What Does Fall Taste Like? Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Apples & Caramel.  Yes!  Salt & Caramel.  Yes!  So why not all 3?  Have you been apple picking yet?  You should go.  Right now.  It's not the best thing Bobby Flay ever ate for no reason.  Just sayin.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Modified from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Version seen on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate"

1 recipe of double crust all butter flaky pie crust - I'm partial to this one
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (if you use the bottled kind I won't tell!)
2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters (I didn't have this so I used spiced rum.  Not really the same idea but still good)
6-8 medium sized apples, cored and peeled - preferably courtland, granny smith and/or macintosh
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp Saigon cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
salted caramel - recipe follows
1 beaten egg
raw or castor sugar
1 tsp Fleur de Sel

Line a pie plate with the prepared bottom crust.  If you like, cut the top into a lattice, or just leave as a single piece.  Place in fridge to rest while making the pie.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Slice apples thin.  A food processor fitted with a slicing blade works perfectly!  Toss in lemon juice & bitters.

Mix sugar, flour and spices together and sift over apples.  Toss to distribute evenly.

Pack 1/3 of apples into prepared crust.  Brush with 1/3 of the caramel sauce.  Repeat.  Top with the final 1/3 of apples.  Cover with crust and crimp to seal edges.  Brush crust with a thin layer of caramel and egg wash.  Reserve remaining caramel for serving.  Sprinkle with castor sugar and salt.

Place pie plate on a sheet pan with sides to prevent the caramel from bubbling over onto the bottom of your over.  Bake for 20 minutes on the bottom rack, then reduce the heat to 350 for another 20-30 minutes.

When golden, bubbly and the apples are just cooked though, remove and let cool.  Serve with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.

Salted Caramel Sauce

fantastic over ice cream or bread pudding

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Cook the sugar & water together in a tall, heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Add butter and bring to a slow boil.  Let this happily bubble away until its a deep copper color (Watch it so it doesn't burn!  Wisps of smoke mean it's time to start over).

As soon as you get that lovely roasty toasty brown, remove from heat and add cream and vanilla.  Watch it boil up like a witches brew then continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until smooth.  Stir in salt.  Let cool.

Creamy, Crunchy, Sour and Sweet: Lemon Brulée Tartlettes

We've had the kind of fabulous, energizing, spring-is-finally-here weekend that comes with balmy breezes, lounge chairs under umbrellas on the deck and conversations with friends around a bonfire under the stars.  The dog has transformed from a moping mop of white to a bounding cotton ball on crack now that the snow no longer confines her "walks" to a narrowly shoveled tunnel along the backside of the house.  There's a cat in every open window and dinner has that lovely charred flavor that's been missing through all of those months that were decidedly not grill-friendly.

This blissful weather calls for casual gatherings, with food that hints of summer without blatantly pretending to be something that it's not.  Now is not the time for tomato tarts or sweet corn - pushing those too early will only result in utter disappointment.  But vaguely sunny preparations of outdoor friendly food like burgers and bacon-ranch potato salad hit the perfect note.  What to have for dessert?  It's no longer time for über rich cakes and custards, but we're not quite ready for ice cream.  The perfect compromise?  These lemon-brulée tartlettes.  Light shortbread crust filled with puckery lemon filling and finished with the snap of a sugar crust.  Everyone gets their own little beauty (no food anxiety for my dear L), tapping away with little spoons like breaking up the ice of the winter and diving into pure lemon sunshine.

Lemon Brulée Tartlettes

Makes 6.

Inspired by a lemon tart from Elise of Simply Recipes

Crust
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 jumbo beaten egg
1/4 tsp almond exract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1 Tbsp lemon juice

beans for use as pie wieghts

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, sugar and zest until well combined.  Add in butter pieces and use your fingers or a pastry blender to cut and smoosh the butter and flour together until it resembles a sandy, flaky mixture of different size crumbs.  Don't overdo it - more uniform tends to mean less flakey.  Add the remainder of the ingredient and mix around with a spoon or preferably your hands until the dough is uniformly moist and starts to stick together.  Form the dough into a ball and squash it into a disc.  Wrap in plastic and store in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit for about 5 minutes on the countertop.  Grease 6 tartlette pans with removable bottoms (these are now quite easy to find - I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond) but I've even seen them at Target on occasion.  On a well floured surface, roll out the dough into 6 rounds about an inch larger than the bottoms of the tartlette pans, about 1/3 inch thick.  Transfer the rounds to the pans, pressing the dough into the crevices and pressing down on the rim to cut off the excess.  Line the inside of each tart shell with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans.  These will keep the crust from shrinking while baking (just don't try to cook them up for dinner afterwards).  Transfer all tart shells to a large baking sheet and bake for about 27 minutes.  At this point the tart shells will be very pale in color but should be semi-cooked.  Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes before removing beans, then finish cooling on a wire rack.

