It's Pie Day!

 

In honour of Pie Day (3.14) here are some of my favorite pie recipes. 

I either make my own crusts (using the recipe on the back of the Tenderflake Lard box) or I use Pillsbury chilled crusts or frozen crusts (depending on my energy level, but I must admit the chilled crusts work just fine most of the time.) 

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Apple Pie (King Arthur Flour) 

Prepare 6-8 cups thinly sliced, peeled medium apples (Granny Smith, Pink Lady and Gala).  Mix with ¾ cup sugar and let the mixture drain in a colander for about 30 minutes. 

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp flour, 2 Tbsp corn starch, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp salt, ¾ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp allspice and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Gently stir in the drained apples. 

Lightly butter and flour a glass pie plate. 

Line the plate with a bottom crust and layer the apple filling into crust, avoiding large gaps. Dot with about 2 Tbsp butter. 

Top with a second crust. Cut vents and crimp crusts to close. 

Bake pie at 425 for 20 minutes: continue baking at 375 for 40 minutes. ________________________________________ 

Pumpkin Pie (King Arthur Flour) 

Mix 2 Tbsp flour, ¾ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and pinch cloves. 

Add 1 ½ cup canned pumpkin, ¾ cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp corn syrup and 1 ½ cups milk (or 12 oz evaporated milk). 

Rest mixture 30 minutes on counter or overnight in fridge. 

 Add 2 beaten eggs and mix until smooth. 

 Pour into an unbaked 9" crust. 

 Bake on bottom oven rack at 450 for 15 minutes. Move to middle rack and continue baking at 350 for 35 minutes. 

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Gram’s Strawberry Meringue Pie 

My grandmother invented this recipe for when she had company but didn't have very many strawberries - just a cup of sliced berries is more than enough for this pie. Eat it all that day (which is very easy to do!) 

Beat 3 egg whites until stiff. Stir in approximately 6 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.  Fold in 1 cup cut-up strawberries. 

Pour into an unbaked pie shell and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. ________________________________________ 

Open-face Berry Pie 

I developed this recipe to use the blackberries we used to pick -- it also works for peaches and blueberries, or raspberries, or a combination.

Cook approx. 2 cups berries (blackberries or blueberries) or 2 sliced peaches in 1 ½ cups water for 10 minutes. 

Mash and drain the fruit through a sieve. Add the juice to 2/3-1 cup sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice and 3 Tbsp moistened corn starch. (Optional: also use pinch of appropriate spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.)  Cook a few minutes until you have a clear syrup. Put aside to cool somewhat. 

Spread approx. 2 cups fresh berries or sliced peaches or a combination in a baked pie shell or baked tart shells. Pour the warm syrup over the fruit and let the pie cool completely 

Serve with whipped cream. 

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Heating a Cooked Frozen Pie 

Sometimes when we buy a bakery pie I cut it in half and freeze it. But I don't just thaw the pie when I want to eat it, because the crust will be soggy.  I heat it from frozen in a hot oven instead, so the extra moisture evaporates and the crust crisps up again. 

Freeze a full pie or a half pie well-wrapped, on a metal or foil pie plate. 

Heat the frozen pie for about 15 minutes at 425-450, then for an additional 15 minutes at 350-375, until it is warm. 

(Follow the same instructions for frozen tarts, though the reheating doesn't take as long.)

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My Banana Split Pie

Why are some recipes so complicated? Today the Washington Post published a recipe for something they call "Banana Split Sundae Pie" and it has 17 ingredients, for heavens sake, with eight different steps you're supposed to do to pull this recipe together.  It wants you to cook a caramel sauce, grind pretzels for a crust, soften and re-freeze three batches of ice cream, thin out jam, grate chocolate, find two types of cherries -- the list just goes on and on.  Exhausting!  

All this for a recipe that is basically Neapolitan ice cream, bananas and sauce. 

So here's my version:

Slice a banana and spread it over the bottom of a purchased crumb crust (vanilla, graham, or chocolate). Sprinkle with lemon juice. 

Soften several cups of Neapolitan ice cream, swirl to mix the colours and flavours, and scoop the ice cream into the crust over the bananas. Smooth and refreeze. 

When ready to serve, slice the frozen pie and add any other toppings you want -- whipped cream, various ice-cream sauces (strawberry, caramel, chocolate), sliced bananas, crushed pineapple, chopped cherries, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.

