blue artichoke

I'm not really a morning person, but once I wake up, that's it, no going back to sleep for me. Such was the case yesterday; I can get a lot accomplished when I wake up early. I can make desserts. Still on the pie kick, I turned a crate of quickly ripening giant peaches into an awesome peach pie, with a double crust. The pie was particularly exciting, as it was my first double crust pie. It was much easier than I expected, and looked amazing. I took a picture of the little beauty cooling on the windowsill, but I was salivating too much to hold the camera steady. Just picture the cheeriest golden-brown topped pie you can imagine; that's what it looked like.

Summer Peach Pie with Vanilla and Cardamom

No need to peel the peaches – the peel provides great color, texture and flavor. Just gently rub off the peach fuzz with a kitchen towel.

2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
½ vanilla bean, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (scant) ground cardamom
3-¾ pounds firm but ripe unpeeled peaches, halved, pitted, each half cut into 4 slices (about 10 cups)
2 Best-Ever Pie Crust dough disks*
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Whipping cream (for glaze)
Vanilla ice cream

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and vanilla bean in processor; blend until vanilla bean is very finely minced. Sift vanilla sugar through strainer into large bowl; discard any large bits in strainer. Mix flour and cardamom into vanilla sugar. Add peaches to flour-sugar mixture and toss gently to coat.

Roll out 1 pie crust disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Spoon peach mixture into crust; dot with butter. Roll out second pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Drape dough over peach filling; trim overhang to 1 1/2 inches. Fold top and bottom edges under, pressing together to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Using small sharp knife, cut 2-inch-long X in center of top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust lightly with whipping cream; sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden, peaches are tender, and juices bubble thickly through cut in top crust, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool until lukewarm, about 2 hours.

Serve pie lukewarm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Serves 8.

Best-Ever Pie Crust
2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
½ cup chilled lard or frozen nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, cut into ½” cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Makes 2 pie crusts (enough dough for 1 double-crust pie, 1 lattice-topped pie, or 2 single-crust pies).

Bon Appétit, July 2007

To go along with this awesome pie, I made homemade vanilla ice cream (round 2). This batch was much better than the first in the flavor department. It used only 3 egg yolks and a real vanilla bean, so it tasted more like traditional vanilla ice cream and less like the vanilla-flavored egg custard I made the first time around. The texture, though, was decidedly subpar, more like iced milk than ice cream. It had none of the smooth creaminess of the first batch, probably because it used 5 fewer egg yolks. I'll try adding another egg yolk or two in the future; perhaps I'll be able to find the delicate balance between the vanilla flavor of the second batch and the creaminess of the first batch.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Substitute two teaspoons pure vanilla extract if you don't have a vanilla bean. The most reasonably-priced vanilla beans I've found are at World Market.

3 1/3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 (6-inch) vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks

Combine milk and half-and-half in a medium, heavy saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean; add seeds and bean to pan. Bring milk mixture to a boil. Remove from heat. Remove bean; discard.

Combine sugar and egg yolks; beat with mixer at high speed until thick and pale. Gradually add half of hot milk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan. Cook over medium-low heat 2 minutes or until thermometer registers 160°; stir constantly.

Place pan in an ice-filled bowl. Cool, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

CALORIES 213(30% from fat); FAT 7.1g (sat 4g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 5.9g; CHOLESTEROL 96mg; CALCIUM 186mg; SODIUM 76mg; FIBER 0.0g; IRON 0.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.1g
Cooking Light, JULY 2006

As if those desserts weren't enough, we had quite a tasty dinner that was healthy enough to justify such indulgent treats. This is a great summertime recipe because it is light and quick to prepare; also, it is one of the best assembled-from-packaged-foods meals that I've had in a while.

Greek Pasta With Tomatoes and White Beans

You can vary the recipe by using chickpeas instead of cannellini beans and grated Romano cheese in place of feta. I used the called-for cannellini beans and a whole package of feta, which I think is 4 oz. I also used spinach penne, and plenty of salt and pepper.

