Dutch Apple Pie

I've made this recipe several times in the past few months; it appears to be everyone's favorite now. One thing that is extremely important when making this is to mix the varieties of apples used - I always use six apples, usually two Golden Delicious, two Granny Smith and two Pink Lady.

Dutch Apple Pie

Crust:

1 refrigerated ready-to-bake pie crust (from a 15-oz box)

Crumb Topping:

½ c. plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

½ c. packed light-brown sugar

⅓ c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 stick cold butter

Filling:

6 medium to large tart apples (about 3 1/4 lb)

1 tbsp. lemon juice

½ c. granulated sugar

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

.13 tsp. ground nutmeg

Have ready a 9-in. pie plate and a baking sheet. Place oven rack in lowest position in oven. Heat oven to 450°F. Line pie plate with pie crust as package directs. Flute or crimp edge. For crumb topping, mix flour, sugars and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or rub in with fingertips) until mixture forms moist, coarse crumbs that clump together easily. Peel, quarter and core apples. Cut in 1⁄8-in.-thick slices by hand (or with slicing disk of a food processor). Put into a large bowl. Toss with lemon juice to coat. Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over apple slices; toss to coat. Layer apple slices in pie shell, mounding them higher in center. Pat topping evenly over apples to form a top crust. Place pie on the baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake 45 minutes longer or until a skewer meets some resistance when center of pie is pierced (apples will continue to cook after pie is removed from oven) and topping is golden brown. If topping is browning too quickly, drape a piece of foil over pie. Cool pie completely on a wire rack before serving.

In place of cinnamon in the topping and cinnamon and nutmeg in the filling, I use Penzey's Apple Pie Spice. It simply cannot be beat.

French Silk Pie

I have never been a sweet tooth, though I enjoy baking sweets for others. I would sooner eat a whole baguette (with plenty of butter, of course) than down a pan of brownies.

Certain sweets, however, are beginning to become regular treats for me. This recipe is one I've made often; my family loves it:

French Silk Pie

CRUST

pastry for one pie crust or one refrigerated pie crust

FILLING

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut into pieces

1 cup butter, softened (do not use margarine)

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

4 pasteurized eggs or 1 cup refrigerated or frozen fat-free egg product, thawed

TOPPING

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped, sweetened

Chocolate curls, if desired

Heat oven to 450F. Prepare pie crust as directed on package for one-crust baked shell using 9" pie pan. Bake at 450F. for 9-11 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled.

Melt chocolate in small saucepan over low heat; cool. In small bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; blend well.

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating at high speed for 2 minutes after each addition. Beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Pour into cooled baked shell.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream and chocolate curls. Store in refrigerator.

I have added an extra square of unsweetened chocolate; it really intensifies the flavor. I can't stress enough how smooth as silk this will be if you truly follow the directions - be sure to beat for 8-10 minutes when adding the eggs. For a little something special, you could flavor the sweetened whipped cream with a little peppermint.

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

I hadn't realized how long it's been since I have posted here. It surprises me, because I do so love to experiment in the kitchen and share the results - both successful and hilariously bad - with other food lovers.

Since Thanksgiving has just passed, I have many new recipes to share and will begin doing so more frequently. The first one must be - as promised to my family member Andrea - the magnificent pie we all enjoyed at the end of yesterday's meal. And so, without further ado, here is a dessert to tickle your tastebuds and test your will power:

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

1 uncooked 9" pie shell

4 eggs

3 T melted butter

1/3 C sugar

2/3 C brown sugar

1/3 C dark corn syrup

3 T maple syrup

1 oz. bourbon (1/8 C)

1 tsp vanilla

1 C pecan halves

2/3 C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400*F. Beat the eggs. Pour in the melted butter and continue to beat until well blended. Add the granulated sugar and incorporate into a smooth mixture. Add the brown sugar and blend until all the lumps disappear. Stir in the corn syrup, maple syrup, bourbon and vanilla.

Set this mixture aside for a moment while you line the uncooked pie shell with the chocolate chips. Pour in the filling mixture. Place the pecan halves neatly to cover the top of the mixture.

Place the pie in the oven, close the door, and immediately lower the temperature to 275*F. Cooking time is at least an hour. When the filling has set at the center, the pie is done.

I let the eggs beat for quite a while; I think this added to the smoothness of the filling. Feel free to add more pecans, if you wish; I wanted to fill up all the space on top of the filling. I was also very liberal with the bourbon.

Fresh Lemon Cake

One of the best things about having family in the Southwest is the abundance of fresh citrus fruit in our own backyard - literally. My parents have lemons the size of navel oranges falling off the tree, so I - being altruistic - offered to make a lemon cake for Easter Sunday's dessert. This is a wonderful, light cake. I dusted it with powdered sugar, and served it with fresh raspberries.

Fresh Lemon Cake

3 c cake flour*

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

6 large eggs, room temperature, separated

2 c sugar, divided

1 c butter, softened

1 T finely grated lemon zest (from 2 medium lemons)

3 T fresh lemon juice (from 2 medium lemons)

1 c plain yogurt or sour cream

Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a 10" Bundt pan thoroughly with PAM. Sift together flour, soda & salt in a bowl. Beat egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 c sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Beat butter, remaining 1 1/2 c sugar, egg yolks, zest & juice in large bowl of electric mixer on medium-high speed until mixture is creamy and pale yellow, 3-5 minutes. Add flour mixture to yolk mixture in two parts, alternating with yogurt, mixing on low speed until combined. Gently fold in egg whites. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.

