Author Archives: Dana

Summer Pie

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We were invited to a Fourth of July barbecue a few weeks ago.  As I always do, I asked our host if there was anything I could bring, and knowing that our host has a bit of a sweet tooth got all excited about making this pie to bring along (not only do I get to have a piece but there is no pie hanging around tempting me to eat more than is prudent).  The party ended up being cancelled, but at that point I had all the ingredients on hand  and was so excited about having a piece of this that I just had to make it happen.

Three or four weeks a year the season for cherries, blueberries and peaches overlap and when it rolls around on the calendar, I can’t help myself, I’ve got to make what I think of as summer pie.  I love this combination of fruit and there is something about the fact that the window for obtaining ripe cherries, blueberries and peaches is so fleeting makes it seem extra special.  So when I got the news that the party was cancelled and no longer had people to share it with I was a bit disappointed – and then we ended up having company a few nights later so (oh joy!) I had a reason to make it. I wasn’t entirely happy with the way the first one came out – too runny.  So I tried it two more times increasing the amount of starch each time.  The last go around I didn’t have the time to make a crust, so I packed the fruit into the pie plate and topped it with the crumble mixture, which was also good if you want to take a short cut and not bother about the pie crust.

This is not a tidy slice, art director favorite kind of pie.  It is looser, more slumpy, more fruit crumble kind of pie.  So if you want something that doesn’t droop in the least, this may not be your kind of pie.  But if you want a slice of summer, drips and all, this might be for you.

Pie:
1 – 9″ pie crust, placed in a glass pie plate and refrigerated until ready to fill. (I am going to assume here that you are either a pie crust maker or not.  And if you ARE a pie crust maker I’m going to assume you have a recipe you like. And if you are NOT a pie crust maker just use whichever pre-made version you prefer  – I’m not going to judge you either way.) I like glass because it takes any guesswork out of whether or not the crust is cooked.

Crumble:IMG_0910IMG_0909
1 cup flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 /2 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup butter

Filling:IMG_0911IMG_0908
2 cups halved, pitted cherries
2 cups blueberries
1 1/4 lbs peaches (about 4 regular, 5 organic), pitted and sliced into 1/2″ inch wedges
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons tapioca starch (or corn starch)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice

  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Combine flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a food processor or large bowl.  Pulse a few times to combine thoroughly or whisk together until well combined, if not using a food processor.  Cut the butter into small cubes and pulse into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal – some little butter bits are fine.  Alternatively, use a pastry blender or two knives to achieve the same texture. (That picture up there in the food processor is what it looked like when it was done.) Set the mixture aside until you are ready to top the pie.  This can be done a day or so in advance and refrigerated until you are ready to use it.
  3. Combine the fruit with the sugar, tapioca starch lemon zest and lemon juice.  Allow to macerate for 10 minutes or so.IMG_0916
  4. Pack the fruit into the pie shell.  Don’t be shy, really press it in there – it will settle as it cooks in any case but the topping will crack less when the cooked fruit settles.
  5. Bake the pie on a baking sheet for 1 hour 45 minutes, checking at 1 hour 30 minutes just to make sure you aren’t over doing things.  The crust should be golden brown and the filing will be bubbly and overflowing a bit.  (Hence the recommended baking sheet.)
  6. Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack as long as you can stand it – at least 2 hours (I actually threw this one in the fridge to take the heat down faster because I only had an hour until dessert time). Warm pie is my favorite but room temperature won’t hurt anything.  Serve with vanilla ice cream – or not.

 

Spiedies

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On the recommendation of folks with local knowledge, I first had spiedies (pronounced speed-eez) in Montrose, Pennsylvania at The Stables Restaurant. It is popular enough that supermarkets in the area carry several brands of of bottled spiedies sauce.  Having had a pleasant spiedie experience, I brought a bottle home with me and proceeded to make some of my own.  During grilling season I keep a jar in the refrigerator to help solve the “what am I going to make for dinner” conundrum. Our favorite is chicken served over a salad with a creamy dressing like ranch or pictured above, caesar.  The leftovers make a nice sandwich with a garlicky mayonnaise and crisp lettuce.

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Along the way I got curious as to how a vinegary, garlicky, herby mixture for cubed, skewered, grilled meat came to be called spiedies. Wikipedia informs me:that it originated in Endicott, New York (about an hour drive north of Montrose); just about any kind of meat gets spiedied, there is a Spiedie Fest in Binghamton, New York every August; it is usually served on a roll, and if metal skewers are used they are called “spiedie rods”.  I tried the word in Google Translate and “detecting Italian”, it suggested “spiedi”  – skewer in Italian. Which seems as good an explanation as any.

