Pie Crust

I missed posting yesterday; oops.  After Thanksgiving and the days after, I was just exhausted. I'm still tired, so forgive me.   I'll slowly post my recipes for Thanksgiving since everything was homemade, down to the chicken stock that went into the gravy.  I went insane and it was marvelously fun, but I was oh-so-tired afterwards.

I think I've mentioned before that I am not so fond of pumpkin pie (blegh texture), so for Thanksgiving, I always make my apple custard pie.  On Thanksgiving eve, I was thinking over all the things I was making and realized that everything would be made from scratch, except the pie crust.   I had planned on using a Pilsbury pie crust, but by god, if i was going to make everything else, I was damned well going to make my own pie crust.  Crust fears be damned! I don't know why pie crust intimidated me so; I've made tart crusts and handpies and puff pastry.  How had pie crust become  so difficult to my mind? In an attempt at badassery (really, all of Thanksgiving dinner from scratch), I pushed past those fears.  What did I learn? Pie crust is easy.  Easy as pie. 

I found this recipe ages ago and saved it for the day I would be brave enough..

Pie Crust
(originally found here) 
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 3/4 cup shortening, cut into chunks
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar


In a large bowl, whisk  together flour, salt, and sugar until well combined.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture looks like large, coarse crumbs.



In a small bowl, whisk together water, egg, and vinegar.  Drizzle the liquid over the dry ingredients and mix gently with a fork just until combined.  It might still be crumbly.


Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, taking care to work the dough as little as possible.  Chill for at least an hour.

For a single pie crust, use 1/4 of the dough.  Roll that 1/4 of the dough on a well-floured surface and dust  with flour as needed while rolling to prevent sticking. 

If you are using this crust in a no-bake pie, prick the crust all over with a fork, then bake at 350F for approximately 15 minutes or until it begins to turn golden.  Otherwise, use as directed.

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

This weekend was jam-packed with in-laws.  Yesterday we went to hubby's cousin's wedding, and today we had an early pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner at his aunt's house (I say pseudo because we had steak and lobster instead of turkey.. that's my kind of Thanksgiving!). His aunt, knowing about this blog and my dreams of baking, asked that I bring dessert. I knew immediately I'd bring the pumpkin spice cookies because they're like crack, but also wanted to bring something a bit more impressive.  I've been wanting to try my hand at a chocolate cheesecake lately as I've only made the plain kind before and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity.  I found this recipe at least a year ago over at The Smitten Kitchen (which is great).  It sounded tasty and I was also super-amused by the teddy graham massacre.   Other than the caramel part, the recipe is easy-peasy.  More importantly, it is delicious! I think I have a few more admirers in my life now.  

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake
(original recipe here)

Crumb Crust

• 1 1/2 cups finely ground cookies,  such as chocolate wafers or teddy grahams 
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
  

Cheesecake

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla 

 In a medium bowl, stir together dry crumb ingredients (cookie crumbs, sugar, and salt).  Using a fork, mix in the melted butter until all of the ingredients are moistened.  Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1" up the sides of  a buttered 9" springform pan.  Place in the freezer until ready to fill.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a small, heavy saucepan, cook the sugar over moderately low heat, stirring slowly until the sugar has melted and is golden.  Continue to cook the caramel, swirling the pan instead of stirring, until it is a deep golden brown.  Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream.  There will be lots of steam and the caramel will harden.  Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the caramel has softened and dissolved.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until smooth.  Stir in the sour cream.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy, then beat in the chocolate mixture on low speed.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is fully incorporated.  Scrape down the bowl between additions.

Put the springform pan in a shallow baking pan.  Pour the filling into the crust and bake (in the baking pan to catch drips) in the middle of the oven for 55 minutes, or until the cake is set 3 inches from the edge and the center is slightly wobbly. (This took maybe 70 minutes for me.)

Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen and cool completely on a rack.  Chill the cake, loosely covered, for at least 6 hours.  Remove the side of the pan and transfer to a plate.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

A few notes:  Hubby and I feel the chocolate overwhelmed the caramel, so next time I might use a mixture of bittersweet and semisweet chocolates or just use less chocolate in general.  Also, the cookie crumb crust is very crumbly. 

