Overnight Pickles

 

Finally found a dead simple fridge pickle recipe:

2 English cucumbers 

3 cups half water/half vinegar mixture 

3 tsp Szechuan peppercorns 

3 Tbs dried dill

3 tsp Maldon sea salt

3 cloves sliced garlic

Slice cukes to fit in jars (I did one quart and one pint), divide the amount of pickling mix between jars – filling to the brim, cover with lid and ring and refrigerate overnight. They keep in the fridge for a month, but they’ll be gone in less than 2 weeks, max. 

Culinary Arts Lab: Chocolate

Remote high school wrapped up this week, and Erik's assignment in Culinary Arts was to make something using chocolate, then taste it and review the creation. How did it smell, taste, look? What was the texture like? Was it balanced? Would you make it again, and if so, would you change anything? 

His teacher made brownies on Teams, with her two adorable young sons as helpers during class, but she encouraged the students to make anything they had ingredients for at home. We happened to have almost everything to make this recipe (that inspired me to buy the December copy of Real Simple), but I'd never gotten around to making the recipe for a holiday dessert. So, this was the perfect excuse to take this for a test drive, and Erik says that he would definitely make this again because it was "really good." He's right. It is really good. Delicious, balanced, easy and elegant. Fancy without too much work. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Ganache Tart

adapted from Real Simple magazine, December 2021

12 servings (or 16 smaller portions)

Crust ingredients

60 Ritz crackers 200 grams (almost 2 sleeves worth)

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 Tbs. sweetener of choice (we used an erythritol/monkfruit blend, but Real Simple used powdered sugar)

 

Filling ingredients

1 cup extra dark or bittersweet chocolate chips (we used Ghirardelli 72% cacao chips)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. vanilla (always use real extract)

4 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened

Maldon flaky sea salt for serving

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Erik smashed the crackers in a gallon ziplock bag, with a rolling pin, then mixed the crumbs in a bowl with the melted butter and sweetener. Next, dump the crust mixture (that will look like wet sand) into a 9-inch tart pan. Press firmly, up the sides and into the bottom. Bake for 10 minutes, then take out to cool completely.It will be golden and smell toasty and nutty. 

For the filling, Real Simple used a double-boiler method, which is fine, but for speed and easy clean-up, Erik opted for heating the cream in the microwave for 4 minutes, then whisked in the salt, and then the chocolate chips in two parts. Next, add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, and whisk well. Finally, mix in the vanilla, and let the ganache cool for about 30 minutes before pouring it into the cooled crust. 

Chill the tart, uncovered for at least two hours before serving, and sprinkle with Maldon flaky sea salt to finish/serve. I loved this touch, but Erik thought it was unnecessary. You could certainly let people adorn their own slices. 

Using the sweetener, and the Ghirardelli chips, this tart clocked in at 13g carbs per slice (at the 1/12 size portions) and only 4 g of sugar (1 g from the Ritz and 2.6 g from the chocolate). Is there a lot of butter and cream? Yep, but it's a delicious and decadent dessert (about 1 Tbs. butter per slice and only 1.5 Tbs of cream per serving, so really, not that bad overall).

Pie. Pie. Me oh my...

 

So, tomorrow's Pie-baking Zoom will be me making my T-day pies. Blackberry for Mads, because it's her favorite. Cranberry Custard for my Mom & Vesa (and if they come pick it up they can see us), an apple pie for Joel, and a lingonberry custard too because I found some frozen lingonberries. Oh, and a keto chocolate cream pie because... chocolate. 

 

I use Minute Tapioca (in the red box, in the baking aisle) to thicken my fruit pies because that's what Gramma Sartor did. I also use a pastry cloth for rolling out dough, which is a trick that I learned from a co-worker and friend, Susan House, many years ago. 

I also got a jar of lard to try (for the first time ever) because I found it at QFC, and our friend Shane says it's required for pie. I'd never tried it because the boxed lard is always rancid on the shelf at the grocery, but with all of the Paleo and Keto shoppers, there are better-preserved options now. So, we'll have all-butter, and lard pie crust tomorrow. I'm excited for the taste-test. 

My great gramma's pie crust recipe is right here: 

Dehlia Sartor's Pie Dough

Again I do it from scratch. For 1 pie

1 cup flour
3/4 cup Crisco or shortening whatever you have I like Crisco best.
1 tsp salt and just enough cold water to make it stick together. Mix shortening & flour & salt together first then add water and roll out.

 

 

 The other pie crust recipe I use is from Smitten Kitchen, Deb's "All Butter" pie crust, right here.

I'm trying a new recipe this year, in Joel's favorite graham-cracker crust, an apple cream pie...

Apple Cream Pie

 

3 peeled and grated baking apples like Granny Smith

4 Tbs. melted butter

3/4 c. sugar

2 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 c. milk

2 beaten eggs

Grate apples into pie crust, and drizzle with butter. Mix dry ingredients, add milk and eggs, and pour cream mixture over apples. Bake at 400-degrees F for 10 mins, then 350-degrees F for 30-40 mins.

Cranberry Custard Pie (formerly Jerrie's Rhubarb Custard Pie - delish either way!)

3/4 c. sugar
3 Tbs. flour (slightly rounded)
1/4 c. melted butter
2 eggs (beaten)
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 c. milk
pinch of salt
unbaked bottom pie shell
1 c. fresh cranberries (or slightly more, whatever fills the top of the pie up)
About 1 Tbs. cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top (sprinkle on the last 25 minutes of baking)

Stir flour into sugar, then moisten with a couple add butter, eggs, vanilla, salt & remainder of milk and blend well.

Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell, and add the cranberries on top. The recipe calls for 1 cup, but add berries until the filling is up to the bottom lip of the crust.

Bake 20 minutes at 375-degrees F.
Then continue to bake 25 minutes at 300-degrees F. It is finished when knife is pulled out clean and it should jiggle a little. You may need to bake it for a few more minutes if the custard is too far from set - you be the judge!

 And, I always make cinnamon roll-ups

... when I was little, and my mom made pie, we always made these tasty treats. Always. And Nick and I got to make them. Basically, roll out the dough scraps, brush on soft butter, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar, roll up, have mom slice, then bake until golden and delicious! Perfection. The kids love 'em!


And, to set the scene. the Pie Song... from the movie, Michael with John Travolta. I love that he's an angel. He's such an excellently hilarious angel. A not-very-angelic, cigarette-smoking, bar-brawling, two-steppin', line dancing, pie eating sugar-fiend of an angel with smolder and swagger... and the song (according to IMDb) sung my Andie MacDowell:

"The Pie Song"
Music by Steve Dorff
Music by Lyrics by Roy Blount Jr.
Published by TNT Music Publishing, Inc./Techwood Music, Inc.

Lyrics:

Pie
Pie
Me oh my
Nothing tastes sweet, wet, salty and dry
all at once o well it's pie
Apple!
Pumpkin!
Minced
an' wet bottom. ("Wet Bottom" is Amish Shoofly Pie)
Come to your place everyday if you've got em'
Pie
Me o my
I love pie!