That's it.

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! (Part Two - Chicken Casseroles)

This is Part Two of my Chicken recipe posts (Part One Chicken Pieces is here). 

These are my recipes that use chopped-up chicken - either already cooked, or cooked in the dish.

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Cooking chicken pieces to use in a casserole

In a casserole you can use leftover chicken or turkey, or buy a rotisserie chicken, or you can cook breasts or boneless skinless thighs then cool and shred. 

Poaching breasts: For 2 cups of shredded chicken, place two large chicken breasts in 4 cups cold water. Add 4 tsp salt. Bring to boil. Turn breasts, cover and take off the heat. Wait 5 to 10 minutes, until chicken is at 150. 

Poaching breasts from frozen: Start as above but then keep the breasts on simmer for 5-10 minutes until chicken is at 150. 

Cooking boneless chicken thighs: In a large pot over high heat, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute 1-2 minutes each side. Rest 5 minutes then chop into pieces or shred. 

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Jambalaya 

Slice into rounds 10 oz Andouille sausage (or substitute Chorizo or Italian smoked sausage), season with Cajun seasoning* and brown. 

Cut into pieces 2 chicken breasts, season and brown. Set aside. 

 In large pan, sauté 1 diced onion, 2 small diced peppers (red and green) and 2 ribs chopped celery. Add 4 cloves garlic. Stir in 2 cups (1 can) crushed tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes (or cayenne powder), 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, and additional Cajun seasoning. 

Stir in 1 c sliced okra or green beans, plus the sausage and chicken, and cook 5 minutes. 

Add 1 ½ c uncooked rice and 3 c chicken broth. Cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes until rice is cooked. 

Place 1 lb (8-12) raw, peeled, deveined shrimps on top of mixture, stir through gently and cover.

Simmer until shrimp are cooked, about 5 minutes. 

Correct seasoning and serve. 

*Cajun seasoning substitute: combine 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp dried thyme and ½ tsp cayenne pepper. 

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! (Part One - Chicken Pieces)

We seem to eat lots of chicken these days - easy to cook, lots of flavours you can add, and simple to eat any leftovers, or shred the meat and make chicken salad sandwiches. 

We often buy chicken breasts in bulk and then freeze them individually in snack or sandwich bags, for easier handling later. Drumsticks and thighs can also be frozen of course, though we find they taste better when cooked fresh.

So here are the poultry recipes I like -- this is Part One (chicken pieces).  Part Two (chicken casseroles) is linked here. 

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Annie’s Chicken 

This is how our friend Annie bakes her chicken: 

Wash and dry chicken pieces then coat with cornflake crumbs and any seasonings you want. 

Lay on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake at 450 for 15 minutes. (Use foil because 450 is too hot for parchment paper.) 

Then turn the oven down to 350 and spread about a teaspoon of mayonnaise on each piece. (Can also use Miracle Whip or Ranch dressing if you want.) 

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour longer, until chicken reaches 165 degrees.

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Gravy-Baked Chicken Pieces 

Season chicken pieces (skin-on thighs or drumsticks) with paprika, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Rub in the seasoning and arrange skin-side up in a baking pan. 

Whisk 4 Tbsp flour into ½ cup beef stock or chicken stock until smooth, then whisk in another cup of stock plus pepper. Pour into pan around chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 for 50 minutes until chicken is golden and reaches 165 degrees. 

Remove chicken and whisk gravy to make it smooth. Adjust thickness if necessary. 

Add salt and pepper; serve the gravy on the side. 

This also works with chicken breasts, though pieces are tastier.

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Serving cucumbers

Basically, the problem with cucumbers is that you can't do anything with them except eat them. 

You can't grate them up and use them in baking. 

You can't chop them and freeze them for later. 

So that leaves us mainly with salads .

Cucumbers are always great in a green salad of course. Or you can just slice them and serve them on the side with some Ranch dressing or dip. 

Sometimes if my menu needs a little more help and if I think of it in time, I will make one of these cucumber salad recipes. 

They are all easy to pull together, they look pretty in a bowl, they make enough for four servings, they're easy to double if you have company, and if you have some left over it will usually still be OK the next night.

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Cucumber Watermelon Salad (Martha Stewart) 

Combine 3 cups peeled and cubed cucumber with 3 cups cubed watermelon. 

