Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,
Our girl Me has been bent on finding a pecan pie recipe that does not use the evil, health-jeopardizing corn syrup. Her elder woman told her she could use maple syrup instead but it would make a softer pie. Me had the crust made a week in advance, chilling in the fridge, before she could find the time to assemble what was to be the year's finest pie.
She came across the recipe on our second-favorite website: Cook's Illustrative (no, third, ours is our favorite site, epicurious.com is next, and then cooksillustrated.com, of which we are proud members).
Here it is with our special hound amendments - pie to nearly make you die:
Pecan Pie
Crust
1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons shortening (or butter)
1 egg, separated
Filling
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1-1/2 cups pecans
Make the tender flaky crust:
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Drop in chunks of butter and shortening and pulse til butter is evenly distributed and pea-sized. Transfer flour mixture to mixing bowl.
Add iced water to egg white to make 1/4 cup liquid. Sprinkle over dry ingredients and toss with a folding motion to distribute. Shape into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate one hour or several days.
Leave dough at room temperature 15 minutes and roll out to fit 9-inch pie pan. Transfer to pie pan and press dough to sides and corners, fluting the top edge. Chill one hour.
Preheat oven to 400F. Prick pie shell all over and line with aluminum foil. Prick foil too. Return shell to chill while oven preheats. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and brush bottom and sides (including fluting) with egg yolk and a few drops of water. Bake one more minute and set aside.
Fashioning the Filling
Toast pecans in 250F oven for 10 minutes. Chop in pieces and set aside.
Melt butter in a double boiler. Stir in sugar and salt. Beat in eggs and maple syrup. Stir until mixture reaches 130 degrees. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and pour into still-warm crust.
Bake at 275F for 50-60 minutes. Cool pie on a rack (to prevent a soggy bottom crust). Let cool at least 4 hours before serving.
Tips from Elias: We don't know why you have to chop up the nuts. We think you could chop some and leave some whole for the aesthetic presentation.
Tips from Guthrie: We regret to inform you that there is no picture of this pie. It was by far the best pie we have made all year. We had some for Thanksgiving and sent some home with the elders too. They thought it was the best pie of all time, but the elder man is worried about how much it costs to make when you use Real Maple Syrup. Me said, that's why we only make it once in awhile.
30 November 2008
- Cardamom Biscotti (Swedish Toast)
Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,
These people of the north love their Scandinavian heritage. You can buy lefse in any grocery store here and lingonberries too. (Lefse is like tortillas made from mashed potatoes instead of corn and often used for sweets - like slathered in butter and lingonberry jelly.)
We recently came upon a fine recipe of Scandahoovian origin called "Swedish Toast" but really it is like cardamom biscotti. We love it and it lasts and lasts - just like biscotti. Dunk some of this in your coffee on a cold snowy weekend!
(Note, the elders didn't like it as much, due to their teeth. That's why it's good for dunking.)
This recipe hails from our Me's friend Karla Gregg in Minneapolis.
Swedish Toast (Cardamom Biscotti)
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-1/2 cups flour
1 cup almonds, blanched
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
grated rind of one lemon
Toast the blanched almonds on a baking sheet in a 300F oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and chop fine in a food processor.
Increase oven temperature to 350F.
Cream butter and sugar together until light. Add eggs and sour cream.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add almonds, cardamom and lemon rind. Stir all into the butter mixture.
Grease a 9x13 pan and spread batter into pan. Bake 40-45 minutes at 350F. Remove from the oven and turn temperature down to 250F.
Cool the pan 10 minutes and remove the bread from the pan. Cut into 3 strips and cut each strip into diagonal pieces 1/2-inch thick. Transfer toast to cookie sheets, cut side down. Toast for 30 minutes at 250F. Turn each toast to other cut side and toast 30 minutes more until light golden and slightly dry.
Serve with coffee or tea.
These people of the north love their Scandinavian heritage. You can buy lefse in any grocery store here and lingonberries too. (Lefse is like tortillas made from mashed potatoes instead of corn and often used for sweets - like slathered in butter and lingonberry jelly.)
We recently came upon a fine recipe of Scandahoovian origin called "Swedish Toast" but really it is like cardamom biscotti. We love it and it lasts and lasts - just like biscotti. Dunk some of this in your coffee on a cold snowy weekend!
(Note, the elders didn't like it as much, due to their teeth. That's why it's good for dunking.)
This recipe hails from our Me's friend Karla Gregg in Minneapolis.
Swedish Toast (Cardamom Biscotti)
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-1/2 cups flour
1 cup almonds, blanched
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
grated rind of one lemon
Toast the blanched almonds on a baking sheet in a 300F oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and chop fine in a food processor.
