from high school and the other from college. we hosted celebrations with family members. the carport never looked so festive. there was a trash can turkey at one party and a barbecue at the other. the girls beat a pinata to death and we all ate way too much! somewhere in there, i went off to new york city and phili for media training and suddenly, my book has landed in nashville. so, knowing very well that i am going to only get busier, i am even more determined to finish this 52 week challenge. to prove the point, the 4 pies that needed to be made, are all done and have been for some time, all i need to do is get them posted here. damn, blinked and lost another hour...

panna cotta has never been something that i just had to try. but in an effort to keep this challenge interesting and varied, i decided to try it in a tart. then i needed to make it different from every recipe i saw out there-that was the challenge. a walk through my garden fixed that-with a hand full of lavender blooms and a fig tree full of ripe fruit, i had my inspiration; infuse the panna cotta with lavender and vanilla bean and serve it with fresh figs...

i decided to use buttermilk in the filling as well. since it isn't a good idea to heat buttermilk for long periods of time, i infused some heavy cream with lavender blossoms and vanilla beans.

to make the crust, i toasted some almonds and chopped them finely and added them to a buttery crust dough.

my absolute favorite trick for prebaking crusts-use large coffee filters. if you can get them from a coffee shop or restaurant, you will not have to buy a huge quantity of them. however, you can used several smaller ones to do the same job. the filters are so strong that you can actually lift them out with your weights in them and not have to worry about it tearing. but if you use marbles like i do, spoon them out just to be safe.

lavender-vanilla panna cotta tart

1 (6") tart serving 4-6

tart dough

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

2 tablespoons almonds, sliced or slivered

2 tablespoons water

preheat the oven to 350. toast the almonds until lightly golden, about 5 minutes, cool them completely before proceeding with the recipe. place all the ingredients except the water into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine and cut in the butter. when it resembles a coarse meal with bits of almonds in it, add the water and pulse it until it comes together. press the dough into a greased 6" cake pan so that it is 3/4 of the way up the sides. make sure the dough is distributed evenly around the pan. line with a coffee filter, add pie weights and bake it until it is completely baked and lightly golden, about 30 minutes. cool completely before making the filling.

panna cotta filling

1/4 of a vanilla bean

1 tablespoon lavender blooms-dried

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoon gelatin

1 tablespoon water

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

fresh fruit for garnish

place the vanilla bean, lavender and cream in a very small sauce pan and heat until it almost simmers. remove from heat and allow to steep for at least 5 minutes (can also be done in the microwave but be careful since it is quick to boil). soften the gelatin in the water while the cream steeps. strain the cream into a bowl and add the gelatin, stir to melt it-if needed, gently heat the mixture in the microwave to melt it. with a whisk, gently whisk in the buttermilk and the sugar and then pour the filling into the prepared crust. refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours. serve with your favorite fresh fruit, berries work best with the flavors in this recipe but you can also use figs or peaches. if a sauce is desired, sweeten an extra cup of fruit and puree in a blender for a quick coulis.

a trip to times square with undercover steve

2011-08-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

after i was finished with all the media training, i had a chance to hang with my dopey brother-he likes to be called that; he says it's a term of endearment...i like to indulge him in this fantasy and willingly comply with his request. we were undecided of what we would do for the day and basically chose not to do anything but just hang out together, walking, talking and taking in the scenery. first on the agenda, lunch. after wandering around and passing up the shake shack-wow what a line...we settled in to a table for two indoors at the 5 napkin burger in lovely and scenic hell's kitchen.

my dopey brother who was preparing to part ways with the stache. it was a last meal of sorts and a 5 napkin burger and all of its 10oz of glory was a perfect send off.

my dopey brother doing his best jason lee impersonation

i really liked the way the restaurant was decorated. the meat hooks were the perfect touch...

loved the scales too

ultimately, the thought of trying to eat a 10oz burger was too much for me, i ordered the veggie burger. it appeared to be a home made pattie with beets which gave it a nice pink hue. it was tasty but also quite large and i ended up eating just the patty and the fries.

undercover steve enjoyed his burger too-his was beef and it looked tasty. i should have asked about a kids menu

the stashe loved the burger-here he is feeding it

after eating way more than was needed, we headed back out to wander the streets aimlessly

loved this view-i could see all the way up to the chrysler building

and of course, no trip to nyc is complete with out a wander through times square

i really love the new lane closures to accommodate pedestrians and provide seating. we parked ourselves on a bench and talked. i thought that we might run out of things to say but we never did. we talked about my book and his radio show, family, friends and so much more.

and no trip to times square is complete with out a sighting of the naked cowboy. really??? get over yourself and put on some pants. and on that note, we headed to penn station so i could catch my train to phili for the last leg of my trip-qvc training.

sorry to say but that is all i've got-no time for sight seeing. now, i'm home and back to work and that means there is pie-stay tuned for that.

my trip to the big city

2011-08-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

last monday, i grabbed my overstuffed carry-on bag and headed to the airport with jesse for a few days of media training in new york city and philadelphia. first on the agenda was to check in to the flatotel for our stay in manhattan. with that out of the way, we quickly headed out in search of lunch-trickier than it sounds but only because there were simply too many choices!

bricklane curry house

we chose the brick lane curry house and were quickly seated. as we perused the menu, i took a few photos.

the place isn't much bigger than the photo suggests-maybe 8-10 tables and at the time, we were the only two people in the place.

love the use of colanders as a light fixture!

we ordered prawns tikka masala for me and prawns goan for jesse. it was all accompanied by curried vegetables, dal, rice and naan. all of it was incredibly tasty.

nothing says i enjoyed lunch more than an empty plate

at this point, we headed out into the rain and began our first adventure-the acquisition of an umbrella for jesse...this was followed by a stop in the moma shop and a stop at the hotel for rain jackets which we both thought to bring. after a stop in a bead shop and for a drink (well we were off the clock so why not...) we headed to our final destination-eataly and it was only 30 blocks away...

the first thing i will say about eataly-overwhelming. too much going on in one place to take it in in an hour. too many people trying to do the same thing as you and also finding themselves overwhelmed-lots of stopped traffic in other words. the second thing, with all of the potential this place has to wow you, it's a bit disappointing that you aren't. most of what i saw was familiar to me and nothing seemed truly unique. as jesse stated, i can eat proscuitto anywhere-proscuitto is proscuitto. nothing reached out and grabbed me and yelled at me to try it. we did indulge in gelato and i can only ask that they give a little more for the price. even so, i really enjoyed the coconut gelato and the fig sorbetto that jesse had was equally wonderful. with that said, here are some photos from our trip into eataly.

the first thing you encounter upon entering eataly is a beautiful display of fresh produce

mushrooms-they always catch my attention

jesse and his $17 glass of red wine-the moral of the photo, never ask the person selling the wine to pour you a glass of their favorite wine...

after departing eataly, we headed uptown where we made stops in magnolia bakery and hill country chicken. both stops were to feed our eyes! we watched the baker in the window of magnolia bakery assemble an icebox cake and we drooled over the pies at hill country chicken. we headed back to our hotel and got ready to head out for dinner.

maison on broadway

we sat outside and indulged ourselves in mussels and salads and then called it a night, at least i did. it was off to bed for me and i slept like a rock! but wait, there's more to the story! look for it tomorrow-my adventures with undercover steve...

sugar pie, honey bunch; #34 of 52

2011-07-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

in my quest for pies, i came across a recipe for hoosier pie, also called sugar pie. it's easy to see why it would be called sugar pie; sugar is one of only 4 ingredients in the filling. i guess the hoosier part is some state's way of saying, hey that's our state pie! well, what ever...it's about 147 degrees outside with a humidity level near swamp stages and the simpler this weeks pie is, the better it is for all of us. so grab the best of motown cd and crank up the four tops, it's time to make some sugar pies!

prebaked mini pie shells mean a quick baking time for the pies. the quicker it is, the less it heats the house up...

hard to believe but 4 ingredients is all it needed: heavy cream, brown sugar, flour and vanilla. the topping is optional but i think it added a little something something to it.

mini sugar pies

makes 8 mini pies

pies

1 package frozen mini pie shells (need 8 shells)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla-use good quality since you will taste it

crumb topping, recipe follows

place the pie shells on a sturdy baking tray and prebake them according to the directions on the package but lower the temperature to 325 to reduce the amount of browning. turn the oven temperature up to 350. in a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and the flour by whisking them until blended. whisk in the cream and vanilla. divide the filling evenly between the pie shells, sprinkle them with the topping and bake until almost completely set in the center, about 18-20 minutes. can be served warm or chilled.

cinnamon pecan topping

makes 1/2 cup

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons chopped pecan pieces

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

combine the ingredients by rubbing them together with your fingers or a whisk.

so, i'm off to see the wizard-he's currently residing just outside manhattan. i will be back but in the meantime, check this out-my book!!! and as always, if you bake them, they will eat them...but do send a photo, i will post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

kiss my grits; a pie fit for a southern belle, #33 of 52

2011-07-18T05:29:00.000-07:00

after making more than 30 pies so far in this challenge, i decided to try something that i could also serve in the cafe. for the last 7 years, i have made many pies and every now and then, i need something new for the showcase. but what? what flavor could i use? would it be fruit or would it be custard? i decided to look around me and see what the common ingredients were and go from there. well, that's when i saw the big bag of grits and it was enough to make me go, hmmm. a quick google search revealed to me that paula deen had beat me to the punch! so i tried out her recipe but i had to make a change-i didn't have any quick cooking grits at home.

on the left are the old fashioned yellow corn grits that are lurking in the cupboard in my kitchen and on the right are some quick cooking white grits that are now keeping those yellow grits company. the main differences arethe size; the yellow grits are more coarse which means longer cooking times and of course the white grits have been parcooked hence the name quick cooking grits.

i decided to cook them in milk, which according to my grits research is a traditional italian method for cooking them.

and they cooked and cooked. is it any wonder i went out to the store for quick cooking grits...

the first pie was not up to my expectations and this is the second pie. i changed several ingredients in the recipe, omitted the flour and my pie came out nice and creamy and if you didn't know it was grits, you might think it was coconut (but not flavorwise).

the biggest changes i made were to increase the amount of grits in the pie and to cook them in milk. for the vanilla, i used a portion of a bean and added a pinch of fresh lemon zest.

sweet grits pie

1 (9") pie serving 8-10

1 partially baked (9") pie crust (i cheated and bought one) for instructions on partially baking a pie shell, follow the directions from pie #29 but do not bake it completely since it will be going back into the oven.