Lemon Curd
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 Tbsp shy of 1/4 cup thick Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp heavy cream
juice of 3 lemons (once strained of seeds and pulp should be approximately 3/4 cup
2 jumbo eggs
3 jumbo egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
zest of 3 lemons

In a double boiler, melt butter, yogurt and cream, whisking occasionally to combine.  Transfer to another bowl and whisk in lemon juice.
Heat the eggs with the sugar and zest until just warmed.  Then whisk in the butter mixture and heat until it slightly thickens.  Strain into a heat-proof measuring cup with a spout, then pour into the prepared tartlette shells (which should still be on a baking sheet).  I like to fill them most of the way, then get them on the oven rack to fill them all the way to the top without spilling).  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the centers are just slightly jiggly and the crusts are lightly golden.  Cool and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving

Sugar Crust
approximately 12 Tbsp sugar

Sprinkle approximately 2 Tbsp sugar evenly over each tart.  With a butane kitchen torch, use quick short back and forth strokes of the flame to liquify and caramelize the sugar.  (Alternatively you can do this under a broiler instead, just expect to serve warm lemon tartlettes instead as it really heats up the entire dessert).  Let sit for one minute before serving, so that the sugar cools and hardens.  Then tap, tap, tap your way to sunny happiness!

A Not-So-Pumpkin Pie

In the search for Thanksgiving desserts, you're looking for something seasonal, traditional enough to put people in their comfort zone, but different enough to avoid being boring. In this quest, I also wanted to get rid of the glut of butternut squash that was building up from the CSA. Enter a pie, reminiscent of the classic pumpkin, but spicier, silkier, and I think tastier.


I prefer not to roast the halved squash, but cut it into chunks, which caramelize better, lending more depth of flavor to the dish. For a truly amazing, flaky and flavorful crust that doesn't get soggy, use this all butter version, made with no more equipment then a bowl, your fingers and a rolling pin. Although I've always made food processor or pastry cutter crusts, I've recently been converted back to the handmade version, which is infinitely more consistently great.

Gingered Butternut Squash Pie

1 9-inch blind baked pie shell, see preparation below

1 large or 2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into large to medium sized chunks (enough for 1 1/2 cups puree)
1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup low-fat evaporated milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 400 F, with the oven rack in the middle. Oil a jelly roll pan and scatter squash pieces across it. Roast until soft and just slightly caramelized. Reduce oven temp to 350 and move rack to the bottom third of oven. Transfer squash to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add all other ingredients and puree for at least 3 minutes, until silky smooth. Pour into prepared pie shell. Bake for 50-60 minutes (check after 30 min to see if you'll need to shield the pie crust with some aluminum foil). The pie is done when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving (this step is really important because it doesn't fully set until cool). Serve with whipped cream.


Tender, Flaky All Butter Pie Crust

6 oz all-purpose flour (about 1 1/3 cups but you really ought to weigh it)
1 tsp sugar
1/3 tsp salt
8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Combine flour, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss, then rub the butter bits with your fingertips, slowly smearing the butter into the flour. You want to form small flaky chunks in the mixture. Once all of the butter has been incorporated this way, Sprinkle ice water over the dough and use your hands to push and mix it together, adding more water if necessary, until the dough just sticks together when you press it into a ball. Gather all of the dough into a disk, plastic wrap it and stash it in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

Let the dough soften slightly before rolling by sitting out at room temp for 5-20 minutes (5 if it's been chilling for an hour, 20 if it's been a day or so). You want the dough to be cold and firm but still fairly easy to roll. On a floured countertop, roll the dough out into a 10 or 11 inch round (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to a pie plate and crimp the edges (for the wheat inspired crimp seen here, use kitchen shears to snip the folded over edges of the crust in abut 1/2 inch at a 45 degree angle every 1/2 inch or so around the entire edge. Then fold alternating sections in and out to resemble the grain). Prick bottom and sides with a fork and chill for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 F while you allow the crust to warm up a bit from the fridge (not too long - should be moderately cold still). Line the crust with aluminum foil and weight it with dried beans. Bake for 15 min in the middle of the oven, then reduce heat to 375, remove the foil and beans and let bake for 5-7 minutes more. Cool on a rack while you make the filling.

