Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Perfect Pie Crust

Lately I've been wanting to make pies, and just haven't had time. I started going through some pie recipes I had saved on my computer and came across a pie crust recipe my sister sent me. Not only do I have the recipe, but I also found step-by-step directions with pictures for this recipe online. My sister loved this pie crust and it is now her go-to recipe whenever she makes pie. I haven't tried it yet, but hope to soon!

The step-by-step directions can be found here.

The original recipe (which also has a pecan pie recipe, pictured below) can be found here.


Perfect Pie Crust
From Mama’s Pecan Pie Recipe in the Washington Post 11/19/2008
Adapted from Willis's "Bon Appetit, Y'all" (Ten Speed Press, 2008)

This pie crust is very easy to form into a disc, roll out, transfer to the plate and crimp the edges. The directions are very detailed to help first-time pie-makers. And the results are a delicious and flaky crust that looks and tastes professionally made! – Paula Zelaya

Article Notes about this Pecan Pie Recipe: Chef Virginia Willis says too many pecan pies are mostly goo without enough pecans, making them far too sweet. The secret to the success of this pie is that its pecan-to-goo ratio is just right.

For the crusts:
2½ cups flour, plus more for the work surface
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, such as Crisco brand, cut into small pieces
8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed

For the filling:
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
3 cups (two 6-ounce packages) pecan halves, coarsely chopped (see headnote)

For the crusts: Combine the flour, salt, shortening and butter in the bowl of a food processor; pulse for up to 10 seconds, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing to combine just until the dough comes together without being sticky or crumbly. Shape the dough into 2 flat disks and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Have ready two 9-inch pie plates. Lightly flour a work surface.

Working with one disk of dough at a time (keeping the remaining disk chilled), place the dough in the center of the floured surface and roll close to, but not over, the edge of the dough farthest from you. Lift the dough and give it a quarter-turn; repeat the rolling and turning until the dough is 1/8-inch thick and about 2 inches wider than the diameter of the 9-inch pie plates.

Ease the pie dough into the pie plate; trim to a 1-inch overhang, then fold the overhang under itself along the rim of the plate. Use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edge as desired.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes; repeat the process with the remaining disk of dough.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350º.

For the filling: Combine the eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl, stirring until mixed well. Add the pecans, stirring to incorporate. Divide the filling evenly between the 2 chilled pie shells.

Place the pies on a large baking sheet and bake, rotating once, for about 55 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pies to a wire rack to cool before serving or storing.

Makes two 9-inch pies (16 servings).

Pecan Pie made by my sister Paula for Thanksgiving


Photos by JoJo

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Chicken Salad

My sister made chicken salad today and I wanted to share the recipe. I have made this recipe before, although it has been a while. I love chicken salad and this recipe is very good. You can use an already cooked rotisserie chicken (Costco!) or cook one yourself if you prefer. This recipe is very easy to make. The only time-consuming part is getting the chicken ready. It makes for a delicious summer lunch or dinner!


Chicken Salad

Serve this salad over mixed greens for a light lunch or on your favorite bread for a satisfying sandwich.

1½ cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
½ cup chopped celery (1 stalk)
½ cup chopped cucumber
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions (2 onions)
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon snipped fresh tarragon or basil, or ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon or basil, crushed
¼ teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl combine chicken, celery, cucumber, and green onions. For dressing, stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice, tarragon or basil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Pour over chicken mixture; toss to coat. Cover and chill for 1 to 4 hours.

Makes 4 servings.


VARIATIONS:

Curried Chicken Salad: Prepare as above, except reduce mayonnaise to ¼ cup, add 2 tablespoons chutney, and 1 teaspoon curry powder; substitute basil for tarragon. Before stirring, stir in 2 tablespoons toasted cashews or almonds.

Ham Salad: Prepare as above, except substitute finely chopped cooked ham for the chicken. Omit cucumber and salt; substitute basil for the tarragon.

Tuna or Salmon Salad: Prepare as above, except substitute two 6-ounce cans tuna, trained and broken into chunks, or two 7½-ounce cans salmon, drained, flaked, skin and bones removed, for chicken. Add 2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill or ½ teaspoon dried dill instead of basil or tarragon. 



