Pie shell (aka pie crust)

Try making one at home. At the worst it’s going to be better than frozen store-bought. At best it’s going to be a delightful pastry, delicious addition to your home-baked pie. Don’t be scared. It’s going to take a few crusts before you get the feel of it, but it’s not really that challenging. Just a couple rules: Keep everything cold, cold, cold and do not handle with your hands excessively, which will warm the dough. What you want are somewhat substantial flecks of cold butter in the dough. This is what makes the pie crust flaky: when the crust hits the hot oven, the butter — which is an emulsion of fat and water — melts and creates steam. The steam creates air pockets that result in a flaky crust. That’s why you don’t use melted butter — which will not do this, and why you want substantial pieces of butter in the dough and not tiny flecks.

Go ahead and make two pie crusts at a time. This is for a double-crusted pie such as a fruit pie, or you can use for two bottom crusts. You can freeze pie dough either before you roll out into a crust, or afterwards, even in the pie dish!

Ingredients:

white flour, unbleached, 4.5 oz (1 c.)

whole wheat pastry flour, 3.4 oz, actually 3-3/8 oz (1 c.)

chilled unsalted butter, 151 g (2/3 c)

dash salt

very cold water, 6 T (refrigerated or with ice cubes added)

for sweet crusts: add a couple T sugar into the flour

Instructions:

Chill a good quantity of water in a small bowl — either in refrigerator or with ice.

Combine two flours in a small or medium bowl and add salt. Put into food processor with butter. Pulse. When butter is broken up into pea+ size, add water until dough holds together when you squeeze it.

Dump dough back into bowl and mush together with your hands. Remove and divide in half, and form into two balls, or even better, somewhat flattened thick rounds. Wrap each well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1/2 hour before rolling out.

Pecan Pie

Let’s say you’re not a fan of pecan pie. It’s cloyingly sweet generally and not very delicious. Here’s one to change your mind and please your palate.

Make one pie crust; butter pie dish. Lay in crust and chill for at least 1/2 hour while you preheat oven.
Blind bake pie crust with parchment and dried beans for 15+ mins. at 400 degrees.

Remove paper and beans. Prick crust all over — try not to go all the way through to pie dish — and bake for another 10-20 minutes until golden and cooked.

Can wrap and freeze once cooled.

Toast pecans in advance and let cool.

Filling:

Bittersweet chocolate pistoles, one layer in bottom of pie crust — optional, but so delicious. (Or make ganache and pour into pie shell and let harden.)

(Otherwise try adding cinnamon or star anise to filling.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients:

Pecan halves, toasted 2-1/2 c. (319 g)

Eggs, 3 large room temp

Butter, 5 T (2.5 oz/70.5 g), melted and cooled a bit

Heavy cream, 45 g (3 T)

Dark brown sugar, 107 g (1/2 c.)

Maple syrup – dark, about 3/4 c. (287 g)

Vanilla extract, 2 t

Sea salt, 1/2 t

Put in medium-size bowl: 

Whisk together brown sugar and maple syrup. Add: vanilla, salt, heavy cream, butter and stir together with whisk. 

Beat eggs separately and then add to maple syrup mixture and whisk, though not vigorously. (You don’t want to generate air bubble.)

Put pie dish on sheet pan. 

Pour in filling. Bake for 35-50 minutes until somewhat set. 

Let cool. Store in refrigerator if you are going to serve the next day. Keeps for two days in refrigerator. 

Sources: 

Food 52— can try adding an egg yolk (to bring eggs to 170 g)

Maple pecan pie recipe

Maple chocolate pecan pie recipe

Options: add 2 T espresso powder

Sprinkle pie with flaky sea salt when it comes out of oven and pie has cooled a bit (to cut sweetness)

Omit chocolate and add star anise or cinnamon

Thanksgiving on a small scale

I will not say anything good about the pandemic. I will however say that cooking a Thanksgiving feast for fewer than a crowd is a major stress-avoider. It was a joy, to be honest. It was like cooking a good dinner with more than the usual number of dishes, and some advance prep . . . and baking and whipped cream-making. Isn’t cooking for someone a glorious way to demonstrate love? Maybe it will get nominated to be a sixth love language.

There is a person I long to cook for and I may never get that chance. We home cooks press on with whatever love and close friends we are fortunate to have in our lives. Love, kindness, connection . . . and home-cooked meals will sustain us.

Here was my menu this year:

Turkey breast, bone-in, about 4# — brined in buttermilk, salt, and later fresh thyme too.

Gravy, natch (Made with turkey stock, which I made day of, with the neck)

Roasted sweet potatoes with sour cream, butter and a bit of maple syrup — run through food mill to be light and fluffy. Yum!

Scalloped onions, leeks and shallots — sautéed veg baked with cream, topped with cheddar/breadcrumb mixture and paprika — a classic for moi. The royal cousin of creamed onions. Cutting down the recipe is a joy because of the large amount of chopping needed.

Roasted Brussels sprouts with honey, lemon, red pepper flakes, served with toasted peanuts. A sprightly combo!

Cranberry quince chutney. Love this. Every year. Make half the recipe, even for a crowd!

Pecan pie w/ whipped cream

I would do this again. How much turkey do folks eat, anyway? I ordered a Bourbon Red heritage turkey from my beloved food coop, but they were shorted, and in discussions with the meat manager, he and I compromised on a bone-in half breast of a very high quality local turkey — since I begged off of a 24 pounder(!) It was a good move and I would do it again. (Just next time pour off the wet brine when I bring the bird to room temp since it seemed to take forever to cook, perhaps because the cold liquid prevented the turkey from coming to near room temp within the two hours I allowed. Live and learn! Cook and eat!)

Asian-ish chicken and cabbage

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breasts, thick part butterflied

Cabbage — savoy or napa preferably; or regular ol’ green

Mushrooms — I like shiitake 

Stock — vegetable or chicken

Blend:

Hot pepper

Garlic

Ginger

Soy sauce

Fish sauce

Turmeric (if fresh)

Brown sugar, a pinch

Whir together and marinate chicken breasts.

Put up rice to cook.

Cut up:

Cabbage, sliced

Onion, 1/4 diced, optional

Shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

1. Prepare ginger pepper marinade
2. Prepare rice
3. Marinate chicken. Save some marinade for the cabbage.
4. Cut up cabbage, onions and mushrooms.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Cook cabbage: sauté in olive oil: onions, then mushrooms with salt, then cabbage, adding stock; toss and cover. Add marinade and cook.
7. Sauté chicken breasts in hot cast iron pan with olive oil. Sear on both sides, then put atop cabbage and put in oven to cook through for five minutes. 
8. Voilà!

Inspiration