Archive | October, 2009

Inspiration: Personal Pies from Our Best Bites

19 Oct

I just stumbled on this great post over at Our Best Bites (highly recommend), for single serving pies, or as I’m calling them “Personal Pies.”

Here are the reasons I’ve come up with so far, that make this one of the top 3 best inventions for Fall:

-Send them to your friends that live far away
-Take a picnic with your significant other, and bring these as desserts
-Have a bunch of friends over, and let everyone make their own, and bake them while you carve pumpkins
-Use up your remaining fruit, assemble a bunch and freeze them for later
-Prepare yourself for a depressing winter by stock piling surprise versions for January, February and March (just seal them tightly and when you go to bake them, you won’t know what you’ve got till they’re done!)
-You get to vary your topping so you can do lattice, crumble, traditional or open!
-Everyone loves some kind of pie, so you can call your friends, find out their fave, make and send for the holidays (or take over to their house and surprise them!)

Oh my gosh, I really love Fall!

Quick, someone find me a pile of leaves to jump in!

Thanks for the great idea, ladies!

“Personal Pies”

Pie in Jar

You’ll need half-pint jars.

Step 1: Pie Dough
The first thing you’ll need is dough. You can use any pie dough you like. (Refer to my recipe for the fruit tart crust, it’s perfect since you just push it into place, no rolling -except for your tops if you want).   Or if you’re really in a pinch, even a store bought crust will do.

Step 2: Make a topper and line the jar
Roll out a small handful of dough. This is just for the tops of your pies, so eyeball about that much. Grab the ring part of your jar and use that as your cookie cutter. Brilliant, right? Cut out the tops and set aside.

Use the rest of the dough to line the jars. (No, you do not need to grease them) The great part is that there’s no rolling required! Just take little pieces and press them in. Make sure it’s pressed all the way up to the top of the jar, or pretty close to it.

Step 3: Fill ‘er up
You’ll need about 1/2 C filling for each jar. You can use any filling your little pie-craving heart desires, even (gasp) canned! You can also use the same method shown in the galette post to use any fruit you happen to have around.

Here’s the basic recipe (for 4 pies)
2 C prepared fruit (pitted, diced, peeled, etc.)
2 T sugar- brown or white (use more or less depending on sweetness of fruit)
2 T flour- (again, more if your fruit is super juicy like cherries, less if it’s pretty dry)
1 T butter (divided between the pies)
Seasonings/flavorings- cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extract, citrus zest etc)

Play around with it and come up with something yummy! I made 2 different pies in my pictures: one, a cut-down version of Kate’s Apple Pie and one with fresh cherries and almond extract.

When your filling is all combined, divide it between the jars and dot a pat of butter on top (about 1/4 T)

Step 4: Top it off
Make sure your “lid” has a vent so steam can escape. You can use a knive to make a couple of slits or a tiny cookie cutter to make it decorative. When your topper is ready, slip it onto the top of the pie. It will be large enough that the outside edge goes up the side of the dough-covered jar a bit. Then use your finger, or a fork, to press the 2 pieces of dough together to seal.

Another option is to do a crumb topping. I put a basic crumb topping on my cherry pies and they were sooo yummy.

Get the handcuffs: Macrina Bakery’s Upside Down Ginger Pear cake

19 Oct

I am going to make this sometime this week. Sometimes (like right now in Seattle), even though the leaves are absolutely beautiful, it’s cold, rainy and generally nasty out. You would much rather bundle up inside, put on a rerun of SATC (or insert football game here for my male readers) and make something delicious.

I got my Macrina Bakery newsletter in my email today, and wanted to share their yummy sounding and looking recipe with you. I’ll share my results later this week (tips, tricks, substitutions and pictures).