Increase oven temperature to 350F.
Cream butter and sugar together until light. Add eggs and sour cream.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add almonds, cardamom and lemon rind. Stir all into the butter mixture.
Grease a 9x13 pan and spread batter into pan. Bake 40-45 minutes at 350F. Remove from the oven and turn temperature down to 250F.
Cool the pan 10 minutes and remove the bread from the pan. Cut into 3 strips and cut each strip into diagonal pieces 1/2-inch thick. Transfer toast to cookie sheets, cut side down. Toast for 30 minutes at 250F. Turn each toast to other cut side and toast 30 minutes more until light golden and slightly dry.
Serve with coffee or tea.
16 November 2008
- Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting
Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,
Once there's a nip in the air you can't keep our girl Me away from Epicurious.com or her own recipe stash or the kitchen at all. It's hard for a dog to find a secret time to blog when she is so culinarily obsessed. You know it's because of the holidays. We hounds believe that every week should be treated as a holiday food-wise, but people have their peculiar ways. Me is of a mind to make pies, so no doubt we will serve as testers and (b)log our favorites here in days to come. But today we are using carrots that were on sale with a coupon for only 88 cents to make Me's fabulous and famous, original carrot cake. This is so fabulous that the elder sister Rebecca had Me make it for her wedding cake. That's how fabulous.
Auntie Sue's Own (Fabulous) Carrot Cake
(Susan Brill 1979)
Cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon nutmeg*
¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup applesauce
4 eggs
3 ½ cups grated carrots
½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
*(Freshly ground or bust.)
Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans OR a 13x9 pan.
Sift together four, soda, salt, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg. Set aside.
In separate bowl, beat applesauce, oil and eggs together well. Stir in grated carrot and nuts. Stir in flour mixture until blended, but do not over mix. Pour into prepared pan(s). Bake at 350F about one hour, until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Aunt Sue's Own (Marvelous) Cream Cheese Frosting
(Susan Brill ~1979)
½ cup butter (softened)
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Blend butter with cream cheese until smooth. Sift in powdered sugar and cinnamon in increments. Blend just until sugar is incorporated each time. Stir in vanilla extract.
Frost cake when it has cooled completely.
(Excellent frosting for Carrot Cake or Zucchini bars.)
Tips from Guthrie: In the years since the advent of Stevia, we make this cake with 1 cup sugar and Stevia equivalent for another cup of sugar. Perfect. There's a great deal of sugar in the frosting so cutting back in the cake is no sacrifice. We like the specks of cinnamon in the frosting, but the pure snowy frosting without it is a beautiful sight too.
Tips from Eli: Lick the frosting bowl clean.
Once there's a nip in the air you can't keep our girl Me away from Epicurious.com or her own recipe stash or the kitchen at all. It's hard for a dog to find a secret time to blog when she is so culinarily obsessed. You know it's because of the holidays. We hounds believe that every week should be treated as a holiday food-wise, but people have their peculiar ways. Me is of a mind to make pies, so no doubt we will serve as testers and (b)log our favorites here in days to come. But today we are using carrots that were on sale with a coupon for only 88 cents to make Me's fabulous and famous, original carrot cake. This is so fabulous that the elder sister Rebecca had Me make it for her wedding cake. That's how fabulous.
Auntie Sue's Own (Fabulous) Carrot Cake
(Susan Brill 1979)
Cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon nutmeg*
¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup applesauce
4 eggs
3 ½ cups grated carrots
½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
*(Freshly ground or bust.)
Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans OR a 13x9 pan.
Sift together four, soda, salt, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg. Set aside.
In separate bowl, beat applesauce, oil and eggs together well. Stir in grated carrot and nuts. Stir in flour mixture until blended, but do not over mix. Pour into prepared pan(s). Bake at 350F about one hour, until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Aunt Sue's Own (Marvelous) Cream Cheese Frosting
(Susan Brill ~1979)
½ cup butter (softened)
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Blend butter with cream cheese until smooth. Sift in powdered sugar and cinnamon in increments. Blend just until sugar is incorporated each time. Stir in vanilla extract.
Frost cake when it has cooled completely.
(Excellent frosting for Carrot Cake or Zucchini bars.)
Tips from Guthrie: In the years since the advent of Stevia, we make this cake with 1 cup sugar and Stevia equivalent for another cup of sugar. Perfect. There's a great deal of sugar in the frosting so cutting back in the cake is no sacrifice. We like the specks of cinnamon in the frosting, but the pure snowy frosting without it is a beautiful sight too.
Tips from Eli: Lick the frosting bowl clean.