Put the cream in the coconut...

Every year on memorial day, my fiancé's family heads out to Indiana for the Indianapolis 500. His father has been attending the race for over 30 years, since they lived in the area. My fiancee has gone to 17 himself, and never missed a year. This year was only my third, which pales in comparison.

The race is an incredible experience (and no - it's NOT NASCAR! so please don't put it down so!), but I would be lying if I said it was the main highlight of the trip. Vying for attention is the long awaited trip out to Mooresville, Indiana, home of Gray Brothers Cafeteria. This place is famous for being a must on any road trip, among the greats in true-to-our-roots American cooking. I have a tendency to load up my tray with fried chicken, prime rib, mac and cheese, bacon braised green beans and all kinds of good eats, but mostly it's all about the pie. They have at least 12 delectable varieties on a daily basis, but my hands-down favorite is the coconut cream pie.

So on our return last year, I was still daydreaming about that single wedge of heaven. Unwilling to pine for Indiana until May 2010, I set out to see if I could make a pie that would come close to their classic. Ssshhh...don't tell anyone but I think it's actually better due to a toasted coconut crust. Plus the coconut oil in the crust doesn't contain nasty trans fats found in shortening based crusts. I am of the school of thought that every dish should taste intensely of its feature ingredient, and this delivers coconut pure and simple. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Über Coconut Cream Pie
This recipe has been modified (with lots more coconut flavor) from a recipe in "Pie" by Ken Haedrich

Toasted Coconut Crust


1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup toasted coconut (be careful - it burns easily!)
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup cold unrefined coconut oil (Spectrum Naturals makes a good one, in most health food stores and some supermarkets)
1/4 - 1/2 cup ice cold water

Combine flour, toasted coconut, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and whir to mix.
Scatter cubes of butter into the flour mixture. Pulse to cut in. Add solidified coconut oil in 1 tsp chunks just as you did with the butter and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Add water, a little bit at a time, pulsing in between, until dough comes together when you squeeze a bit with your fingers. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour, up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a 12-inch diameter round. Transfer it to a greased 9-inch pie plate and sculpt the edge into a uniform "upstanding ridge", basically a ridge that sticks out 1/2 inch past the edge of the plate. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Cover the crust in aluminum foil. Fill it with cheap small beans (to weigh down the crust so it doesn't shrink). Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil & beans and let them cool before discarding (I once made the mistake of dumping the hot beans into the trash. Everything was fine until I went to take the trash out, and then the beans came spilling out from all of the holes they'd melted in the bag!). Dock the crust well with a fork, twisting it slightly each time to make sure the holes stay open. Lower oven temp to 375 and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Quadruple Coconut Cream Filling


1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
14 oz. light coconut milk
1/2 cup 1% milk
4 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp unrefined coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup toasted coconut

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, salt, coconut milk, milk and egg yolks together in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil (about 7 minutes). Continue to cook about another minute, then remove from heat and whisk in coconut oil, a tsp at a time. Then whisk in extracts and toasted coconut. Pour into the pie shell and start the meringue.

Toasted Coconut Meringue
4 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
5 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 cup toasted coconut

Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high speed until they start to get really foamy. Continue beating while adding sugar, one Tbsp at a time, salt and extracts. Continue to beat until stiff peak stage (when you tip a beater upside down, the whites form a peak that doesn't fall. Fold in coconut. Spread over the top of the pie, being sure to spread it to the edge of the crust, so that it seals to the crust and won't shrink back later.

Toast the meringue under the broiler until just golden. Cool to room temp, then refrigerate at least one hour before slicing. This pie is best eaten the day it's made (as if that is a problem!), but will keep about 2 days before the meringue starts weeping.