6 tablespoons quick cooking grits

1 1/3 cup milk

small piece of a vanilla bean, split

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

preheat the oven to 325. place the grits into a pot with the milk and vanilla bean and over medium low heat, slowly boil the grits until they are soft and the mixture looks a bit like a porridge. pour the grits into a heat proof bowl and whisk in the butter and sugar. whisk in the eggs, half and half and lemon zest and pour it into the partially baked pie shell. place the pie on a sturdy baking sheet to make it easier to handle and bake until set, about 50 minutes. can be served warm with whipped cream or cold-either way is extra tasty!

this weeks round-up

looky here, a brownie pie!!! this comes to us from nick of the kitchen, sophomoric and all i can say is well done! you make a baker proud!!! and to all of you out there, if you bake one, and email me a photo, i will post it, just look above for proof! may the force be with you...bakinbabe116@aol.com

potato crusted meatloaf pie; #32 of 52 pies

2011-07-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

to keep things interesting, i like to use my weekly pie as a means to put dinner on the table. in this heat, it hit 101 in nashville today, that makes baking any kind of pie, whether it is sweet or savory, a true challenge. not only does it heat the house up, you then end up eating a hot meal while you sweat. not at all what i wanted to do! but i did want to try and make a pie crust of mashed potatoes and a filling made of meatloaf.

the mashed potatoes are slightly drier than usual and they are spread out evenly in a greased pie plate to make a bottom crust. after prebaking the crust, it is ready to be filled with meatloaf.

the filling is made with lean ground turkey, 93% fat free, and studded with chopped mushrooms, grated carrots and zucchini. the leaner the meat is, the firmer the filling will be and less fat will be incorporated into the potato crust. the result is a lean but hearty meal. another advantage to the filling recipe is that it can be made with any lean meat. and for those that are gluten sensitive, the bread crumbs called for can be replaced with a gluten free bread or cracker to make this a gluten free meal.

the top crust is spread over the meatloaf filling and it bakes up in about an hour.

potato crusted meatloaf pie

1 (9") deep dish pie serving 8

potato crust

6 potatoes, fist sized-peeled and cut into cubes

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

place the potatoes and salt in a saucepot and cover with water. bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. drain potatoes and place in a mixing bowl and mash with the butter and salt until almost no lumps remain. set aside while the filling is prepared.

meatloaf filling

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup diced onions

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1 pound lean ground meat-maximum fat content of 93%

2/3 cup bread crumbs

3 egg whites (or 2 large eggs)

1/2 cup prepared tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup shredded zucchini

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried italian herb blend

preheat the oven to 750. saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until they begin to caramelize. add the mushrooms, lower the heat a bit and cover the pan to cause the mushrooms to sweat and release their juices. continue to saute over medium-low heat until the mushrooms are cooked then remove from the heat and place in a large mixing bowl to allow them to cool a bit. combine all of the ingredients for the meatloaf in the bowl and using gloves, thoroughly mix and knead the filling together.

to shape the bottom crust, grease the pie dish and place slightly more than half of the potatoes in the dish. with a rubber spatula, carefully spread and shape the potatoes into a layer that evenly covers the bottom and sides of the dish. prebake the crust for 20 minutes. remove from the oven, spread the filling evenly in the crust and top with the remaining potatoes by spreading them evenly over meatloaf. place the pie on a baking sheet to catch the drips, lower the oven to 350 and bake until the internal temperature reaches 165 for turkey or 155 for beef, about 1 hour. allow the pie to rest for 10-15 minutes then cut into wedges and serve.

hopefully, you will enjoy this as much as we did. this is one that i plan to make again, just as soon as the temperature outside drops by 50 degrees, literally...bake one and send me a photo. i promise that you will see it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com stay cool my friends.

all american brownie pie, #31 of 52

2011-07-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

so, it was the afternoon on july 4th. we had already come back from the hot chicken fest-and were totally fried, literally(read the previous post) and i realized that i hadn't baked my pie for our barbecue party. my ideas of a fruit pie were shelved for something much simpler-a crustless brownie pie. i know, that's a bit lame to call it a pie but in my own defense, i was sun-fried and overheated not to mention short of time. brownie pie it is...

some brownies recipes call for whipping the eggs and sugar, and this recipe is one that instructs you to whip them to a ribbon. but just what is a ribbon? it is easily defined as a slowly dissolving mound of batter as it falls from the beater. if you look at the photo to the left, you can see that the batter is slowly mounding and that the mound is slowly smoothing out. ok, some imagination is needed but keep in mind that i held the beater with my left hand and worked the camera (somewhat clumsily) with my right hand and in that time frame, the mound built and dissolved.

baking a brownie in a glass or pottery pie dish makes it easy to serve as a dessert-just cut into wedges and serve with ice cream, caramel, whipped cream or any other garnish that you like. this quick recipe mixes up in less than 15 minutes and can be baked and ready to serve in an hour and a half.

quick and easy brownie pie

1 (9") pie serving 8-10

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup self rising flour

3 tablespoons cocoa powder-natural not dutched

heat the oven to 350. grease a deep 9" pie dish and set aside. in a mixing bowl on medium speed, whip the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until it forms a thick ribbon (see photo above). while the eggs whip, melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave on the lowest setting. fold the butter and chocolate into the egg mixture. sift the cocoa and flour over the batter and carefully fold it until it is mixed and no streaks remain in the batter. pour into the pie dish and bake until slightly fudgy when tested with a pick-about 40 minutes. allow it to cool about an hour before cutting. serve it with ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel...the list goes on and on

and if you dare to bake one, snap a photo and send it to me, i will post it here!

bakinbabe116@aol.com

totally fried for the fourth

2011-07-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

it was the fourth of july, it was hot-really hot and we headed out to the 5th annual hot chicken festival. unless you live around music city, you may not know what hot chicken is. first of all, the word hot has nothing to do with the temperature that the chicken is when it is served. it is all about the hot sauce that the chicken is dipped in after it is fried. kind of like hot wings but better. the chicken is always breaded by hand just before frying and it can either be tenders or cut chicken with bones. after the chicken is deep fried, it is dipped in a hot sauce that can merely singe your taste buds or send smoke out your ears-beware, this ain't no sissy chicken! even the "mild"ones will challenge you so unless you have an asbestos lining your digestive tract, think twice about asking for "hot" and you just might want to bypass the "extra hot" altogether.

it was a hot and sunny morning-over 90 and if you didn't slather yourself in sunscreen, you got burnt-like me...this was the view at 11am in east park. each tent housed a hot chicken vendor and while some lines weren't too long, others circled the green.

speaking of long lines, the line for princes literally circled the park and if you dared to join it, you waited at least an hour for chicken and in the mean time, you too were fried in the sun.

we waited in line at our chosen vendor and people watched-at least one young woman passed out from the heat. it was almost like entertainment-we watched as they tried to fan her as they waited for medical help.

if only all of us could look as cool as this little fellow-he didn't seem to mind the heat at all

most of us felt like this poor little girl; hot, sweaty and in search of a shady place to sit. and let's not forget barbies friend-how humiliating to be dragged around by her hair...

not every vendor sold hot chicken. the dog of nashville did what they do best-hot dogs and for those not wanting to wait or in need of a snack while they waited, the hot dogs were ready and the line was short.

keeping the dogs coming...

we chose to purchase our chicken from pepperfire since their line was a lot shorter than others.

coating the chicken in the chosen hot sauce.

breading and frying each piece to order

medium in the rear, mild in the front but honestly-how could anyone tell?

mild-too much for this light weight! i only ate about half and gave up, it was too hot for me.

the coveted amateur trophy

a look at the competitors-they take it seriously and all worked hard in the heat

the winners-congratulations nick worley

we enjoyed it but not the heat. and speaking of heat, darry was thinking that medium wasn't such a good idea after all...glad i went with mild.

peach-basil custard pie, #30 of 52

2011-06-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

summer brings some of my favorite flavors; ripe, juicy peaches and basil. my little peach tree is years away from providing an abundance of fruit so i must content myself with what i can find at the farmers market and the grocery store(my last resort). however, i have plenty of basil in the herb garden to keep me stocked for the rest of the year! we let it grow until the frost takes it and if we are paying attention, we pick as much as possible before it is killed off, puree it and freeze it in ice trays. during the summer, basil ends up in lots of things; salads, vinaigrette, sauces and desserts. wait, desserts? yes desserts. it blends beautifully with peaches!

