Apple (or Pear) Butterscotch Pie

This recipe is being posted in response to a couple requests from friends who really wanted the recipe. The original calls for pears which is also quite good (if you like pears) but it translates right over for apples as well.

Filling:

3 TBSP flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 lbs (about 5) apples (or pears), peeled, cored & cut into wedges

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 TBSP butter, cut into little pieces

Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

Whisk the dry ingredients together so there are no lumps and toss the fruit in the mixture along with the lemon juice and the vanilla extract. Let macerate for about 15 minutes then place in the

bottom crust in the pie pan. Dot the top with the little pieces of butter, then cover with the top crust and crimp the edges. Cut vents in the top. If you'd like, lightly beat an egg and brush it over the top crust for a nice golden glaze.

Bake the pie on the hot baking sheet for 20 minutes, then reduce the temp to 375 and bake an additional 40 to 45 minutes.

Pie Crust: (or use store-bought. Seriously.)

2 cups flour

1 cup shortening (I use half COLD butter and half Crisco)

pinch of salt

1/3 cup ICE water

Cut the shortening into the flour & salt mixture until it resembles cornmeal then add the ICE water. Mix til it just comes together--DO NOT OVERWORK IT! Makes enough for 2 pie crusts.

Cook's Notes:

1. If using apples, I'd recommend using Braeburn or Fuji, but pretty much anything other then Red or Golden Delicious would be great. For pears, use Bartlett or Anjou, or mix it up and use some of each.

2. The brown sugar & vanilla is what makes this a butterscotch pie as well as the butter pieces melting down into the filling.

3. You can make the pie crust by hand which is what I used to do or if you have a food processor, use that. It cuts the shortening into the flour much more evenly and your hands don't get as icky. If you do use the food processor, contrary to popular belief, DO NOT make the dough ball up. If you do, the dough has been overworked and will not be flaky. Pulse the mix until the dough comes together in large clumps then you can gently press the clumps together. What happens is that you're making many teeny tiny layers of flour & shortening and when the pastry bakes, the shortening melts and the water in the shortening evaporates leaving all these teeny tiny pockets which is what makes a flaky pastry. The colder the shortening, the more it keeps it shape and makes the little pockets. When you overwork the dough, the shortening melts and you begin to develop gluten strands and it causes the dough to become tough.

4. The reason you preheat the baking sheet and then bake the pie on it is to bake the bottom crust a nice golden brown which doesn't usually happen when there is a heavy filling like pears or apples in the pie pan. This is the equivalent of blind-baking which is what you do for custard-filled pies (but we can discuss that in another blog!).

Eat well,

Holly

Italian Bread Crumb Fish

I had someone ask me for a breaded halibut recipe so I delved into my trove of clippings and found this Italian bread crumb topping for cod. It can be used for any white fish as well as chicken and pork, low-fat and is quite simple to throw together when you're in a hurry.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 TBSP grated parmesan cheese
1 TSBP cornmeal
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 black pepper
4 (3 oz) cod fillets
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Stir together all dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Spray the rack of a broiling pan with cooking spray. Place the fish on the pan and fold under any thin edges so they don't burn. Brush the egg white on the fish then spoon the bread crumb mixture evenly over the fillets..

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and is opaque all the way through.

Cook's notes:

1. I prefer to use Japanese panko instead of traditional bread crumbs for breading. You may be able to find it in the ethnic aisle of your grocery store; I know that World Market carries panko and of course, any Asian market such as Uwjimaya and Pal-Do. Panko is lighter and crispier and doesn't get soggy the way regular bread crumbs do. My gluten-free friends can substitute their gluten-free bread crumbs, of course!

2. For my dairy-free friends, there are hard goat cheeses that would be a great substitution for the parmesan and still have that great tangy flavor; check out Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

Eat well,
Holly

Thoughts on cooking & family

I ran across an article, written by Nancy Harmon Jenkins in "Saveur", February 2009.

