3000 miles 'til dinner.

(MIL post)

Need I say more! There’s nothing quite as nurturing as a “homemade” pie with it’s buttery flakey crust and delicious filling ….feel the love in every bite.

Prep time:  30 minutes

Baking time:  1 hour 15 minutes 

Baking temp: 400 degrees/10 minutes; 350 degrees for approx. 1 hour, middle rack

9” Pie pan: glass, stainless, ceramic or aluminum

Servings:   1 - 9” pie 

♥PANTRY, FRIDGE, MARKET♥♥

2 or 3 cans/jars (1#, 9oz) sour cherries (sometimes called Morello or pie cherries)  equaling 4 C. cherries 

1 1/2 C. granulated sugar

1/8 t. sea salt

3 T.  + 1 t. cornstarch

2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 T. cold unsalted butter

♥PREP - Prepare Basic Pie Pastry  Roll out two 10-11” rounds. Fold one round in half and lay gently over half the pie pan, folding flap back over so pastry lays across the pan and hangs over the side.  Do not trim the overlapping pastry as you will want at least 1” to make a plump fluted edge.

Filling: Drain the berries, reserving the juice. In a bowl, mix the sugar, alt and cornstarch. Add the 1 C. of the cherry juice and lemon juice, whisking all together. Stir in the cherries and pour into the pie pan. Place dots of the butter on top. Fold second pastry round in half and lay over the top.

Crimp the crust, making a plump fluted edge: tuck the overlapping dough under until there is a ridge around the pan rim; pinch the ridge between your fingers, using one or both hands, to create a “crimp” or scalloped edge, rotating the pan as you go. Go back around the gently push the crimped crust in from the outside lip of so it won’t adhere and “catch” on the edge, making it hard to remove a slice of baked pie from the pan without the crust crumbling.

♥ Baking 

Place the pie on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment or foil to catch the juices that usually spill over. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the juices bubble up from the CENTER of the pie and are clear and thick. (the juices may bubble up around the sides first, but wait for the center to bubble)

♥♥ WAYS TO “just wing it” ♥♥               consider or substitute

*substitute: frozen sour cherries and bottled cherry juice for the liquid

*consider: a berry or peach pie, using bottled juice (pear, apple or pear) for the liquid

♥ Helpful Hints♥

*check this “how to” on the net: How to Crimp and Flute a Pie Crust 

*if the fluted edge crust begins to get too dark before the pie is done, wrap with strips of foil

*freeze left-over juice from canned cherries and use another time in a pie or beverage

________________________________________________________________________________________

In honor of National Pie Day on Jan 23, I made pies for friends: Cherry, Pecan, Mixed Berry and little Mixed Berry Tartlets.

 PECAN TARTS

 (MIL post)

I have been making pies to honor Pie day —- such a great idea! And to inspire you to bake a pie tomorrow, here’s a photo of the Cherry Pie I made yesterday — (recipe to follow in a few days) If you don’t have time to bake, or maybe don’t want to, there seems to be a lot of pies around now. Here in Portland pies are very popular. My nephew, Josh, who is not only our blog “tech/trouble shooter/glitch finder” but an excellent pie baker himself (he’s the one who told me about National Pie day!) came across this guide to pies in our town:  http://www.makemesomepie.com/ultimate-portland-pie-guide/  

Original MIL Mission #58: Harvest Grains Salad with Fresh Herbs

Here we have a residual mission that has gone unblogged for many months and also the last blog entry featuring my apartment in the West Village as the Husband and I have up and moved to Brooklyn! 

Here are the grains. Now that we live in BK, we are very close to Trader Joe’s, but the checkout lines at the Manhattan TJs can be paaaaaaaaaaainful, so I opted to buy the grains individually. As a result, I’ve since used some of these in other recipes (just last week I threw some orzo into a big pot of Minestrone! Also, I’ve been making a soup every Sunday to have for the week. More on that later.)

And here are all my non-grainy ingredients. I did have some fennel laying around from a fennel, orange and parmesan salad I had made earlier in the week, so I wing’d it right in there. 

  ♥HOW I MADE IT.♥

 I simmered my grains… 

…then patiently waited for them to cool to room temp before adding the herbs, veg, oil, lemon juice and vinegar. 

♥MIL MISSION #58: ACCOMPLISHED.♥

One of these things is not like the other, huh? My grain salad looks so different from MIL and Marites’! But it’s because of the homebrew grain mix, I’m sure. I can say that I have tasted this salad as made by MIL and mine had the same fresh and tangy taste. I served the salad along side some oven “fried” chicken and mac ‘n cheese. You know, to offset all the healthfulness of the harvest grains. 