for this weeks pie, i infused some milk with lemon grass, basil, star anise and cardamom pods. it was then strained and used to make a custard with a lovely herbal flavor to fill the baked pie shell and topped with ripe, juicy slices of peaches.

anyone that has looked in a seed catalog or visited a nursery has seen the many different varieties of basil out there. i plant as many as i can in my herb garden. one of my favorites, pictured above, is from a friend. jim, a fellow gardener, shared a plant with me two years ago and it has been reseeding itself in abundance. this year, i returned the favor and gave away at least 25 of the plants but i still have at least that many left in the garden! it is the most unusual basil i have ever encountered; it doesn't have the strong licorice flavor that most basils have, including the flavored varieties. they only thing i can say about the flavor is that the scent of it makes me think of juicy fruit gum and as soon as i mention that out loud, everyone agrees. another characteristic of this plant, it is a little hairy in comparison to other basils. so if you know what variety it is, let me know-and if it isn't a basil, tell me that too. we have compared the flowers as well as the stems and leaves to all of the other basils and they are almost identical except for the hairiness and the scent.

peach-basil custard pie

1 (9") pie that serves 8

1 (9") fully baked pie shell, purchased or home made

basil custard, recipe follows

4-6 ripe, freestone peaches

1/4 cup peach jelly, jam or preserves (for glazing the tart)

for the pie shell, use the recipe from pie #18 or pie #29 but follow the instructions for prebaking, regardless of which it is, by following the recipe for pie #29. while the pie shell bakes, prepare the custard according to the recipe and chill it completely. scrape the chilled custard into the cooled pie shell and top it with slices of peaches. i made a circular design starting at the outer edge and working my way to the center. place the jelly in a microwave safe bowl with 1-2 tablespoons of water. heat on the low or defrost setting until the jelly boils. stir it to smooth it out and using a brush, coat the peaches to seal them and prevent them from changing color.

basil custard

2 1/4 cups milk

several lemon grass leaves, tied in a bundle

2-3 large sprigs of basil

3 green cardamom pods

1 star anise pod

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

place the milk into a sauce pot with the lemon grass, basil, cardamom and star anise. bring to a low boil and turn off the heat. allow it to steep for at least 30 minutes. strain the milk back into the sauce pot. place the cornstarch in a heat proof bowl and dissolve it with some of the milk. add the sugar to the sauce pot and over medium heat, bring it to a boil. whisk the eggs into the cornstarch mixture. using the directions for pastry cream in pie #29, temper the eggs and cook the custard until thickened. strain the custard into a heat proof dish and press plastic to the surface. chill until completely cold.

and as always, make one and send me a photo-i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com

may the power of basil be with you...

what's growing on?

2011-06-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

the more you listen, the more you hear in regards to knowing where your food comes from. hardly a day goes by that we are not reminded of how much harm we inflict on the ecosystem with our insatiable appetites. luckily, the movement towards growing your own is catching on. for the last 8 years, since we moved into our home, we have had a vegetable garden and growing our own produce has been a goal but not for ecological reasons; plainly put, it is a lot cheaper to grow your own vegetables and herbs. over the years, we have branched out and have added things like honey bees and fruit trees. we compost everything we can in an open pit composting system out back and we gather all of our leaves each fall too.

recently, a good friend convinced me to try my hand at a few new things that can be made at home: kombucha tea and kefir. the kombucha is fermenting on the counter and the grains for the kefir are ready to go as soon as i get myself some raw milk.

when i read the instructions that accompanied the kombucha, i was intimidated-they seemed so technical and unforgiving. then i found instructions online from the website smallnotebook.org. how simple!!! that is as long as you have a friend, like anne, who is willing to give up a scoby so that you can brew your own batch.

this is the scoby pancake anne was kind enough to share with me. she also gave me enough of the finished beverage to start/inoculate my first batch.

and here it is, the scoby in it's new home. i plan to flavor mine with some fruit juice and most likely, i will not let it ferment as long as anne does. the longer it ferments, the stronger it gets and that means it gets more sour with each day. today is day 3 and i still have a few days to go.

another of my favorite things to grow at home, sourdough starter. i started my original batch 2 years ago using grapes from the demo garden where i volunteer each sunday morning. from that original starter, i have a plain starter and by feeding a small portion of it with rye flour and caraway seeds, i have a rye starter too. periodically, they get neglected and i recently had to resurrect them.

with a cup of plain starter, 2 cups bread flour and a cup of water, i had a bowl of sponge to make bread with.

there is something so satisfying in taking a bowl of goo and after a minimal amount of effort, receiving something as tasty as this loaf of bread!

and for those of you that know my husband, you know this is all his! he is obsessive about mushrooms and we have inoculate logs around the yard which currently produce shiitakes-aren't the gorgeous? he recently inoculated some logs with oyster and reishi mushrooms.

who knows what will be the next addition. in the mean time, we're having fun and eating lots of good stuff.

celebrate the solstice with a summer berry tart; #29 of 52 pies

2011-06-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

the first day of summer, or summer solstice as some call it, usually means hot weather and in that respect, we have had plenty. since it is so hot, i decided to make a fruit tart rather than heat the house up by using the oven to bake a pie. right now, markets are brimming with fresh berries of all types. for some reason, summer holidays mean truckloads of berries at almost affordable prices. why is that? in the summers of my childhood, picnics in honor of summer holidays always meant popsicles and watermelon slices-berries were for special occasions. on my last trek through the grocery store, i stocked up on strawberries and raspberries and luckily, enough survived to decorate the tart!

first step is to make a classic pastry cream. while it cools down in the fridge, you can make the tart shell. milk is heated with a vanilla bean and some sugar until it just begins to boil.

cornstarch is mixed with some milk to dissolve it and then the eggs are whisked in. classically referred to as a liason, this combination will thicken the custard filling.

while the milk heats/steeps, set a heat proof bowl, a mesh strainer and a spatula nearby to strain the custard.

once the milk reaches a slow boil, whisk a portion of the hot milk into the liason and then return the remaining milk in the pot to the heat. while whisking the boiling milk, the liason is carefully added. and whisked continually until it boils and thickens.

whisk the custard filling continually until it boils and thickens. be sure to let it boil for a full minute to cook out the starch.

once finished, pour the custard into the strainer and use the spatula to force it through the mesh into the bowl.

the reason for the strainer, all the little rubbery bits and the vanilla bean need to be removed or you will not have a creamy filling for your tart.

the simplest dough in the world!!! flour, powdered sugar and butter are pulsed in a food processor until they resemble a coarse meal. an egg yolk is added and the dough is pulsed until it comes together.

this buttery dough is so easy to work with that you can immediately press it into your tart pan-no chilling is necessary.

make sure it is evenly spread out-thin spots could cause the shell to crumble later on.

my favorite baking trick-line the shell with a large coffee filter (bribe a barista for some if you can or just use several home sized ones) and use beans or marbles as weights to prebake the crust. why a coffee filter? simple, they are designed to hold lots of weight-think about wet coffee grounds in a filter, they do not rip easily. parchment paper crumbles when it is baked, foil can cause breakage when removed from the tart and waxed paper is waxed and who wants that in the tart?

a perfect tart shell ready to be filled and decorated.

my next big secret; melt 2-3 ounces of white chocolate (or dark if you prefer) and carefully coat the bottom and the sides of the tart shell with it. this will help prevent the crust from becoming soggy. allow it to set by freezing it for 5-10 minutes then fill with the custard and decorate with the fruit.

slice the strawberries and arrange them around the edge of the tart. save the small end pieces that you cannot use and place them in the center of the tart before adding the raspberries. it's a shame to waste the end pieces and no one will know they are there! if you must, you can seal the tart using a prepared tart glaze. in the summer months, supermarkets by me sell small tubs of fruit glaze in the produce section but stick to the peach one and dilute it-the strawberry one has too much added color. personally, i like mine naked!

solstice berry tart

1 (9") tart serving 6-8

there are lots of hints above, be sure to read them!

custard filling

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 vanilla bean, split

place the cornstarch in a heat proof bowl and whisk in a small amount of milk to make a smooth paste. whisk in the eggs and set aside. place the remaining milk in a sauce pot with the sugar. scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod and add both the pod and the seeds to the milk. over medium heat, bring to a slow boil. temper the egg mixture with about half of the hot milk. return the remaining milk to the stove and return to the boil. while whisking the milk, add the hot egg mixture and while whisking, bring to a boil. allow the custard to boil for a full minute then pour through a mesh strainer into a clean heat proof bowl. press plastic wrap to the surface and chill completely.

easy tart shell

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup powdered sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 egg yolk

preheat the oven to 350. place the flour and sugar into the bowl of a food processor. sprinkle the butter cubes over the top and pulse to cut the butter in. continue pulsing until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. add the egg yolk and pulse until a smooth dough is formed. press the dough evenly into a tart pan, place it on a baking sheet (catches any oily drips that may leak from the pan) and line with a coffee filter and weights. bake until done, about 25-30 minutes. remove from the oven and carefully lift out the weights and paper. cool completely before assembling.