"Real home cooking is like fine art: it is hard to define, but we know it when we see it...(it) stresses finesse over fancy techniques. It calls for ingredients at hand, like the fresh and dried chiles that Mexican home cooks swear by or the salt-cured anchovies that southern Italians can't do without. Simplicity is a hallmark of home cooking, and so is adaptability: if a dish calls for six cloves of garlic and you only have one, if the recipe requires a tablespoon of tomato paste and you're all out, if you're supposed to use lemon juice but you've only got oranges, you cook anyway, and you end up making something good. In the end...home cooking is: a link, a continuum from one generation to the next, a flow of knowledge and love that strengthens and nourishes everyone it touches."



I love this piece because that's what I want people to know--cooking isn't hard, recipes can always be adapted and love really is a secret ingredient. I had a friend tell me (and I know she doesn't really consider herself a cook) that she had made the tilapia with roasted tomato sauce that I posted a few weeks back, but since she didn't have certain ingredients on hand, she adapted the recipe by using what she did have and the dish turned out fine. I sometimes hesitate to pass recipes along only because I cook from ingredients and I don't have specific quantities.



As for the "continuum", well, I've been privileged to be the keeper of my paternal great-grandma's, my dad's and my maternal grandma's personal recipe collections, as well as a handful of my paternal grandma's Christmas cookie recipes. I have secret family recipes now! And my siblings have all called me at one time or another to ask me for help with recipes and I cherish being able to share what I know with people I love. Feeding others is my gift, my act of love, my gesture of comfort; it's my connection to my past, my legacy from my family and my path to the future as there is nothing that unites people more than a home-cooked meal.



Eat well,
Holly

~~The picture is a page from my great-grandma's personal cookbook; she wrote her recipes in a spiral-bound notebook and some of the pages are nearly illegible due to grease and food splatters.

Roasted Vegetable & Quinoa Salad

I haven't actually made this recipe yet, but as I have several friends who are gluten-intolerant, I thought that I'd post this as it A) it sounds really good and B) quinoa is good for you even if you can eat glutinous (ha!) products.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups quinoa

1/4 cup balsamic blend seasoned rice vinegar (such as Nakano brand)

2 tsps olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper

2 cups chopped carrots

3 1/2 cups chopped zucchini

1 3/4 cups chopped yellow squash

1 jar of roasted red peppers

1 cup feta cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

cooking spray

1. Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan and add the quinoa. Cover, reduce heat and cook for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

2. Whisk together the vinegar, olive oil and pepper in a bowl, then add the carrots; toss to coat. Drain the carrots but reserve the liquid. Spread the carrots on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coat the zucchini and squash, once again reserving the extra liquid. Add the remainder of the vegetables to the baking sheet with the carrots and bale everything for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

3. Drain the jar of red peppers and cut into smaller strips, if so desired. In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, veggies, feta cheese and reserved vinegar liquid. Stir well to combine; cover and chill.

Cook's note:

1. There are three kinds of cultivated quinoa--white, red and black. I found red and white at Trader Joe's and one of the staff recommended that I toast the grains before cooking them. Toasting is easy but you need to be alert; place the amount of quinoa that you'll be cooking immediately in a large saucepan or cast-iron skillet, keep moving the pan over medium-high heat just until the grains smell toasty and remove from the heat source. Ta-da!

2. I'd use chicken or vegetable stock in lieu of water when making the quinoa; it adds another dimension of flavor. I always have chicken stock on hand, though, so it's easy for me to say!

3. Use whatever vegetables you like for this recipe, but remember that the harder ones (like carrots) will take longer to roast, so plan accordingly. Or email me and I can help you figure it out! And play around--green beans roast nicely as does broccoli and cauliflower, mushrooms and onion wedges. Mix it up!

4. As for the seasoned vinegar, if you don't have rice vinegar on hand, use balsamic or red wine vinegar; improvise. Rice vinegar is really nice to have around (you can find it at Albertson's on their "ethnic" aisle) as it's a lighter seasoning but don't get hung up on it. Seriously.

5. This recipe would be really good with diced chicken as a main dish or as an accompaniment to grilled chicken. Quinoa is just a versatile as rice and pasta and potatoes, so use your imagination!

Eat well,

Holly

~~As I have no quinoa picture, I'm sharing one of some of my herbs for fun.