Partial Holiday Hiatus.

Hi everyone!  Starting around Thanksgiving, my getting-ready-for-Christmas activities pick up.  Posts might be more infrequent for the next month or so.  Here's wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season; there should still be a few posts up throughout December!

Pie for Dinner?

I first made this shepherd's pie for a Superbowl party nine years ago, and I've made it almost every Superbowl since.  I don't know why I haven't made it more often in between.  It's easy, feeds a lot of people (or keeps well for leftovers), and you don't really have to make extra sides with it, because it has meat, potatoes, and vegetables all together.  I no longer use the mashed potato recipe provided, even though it was good on that first try; I just prefer garlic Parmesan mashed potatoes to give a bit more flavor.  Also, I baked it at 350°F for about 40 minutes, because we weren't going to eat until then.  But the broiler works just as well.  So these are general thoughts about the recipe rather than descriptions of what I did wrong.

1)  I would double the gravy recipe.  I didn't this time, because honestly I'd forgotten how little it makes, but the recipe calls for enough ground beef that the extra is probably needed. 

2)  If you want to speed up the preparation process, you can use microwavable frozen potatoes that are already cut up and peeled for the mashed potatoes.  Even though the recipe says that 2 pounds of potatoes should be fork-tender in about 12 minutes, I've always found that it takes a lot longer than that.

3)  You can add any vegetable you like to it if it sounds good to you.  If it's a firmer vegetable, add it with the carrots and onion; if it's a more "mushy" vegetable, add it with the peas.

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First--well, after chopping the onion and carrots--I browned the ground beef, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and drained the fat from the pan.  I didn't use oil because I used ground chuck (it was on sale), so I thought with a nonstick pan and a fattier meat, oil would only make everything greasy.  Then I added the carrot and onion and cooked for about five minutes more.

I melted the butter, stirred in the flour to make a light roux, then added the Worcestershire and slowly whisked in the beef stock until a thick gravy formed.

Just after I melted the butter, I stirred the peas in with the meat and other vegetables. When the gravy was done, I stirred it in as well, then spread the mixture into a 9"x13" casserole dish.

While the meat and gravy was cooking, I microwaved the potatoes (10 minutes).  For the mashed potatoes, I minced three cloves of garlic and heated it with a cup of half and half in a small saucepan until simmering. Then I stirred that into the potatoes until smooth, added 5 ounces of grated Parmesan cheese, and salted and peppered to taste.  

Finally, I spread the mashed potatoes on top of the meat and vegetables and topped the whole thing with shredded cheddar cheese

I baked it for 35-40 minutes, and it fed two of us for about four days... and that's probably why I usually save it for parties!

DEEMS THIS RECIPE:

... much easier than dessert pies! 

Midweek Recipe Roundup: The Crust Has It.

Making a crust can be one of the more frustrating parts of baking.  Especially when you're experimenting with different fillings or are pressed for time, it's often just less time-consuming to use a store-bought crust.  But when you want a good homemade crust, any of these recipes would fit the bill.

Cheesy Quiche Crust
This is a yummy, simple crust for quiche.  If the crust still doesn't seem fully baked at the end of the quiche baking time, turn up the oven to 425°F for about 10 minutes.  Quiche freezes well, so you can always pop slices back in the oven at 425°F and the crust will continue to get crispier and flakier.

Perfect Pie Crust
This was the crust recipe I linked to for the pumpkin pie (well, butternut squash pie) in the last post.  I thought it deserved another link here.

Shortbread Crust
This is included in a lemon tart recipe--it is a very good recipe too!--but it could work with any tart filling, or possibly even with just fruit and whipped cream if baked on its own.

Apple Pie Crust 
Although I loved the Perfect Pie Crust above for pumpkin pie, this one from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook is my go-to for apple pie.  The filling recipe is excellent as well; I usually add a little brown sugar to it when simmering.

Butternut Squash > Pumpkin.

