Homemade Everything Apple Pie

Don't you think that homemade is just so much better than anything else out there? I don't always cook from scratch, I'll admit that. I enjoy the convenience of eating without slaving away. But when I am in the mood for something a little better and willing to put in a little time, I get an urge to turn my nose up to the frozen and canned goods, and reach for the pantry door. And to my computer to find a good recipe. 

Crust:

2 1/2 C. flour

1 C. butter

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

6-8 Tb. ice water

May substitute 1/2 cup flour with almond flour and add 1 tsp. brown sugar for a richer crust flavor

Mix flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter, slowly add ice water while mixing. Press crumbs together with hand or spatula. May need to chill if butter becomes too soft. 

Filling:

6 cups peeled, sliced apples

3/4 C. sugar

2 Tb. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 Tb. lemon juice

Peel and slice apples. Toss with remaining ingredients. Spoon into prepared pie shells. Brush crust with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake at 425 for 40-45 min. 

Tres Leches

I don't make this very often, but every time I do I tell myself I need to make it more often. I made this recently for our Cinco de Mayo party, and after gorging myself on flautas and empanadas, I went back for some of my cake and found it completely gone. I should have made a lot more for the party! So, I made more today instead. (You can also substitute a white cake mix, instead of making the homemade white cake.)

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9x13 pan and set aside.

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Mix flour and baking powder in small bowl and set aside. 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

5 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar, than add eggs and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture while mixing. 

Pour into prepared pan and bake 30 minutes. 

1 cup whole milk

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

Mix the milk in a small bowl. When cake is cooled, pierce it several times with a fork or knife. Pour over the milk mixture. Set in the fridge to chill. 

1 1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Whip the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla together until thick. Spread on cold cake. Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

The cherries are just ripening up on our cherry tree out back. So we spent a couple of hours picking cherries this weekend. After rinsing and sorting out all the cherries we picked, I consulted a few recipes online, and they all seemed pretty similar. This recipe that I used was excellent! And I used my favorite pie crust recipe from Julia Childs- also found in my quiche recipe, here

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
4 cups tart cherries, pitted
1 1/2 cup water
2 Tb. lemon juice
6 drops red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla

In saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add cherries, water and lemon juice. Bring to boil and cook 2 min. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring. (This made enough filling for two pies.)

Pie Crust:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup cold butter
2 Tb. oil
3-4 Tb. water

Cut butter and oil into flour well. Add water 1 Tb. at a time, stirring. Scoop everything into a ball. Chill to restore butter to solid before rolling out. Double recipe if making a double crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 min.

Buttermilk Donuts

2 C. buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 C. sugar
5 C. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 C. melted butter
Oil for frying
1/2 C. sugar for coating

Combine buttermilk, eggs, and sugar. Mix well. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg into a large bowl. Stir in buttermilk mixture, then melted butter. Roll dough out about 1/4 inch thick on floured board. Cut with doughnut cutter. Fry in hot oil (375 degrees) until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Place 1/2 C. sugar in a small paper bag. Place donuts, one at a time, in bag and gently toss to cover with sugar. Makes 2 dozen donuts. Note: If you don't have buttermilk, you can add 1/4 C. white vinegar to 1 3/4 C. milk to equal 2 C.

We used the sugar to coat them as well as powdered sugar and chocolate frosting. They all were very tasty!

Biscochitos

Today is Cinco de Mayo! We celebrated by making the state cookie of New Mexico. They are delicious.

*Preheat oven to 350.
*Makes about 4 dozen 2-inch cookies

1 cup lard (not shortening)
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
4 Tbsp. Orange Juice
3/4 to 1 tsp. lightly crushed anise seed
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Beat lard with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the 2/3 cup sugar, then the egg. Beat in 4 Tbsp orange juice and the anise seed. Toss the flour together with the baking powder and salt. Gently stir in, adding more orange juice as needed to form a soft dough. Let stand for 10 minutes or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes as desired. Dip the top side of each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending upon size, just until the edges turn a pale blond. Let cool a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in a cookie jar or airtight container.

Margarita Cake

I love this cake! It is super easy and so moist! So, when that citrus craving hits, this is a quick fix. We are getting ready for Cinco de Mayo and all the good food we're going to have, and I thought this might be a good dessert to go with our Mexican party food, even though it's not a traditional Mexican dish. I thought it would go good with all the other lemon-lime flavored dishes that we are serving this year. I also used this recipe for cupcakes for our Easter party this year. They went fast! I got this recipe from Williams and Sonoma, but I used a generic Margarita Mix, rather than the Williams and Sonoma brand.