♥PLATE IT, ATE IT, GRADED IT.♥

scale: 0 (not at all) to 5 (very)

Cupboard to table time: 60 minutes

Difficulty: 2 (I thought that making the grains would be a testy process like perfect rice, but it was really quite easy! I would score this a 1 if I had the TJ mix)

Deliciousness: 4.5 (Next time I’ll go a little heavier on the softer grains like cous cous and orzo to change up the texture) 

Impressed Husband factor: 5 (Seriously, though, the man loves a good grain salad)

Leftover-friendly: 5 (I added chopped shrimp to it for lunch the next day. Way to wing it, self.)

(posted by jessica)

Original MIL Mission #48: Incredible Chocolate Chip Cookies

DIL Jessica here, taking myself off the bench and back into the cooking game. Which is simply a sporty euphemism to distract you from the fact that I’m guilty of some serious blogneglect. Eek.

So, where was I? Ah yes. I revisited MIL’s Incredible Chocolate Chip Cookie Mission during NYC’s Hurricane Irene scare nearly one thousand years ago. We were appropriately placed in Zone C(ookie). Thankfully, Hurricane Irene blew over in the good kind of way and the cookies turned out quite incredible. As forecasted. 

(posted by jessica)

Anonymous asked: can i do anything to rectify too much baking powder in my brownies

Not if you’ve already mixed it in … but if you have, go ahead and bake them. They will definitely have a different texture (softer because of the extra leavening). They may have an “acidic” taste and if this is the case, best to just toss them and start over. Bake them and see what you think. If there is no unpleasant taste, then you have created a “cake brownie”, delicious served with fudge sauce and ice cream :)

There couldn’t be a more satisfying and simpler dish than pasta with fresh garlic and olive oil. Pappardelle (very broad fettucini) is a nice change to the more popular linguine commonly seen on menus —- no matter, any pasta is always a favorite when paired with this easy sauce. 

Prep time:  20 minutes

Servings:   4 (or two with left-overs)

♥PANTRY, FRIDGE, MARKET♥♥

1 lb. dried or fresh pappardelle

1 C. good quality olive oil, not too fruity

4-5 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 C. water from the boiling pasta

1/2. C. packed fresh parsley, either flat or curly variety

1 C. freshly grated Parmesan

♥PREP

Mince the garlic and chop the parsley; set each aside.

Fill a large pot with cold water, add 2 t. sea salt, cover and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, add all the papparadelle and cook according to directions (dried pasta will take about 20 minutes, fresh about 4 minutes) stirring gently to separate pasta.  Do not over cook, it should be al dente, not too soft and not too firm.  The term “al dente” comes from and means “to the bite” referring to the need to chew the pasta due to its firmness.

As soon as the fresh pasta is dropped in the water or 10 minutes after the dried pasta is dropped in, start the sauce. In a medium, heavy bottom sauce pan, heat 1/2 the olive oil and all the garlic, cooking until the garlic is aromatic and just beginning to change to a golden color. Immediately add 1 C. of the pasta water and swirl or whisk until the sauce starts to emulsify (merge). Pour the pasta into a colander and drain; no need to worry about it being completely dry. Pour the garlic sauce into the large pasta pot, heat to bubbling, add the pasta and toss until glossy and coated with the sauce. Toss in 1/4 C. parsley and lift into serving bowls. Add a sprinkling of parsley on each serving. Pass the Parmesan!  

Consider serving with CHICKEN MARBELLA or  FISH en PAPILLOTE. 

♥♥ WAYS TO “just wing it” ♥♥               consider or substitute

*substitute: linguine, fettucini or spaghetti

*substitute: chicken (for a chicken flavor) or vegetable broth

*substitue: grated Percorino Romano, Asiago, Feta or other cheese(s) of choice

*consider: tossing in uncooked baby spinach into hot pasta; it will wilt 

♥ Helpful Hints♥

*this pasta is best served right away, but of course the left overs are delicious re-heated. 

(MIL post)

Turkey is a stand-up idea anytime. Although most of us are accustomed to roasting a turkey for special holidays, we don’t often consider it the rest of the year. It is a delicious idea to consider more often, especially when it’s as easy and quick as this way of preparing a simple and succulent turkey breast.

Prep time:   5 minutes mix marinade.  24 hours to marinate.   

Roasting time: 1 hour, 15 minutes or 165 degrees on a meat thermometer

Oven temp:  325 degrees, middle rack

Servings:    2 with plenty of  leftovers for sandwiches!