Sources say the cake improves in flavor as it ages, so make it a day or so ahead of time. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days, or freeze for up to one month.

*If you don't have cake flour, you may substitute all-purpose flour but be sure to use 2 Tablespoons less per cup

Banana Cake

I'm not really fond of fresh bananas unless they're so underripe that they're almost impossible to bite. Overripe bananas are gross to me - unless I'm gonna use them in baking. Then, the blacker the skin, the better. Such wonderful, strong flavor comes from nearly rotten bananas.

This recipe was published a few months back in a catalog by my favorite baking/cooking company, Penzey's Spices. One of their regular users has shared his family's recipe and this one has gotten countless raves from the people with whom I've shared it, even those who rarely eat sweets.

BANANA CAKE 1/2 cup shortening or butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas (2 large)

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (mix 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp vinegar to make sour milk)

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the eggs and VANILLA and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Add the bananas and buttermilk and mix. Fold in the chocolate chips, if using. Pour the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 60-75 minutes. Test the center to determine whether it is done—it should be risen, brown, springy to the touch, and a toothpick should come out mostly clean.

Love a good cookie? Try this one!

Coconut Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 Tbsp baking soda

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/b tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups oats

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350F. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt in a bowl. In a bowl, beat butter for 60 seconds. Beat in sugar. Add eggs; beat well. Beat in almond extract, then beat in flour mixture til combined. Add chips, oats, coconut & nuts, stir. Scoop 1 1/2" balls, place on baking sheet. Bake 13 minutes or til slightly brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes, then remove to cooling rack. Enjoy!

I have never been fond of coconut, but something about this recipe stuck out to me when I received it from one of my online cooking groups in late December. I was not disappointed; these are yummy. Two thumbs way, way up!! As an aside, I used an entire bag of mini chocolate chips (which is closer to 2 cups of chips) and toasted some pecans before chopping 'em. Toasting nuts first always brings out their flavor. Spread a layer over a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan & toast for 8 minutes @ 350F.

No Soup For You!

I could never be the Soup Nazi. I love soup, even when it's 110* outside (which happens frequently here on the edge of the Mojave Desert). It's rare that I don't have a Rubbermaid storage bowl in the fridge with portions of a soup I've made. I can whip up a batch of tomato basil in less than 30 minutes, or take four hours to painstakingly put together a pot of beef chili with just the right amount of heat.

In the past I have stayed with traditional flavors like those mentioned above, but lately I've been thinking of making more vegetarian recipes. I purchased a share in a local farm's co-op for the past year; I have enjoyed fresh greens, squash, onions, garlic, potatoes, leeks, beets, tomatoes and more. The abundance of organic vegetables has been a great thing for my diet, and has inspired me to eat less and less meat. In order to find some good vegetarian recipes, I went to one of the most trusted sources: Mollie Katzen.

Mollie wrote the classic vegetarian cookbook "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest" when I was still a high school student. I've owned a copy for a decade now, and find her lentil walnut veggie burgers a fantastic substitute for hamburgers. This time I wanted to use the abundance of butternut squash I have on hand, and so I tried this recipe today:

Mollie Katzen's Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 med. (about 4 lbs.) butternut squash

2 Tbsp. butter

1 med. red or yellow onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 med. Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 tsp. crumbled dried (or rubbed) sage

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

4 cups water

Up to 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, as needed

Up to 1 Tbsp. brown sugar (light or dark), as needed

Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking tray with foil and drizzle it with the olive oil. Use a sharp heavy knife to cut the squash in halve lengthwise. (Do this very carefully. Safest technique: Insert the point of the knife first, and use a gentle sawing motion to initiate the cutting.) Use scissors to cut loose the strands of pulp around the seeds, ad then scrape the seeds away with a spoon. Discard the seeds or reserve them to toast. Use a sturdy vegetable peeler to peel the squash halves. Then cut the flesh into 1" pieces, once again being careful with your knife because the squash can be both very hard and very slippery. (The shape and uniformity of the churnks do not matter since it will all get pureed.) Arrange the squash chunks in a single layer on the prepared tray, and roast in the center of the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the pieces are fork tender and turning brown around the edges. (Shake the tray a few times during the roasting to keep the pieces from sticking.) Removed from the oven and set aside. While the squash is roasting, melt the butter in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When the butter foams, swirl to coat the pan, and then add the onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Add the apple slices, along with the sage and thyme, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. For about 10 minutes, or until the apples are very tender. Add the roasted squash and the water to the onion-apple mixture. Turn up the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Cover, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, uncover and let it sit until the soup cools down to a comfortable pureeing temperature. Use a blender or immersion blender to puree the soup until it is smooth. Time for the taste test: if the soup tastes good, you’re there. If it seems too sweet, add some or all of the lemon juice. If it’s tarter than you like, add brown sugar to taste. If necessary, reheat the soup gently over medium-low heat, being careful not to let it boil. Serve hot.

I found this recipe to be perfect; I did not add either lemon juice or brown sugar. However, I prefer savory soups to sweet soups, so use your own judgment. While I like the taste that the thyme and sage provide, I wonder how I might tweak it a notch. A pinch of nutmeg? Roasted salted sunflower seeds? Any suggestions?