recipes

I have to admit, since joining instagram, I've quit facebook and really neglected the blog.  Facebook?  Good riddance.  The blog?  I miss it.

But since my insta-obsession started, I've met so many wonderful people (I'll blog more about that later) with so many amazing talents.  I'm especially attracted to the food posts, because... well... I like food.  In turn, I've posted my fair share of pies, and tarts, and dishes that some have requested the recipes for. And- TA DA!- this is where instagram and the blog meet!  I can go into utterly insane detail over the recipes and stories and the talking-to-myself here!  Hooray!  

So, here they are for those who asked.  Enjoy.

Skillet Peach & Blueberry Pie

So, I'm not sure why the skillet makes it tastes better than usual, but it does.  Maybe it's because it heats it through more evenly than a normal pie pan does?  Maybe because the iron is so seasoned that it adds something?  For whatever reason, it's especially good and worth a try.

the pie crust:

(i followed the smitten kitchen recipe for this.)

2 1/2 cups all purp flour

1 tbsp granulated sugar

pinch sea salt

1 cup (2 sticks) very cold butter

1/2 cup very cold water

Whisk flour, sugar, salt in the bottom of a wider bowl.  Chop the butter into smaller pieces, and then add to the flour mixture using your fingers.  Mix well, until small peas form.  Gently add the ice water until it forms a ball.  Use your hands, if necessary, to pull it all together.  (Don't over knead!)  Divide ball in half.  Wrap in plastic wrap and press down into discs.  Chill in freezer for at least an hour.

After a good chill, unwrap one of the dough halves and place on a floured surface.  Roll out to the diameter of your skillet (a little larger, actually, so as to accommodate the higher sides of your skillet).  Lightly flour your rolling pin to keep it from sticking.  Use the rolling pin to roll up the flattened dough and then roll back over the top of your skillet.  Press the dough into place.

Preheat oven to 425º F.

the filling:

6 ripe peaches

medium-sized container of fresh blueberries

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

juice of 1/2 a lemon

pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp tapioca starch

(*optional: grated nutmeg or a bit of cinnamon- I didn't use either in this recipe)

(Unlike other peach pies I've made in the past, I left the skins on for this recipe... mostly because I was in a hurry and didn't want to spend the extra 15 minutes par boiling and water bathing them and peeling them.  But it was  just as good with the skins left on.)

Heat butter in a separate skillet.  Add fruit.  Then butter.  Then salt.  Then lemon juice.  Then the starch (and you could use corn or potato starch too, if you'd rather).  Let it simmer, but don't cook until too mushy.  I like the peaches to still have a bite.  Let filling cool to room temp before adding to the uncooked pie crust!

Once the filling has been added, roll out the other half of the dough and cut your lattice strips.  Weave your lattice, over & under, until you're done.  Cut the overhang, and crimp the edges with either your fingers or the tip of a fork.  (I didn't plan accordingly, and my crust didn't extend over the top of the skillet as it should.  But it still worked fine.)  To finish, brush the lattice with half & half or milk or cream or beaten egg white.  Sprinkle the top with sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375º, and continue baking for 30 more minutes, until brown and bubbly.  If the top begins browning too soon, cover with foil, and let it continue to bake for the full 50 minutes.  Then say adieu to Summer.

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 Healthier Toasted Coconut Birthday Cake 

The Coconut Cake We Really Wanted To Eat

My poor mother-in-law's birthday fell near the time this summer when I was doing a juice fast.  After 10 days of consuming only juice, I was not ready to jump back into the old buttery ways of regular cake.  So I made this coconut-oil-instead-of-butter, cornmeal-and-whole-wheat-flour cake (pictured above).  

In all honesty, folks, I wouldn't make this recipe again.  It's not that it wasn't good (it was edible and we all ate it and smiled and stuff), but if I'm going to make a cake, COCONUT BIRTHDAY CAKE, it's kind of criminal not to make it light and fluffy and buttery as intended.  I mean, save the healthy cake for weeknight desperation.  So, that said, I  give you tried and true coconut cake the way it should be made.  (And sorry, mom.)

the cake layers:

3 cups all purp flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) room temp butter

4 large eggs, separated

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp pure coconut extract 

2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350º F.  Butter and flour 2 9" cake pans with 2" sides.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl (or using your stand mixer), cream butter and sugar.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, and vanilla and coconut extract.  Slowly add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk, until smooth and blended.  Using a spatula, scrape down the sides and make sure there all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Divide batter between the two cake pans, and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick (inserted in the center of the cake) comes out clean.  Let the cake pans cool on a cooling rack.  Loosen the sides with a knife, and turn over.

the cream cheese frosting:

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tsp pure coconut extract

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

milk, just enough to thin to perfect consistency

In your stand mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter.  Add sugar.  Then extracts.  Then add as much milk as you need to achieve perfect piping consistency.  (I only use a tbsp or so!)

