7 posts tagged “winter”

Ok, I admitting this now. It’s a secret I’ve held to myself for quite some time now, but I think I’m ready to come out with it: I’m a crustophobe. Yes—it’s true…I’m terrifed of baking pie crust from scratch. Pie crust made from scratch is like the Olympics of baking. Who cares how perfect spiced the filling is or how juicy the cherries are, if you’ve got a soggy crust, the game is over…at least for the baker. For the eater, like my husband, it’s a win-win scenario.

 

I suppose my phobia was born when one year I attempted to make a “healthy” pie crust with margarine. Needless to say, the dumpster ate that pie while my family and I reached for the emergency Entenmann’s. 

 

As the years progressed, my determination became more and more fervent while my results became less and less stellar. Soggy crusts, flat crusts, burnt crusts…you name it, I baked it. But then, I received a God-send and from there, the miracles began.

 

I received a pie recipe book for Christmas last year (ok, hint taken!). In it were loads of recipes for delicious pies that I could not wait to try, but not only were there pie recipes, there was pie trouble-shooting articles and a whole chapter dedicated to successful pie-making tools one of which is the pie bird.

 

Yes, a pie bird. They are little ceramic funnels that let out the steam from a fruit pie with a top crust, thus enabling the top crust to bake until tender and flaky; not sodden and flimsy.  It also doesn’t hurt that these birds are absolutely adorable and therefore had become another addition to my list of obsessive collections that are slowly taking over my house. Pie birds come in all shapes and sizes ranging from classic black birds with yellow beaks to grey geese to white elephants to modern functioning funnels. They are rare to find and therefore are gaining in their value. I found some on ebay for close to $100. Obviously, my collection is a very slow-growing one.

 

There are now two pie crust recipes that are “go-to” doughs for me: one is a flaky, cake-like recipe from Ina Garten (perfect for making a fruit crostata as previously featured in Mangia!) and the other is from legendary baking diva and culinary columnisy Dorie Greenspan. Greenspan’s book Baking: From My Home to Yours was another one of those God-send cookbooks that I believe will very well change my life once again (hint, hint, Santa!). But I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see until after the holidays before I can attest to such things (::cough:: get me this for Christmas ::cough::).

 

The following dough recipe is fast and easy to make and if I can bake them successfully, anybody can! I chose to make a galette with this dough which is like a free-form pie. Filled with apples and fresh cranberries and it’s the perfect warm winter treat. Enjoy!

 

Apple Cranberry Galette

 

Crust

 

1.5 c. all purpose flour

2 Tblsp sugar

¾ tsp salt

10 Tblsp (1 ¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes.

2 Tblsp chilled vegetable shortening, cut into ½ inch cubes

2 Tblsp (or more) ice water

 

Filling

 

3 Red Delicious apples (peeled, cored, cut into small chunks)

2 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, cut into small chunks)

1 ½ - 2 c. fresh cranberries

4 Tblsp sugar, divided

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

 

Directions

 

Crust

 

Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Add butter and shortening; pulse until course meal forms. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry.  Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk and wrap in plastic.  Chill two hours.

 

Filling

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix apples, cranberries, 3 tablespoons of sugar and spices in a large bowl to coat.

Roll crust out between two large sheets of waxed paper to 13 inch round. Place sheet of parchment on baking sheet; spray parchment with nonstick spray. Remove top sheet of waxed paper from crust. Invert crust onto parchment, then peel off second sheet of waxed paper. Spoon filling onto crust, leaving 2 inch border around edges. Fold crust border up and over filling, folding and pleating occasionally.

Brush edges lightly with water. Sprinkle damp crust lightly with remaining sugar.

Bake galette for 50 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees. Loosely cover filling with small sheet of foil. Bake until crust is deep golden and filling is tender, about 20 minutes.

Slide knife or offset spatula under galette to loosen from parchment. Cool galette slightly on sheet on rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature with some homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

 

 

 

 

 

I usually serve baked ziti for a special occassion.

Well, um...Tuesday night seemed like just such an ocassion to me! I was craving it so there you go! Ziti for everyone!

 

 

Baked Ziti

recipe adapted from the back of a box of pasta

 

Ingredients

1/2 package of ziti

1 lb. ground turkey (my addition since I gave up cow meat for Lent. It actually tasted better!)