Going Nuts... Luckily There's Pie Involved

Life has been crazy as of late. Painted my dining room all last week, and I still have to finish it up. Went up to see the grandparents all weekend in Connecticut (58! years married and counting!), rushing back on Sunday to entertain L's family (gluten free? Aahh!). Now I feel a cold coming on. No wonder, really. With how little sleep I've gotten and how nonstop life has been. But I can't afford to be sick right now! Oh well, maybe memories of this peanut pie will tie me over.


The October issue of Bon Appetit had a delicious looking peanut pie from North Carolina. I took it upon myself to change it around and mix it up a little with chile powder and maple syrup. I'm quite pleased with the result. This pie also proves there's no reason not to take advantage of storebought pie crust. Treated gently and handled as little as possible, it can be transformed to a tender and flaky crust that hugs the sweet and nutty filling.


Peanut Pie

1 storebought pie crust (the kind you unroll)

3 eggs
1/2 cup Lyle's golden syrup (find it next to the corn syrup)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon extract (optional)
1 tsp chocolate extract (optional)
1 tsp chile powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar (tightly packed)
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups honey roasted peanuts


Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a glass pie pan with nonstick spray. Unroll pie crust and gently and quickly shape to the pan. Line with foil and fill with dried beans. Bake 30 minutes. Remove beans and foil (reuse as pie weights or discard). Prick bottom with a fork. Bake another 5 minutes, or until crust gets just a little color.

Remove from oven and let cool. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in syrups and extracts until well combined. Add spices, sugar, and flour and mix well. Stir in peanuts. Empty into crust.

Bake for 10 minutes, then lower temp to 350 and bake another 25-35 minutes, or until filling is just slightly under set in the middle. Cool on a pie rack before serving.

A little down time...

As you can probably tell from the sudden frequency of my posts I've been on vacation (finally) for the last week and a half before my life is once again consumed by school. It really hasn't felt like much of a vacation, since other than cooking I have:
~ caught up on piles of laundry, or attempted to anyway
~ attempted to start cleaning up my house - I'm convinced - It's definitely a lost cause
~ expended crazy amounts of time on Immunology course work that I'm still not done with
~ spent an entire day in bed not being able to move and hopped up on muscle relaxers because my flipping neck seized again


So, needless to say, I need a real vacation. And since I have no money and L can't afford to take time off work - I'm heading to the Hudson Valley to spend some quality time with my best friend (since we were 10, like whoa). I plan on going wine tasting, taking the dogs for long walks and generally just lounging around on the dairy farm that her husband runs. Did I mention there is a pool and cold drinks involved? Yes it should be spectacular.

So as you read this I'm already there, enjoying one last student-free fling before battening the hatches as a new school year bears down, complete with a whole new set of challenges and rewards. But here's a recipe to enjoy well I'm gone - something I made during my quasi-vaca at home. It's really Dorie Greenspan's recipe - modified to fit my tastes and what I had on hand. But, well, YUM. It's a worthy occupant of this page until I return, which will be sometime next week (a schedule so delightfully up in the air that the thought of it makes me relax). See you on the flip side!



Nectarine and Red Currant Streuseled Custard Tart
adopted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours "Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart"


Sweet Almond Tart Dough
1/4 cup almonds
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp salt
9 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 large egg yolk, beaten
the zest of one key lime (or 1/2 a regular lime)
1 tsp almond extract

Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add flour, sugar and salt, then pulse to combine. Add in butter and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the egg, zest and extract and use 10 second pulses to blend until the food processor sounds different then before and the crust clumps. Empty into a buttered 9 inch tart pan. Press up the sides and along the bottom to form an even crust. The sides should be a bit thicker than the bottom. Place in freezer for at least 30 minutes before baking - this eliminates the need for pie weights.


Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil about 2 inches wider than the tart pan on each side. Press the foil onto and around the tart, molding it to it exactly. Bake foil wrapped tart shell for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and press any puffed areas down with the back of a large spoon. Cool completely.

Almond Streusel
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp slivered almonds, seperated
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Mix flour, sugar and 2 Tbsp almonds together. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry cutter. Add in remaining almonds and mix gently by hand (to leave some intact). Refrigerate until needed.