Martha says to toss this with 3 Tbsp lime juice, ¾ tsp salt and pinch of pepper. I have found that using poppyseed dressing also works very well. 

Serve immediately. 

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Cucumber Salad (Martha Stewart) 

Slice several cucumbers and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp salt. Let stand an hour at room temperature. 

Drain and rinse under cold running water to remove salt, then squeeze dry in paper towels and place the cucumbers in a serving bowl. 

In a cup or small bowl, combine ½ cup sour cream, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, and 2 Tbsp chopped dill. Season with salt and pepper. 

Pour this mixture over the cucumbers and refrigerate up to 4 hours. 

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German Cucumber Salad 

Whisk together 1/3 cup sour cream or yogurt with 2 Tbsp fresh dill, 1 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 Tbsp milk, ½ tsp prepared mustard, ¼ tsp coarse salt and pepper, . 

Add 1 thinly sliced English cucumber and ½ cup thinly sliced red or yellow onion. 

Chill an hour before serving. 

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Sometime this spring I will also post some pickle recipes.

Three Madame Benoit recipes

Madame Jehane Benoit was such a great cook. 

Here are two of her recipes that I have made dozens of times - simple and they come out beautifully: 

Madame Benoit's Chocolate Sauce 

Combine 2 oz unsweetened chocolate with ½ cup water. Microwave uncovered 3 minutes and stir until creamy. Add ¾ cup sugar and stir until well mixed. Heat 2 minutes. 

Add 4 tblsp butter, ¼ tsp salt and 1 tsp vanilla.  Makes 1 1/3 cups. Serve over ice cream or cake.

Madame Benoit's Cherries Jubilee Sauce 

Drain 1 can pitted cherries and pour liquid into measuring cup. Add enough water to make 1 cup. Combine 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, pinch salt, and cherry liquid, and cook 3-6 minutes until thick and clear. 

 Stir in 1 Tbsp butter, 1 tsp lemon juice and cherries. Heat 2 minutes. 

Makes about a cup. Serve over ice cream, cake or biscuits.

And here's a third Benoit recipe I just found online, so I'm looking forward to trying it -- the advantage here is, no corn syrup!

Madame Benoit’s Butter Tarts 

(12 medium or 20 small tarts) 

Cream 3 Tbsp butter and gradually add 1 cup brown sugar until similar to a light cream. 

Beat 1 egg and add to the sugar cream gradually, stirring all the while. Sprinkle on ½ tsp salt.

While stirring, add ¼ cup raisins, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts and ½ tsp vanilla. 

Use a generous Tbsp of mixture for each tart. 

Bake for 8 minutes in a 400 oven, reduce to 375 and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes until the filling sets and the pastry begins to colour. 

Recipe roundup

Here's some recipes I recently saw online that look like they might be good:

Top 5 Tasty Pasta Recipes pic.twitter.com/Uq1WY1euBC

— Tasty (@tasty) February 7, 2023

This lemony one-bowl cake with cream cheese frosting is definitely a keeper: https://t.co/vMGPZUOkfZ pic.twitter.com/ULfbOUVKGE

— Food & Wine (@foodandwine) February 7, 2023

Two chocolate cake recipes -- first, here's one made from scratch:

How To Make The Ultimate Chocolate Cake pic.twitter.com/CuUnpJnmu8

— Tasty (@tasty) February 6, 2023

Porcupine Meat Balls

By special request from my daughter, here's my mother-in-law's recipe for Porcupine Meat Balls (and no porcupines were harmed in the making of this recipe!) 

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it doesn't require any browning of the meatballs - they just brown all by themselves while they are in the oven. And you can use just about any type of rice or seasonings or sauce ingredients you have on hand. 

Serve them with more rice or with mashed potatoes, if you want.

 

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Porcupine Meatballs      

(Makes about 10 meatballs. Can easily be doubled.)

Mix ¾ lb lean ground beef,  1/3 cup rinsed white rice (short grain if you can get it), ½ cup milk, 2 tsp baking powder, plus Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. (optional: 1 Tbsp minced onion)

(By the way, I usually don't have any Minute Rice on hand, but there's no reason why you shouldn't use it in this recipe if you have some.)

Shape into approximately 10 balls and place in a baking dish

Prepare a sauce and pour over meatballs. 

Bake at 350 to 375 covered for 35 minutes then uncovered for 35 minutes. 