As you might recall, my last attempt at pumpkin pie wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't a resounding success, either.  The crust was a bit chewy, the filling rather bland, and the texture just a bit off. Determined to do a better job, I scoured the internet for other recipes, and finally decided to heck with it; I'll make my own.  I've been too nervous to do more than make a minor change or two to already well-established recipes.  The crust recipe wasn't my own; I made the Perfect Pie Crust from The Pioneer Woman (whose recipes are always awesome).   OK, so I did use lard instead of shortening and brushed the crust with egg and sprinkled it with sugar before baking.  If you're wary of the additives in shortening and/or aren't vegan/vegetarian, I don't think the end product turned out much different. The crusts turned out nice and golden and flaky even after spending a week and a half in the freezer.

√-1 2³ Σ π.

Yum.

Instead of "what I did wrong" here, because I went over that in my last post, I'll take you through how I went about making up this version. The recipe I originally used called for two eggs and a can of evaporated milk. Looking at other recipes, this seems like a fairly common addition.  Thinking about it, I knew that pumpkin pie sets in the oven almost like a cheesecake, even though the texture is different throughout the baking process. It puffs up around the edges and should still be slightly wobbly in the middle when ready to take out of the oven. To make a fluffier pie, then, why not add more egg and maybe a bit less milk?  To add richness with less milk, I decided to use heavy cream.  Yes, it has more fat and calories than evaporated milk.  But this is pie, not salad.

I also knew I wanted to try using butternut squash instead of pumpkin, because a) you can get a lot more puree out of one squash than you can one pumpkin, b) the flavor is supposed to be richer, and c) I was just curious.  See the bottom of the post for puree instructions.*  I decided to use brown sugar instead of granulated white sugar and just a little rum for more depth to the flavor.  The spices I used were fairly typical pumpkin pie spices, although I added more of the ones I liked and less of the ones that, like nutmeg, can overpower the others (too much nutmeg in particular can add a soapy flavor to foods).  

So on to the recipe:

3 eggs

3/4 cup + 1 tbsp packed light brown sugar 

1 cup heavy cream

Almost 2 cups butternut squash puree (technically 15 oz)

1 tbsp rum

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

Pinch nutmeg

I doubled this recipe to make two pies, so in the following pictures, if it looks like a lot of filling, that's because it is!

The salt and vanilla were too large to fit in the original picture.

(Oh, all right.  I forgot to include them.  And the ginger must have sneaked behind its friends.)

I started off by beating the eggs.  Not until fluffy or expanded, just until the whites and yolks were thoroughly whisked together.

Then I blended in the brown sugar, making sure to break up any lumps, before whisking in the cream. Don't beat too vigorously; the goal is to make sure everything is evenly distributed, not to whip the cream.

Then I mixed in the squash puree.

Finally, I stirred in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, salt and nutmeg before adding the rum and vanilla.

Here, if you can, I'd pour the filling into a measuring cup with a spout so that it can be easily poured directly into a par-baked crust in the oven (or an unbaked crust; your preference.  It also depends on the crust recipe. Most will give a recommendation.).   This makes it much easier, so you're not precariously using oven-mitted** hands to carry a hot pie pan filled with liquid back to the oven. I preheated the oven to 350°F, put the crust in for 10 minutes, then added the filling

I baked the pie for about an hour, until a knife inserted about 2" from the edge came out clean and the center wobbled just a bit but looked solid. Unless you don't mind gooey pie slices that don't hold their shape (and sometimes, it's worth it just to taste something right out of the oven), you will likely need to wait anywhere from 15-30 minutes before cutting into it, just to let it firm up.

Because I made two pies and used two separate ovens, one baked faster than the other.

It didn't magically change pie plates!

I like to eat my pie slightly warm with whipped cream and a little extra cinnamon. Pumpkin (well, squash!) pie is usually best served either warm or at room temperature.  If you like it cold, though, go for it!

DEEMS THIS RECIPE:

... easy as pie.  

