First Pie of the Season

A couple of weeks ago, while Mom was at Grandma's, she called looking for a raspberry pie recipe from the cookbook that Rachel got from Aunt Fay (a really cool old cookbook that Rachel found another copy of and copied all of Aunt Fay's notes into and gave to me as a gift, one of the most thoughtful and creative gifts I have ever been given). There weren't any that really fit what she was looking for. But we picked a blueberry pie recipe to substitute with raspberries. I forgot to ask how it turned out, it sounded good though.

This made me start thinking about pie, my favorite dessert to both bake and eat. Last weekend, Frank invited some friends over to play dominoes and promised dessert. With fall in the air and pie on the mind, I found a Cranberry Apricot Surprise Pie recipe to make. The pie crust recipe included with the pie required resting in the fridge overnight so I decided to make my current favorite All American Pie crust.

The pie was delicious. Cait said it tasted like thanksgiving. Every last piece of the pie was eaten before the evening was over. I loved the hint of almond extract in the cranberry filling, but I think I cut the apricots too small, because they weren't detectible in the strong cranberry flavor. Next time, I will only cut them in half, so that they are in larger more discernable pieces. This is the first time that I have made a crumb with vanilla in it, but it was really good, you couldn't even tell it was made with whole wheat flour. I can see this becoming my new favorite crumb recipe. Also I meant to take a picture of a slice before serving but I forgot. This is a shame, because it was really pretty with three distinct layers.

Cran-Apricot Surprise Pie
From King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

Your favorite pie crust recipe

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 pinches of salt
1 large egg

Fruit Filling:
Heaping 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Crumb topping:
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons cold butter

• Prepare your favorite pie crust recipe. Roll out and place in 9-inch pie pan. Trim and crimp the edges. Chill crust in the fridge while you prepare the filling.



• Cheesecake filling: Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla salt an egg in a mixing bowl and beat slowly until the mixture is nearly smooth.



• Fruit filling: Combine the cranberries, dried apricots, sugar, water and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is syrupy and nearly all absorbed, 18 - 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the extracts salt and butter.



• Crumb topping: Whisk together the flour, oats, nuts, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the vanilla. Cut the butter into small cubes, and work into the dry ingredients (I used my fingers), till the mixture is evenly crumbly.



• Assemble and bake: Preheat the oven to 375. Remove the crust from the fridge. Spoon the cream cheese filling into the bottom. Gently dollop the fruit filling on top. Sprinkle with the crumb topping, spreading it evenly over the fruit. Bake the pie until it's bubbly and the streusel and crust are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and wait at least an hour before cutting.

All American Double Crust

I hate it when you watch cooking shows that talk about how easy it is to make pie and then make an all butter crust and act like it is the simplest thing. Pie crust isn’t that difficult to do once you understand the technique. If you are just learning or have struggled with pie crust in the past, do yourself a favor and make a shortening crust. It is more forgiving to work with because the shortening doesn’t melt as easily as butter. I like the Crisco recipe, I think it tastes great and use it all the time when I want something easy to work with. Even though it won’t have the flavor of butter, I guarantee it will taste better than those store bought crusts.

The crust recipe below is my current favorite crust. It is sort of in between the Criso crust and an all butter crust. It has the flavor of a butter crust, but is a little bit easier to work with. It definitely needs to chill about an hour before trying to roll out. When I know I am going to make pie, I like to make the crust a day or two ahead and let it rest in the fridge overnight. Also, even if I only need a single crust, I like to make the full recipe and freeze one of the disks. It freezes well and makes for quick baking the next time I want to make pie. I just let it defrost in the fridge overnight or on the counter for about an hour. I think it is actually easier to roll after being frozen.

All American Double Crust
Adapted from Apple Pie by Ken Haedrich

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup cold butter, cut into ¼ inch pieces
½ cup cold shortening, cut into pieces
½ cup ice cold water

• Put flour, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse several times to mix.
• Scatter shortening pieces over flour and pulse 5 to 6 times to cut in the shortening.
  
