Showing posts with label classic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classic. Show all posts
Saturday, April 5, 2014
CLASSIC CHERRY PIE
If you follow my blog regularly, you know that I enjoy combining recipes to get an end result that suits us. Thats what I did with this cherry pie recipe.
The first cherry pie recipe I tried tasted OK, but there was a watery liquid in the bottom of the pie that seperated from the filling...not a good thing.
Next, I tried a recipe that used flour as a thickener, but it left a cloudy filling ... not what I wanted.
Next I tried tapioca to thicken the filling and it eliminated the cloudy fruit filling problem, but it was hard to guage just how much tapioca was enough and how much was too much; it also produced inconsistent results...not good.
So, as usual, I took a little bit of this recipe and added it to that recipe and then threw in a couple of my own ideas and came up with todays recipe. I served it on Fathers Day and picky-picky husband actually said "This is THE best cherry pie Ive ever eaten!!" After I picked myself up off of the floor (not literally, lol) , I knew I had a winner!!!
The filling is sweet and the crust is unbelievably flaky and delicious. Some people freak out with a pie crust that uses shortening, however, not only does shortening produce a flakier crust, but it has HALF of the saturated fat of butter!! NOTE: I always us butter flavored Crisco in my crusts.
CHERRY PIE FILLING
(2) 14 ounce cans unsweetened tart pie cherries
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar DIVIDED
4 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons corn starch
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (do not leave out)
2 teaspoons butter, room temperature
Drain the cherries but SAVE THE LIQUID. Put one cup of the liquid into a heavy saucepan with the corn starch, salt and HALF OF THE SUGAR, mix well.
Bring this mixture to a boil, while stirring, and cook until it gets VERY THICK (only takes a minute or so once it starts to boil (keep stirring fast).
Remove from heat and stir in the butter, almond extract and the OTHER HALF of the sugar, mix well. Gently fold in the drained cherries. Let cool while you make the pie crust.
This is the all time best pie crust I have EVER made and Ive made tons of them. This dough handles beautifully (no need to chill the dough) and makes either 3 single crusts or a large 2 crust pie with some left over. Everyone Ive served this crust to is wild about it.
PIE CRUST
4 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups butter flavored Crisco shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup ice cold water
Cut the shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter (or a couple of forks) until the shortening is about half the size of a green pea.
Mix the sugar, salt, egg, vanilla and ice water together, until well mixed, then add it all to the flour-shortening mixture. Work it with your hands until everything comes together in a big ball. Try to do this fairly quickly so that the heat of your hands doesnt melt the shortening. No need to chill this dough.
Roll out a bottom crust, on a floured counter, to fit a 9" pie pan. Put the cherry filling into the bottom crust and then brush the edges of the crust with a little egg white that has a few drops of water whisked into it (this will help "glue" the bottom crust to the top crust).
Roll out a top crust, on a floured counter, and lay it over the filled bottom crust. Cut off the extra dough that hangs over the rim of the pie plate (see note). Pinch the top and bottom crust edges together (or use a fork).
After you have pinched the two crusts together, brush the top pie crust with more of the egg white wash (the same that you used to "glue" the edges ) and then sprinkle the whole surface, lightly, with granulated sugar.
Cut several small vent holes in the top crust. Bake in 375 preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown (I usually leave it in for 45 minutes). COOL PIE COMPLETELY BEFORE CUTTING.
NOTE: When you are trimming the excess unbaked crust from around the rim of the pie pan, leave it just a little long so that you can tuck under the edge before you pinch the pie edge into a design.
NOTE: I bake all of my pies on a cookie sheet just in case they spill over.
Read More..
The first cherry pie recipe I tried tasted OK, but there was a watery liquid in the bottom of the pie that seperated from the filling...not a good thing.
Next, I tried a recipe that used flour as a thickener, but it left a cloudy filling ... not what I wanted.
Next I tried tapioca to thicken the filling and it eliminated the cloudy fruit filling problem, but it was hard to guage just how much tapioca was enough and how much was too much; it also produced inconsistent results...not good.
So, as usual, I took a little bit of this recipe and added it to that recipe and then threw in a couple of my own ideas and came up with todays recipe. I served it on Fathers Day and picky-picky husband actually said "This is THE best cherry pie Ive ever eaten!!" After I picked myself up off of the floor (not literally, lol) , I knew I had a winner!!!
CHERRY PIE FILLING
(2) 14 ounce cans unsweetened tart pie cherries
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar DIVIDED
4 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons corn starch
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (do not leave out)
2 teaspoons butter, room temperature
Drain the cherries but SAVE THE LIQUID. Put one cup of the liquid into a heavy saucepan with the corn starch, salt and HALF OF THE SUGAR, mix well.
Bring this mixture to a boil, while stirring, and cook until it gets VERY THICK (only takes a minute or so once it starts to boil (keep stirring fast).
Remove from heat and stir in the butter, almond extract and the OTHER HALF of the sugar, mix well. Gently fold in the drained cherries. Let cool while you make the pie crust.
PIE CRUST
4 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups butter flavored Crisco shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup ice cold water
Cut the shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter (or a couple of forks) until the shortening is about half the size of a green pea.
