The Peach Pie Experiment

This post may be getting published in March, but I actually conducted my experiment in February.  That matters because it makes the title a lie...let me explain.

As you can probably imagine, I pay the greatest amount of attention to the Facebook posts that involve food.  Several months ago a post popped up from PBS on state foods.  The original article was written a few years ago and features only a few states, but it was enough to inspire a desire to see if I could come up with dishes that incorporated all the states' foods.  

Now, when you decide to embark on such a ridiculous quest, the only place to start is at the top (the top of the alphabet, that is).  Therefore, we have Alabama with it's state nut, state fruit, and state tree fruit - pecan, blackberry, and peach.  Enter in the lie...

It's February when I finally decide to make my secret food quest a reality.  Do you know what is wrong with this scenario?  You can't actually find peaches in the store yet.  However, fear not, you can find nectarines.  Obviously, they are not the same thing, but honestly who of us does not see the nectarine and the peach as basically interchangeable?  

Poor sad fruits, never getting any of the glory entirely on their own.  What are you going to do? Well, I couldn't be distracted by egotistical fruit while I was on a mission, so into my cart the nectarines went.  Next came the blackberries.  Finally, the pecans and my trifecta was complete.  Wait until you see what I did with these guys.

Peach Nectarine Pie with a Blackberry Oatmeal Crust

Ingredients:

2 c. quick oats

12 oz. blackberries

1 c. sugar

1 lb nectarines - sliced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. crushed pecans

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

4 Tbsp butter - diced and cold

Directions:

Making the Crust:  In a sauce pan over medium heat, heat the blackberries until they begin to plump and break, allowing the juice to flow out.  Be careful not to overheat the fruit.  Strain the fruit through a mesh strainer.  You will need to help the process along with a spoon.  Strain fruit until you have a 1/2 cup of juice.

Because this is what the cool kids do with their Sundays.

Pour the juice back into the sauce pan and add the sugar.  Heat until the sugar dissolves completely.  In a mixing bowl, mix the juice and oats.  Once the oats are completely coated, press into a greased 9 inch pie dish.

Look at that color!

Bake the crust for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 350F.

Preparing the Filling:  While the crust bakes, slice your nectarines.  You only need a pound, which should be about 3 good sized nectarines.  In a large mixing bowl, toss them with the lemon juice and cinnamon.

Once the crust is ready, add the filling.  I decided to be an overachiever and arranged the slices as neatly as I could.

Making the Topping:  The only thing left to do is make the crumble topping.  Mix the butter with the crushed pecans, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Sprinkle onto the pie.

Doesn't look like much yet, but just you wait!

Bake for 40 minutes at 350F.  Slice and serve!

I just love the colors of this pie!  The nectarines held up pretty well during baking so they are still a bit firm when you bit into them.  The crust is sweet, but not overpowering.  The flavor of the nectarines really shine through.  It is just such a different way to combine these flavors, I really enjoyed creating this one.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The Saint Paddy's Day Dessert Debacle

My local library has a monthly cookbook book discussion and I'm a little in love.  Each month, the librarian who leads our merry band of home cooks, picks a cookbook and we all select a recipe to try and share at the next meeting.  Since this month has both Saint Patrick's Day and Saint Joseph's Day, she had us select either a cookbook covering the essential classical Italian dishes or one covering traditional Irish dishes.  FYI: corned beef and cabbage were nowhere to be found in that book.

Now, I'm a bit of an overachiever, so I decided to bring two dishes with me. As my official recipe I chose a dish from the Italian cookbook - Saffron Risotto Milanese Style - and as a fun extra I decided to make the rather unfortunately named traditional Irish country dessert - Yellowman.

Yellowman is no joke.  Yellowman and I do not get along.  Sugar work and I do not seem to get along in general and Yellowman simply proved it.  My attempt at Flan last month was ridiculous and I was really hoping this new sugary dessert attempt would redeem me.  Nope.  Sugar - 2, Me - 0.

 

Please say hello to Harry The Sugar Snake.  He was a remnant of the sugar explosion that happened over my stove... hold on, let me go back to the beginning.