Enjoy! -Siiri

Macrina Bakery Upside Down Ginger Pear cake

Fall is a fantastic time of year for some amazing desserts. Our Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake has often made an appearance on our Thanksgiving and Christmas menus. Topping with caramelized fruit, this cake is spectacular. We call for pears in this recipe, but you can substitute ripe plums, nectarines or apples. I recommend serving this cake warm, with whipped cream. It is pictured here with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
 
Makes one 9″ cake
 
Topping:
  3 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
  1/2 cup light brown sugar
  1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
  4 to 5 ripe pears – peeled, cored and quartered lengthwise
 
Batter:
  8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
  3/4 cup light brown sugar
  2 Tbsp grated ginger
  3 each eggs
  2/3 cup molasses
  3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
  1-1/2 tsp baking powder
  1-1/2 tsp baking soda
  1/2 tsp salt
  1-1/2 cups buttermilk
 
 
Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a 10-inch circle of parchment paper.
 
Preparing the topping:
  
In a medium sauce pan, combine butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Melt the butter over medium heat for about 1 minute, and then pour into the springform pan, completely coating the parchment paper. Place the quartered pear on top of the butter and sugar mixture, lining the pieces up tightly so that none of the pan’s bottom shows through. I like to fan the slices into a decorative circle. Set pan in center of a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
 
Preparing the batter:
  
Cut butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the bowl of a stand mixture. Add brown sugar and using the paddle attachment, cream the mixture on medium speed for 5 to 8 minutes. Butter will become smooth and pale in color. Add the grated ginger and mix for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Switch to low speed and add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding another. After the last egg has been added, slowly pour in molasses and continue mixing until fully distributed. The mixture will look like it’s breaking up but will come together after the dry ingredients are added. Remove bowl from stand mixer.
  
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a separate medium bowl. Toss together with your hands.
  
Alternately add small amounts of the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter, mixing with a rubber spatula just until all of the dry ingredients are absorbed. Take care not to over mix the batter. Pour batter into the pear-lined springform pan, filling it to just below the top. If necessary, use a rubber spatula to smooth out the surface.
  
Carefully transfer the baking sheet to the center rack of the oven and bake for just under two hours or until golden brown. Test center with a skewer. It will come out clean when the cake is finished. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cover the springform pan with an upside down serving plate, and then carefully turn them over. Release the sides of the pan and lift. Gently lift the pan’s base off the cake and peel away from the parchment paper.

If you like this recipe and would like to be on their newsletter mailing list (FREE), go here! http://macrinabakery.com/index.html

Side kick: bring the apples

15 Oct

So if you read the previous post today on our Dinner Date last night, you know we went to some friends’ house for dinner last night.  Even though Marissa said not to bring anything, I couldn’t show up empty handed!

So after getting off work at 6pm last night, I rushed home and threw together a quick, simple apple tart. (Prep 10 minutes, cooking 45 minutes)

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Here’s the story: I had picked these great fugi and gala apples with my sister, Kate, the other weekend from her neighbor’s yard (so clearly they’re organic and pesticide free, yay!).  I had not done anything with them yet, and since they were sitting there, I cut a few up (with my handy apple cutter – taking all the time out of prep).

I slapped together the worlds easiest tart crust (thank you Adam, The Amature Gourmet) and tossed it in the oven while I got dressed and tidied up a bit.

I’ll paste in my ingredients for the crust below. This takes less than 5 minutes.

I have literally used this recipe of his, (adapted to my own taste) at least ten times over the past year, since he published it. It’s so easy, fool proof, and requires NO ROLLING PIN OR SKILL! yay!

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First, preheat oven to 425F. Make top rack one rung from top.

Tart crust:

In a bowl, mix:
1 1/2 cups flour (gluten free will work just fine as well)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Over the top of that:
1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil (of course I don’t use this, I use nonfat plain yogurt)
2 Tbs milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I use more, because I’m freakishly obsessed with Almonds)

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Mix gently with a fork, and when it comes together dump into your pie tin or tart tin, push it out to the sides so it comes to a height of about 3/4 inch (or, if using a tart pan, til it comes up the sides of the tart.)