15 November 2008
- Lavender Cinnamon Buns
Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,
We got up this morning with everything right in the world. It was not bitter cold, it was not 100% cloudy, our girl let us sleep on the bed last night. It was a rise and shine kind of day. So, of course, we immediately made sweet rolls. These are the most peculiar rolls as they use no yeast and do not require a morning of rising and punching down and rising again. It's like biscuit batter rolled up with cinnamony goodness, doused with maple syrup and baked into wonderousness. This is me, Eli, writing. Guthrie wouldn't be nearly as descriptive. We can hardly fathom the deliciousness that will be coming out of the oven in just moments. Here's the recipe meanwhile and we'll add our tips after we sink our canines into this ideal breakfast. (Also luscious without the lavender, but if you have some, don't you think you should try it that way?) This is adapted from HappyValleyLavender.com
Lavender Cinnamon Buns
1/2 cup soft butter
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups flour (we used bread flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon lime juice (or lemon)
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons culinary lavender buds
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon (don't skimp! it's so healthful and tastes wonderful)
2-4 tablespoons (real) maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350°. Blend 1/4 cup of the butter, reserving the rest, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl. Then add in flour and baking powder until mixture is fine and crumbly.
Whisk egg, milk, lemon juice and vanilla in a small bowl. Make a well in the flour mixture and, using a fork or spatula and brief strokes, mix just until you have a stiff dough. Don't overdo. Prepare a floured surface and roll dough into a rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick.
In a small bowl, toss together 2 tablespoons lavender buds, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.
Slather rolled out dough with the remaining 1/4 cup butter. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over butter evenly. Roll up the wide edge of the dough tightly and seal with a little milk. (We added a splash of milk to the dribbles already in the milk measuring cup and brushed that on like a little glue between the roll and the last edge of dough.)
Cut the roll into 12 slices about 2 inches thick. Place in a greased baking pan. Drizzle with maple syrup.
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or so. Don't overdo here either. You want them soft and moist!
Tips from Elias: We overdid. They still looked so white on top - these rolls don't brown like yeast bread does. So we overleft them in the oven. They are still tasty and soft, but we see the syrupy goodness is a little - well - dark and depleted. To rectify, we served them up in small bowls and drizzled with more syrup. Utterly delicious. We might like them as well as traditional sweetie rolls. To bit into fragrant lavender is a delectability of heaven. Maybe you should save them for Sunday morning.
Tips from Guthrie: Since it was a new recipe we didn't try putting nuts in. We didn't know how the other-textured dough would take to lumpy nutmeats within the roll. Now that we are experienced, we know it would have been good to mix 1/2 cup of walnut pieces in with the brown sugar filling. Do it if you like nuts. I am fine without as I am allergic to walnuts (pine trees, certain bugs, ragweed and 30 other common allergens. It's why I have a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with each meal.)
We got up this morning with everything right in the world. It was not bitter cold, it was not 100% cloudy, our girl let us sleep on the bed last night. It was a rise and shine kind of day. So, of course, we immediately made sweet rolls. These are the most peculiar rolls as they use no yeast and do not require a morning of rising and punching down and rising again. It's like biscuit batter rolled up with cinnamony goodness, doused with maple syrup and baked into wonderousness. This is me, Eli, writing. Guthrie wouldn't be nearly as descriptive. We can hardly fathom the deliciousness that will be coming out of the oven in just moments. Here's the recipe meanwhile and we'll add our tips after we sink our canines into this ideal breakfast. (Also luscious without the lavender, but if you have some, don't you think you should try it that way?) This is adapted from HappyValleyLavender.com
Lavender Cinnamon Buns
1/2 cup soft butter
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups flour (we used bread flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon lime juice (or lemon)
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons culinary lavender buds
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon (don't skimp! it's so healthful and tastes wonderful)
2-4 tablespoons (real) maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350°. Blend 1/4 cup of the butter, reserving the rest, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl. Then add in flour and baking powder until mixture is fine and crumbly.
Whisk egg, milk, lemon juice and vanilla in a small bowl. Make a well in the flour mixture and, using a fork or spatula and brief strokes, mix just until you have a stiff dough. Don't overdo. Prepare a floured surface and roll dough into a rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick.
In a small bowl, toss together 2 tablespoons lavender buds, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.
Slather rolled out dough with the remaining 1/4 cup butter. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over butter evenly. Roll up the wide edge of the dough tightly and seal with a little milk. (We added a splash of milk to the dribbles already in the milk measuring cup and brushed that on like a little glue between the roll and the last edge of dough.)
Cut the roll into 12 slices about 2 inches thick. Place in a greased baking pan. Drizzle with maple syrup.
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or so. Don't overdo here either. You want them soft and moist!
