Life of Pie

Well, I'm back in Boston after an amazing week in Philadelphia with Joe. It was so relaxing, and I got quite a bit of satisfaction out of feeding Joe and his roommate. While I was in town I baked them not one but two delicious pies - pecan and apple. See, I really wanted to make a pie, but Joe didn't have a rolling pin. He ended up buying me one to keep in his apartment in exchange for my promise to bake him a pie every time I come visit. Of course I will gladly oblige. I even overcompensated this time by making more than one.

I used the same crust recipe for both pies because it turned out so very well the first time. It's flaky and buttery and everything a pie crust should be. The trick is to cut the butter into the dry ingredients the old-fashioned way, with a pastry blender. You could use a food processor, but I think that just creates more mess than it's worth, and really it's the uneven results of the handmade method that make the crust so good - the pockets of unincorporated butter in the dough are what create the flakiness. The other key thing to remember is to use very cold butter and to give the dough enough time to chill in the fridge before you roll it out and then again before you put the filling into it.

Both pies turned out spectacularly. The only other thing I should note is that no matter how badly you want to eat it right away, you have to let the pecan pie sit and cool for a few hours before you serve it. Otherwise, hot pie juice will gush out at you when you cut into it. It still tastes good, but no one wants liquid pie.

Pie Crust

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 c. ice water

Mix together the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the dough chunks are the size of peas. Sprinkle on the ice water and blend just until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Turn the pastry onto a work surface and gather it into a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a 13-inch round. Ease the pastry into a 9-inch pie plate and trim the overhang to a half-inch. Crimp the edges decoratively. Refrigerate until firm.


Georgia Pecan Pie

• 3 eggs
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. light corn syrup
• 1/2 c. dark corn syrup
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 5 oz. pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350. Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and salt. Whisk in the light and dark corn syrups, butter and vanilla until combined. Stir in the pecans. Pour the filling into the pie shell and arrange the pecans in a decorative pattern. Cover the rim of the pie with foil strips and bake the pie for 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is puffed but still slightly jiggly. Remove the foil strips and let the pie cool completely before serving.

Cinnamon Crumble Apple Pie

Filling ingredients:

• about a half-dozen Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter

Topping ingredients:

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. golden brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into half-inch cubes
• vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 400. Mix all filling ingredients in large bowl to coat apples. Blend first 5 topping ingredients in processor. Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand. (You could also do this manually with a pastry blender.) Toss filling to redistribute juices; transfer to crust, mounding in center. Pack topping over and around apples. Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes (cover top with foil if browning too quickly). Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples in center are tender when pierced and filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 minutes longer. Cool until warm, about 1 hour. Serve with ice cream.

P.S. Just to prove that I didn't make ONLY junk food this week, a picture of Tuesday night's dinner - beef rib-eye and vegetable stew with homemade buttermilk biscuits.

Gettin' Figgy With It

(I'm sorry about the title of this post. Really. Sometimes I just cannot control myself.)

Fig season is pretty much over, which is always a sad occurrence for me every year. Fresh figs are my absolute favorite fruit (rivaled perhaps only by Rainier cherries), and their growing season always seems so short. They're such a tease. But I love them anyway, despite their coquettish ways. Imagine my joy when I discovered that my local grocer still has a precious few left in stock!

This weekend Joe was in town visiting from Philadelphia. I usually try to cook for him, since he evidently never does so for himself and I worry about him wasting away into nothingness (Joe, EAT SOMETHING), but this weekend for some reason all we ended up making were desserts. Sunday afternoon was devoted to the Daring Bakers challenge, coming to a blog near you at the end of October. Saturday night, though, while he watched the Purdue/Ohio State game, I made ice cream out of the fresh figs that still seem to be hanging on into autumn.

Of course, my first instinct was to turn to David Lebovitz, he of the most incredible ice cream recipes known to man. (Maybe a slight exaggeration. But they're always good.) His fig ice cream has surprisingly little cream in it. In fact, it's so overwhelmingly composed of fig that you can leave it out of the freezer and it won't exactly melt, it just kind of sits there. The plus side of that is that it doesn't freeze rock hard, but stays nice and soft. And because you can keep it in your freezer for as long as you like, your figginess doesn't have to end with the close of summer, but can last all year long. No more teasing.

Fresh Fig Ice Cream

• 2 lbs fresh figs (about 20)
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 lemon
• 3/4 c. of sugar
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Remove the hard stem ends from the figs, then cut each fig into 8 pieces. Put the figs in a medium, nonreactive suacepan with the water, and zest the lemon directly into the saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8-1o minutes until the figs are tender. Remove the lid, add the sugar and continue to cook until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Blend together with cream and lemon juice, chill in the fridge and then put in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.

A Very Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope y'all are stuffed full of yummy food and have gotten everything you wished for. I'm very happy (flat-screen HD tv!!!) and also very full. Christmas dinner was delicious, and in my opinion, waayyy better than Thanksgiving dinner this year. My mom and I decided we were going to make the same main course we made last year (because it was just so darn good): Roast Duck with Lavender and Honey. Amazing!! We also did a repeat of last year's best side dish, Herbes de Provence Red Potato Wedges. We tried out a new side dish with Baby Carrots with Tarragon. Last but not least, I made an absolutely beautiful dessert, a Frozen Grand Marnier Torte with Dark Chocolate Crust and Spiced Cranberries. Ho ho ho!


This duck is the best thing I think I've ever made. I'm a huge fan of duck in the first place, so I'm probably somewhat biased, but the flavors and aromas are so delightful. Not to mention the fact that this is actually easy. I'm sure I'll be making it again next year...