assembly

2-3 ounces chocolate (white or dark), melted

2 pints of strawberries

1 half pint raspberries

carefully remove the tart shell from the pan and place on a flat serving tray. brush the inside of the tart with the melted chocolate and place in the freezer to set. spread the custard filling evenly in the tart shell and arrange the fruit over the top of the custard as directed in the photos above.

happy solstice, y'all! make one and send me a photo, i will post it here, bakinbabe116@aol.com

black and blue rhubarb pie, #28 of 52 pies

2011-06-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

there is something special about a freshly baked berry pie. a little sweet-a little tart and a deep rosy hue that draws the eyes, makes the mouth water and has the hands reaching for a knife and plate. trying to develop an original recipe is a challenge on it's own but when you limit the categories to one and complete the task weekly...well, let's just say this isn't always as easy as it should be. add a family that isn't always receptive to the chosen flavors and you can end up repeating the theme easily. those of you who have followed this endeavor will no doubt find yourselves saying "hmm, she already used that ingredient" and you would be right! my husband loves fruit pies as long as they aren't peach (go figure) and when i was pondering the choice of fruits, he wanted rhubarb. since he will likely eat most of it, i decided to indulge him and make a rhubarb pie but rather than pair it with strawberries (as well as raspberries which i did for #18), i chose to go with blueberries and blackberries since they are both coming into season in the garden.

since not everyone has a freshly picked supply of blueberries and blackberries, buy them fresh or frozen. you will need a total of 3 cups of berries which is a pound. using frozen berries will make it possible to serve this pie even when the berries are not in season.

i am hoping to get some rhubarb crowns into the garden so i can harvest my own stalks. believe it or not, my local supermarket has bags of sliced rhubarb available with the frozen fruits which means we can have a rhubarb pie anytime! using purchased pie dough will save some time but for those of you not willing to compromise, make enough dough for a double crust pie using your favorite recipe or this one from pie #18

black and blue rhubarb pie

1 (9") lattice topped pie serving 8-10

dough for a double crust, 9" pie
1 to 1 1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
zest of 1 orange or 3 mandarins (i chose mandarins!)
1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice (or cinnamon if you do not have any)

1 pound berries, about 3 full cups of blackberries and blueberries

1 pound of rhubarb slices, about 3 full cups

preheat the oven to 350. grease a sturdy baking sheet, line it with parchment or foil and grease that as well. line the greased pie plate with the bottom crust. a whole lot of greasing going on? this makes a sticky pie if the juices spill over during the baking and it will not be easy to remove from the baking sheet without the grease! trim the excess dough so that only about 3/4" of dough hangs over the edge. roll the excess dough under and flute the edges. place the prepared pie crust on the baking sheet.

in a large bowl, rub the sugar, cornstarch, zest and spice together. add the fruit and toss together. scrape the filling into the pie crust and top it all off with lattice strips. sprinkle some coarse sugar crystals over the strips and bake until it boils in the center, about 1 hour 15 minutes. let it cool completely, about 4-6 hours, before cutting or you will have a never ending pie; no matter how many slices you cut, the filling runs out and fills the plate again!

so go forth in the world and bake a pie. send me a photo and i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com

peanut butter-banana cream pie; #27 of 52 pies

2011-06-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

has anybody noticed just how hot it is around here? 10+ days above 90, well above 90 on many of those days. the thought of turning on the oven to bake a pie seemed ridiculous. when the husband suggested i make a banana cream pie for this week's challenge, i balked at first; i've done banana already, remember the banana creme brulee tart? i asked him. well, as the day heated up and i began to wilt, i experienced a flash of brilliance. okay, i was hungry and since peanut butter wasn't on the list of choices, i wanted it even more. peanut butter and bananas in a sandwich on wheat bread...i had a salad instead and put the objects of my desire into a pie, substituting a chocolate cookie crumb crust for the bread, and then i topped it with whipped cream and called it dessert.

peanut butter-banana cream pie

1 (9") pie serving 8-10

4 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups whole milk

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (homogenized is best)

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 (9") chocolate cookie crumb crust-purchased or using the recipe that follows.

3-4 ripe bananas

place the cornstarch in a heat proof bowl, and add several tablespoons of milk and whisk to combine a smooth slurry. whisk in the eggs and set aside. place the remaining milk in a saucepot with the brown sugar and over medium-low heat, bring to a gentle boil. carefully pour some of the boiling milk into the egg yolk mixture while whisking it carefully. when about 1/2 of the milk is in, place the pot of milk back on the stove and return to a gentle boil again. now begin whisking the milk in the pot and while whisking constantly, pour the in heated egg yolk mixture in a steady stream. it is important to whisk this constantly while you bring the mixture to a boil. it also must come to a complete boil to cook the cornstarch and thicken the cream. when finished, pour the cream into a wide and shallow heat proof bowl, press plastic wrap to the surface and refrigerate until no longer warm.

make the cookie crust while the cream cools. when the cream is ready, slice up about 1 1/2 bananas and cover the bottom of the pie shell completely with them. carefully spread half of the cream over the bananas. using the remaining bananas, cover the cream with slices and once again, top it off with the remaining cream. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to fully set the filling and make it firm enough to serve.

to make the topping, whip the heavy cream with the sugar until almost stiff peaks are formed. spread evenly over the top of the pie and smooth it out with a decorating spatula (called a palatte knife).

chocolate cookie crust

11/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs

1/4 cups chopped peanuts

6 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter-unsalted

combine the ingredients and press into a pie dish. no baking is necessary but if you want a really crispy crust, bake it at 350 for 10 minutes. allow it to cool completely before using.

so, you think you can bake do you? prove it! make one and send me a photo. i dare you to, double dog dare you to...do it and i will post the photo here!!! bakinbabe116@aol.com

blueberry cheesecake pie, #26 of 52!

2011-06-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

26 of 52 pies completed, 26 more to go. that puts me at the halfway point. from here, the number of pies left to bake will be smaller than the number of pies already baked. so, the question is, will i make it to the goal? i'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

this last "catch-up" pie was baked while my mother was still visiting-she came for the graduation and spent nearly 2 weeks with us. it was fun, i never realize how much i miss hanging out with my mom until she arrives for a visit. we spend lots of time wandering through antique shops and thrift stores and chattering about everything. when it was time to bake this last pie, we chose blueberries as a theme and took mom (and our daughter and her boyfriend) to the demo garden(where we work as master gardeners) to pick some fresh blueberries. we only ended up with about 2 cups of rather tart berries so making a pie with them was out of the question. but i remembered my mothers love of cheesecake and decided to improvise.

a thinner more liquid cheesecake custard is garnished with a swirl of blueberry coulis before baking. be sure to use a small spoon and pour in the coulis slowly (to prevent it from sinking) into the pie in random lines. use a bamboo skewer to swirl the coulis around the top of the pie. one hint, skip the fancy name brand cream cheese (you know the one named after the city of brotherly love) because it makes a custard that is runny like water!

after baking in a slow(300 degrees) oven, the pie is thoroughly chilled before serving. use a knife that has been dipped in hot water to get clean cuts and be sure to wipe it off between slices. the blueberry coulis can easily be doubled and the remaining coulis can be used as a sauce for the plate.

blueberry cheesecake pie

1 (9") pie that serves 8-10

coulis

don't forget, if you want extra sauce, double the coulis recipe but use only half of it to marbleize the top of the pie.

3/4 cup blueberries

1/3 cup sugar

crush the blueberries breaking all of them. place them into a small saucepot with the sugar and over low heat, bring the mixture to a boil. continue to boil for 5-10 minutes. strain the sauce into a heat proof bowl and chill until no longer warm but do not let it get too cold-it will become gelatinous and hard to work with.

crust

purchase or make a cookie crumb crust in a 9" pie pan using the recipe in pie #16. place the pie pan on a sturdy baking sheet that will not warp in the oven.

cheesecake custard

12 ounces cream cheese-not the fat free stuff!

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 of a vanilla bean

zest of 1 lemon

3 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

preheat the oven to 300. this is mixed quickest in a food processor-fast and smooth. place the cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla bean and lemon zest in the bowl of the processor and pulse to combine. With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the bowl thoroughly. add the sour cream and pulse to mix, scrape the bowl and pulse a few times more. pour the filling into the pie dish and bake until it is almost firm in the middle, about 40 minutes. turn the oven off, prop the door open slightly and leave the pie in there for another 15 minutes. remove the pie from the oven and chill completely before serving, about 4 hours.

and once again, if you bake one, send me a photo and i will post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

almost caught up! #25 of 52, apple-pear pie

2011-06-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

getting caught up...what a concept! not so sure it will happen but i am giving it my best efforts! for this pie, i decided to go a little outside the lines. when you think of apple pie, tart green apples, cinnamon and other spices always come to mind. they work well with pears too. but this time, i decided to leave out the cinnamon and nutmeg and focus on some other flavors that work well with apples and pears. first, i passed up the green granny smiths and used golden delicious apples. how does vanilla bean, lemon zest and freshly grated ginger sound? and one last twist-tapioca for the thickener rather than starch or flour. this extra large and super deep pie was well received despite the lack of cinnamon. use your favorite pie crust recipe or purchase the prerolled sheets to make it easier. pyrex makes really deep and large pie plates, look for them in the supermarket with the kitchen gadgets or any other store that stocks pyrex dishes and kitchen ware.