 

Spiedie Marinade

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon parsley flakes, crushed
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves, crushed
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprikaIMG_0878 1/2 cup corn oil

Combine vinegar with everything but the oil. Toss with cubed meat and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or over night. Marinade keeps in the refrigerator in a sealed container almost indefinitely. Since everything tends to settle to the bottom, give it a good shake before using.

 

Yields 3/4 cup, enough for 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of meat.

I Costco

I’m not sure if I Costco there for I am or not, but I Costco.

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In the Costco world, things come in big bags – sometimes huge big bags. I am totally guilty of having bought the huge big bag in a moment of bargain induced euphoria, only to later find a portion of it moldering in some recess of my pantry.  On more than one occasion I’ve found a significant portion of my  big bag of garlic growing lovely twisty green shoots before I had gotten the chance to use it.  Which made me feel not only wasteful, but as if I was somehow thwarting some portion of the garlic life cycle, committing some garlic murdering evil.  All in all, the residual guilt was too much so I dropped it from my Costco shopping list.

And then, as it sometimes goes, I had bunches of cooking to do which involved bunches of garlic and needed the Costco-size bag.  But there was still extra.  So I looked at all the garlic I was going to have left over and had one of those moments (food gods bathed my kitchen in heavenly light, garlic sprites danced in the twighlight) and thought “why don’t I roast it?”   So I put half the garlic into the oven and roasted it off.

Which comes to the point of this post.  In the vein of when life gives you lemons… make ice cubes. Up there in the glass from the top:  chicken bouillon ice cubes, roasted garlic ice cubes, basil ice cubes and coffee ice cubes. They are just don’t waste it … ice cubes. Please check before plopping an ice cube into your drink, roasted garlic water is nasty.

The basic idea is to put left-over bit is into an ice cube tray so you have another ingredient on hand.  Cover the ice cube tray with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until frozen solid.  Crack the ice cubes into a labeled zip lock freezer bag (put a date on it while you are at it) and now you have little bits of magic in your freezer. Don’t want to dilute your iced coffee? Use coffee ice cubes. Out of fresh basil? Use a basil cube.  Need just a bit of chicken stock? Use  a stock cube. Need a little nutty richness in a sauce, a little extra something in the mashed potatoes? Toss in a roasted garlic cube. Cilantro, pesto, left over wine (not a lot of that in my house) and tomato paste are all good candidates for ice cube preservation. But in case you have the big bag of garlic hanging around here’s how I go about it.

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Roasted Garlic

Yield 5 or 6 ice cubes
5 whole heads of garlic
5 Tablespoons (60 mL)  water – 1 Tablespoon (15 mL) per head of garlic
Foil

If you want to save some for the freezer, start with at least 3 or 4 heads of garlic, but you can easily do more.

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  1. Preheat oven to 375° (190° C).
  2. Lay a sheet of foil on a baking sheet.  It needs to be large enough to enclose the garlic loosely, and still leave room for a double folded seam on the top and edges.
  3. Place the garlic in the center of the sheet and make a package, with a double fold at the top and at one end, leaving one end open.
  4. Add the water to the package and seal up the remaining end with another double fold.Place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes – 1 hour.  It will depend how many heads of garlic you have, anIMG_0786d how hot your oven is.  Check at 45 minutes and give the garlic as squeeze.  If it doesn’t feel soft, return it to the oven and roast until the heads of garlic yield easily to a gentle squeeze. (Lay a towel over the foil to protect your hands from the heat.)
  5. When the garlic is soft, remove from the oven and allow to cool until luke warm to the touch.
  6. Remove the garlic from the foil packet.  With a sharp knife slice the top off the garlic heads.  Squeeze the roasted garlic into a small bowl.  Mash with a fork until it is an even consistency. Use within a day or two or pack into an ice cube tray, cover with plastic wrap and freeze.

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Basil Ice Cubes

Yield 3-4 ice cubes
2 oz. (57 g) Fresh Basil Leaves,washed and thoroughly dried
4 teaspoons – 2 tablespoons good olive oil

  1. Place basil leaves in a food processor
  2. Pulse until the basil leaves are coarsely chopped.
  3. Add olive oil, a little at a time, to make a smooth paste, scraping down theIMG_0792 sides as you go. How much oil you need will depend upon how much basil you are trying to preserve. You need just enough oil to make it “go,”add the oil a teaspoon or two at a time so you don’t over do it. The puree should be thick and pasty, not saucy.
  4.  Use immediately or pack into an ice cube tray.  Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the basil puree and freeze until solid.

Note:  Basil can be washed and dried in a salad spinner.  Then laid out on paper
towels on a plate or sheet tray in the refrigerator for a few hours to dry completely.