Extra Schmaltz!

Making pumpkin pie from scratch is all well and good (I see I have a very elaborate recipe for it in my notes), but sometimes you just need/want an easy pie. This is my version of a basic recipe using canned goods. It is for a deep-dish pie crust, so you will have extra if you are using a standard pan. Before... ...After! Preheat the oven to 425° 1 unbaked pie crust 1 can pumpkin 1 can evaporated milk 2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks 1/2 c. plain yogurt 3/4 c. light brown sugar 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. garam masala 1/2 tsp. salt Roll out the crust and place it in your pie pan. Blend together the pie filling ingredients. Pour the ingredients into the crust. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350° and bake for another 40-50 minutes, or until it looks mostly set. Cool on a rack for at least 2 hours before slicing. I love pie!

I baked this at the same time as a loaf of zucchini bread because they both used buttermilk and because if you're heating up the kitchen to bake one thing you may as well go on a baking spree. Buttermilk pie is a traditional Southern dish, basically a custard pie, and it's ideal for when the larder is bare. Since it's the height of summer I decided to add in some seasonal fruit, but this is a perfectly respectable pie without the berries. This pie is literally simple as pie, and there's no fiddly top crust to deal with. I got the basic recipe from the NPR website . Preheat oven to 350 1 unbaked pie shell 4 eggs 1 c. sugar 1/2 c. melted butter 1 1/2 c. buttermilk 1 tsp. vanilla extract lemon zest (my addition) Blend together the ingredients, but not so much that they start to foam. Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Cover the crust with foil so it doesn't burn. Bake for 1 hour, or until a knife comes out clean. The pie will puff up a bit, and the surface s...

Yeah, my pie pretty much owns. Hot water pastry was mentioned in this Leftover Pot-Pie recipe . Inspired by a discussion about baking ratios and receiving some leftover turkey and stock from Thanksgiving, I decided to refine the crust recipe and write it out more explicitly. This crust is more suited to hot savory pies than a regular flaky pie crust, and the hot water technique is much faster than cutting in cold butter. It's traditionally made from lard, but you can use shortening with some butter mixed in. I added a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease for flavor. 1 lb. all-purpose flour 1/2 lb. (scant) fat 1 c. half water, half milk 1 tsp. salt The ratios are essentially 2 flour: 1 fat: 1 liquid, with salt. This recipe makes 1 very large double-crust pie. The dough will be cooked first at 450 for 15 minutes and then, when filled, at 350 for 1 hour. Combine the milk, water, and fat in a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Allow to sit until the fat is fully melted. In a large bow...

Bastilla or Pastilla (pronounced "ba-still-a" in Arabic) is sort of the national dish of Morocco. It's a sweet-savory pastry - some people are put off by the idea of powdered sugar on a savory pastry, but it's much much more delicious than it sounds. This is a complicated recipe, but it's good if you want something fancy for a party that's sure to impress. One thing that you MUST remember is to thaw the phyllo dough before you do this. There should be instructions on how to do so on the package. We had some success using a short trip to the nuke, but it's better to think ahead. Ingredients: Phyllo dough 1 small chicken (4# or so) 5 medium onions, diced Oil Butter, melted for the phyllo dough. Cinnamon Saffron Dried Safflower for color (or a small amount of turmeric) 1 bunch parsley, minced (I recommend a food processor for that) 8 eggs (+ 1 yolk) 1# blanched peeled almonds Lots of powdered sugar Rosewater (optional if you really don't like it - you can...

This is how I used up some of my thanksgiving leftovers (weeks ago, of course), while simultaneously testing out a new kind of pastry crust I had read about: hot-water pastry. Wikipedia describes this form of pastry. In short, the process of making it is exactly the opposite of proper pie crust: melt fat in hot water and stir in flour vigorously. It's a very basic item, so use whatever recipe you find. The idea is to make a strong, moisture-resistant crust that will hold up to a gravy filling. Here is the crust, pressed into the pan: I baked this until golden brown before filling. The filling was a basic mix of chopped turkey, veggies, and a roux-based gravy. As you can see, the pastry slipped down the sides of the pan a bit. It was a pretty greasy dough, and the pan was steep. This might work best using a regular pie pan, or at least something shallower. The last step is to place the top crust and bake until golden brown (as the filling is precooked). Poke holes to prevent gravy ...

Announcing the first of the Thanksgiving recipes! I got this recipe from NPR during a show about cranberries. It's a very simple and easy pie (great if you need to make a last-minute dessert), which uses our favorite seasonal fruit. It can be served warm or cold and with or without whipped cream, though I argue it's best as-is. I didn't take this awesome picture--it's from the NPR website (Andrew Pockrose). Yes, it's as delicious as it looks. Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 9" or 10" pie plate. Filling: 2 c. cranberries (fresh or frozen), coarsely chopped* 1/2 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped* 1/2 c. sugar Batter: 2 eggs 3/4 c. melted butter 1 c. sugar 1 c. flour 1 tsp. almond extract *(Retain some of the most attractive cranberries and walnuts for decoration) Toss together the chopped cranberries, walnuts, and sugar for the filling. Place this mixture in the buttered pie plate and pat it down gently. I chopped these using a food processor but you can ju...

