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. 

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.

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!

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.

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.