♥PANTRY, FRIDGE, MARKET♥♥

2 1/5 lb. turkey breast, bone in, skin on   (a half of a breast or “split” turkey breast)

Marinade:

1/3 C. olive oil

1/2 C. balsamic vinegar

1 t. sea salt

1 t. fresh black or white pepper

1 t. thyme

1 t. sage

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

♥PREP

Rinse and pat dry the breast and place it in a gallon zip lock bag. Mix all ingredients for the marinade and pour over the breast. Seal the bag and press the marinade all around the breast.

Refrigerate 24 hours, turning the bag every now and then, if and when you open the fridge.

♥ROAST

Place the breast, skin side up,in a cast iron skillet. Pour the marinade over the breast. Insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, not touching the bone or cartilage. Roast, uncovered, until the temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. 

Option: set the breast aside and deglaze the pan by adding 1 C. white or red wine and reduce over medium heat.  Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing and dissolving caramelized bits of meat from a pan to make a pan sauce .

Consider serving with your favorite cranberry sauce and one of these side dishes: WILD RICE SALAD with MANGO & TOASTED PECANS,  HARVEST GRAINS SALAD with FRESH HERBS or CREAMY POLENTA

♥♥ WAYS TO “just wing it” ♥♥               consider or substitute

*substitute a turkey hindquarter (thigh/leg) or a whole turkey, but adjusting the roasting time is necessary

♥ Helpful Hints♥

*the breast can be marinated up to 48 hours before roasting

*the cast iron skillet, or any heavy bottom skillet, is only necessary for roasting if you plan to deglaze on the stove top. 

*SHOPPING: I found fresh, Kosher split turkey breasts at my local Trader Joes

Anonymous asked: I had the pleasure of trying your food at the palmer pletsch seminar in portland this week and would love if you shared your cornbread recipe it was lovely!

Thank you so much  for your request — the recipe for the Savory Corn and Onion Spoon Bread has just been posted!

Prep time:  20 minutes

Pan or baking dish:   8x8” or 9X9” oven proof baking pan or dish

Baking time:  40-50 minutes

Baking temp:  350 degrees, center rack

Servings:   4 generous servings, with left overs

♥PANTRY, FRIDGE, MARKET♥♥

1 1/2 C. favorite cornbread batter

1 C. white or yellow onion, medium dice

2 T. butter

2 C. sour cream

1 T. fresh dill or 1 t. dried dill fresh dill

1 t. sea salt

1 t. fresh ground black or white pepper

1 C. whole kernel corn (fresh & uncooked, canned OR frozen/thawed)

♥PREP

Over medium heat, melt butter in a heavy skillet and add onions. Saute until translucent and tender.

Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, corn dill, sea salt and pepper. Scoop into buttered 8x8” pan and pour cornbread batter over the top

♥BAKE - 350 degrees

Place pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment (incase it spills over). Bake for 45-50 minutes or until cornbread is baked through. Delicious served with with Just under the skin” OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN.

*consider using a cornbread mix for the batter rather than make from scratch

*substitute low fat sour cream

*consider enhancing the dill flavor by adding more to the sour cream mix OR changing the flavor entirely by adding different herbs or spices. Consider: toasted cumin and diced chilies

♥ Helpful Hints♥

*left overs can be frozen

(MIL post)

Prep time:  20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 1/4  hour

Servings:   4 hearty servings

♥PANTRY, FRIDGE, MARKET♥♥

1 T. olive oil

8 chubby drumsticks, skin on

1 large yellow onion, medium dice

4 medium cloves garlic, crushed

4 long stalks celery, medium dice

3 long  carrots, medium dice

3 bay leaves

1/2 t. each: basil, sage

1/4t. each: oregano, thyme

pinch saffron

2 t. sea salt  *adjust amount if using salted chicken stock

1/2 t.  to 1 t. fresh ground black or white pepper

3 C. water (or chicken stock)

3 C. chicken stock

♥PREP

In 4 quart heavy bottom pot over medium heat, add olive oil and drumsticks, browning on all sides for approximately 15 minutes. Add onion, garlic, celery and carrots and cook for 10 minutes. Add rest of ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.  Adjust salt and pepper seasoning and serve with crusty bread,  FLAKEY BAKING POWDER BISCUITS or  BEER BREAD.