Mix the sugar, salt, egg, vanilla and ice water together, until well mixed, then add it all to the flour-shortening mixture. Work it with your hands until everything comes together in a big ball. Try to do this fairly quickly so that the heat of your hands doesnt melt the shortening. No need to chill this dough.
Roll out a bottom crust, on a floured counter, to fit a 9" pie pan. Put the cherry filling into the bottom crust and then brush the edges of the crust with a little egg white that has a few drops of water whisked into it (this will help "glue" the bottom crust to the top crust).
Roll out a top crust, on a floured counter, and lay it over the filled bottom crust. Cut off the extra dough that hangs over the rim of the pie plate (see note). Pinch the top and bottom crust edges together (or use a fork).
After you have pinched the two crusts together, brush the top pie crust with more of the egg white wash (the same that you used to "glue" the edges ) and then sprinkle the whole surface, lightly, with granulated sugar.
Cut several small vent holes in the top crust. Bake in 375 preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown (I usually leave it in for 45 minutes). COOL PIE COMPLETELY BEFORE CUTTING.
NOTE: I bake all of my pies on a cookie sheet just in case they spill over.
Friday, March 14, 2014
CLASSIC BANANA CREAM PIE
Every family holiday dinner, I make way too many desserts. There is usually a cheesecake, a cream/pudding type pie, a fruit pie, cookies and something "experimental". That just means it is a recipe that I really want to make but I know picky-picky husband wouldnt touch it, so I need my family to "step in" and try it.
As fun as it is to try new recipes, the old classics are always a hit; this banana cream pie is a tried and true family classic; it is the "real deal". It has a baked graham cracker crust, cooked vanilla custard, bananas and the most delicious whipped cream topping Ive ever tasted (it has cream cheese in it)
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
1½ cups finely crushed graham crackers
¼ cup white sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
Mix everything well and pat into a 10" pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.
PIE FILLING
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 and 1/3 cups water
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (see note)
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium ripe bananas (cubed)
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the cornstarch in the water; stir in the sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Cook until thickened and bubbly remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly. Cube the bananas and fold into the slightly cooled pudding. Pour into cooled crust and lay some plastic wrap on the surface of the filling so that it doesnt form a skin. Chill in the fridge for about 3 hours. Frost with whipped cream topping.
WHIPPED CREAM (Stabelized)
I hope you do not skip this step because it really is delicious and "makes" the pie. This is my new "go to" whipped cream recipe.
(1) 8 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
With your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and extracts in a large bowl until smooth (scrape sides to make sure you dont have any cream cheese sticking to the interior of the bowl). While the beaters are still running, slowly add the whipping cream (stop a couple times and scrape the bowl). Beat until you get stiff peaks. This makes enough topping to cover a 10" pie generously.
NOTE: Make sure you use sweetened condensed milk in the pie filling (and not evaporated milk).
Read More..
As fun as it is to try new recipes, the old classics are always a hit; this banana cream pie is a tried and true family classic; it is the "real deal". It has a baked graham cracker crust, cooked vanilla custard, bananas and the most delicious whipped cream topping Ive ever tasted (it has cream cheese in it)
1½ cups finely crushed graham crackers
¼ cup white sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
Mix everything well and pat into a 10" pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.
PIE FILLING
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 and 1/3 cups water
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (see note)
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium ripe bananas (cubed)
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the cornstarch in the water; stir in the sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Cook until thickened and bubbly remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly. Cube the bananas and fold into the slightly cooled pudding. Pour into cooled crust and lay some plastic wrap on the surface of the filling so that it doesnt form a skin. Chill in the fridge for about 3 hours. Frost with whipped cream topping.
WHIPPED CREAM (Stabelized)
I hope you do not skip this step because it really is delicious and "makes" the pie. This is my new "go to" whipped cream recipe.
(1) 8 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
With your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and extracts in a large bowl until smooth (scrape sides to make sure you dont have any cream cheese sticking to the interior of the bowl). While the beaters are still running, slowly add the whipping cream (stop a couple times and scrape the bowl). Beat until you get stiff peaks. This makes enough topping to cover a 10" pie generously.
NOTE: Make sure you use sweetened condensed milk in the pie filling (and not evaporated milk).
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Classic Traditional 100 Completely Authentic Peruvian Ceviche This is Exactly How They Make it in Peru for Real
Most gastronerds credit Peru with giving us the marinated seafood salad called "ceviche," but I imagine that most coastal fishing cultures developed similar dishes. In fact, tuna poke, which is a very popular appetizer here on the West Coast, is a very similar idea.Ive already posted one ceviche recipe on the blog, called "Bay Scallop and Mango Ceviche." It was originally posted to Youtube, where it caused a virtual riot among my Peruvian friends. Ceviche is their national dish, and they dont take kindly to people like me adding things like mango, and still calling it ceviche. Apparently, there is only one way to make ceviche, and no variations shall bear the sacred name, ceviche.
I tried to defend myself with the usual, "its my recipe, and Ill call it whatever I want." This only infuriated them more, and it almost turned into an international incident as I ignored their demands to change the name. While this recipe is much more traditional, Im sure I did something wrong, and undoubtedly the title will be gently challenged. Enjoy!
Click here for ingredients and transcript
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