*To make butternut squash puree:
Cut the stem off the squash and cut it in half lengthwise.  Scoop out seeds and stringy pulp.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and place on a baking sheet with sides, pouring ~1/3 cup water around it.  Bake at 350°F for ~45 minutes until fork-tender.  Once out of the oven, let cool until you can easily handle it, then remove the skin.  The skin should almost fall off on its own.  Cut into chunks and place in a blender/food processor, add two tablespoons of butter--you can soften the butter if the squash has gotten too cool to melt it on its own--and blend until pureed.  Puree can be used immediately or frozen for 9-12 months (the flavor will not be as intense after 5-6, but it will still be good).  Note that refreezing any food is never recommended; freeze in batches if you know you'll need only a bit at a time.

**This is not a word.  But it should be.

Analyzing a Pumpkin Pie.

During the fall, I love all things pumpkin. I get excited when I see that Starbucks again has pumpkin spice lattes and mourn when they're no longer available. The past few years, I've made apple pies in the fall, and I've had success with that, so I thought a pumpkin pie shouldn't be too hard.   And it wasn't... kind of.  This won't be a typical "go through the recipe" post, because to be honest, while people ate the pie and thought it was good, I wasn't 100% happy with it, and I only want to share recipes that are absolutely worth the time and effort, especially pie recipes.  I did say that I want to share both my good and bad experiences on this blog, though, so that's what I'm going to do here.  Again, this wasn't a disaster by any means.  I just know there were things I could have done much better.

My first mistake was using an unfamiliar crust recipe that only called for butter, and a lot of butter at that.  "What's wrong with butter?!" I hear you ask.  Nothing's wrong with butter!  I love butter.  I can even get on board with a lot of butter in many recipes.  But for pie, I'm convinced that using half butter and half shortening, or even lard, makes a flakier crust while keeping the flavor, and using the correct amount keeps it from getting too greasy or soggy on the bottom.  A general rule of thumb is a 3:2:1 ratio of flour to fat to liquid.

The crust had way too much butter in it 

that melted and pooled at the bottom, making it soggy.

Then I didn't roast the pumpkins enough... and I didn't use great pumpkins in the first place. I bought two sugar ("pie") pumpkins in a kit and followed the directions on it (I didn't use the rest of the kit, just the pumpkins), but next time, I will either try butternut squash or just used canned pumpkin.  If I use squash, I will also follow the example of many other recipes and cut them in half first, scoop out the pulp and seeds, and then roast at 400°F for about an hour until the skin is golden and the squash feels tender. Baking them whole and not long enough made it difficult to extract and puree the meat of the pumpkin, so I ended up with more lumpiness to the pie than I would have liked. 

The cooked pumpkins were still much too stringy 

to get make it easy to get the meat out to make a nice, smooth puree

After looking at the recipe and seeing that it called for more liquid and fewer eggs than many other recipes, I also decided to add a tablespoon of flour to make sure the pie set in the oven.  I think it would have set fine without it, and the flour created a little more lumpiness.  If you decide to add any flour to a recipe that has to set, it should probably be finely sifted.  The main thing to remember is that when most pies start to set, they set fast.  Mine went from being runny to almost overdone in ~10 minutes. When the pie is done, it should puff up slightly at the edges, and you should be able to cut into the pie about 2" away from the crust and have it come out clean, but the center should still be a bit wobbly.  

As you can see, the pie set quickly, so I was testing it often.

Again, this pie wasn't bad.  It was all eaten and enjoyed, and if someone wants the recipe, I'd be glad to share it.  But I'm still looking for a recipe that is excellent rather than just good.  

I find with cooking, and especially baking, being a perfectionist usually pays off!

The Circle of Life (is Definitely a Doughnut).