deep dish apple and pear pie

easily serves 8-10

pie dough for a double crust pie-purchsed or using the recipe from pie #18

enough golden delicious apples to make 5 cups of slices

enough ripe anjou pears to make 5 cups of slices

1 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger-packed tightly

zest of 1-2 lemons

the seeds from one vanilla bean (reserve the pod for another use)

4 teaspoons (and up to 2 tablespoons) quick cooking tapioca

egg wash-1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water

preheat oven to 350. rub the sugar together with the ginger, lemon zest and vanilla seeds. mix in the tapioca and toss the mixture with the apples and pears. lightly grease the pie dish, line it with one sheet of the pie dough and fill it with the fruit mixture. brush a little egg wash around the edges, top with the second sheet of dough and seal the edges. trim the excess, roll the excess under and flute the edges. cut a few vents and if desired, brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with additional sugar. place the pie on a greased sheet pan and bake until it bubbles in the center, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

on to the next one...and as always, bake one and send me a photo-i will post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com.

better late than never: pie #24-snickers bar pie

2011-05-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

while it might seem that i have given up on this challenge-believe me, i haven't. our younger daughter graduated from high school and with that occasion came all kinds of fan fare and family. for the last two weeks, i have managed to make all of my pies but have not had the time to sit down and share them.

when younger, much younger, my husband and i thought it would be exciting to move around the country. we worked in restaurants which made finding jobs easy. it also meant leaving behind friends and family. we had reached a crossroad of sorts 16 years ago when my uncle was killed by a reckless driver. we made the decision to move closer to my family on the east coast. despite our good intentions, we didn't quite make it and now find ourselves still missing out on the chance to see them. time flies, we often go a year or more between visits and in that time, our girls have grown up. to have the chance to spend some time with my mom was great and the chance to share some pies with her was fun too.

so first up is the snickers pie. anything that has chocolate, caramel and candied peanuts works for me and most of the family too. in an effort to save time, i used a recipe i found online and made subtle changes to adapt it to pie size rather than a small square baking pan.

a few notes to start with: the crust was really greasy when i prebaked it. actually, there was a lot of fat in the recipe in relation to the amount of flour and i cannot help but think that there is a typo in it. if you choose to follow the recipe, consider using a different crust. while i could have just used the dulce de leche called for in the original recipe, i chose to caramelize sweetened condensed milk since i had a small collection of cans in the closet.

snickers pie

adapted from dorie greenspan by way of the naptime chef

1 (10") pie serving 10-12

caramel filling

2 (14oz) cans of sweetened condensed milk

preheat the oven to 350. place the milk into a covered casserole dish and place the dish into a larger pan. pour in enough hot water to reach the same level as the milk. place the pans in the oven and bake until a deep golden brown (darker than the photo above-i wasnt happy with the consistency). it will take as long as 2 hours and you will need to stir it and whisk it every 20 minutes to gain an even tone. while this bakes, make and bake the crust, recipe follows. pour the caramel into the prepared crust, press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface andchill it completely-at least several hours or overnight.

crust

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes

1 egg yolk

preheat the oven to 350. place the flour, sugars and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. add the cubed butter and pulse a few times to cut in the butter but only until the mixture resembles coarse meal. add the yolk and pulse to combine and forms a ball of dough. press this dough into the bottom of a 10" pie dish which has been lightly greased. prick the crust all over with a fork and prebake it until it just starts to color, about 20 minutes. allow it to cool completely before assembling.

topping

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

2 cups salted peanuts

10 ounces semisweet chocolate

2/3 cup half and half

combine the sugar and water in a saute pan and cook over medium heat until it boils and the sugar melts. continue to cook until it starts to color but be sure that you do not stir it. add the peanuts and stir to coat them with the sugar. turn them out of the pan onto a greased baking sheet and allow them to cool completely.

in a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and half and half on the lowest setting until it is melted and smooth. using 15-20 second intervals on low power, be sure to remove the bowl and whisk in between heating cycles to prevent scorching.

assembly

chop the peanuts coarsely and sprinkle 3/4 of them evenly over the top of the caramel while reserving the remainder for garnish. drizzle the chocolate glaze over the peanuts and smooth it out evenly. allow it to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. decorate the pie with the remaining peanuts.

so there you have it, one down and two more to go before i make this weeks pie!!! make one and send me a photo, you will see it here!!! bakinbabe116@aol.com

lagging behind...#23 of 52, pizzas!

2011-05-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

don't even say it! it absolutely is too a pie!!! where i come from (just outside of new york city), they are referred to as pies; large pie, small pie, what ever size or toppings are added, it is a pie. okay, i will admit it is a little bit of a stretch, but then again, is it? it starts out with a crust and in the fashion of a free form, out of the pan pie, it gets a topping of what ever you choose. after baking, it is cut into wedges, just like a pie...

for the teenager, just tomato sauce and cheese

for the husband, exotic wild picked mushrooms, onions and cheese with a little bit of white sauce and a drizzle of truffle oil.

for myself, a trip out to the garden for some spinach, onions and a few mushrooms (the regular button kind) with a little white sauce and cheese. okay, so it has been very hectic-it's graduation week, the family is coming. i had an opportunity to help a friend with her cookbook and now i am trying to get caught up. besides we were hungry...

no knead dough crust-this is another of jim lahey's recipes adapted from the recipe posted on the tasting table. makes 4 (8-10) pizzas each serving one person.

3 cups all purpose or bread flour ( i used 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and the remainder was bread flour

1/4 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

desired sauces, cheeses and toppings: takes about 1/4 cup sauce per pizza, 1/2-1 cup cheese and up to 1 cup of toppings.

combine all ingredients in a bowl and allow it to sit for 12-24 hours. mine sat for about 18 hours. at this time, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured board and fold the ends in to the middle a few time. make a smooth ball of dough and cut it into 4 even pieces. flour them and let them rest under a towel for 2 hours. heat the oven with a pizza stone in it (for the best results) to 500, this will take about 20 minutes. carefully shape one ball of dough into a 8-10 inch circle. place the crust on a floured peel and add the desired toppings. quickly slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake until golden and bubbly-about 10-15 minutes. shape each dough ball individually and just before it is to be placed in the oven. it is hard to move the pizza if it has a chance to relax and stick to the peel.

with any luck, i will get the pie for last week as well as this week up soon! and as always, bake with me! send me a photo and i will post it here. bakinbabe116@aol.com

bread baking day #39, roundup

2011-05-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

the moment you have all been waiting for! the salt rising bread round up. well, it's a short one. it seems that many of the usual bread baking day participants were reluctant to try this bread. i don't blame them-it can be rather stinky and difficult. not everyone in the roundup had a bread to show for it. no matter, i enjoyed trying something new-hosting a challenge and baking something i had never baked before.

for all of you who stop by, visit zorra, the founder of bread baking day and see what the challenge for june is. here is a hint, it is the 4th anniversary for bread baking day in june and zorra is hosting the challenge! happy baking!!!

real italian garlic bread

swathi of zesty south indian kitchen located in texas, usa

3 different loaves; plain, cheese and dandelion

miss nirvana of creating nirvana in the midwest, usa was especially busy with this recipe!

salt rising bread recipe #2

baked by astrid of paulchens food blog in austria, vienna

bernard clayton's salt rising bread

baked by judy of judy's gross eats in ventura, california, usa

strong smelling doorstopper

is how zorra described her loaf!!!

as you know, zorra is the founder of this blog, she does her baking in andalucia, spain and you can read all about her bread and even watch a video about salt rising bread on her website, 1x umruehren bitte.

salt rising bread, recipe from a master's thesis by delene clark holbrook

baked by cathy of bread experience in atlanta, georgia, usa

this blog post is worth reading-lots of info on the history of salt rising bread!

besides the two loave i baked for the announcement, i also baked this loaf.
buckwheat salt rising bread

one other baker deserves a mention. connie, from thailand, emailed me to tell me that she just could not get a loaf from any of the starters she made. perhaps it was the ingredients-she may not have been able to find the right cornmeal. either way, she made an effort and i appreciate that, too bad it didn't work!

many thanks to all the brave bakers who accepted my challenge and thanks to zorra for giving me the opportunity to host this event! see you next month when we all bake again!

country style pot pie, #22 of 52 pies

2011-05-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

it was a cold and dreary day...and just whose idea was that? it has been so nice and warm and sunny and then suddenly, i'm freezin in here! when the weather is like that, i have a taste for hot soup. soup isn't very pie like though so i decided to go with a pot pie-it's hot and creamy and perfect for cold and dreary days.

right now, we have lots going on in the garden. in between showers, i grabbed my basket and a pair of scissors and went out to gather what i would need. leeks, broccoli, peas and herbs (parsley, sage, oregano and thyme). in the house i had some mushrooms and garlic as well as some asparagus that my husband had already picked from the garden. if it seems like something is missing, it is. when i pulled out the leftover turkey from the fridge, i was nearly over come by the smell. it had been living in there for a week but i thought it might still be good. however, it is destined to make the trip to the digester where the worms will enjoy it.

as always, when i am out in the garden, the captain tags along. somebody has to make sure i am behaving. as you can see here, he got sucked into the catnip. looks like he needs the chaperon now...

i prepared the vegetables first. some were sauteed-leeks, garlic and mushrooms. others were blanched-carrots, broccoli and asparagus stems. others were added raw so they would not overcook-broccoli florets, asparagus tips and freshly shucked peas.