Photos by JoJo

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Easy Cherry Surprise Dessert

Today was Father's Day and I made a dessert that my dad has always loved. It only uses a few ingredients and is very simple to make. My family has always made this dessert in a 13"x9" pan, but it might also work well in a trifle bowl. The recipe calls for a smaller pan, and I found that one can of cherry pie filling was not enough to coat the bottom of a 13"x9" pan, so I used two cans of cherries. I couldn't find a loaf size Angel Food Cake, so I used half of a 10" round cake. I would like to try a home-made Angel Food Cake some time, but today's was store bought. I used the 3-ounce pudding pack, but the larger 5-ounce pack would have been OK too since this pan is bigger. I also bought a bigger 16-ounce container of Cool Whip (I always find that 8 ounces is just barely enough in these types of recipes), and used a little over half of it. I had a big bag of slivered almonds from Costco, and toasted them at 325º for 8-10 minutes. So as not to waste anything, my sister used the rest of the Angel Food Cake and Cool Whip to make a smaller 9"x9" pan of this for her family.

The only downfall to this dessert is the angel food cake does get a little soggy, so I would recommend eating it the day it's made or the next day for the best taste!


Easy Cherry Surprise Dessert                                                                   
Make this dessert either very early the morning you plan to serve it (if it is to be served after dinner) or prepare the night before (except for the topping).

1 can Cherry Pie Filling
Loaf size Angel Food cake (or half of a 10” round Angel Food cake)
3-ounce package of Instant Vanilla Pudding, made to package directions
1 cup sour cream
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
8-ounce Cool Whip

Use an 11½” x 7½” x 1½” or a 9” x 9” pan .

Pour one can of Cherry Pie Filling into pan.  On top of pie filling crumble a loaf size Angel Food cake.

Mix package of Instant Vanilla Pudding according to box directions.  Add sour cream to the pudding.

Pour pudding/sour cream mixture over angel food crumb.

Refrigerate.

Before serving, top with Cool Whip and toasted slivered almonds.

NOTE: Instead of Cool Whip, you can whip ½ pint of whipping cream – either sweeten with 1/8 cup confectionary sugar while whipping, or just whip the plain whipping cream.  Top with roasted slivered almonds.

If using a 9” x 13” pan, use two cans of cherry pie filling.

2 cans of cherry pie filling in a 9"x13" pan

Angel Food Cake

Crumbled Angel Food Cake


Vanilla pudding/sour cream mixture

Cool Whip

Toasted slivered almonds - it's ready to serve!

Photos by JoJo

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Today we had a bridal shower for my cousin and I was asked to make a salad. I wanted to make something summery, and the first idea that came to mind was a spinach and strawberry salad. I searched online one day and found a bunch of recipes, and decided to go with Paula Deen's recipe. I was making this salad for 40 people, so I bought 3 containers of baby spinach and 2 containers of strawberries from Costco. I used two large cucumbers from Costco as well. Each container of spinach, once washed, fit into a large bowl. I mixed two of the bowls for the party and left the third unmixed in case I didn't need it so I could use the spinach for something else. We ended up only using about a bowl and a half, so I had plenty of everything left over, both mixed and unmixed.

Since Paula Deen's recipe is for a smaller amount of salad, I searched online for another dressing recipe. I found one that looked good and doubled it, using apple cider vinegar. I thought it complimented the salad well.


Spinach and Strawberry Salad
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
                                                         
1 (10-12 ounce) package baby spinach, washed and dried
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced

DRESSING:
½ lemon, juiced
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

In large salad bowl, add the spinach, almonds, strawberries, and cucumber and toss together.

For the dressing: In a small glass bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, oil, and poppy seeds. Whisk together in the glass bowl or shake if using a jar.

Dress the salad right before serving.

The dressing that I actually made is as follows (this is a double recipe):


DRESSING:
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
½ cup white sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and whisk together.