28 oz sauce

15 oz ricotta

1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon of dried basil

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

s&p

 

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile in a large skillet, brown meat until thoroughly cooked. Drain grease. Stir in sauce and let simmer for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together ricotta and 1 cup of mozz. cheese and salt, pepper and basil. Toss hot pasta with meat mixture. In a 13x9x2 baking dish, pour out half the meat & pasta mixture. Dollep cheese mixture on top. Cover with remaining pasta mixture and top with the remainder of the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the top with oregano. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Getting sick is no fun, no matter what the movies tell you.

 

Staying home from work because you are sick shouldn't count. Your whole day off goes by and all you have to show for it is a chapped nose, a trash can full of tissues and a hangover from your overdose of NyQuil. This is why I opt for more natural and homeopathic remedies. Call me a hippie, but they work! Echinacea, Zicam and a few hot showers and I'm on the road to recovery.

But nothing, and I mean nothing, can cure me of my cold like a hot bowl of my mom's chicken noodle soup. The aroma of the bubbling pot in my kitchen, stewing for three hours is even better than Vick's rub as it opens my nose up to the sweet smells of onions and celery and chicken broth ( a warmer welcome than harsh manufactured eucalyptus, wouldn't you say??). 

The thing about mom's soup is that you can really go ahead and make it your own. Use whatever ingredients make YOU feel better--afterall this soup's only obligation is to do just that! You can use frozen or fresh chicken pieces, frozen or fresh veggies; veggie, beef or chicken broth...whatever YOU want! The other thing I love about mom's soup is that it's wonderfully lazy, so that even when you're not feeling well you can whip this up by just roughly chopping veggies and literally throwing everything in the pot and covering it with water. It's really that easy!

 

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup (a.k.a. Recovery Elixer)

Ingredients

2-3 raw chicken pieces (2 thighs, one bone-in breast)

4-5 chicken bouillon cubes

1 celery stalk (cut into chunks)

1 large carrot (cut into chunks)

1/2 bag frozen mixed veggies

1/2 can tomato paste

1 onion, thinly sliced

salt, pepper to taste (you'll need a generous amount!)

egg noodles

 

Directions

Whip out your biggest pasta pot. Pour in a little EVOO, then toss in the sliced onions. Once they have softened slightly throw in the carrots and celery. Stir a bit. Now add the chicken and cover with water. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Once the soup has been been for a while, lower the temp and let the soup simmer for 3 hours. Take a nap. Blow your nose. Wash your hands and about a half hour before the soup's done, put up a pot of water and boil your egg noodles. Keep noodles separate from the soup as the noodles tend to soak up all the flavor, leaving you with a less-than-stellar broth.

Shred the chicken meat frm the bones and put back into the broth. Pour soup over the noodles and enjoy! And get well soon!

 

 

 

 

 

I went to go hang out with the BFF one weekend at his Philly apartment and decided that we needed to bake us up some yummy goodness.  I had some extra gruyere cheese and some tomatoes (that were red and yellow and orange, oh my!) and he had some zucchini and fresh oregano. We put our heads together, consulted the Nesties and decided to make Ina's Vegetable Tian.

So savory and so SO good! It was the perfect treat on a cold day in the city!

 

 

Beautiful & Fresh Before:

 

: Savory and Delicious After!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fact: Chili was my favorite member of TLC.

 

So I've been lazy and today I'm sick so I'll be even lazier with my posts today.

The gist: I made chili. It was cold outside. You figure the pun out in your head.

I got the recipe from a co-worker who obtained it from the foodnetwork.com.  I never had chili like this before; full of spices like cinnamon and cumin.  I added my own spin on it by subbing the kidney beans with a can of "chili beans" be accident. I washed off the chili sauce and was left with a variety of beans that I think worked great with the meal. Gotta love those food bloopers as vox neighbor Julie says!

 

 

Chili in Bread Bowls

Foodnetwork.com

 

 

Ingredients (for the chili)

1 1/4lb  lean ground beef

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/4 c. red wine

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 clove garlic, minced

1 15oz. can black beans

1 15 oz. can red kidney beans

1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes with jalepenos and spices, drained

 

Directions for chili

 Heat 2 tblsp vegetable oil ina large stock pot over med heat. Add beef and cook 5 minutes, until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks. 