2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach, chopped (about 8 cups)
4 cups hot cooked penne (about 1/2-pound uncooked tubular-shaped pasta)
½ cup (2 ounces) finely crumbled feta cheese

Combine tomatoes and beans in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally. Place 1 cup pasta on each of four plates; top each serving with 1-¼ cups sauce and 2 tablespoons cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 474 (12% from fat); FAT 6.4g (sat 2.5g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.6g); PROTEIN 22.5g; CHOLESTEROL 13mg; CALCIUM 343mg; SODIUM 1553mg; FIBER 10.6g; IRON 8.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 84.7g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 1998

Getting to Know All About You: Have you ever been mugged?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I know, I should be posting a Sunday Muffins recipe today, but, again, the muffins we ate this morning were just... good. I made Blueberry-Peach Muffins, the peach flavor supposed to be added by peach yogurt, but was undetectable. And, as blueberry muffins, they weren't the greatest. I suppose I'm in the midst of a Blueberry Muffin Snackdown. I've tried several recipes this summer, using the bounty of fresh berries that I buy each week, but so far no recipe has proven outstanding. There are a few more to try, though, so hopefully by the end of blueberry season, I'll have a winner.

I don't want to leave you without a delicious recipe, though, so here's the recipe for the awesome strawberry pie I made when GC's friend Kyle was in town (I don't know his gourmand name).

Strawberry Pie

Pastry:
½ c. shortening
1-½ c. flour
½ t. salt
3-4 T. ice water

Preheat oven to 425. Cut the shortening into the flour and salt until pea-sized. Add water, 1 T. at a time, mixing lightly with fork. When mixture holds together, gently form a ball and roll it out onto a floured surface to ~1/4” in thickness. Place in a 9” pie pan. Prick bottom and sides of dough with fork. Place pie weights or another lightweight pie pan on crust to keep it from bubbling up while baking. Bake 15-20 minutes or until browned.

Strawberry filling:
4-5 c. fresh strawberries
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1 c. sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping

Crush 1 c. of strawberries. Add water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Strain juice from berries. Add enough water to make 1 c. berry juice. Set aside.

Put sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Slowly add berry juice. Stir until smooth. Bring to a boil over med heat, stirring constantly. Cook until thick and clear. Cool slightly. Arrange remaining berries in baked pie shell. Pour glaze over berries. Chill.

Serve with whipped cream or whipped topping.

Serves 6.
The Cat Who…Cookbook

The crust was so quick to make and really easy to work with, baking up thick, crispy and flaky. Too bad it uses Crisco. The filling was also easy to make. I cooked some strawberries, then blended them with a wand-blender, strained and reduced that. I didn’t need to add additional water. It thickened up nicely and quickly, but was still a bit runny after sitting in the fridge. Make sure it is really thick before removing from the heat. I sliced the remaining strawberries into 1/4th and arranged them in the crust. It doesn't have to look pretty because the glaze will pretty much hide everything. Flavor was awesome. Best topped with whipped cream.

Getting to Know All About You: What is the dessert you most frequently make (type or specific recipe)?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I made this pie a while ago, before things got so hectic around here, and thought it best to post the recipe while the gettin' is still good for blueberries. This is a great berry pie, with lots of great antioxidant blueberry filling (I find it's best to focus on the healthy parts). The big plump berries you can buy in the grocery stores are already quite sweet, so unless you've picked your own wild blueberries, you can easily cut down the sugar to 3/4 cup without missing any sweetness. This is pretty easy to make. The blueberry mixture thickens and comes together suddenly. Use a purchased pie crust or use your favorite pie crust recipe. I'm still developing my own favorite pie crust recipe, so you're on your own this time.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

1 c. sugar
3 heaping T. cornstarch
½ t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. salt
1 c. water
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 T. lemon juice
3 c. fresh blueberries
1 cooked 8-9” pie shell

Combine the dry ingredients in a large saucepan and stir to mix well. Add water and stir to dissolve cornstarch. Add 1 c. berries and cook, stirring constantly over moderate heat until sauce is thickened and clear. Add lemon juice; stir well to mix and cool slightly. Add 3 c. of fresh berries. Gently transfer the filling to the prepared pie shell. Chill thoroughly before serving.

Classic Home Cooking, American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults

GC and I loved it, and even discussed throwing out all other blueberry pie recipes – untested – in favor of only ever using this one!