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Porcupine Meatballs using already-cooked rice

(Makes about 15 meatballs. Can easily be doubled)

Combine 1 lb lean ground beef, ½ cup cooked white rice, ½ tsp garlic powder,  1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 egg, plus Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. (optional: 2 Tbsp parsley, 1 Tbsp minced onion)

Shape into approximately 15 balls and place in a baking dish.

Prepare a sauce and pour over meatballs.  

Bake at 325 for an hour uncovered..

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Sauces for porcupine meatballs

The meatballs should be about half-covered with sauce when you put them into the oven.  If they get too dry while they are cooking, just add a little water.

Tomato Sauce: Use 1-2 cans tomato soup, or equivalent amount of tomato juice or canned tomatoes. Or combine 1 can tomato soup with 1 cup vegetable juice or tomato sauce. For seasoning, add ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom Soup Sauce: Combine 1 can mushroom soup, 1 cup beef broth, ½ cup milk, ½ cup sour cream and ½ tsp garlic powder. Mix together until smooth.

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My Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pudding

Here is my basic Prime Rib recipe (which I learned to cook thanks to Mark Bittman)  

The Yorkshire recipe is based on my old 5th edition Joy of Cooking that my mother gave me when I married. I now make Yorkshire without beef fat so my vegetarian son can also enjoy it. I learned how to make gravy from watching my mother make it, but as I recall it was Ina Garten who recommends adding soy sauce and mustard to gravy for more flavour.

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Prime Rib

Mix 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp horseradish, garlic salt and pepper.  Rub on the top of a prime rib roast.  Sprinkle sides with lemon pepper and salt. Place roast fat-up on rack in roasting pan (for a smaller roast, keep the roast upright by proping it between two baking potatoes, or by inserting large skewers to hold the meat in the pan.)  Roast at 450 for 20 minutes then at 325-350 until done (20 minutes per pound, approx. 1 ½ -2 hours in all for a 4-lb roast ) When done, place on platter and wrap in foil for 20 -30 minutes to rest, while you make the gravy and the Yorkshire pudding. (PS, You can also use this rub on a pork roast.)

Meat temperature reference:  Rare: 120       Medium 130      Well-done 140

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Yorkshire

(6 large) Whisk vigorously 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 2-3 eggs, ½ tsp salt and pepper.  Rest batter in fridge for 10 minutes. Using a large muffin pan, place a tsp of butter in each muffin cup.  When oven is preheated, heat the muffin pan in oven for a few minutes until butter is melted and is smoking hot. Working quickly, fill each muffin cup 2/3 full of batter (use a soup ladle).  Return pan to oven and bake at 425 for 20 minutes.  Finish at 350 for up to 10 minutes. (Alternately, you can use beef fat instead of butter, or you can use a 9 X 12 pan).

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Gravy

Gravy needs proportionately about 2 Tbsp fat, 2 Tbsp flour and 2 cups liquid.  

While the roast is resting, heat the remaining fat in the roasting pan, adding extra butter if necessary to make at least 2 Tbsp of fat. When hot, sprinkle in at least 2 Tbsp flour and stir. Let the roux cook for a minute until the flour is incorporated and browning. Slowly add approx 2 cups beef broth and stir constantly to incorporate the roux and the gravy is bubbly and thick. If too thin, sprinkle a little more flour into the pan; if too thick, add a little more stock or water. Flavour the gravy with a tsp each of soy sauce, Dijon mustard, Worchestshire sauce and/or Kitchen Bouquet. Strain the gravy into a 2-cup measure and keep warm.  When roast has rested, before the meat is sliced, you can also tilt the platter over the gravy to add the meat juices into the gravy.

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Welcome to my recipes

I have cooked for my family for more than 50 years.

In that time, I have learned a lot about cooking -- I keep it simple but I want to make it taste good. 

But as I look back over those years of cooking, I also realize how much I benefited from the cooking lessons and recipes I got from my mother, from my aunt, who taught Home Economics, from my mother-in-law, and from father-in-law, who owned a butcher shop. 

A few years ago I got busy and assembled my own personal cookbook -  now its time to take some of those recipes and create a blog where I can post the recipes I enjoy cooking, as well as links to all the other good recipes I find online. 

Let me know if you also enjoy these - and if you have any questions about a recipe, just ask. 

(Illustration credit: Jan Davidsz. de Heem Still Life with Ham, Lobster and Fruit ca 1652)