Fruit and Custard Filling
3 nectarines, peeled, halved and pitted, cut into slices but left in halves

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup fresh red currants - the biggest ones seeded (about half), the rest mashed through a fine mesh strainer (if you're not as insane as me you can leave these out - I just love the tart contrast they provide - but the seeds are nasty little things)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Fan each of 5 sliced nectarine halves out into the cooled tart shell. This should make a ring around the outside. Fan out the remaining half in the middle. Whisk together the cream, egg and extract, then stir in current mixture. Pour over nectarines. Bake for 10 minutes, lower the temperature to 375, and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle streusel over tart and bake another 20-25 minutes or until custard is set and streusel is golden. (I had to use some aluminum foil to shield my crust from burning those last 20 minutes.

Serve chilled, and if you're feeling especially decadent, this is great with a scoop of black raspberry ice cream.

Just Beachy

One of the things I miss most about Rhode Island is living so close to several phenomenal beaches. I didn't take advantage of being able to bask in the sun or body surf the waves with very few people crowding the sand. And now I live hours from the nearest beach. Beach going would now require fighting traffic across the monstrous and scary Bay Bridge, only to encounter boardwalked ashtrays so covered with umbrellas and towels that you can barely see the sand. Of course there are some exceptions, but they're even farther away and I just don't have the energy or gas money to hunt them down.


And so I have not set foot on a beach in years. Every time we head north to visit family during the warmer months we have two goals. Eat lobster and go to the beach. These are easily accomplished in one trip to Plymouth, MA (yes - the town where the Pilgrims lived has excellent lobster and beaches). And yet, we never make it there. The family, spoiled as we were, never feels up to the short trip, never wants to go. And as anyone who knows L can tell you, he will never miss out on a chance to spend as much time as possible with his family (which I suppose is my fault moving him 7 hours away). So we don't go. And then I spend all summer daydreaming that I'm at the beach.

Last year this was much easier, since I could lie by the apartment pool all day. This year, in our own house, we have no pool (a situation I hope to remedy as soon as I can scrounge up the money). So the best I can do is sit in the AC and eat a creation I call Key West Tartlettes. Light and sweet-tart, they combine some of my favorite flavors, key limes, coconut and macadamia nuts. A crumbly cookie crust lines a key lime filling, breaking from the tradition by using coconut cream instead of condensed milk, and is topped with a cloud of coconut meringue. These are inspired by Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie - but significantly different due to my love of coconut and disdain for graham cracker crusts.

These are delicious but I had one major problem. They don't want to unmold from the tart pans. Next time I will try greasing the pans very well, then flouring them. Some time in the freezer after baking also may help. Or maybe even cooking the filling like a pudding before pouring it in - and not baking it. Because of my issues - I think it makes be better to make one large pie (in a pie plate) instead of finicky little tarts.

Key West Tartlettes


Macadamia Cookie Crust
6 oz. vanilla wafer cookies
1/2 cup toasted macadamia nuts
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Combine cookies and macadamias in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until coarsely ground. Add coconut and butter and pulse until mixture starts to lump together up the sides.

Scoop 4 heaping spoonfuls of mixture into each of 6 greased mini tart pans. Press the crust into the edges of the pan and up the sides, trying your best to form an even layer. Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350F.

Meanwhile, zest and juice your limes for the filling recipe below. When the oven is preheated, place the mini-tart pans on a thin baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes, or until crust is slightly golden. Remove from oven and cool on a baking sheet. (Keep the oven on)



Key Lime & Coconut Filling
zest of 8-10 key limes
5 egg yolks
2 Tbsp sugar
1 15oz. can cream of coconut (found in the cocktails aisle of the supermarket)
1/2 cup key lime juice (from 8-12 key limes)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat zest, egg yolks and sugar together on high speed until pale and creamy. Reduce speed to low and add in coconut cream, followed by the lime juice in two additions.

Transfer to a spouted container and carefully pour filling into cooled tart shells. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until filling just starts to set. Remove from oven (kill the heat this time) and let cool. Return to freezer for 20 minutes.



Coconut Meringue Topping
5 egg whites
1 Tbsp light rum
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
5 Tbsp sugar

Combine the egg white, rum and vanilla in the clean and dry bowl of your stand mixer fit with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium high speed until soft peaks form. Continue to mix, gradually adding creme of tarter and sugar, until stiff peaks form.