using vegetable broth and some half and half, i made a nice creamy sauce and finished it off with the herbs. then it was poured over the vegetables and topped with biscuits.

into the oven it went and in 30 minutes, dinner was served!

country style pot pie

one (9") crustless pie which serves about 4 as a main course

filling
the great thing about this recipe, you can customize it however you like! don't like broccoli-use something else. just want mushrooms-go for it! want it meaty, add cubes of cooked meat and use a beef broth. you call the shots-me, i'm going for turkey next time.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced leeks, green part only
1 tablespoon garlic
2 cups mushroom-buttons, halved or quartered
3 cups assorted vegetables-for things that will overcook easily (broccoli flowers, asparagus tip), plan to add those raw. for the hard ones (carrots, potatoes) cook them first
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups broth
1/2 cup half and half
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs
salt and pepper, to taste
1 batch of biscuits, recipe follows

preheat the oven to 375. sautee the leeks in the olive oil until soft, add the garlic and continue to saute. add the mushrooms and cover the pan to cause them to sweat. when mushrooms are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and prepare the remaining vegetables. combine them in and even layer on the bottom of the pie dish. in a sauce pot, melt the butter. add the flour and cook the roux over medium heat for several minutes, stirring constantly. whisk in the broth and then the half and half and continue to simmer gently for a few minutes. off the heat, season with salt and pepper and then stir in the herbs. pour over the vegetables and top with the biscuits. bake until bubbly and the biscuits are an even golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

buttermilk biscuits
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. sprinkle the butter cubes over the top and pulse to cut in the butter-the mixture should look very coarse with little bits of butter visible. add the buttermilk and process long enough to combine. turn out onto a floured surface and with floured hands, pat it into a 1/2" slab. using a 2" cutter, make small biscuits, reworking the scraps to yield 16-18 biscuits. arrange the biscuits on top of the pie and follow the baking instructions.

one more round up!

my berry rhubarb pie was an inspiration to melanie. she used the pie crust recipe i posted with that pie to make her raspberry-cherry pie. and can you believe that is her first attempt at a lattice top? beautiful pie melanie, thanks for sending me the photo!

and as always, bake one, send a photo and i will post it here. go ahead, i dare ya... double dare ya... bakinbabe116@aol.com

ready, set, deliver!!!

2011-05-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

finally, the cake was finished and ready to be delivered. it was like someone lifted a weight from my shoulders-then came the delivery and when you are traveling with cake, anything can happen...how about a marathon? we forgot about that and the street closures made getting to the location of the reception a challenge. then there was the ac in the van-it decided not to work on this day of all days. well, despite the few hitches, the cakes travelled well and all was good.

a close-up of the texture i applied to the buttercream. it gives it a bit of a rustic look which works well with buttercream. it can also help to hide any flaws in the cake but i wasn't worried about that this time.

the assembled cake in the fridge-generally, i do not assemble in advance but decided to give it a try this time. with the cake in the fridge chilling for about 4 hours before we left, i was confident that it would be okay. that was before i learned about the ac in the van and the street closures!

a close-up of the textures

the flowers-blue hydrangeas and calla lilies. the hydrangeas must have been some variety from europe-they had fleshy stems rather than the woody ones we have here. they were also air brushed to be blue.

after extensively touring the downtown area trying to get to the building (*&%# marathon...) we finally arrived. the cake was set on a piano and this is the process i went through to add the flowers. first it was some greenery-ferns.

next it was hydrangeas and some leaves

finally, calla lilies

the cake!

the groom's cake-done by my friend garrett. it was very well received! the groom mentioned that his friends kept moving the tiny golf ball that was on the putting green to the sand traps-apparently, his game includes time in the sand traps.

the happy couple-congratulations to jeanne and john!

pretty crumby

2011-04-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

sorry for the delay-i tend to do this type of work at night and i ran out of steam last night! the next step in assembling the cake is the crumb coating-and it is a crumby job...right, i can hear the crickets too...for this job, i pulled out my magic bag of tricks-a big yellow toolbox that has just about everything you can think of in it to construct or destruct a cake (all depends on how you look at it)

the lid has little compartments for all the tips and couplers that i generally need

the big yellow box

inside, i have everything else that i need

the oddest thing in there-a level. i get puzzled looks when somebody finds it in there. they ask me what i am planning to build-a cake needs a level space or it may fall over!

the next step is to make the frosting. in this case, it was classic meringue butterceam flavored with vanilla. the sugar is cooked to 238 on a candy thermometer (soft ball stage) and then poured into egg whites to make the meringue

one thing to remember, always have everything ready to go. once the sugar is at temperature, it cannot wait. have your mixer ready with the egg whites in the bowl. next thing to remember-pour that sugar very carefully! pour it in a thin stream at the side of the bowl as the it whips the egg whites. if you hit the whip with that sugar it will splatter and sugar at 238 can give you a nasty burn!

the meringue whips up beautifully and it will cool down to slightly warmer than body temperature. at that point, you can add the butter(which is very soft but not at all melted) in chunks and allow it to mix up. it will be very light and fluffy. add your flavor and mix to combine. now, it is ready to go.

at this point in the game, your cake layers must be cold. never try to do this with room temperature cakes-they crumble. for this reason, i always make my cakes a day ahead and keep them in the fridge. if they need trimming or if i am cutting custom sizes, i can be sure that i will get sharp edges and still be able to handle the layers without breaking them. trim the cakes if necessary and begin assembly.

it's called a crumb coat for a reason, it is a sloppy finish meant to seal in the crumbs and establish the shape of the cake. it is not supposed to look good at this point. and don't try to go cheap and only frost it once unless you are coating it with fondant. take the time to chill the cake with the crumb coating for several hours and then do your finishing layer. you will have nice sharp lines and a smooth coat to work with in the end. better yet-no crumbs peaking out at you.

so, since today is the big day, i have a cake to deliver!!! tune in tomorrow for the final coat and the addition of the fresh flowers.

have your cake and ...

2011-04-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

i frequently talk of how time has flown and i am not ready to grow older. it is also hard to believe how much time has passed-it has been nearly 7 years since we closed our bakery and moved on to other employment.

when we had our bakery, we had several teenagers who worked for us as they went through high school and college. in the last 7 years, they have all graduated from college and are hard at work on their chosen careers. but way back when, as they watched me make wedding cakes, i heard them mention how i would be the only one who they would ask to make their wedding cake. as a mom, i have learned not to listen to idle chatter of teenage girls-you simply cannot keep up with the conversation as it morphs along.

one of the girls came to us as a prep/sandwich cook and moved on to be a baker. after we closed the shop, she moved on to las vegas and attended culinary school and is now working hard on building a career as a pastry chef. she also kept her promise-she asked me to make her wedding cake. it is an honor to be asked-i mean, if it were me, i'd want somebody who can actually bake something tasty to make the cake...just kidding! it will be plenty tasty. for this task, i pulled out my binder of recipes from when i wrote my first book, sky high. in that book is a chapter which includes wedding cakes and i chose the lavender rose cake for this occasion. there will be a few minor changes-it will not be filled with the jam and the layers are square rather than round.

organized chaos on the counter. my work space is limited and it is one of the reasons that i do not sell wedding cakes from the house. there is also the herd to contend with-if there isn't the risk of cat hair in the vicinity of the cake, then i am trying to keep the buggers from eating the cake-yes cats like cake too.

i did not have all of the pans needed so i decided to use sheet cake pans and cut the layers to size. since this is a recipe from sky high, that means triple layer cakes and three of each size cake were needed.

my kitchen aid mixer; it's a trooper and i have had it for more than 20 years. okay, so first gear is gone but it still gets the job done. and like any other baker, it can be a little messy. i wrap it in plastic so the flour doesn't fly too far.

the first of three batches of batter. it worked out well and went a bit faster than i expected. all in all, in three hours i had baked 3(12"x18") cakes and 3(8") square cakes and had even managed to get the place cleaned up.

the cakes cooling on my table. i was lucky-the cats didn't seem to notice the cakes this time! tune in tomorrow to see the process of decorating the cake.

is it custard or cream? coconut cream pie-#21 of 52 pies

2011-04-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

i am not sure what has happened but suddenly, it seems that i am constantly playing catch up. no matter what is going on, i just feel like i am falling far behind...take this post for instance. the pie was done on time, the photos too but when i looked at the calendar, it was suddenly tuesday!!! as i have said before, it's that time of year when we have lots to take care of and we are spending as much time as possible tending to the garden.

for those of you who are familiar with my job, you know that i make coconut custard pies-tons of them each week. they are pretty tasty too. often i find myself trying to explain the difference between coconut custard and coconut cream. so here goes...a custard is usually a dairy product that is thickened with eggs; it can be sweet or savory and it can also have other thickeners like flour or cornstarch in it. while almost all cream fillings are based on a custard, not all custards are creams. sounds like i'm mincing words doesn't it? mainly, it is a lot of opinion but simply put, the main differences between a cream and custard fillings are when and how they are cooked. in the case of coconut cream and coconut custard pies, the latter is cooked on a stovetop and cooled in a prepared crust while the former is baked in the crust. since i make the custard version on a nearly daily basis, i decided to go with the cream version this time.