I can't believe that I haven't posted this until now. This is the Magidow family's all-time favorite recipe involving apples; it was given to me by a dear friend who died an early and untimely death; each time I make it I think of her. To Toni! Fill buttered baking dish with chopped and peeled apples. Sprinkle with sugar and dot with butter. Put in medium oven (350) while making the batter: 1/2 cup soft butter 1 cup sugar Cream butter and sugar well. Add: 1 well-beaten egg 1 small cup flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoon vanilla Pour (or plop) batter over apples and bake 45 minutes or until brown. Serve hot from the oven. Invite your friends. Makes a great breakfast treat, too. As you can see, there is no specific amount of apples, just kind of mound them up so they don't fall out of the pan. The batter will seem kind of sticky, but it melts into a lovely, golden crust. It is a great alternative to pie or apple crumble and most people have all these ...

Hooray! We finally got a grill and we put it to use immediately. Crisp, succulent cauliflower seems to be in season around here so we threw some on the grill. I make this in the winter too, using the oven. Simply cut up a cauliflower into fairly large chunks, brush with oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika. Roast it in a hot oven (450) with a run under the broiler, if need be, or on a charcoal grill. It may take some time, so be patient. The steaks simply had salt and pepper on them and were fantastic. There may be hope for my steak-making skills yet. Look forward to more grill recipes! *** In other news, I finally found some rhubarb at one of the farmers' markets around here and I set out to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie. It sure looked good when I finished baking it... ...but, alas, it didn't thicken up enough and was also rather tart! Reflecting upon what went wrong, I realize that I only used 3 Tbsp. of thickener instead of 4 because I lost count, and I probably...

After all that talk about pie, here's another family classic that's perfect for when you have a ton of rhubarb and you don't want to make pastry crust or wait for it to chill. This dessert has a buttery shortbread crust and a creamy, custardy filling with the tang of rhubarb. Crust: 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour 1/2 c. sugar 1/4 tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter) 1 stick butter, soft but not melted Filling: 4-5 c. rhubarb, chopped into 1/2" pieces 1 c. sugar 4 eggs, beaten 2 Tbsp. flour 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 tsp. salt Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13" baking dish. Crust: Stir the flour, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl and then cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until the butter is well-distributed in fine crumbs. Press the crust into a greased 9 x 13" baking dish so that the crust goes halfway up the sides. Prick with a fork and bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Filli...

Like I said, it's piemaking* season and I've been getting some questions about recipes and techniques. I'm still in training to become the Queen of Pies, but I'll post here what I've learned so far. I'll try to update this post with any other tips and revelations, so refer back to it whenever you're making a pie. Before embarking on any piemaking pursuit, remember that most recipes are written for a 9" x 1.5" (usually metal) pie pan. Our family traditionally uses a 10" deep-dish glass pie pan. Glass heats more evenly, slows baking, and reduces browning compared to the metal pan. A 10" deep dish requires around 2 lbs of filling, while the 9" regular will only require 1.5 lbs. Adjust your recipe and pan choice accordingly. *I hereby declare 'piemaking' to be a real word. Generic Fruit Pie Recipe 2 Basic Pie Crusts 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. fruit pieces 3/4 - 1 1/2 c. sugar, depending on the sweetness of your fruit 3 Tbsp. - 1/4 c. thicken...

I'm posting the pie crust recipe I emailed out to you all a while back for even easier reference. I've gotten good feedback on this recipe, so hopefully it's the definitive one. This recipe makes one crust (bottom or top), so double it for a two-crust pie. Remember that the amount of water you'll need depends on the protein content of your flour and the ambient humidity. Try to keep your ingredients cold and work quickly. Crust can be frozen and thawed for use as needed--just make sure to wrap it thoroughly. 1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour 6 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. shortening or lard 1 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt ~1/3 c. ice water + 1 tsp. white vinegar Measure the butter and shortening and place them in the freezer while you work. Measure the flour, salt, and sugar and fluff together with a fork. Take the fat out of the freezer and cut into small chunks. Mix in using your fingers so that the fat pieces become coated in flour and then start pulling them into smaller pieces. Sto...

...was terrible.

Tonight we have the first frost advisory of the year here in Ithaca, so it's a good night to stay home and have a comforting meal. Also, I didn't feel like doing my homework, so I basically got food (at the farm and farm-stand) and cooked the whole day. I even took pictures this time! Tonight's meal was truly all-American, all-Yankee, in fact. A navy bean is also known as a Yankee bean, so the soup is self-explanatory. The Parker House rolls originated at a swanky hotel in Boston; I made the cloverleaf version. The concord grape pie may be more hard to believe, but it does exist and is a regional delicacy. Concord grapes are a 'labrusca' variety, which means they're descended from the native North American grape. I'm not sure if you can find concords in MN, but I hope so, since the pie smells delicious (it's still cooling, so I don't know how it tastes). I think that you can use any other black-skinned grape whose skins slip off readily. Yankee Bean ...