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The pie, it's awesome. The sugar high that results from a decent-sized piece of this pie surely makes me feel like a million bucks, until the inevitable sugar-high crash, which makes me feel like I just paid my taxes. Another piece, and I'm feeling generous again. So generous, in fact, that I sent half a millionaire's pie to work with Gentleman Caller this morning. Chartreuse BLT, wish granted! The pie is a glorified pecan pie. It has pecans, and the sugary pecan pie filling, but also dark chocolate chips and coconut. And those additions make all the difference. I'm not such a huge fan of pecan pie. I've nothing against it; I just think that it isn't worth the kajillions of calories I'd ingest along with the flavor. All I'm saying is that it better well be worth the time I'll have to spend on the beastly elliptical to work off the calories. And regular pecan pie isn't worth it. But, add some chocolate chips and coconut, and it's totally worth it. Plus seconds. If I ever have to make a pecan pie for Thanksgiving, I'm making this one. Other pecan pies are only fit for throwing. Here's the recipe. I'm not even afraid of giving it to you. If we show up at the same Thanksgiving potluck with this pie, we'll both be hoisted up on shoulders and paraded around with cheers. It'll be nice to share the glory

Millionaire’s Pie

Pastry for 9-inch single-crust pie
3 eggs
1 cup light-colored corn syrup
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (I used dark chocolate chips)
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup pecan or walnut pieces
Whipped cream (optional)
Toasted coconut (optional)

Crust: Prepare the pastry and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Ease the pastry onto the pie plate. Trim to ½ inch beyond the edge of the plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edge. Do not prick the crust.

Filling: In a medium bowl, combine eggs, corn syrup, granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and salt. Layer the semisweet chocolate, coconut and walnuts in piecrust. Pour egg mixture over all, spreading evenly. To prevent over-browning, cover the edge of the pastry shell with some foil.

Bake in 350 oven 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake 20-25 minutes more or until filling appears set when you shake the pie gently. Cool on wire rack. Cover and store in refrigerator within 2 hours. If you like, serve with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

The recipe was printed in my local newspaper a few years ago, but is originally from Midwest Living magazine. I'm not including a pie pastry recipe, because I haven't found a great one yet. The one from cooking school is pretty good, but I haven't translated it from weighing all the ingredients to using measuring cups and spoons. I used a recipe from Real Simple, which is actually really simple, but tends to shrink and bubble when blind baked. Oh, yeah, I half-blind-baked the pie crust for this pie because I was afraid it would be kind of soggy if it baked with the filling. Until I work out a good all-purpose go-to pie crust recipe, use your own favorite recipe or use a store-bought crust. Actually, if you have a good all-purpose pie crust recipe, send it my way, please. I think this recipe would work best in a deep-dish pie plate, because I had enough filling mixture to make two pies. (I also made a millionaire's pie for my neighbor).

Note: I just read through the Midwest Living recipe (linked above) and see that they provide a crust recipe that the newspaper reprint left out.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oh, my, where is my mind? I forgot to write about the cookout we had two weekends ago. The menu: burgers, chicken breasts marinated in Dale's, Hebrew National hot dogs, zucchini marinated in Italian dressing and corn, all cooked on the grill. I also made rainbow coleslaw (red and green cabbage, apples, carrots and green peppers) and a black bean salad. A neighbor brought the requisite cookout potato salad. And, for dessert, a blueberry crisp and Gentleman Caller's mama's show-stopping chess pie. Chess pie is simply a filling of eggs, sugar and butter with small amounts of vinegar and cornmeal or flour. When baked, the filling becomes dense and translucent with a thin, crusty caramelized top. Partygoers described it as a poor man's crème brûlée, a sugar pie and a pecan pie without the pecans, all accurate descriptions. Here's the description from my favorite food reference book: This pie has always been a favorite with Southerners, but no one seems to know exactly where it got its name. It's believed that at first it was called jelly pie or Jefferson Davis pie, and later became known as chess pie because of the pie chest in which it was typically stored. In any event, we probably have chess pie to thank for the eventual creation of the even more popular pecan pie. I found several more recipes for chess pie in the bounty of church cookbooks I just donated to the public library. All had the same ingredients, with slight variations in proportions.

I don't know how protective GC's mom is of her recipe, but I think we should be honest with each other, dear Internet. There should be no secrets between us, so in the interest of full disclosure, here's the recipe:

Chess Pie

3 whole eggs, slightly beaten
1 ¾ c. sugar
1 T. cornmeal
1 T. flour
1 T. vinegar
4 T. melted butter
3 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
1 deep-dish pie shell

Beat eggs slightly in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; stir well.

Pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and cook until firm, another 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)