Pies by Jordan: Shoo-Fly Pie

Last month, I mentioned that Nick's daughter Jordan will be carrying on my teaching legacy at Kitchen Conservatory. As of now, she has two pie classes on the summer schedule with a third one (featuring boozy pies and cocktails!) being planned for June 30.

A year ago last fall, Jordan and I made an apple pie together from scratch in her college apartment. Since then, she has exceeded my own pie-baking abilities. She's been experimenting with all kinds of  recipes and decorative crusts. She's damn near perfected the lattice (over-achiever!). Last fall, she even made FIVE different pies for a bridal shower in one night of pie-baking frenzy. Here are some of her creations:

Treacle Tart

Apple Rose Pie

Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie with Peanut Brittle Shards

Chai-Spice Pumpkin Pie

Sour Cherry Pie

Concord Grape Pie

Bridal Shower Pie

You can follow Jordan's pie-making adventures on Instagram @fillyerpiehole

Shoo-Fly Pie

recipe from First Prize Pies by Allison Kave 

Triple Cherry Pie

Updated: This is damn near the best pie I've ever made. Seriously perfect.

Last week, I thawed out the remaining sour cherries from last summer's harvest. I had a couple bags of fresh cherries in the fridge, and I wanted to make a quick pie with all three varieties.

Yes, it's near 100-degree temps in St. Louis right now...I know it's crazy to turn on the oven in my 115-year-old house that only has central AC upstairs.

But...but...pie-baking always makes me feel better (and with the world as it is now, we could all use something to feel better about...if even it's something small for just a few moments). #peacebypiece

Besides, I can fit a full-sized pie plate in my toaster oven. ;-)

So, I said this was the best pie I've ever made. It's true. The filling was the perfect consistency, thick and "gooey" (for lack of a better word). The cherry pies I've made in the past were always too liquidy inside. This time, however, I used quick tapioca instead of flour or cornstarch. It thickens the juice better and doesn't taste so pasty. If you haven't tried this ingredient before, I highly recommend it. I will do this from now on in all my berry pies.

Triple Cherry Pie

adapted from Art of the Pie

Brown Sugar Pie

I made this brown sugar pie, a traditional French-Canadian recipe, last fall when I wanted to bake something for school but didn't have much in the way of ingredients at home. The brown sugar melts into a caramel-like filling. Think pecan pie without the pecans. It's rich and sweet, almost too sweet.

But, I'm thinking this would be a lovely dessert topped with summer berries...something fresh and tart to balance the sweetness. I can also see lining the bottom crust with big juicy blackberries and pouring the filling over them. 

Yes. That.

Brown Sugar Pie (aka Tarte au Sucre Brun)

recipe from Pizzazzerie

1 pound light brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract

1 pie crust 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Prepare pie pan with a bottom crust of dough, crimp edges.
• Whisk together eggs and add in sugar, butter, and vanilla.
• Whisk together until combined well and smooth.
• Pour into pie pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. (It might need longer. Check to see that pie is baked through; it will be gooey but it should be set all the way through.)

Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake Bars

Yesterday, I made a quick and easy dessert to take to a friend's house for Superbowl watching. I didn't take any pictures. I am a bad blogger. However, I want to post the recipe with some suggestions on how to substitute ingredients.

In my weekend cooking classes, students will often ask about substituting ingredients. Recipes are just guidelines, I tell them. Use what you like or what you have. Yet, people are often hesitant to change recipes, fearing they will mess them up.

So, below is the recipe I used to create a decadent, sophisticated dessert...with several ideas to change it up. I had some espresso-flavored shortbread cookies I wanted to get rid of, along with some sour cream in the fridge, and several bars of bittersweet chocolate that I got for Christmas. This recipe was developed using the things I had on hand.

I created the chocolate espresso version from a recipe I found on Pinterest from Sally's Baking Addiction.