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Then you fill it up with your yummy fruit. I’ve used berries, peaches, nectarines, apples, etc. They’re all good, and work just as great as the next. I’ve used canned when I had nothing else on hand, and that’s great too. No need to fuss at the store for fresh if you can just whip this up without going out.

Here’s Adam’s basic numers for the fruit topping, although I skimp, letting the fruit speak mostly for itself.

PICT2112

mix together:
3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour (gluten free is great too)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter (I cube it with my knife first, so it’s not a mess for my hands and time)

Squish it all together with your fingers until it becomes crumbly–like a bowl of tiny pebbles.  Sprinkle those pebbles over the fruit.

And here’s what it looked like after dinner, with the yummy fresh raspberries and choclate something or other coconut (dairy and gluten free) ice cream Marissa had for us:

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And a not so glam picture of it on my plate.

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Thanks again friends! We had a great time!

Food Matters: Food Summit at Town Hall

15 Oct

I’ll let the article speak for itself, because Nancy is a great writer! I am going to the Food Summit next week, at Town Hall.

Let me know if you plan to attend. I would love to see familiar or new faces there!

Thanks to Nancy (www.twitter.com/nancyleson) @nancyleson for letting me know about it!

Don’t bake? No worries, someone else already is!

15 Oct

project pie 

Today I stumbled upon a neat blog post from Shawn Stewart, Music Director at 103.7FM, The Mountain.

She is participating in a great program called Project Pie, taking place through and benefitting the Lifelong Aids Alliance.

You can read the whole post about Project Pie by clicking this link.

Project Pie is a great way to have a homemade pie to take to someone’s holiday party (or eat by yourself on the couch the day after Thanksgiving, who am I to judge?), without having to do any of the cooking!  All the proceeds go to a great cause, and everybody wins!

Dinner Date: Eggplant Parm reinvented

15 Oct

So off we went last night to our friends, Marissa and Akash, house, for a much needed catch up.

They provided a fabulous dinner, home, precious puppy and beautiful siblings, which you’ll see below, and we provided stories, wine, and a rustic, quick apple tart I literally threw together in less than an hour (you’ll see that post coming up later today).

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Marissa is Italian, and decided to venture into the unknown, cooking a new recipe for Eggplant Parm from her Mario Batali cookbook….of course, like me, she changed the recipe a bit to what was available to her (good job, Mariss!) and the result was FLAWLESS.

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She served it with a great green bean dish that had crushed almonds (I think) and a tangy balsamic wash, and of course, the requisite garlic bread (mmmm, breaaaaaaaaaaad).  There was so much eggplant, Paul went back for seconds.

The eggplant was so meaty, and really held its shape well, even through the baking. It was very light on the bread crumbs and was not fried, so it was healthy and light, but totally satisfying.

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Did she follow the recipe? Sort of, yes. Did it take her a lot of time? More time than throwing together some frozen chicken would, but I don’t think she was scrambling too hard (or at least she didn’t look like it!)

Thank you to the entire family: Akash, Marissa, Amit, and Nina, for having us over. We just adore you all! (and Dino too!)

Have any of you used a Mario Batali recipe? What about your own Eggplant Parm – do you have a recipe that just can’t be beat?

Dinner Date: Eggplant Parm

14 Oct

Hello and happy Wednesday afternoon!

I’m headed to a dear friend’s house for dinner tonight. She’s Italian and is making Eggplant Parm from scratch. WHAT?!?!?! It should be de.lish.

eggplant parm

This tasty picture will take you to a winning recipe on www.Food52.com, a great project and informative collaboration site. We’ll talk more about this later. For now, proceed with drooling.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a review of Marissa’s Eggplant Parm and some pictures to boot!

Do you have any Eggplant or Chicken Parm tips or tricks? Let me know!

Secret Trick: yogurt

14 Oct

I have a few secret tricks I keep in my back pocket for anytime I’m making a meal or dish that either has a recipe or that I’m winging.

Secret Trick for this week: yogurt.  It’s your new best friend, didn’t you know?