coconut cream pie

1 (9") deep dish pie that serves 8-10

1 (9") chocolate cookie crust-homemade or store bought

1 1/4 cup shredded coconut-do not use the fine cut macaroon coconut

1/3 cup cornstarch

2 cups whole milk

1 (14oz) can coconut milk-do not use the reduced fat variety

2/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1" piece vanilla bean

whipped cream, recipe follows

preheat the oven to 350. toast the coconut until it is a nice and even golden brown color. reserve 1/4 cup for the garnish. place the cornstarch in a heat proof bowl, add 1/2 cup milk and whisk until smooth. place the remaining milk, coconut milk, sugar and vanilla bean in a heavy bottom sauce pot and heat over medium heat. whisk the eggs into the cornstarch mixture. when the milk comes to a gentle boil, remove it from the heat and whisk it into the eggs. pour this mixture back into the pot and place it over medium low heat. while whisking constantly, bring it to a gentle boil again for one minute to fully cook the starch and the custard. off the heat, remove the vanilla bean, stir in the coconut and pour it into the pie crust. press plastic wrap to the surface and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. make the whipped cream and spread it over the top of the pie and decorate with the remaining coconut.

whipped cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons sugar

in a chilled bowl, combine the ingredients and whip until moderately stiff peaks form. take care not to whip it too stiff or it will be difficult to smooth it out or even worse, you will have butter...

the latest pie round up

this weeks entry comes to us from benni. you may recall that she has baked one of my pies before and sent photos. this time, she chose to make the peanut butter and chocolate swirl pie. the family loved it and if you look at the photos, you can see that she barely had time to take a photo at all...

going

gone!

thanks for baking with me benni! for all of you who dare, and i do dare you, double dog dare you to go ahead and bake my day-i mean pie. send me photos and i promise i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com

salt rising bread with buckwheat flour-bbd#39

2011-04-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

as the host of this month's bread baking day event, i was given the chance to choose the theme. i have a coworker who talks about the salt rising bread his grandmother made. they called it stinky bread because of the cheesy scent that it has. i have always wanted to try it but have been reluctant because many of the recipes tell you how hard it is to get the starter going. james beard, in his book beard on bread, almost tells the reader not to bother with it due to the fickle nature of the starter. honestly, i have made three batches of this bread and all three have worked perfectly.

a recent trip to the whole foods across town gave me an opportunity to pick up some different flours. i chose buckwheat flour and organic blue cornmeal. rather than use the standard cornmeal for the starter, i went with blue cornmeal and the recipe for salt rising bread #2. it took approximately 24 hours for the starter to become active.

to make the sponge, i followed the recipe but made a substitution. i measured 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal, placed it into a measuring cup and then filled the cup with buckwheat flour. this mixture was added to the sponge in place of one cup of flour. i then proceeded with the recipe as it is written-use the link above for the recipe. the photo shows the sponge as it looked after sitting overnight.

the dough after kneading and waiting to be shaped

waiting to be baked

fresh from the oven

warm bread, mmmmmm.....

follow the link and join us, there is still time-deadline is may 1.

that's just nuts! chewy nut tart-#20 of 52

2011-04-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

bake one original pie each week for 52 weeks. sounds easy. actually, it's more work than you might think. even for me, a person who bakes pies, lots of pies, almost every day of the week. after the pop tarts, it was tough to come up with an idea. i wanted something fruity and fitting for spring. but to be honest, around here, there isn't much fresh fruit to choose from in spring. it is either shipped in from far away and very expensive or it's frozen and we won't even mention the stuff in the cans...so there i was, wandering the aisles of my local supermarket searching for inspiration at an affordable price. and then i spied the little packets of nuts-recipe helpers or something like that. each packet has about a half cup of nuts in it. i thought about it for a moment, i had some hazelnuts at home and if i added pecans, walnuts and almonds, i could make a mixed nut tart.

i tossed them together and toasted them in the oven

a cooked syrup of honey, brown sugar and butter makes a gooey tart. the comb in front of the jar is from our hive-i can't wait to get some of the honey from our bees. until then, it's honey from the store.

after cooking the syrup, it gets tossed with the nuts and poured into a prebaked tart shell. then after a bit in the oven, it gets bubbly and later it gets chewy and gooey!

the finished tart, make sure it is completely cooled or it will not cut nicely!

chewy nut tart

1 (9") tart that serves about 8

1 prebaked (9") tart shell-use a rich, short dough rather than a flaky pastry crust

2 cups nuts-any combination of nuts you like, i used equal parts of walnuts, almonds pecans and hazelnuts

4 ounces unsalted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar-light or dark

1/3 cup honey-any light variety

2 tablespoons heavy cream (or coconut milk if you have some open)

1 teaspoon vanilla

preheat the oven to 350. completely bake the tart shell making sure that it is just beginning to turn a light golden brown. if the dough is sweetened, take care not to allow it to color too much or it will gain a burned flavor during the second bake. do not remove the crust from the pan at this point or it could collapse. mix the nuts and place them on an oven proof pan. toast the nuts until fragrant, about 5-7 minutes. allow them to cool while you make the syrup. in a sauce pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the brown sugar and the honey. stir it occasionally to prevent hot spots and scorching. bring the mixture to a gentle boil and allow it to boil for 5 minutes. stir in the cream and the vanilla and bring it back to the boil for a minute. remove from the heat and combine with the nuts. scrape the filling into the tart shell and bake it until it is bubbly, about 10-15 minutes. cool completely, remove the tart from the pan and cut into wedges with a sharp knife.

and as always, bake one and send me a photo-i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com come on, i dare ya! double dare ya!!!

pie #19-homemade blueberry toastries

2011-04-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

a day late and a dollar short-the summary of my life lately. no matter how hard i try, i am perpetually scrambling to meet a deadline and not always successfully. it is spring and that means i have work to do in the garden; at home we have a vegetable garden, an herb garden and many other separate beds of flowers, plants, shrubs and trees. then there is the demo garden where i do my volunteer hours for the master gardeners-too much to type, just look at it here. did i mention the bees? we have one colony and they need our attention on occasion. then there is the house, the girls-they both graduate this year, the herd (too many cats and a dog) and did i mention my full time job? at a busy restaurant? which makes coming home and baking seem like too much some days? oh and there was that big birthday for my husband last week-he's 39 again...

is it any wonder that i decided to make pop tarts for last week's pie? comfort food, a return to carefree childhood days and nothing more important than the lunch menu in the middle school cafeteria or maybe this week's spelling test on my mind. i tell both of my girls regularly that they will long for the days of high school-no worries more importantly, no bills, just school. they don't believe me now, but we all know that someday, they will and i doubt they will ever tell me so.

i experimented with two different doughs and settled on the second one. it is more like a tart dough and has sugar, egg and buttermilk in it. in the end, it was easy to work with-even the scraps. it held the jam without bursting and after almost a week, the toastrie dough was still tasty with a nice texture. they never had the cardboard snap of the commercially produced tarts and remained a little on the softer side but even so, everyone who ate one, reached for a second.

one thing to keep in mind, you can use any flavor filling you like. i happen to like blueberry and made a quick batch of jam with just a one pound bag of frozen blueberries from the grocery store. you could use raspberry, blackberry, rhubarb or pineapple-all of those are available frozen which makes them a little more affordable than fresh fruit. if you have a surplus of apples or pears-try those. and while i did not experiment with things like nutella or lemon curd, i am pretty sure that either one would be pretty tasty.

i didn't need any special equipment either. armed with a set of square cutters that range in size from 1 3/8" to 2 5/8", i chose the largest cutter but you could do this just as easily with a ruler and a pizza cutter. to make the fluted edges and to prick the tarts (to allow the steam to escape during baking) i reached into the silverware drawer and used a regular fork.

lined up on a tray, they baked up quickly. this was a quick treat to make and one of those things i hope to add to my list of things to make at home myself from now on. just as soon as we move to a 36 hour day and my new clone arrives. i really need to simplify my life-eliminate and reorganize the excess-now, to find the time to do that...

homemade blueberry toastries

yields 16 small treats-each one is about 2 1/2" square

toastrie dough

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 egg

2-3 tablespoons buttermilk

egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon water)

jam filling-recipe follows

in a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients to combine them. cut in the butter until it is in small pieces and is beginning to resemble a coarse meal. add the egg and 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk and mix gently to combine and only until it comes together. add the additional tablespoon of buttermilk only if the dough seems a bit dry or crumbly. you want a soft and pliable dough but not a wet and sticky one. wrap the dough in plastic and chill it for 30 minutes to make it easier to work with.

preheat the oven to 350. on a large, floured surface, roll the dough 1/8" thick. i did this in two batches to keep the dough from getting too soft as i worked. cut the squares and place half of them on a lined baking pan-paper or silpat will make it easier to work with if any of the jam leaks out. brush the edges with a light coating of egg wash and place a dollop (about 2 teaspoons) of jam in the center of the square. add the top square and gently press the edges with your fingertips to seal. using a regular fork, press the edges to make a decorative seal and prick the center of the toastrie several times to make steam vents. do not egg wash the tops or you will seal the vents and the toastries may burst.

homemade blueberry jam filling

makes about 1 2/3 cup

1 pound blueberries-i used frozen

1 cup sugar

zest of one lemon

piece of vanilla bean pod (i always save the scraped out pods to use for things like this)