My cheesecake bars are not at all "skinny," but her recipe was a good one to follow so that I got my ratios correct. Baking is, after all, very much like chemistry. I modify recipes like this all the time. It makes cooking easier, less stressful, and much more fun.

Ginger Beer Pound Cake

Happy New Year!

2016 started with lots of laughs. I had a few people over last night. We ate a side of smoked salmon, cheeses and crackers, tomato bruschetta, prosciutto & parmesan gougères, and stuffed shells (thanks Christy & Allen!). For dessert, I made this delicious cake.

Lovely Ladies

There are currently several hard ginger ales on the market. I've tried Not Your Father's Ginger Ale, Lewis Osterweis & Sons Hard Ginger Beer (made by local Schlafly), Coney Island Brewing Co. Hard Ginger Ale, and Crabbie's Spiced Orange Ginger Beer. Not Your Father's is my favorite of the four (I also really dig their hard root beer).

My least favorite to drink was the Spiced Orange Ginger Beer. It was way too sweet for me. So, I looked for some way to cook with it. This cake is sooooo good. The gingery orange flavor really comes through. Of course, you could use any ginger beer or ale you wanted to. I bet it would even be good with some of that root beer.

I have lots of bottles of ginger beer at the moment, and I plan to make some pulled pork with it soon.

Ginger Beer Pound Cake

slightly adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ginger beer or ginger ale, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 300F. Spray a 10” Bundt pan with baking spray.
• Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment cream together butter and sugar on medium high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 
• Add extract and salt and beat for another minute.
• Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
• Alternating add flour, then beer, then flour, then beer, and end with flour.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a knife or wooden skewer when inserted comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
• Remove from pan, let cool completely, then glaze. For the glaze, mix 1 cup powdered sugar mixed with ginger beer, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

Apple Charlotte with Earl Grey Crème Anglaise

On Sunday, I cooked a Downton Abbey-inspired supper to celebrate a friend's mom's birthday. Here was our menu:

Smoked salmon mousse with cucumber canapes

Butternut squash soup with sour cream & pumpkin seeds 

Salad with Roquefort, figs, walnuts & creamy pomegranate dressing

Prosciutto, rosemary, & thyme gougeres 

Apple Charlotte with Earl Grey crème anglaise

In the 5th episode of Downton Abbey, the cook Mrs. Patmore refuses to make an Apple Charlotte for dessert, as request by the lady of the house, because she was having problems with her eyesight and couldn't read the recipe.

Apple Charlotte is essentially a caramelized apple filling baked in a French-toasty crust. In my research, I saw many different versions and methods. I chose a recipe posted on the Downton Abbey Cooks blog that uses raisin bread for the crust and condensed milk for the caramel filling. The bread is dipped in an egg & milk batter, which results in a bread pudding-like consistency. (Confession: I don't think I followed the "lightly dip" directions well. I probably should have just brushed the bread.)

In hindsight, I think it would have been better to brush the bread with butter and toast it in the oven, then brush only the tops of each Charlotte with the egg mixture. This would make for a crispier crust that held up better.

Another suggestion: Don't forget to grease the ramekins. It was difficult to get the desserts neatly out of their dishes. Whoops.

Still, these individual desserts make for an impressive presentation, and everyone seemed to like them.

Apple Charlotte with Earl Grey Créme Anglaise

from Downton Abbey Cooks

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Last weekend, we visited Nick's daughter at Eastern Illinois University. It was fun to spend a couple days at my alma mater. It was even more fun to spend time cooking with Jordan. She wanted to make a pumpkin pie from scratch, so we did that on Sunday before driving home.

While it's not difficult to do, I'm not sure that roasting a pumpkin is all that much better than using canned pumpkin puree. Still, it feels good to start with this:

Only the smallest of those pumpkins was harmed in the making of pie.

and end up with this:

Mmmmmm, pie...