Preheat broiler. Use a ziploc bag with one corner cut off to pipe meringue onto tarts. Make sure to touch the meringue to the crust at all the edges or it may shrink into the middle when cooked. Place under the broiler until lightly browned. This happens fast so be sure to watch them!

Chill for 2 hours before serving.

The Flavor of Summer

One of my favorite combinations is peaches and blueberries, which are luckily in season at the same time. These beauties called to me from the farm stand tucked under old oaks that border the steeplechasing course. They sing in this lattice top pie laced with ginger and lemon.



Ginger Scented Blueberry Peach Pie



2 pie crusts, recipe follows
7 slightly under-ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
1 pint blueberries, rinsed
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp sugar
zest of one lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp lemon extract
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
milk for glazing
coarse turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 F. Roll out pie crusts into 2 rounds, about 1/4 inch thick. Mix together remainder of ingredients. Transfer one pie crust into a greased pie plate. Transfer filling into pie crust. Use a pastry tool or pizza cutter to cut the other crust into strips.

Weave the strips in an alternating pattern over the filling. I like to start with one direction of strips all laid out across the top. Start in the center with the strips running perpendicular, placing the first perpendicular one over the middle strip, under the next one on either side, over the next and so on. With the next strip, use the same concept but start by running it under the center strip, then over the next. Continue the pattern until pie is loosely covered with lattice. Crimp lattice into bottom crust's edges using fingers or a fork. If these instructions are still confusing try this tutorial with pictures from Simply Recipes.

Brush pie curst with milk. Sprinkle with sugar. Put a baking sheet with sides on the bottom of the oven to catch any drips.

Bake for 30 minutes. Rotate pie 180 degrees, reduce heat to 375 and bake 30-40 more minutes, until top is golden brown and juices bubble thickly.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if you like, although it doesn't need it.




For all-butter flaky pie crust:

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 tsp cubes
1/2 cup ice water

In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt and spices. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or fork (avoid using your hands or anything that might warm it up, as this will prevent a flaky crust. Drizzle in water as you cut in, then gently knead, adding more water bit by bit until dough stays together when pressed but is not sticky. Form into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours before rolling out.

Life's a Crisp

Here's a sound clip from my brain in the last two weeks:

"Mmmm...local strawberries... must make the most of them while they last..." This thought has so far resulted in strawberry ice cream, strawberry bread, strawberry jam, strawberry parfaits, strawberry salad, strawberry key lime sherbet and of course sliced strawberries with lemon juice and sugar. You'd thinbk I'd had enough strawberries.

NEVER!

Of course I found more at the delightful Amish market. I also grabbed some of the last local rhubarb of the season. I've never actually made anything with rhubarb before, but I had in my mind visions of a fragrant and bubbling strawberry rhubarb crisp. This surpassed my expectations. Ooooh, it is so yummy! The streusel topping really adds the crunch and flavor that is usually lacking in strawberry rhubarb pie. Additionally, reducing the cooking time makes the rhubarb less slimy and more like the texture of an actual veggie, while it's flavor is pure sweet tart.

This recipe makes a lot, since I know I will not use the rhubarb for anything else. This would work just fine if you halved the recipe though.



Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

one recipe of your favorite pie crust (you will need both the "top" and "bottom" crusts) - feel free to cheat and use store bought

Filling:


5 cups fresh local strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
5 cups slightly rosey local rhubarb, cleaned and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp chinese 5 spice powder
1 tsp freshly ground green cardamom

Streusel Topping



2/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup hazelnut meal
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
10 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

Roll pie dough out to the shape of your pan (I used a large oval - about the same volume as a 13" x 9" dish). Grease the dish and shape the dough into it. Set aside in the fridge until needed.

Combine all filling ingredients and mix well. Let berries macerate in mixture for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 and mix together all streusel ingredients until well combined.

To assemble: pour berry mixture into crust Top with streusel. Fold down edges of the crust over the filling for a rustic look.

Bake for 20 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Try not to burn you're mouth because you can't wait for it to cool!

Black-Bottomed Peanut Butter Mousse Pie

I had a killer chocolate peanut butter craving, and I got it in my head to make a peanut butter pie. I thought finding a recipe for this would be easy, but there were complications.