• Fluff the mixture with the fork. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour and pulse another 5-6 times. Fluff the mixture again.
• Drizzle half of the water over the mixture and pulse 5 to 6 times. Fluff and sprinkle on the rest of the water. Pulse 5-6 times until pastry starts to form clumps. It will look like coarse crumbs.
• Dump mixture onto counter and squeeze some between your fingertips. If it is dry and not packable, drizzle a teaspoon or so of water and work it in with your fingertips. Divide the pastry into two balls and flatten into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

If whatever pie filling I am using has baking directions, I follow those when baking the pie. But if not, I usually bake this pie crust once filled at 375 for about an hour. Pie will be done when fruit fillings get bubbly around the edges and the crust is golden.

The Best Souvenir of the Summer

I wish I could take credit for this very simple, very fresh, very tasty salad. Alas all of the credit goes to Aunt Jill.

One of my favorite things about visiting family is there is always plenty of fresh homecooked food to eat. Aunt Jill made this salad one night when Dad was grilling for us. As always Dad did a great job on the grill, but this salad was my favorite. I helped her put it together and was amazed at how simple it was to make. Hopefully I remembered correctly what she did. Thanks Aunt Jill for making this for us.

This is the second time that I have made it since coming home. Everyone in the house loves it. Cait and I were at the store this weekend. She saw me buying the artichoke hearts and said "I hope you are making that salad again." So even the kid likes it, spinach and all. It makes a giant bowl, but one of the best things about it is that it is just as good the next day. I can't wait to take it to work for lunch tomorrow.

Aunt Jill's Pasta Salad.

1 1-lb box of orzo
1 10-oz bag of fresh spinach
pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
2 red bell peppers, diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 jars marinated artichoke hearts
Feta
Salt and peper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon (optional - I can't remember if Jill used lemon or not, salad is good with or without)

• Cook orzo according to box directions. Drain and rinse then allow to cool. Place pasta in a large bowl.
  
• Chop spinach (I kind of try to slice it) and add to bowl with pasta. Add olives, peppers, onion and cherry tomatoes to bowl.
  
• Drain artichoke hearts reserving juice. Slightly chop artichoke hearts and add to bowl.
  
• Use artichoke juice as the dressing of the salad, using as much as your taste dictates. Add lemon juice if adding.
  
• Toss all of the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then top with crumbled feta cheese. It couldn't be easier

Double-Good Blueberry Pie

Here's another recipe from the Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook, Popular Edition copyrighted 1965. This pie is soo good and super easy to make. It's a blueberry lovers dream!

Double-Good Blueberry Pie

9" pie shell (I just used a store bought graham cracker pie shell)
3/4 c. sugar
3 tblsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 c. water
4 c. blueberries
1 tblsp. butter
1 tblsp. lemon juice
Whipped cream

• Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Add water and 2 c. blueberries; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened and clear. (Mixture will be quite thick.)
• Remove from heat and stir in butter and lemon juice. Cool.
• Place remaining 2 c. raw blueberries in pie shell. Top with cooked berry mixture. Chill. Serve garnished with whipped cream.
  

Award Winning Blackberry Apple Pie

A little over a year ago my Aunt Jennifer told my sister and I to choose a cookbook off her shelf. The cookbooks had originally belonged to my Great Aunt Fay. My Aunt Jennifer told us that our Great Aunt Fay wanted us to each have one.

So I chose this treasure of a cookbook. Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook, Popular Edition it was copyrighted in 1965. I can not tell you all how much I love this cookbook. I really, really love it! Not only does it have the best pie recipes on the face of this earth, it also has little notes and pieces of paper with my Great Aunts handwriting in different sections of the book. Which of course makes it the best damn pie book in the world to me.

I swear, every time I open this book I am reminded of the few visits that we made to her house in Oklahoma City before she moved into the old folks home. We would walk into the house and she would already be trying to feed us. Not just snacks either, she would have full country style meals prepared, warm and ready to eat. After gorging ourselves with her delicious home cooking, she would have dessert to go with it. All the while my Great Uncle Raymond would be telling us one of his stories and Great Aunt Fay would be telling him that everyone had heard the stories a hundred times or more and no one wanted to hear it again. To which he would ask us if we had heard the story and we would say, "no" and he would continue on with his story while Aunt Fay rolled her eyes at him and would walk away into the kitchen. Undoubtedly to start on the next meal. Now those are some good memories.