Tips from Elias: We overdid. They still looked so white on top - these rolls don't brown like yeast bread does. So we overleft them in the oven. They are still tasty and soft, but we see the syrupy goodness is a little - well - dark and depleted. To rectify, we served them up in small bowls and drizzled with more syrup. Utterly delicious. We might like them as well as traditional sweetie rolls. To bit into fragrant lavender is a delectability of heaven. Maybe you should save them for Sunday morning.
Tips from Guthrie: Since it was a new recipe we didn't try putting nuts in. We didn't know how the other-textured dough would take to lumpy nutmeats within the roll. Now that we are experienced, we know it would have been good to mix 1/2 cup of walnut pieces in with the brown sugar filling. Do it if you like nuts. I am fine without as I am allergic to walnuts (pine trees, certain bugs, ragweed and 30 other common allergens. It's why I have a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with each meal.)
14 November 2008
Spicy Barbecued Turkey Meatballs
Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,
You can't blame us dogs for having a little time away from blogging. We've been having big adventures. Most recently Belly the cat was locked out of the home when our girl Me went out of town and we heard a cat fight but we were trapped in the basement and were not able to participate. Or help Beller. He is recovering fine but came home with a number of cat piercings and one swollen up forearm - or leg. Now you can imagine the special care and attention he's getting from our person Me. It's just exasperating. She won't let us dogs have the least bit of fun with the cat anymore. Very overprotective.
Tonight she fell asleep and we dogs snuck out of the room to see what might have been left on the kitchen counter for snacks. Nothing. Wiped clean. Even Belly came out prowling with us. So we decided to whip up some of those little tasty saucey appetizer meatballs. This is Me's own creation of a recipe which uses ground turkey but we went ahead and used up a pound of ground bison on it. Mmm.
Spicy Barbecued Turkey Meatballs
(Susan Brill 1996)
Meatballs
1 lb. ground turkey (or hamburger)
¾ cup rolled oats
2 eggs
1 cup finely chopped onion
1½ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
(or 1 tablespoon dried)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1½ teaspoon vegetable (or beef) bouillon
½ teaspoon pepper
Mix meatball ingredients well. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350F degrees for 25 minutes until cooked through.
Tasty Sauce
8 oz tomato sauce
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons spicy mustard
1 ¼ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Simmer sauce ingredients over medium heat until hot. Transfer meatballs to serving bowl. Pour sauce over, toss gently, and serve.
Tips from Elias: Make a double recipe as they are so good two hounds can eat them all and leave none for the cat or the girl.
Tips from Guthrie: The cat doesn't eat bison, so he wasn't going to eat them anyhow. Just smell them. Make sure you don't overcook the bison...it's so lean it gets dry when cooked through. Leave a smidge of pink in the middle and cover after removing from the oven and it will cook a little more as it sits.
You can't blame us dogs for having a little time away from blogging. We've been having big adventures. Most recently Belly the cat was locked out of the home when our girl Me went out of town and we heard a cat fight but we were trapped in the basement and were not able to participate. Or help Beller. He is recovering fine but came home with a number of cat piercings and one swollen up forearm - or leg. Now you can imagine the special care and attention he's getting from our person Me. It's just exasperating. She won't let us dogs have the least bit of fun with the cat anymore. Very overprotective.
Tonight she fell asleep and we dogs snuck out of the room to see what might have been left on the kitchen counter for snacks. Nothing. Wiped clean. Even Belly came out prowling with us. So we decided to whip up some of those little tasty saucey appetizer meatballs. This is Me's own creation of a recipe which uses ground turkey but we went ahead and used up a pound of ground bison on it. Mmm.
Spicy Barbecued Turkey Meatballs
(Susan Brill 1996)
Meatballs
1 lb. ground turkey (or hamburger)
¾ cup rolled oats
2 eggs
1 cup finely chopped onion
1½ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
(or 1 tablespoon dried)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1½ teaspoon vegetable (or beef) bouillon
½ teaspoon pepper
Mix meatball ingredients well. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350F degrees for 25 minutes until cooked through.
Tasty Sauce
8 oz tomato sauce
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons spicy mustard
1 ¼ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Simmer sauce ingredients over medium heat until hot. Transfer meatballs to serving bowl. Pour sauce over, toss gently, and serve.
Tips from Elias: Make a double recipe as they are so good two hounds can eat them all and leave none for the cat or the girl.
Tips from Guthrie: The cat doesn't eat bison, so he wasn't going to eat them anyhow. Just smell them. Make sure you don't overcook the bison...it's so lean it gets dry when cooked through. Leave a smidge of pink in the middle and cover after removing from the oven and it will cook a little more as it sits.
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