 Nancy's Yogurt

I don’t mean the kind you eat at breakfast that comes in a tiny portion cup for $0.89 at the store. I mean plain, nonfat, unsweetened yogurt.  You might not want to eat it plain this way, but it makes one hell of an ingredient and substitutor.

You will notice when I post recipes or ideas on A Half Cup, many times yogurt will be an ingredient. IT IS SUCH A WORK HORSE.

For $2.99 (give or take), you can buy a quart of nonfat, plain yogurt.  And here’s some of the things you can do with it, over it’s pretty long shelf life in your fridge (usually mine lasts me almost three weeks):

Substitute for: butter, oil, shortening

Add to: soups, salad dressing, frosting, cheese-based dishes (like lasagna)

You can also dump it into a strainer lined with a cheesecloth or a cotton (non terry) dish towel and drain the water out of it to make a thicker dip.

Or my all time favorite, you can freeze it and make homemade frozen yogurt! YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM, but also BRRRRRRRRR!

Greek Gods Yogurt

There are a few kinds of yogurt that are great to have on hand: plain nonfat, nonfat greek, and whole fat (although use that whole fat very sparingly if you’re watching your intake).

If you’re not currently using, buying or trying yogurt, give it a chance! It’s cheap, lasts a long time, and (duh) it’s really good for you. Unless you’re lactose intolerant…..in that case, you can use soy pudding (which is creamy like yogurt, but made from tofu)

Have questions? Want a recipe that uses yogurt or soy pudding? GIMME A SHOUT!

Inspiration: making something for next to nothing!

14 Oct

If you ever find yourself walking through the store, uninspired, or having the “blahs,” fear not.  It happens to the best of us.  The only thing worse than going to the store on an empty stomach (can you say IMPULSE shopping?!?!), is going to the store and not wanting to buy, cook, or eat anything you see.

What to do?  Simple.  I go straight to the butcher, produce manager or deli lady (or man), and say to them “What looks good today? I’m bored, feeling indifferent, and don’t have a lot of money to spend.  What would you recommend?”

5. Butcher

You’d be really surprised how many great recommendations they’ll offer up.  They know what’s the freshest, they also know what’s on sale. And if you tell them you’re doin’ it on the cheap, they’re more than happy to come out from behind the counter, and be your instant personal shopper.

Bottom line?  They LOVE to help, they love to talk and they love to share ideas. 

All you really need is one good idea from one of those departments, and you can instantly shape a no-recipe meal around that one good idea!

So take advantage of your local store department managers, or in the case of a produce stand, talk to the person that’s cleaning the produce, ask them how they cook it at home. You might be surprised what answers you get.

Side kick: Roasted Tomatoes and Cipollini

13 Oct

Perfect for Fall, and perfect if you hate recipes and standing in the kitchen, Roasted Tomatoes and Cipollini is your new best friend.  My version is adapted from those amazing cooks over at SmittenKitchen.

“Siiri, please stop using words we don’t know, like Cipollini.” Right. No problem. Just because it’s a word, doesn’t mean everyone knows what it means. I get that.  Cipollini are a type of small-medium flat-ish onions. They’re great for roasting whole.

Here’s what I did (if you want an actual recipe, go to the link above):

raw ingredients from produce stand.

-get a pound of small onions, if you can’t find Cipollini, who cares.

-get a pound of roma tomatoes.

-peel the onions.

-put it all in a baking dish with sides (aka casserole dish or roasting pan).

-drizzle it with some olive oil, liberal amounts of salt and pepper.

-put in top third of your oven.

-bake it at 400F for 45 minutes to an hour, checking every 15 minutes and shaking the pan to rotate.

While that’s in the oven, you can set the table, because Lord knows, you invited people over on a weeknight (Why, WHY did you do that?)

Set the table!

When it’s all done, chop a fresh herb like basil or parsley or even thyme or sage (but use the last two sparingly), and spread over the top. Your eyes will roll back in your head with joy, I promise.

Roasted Tomatoes and Cipollini

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