Any who, I want to begin to share some of these pies with you. To start it off, I have just the right pie for this time of year. It's the end of the summer and the blackberries are ready to be picked and this is a great way to use them in this delicious pie. It is one of my favorites!
Blackberry-Apple Pie

Pastry for 2 crust pie
3 c. fresh blackberries
1 c. thin, peeled green apple slices
2 1/2 to 3 tblsp. quick-cooking tapioca (I usually use 1-2 more tblsp. of tapioca because I don't like a runny pie)
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I also like to add more cinnamon)
2 tblsp. butter

• Pick over and wash berries in cold water. Lift out and drain. In large bowl, combine berries, apples, tapioca, sugar and cinnamon, mixing well.
• Turn into pastry-lined 9" pie pan. Dot with butter and adjust top crust and flute edges; cut vents.
• Bake in hot oven (425 degrees F) until crust is golden brown and juices start to bubble up in vents, 40-50 minutes.

If your interested in a great pie crust to this pie here is a recipe for a cheese pastry:

Cheese Pastry

The book says that this pastry is "marvelous for apple pies."

1 2/3 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. grated sharp natural cheddar cheese
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
4-6 tblsp. cold water

• Sift flour with salt into medium bowl. Add cheese and toss with fork to mix thouroughly with flour. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles small peas.
• Sprinkle water over pastry mixture, 1 tblsp. at a time, until dough will hold together. Shape into a ball with hands, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate until ready to use. Divide in halves, flatten each half with hand. Make bottom and top crusts. Makes pastry for 1 (8" or 9") 2-crust pie.
  

Rachel's Cookie Bars

Lately, I have been tooling around with making up a recipe for fabulous cookie bars and this is what I have come up with. They are so yummy!

Rachel's Cookie Bars

1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups flour
1 bag milk chocolate chips (I like ghiradelli or the Aldi's brand, but if you like semi sweet feel free to use them)
1-2 cups pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine butter and brown sugar and mix until blended together. Add eggs and vanilla next and mix together. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Press dough into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. I usually check with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes up clean, the cookies are done.

This is all that was left of the cookies by the end of the day.

Hot Slow Roasted Pork, Mushroom and Mozarella Sandwiches

I have made this recipe three or four times now. Once was when my folks were visiting and I forgot to make the gravy. I wouldn't recommend not making the gravy, it leaves the sandwich kinda dry. I found this recipe on one of my favorite cooking websites and switched it up a bit to fit my tastes. Here is the original recipe if you want to try it out. And here is the way I like to make it:

Hot Slow Roasted Pork, Mushrooms and Mozarella

Pork
4 garlic cloves chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 coarse kosher salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
3-4 leaves of chopped fresh sage
Black pepper to taste
2 pork loins trimmed of fat

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Add the garlic, olive oil, herbs and salt together in a small bowl. Using a sharp knife make 1-inch long, 2-inch deep slits all the way down each pork loin. Stuff the herb mixture into the slits and sprinkle the outside of the pork with salt and pepper. Place the pork in a roasting pan and place in oven preheated to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast until the thickest part registers 170 degrees Fahrenheit. This usually takes about an hour and a half. Let the pork rest for 30 minutes. Slice the pork and cover with foil.

Gravy
Spoon off the fat from juices and measure out 2 cups worth. If needed add water to juice to measure 2 cups. Stir 2 tablespoons of juices and cornstarch in small saucepan until cornstarch dissolves. Whisk in remaining juice and vinegar. Whisk over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mushrooms
One container of fresh mushrooms sliced (regular mushrooms or mini portabello mushrooms are both good)
1-2 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add sliced mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms are cooked to your taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Any type of bread (I like to buy the big loaves of french bread in the bakery section of our grocery store)
1 1/2 pounds shredded mozzarella


Once the meat, gravy and mushrooms are ready pile it all on your favorite type of bread and enjoy.

I love this sandwich, especially with fresh herbs. It is so good!