Corn and Crab Bisque

After buying the crab for my sushi roll, I had most of the container leftover, which was great as it meant I could finally make corn and crab bisque.  I have wanted to for awhile now, but the price of crab has inhibited me.   Woo inhibitions lost!

Corn and crab bisque is one of my favorite foods; it's thick and creamy and filling.  The sweetness of the corn and crab are balance by a slight spicy kick. Mmmm. I wish I had some now.   I've found a few recipes here and there for the soup, but decided to check out Emeril Lagasse's because I knew his recipe was bound to be good.  

Corn and Crab Bisque
(Emeril Lagasse, Food Network, link here)

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onions
• 1 cup uncooked sweet corn from the cob
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced celery
• Essence, recipe follows
• 1 cup crab stock or fish stock
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cup milk
• 2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoons liquid crab boil
• 3 tablespoons blond roux
• 1 cup lump crab meat, picked over for shells and cartilage
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• Chives for garnish

In a large sauce pot, heat the olive oil. When the oil is smoking hot, add the onions, corn, shallots, garlic, celery and saute for 1 minute. Season with Essence. Add the stock, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Whisk in the milk, cream, and crab boil.Bring back to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Whisk in the roux, 1 tablespoon at a time. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, whisking until the mixture thickens. Stir in the crab meat, green onions, and Worcestershire and simmer for 6-8 minutes. Reseason if needed. Ladle into a shallow bowl and garnish with chives.

Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

November 2009 Daring Cook's Challenge: Sushi

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.  I was super excited to learn we'd be doing sushi as I've always wanted to try making it. The challenge had four components: first we prepare the sushi rice, then make a dragon roll, spiral roll, and 8 pairs of nigiri. I had some difficulty finding all the ingredients I needed and definitely need more practice, but I had a great time with this challenge.  Hubby helped a lot, which always makes a wonderful time in the kitchen. While I had some fears and anxiety going into the challenge, I must say we were quite impressed by our end product.  Not to brag, but it really was something I'd get in a restaurant (though my first roll was a bit loose). Most surprising is how well the rice was; not too sticky, not too vinegary. 


Now on to the photos!

Here we have our wonderful, tasty spread. From left to right we have the spiral roll, the nigiri, and the dragon roll.

The dragon roll was my first, and thus a little sloppy. The original recipe called for eel, which I could not find (so disappointing because it's my favorite). So, I used crab meat instead which worked marvelously.  It was my favorite of all we did.

The nigiri was fun because we got to choose whichever toppings we wanted. We had asparagus, shrimp, seared tuna, red onion, avocado, and mushroom. We had plans for two more pairs (egg and salmon) but ran out of rice due to technical difficulties (I burned the rice on the bottom and sides of the pot).

Lastly comes the spiral roll, which I feel is the most visually impressive. It's filled with cream cheese and roe, smoked salmon, asparagus, carrots, cucumber, and avocado.

After this challenge, I plan on making sushi again at home, but for special occasions.  For the rest of the time, I'll just go out.

Fennel Gratin

So I've failed at Wednesday updating again. I guess I'll have to suspend Wednesday posts until I get into the swing of my new schedule. And, as I start my new job tomorrow and need some rest, I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

Looking through Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food, I came across the section on fennel. Included in said section was a recipe for a fennel gratin which seemed tasty. As my dad has never had fennel before I thought I'd make it.  I made a few adaptations, and I'll just post as I did it. 

Fennel Gratin

• 2 medium/large fennel bulbs, trimmed of stalks and outer/bruised layer
  
• 1 medium onion
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2/3 cup water (reserved from initial cooking of fennel)
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of red pepper
• 1/2 cup parmesan

Cut the fennel in half and then into wedges; do the same to the onion.  Fill a large pot with salted water and add the fennel and onion. Bring to a boil then cook for 5 minutes. Reserve 2/3 cup of the water, then drain. 

In a small saucepan, melt  the butter. Stir in the flour then cook for 3 minutes over medium heat.  Slowly add the milk and water, stirring constantly and vigorously to prevent lumping.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in the nutmeg, pepper, and parmesan.



Generously butter or spray a casserole dish, then pour in the fennel and onion. Pour the sauce over the top. bake at 375 for 20 minutes.