Shaker Lemon Pie

Summer may finally be releasing its hold. After near-100 degree temps the past couple weeks, this weekend is cool, breezy, blue-skied, and lovely. The temperature always affects my mood, and I've been sweaty and crabby since school started three weeks ago. Right now, however, I am perfectly content as I sit outside drinking coffee and soaking up 60 degree sunshine.

I love the fall so hard...and all I can think about is wanting to pick apples and make pies, spending the afternoon at a winery near the river, and having picnics of crusty breads and cured sausages and pungent cheeses. I want to make hearty pastas and soups and stews. I want to curl up in a blanket next to a campfire with a glass of red wine or a dark beer. You know...all the stereotypical autumny stuff. BRING ON THE PUMPKIN SPICE EVERYTHING!

But, if you're more of a summer person and are lamenting the dying light and warmth, you should make this pie...it's the ultimate bright, sunshiny dessert.

* * *

I was so excited to try this recipe a few months ago, a treat I was taking to our annual Shakespeare in the Park outing. I love tart lemon desserts, and this one sounded so easy...you slice whole lemons, let them candy in sugar overnight, mix with eggs & flour, then bake in a pie crust. 

While it was simple to make, I thought it was too tart and chewy for my taste. The lemons didn't soften as much as I'd hoped, and the texture was just....weird. 

Such is the nature of Shaker Lemon Pie, however, with a filling that is a cross between lemon curd and marmalade. 

Epicurious suggests coarsely chopping the sliced lemons so that the smaller pieces will soften more.

I'll try this recipe again, but next time I'll peel the lemons first to remove the bitter rind and pith. I'm thinking this would work beautifully with winter citrus as well. In fact, I may have to try it with blood oranges in the upcoming months!

Shaker Lemon Pie

recipe from Beth Howard

A Chia Pudding Experiment

Sometimes a new recipe that I try is not awesome. This is one of those times.

In looking for some make-ahead breakfast recipes that I could take to school each morning, I decided to try some chia pudding. Pinterest seems to like chia puddings, and they sounded pretty tasty. Chia seeds (which come from a flowering plant in the mint family) are also said to be a mega healthy superfood... rich in omega-3 fatty acids, high in fiber & protein, with lots of calcium & magnesium, low in calories, and loaded with antioxidants.

So, I gave it a shot.

I made two kinds: a simple vanilla pudding with almond-coconut milk (that I ate with granola & dried fruit) and a richer, less sweet chocolate-espresso version (that I topped with whipped cream & raspberries). While the flavors were good, I didn't really like either one. It was the texture that didn't wow me...almost kind of slimy...think tapioca pudding. Yeah, that.

BUT, if you LIKE tapioca pudding then you will probably like chia pudding. If that's the case, it's so easy to make, it's worth trying...so, click through for the recipes I used.

Me? I'll stick with adding chia seeds to my morning smoothies.

Almond-Coconut Chia Pudding

Blueberry-Lemon Pound Cake

Here is another dessert I made recently that was also a big hit. 

I made some food to take to the lake cabin for July 4th weekend....sesame soba noodles, curried chicken salad, and this blueberry-lemon pound cake.

This is a very moist cake, so it's best eaten within a day or two. Also, I highly recommend baking it in a bundt pan instead of a regular cake pan. The first time I made it, in a round cake pan, the middle just didn't quite set before the rest started to burn. You could also divide the batter between 2 loaf pans. 

Blueberry-Lemon Pound Cake

S'mores Pie

I love all things s'mores. But, that's face it...nothing "s'mores inspired" (like cupcakes, tarts, cookies, etc.) come close to the real thing.

Except for this pie.

This pie is easy to make and is decadently delicious. It's a very sophisticated way to cure your s'mores craving...especially when it's too rainy (like it was here last month) or too damn hot & humid (like it is now) to build a campfire.

This award-winning recipe comes from Butter & Scotch, a New York bar and bakery, and I made in in a Girls' Night Out class recently at Kitchen Conservatory. It was a hit.