1-2 tablespoons all purpose flour

thaw the berries and place them and the juices into a blender. with the lid securely fastened (does this sound like experience talking???) blend them lightly just to chop them coarsely-do not puree them! place the berries into a pot with the remaining ingredients and bring them to a slow boil. allow this mixture to boil gently for about 15 minutes. remove the vanilla pod and pour into a heat proof bowl. chill completely before using-several hours or overnight.

when you are ready to make the toastries, measure out 1 cup of jam and reserve the rest for another use (homemade scones, anyone?). if the jam seems thin and a little runny, stir in the 2 tablespoons of flour. otherwise, if you were able to release lots of pectin and your jam is thick and gelled while it is cold from the fridge, just stir in 1 tablespoon. mine was a little on the thin side so i used the full amount.

and look for me to have this weeks pie up soon-i am working on that today along with another loaf of salt rising bread. and as always, bake it and send me a photo-i will post it here! bakinbabe116@aol.com. happy baking!!!

hostess with the mostest-bread baking day #39, salt rising bread

2011-04-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

it's that time again. what time is that you ask-why it is bread baking time and luckily for you, i am hosting this month's bread baking day celebration. for those of you not familiar with bread baking day, it is a monthly event for bread bakers of all skill levels which was created by none other than zorra of kochtopf. each month, the chosen host picks a theme and the participants bake a bread to match the theme and then blog about it. at the end of the month the host posts a round up featuring photos of what each participant has baked. since the theme changes each month, there is always something new to look at and learn about. still not sure, then hurry over to cindystar's blog to check out the round up for march.

baking bread is something i truly enjoy. there is something magical about turning a wet, sticky mess into a smooth and elastic dough and finally watching as it rises in the oven. better still is the chance to do this without adding a bunch of yeast by growing your own natural leavener. but honestly, sourdough has been done-over done to some extent and that is why i have chosen to go to the next level. the theme for april 2011 is salt-rising dough. a mixture that can include potatoes, stone ground cornmeal and milk is allowed to ferment and the resulting bacterial growth leavens the bread. so before you think this is sourdough, it is different in that it uses yeast as well as bacteria for the leavener and it does not ferment long enough to actually be sour tasting. it is also notoriously fickle and difficult to make. everything i read about it stated that i may or may not get bread. that sounded like a challange, almost a dare so i had to jump in and give it a shot.

for those of you that have not heard of this bread, i am posting two recipes at the end of this post that you can use. however, feel free to use any salt rising bread recipe that you like and to include it in the post with as many helpful hints as possible. anyone brave enough to bake along needs to know a few rules for participating:

please keep in mind that i speak and read in english-when you contact me, do so in english please. also, please have your blog post in english or at least partially in english and if you can add a translator button to the nonenglish parts of your blog-wonderful.
post your entry on your blog and link back to this page.
email me with the following information: name of your blog, the permalink for the post, your name, country and city and a 300x300pixel photo of your bread.
the deadline is may 1, 2011.
email me at bakinbabe116@aol.com and be sure to put bbd#39 in the subject line.

good luck bakers, may the power of bread be with you!

salt-rising bread #1
one note about this process-it has an incredibly strong odor! when i say that, i mean it really smells bad from the moment that the starter begins to ferment to the moment that it finishes baking. you may think something has gone wrong but do not worry, it has a pleasant flavor with no hint of the stink! it truly lives up to the reputation of having a cheesey smell and taste.

adapted from the fannie farmer baking book by marion cunningham

3 (8x4x2) loaves

starter
2 medium potatoes-peeled and sliced thin (i forgot to peel mine!)
1 quart boiling water
1/4 cup stone ground cornmeal-needs to be whole grain cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
place the potatoes in a bowl and add the water. stir in the remaining ingredients and place this somewhere that the temperature will remain warm constantly-i used my oven with the light on. allow this to sit for 24 hours which will give it time to get foamy on top and develop the bacteria and the cheesy smell. remove the potatoes and discard them.

the potato starter fully fermented-warning:it smells strongly!

sponge
1 1/2 cups milk
the starter
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
heat the milk until it is a little warmer than body temperature. add the milk, baking soda and the flour to the starter and mix until smooth. cover and set it in the same warm spot until it doubles in bulk-about 2-3 hours it will be creamy and light when ready but do not let it go too long because it will begin to sour and that will change the flavor.

the sponge made from the potato starter

dough
4-6 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons shortening
the sponge
place 4 cups of the flour and the salt in a mixing bowl and rub in the shortening thoroughly. add the flour mixture to the sponge and mix it until combined. using the remaining flour, knead it into the dough as required to form a smooth and slightly heavy dough-about 10 minutes. divide into 3 pieces, shape them into loaves and place into greased loaf pans. allow to rise until about 1/3 larger and expect this to take as long as 3 hours-i did it overnight in the fridge and then let it sit on the counter until room temp. bake at 350 until golden brown, 45-55 minutes. turn out of the pans and cool on a rack

the bread baked from the potato starter has a dense crumb and while it loses the smell during the baking, it retains a cheesy aroma

salt rising bread #2
adapted from the american woman's cookbook-wartime edition, 1944
this is an old book but not a completely uncommon one-i have two different editions and have seen others in stores that sell old books.
2 loaves

starter
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons stone ground cornmeal-whole grain cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
heat the milk but it is not necessary to get it hot, stir in the remaining ingredients. pcover the bowl and place it somewhere warm-again i used m oven for this step. let it rise until it starts to get bubbly-the recipe states this will happen in 6-7 hours, i let mine go almost 24 hours to get it bubbly.

the milk starter at the beginning on top and fully developed on the bottom

sponge
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons shortening, oil or butter-melted and cooled if solid
2 cups all purpose flour
add the ingredients to the starter and mix until smooth. allow the sponge to rest, covered, in the warm spot until it gets bubbly-mine took about 4-6 hours.

dough
about 3 cups all purpose flour
stir in about 2 1/2 cups flour to make a soft dough. using some more of the flour, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until smooth and no longer sticky-about 5-10 minutes. shape into loaves and place into greased loaf pans. place the pans in the warm spot and let them rise until doubled

the bread baked from the milk starter has a slightly more open crumb and luckily, it never gained the smell that the potato starter had.

berry rhubarb pie-#18 of 52 pies

2011-04-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

for me, spring is one of the most wonderful times in the year. the visions of flowers and mushrooms dancing around in my head... planting the garden, pulling weeds, preparing the bee hive for the honey flow, cleaning out the freezer... where did that come from? well it does need to be done and this weekend, i cleaned mine out-kinda, sorta. in the process, i found some rhubarb and some raspberries that needed to be used up and when darry asked me to make a pie for our mushroom hiking friends, i decided to use them in the pie. along with some strawberries and lots of other good things like orange zest, vanilla bean, pumpkin pie spice, cardamom and rosewater, i made a lattice topped pie for our hiking/lunch date with friends.

first, place your bottom crust in the pan and trim it to leave an even 1" of dough all the way around. pour in the filling. lattice tops are an easy way to make a pie look fancy. to keep your sanity, work with part of the dough at a time and don't worry about weaving the strips. simply laying them out in two layers will be easier and elegant all at the same time.

once you have your second layer of strips on top, carefully roll the edges up to make a raised rim of dough all the way around the edge of the pie plate.

using your fingertips, flute the edges. finally, brush the strips (not the fluted border or it will darken too much in the oven) with a little egg wash and sprinkle it with some sanding sugar. into the oven she goes...

berry rhubarb pie

1 (9") pie serving 8

crust

2 2/3 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening-i used a non-hydrogenated shortening found in the health food section of my grocery store.

1/3 cup cold water

1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar-white or cider

berry-rhubarb filling, recipe follows

in a bowl, stir the flour and salt. cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until it is in small pieces. add the cold water and vinegar and mix until a smooth dough is achieved. divide into two pieces but not equal pieces-one should be slightly larger than half the dough. wrap them and chill them for about an hour. allow them to soften slightly before rolling them out. preheat the oven to 350. roll the smaller piece into a circle and fit it into the pie plate making sure that at least 1" of dough overhangs the edge of the plate. trim away any parts that are more than 1". to make it easier to handle, place the pie plate on a sturdy baking pan that is lined with paper or foil and grease it slightly to prevent the plate from sticking. make the filling and pour it into the crust. to make the lattice top, divide the remaining dough into 2 or 3 pieces. to prevent the dough from toughening, make an effort to roll it into a neat rectangle wide enough to fit the width of the pie. cut the strips about 3/4" wide to fit the pie and be sure to use the photos above as a reference. finally, flute the edges and bake the pie for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the juices are bubbling in the center. allow the pie to rest for at least 4 hours or it will be too runny to serve.

berry rhubarb filling

2 cups of halved strawberries

1 cup raspberries

1 cup rhubarb-slice about 1/4 inch thick

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1-2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice-or cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 of a vanilla bean-seeds scraped out and the pod reserved for another use

2 teaspoons rosewater

toss the berries and rhubarb together-if using frozen, allow them to thaw completely but measure them while frozen. combine the sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, spices and vanilla and rub them together to disperse them evenly. toss the fruit and sugar together and add the rosewater-mix to combine and pour into the prepared pie shell.

and as always, if you bake one and send me a photo-i will post it here. contact me at bakinbabe116@aol.com. and now if you will excuse me, i think i hear some morels giggling in the woods and i must go find them