1 yellow box cake mix

Margarita Mix

1 bag powdered sugar

Mix the cake according to the box instructions, except substitute the margarita mix for the water. Bake as directed. While the cake is still warm, mix a small amount of the margarita mix with a few cups of powdered sugar, until a desired consistency is formed for a glaze. Poke holes in the cake, with a fork or knife, and pour over the glaze. (I also added some cream cheese to my glaze, and it worked great too.) 

Upside-Down Pineapple-Banana Cake

I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks for kids, called, "Ready, Steady, Spaghetti", and wanted to try it out. My husband, who isn't a big banana fan, crinkled his nose when I mentioned it to him, but after I made it and gave him a bite, I couldn't keep him away from it. He just had one question after he ate it, "How much butter is in this?" Okay, so it's not the healthiest, it's cake for Pete's sake, but it's good, right down the the last buttery-sugared bite.  

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup whole milk

1 large banana, mashed

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease six small springform cake pans (like you use for cheesecakes), or an 8 inch springform cake pan. I actually used a regular cake pan, and it worked great.

Beat the butter, sugar, and egg until smooth. Sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix well, then add the milk and mashed banana. (I added some vanilla bean to my batter.)

Spread the melted butter in the base of the pan, then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar.

Spread the crushed pineapple over the sugar. Pour the batter evenly over the top. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. My cake took a little longer to cook. I think it was because it was a deep cake pan. Unmold onto a plate and serve warm with cream.

Happy Pi Day!

We had pie tonight for Pi Day. Blueberry Pie.

And I just wanted to say, No, that is not ice cream.

It's plain Greek yogurt. And it was so good!

That is my tip for today.

Actually, it's my husband's tip.

He's brilliant!

Fun Treats

Don't these look so yummy? I love treats! But I rarely make them. These came from a sweet friend on Valentine's Day. My kids would love to help make some treats like this! They especially liked the candy coated marshmallows. My favorite were the mini-brownies on a stick dipped in chocolate. Oh my!!! So good!

Peach Cheesecake

This is absolutely one of our favorite desserts. I was looking through my freezer, saw some of the peaches I froze over the summer that I had completely forgotten about, and decided right then and there that I was going to make this. So I did! This is one of those scrumptious no-bake-cheesecakes.... although I love the baked kind too! This makes a huge panful, so use a big deep pan, or two pyrex dishes, or half the recipe and make one pyrex size cheesecake. We're all about A WHOLE LOT OF THIS!

2 pkg graham crackers

1 cup melted butter

Mix together. I tend to vary from the recipe at this point and add 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 Tb. sugar, and 1/2 cup chopped nuts when nobody is looking, if your into that kind of thing. Mix everything, pour into whatever pans you decide to use, and pat down with the back of a spoon.

2 pkg. cream cheese

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

Soften your cream cheese, and mix all these ingredients together in a super big bowl.

1 pint whipping cream (2 cups for those of you who buy quart sized goodness)

3 Tb. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix the cream, sugar, and vanilla and whip until the cream is thick, and stiff peaks form, kind of like marshmallow cream.

Fold the cream into the cheese/condensed milk mixture, until mixed. Pour into pans over the crust.

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

2 Tb. cornstarch

3 oz box peach jello

3-4 cups frozen peaches

Mix water, sugar and cornstarch in large saucepan and cook until clear and boiling. Remove from heat and add jello. Stir till dissolves and add frozen peaches. Stir, then pour peach sauce over cream cheese filling. Refrigerate until topping coagulates. Serve. Use self control to only eat one piece.

Fresh Fruit Tarte

This is an easy and delicious dessert idea! I love fresh berries and kiwi! I've been craving them a lot lately. I usually serve them in the morning with some homemade granola and some fruity yogurt, but I decided to throw this together to go with our dinner tonight since it was so easy.

1 box instant vanilla pudding

3/4 cup cold milk

1 1/2 cup whipped topping or freshly whipped cream

1 graham cracker crust (or pre-cooked pie crust)

1 cup fresh berries

1-2 kiwi, peeled and sliced

Beat pudding and milk. Stir in whipped cream. Spoon into graham cracker shell and top with kiwi and berries. (Or make mini-tarts in muffin tins.)