Be sure to use a good quality MILK chocolate; semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate just doesn't replicate the s'mores taste me all know and love. Don't be intimidated by the homemade marshmallow creme. It's very easy to make...and so much better than the jarred version. Trust me.

S'mores Pie

Eggnog Spice Cake

I'm back. The past few months have been full of sadness, hurt, and anxiety. I haven't been cooking. I haven't even been eating or sleeping much. But, things are looking up now and I am hopeful for a happier future.

I was finally inspired to cook something by Davidson's Safest Choice Eggs' Dozen Days of Nog event. I made a spice cake with eggnog instead of milk. It was dessert at a holiday lunch I hosted for some school friends.

I had planned to make an eggnog buttercream to frost this cake, but after tasting it I decided it didn't need any frosting. If you wanted something extra, I suggest a dollop of eggnog whipped cream.

It felt good to be back in the kitchen and to be feeding the people I love. I hope to do more of that in the coming weeks.

Happy Holidays!

Eggnog Spice Cake

adapted from Portuguese Girl Cooks

Old Fashioned Raspberry Pie with Hot Water Crust

I'm calling this an "old fashioned" pie because it features a hot water crust and tapioca in the filling...two things you don't see much of these days.

This recipe comes from The American Gothic Cookbook, copyright 1979.  The small, 62-page booklet was inspired by Grant Wood's iconic painting.

The introduction explains:

Born in Cedar Rapids through the eye, mind, and paintbrush of Grant Wood, the American Gothic couple uniquely reflect the cultural traditions of the Midwest.

Here are the recipes from the models who posed for the painting, from the artist who painted them, from people who knew them, and from their neighbors, including the famous.

While the Woods and the McKeebys, as their names imply, were of stock from the British Isles, their Iowa neighbors were the Germans of the Amana Colonies, the Czechoslovakians, the Scandinavians, and the Amish of the Kalona area. Part of the essence of the Midwest is the blend of culinary traditions now even including the Oriental. Here are the recipes of the American Gothic people.

I bought this book at a used cookbook sale. Considering my love of American Gothic, I had to have it.

I referred to this pie as "Raspberry Frankenpie" because I had some problems with the top crust. It wasn't crumbly, but it would break whenever I tried to roll it out or pick it up. So, I pieced it together on top of the pie, going for a patchwork look, and added some "stitches" for decoration.

I know what I did wrong. The recipe says it will make two crusts. It does not. So, when I mixed a second crust, I didn't use boiling water...I used the hot water that was left in the kettle without reboiling it. As a result, the shortening never got creamy when mixed with the water. Since the first crust worked perfectly, I'm sure this was the problem.

Still, it tasted just fine! I did miss the buttery flavor of my regular pie crust recipe, but this was an interesting recipe to try...and an easy way to make a crust for those who might be intimidated by making pie.

The filling, however, was spectacular. I liked using instant tapioca to thicken the filling as opposed to cornstarch or flour. It created tiny, translucent, fruit-flavored pearls. It wasn't slimy, gelatinous, or chunky (which is what I think of when I think of tapioca pudding). I may use it in all of my fruit pies now!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

ANOTHER pie? 

That's right.

This one was made by request (You're welcome, Joni) for an outing to see Shakespeare's Henry V in Forest Park with a couple of my school pals last Saturday.

While I've made a few strawberry desserts and rhubarb desserts over the years (see the list after the recipe), this was my first strawberry-rhubarb concoction. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

recipe slightly adapted from The Kitchn

Made with love & ready for the oven

Apple Custard Pie with Brandied Raisins & Almonds

I keep a journal in which I jot down favorite quotes and whatnot from books as I'm reading. Often, I find myself making lists of food described in the books as well.

One such description, from Neil Gaiman's novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, has stuck with me since early last fall:

Dinner was wonderful. There was a joint of beef, with roast potatoes, golden-crisp on the outside and soft and white inside, buttered greens I did not recognize, although I think now that they might have been nettles, roasted carrots all blackened and sweet […]. For dessert there was the pie, stuffed with apples and with swollen raisins and crushed nuts, all topped with a thick yellow custard, creamier and richer than anything I had ever tasted at school or at home.

