Pie Time

IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!

I meant to post last Thursday with ideas that would help for Thanksgiving day.
But then, life happens....visitors, teaching, preparation for a trip, illness (do colds ever go away when you cannot lie in bed for days??).

But here we are, the day before Thanksgiving.  Hopefully you are beginning preparations today, so you are not a slave all day tomorrow.  Here are some great ideas for dishes with 5 ingredients or less from one of my favorite foodie sites, Food 52.

Are you shopping today for tomorrow's feast?  Is Mrs. Smith's Apple Pie on your grocery list?  STOP!   YOU CAN MAKE PIE!  Be not afraid!  Here is my Foolproof Pie Crust recipe that anyone can make successfully, with a recipe for tried and true apple pie from  the Fanny Farmer Cookbook.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.  May you count an abundance of blessings this year!

FOOLPROOF PIE CRUST

4 cups flour 

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 ¾ cups CRISCO shortening

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; mix together with a fork.  Add the shortening to the flour mixture, and mix all together with a pastry cutter (or two knives); cut well until the shortening is in small pieces.  Set aside.

In a small bowl mix well:

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 egg

½ cup water

Combine the egg mixture to the flour mixture with a fork until all is moistened (you may need to use your hands for this).  Mold the dough into a ball, place into the same bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a least ½ hour (or until it is easy to roll out).

When the dough is firm, cut the large ball into 4 equal pieces.  Roll those into balls.  You now have 4 rolls of pie dough, enough for 4 single crust pies (pumpkin, chocolate cream, etc.) or 2 double crust pies (apple, blueberry, peach, etc.)

This dough can be left in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or it can be frozen for several months. 

Apple Pie
from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
Basic Pastry for a 9-inch two-crust pie
3/4 - 1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
6 large, firm, tart apples
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a 9-inch pie pan with half the pastry dough (for us that was one of the dough rolls).  Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour in a large bowl.  Peel, core, and slice the apples and toss them in the sugar mixture, coating them well (ok, so we did not follow the instructions exactly!).  Pile them into the lined pan and dot with the butter.  Roll out the top crust and drape it over the pie.  Crimp the edges and cut several vents in the top.  Bake 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake 30 - 40 minutes more or until you see bubbling of the pie filling and the crust is browned.

Memories of Halloween

Yes, this is food related!!!  I know that Halloween is now a brief thought from the past, although you moms who have children who went trick or treating are probably seeing candy wrappers in various hiding places throughout your home.

I wanted to show you a picture of my daughter, who made her own costume this year!!!  I am proud of her--she did a great job!   Well done, Cap'n!

Cheering for Chocolate

Yesterday I was shopping at Ollie's Bargain Outlet "Good Stuff Cheap!".  As I took my purchase to the checkout counter, I spied Lindt 85% cocoa chocolate bars on the candy display end cap in front of the counter.  The display is always there, but not with the chocolate bars priced at 0.99 cents!!!  This a real bargain since these chocolate bars retail at local grocery stores for about $2.50 each.  The expiration date on them is 11-30-11 (hence the cheap price, I'm sure) so I bought 3, came home and had a bite of one.  The quality is perfect and I am sure they will last when stored in a cool place until used within a reasonable time period.  I went back and bought more!  They will be made into a Flourless Chocolate Cake during the Christmas holidays, or Chocolate Hazelnut Spread or Pot de Creme  and maybe even given to friends for gifts.  Merry Christmas a few weeks early!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

(from the Food Network)

4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces (which is

2 chocolate bars and part of another--they are 3.5 ounces each)

5 eggs, separated

pinch salt

2/3 cup sugar

powdered sugar, for garnish

unsweetened whipped cream, for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour a 10-inch round cake pan.

Combine the butter and chocolate and melt in a double boiler over barely simmering water (I don't have a double boiler--I use a small pan inside a larger pan with about 1 inch of water simmering in the large pan).  Whisk together the egg yolks, salt, and all but 3 tablespoons of the sugar.  In a SLOW, steady stream, stir the melted chocolate into the egg yolks until thoroughly combined.