Frost your layers first.  I use flavorless dental floss to cut the rounded tops of the cake layers.  Place the cut side down on the plate, so as to make it easier to frost the less crumb-y side.  Then frost the outside. If you're really clever, pipe a pretty border around your cake, but this is not the cake to get to decorative with BECAUSE...

Toast some UNSWEETENED coconut flakes in the oven for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.  Sprinkle the toasted coconut on the tops and/or sides.  The coconut will cover up any of your piping details or icing mistakes, depending on how you look at it.  Enjoy this cake with the birthday boy or girl, and be so glad you didn't go the healthy route.

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Deconstructed Chai

So, it's hardly Autumn here in the south, but there's something different.  I'm not sure if it's the cooler nights, or a faint smell, or the start of changing leaves, but... I know it's coming.  And I'm so so excited.

After months of grilling and salad-making and all 'round avoiding the kitchen during the hot summer months, the start of the Autumny feelings draws me right back in.  Hello, old friends (said to my pots and pans), I've missed you.  And so the warm beverages follow.

If you are lucky enough to be enjoying a true Autumn already, make this immediately.  Your home will smell so good, you'll reach for a sweater, take up knitting, adopt a dog, and light a bunch of candles (at least this is what I always want to do when Summer turns to Fall...)

whole cloves

black or white peppercorns

cinnamon sticks

fresh grated nutmeg

whole cardamom pods

3-4 cups milk, half & half (for a more authentic, but super rich chai), or unsweetened almond milk

strong black indian tea, like Darjeeling (I found mine at an Indian grocery store) or a good strong Earl Grey would also work.

honey, rice syrup, sugar, or agave nectar to taste

First, you need to buy a pack of muslin spice sachets.  I found mine at my farmer's market, but I think you can find them at any sort of baking or cooking specialty store.  Fill the sachet with about 5 whole cloves, 10 black or white peppercorns, 2 whole cardamom pods, 2 cinnamon sticks, and a bit of freshly grated nutmeg.  I usually take the whole sachet (now tied), place it at the bottom of my pestle, and use the mortar to lightly crush it.  I'm not sure this is even necessary, but I want to ensure that all the flavors get evenly distributed.

After I brew a big batch of strong tea (a whole pot), heat the milk and sachet in another pot, until it comes to a simmer.  Turn it down low and add the tea.  Let it all cook slowly, for an hour or so, until the flavors are deep and fragrant.  Add your sweetener at the end (I don't care for a super sweet chai, and I added 1/2 cup of honey to mine) and enjoy with your new dog.

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Vegan Toasted Almond Fig Tart

Toasted Almond Fig Tart With Custard Filling

I don't dislike vegans really.  Some of my good friends are vegan in fact.  Terry will even tell you that he's married to a vegetarian (that's me), because I do not serve meat to my family every day.  I am not a vegetarian or a vegan (as I pet a soft cheese), but I get it.  Vegetables and fruits and whole grains and healthy omega-rich fats and all that.  All good.

But this recipe is the reason why vegans can make me sad.  This tart is so much better when made with butter and a custard filling.  Yes, you may have lower cholesterol, but you ate a sadder tart.  Where are your priorities?  So (kinda like the healthy coconut cake) I give you the more edible version.  (Sorry, vegans.  If there is vegan out there who wants the vegan version, I will give that to you upon request.)

the crust:

1 cup all purp flour

pinch of salt (or 1/8 tsp)

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) of very cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/8 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 425º F.  

You could either blend these ingredients together by hand in a big bowl, or in a stand mixer, or in a food processor.  Basically, just get it mixed until it's a big dough ball.

Transfer shortbread dough to a tart pan.  Press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork.  Take a sheet of parchment paper and lay across the top of the pan.  Fill the paper with dry beans or lentils to the top of the crust.  (This creates the perfect amount of weight it needs to keep the crust in place, and keeps it from puffing up.)

Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven.  Make your filling while you wait.  After you pull it out of the oven (obviously remove the beans and parchment paper), let it cool before adding your filling.

the filling:

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

2 tbsp honey

pinch of salt

big basket of fresh figs

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Blend ingredients (all except figs & toasted almonds) until smooth.  (I added a tsp of almond milk to get it to a more liquidy consistency.)

Add the filling to your precooked crust.  Bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the filling is golden on top.  Pull out, and let it cool once more. 

Quarter the figs (or halve them, or you could slice them thin- however you want to decorate it) and arrange like the petals of a rose.  In the above tart (the vegan version), I used a jar of fig jam (no added sugar) as a glaze.  In my opinion, this was way too sweet.  You could use 1/3 of the jar for a slightly less sweet tart, or you could leave it out all together.  Sprinkle the top with the toasted almonds.  Don't think about your cholesterol.  xoxoxo