♥♥ WAYS TO “just wing it” ♥♥               consider or substitute

*substitute: thighs, bone in & skin on or a combination of legs and thighs

*consider adding a chunk of Parmesan rind for added flavor

*consider adding  1 C. of marinara or other tasty tomato base sauce

 ♥ Helpful Hints♥

*soup freezes well

(MIL Post)

Original MIL Mission #57: Poached Lemon Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of my all-time favorite desserts, and I like all varieties. Baked, poached, fruited, plain. Whatever. I’ve asked MIL for a good recipe in the past, so I was super excited to try this one (lemon being a favorite dessert flavor for me too — one of my wedding cakes was lemon!), but I’ve always been intimidated to try making one since it seemed complicated.

Well, I figured it was time to face my fears. I decided to make it for a baby shower my friends were throwing for me. And yes, you heard right. I’m finally outing myself that me and the hubby are expecting a little one — due next week, in fact! And second, yes, I did make something for my own baby shower. Weird, yes. But I insisted! If I didn’t make this cheesecake for others, I guarantee I would have eaten the whole thing myself!

♥HOW I MADE IT.♥

The ingredients.

First, I prepared my pan for the bain-marie process.

And then squeezed my fresh lemon juice. Check out the lemon carcasses in the background.

And then finished up the lemon-y part of this recipe with a bit of zest.

Next came my favorite part — the easy food processor part. Really? This is all I needed to do to make yummy cheesecake? Cream cheese, eggs, sugar, lemon-y parts in…

Creamy goodness out!

I poured the creamy goodness out and started the sour cream topping portion.

And then all went into the bain-marie bath in the oven, and in the cheesecake went into its own sauna bath of fun.

And close-up of done poached cheesecake. I made sure the cheesecake felt firm, let it cool at room temp and then chilled for several hours before serving.

♥MIL MISSION #57: ACCOMPLISHED.♥

Ta-da! Cheesecake mission accomplished! I added some fresh strawberries on top to make it look prettier and since that just seemed like the right thing to do. As it’s the tail end of summer crops (in L.A. that is), I wanted to incorporate this last batch of berries before they were gone ‘til next season.

And here’s the cheesecake dug into, with the cute little owl cake pops that decorated the table.

All in all, making cheesecake was much easier than I thought. I would definitely make this again, and in fact, I’m ready to try other methods of making cheesecake. Baked, crusted — bring it on!

♥PLATE IT, ATE IT, GRADED IT.♥

scale: 0 (not at all) to 5 (very)

Cupboard to table time: Approximately 4.5 hours (1.5 hours for prep and baking; 3 hours for chilling)

Difficulty: 2 (like I said, much easier than I thought!)

Deliciousness: 5 

Impressed crowd factor: 4 (they loved it but have to dock a point because of all the requests I had for a crust)

Leftover-friendly: 0 (not when making for a sweet-lovin’ crowd!)

Original MIL Mission #61: Chilled Zucchini Soup with Fresh Herbs

I admit — when I first saw this mission, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. First of all, I’ve never had zucchini soup, nor have I ever considered it. Second, I’ve never been a huge fan of chilled soup. The only one I could think of is gazpacho, and my opinion of gazpacho is “meh.” I’m more of the creamy tomato soup, chunky corn chowder or hearty bean varieties myself.

But it was a warmish Sunday afternoon, and me and the hubby have been trying to have the occassional meatless day, and I thought chilled zucchini soup would be a good experiment.

♥HOW I MADE IT.♥

The ingredients.

First off, I got to chopping my veggies. Pretty easy stuff.

Then tossed them into a pan for a quick stir fry.

I then put the pan into the oven to finish cooking. While the veggies baked, I chopped the herb part of the recipe and zested some lemon.

After about 25 minutes, my veggies in the oven came out looking quite browned and lovely. Smelled good!

I threw everything into the processor.

And processed away. Again… SO EASY. Love that machine.

And then I slowly poured in the chicken stock while the processor kept doing its thang. It was getting steamy in there!

And last but not least, I added a dollop of yogurt into the pureed goodness.

♥MIL MISSION #61: ACCOMPLISHED.♥

All I could say is… YUM!  I took MIL’s cue and garnished the soup with some basil. The soup was delicious! It had this tangy freshness to it, and it was amazingly satisfying. I served it with a baked yam and some fresh bread and butter (see… vegetarian and nutritious!), and it was a perfect mid-day meal for a warm day.

And did I mention it was so easy to make? I may have changed my mind about chilled soups.

♥PLATE IT, ATE IT, GRADED IT.♥

 scale: 0 (not at all) to 5 (very)

Cupboard to table time: Approximately 2 hours (including chill time)

Difficulty: 1

Deliciousness: 5 

Impressed husband factor: 5

Leftover-friendly: 0 (none leftover!)