That pie. I haven't been able to get that pie out of my head.

So, I made it.

Maple Cornflake Pie

Today is our seventh snow day so far in 2014, and most likely we'll have another day off tomorrow. To pass all these days stuck inside, I taught myself how to knit (working on my third scarf now) and have been cooking a lot.

This pie was baked strictly out of necessity (another night snowed in, another night with a finicky boiler, another night trying to ward off unwanted anxiety) and with whatever ingredients I had on-hand. The original recipe calls for 2/3 cup of dark corn syrup, but since I didn't have any I improvised with brown sugar and maple syrup.

This kind of old-fashioned cereal pie creates a two-layer dessert...a sweet, sticky bottom layer (hubba) with a chewing, crunchy top layer.

Eggnog Cake with Rum-Soaked Cranberries & Pecans

I'm happy to be participating in an Eggnog Party sponsored by Davidson's Safest Choice® Eggs. They've asked me to create and post an eggnog recipe using their pasteurized eggs. 

You can join the party, too! Safest Choice® Eggs is giving away two baking Grand Prize packs valued at $500 each:

• one (1) $200 Amex gift card
• one (1) Sur La Table® Platinum Professional Bakeware, 7-Piece Set
• one (1) Sur La Table® Silicone Snowman Spatulas, Set of 2
• one (1) Better Homes and Gardens Baking: More than 350 Recipes Plus Tips and Techniques cookbook
• 52 coupons for a free dozen of Davidson’s Safest Choice® Eggs

The giveaway will end at midnight Eastern time on Friday, December 13th. You can enter at the end of this post.

So, why use pasteurized eggs? "Davidson’s Safest Choice® Eggs are pasteurized in an all-natural, gentle water bath pasteurization process to eliminate the risk of Salmonella. The vast majority of eggs sold in grocery stores are NOT pasteurized. Safest Choice™ offers peace of mind when making recipes calling for raw or undercooked eggs [like homemade eggnog] and removes the worry of cross contamination."

Lane Cake

As you might have guessed from my previous post, I am single...again. Corey and I broke up a couple months ago. It's been really, really hard. Though we are keeping in touch and are friendly to each other (it wasn't necessarily a "bad" breakup), I miss him. A lot.

Sigh.

I'm getting better, though. I'm taking it day by day. Some days are, of course, better than others. I'm working through some of my own issues, keeping busy, and trying to figure out that thing called "happiness."

I haven't told many people about what's been going on...and while I don't usually tell my students much about my personal life, they can tell something is wrong. I've gotten many "hope you feel better" and "don't be sad" messages from my juniors and seniors. I even got a few "we love and need you" messages. One of my classes gave me a group hug; the other made me a huge Frankenstein card with sweet sentiments like "you're beautiful" and "boys are stupid." ;-)

Caramel Apple Cake

I've been dragging my feet on this post for weeks, writing and rewriting...wondering how much is too much to say, how little is too little.

So, I'll just say this:

Life isn't going as I'd planned or hoped. I am heartbroken. Again.

Doesn't that seem to be a reoccurring theme for me?

But, I'm dealing with it as best I can. Trying my hardest to heal myself and to be a better, stronger person. Keeping some hope--what little there might be--alive. For now.

Because I have to. I have to belief in love and happiness.

Besides, cake always makes it a little better, right?

Blackberry-Peach Breakfast Crisp

I call this a "breakfast crisp" because it's healthier (no sugar added to the filling & only 1/4 cup in the topping!) and more suited for breakfast than as a decadent dessert...and because I made this for brunch at a friend's house last weekend.

While I've made many crisps before, I usually just throw together the topping with whatever I have on hand. This, however, is the best version I've made and is now my go-to recipe.

You can use whatever fruits you want in this. I used wild blackberries and local peaches because I'd just bought them at the farmers market.