Roast Duck with Lavender and Honey

• 4 tsp. fresh, or 2 tsp. dried, lavender blossoms
  
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
• 4 Tbsp. lavender honey or orange flower honey
• 5-to-6-pound duck

Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind 2 teaspoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms, thyme, sea salt and peppercorns in spice grinder or with mortar and pestle. Remove fat deposits and giblets from duck cavity. Trim excess skin and fat from neck area. Rinse inside and out; pat dry. Cutting through skin and fat (but not flesh) of duck breasts, score in crisscross pattern. Rub inside and outside of duck with herb mixture. Place duck, breast up, on rack in roasting pan. Roast 2 hours. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 375°F. Transfer duck to plate. Pour pan juices into 4-cup glass measuring cup; spoon off fat. Return juices and 1 tablespoon fat to pan. Return duck to pan. Brush with 2 tablespoons honey. Roast duck 20 minutes, basting once with pan juices. Brush with 2 tablespoons honey; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender. Roast duck until deep golden and thermometer inserted into innermost part of thigh registers 180°F., about 5 minutes longer.


Baby Carrots with Tarragon

• 4 bunches (8-oz each) baby carrots, peeled & trimmed
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 Tbsp. minced fresh tarragon or 3 tsp. dried
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. honey

Combine carrots, 1/4 cup water, 1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon, butter, vinegar and honey in heavy large skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer until carrots are almost tender, about 12 minutes. Uncover; cook until carrots are tender and liquid is reduced to glaze, about 6 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to platter. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon.


Herbes de Provence Red Potato Wedges

• 2 pounds red potatoes, washed
• 3 Tbsp. EVOO or enough to coat
• 2 Tbsp. herbes de provence or dried parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, combined
• 1 Tbsp. grill seasoning (such as McCormick Montreal Seasoning) or 1 tsp. each salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450F. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Cut potatoes into wedges and drop onto cookie sheet. Coat potatoes n oil. Season with dried spices and grill seasoning. Roast, turning once, 25 minutes.


Frozen Grand Marnier Torte with Dark Chocolate Crust and Spiced Cranberries
(courtesy of Bon Appetit)

This frozen dessert worked out great for us this year since we had a Florida-style, 80-degree Christmas (complete with thunderstorms and a tornado watch). My mom said this was her favorite dessert I've ever made. Not sure I would go that far (I'm not a fan of tart things as much as she is), but it sure was yummy.

Crust:

• about 9-oz. of chocolate biscotti
• 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 8 large egg yolks
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 2 c. chilled heavy whipping cream
• 5 Tbsp. Grand Marnier
• 3 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 Tbsp. grated orange peel

Topping:

• 1/2 c. ruby Port
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 5 c. fresh cranberries

For crust: Finely grind biscotti, chips, and sugar in food processor. Add melted butter; blend until wet crumbs form. Set aside 1/2 cup crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of 9–inch–diameter springform pan with 2 3/4–inch–high sides.

For filling: Whisk first 3 ingredients in medium metal bowl. Set over saucepan of simmering water and whisk vigorously until candy thermometer registers 175°F, about 8 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Add spices. Using mixer, beat until thick and cool, about 5 minutes. Using electric mixer, beat whipping cream, sour cream, Grand Marnier, orange juice concentrate, and grated orange peel in large bowl until peaks form. Add egg yolk mixture and fold together. Pour 2/3 of filling into crust. Sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup crumb mixture. Gently spoon remaining filling over. Cover; freeze overnight or up to 3 days.

For topping: Whisk Port and cornstarch in large skillet to blend. Add sugar, honey, and spices. Bring mixture to boil over high heat, stirring often. Add cranberries; cook until mixture boils and cranberries begin to pop but still hold shape, about 5 minutes. Chill topping at least 6 hours or overnight.

Release pan sides from torte. Transfer torte to platter. Spoon topping over filling.

Test Kitchen Magic

I love trying out recipes from food magazines, especially when I have work to do (hello, procrastination!). Last night the lucky recipe was a graham cracker pound cake from the December issue of Food & Wine. Now, I was in the mood for something a little more special than just a pound cake, so I decided to kick it up a notch with some caramelized pears to spoon on top and soak the pound cake with their gooey caramelly goodness. Result: magic. Even Steve gave this dessert an A, and he's no grade inflater (unlike Harvard...) Oh yeah, and it's easy. Make this and thank me when you're rubbing your tummy and staring blankly into space in a sugar-and-butter-induced food coma.


Graham Cracker Pound Cake with Caramelized Red Anjou Pears

Pound Cake:

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (I cheated and used all-purpose so don't worry too much about this)
• 1/2 cup ground graham cracker crumbs
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp whole milk
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325. Spray an 8-by-4-inch glass loaf pan with vegetable oil spray. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter with both kinds of sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour with the graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, and vanilla. Beating a medium speed, add the dry and liquid ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture in 3 alternating batches. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (mine took 65 minutes). Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn the pound cake out onto a rack to cool completely. Slice and serve with caramelized pears (see below).

Caramelized Red Anjou Pears:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp brandy, port wine, or other liqueur (I used Sandeman ruby port)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2-4 red Anjou pears, peeled, halved, cored, and sliced

In a saute pan on medium heat, melt butter, then stir in the sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until it begins to turn golden brown. Add the brandy/port/liqueur and the lemon juice. Let it simmer to incorporate. Add pears and cook slowly to tenderize and caramelize. How long you let them cook depends on how patient you are; I let mine go for about 15 minutes before I devoured them. Serve on top of graham cracker pound cake.