Apple Tart

Tarte aux Pommes

I've been wanting to make an apple tart ever since the leaves started changing colors. I love apples! Apple cider, apple butter, apple crisp, apple dumplings, caramel apples... And I get a craving for all of that in the fall. I've made the cider, the caramel apples, apple sauce and apple butter so far, but with this one I needed a good recipe first. So, I once again consulted a French recipe from Julia Child.

Oven: 375•

4-6 cooking apples, (Golden Delicious)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 Tb vanilla

1 cup sugar

3 Tb Butter

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Apricot preserves

Peel and core the apples, and cut them into thin slices. Place in a pan with lemon juice, vanilla, sugar, butter and cinnamon over low heat. Cover and let heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Crust (Sweet Short Paste- Pâte Brisée Sucrée)

1 cup all purpose flour, scooped and leveled

1 Tb sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

4 Tb. butter

2 Tb. Crisco, or vegetable shortening

3 Tb. cold water

Place the flour in a mixing bowl with the sugar and salt. Add the butter and crisco and cut with pastry blender. Add cold water and mix till combined. Roll out on floured surface. Place in pie shell or cheese cake pan. Trim edges and sprinkle sugar in bottom of crust.

Pour in apple filling, arranging the top pieces, if you wish, to form a ring or spiral. Brush with apricot preserves. Bake for 30-35 min. or until the apples and crust have browned slightly. Slide tart onto serving dish. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Chocolate Hazelnut Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert, made from flavored cream that sets kind of like a pudding. You gotta try this!

1 1/8 tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup Nutella

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (for serving)

In a medium bowl, whisk gelatin with 3 Tablespoons of cold water. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine, Nutella and salt. In a medium saucepan, slowly bring the cream to a gentle boil. Pour half the cream over the gelatin and whisk gently to combine and add the vanilla. Pour remaining cream over chopped chocolate and stir till smooth. Add to the gelatin mixture till combined. Pour half the mixture over the Nutella and beat with mixer on low. Pour in remaining mixture along with whole milk till combined. Pour in individual ramekins. (I actually just put it in one large dish). Chill 6 hours or overnight, covered. Serve with hazelnuts.

This was really good. I think I'll try some other flavors of panna cotta sometime soon. This melts in your mouth!

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Roll is my favorite dessert in the fall. I make it every year. A few people have asked for the recipe, so here it is:

3 Eggs, beaten

1 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

chopped nuts

Mix all ingredients together and spread on greased cookie sheet. Top with chopped nuts. Bake at 350˚ for 12-15 min. Check with toothpick for doneness. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar and lay cake pan upside down on it to remove cake on top of towel. May have to run a knife around edge of cake. Roll cake up in towel length-wise and put in freezer for 30 min.

Filling:

1 cup powdered sugar

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 Tb. butter, softened

1 Tb. Vanilla

(Hubby likes me to double the filling recipe, but this is the original). Mix all ingredients. Take cake out of freezer and unroll. Spread filling inside cake and roll up again without the towel. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate. Cut in slices to serve.

Poppy Seed Lemon Pie

I made this for Sunday dinner at my family's house last Sunday and it turned out SO good! Everyone liked it. It's also pretty simple to make, which is always nice. I followed the recipe exactly, except that I made my own graham cracker crust. Mine even looked like the picture. :)

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemonade concentrate
1 8 0z carton frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
1 9 inch graham cracker crust
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
10-12 drops yellow food coloring (optional, but I think it definately adds to the presentation)

In a mixing bowl, beat milk and lemonade concentrate until smooth (mixture will begin to thicken). Fold in 2 cups whipped topping. Spread half of the mixture into the crust. Add poppy seeds and food coloring to the remaining lemon mixture; stir until well blended. Spoon over 1st layer. Spread with remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate until serving.

Restaurant Review - The Paris, and a Pear Tart

I'm French at heart, so when I heard about The Paris Bistro in Sugarhouse, we had to try it. It is a great place to go for a special occasion for fine, French dining. I had fun trying to translate the menu, even though a description is included in English under the French name. A few of the dishes we have tried are: 

Betteraves, a salad of arugula, beets and goat cheese. 

The Paris, which was a delicious salad with pears, goat cheese, and maple pecans. 

Tartine aux Champignons des Bois, a black truffle and mushroom tart. 

And Magret de Canard Poëlé, which is pan-seared duck breast, served with potato and artichoke gratin and a mushroom sauce. It was really tasty! Our server suggested medium-rare for best flavor and texture. It was juicy and tender, and the flavor was unbelievable! 

