Tag Archives: thanksgiving

perfect food pairings

Posted in fruit, pie by

When I think of foods that pair together nicely the obvious answer is peanut butter and chocolate (duh!) but there are of course others: salmon and dill, beets and goat cheese, figs and bacon (but what doesn’t bacon go with?), and so on and so forth.  But I live in Wisconsin now and we all know what Wisconsin is known for: yes, I’m talking about cheese.  In Wisconsin restaurants they put a slice of cheddar cheese on apple pie… wha-wha-what???

I’ve actually had this recipe for long before I moved to Dairyland so it seems fitting that I wound up in this fine state.  However, this recipe one-ups the slice of cheese on top of the apple pie by incorporating the cheese into the crust.  It’s pure genius and must be tried immediately.

I highly recommend enjoying it heated up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  Yet another wonderful pairing!

Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust (found at www.marthastewart.com)

  • 1 1/2 pounds (about 3) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
  • 2 pounds (about 5) Cortland apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch thick wedges
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • Cheddar Crust dough (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough into two pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each to a 13-inch circle.

Fit one circle into a 10-inch pie plate; transfer plate to a baking sheet. Put other circle on another baking sheet. Refrigerate dough until cold, at least 30 minutes.

Stir together apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.  Spoon into bottom pie crust. Dot filling with butter. Cover with top crust.  Fold edges over; crimp decoratively to seal. Cut a steam vent. Chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

Brush with egg. Bake pie 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Tent with foil; bake until juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes more. Let cool at least 1 1/2 hours before serving.

Cheddar Crust (found at www.marthastewart.com)

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup ice water

Process flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter; pulse until pea-size lumps appear. Pulse in cheese. With processor running, add ice water; process just until dough comes together.

Turn dough out; gather into a block. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

a chill is in the air

Posted in dessert by

Saturday afternoon I came home to find a pumpkin next to my front door.  Isn’t that sweet?  My upstairs neighbor left it for me and it got me in such a fall spirit I pulled out my fall wreath and put it on the front door and then decided it was high time to do some fall baking.

Fall is for sure my favorite season by far.  Mostly because of the food.  I love all things relating to the squash and root vegetable categories.  And while I am sad to see summer go I am more than happy to welcome back fall and all of the wonderful flavors it brings. 

About a month ago when it was approximately 92 degrees at 10 o’clock at night I came home to find a bat flying in circles in my living room.  Bats do not belong in my living room.  I immediately freaked out and shut myself in my bathroom calculating how long I could survive in there if need be.  Fortunately I had my cell phone with me and was able to call for back-up.  My friend volunteered her boyfriend to remove the bat from my apartment and that he did, ever so calmly.  To thank him I bought him a 6-pack of beer and decided to bake him pumpkin chocolate chip square bars.

Seems like a fair trade, right?  Well, fortunately he seems to think so too.

Pumpkin and chocolate chips compliment each other very well.  I have also used both ingredients in pancakes and muffins and they were equally as tasty.  These bars are dense and sweet with the distinct fall flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and all-spice. 

Makes that hot summer night and the bat seem like a distant memory…

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares (slightly adapted from recipe found at www.marthastewart.com)

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice (if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon each allspice and cloves [all ground])
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares.

sweet treat

Posted in pie by

Ever heard of chess pie before?  Neither had I until I saw a segment on The Cooking Channel that took place at a pie shop in Brooklyn where they were making a buttermilk version.  It involved butter, sugar, and eggs and I thought, shoot, what could be better? 

So a few months later when I found a recipe in my Martha Stewart magazine for a Chess Tart I thought it serendipitous.  Martha has never steered me wrong before and I didn’t think she would now.

The crust for this tart is made of vanilla wafers which I’ve had a total weakness for since preschool when they would give them to us as a snack with milk before story time.  I managed to find a more natural version of them at Trader Joe’s where you can actually see flecks of vanilla bean in the cookies.  Very tasty.

 I brought the pie into work to share and one of my coworkers described the flavor “like pecan pie without the pecans.”  Good call.

Chess Tart (from www.marthastewart.com)

·         FOR THE FILLING

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fine cornmeal
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

·         FOR THE TART SHELL

  • Vegetable oil cooking spray, for pan
  • 1 1/4 cups ground vanilla wafers (about 45)
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the tart shell: Coat a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Mix together wafers, butter, granulated sugar, and salt. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of pan. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.

Transfer pan to a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until tart shell is golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly. Reduce oven to 325 degrees.

Make the filling: Mix together sugars, cornmeal, and salt, breaking up clumps. Whisk in eggs, yolk, and vanilla. Whisk in butter. Pour filling into tart shell. Bake until top is dark golden brown and edge is set but center is still a bit wobbly, 35 to 40 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool for 15 minutes. Refrigerate until cooled, at least 2 hours or overnight.