 

Making Yellowman requires you to dissolve brown sugar in corn syrup with a bit of white vinegar.  You then need to heat the sugar mixture to 290 degrees.

 

 

The fact that 290 is located just past CRACK on the candy thermometer should tell you something.  But I was doing it, and I got so close.

 





 

And then I got impatient.  I turned the heat up too much too fast and the sugar started to boil over and burn.  I had to hold the pot over the dish I had prepared for setting it. 

 

As the molten sugar monster threatens to burn my feet off, I frantically race to add the last ingredient - baking soda. Why baking soda you ask.  Well, Yellowman is science in action.  Because there is vinegar in the sugar mixture, adding the baking soda makes the entire thing fizz.  Yea, that's right, I had a giant molten sugar fizzy monster... well no.  Thankfully the addition of the baking soda actually retarded the boiling.  That's not what should have happened, adding the baking soda should have caused it to rise rather rapidly.  Apparently though, the sugar monster decided I had been tortured enough. 

 

I quickly scraped what I could into my baking dish to set.  I had no idea what I was going to get, but surprise of all surprises...

 



I actually got something that is almost what I was supposed to get.  Now, that darker, solid caramel bottom is not what I wanted.  BUT... the top is exactly what I wanted.  The addition of the baking soda creates this honeycomb look to the candy.  It is extremely hard.  I had to break it into pieces using my rolling pin.  The flavor is this sweet subtle caramel taste that is like nothing I have ever had before.

One of these days I will try again and hopefully be a bit more successful.  Until then however, I will be pleased at my attempt, no matter had weird it looks.

Butternut Squash and Red Bell Pepper Soup

So, this recipe has a bit of a backstory and since you all apparently love reading my writing ramble, I shall share...

About a month ago I was at a pot luck and someone brought a curried butternut squash soup.  It was pretty spectacular and it got me thinking about a butternut squash soup I had made several years ago.  All I could remember was that it also contained bell peppers.  I was positive I had saved the recipe so I went diving into the pit that is the box containing all of my loose recipe sheets.  I came up empty handed.  Not an overly devastating turn of events, but not what I had been hoping for. 

Since my recipe pit proved unhelpful, I turned to internet world.  Apparently, in the world of butternut squash soup, most people are rocking the same playbook.  The crazier varieties may contain an apple, but at the core we have butternut squash, roasted red peppers, an onion, and some savory spices.

All of these items could easily be procured with a quick trip to the grocery.  I however, had a bit of a leg up.  There was still some stock in the freezer and it had turned out extremely well, full of flavor and would certainly save me from having to use extra spices as well as the onion. Sold!

Butternut Squash and Red Bell Pepper Soup

 

Ingredients:

 

6 lbs. Butternut squash - peeled and cubed

3 red bell peppers

3 qts chicken stock

Cinnamon, nutmeg, olive oil, salt, pepper - all to taste

 

Directions:

Okay, I'll be honest, this is a bit of an involved and at times messy recipe.  Therefore, step one, take a deep, calming, centering breath.  Now get cooking.

Set your oven to broil.  Cut the tops off of the peppers, remove the seeds, cut into quarters, and season with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Place onto a baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes.

 

Next comes the funky bit, using that tin foil you lined your baking sheet with, wrap the peppers into a pouch and let them steam themselves for another ten minutes.  This will loosen the skin and make peeling easier.  Peel the peppers and set aside.

Notice the increase in wrinkles? Steaming helps to separate the skin from the meat, allowing you to peel it off a bit easier.

 

Reduce the oven heat to 375F.

 

Using a very sharp knife, cut the top and bottom off of your squash then cut in half.  Scoop out the seeds.  Now, using a VERY sturdy vegetable peeler, peel the squash and then cut into cubes.  Place onto a foil lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg, roast for 30 minutes.

 

 

Put your stock in a pot and add the squash as soon as it's finished in the oven.  Add the peppers and then bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the squash is tender.  It should fall apart as soon as you stick a fork in it.