In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, on medium speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in the remaining sugar and continue to whip until the egg whites are stiff, but not dry.

Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites.  Pour into the prepared pan.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Turn out onto a rack immediately.  As the cake cools, the center will sink and crack--do not worry.

Dust the cake with powdered sugar and serve with unsweetened whipped cream.

Feeding a Crowd

Tonight I needed a lot of food to feed a crowd.  Good thing I remembered a recipe from a cookbook I got as a wedding gift 25 years ago.  It takes some time to make, but it will serve many people, and, like me, you might have leftovers for another day.  Best of all, everyone loves it!

Chicken, Sausage and Wild Rice

(from Virginia Seasons:  New Recipes from the Old Dominion)

1 pound pork sausage

1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used Cremini)

1 large onion, chopped

4 to 5 chicken breasts, cooked, boned, and cut up in bite-size pieces

1 6-ounce box Uncle Ben's Wild and Long Grain Rice 

OR

6 ounces long grain rice prepared with 12 ounces water

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

pinch each of oregano, thyme and marjoram

Saute sausage in a large skillet or Dutch oven; drain and set aside.  In the same skillet coated with the fat from the sausage, saute mushrooms and onions until limp; add sausage and chicken and set aside.  Cook wild rice according to package directions.  Mix flour with heavy cream in a medium saucepan until smooth; add chicken broth and cook until thickened.  Add seasonings and combine with rice, sausage, chicken, and vegetables.  Put in a greased carrerole dish and bake 30 to 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Serves 10 to 12.  You can also make this ahead of time and freeze it.

Oh, Nuts!

Another article about the rising price of nuts.  In today's Centre Daily Times, there is an article about the rising prices of pecans--just in time for Thanksgiving!  In a class I taught last week, as well as the post from November 3, the recipe for spinach orange salad included pecans.  Of course, you can substitute any nut you like in that salad--almonds would be great.  Especially roasted (if you can't tell by now, I LOVE roasted nuts)!

Maybe there will not be a pecan pie for Thanksgiving this year, or maybe you will want to splurge.  The best price I found in the area last week was at Walmart, where the price per pound for pecans was $8.98 (these were bagged pecans). With many nuts priced higher, it makes me wish that I had stocked my freezer full of bags of nuts several months ago!

What's going on at the grocery store?

A printed article mentioned on the radio yesterday caught my attention and I just had to look it up on the web.  It certainly confirms what I see while shopping:  price increases!  What a change--a rise of 0.8% from 2009-2010 increased to 3.5% to 4.5% for this year.  That may be, but I have seen many items increase as much as 20%!

In another article, the news was also bleak for all you peanut butter lovers (according to the article, 90% of American households have a jar of peanut butter in their kitchen).  The article states that “intense heat and drought that hit the southern U.S. this year, as well as high prices for other crops led farmers to focus their efforts elsewhere" are the cause for the rising prices.

Well, we can't do much about the peanut butter crisis except to stop buying it. And, despite the price increases, we all have to buy food.  The good news is that you can make healthy meals for you and your family economically!  Try this for a yummy salad, now that summer tomatoes are history.....

Spinach Orange Salad
Wash and sort fresh spinach (I like the baby spinach, and if you buy it in a grocery store that has it loose and priced by the pound, it is MUCH cheaper.  I buy it at Wegman's)
Toss with mandarin orange slices or fresh orange slices when cheaper in season (Dec-Feb), feta cheese (buy it in a block, it's cheaper), and roasted pecan halves (see my roasting nuts tip below on the post 10/3).  Dressing:  mix 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup sugar or honey (or less if you like), 3 Tbl. cider vinegar and 1-2 tsp. fajita seasoning.  You can make this salad a meal by adding cooked chicken strips in the spinach mixture.  YUM!