Everything we tried was excellent in taste and quality, and they give you just enough so you don't fill up on one dish alone. 

But the crowning jewel of them all was the Pear Tarte Minute served with vanilla gelato. Heaven help me, I have a new addiction. Any future expectations of pear tarts are now beyond amazing. I am afraid that, from now on, I will be subject to disappointment on anything less than what The Paris has to offer. 

We looked around for a recipe that was similar, and here is the one we found. 

4-5 pears
juice of half a lemon
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tb water
1/4 cup butter
1 pie crust or puff pastry (see below for recipe)

Preheat oven to 375. Peel and slice pears, put in bowl and squeeze lemon over the top. Combine sugar and water in 8 inch cast iron skillet and heat to boil. Reduce heat and simmer till thickens and turns golden. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Arrange pears in sauce, pour over any remaining pear juice. Reheat skillet over low heat for about 20 min, till sauce is reduced by half, without burning it. Remove from heat and let cool. Place pie crust or puff pastry on top of pears and tuck in edges. Bake 40 min, or until golden brown. Let cool 15 min. Loosen tart by running a sharp knife around the edge. Place plate over top of the skillet and invert quickly onto plate. Serve with ice cream. 

To Make Your Own Crust (Sweet Short Paste- Pâte Brisée Sucrée)

1 cup all purpose flour, scooped and leveled

1 Tb sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

4 Tb. butter

2 Tb. Crisco, or vegetable shortening

3 Tb. cold water

Place the flour in a mixing bowl with the sugar and salt. Add the butter and crisco and cut with pastry blender. Add cold water and mix till combined. Roll out on floured surface. 

Extra: Pear Cream Pie

I served Pear Cream Pie at Thanksgiving last year. I heard about this from my sculpture teacher - he said it was his favorite pie. Who ever heard of pear cream pie? I was so curious I had to look it up and try it. Everyone wanted to try it, so it went fast. Like some other things, the leftover's weren't as good, though. It is really good fresh, and would make a tasty spring treat. 

1 unbaked pie shell

5 fresh pears, cored and sliced

1/2 sup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350˚.  Pour 1 beaten egg white into pie shell. Let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the pears. Mix together sugar, flour, nutmeg, and salt. Coat pears in mixture and arrange in unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle any remaining flour mixture over the pears. Pour whipping cream over all. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Serve with whipped cream. 

Ultimate Triple-Chocolate Bars with Bisquick

1 bag chocolate chips

2 pkg cream cheese

2/3 cup evaporated milk

2 cups Bisquick mix

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup white baking chips

1 cup extra chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375˚. In saucepan heat bag of chocolate chips, cream cheese, and milk over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool while making crust.

In bowl, mix Bisquick, sugar and cocoa. Cut in butter. Press half the mixture into bottom of 13x9 pan. Sprinkle with white baking chips. Spoon chocolate mixture over the top and spread evenly. sprinkle with remaining crumb mix and 1 cup chocolate chips. Press lightly with a fork.

Bake 30-35 minutes until the center is set. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Raspberry-Peach Cobbler with Bisquick

2 1/2 sliced frech peaches

2 cups fresh raspberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tb cornstarch

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 cups Bisquick mix

1/2 cup milk

3 Tb butter, melted

2 Tb packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375˚. In large bowl, mix fruit, sugar, cornstarch, and nutmeg. Spoon into pie plate. Stir remaining ingredients until dough forms. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto fruit mix. Bake 37-45 minutes or until fruit is bubbly and topping is deep golden brown and baked through.

Amazing Banana Bread

This is a recipe I got from a friend that I really liked. I added a variation of adding cocoa, nuts and chocolate chips... an idea I got from some of my Grandma's really good chocolate banana bread. But, I must tell you, this recipe is amazing with or without the cocoa.

Bread Batter

3/4 C. butter

1 C. brown sugar

1 C. white sugar

3 eggs

7 ripe bananas

1 16oz container sour cream

1 Tb. vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 tsp baking soda

4 1/2 C. flour

Preheat oven to 300. Grease pans and dust with cinnamon sugar. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, bananas, and sour cream. Add remaining ingredients and pour in small cake pans. Sprinkle top with crumb mixture and bake for 1 hour. 

Crumb topping:

1/3 C. brown sugar

2 Tb. flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tb. butter

Combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter. 

Variations on Recipe: 

Add 1/2 C. cocoa and chopped nuts 

Add 1/2 C. chocolate chips for chocoholics