 

As if things hadn't been messy enough, now it's time to bust out the blender.  If you have an emersion blender this will not be messy, you'll just stick the thing in the pot and blend until smooth.  I, however, am a lazy and stingy individual who see no need to purchase something I will only use once every couple of months.  I already have cabinets full of equipment like that.  So, standard blender it is.

 

If you are going the same route as me, you will want to let it cool a bit.  Then, in small batches, blend soup until smooth.  When it has magically become the desired consistency, give it a taste test.  Add any additional spices you deem necessary.  If you are serving immediately, put back in the pot and bring to a boil, otherwise transfer the soup to an air tight container and chill until ready for its squashy goodness.

 

I garnished with a bit of light cream.

Six pounds of squash will make this soup taste strongly of butternut squash.  If you like the squash, I feel confident stating you will this soup.  The key with how I made it though, is the strong stock. 

If you are not completely confident that your stock is robust, you'll want to add an onion and some additional spices. The onion should be roasted along with the squash and once you've simmered everything together, before you blend, I would give it a taste to see if some additional salt, pepper, nutmeg, and maybe even some thyme should find its way into your soup.

Regardless of how you season, this is a great soup on a cold day.



Pork Shepard's Pie

I feel confident stating we've all had experiences with Sheppard's Pie, that layered concoction of ground beef, mixed veggies, and mashed potatoes.  At its core, it's sort of amazing.  All the necessary food groups in a single dish, so if you are in a rush or not someone who likes getting crazy in the kitchen then it's perfect.  Brown some meat, move it into a 9x13, throw a bag or two of frozen mixed vegetables on top, finish with mashed potatoes.  I would even argue it's better to use the dehydrated flakes for this dish, which makes life that much simpler.  Pop it in the oven and 30 minutes later you have dinner. 

Most would say you shouldn't mess with perfection. So why mess with the basic Sheppard's Pie?  Well...because I can.  I had roasted a pork shoulder, which is maybe not the wisest choice when you are cooking for one.  You end up with POUNDS of pork in the fridge.  At that point you need to get creative with ways to use up a lot at once.  I stood in the middle of my kitchen and did a 360, evaluating everything I already had at my disposal... pork, about 3 pounds of potatoes, and an assortment of frozen and fresh vegetables....hmmmm.

It sounds like I have at least two thirds of a Sheppard's Pie, but can you really make it with pork as opposed to beef?  Do I dare?  I ask myself this as I stare at a mountain of pork.  Oh do I ever dare!

 

Pork Sheppard's Pie

 

Ingredients:

 

4 c. cooked pork shoulder - diced

4 Tbsp butter
3 carrots - diced

1 medium onion - diced

2 celery stalks - diced

1/4 c. flour

2 c. chicken stock
1 c. frozen mixed vegetables
3 lbs. Russet potatoes
1/2 c. sour cream
Milk and butter as needed for potatoes

Directions:

In are large skillet, melt butter and saute onions over medium heat until softened, about 7 minutes.  Add carrots and celery, saute for an additional 7 minutes.

Add the flour and mix until you have that pasty brown concoction in your pan. Add the stock and mix until that paste is dissolved.  Add the pork and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.

When ready, transfer to a 9 x 13 casserole dish.  Shake the cup of frozen vegetables over the top.  Now, we switch to the mashed potatoes.  Peel and quarter the potatoes. Boil until they are tender, drain, and put back in pot.  Add milk, butter, and sour cream then mash together.  You will have a lot of mashed potatoes.

At this point you could just dump all of the mashed potatoes on top of everything else in the casserole dish then pat down with the back of a spoon.  However, I'm a rather particular individual.  I wanted an even layer and I didn't want to get the frozen veggies mixed into the potatoes.  Therefore, I went the uber fussy route.  I placed spoonfuls of potatoes down, one at a time, and gently created a thin layer of potatoes.  Then I dumped the remaining potatoes on top and patted it all down to create a flat top.  I told you, I'm particular.... with a dash of fussy.

When you are ready, pop this bad boy into an oven that has been heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for 30 minutes. 

Hungry yet?