Photos by JoJo

Zucchini and Tomato Casserole

Last night I helped my sister get dinner ready while she was taking care of her two daughters. I've had this zucchini and tomato casserole on many occasions over the years, but had never made it myself. I started chopping up the veggies while she was taking care of her newborn baby, checking in with her every now and then to make sure I was doing everything the way she does. This recipe is very simple and takes little time to make. I sliced the zucchinis and then cut each piece into fours, chopped an onion and put them both in a frying pan with butter to sauté them. While they were cooking, I cut some plum tomatoes into fours. When the zucchini and onions were ready, we added the salt, pepper and dill weed, then removed it from the heat and added the tomatoes and cheese. I browned the bread crumbs and added those on top and put the dish in the oven. It's that simple!

The only thing we did differently from the recipe is use a smaller dish, which worked out perfectly for the amount that we had. She usually uses more then a cup of breadcrumbs but was running low so we just used the rest of what she had. We served the casserole with pasta and it was a delicious and simple summer meal! The juices left in the casserole tasted great with the pasta. You could serve this with pasta, sausage, salad, and bread for a complete and filling meal!


Zucchini and Tomato Casserole             

Sauté:
3 medium zucchinis, cubed
3 Tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped

Add:
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dill weed

Remove from heat and add:
2 fresh tomatoes, cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Add zucchini mixture.  Put in an 11” x 13” baking dish.

Sauté until breadcrumbs are lightly browned:
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Sprinkle sautéed breadcrumbs over casserole.

Bake uncovered at 350º for 20 minutes.

NOTE: When you double recipe, baking time will be longer.

Zucchinis, cubed

Tomatoes, cubed

Zucchini w/salt, pepper and dill weed

Zucchini mixture (off heat), add tomatoes

Add shredded cheese

Put in pan

Add toasted bread crumbs

Right out of the oven


Photos by JoJo

Thursday, June 7, 2012

The Original Old Bay Shrimp Boil Shrimp Fest

A few weeks ago I was searching the Old Bay website for recipes and found one that caught my eye, and Old Bay Shrimp Boil. I had just been to Joe's Crab Shack with a friend and had ordered one of their steam pots, and this recipe is the same kind of idea. I love how everything in the steam pots tastes like Old Bay (at least that's the one I always get!). I made my shrimp boil this past weekend for my family and everyone seemed to enjoy it. It's a great summertime meal and with a nice variety of food. This recipe combines shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes together, all seasoned with Old Bay! It is a quick recipe which makes it perfect for those summer nights when you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The timing in the recipe worked perfectly for me. Everything was cooked just right by the end. The only things I did different were that I added a lemon to the pot (I saw it in a similar recipe), and I used spicy Italian sausage instead of smoke sausage. I boiled 4 sausage links in a separate pot for about 10 minutes before slicing them up and adding them to the big pot. Some of the amounts of ingredients that I used were different from the recipe (1 onion, a little less shrimp). I added more Old Bay to my plate as well for a little extra taste.

This recipe makes a lot - I served 7 people with it and still had enough left over for another 3 or 4 people. I will definitely be making this recipe again this summer!


The Original Old Bay® Shrimp Boil Shrimp Fest

4 quarts water (16 cups)
1 can (12 ounces) beer (optional)
½ cup Old Bay® Seasoning
2 Tablespoons salt
8 medium red potatoes, quartered
2 large onions, cut into wedges
2 pounds lean smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces
8 ears fresh corn, shucked and halved crosswise
4 pounds unpeeled jumbo shrimp (21 to 25 count)

Bring water, beer, Old Bay Seasoning and salt to boil in 12-quart stockpot on high heat. Add potatoes and onions. Cook 8 minutes. Add smoked sausage. Cook 5 minutes. Add corn. Cook 7 minutes.

Stir in shrimp. Cook 4 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink.

Drain cooking liquid. Pour contents of pot into large serving bowl or platter. Or, mound on paper-covered table. Sprinkle with additional Old Bay Seasoning, if desired.


My beer of choice for this dish

The key ingredient - Old Bay

8 Red Potatoes, quartered

8 ears of corn, shucked and broken in half

The first of the food to go in the boiling water/beer/Old Bay pot

Second to go in - 4 links of sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces

Add the corn

Last addition - 3 pounds shrimp, unpeeled

Almost done!

Finished product!

Photos by JoJo