 

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to med-low, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients for Bread Bowls

Cooking Spray

1 lb fresh or frozen pizza dough, thawed

1/2 c. shredded cheddar

Directions for Bread Bowls

Divide dough into 4 equal portions and roll each into a ball.  Place balls on prepared baking sheet, top with shredded cheese and bake for 15 minutes (note: mine took WAY longer than 15 minutes to bake. with my oven it was more like 30-40 minutes!).

 

Remove from oven and when cool enough to handle, sut a small portion from the center making a bowl for the chili.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoon chili into bowls and top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know how to cook sausage. 

 

I attempted to make a scrumptious dinner with some broccoli rabe stuffed sausages that my in-laws gave us. I was going to serve the sausages with some yummy fresh broccoli rabe and cavetellis in a light cream sauce and it was going to look just like this:

 

 

 

Yum, huh?

 

Well, just as we sat down to dig in, I realized that I nearly poinsoned us both with e.coli loveliness as the meat was completely raw inside.  UGH!

Live and learn, I suppose.

However, out of tragedy, comes bliss as the remaining cavetellis and rabes were FANTASTIC!  Here is a rough estimate of a recipe as I was just making things up as I went along!

Just some interesting tidbits about my beloved leafy green, before I go...

You know, broccoli rabe can get a bad rep because people think that they're getting it's sweeter, more popular cousin, "broccoli". Well, think of "rabe" as "broccoli's" distant Italian cousin.  They may have the same first name, but they're not really related.  Rabes have a very distinct flavor (not code for gross!) that can be a little bitter.  Some people (*ahem*) happen to like that about rabes, while others (hmmm) don't.  You be the judge. Give it a try.  I'm sure you didn't LOVE coffee the first time you tried it either. Oh, and rabes are VERY high in calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C and blah blah blah.

Enjoy!

 

Sausage & Rabes Pasta Bliss (hold the sausage)

 

Ingredients:

1 bunch of broccoli rabe

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 package of frozen cavetelli or gnocchi

about 1/2 heavy cream

a lot of feshly grated provolone cheese

olive oil

salt and pepper

 

Directions:

Put up a pot of water for boiling.  When the water boils, add pasta.

While pasta is cooking, begin with the rabes.

In a large sautee pan,sautee garlic in olive oil for about a minute.  Do not let garlic brown.

Wash & cut the stems off the rabe, as they can be too tough to eat.

Toss the rabe into the pan, add more olive oil, salt and pepper to your desire. 

Put lid on top and allow the rabe to cook. 

 

It's quite a pretty sight when they're ready...I couldn't resist taking a picture!

 

When rabes are nice and green and ready to go, gently pour the heavy cream into the pan. Continue to sautee and stir up the rabes in the cream. Add a ladel of the cooking water to the mixture and add a bit more salt to your desired level of taste. Rabes can be bitter, so the salt should help with that. Grate provolone cheese on top and gently stir.

 

When cavetellis are done, drain and add to the mixture and stir gently.  Be sure that all the pasta is covered with the sauce, seasoned to your liking, top with a bit more grated provolone and dinner is done!

 

 

 

 

So to ring in the New Year, I decided to try out an old classic for the first time.  I was pretty excited since it was from my new pie book that I got for Christmas. It was delicious and so much fun to make! I modified the recipe slightly based on availabilty, convenience and my own personal taste.  The original recipe called for a liver pate to be used for the filling. Instead, I opted to throw the mushroom mixture into a food processor to provide that same sort of texture, but make it more appetizing to my own preference.

 

 

 

Beef Wellington

 

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

ready-made puff pastry shells (thawed)

1 egg beaten to glaze

 

For the Filling:

 

2 Tbsp butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carton of baby portobellas or white mushrooms, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-4 fillets of tenderloin beef

 

Directions

 

Melt the butter in a large skillet and cook the onion for about 5 minutes or until it begins to soften.  Add the mushrooms and cook until soft and creamy. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

 

Throw mushroom mixture into food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roll out puff pastry onto lightly floured surface.

Spread the misture down the middle of the pastry and lay the cut of beef on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brush the edges with the beaten egg and fold the pastry over the meat to enclose it in a neat parcel, sealing the edges well. Place the meat parcel onto a baking sheet, seam side down.  Cut decorative leaves from any extra pastry.  Brush the parcel with the beaten egg, decorate with leaves (or whatever shape you like!), brush with egg and chill for ten minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the crust is golden and puffed up.  Let stand for ten minutes before serving and enjoy!