First off, I do not like cream cheese. I'm just not a fan and I'm not sure I could tell you why. Almost every peanut butter pie recipe I found had massive amounts of the noxious stuff.

All of the other recipes called for peanut butter chips. Now I'm not sure what are in these, but I'm pretty sure some of the ingredients are longer than this sentence.

So what's a girl to do? Make up her own recipe I guess... I did borrow bits and pieces from other recipes, but they are no longer really recognizable, I made it my own.

So here it is:

Black Bottomed Peanut Butter Mousse Pie



8 oz. chocolate cookie (oreos or wafers)
4 oz melted butter

8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp espresso powder

1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1/3 cup butter
3 oz powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cream of tarter

1/4 cup butterscotch sauce
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
bittersweet chocolate curls (use a slightly warm peeler to make these out of a block of chocolate)




Preheat oven to 350.

Pulse cookies in food processor until fine crumbs form. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand and clumps together. Pat into a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, combine chocolate, cream, corn syrup, vanilla and espresso powder in a double boiler over medium heat. Stir until chocolate is melted and all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Pour into crust. Chill until set.

Combine peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, egg yolks and 1/4 cup cream in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until light and fluffy. Chill.

Beat whipping cream to soft peaks. While beating, slowly add vanilla, sugar and cream of tarter.

Fold whipping cream into peanut butter mixture. Add mixture to pie crust and smooth the top of the pie. Chill 20 minutes.



Drizzle with butterscotch sauce and sprinkle with peanuts and chocolate. Chill 2 hours before slicing. Run a knife down the sides of the springform pan before unmolding.

Feeling a little French...

So I had some VERY ripe pears sitting on my buffet table and mocking me. Now, normally I would devour a red pear before it even reached its peak of freshness. But this week I was tempted by grapefruits and lured by blackberries, so the pears sat there, basking in their glory, defying me. This could not be allowed. I've come across quite a few French inspired posts lately, and it was inspiring me to try some French pastry. Now, normally I would back away and cower in the corner at the thought of meticulous French sweets, but I was feeling particularly brave tonight. Hence, my reinvention of the Pear Frangipane tart (I used up my almonds in a pilaf earlier this week). A mixture of hazelnuts and macadamias make great understudies, adding buttery richness.



Parisian Pear Tart

Almond Pate Sucree

1 cup flour
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp butter, chilled cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 Tbsp chilled ameretto liquor
1 tsp almond extract

Combine flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Add butter pieces and use quick pulses to incorporate until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk and extract and drizzle in 1 Tbsp of liquor. Only add additional liquor if the mixture is not coming together when pulsed. Form dough into a disk and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out dough and transfer to a greased 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press to fit and Line the pie crust with aluminum foil. Fill with dried beans to keep the crust from shrinking. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the weights and foil and bake for 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Frangipane

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted with skins removed
1/2 cup macadamias, toasted
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. all purpose flour
1 tsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pulverize first 5 ingredients in the food processor until no chunks of pesky nuts remain. Add egg and extracts and pulse enthusiastically. Refrigerate until tart shell is cool.

Pears:
Although you can certainly poach the pears, there is no reason or logic to doing so with truly ripe specimens. Peel and slice three beauties and toss them in lemon juice.

Assembly:
Preheat the oven to 350. Spread the frangipane evenly in the tart shell. Press the pear slices down into the filling. Use a pie crust shield or aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning. Bake for 50 minutes, then remove shield and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Lemon Meringue Pie

It's truly cold for what seems like the first time this winter. I'm in need of some indoor sunshine. It came to me in the form of a smooth, tart brilliantly yellow pie.

I had the day off for primaries and was waiting around for the oil man, sifting through this week's food blogs.At La Mia Cucina, I came across a lemon meringue that looked just like the one my grandma always made for me when I stayed with her for the summer. Get the daring bakers' recipe challenge here.

Three hours and a sink full of dirty dishes later, I had my retreat from the snow outside. It was tart and silky inside, topped with a billowing sweet pillow all in a flaky buttery crust. Heaven.



(Plus I had an excuse to use my torch for something other than toasting marshmallows. Yes, I toast marshmallows on a fork with a creme brulee torch. What exactly is so weird about that? Yeah - that's what I thought!)



Is it wrong I went back for more for breakfast this morning?