I haven't attempted fried chicken again, although I do have a recipe for sweet tea fried chicken in the pipeline.  One reason for my hesitation: the frying itself.  We have an electric range, and although it makes cleaning easier and is great for quickly heating food, it can be difficult to keep at a constant temperature.  And keeping oil at a constant temperature is especially important for fried foods.  So I was about to skip making these doughnuts because I was intimidated by the prospect of oily doughnuts, burned oil, grease fires, etc.  Then I thought, "If I never try frying again, how will I ever learn to do it well?"  I'm glad I tried again.  Although I think the "Copycat Krispy Kreme" label on this recipe might be a misnomer-- I'm pretty sure if you undercooked them they'd be more similar, but fully browned, these are definitely more cake-y and taste more... homemade somehow-- they are definitely a make-again.  Next time I might experiment with adding pumpkin.*

Pumpkin everything is here!

While these came out well, here are a few things I would do differently next time:
1) Let the dough proof longer during the second rise.  To know if doughnuts have proofed enough, there should ideally be a lighter ring around the center of the doughnuts after frying on both sides where the dough sat above the oil.
2) Use evaporated milk instead of water for the glaze and make it closer to the time I put the doughnuts in the oil.  Water was fine, but to get it to the right consistency, you have to add more than the recipe calls for, which in turn waters down the taste.  I later dipped half of the doughnuts in butter and then into sugar and cinnamon, because the glaze recipe didn't make much at all and hardened quickly.
3) Slightly undercook, mostly to see the difference in texture.

First, I scalded and cooled the milk.  To scald milk, rinse a saucepan with cold water (this will help the milk not burn) and dry thoroughly.  Then heat the milk until steam forms and small bubbles appear around the edges.  Take off the heat and stir until the milk stops steaming.

I let the yeast dissolve in the water in a mixing bowl, then added the eggs, shortening, sugar, salt, and milk, then stirred in two cups of flour.  I used a dough hook, but you can use a wooden spoon or regular beater. 

I added the rest of the flour until a soft dough formed.

Then I put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, covered, and let it rise for an hour until doubled in size. I use the bread proof setting on my oven, but you can let it rise in any warm, draft-free area.  When the dough is ready, it will hold a thumbprint without bouncing back.

I gently punched down the dough, rolled it around on a floured surface, then rolled it out using a rolling pin until it was roughly half an inch thick.  I couldn't find any regular doughnut cutters, so I used a larger and a smaller cookie cutter, cutting out the large rounds first and then cutting out the centers.  I gathered the centers and scraps and rolled them out together to cut out more doughnuts, but you can always make doughnut holes with them.

I put the formed doughtnuts on baking trays rubbed with a little vegetable oil (I would recommend flouring the trays too; the doughnuts stuck some).  I covered them with a light towel, though the picture shows them uncovered, and let them rise another 40 minutes until roughly doubled in size again.  I think another 20 minutes (so an hour total) would have been better.

I put the oil on the stove to heat while the doughnuts were finishing their rise, enough to reach about 2 1/2" up the sides of the pot**, turning the dial one notch above medium heat (to 6 on my stove top). As it was heating, I made the glaze.  I should have waited until the oil was about ready, because the glaze hardened quickly. I melted the butter, added the sugar, added the vanilla off the heat, and then added water one tablespoon at a time until the glaze reached the desired consistency (think syrup-like).  The glaze looks browner than it does when it is on the doughnuts because of the vanilla.  

Then it was doughnut making time!  Once the oil reached 350°F, I took a spatula and carefully slid doughnuts into the oil, frying them in small batches.  They puff up quickly.  Overcrowding the pan can cause the temperature of the oil to go down and leave you with greasy food or food that is cooked on the outside but raw on the inside (this is why frying chicken is so hard!).  Many times, it's necessary to turn the heat slightly up after any food is added to the oil to prevent a drop in temperature. There was never a noticeable fluctuation frying the doughnuts 4-5 at a time, so I didn't change the heat setting.

To flip, I used the handles of two wooden spoons, placing one gently in the hole of a doughnut and using the other to flip it from the side.  They should be golden brown (45-60 seconds on each side).  I transferred them to a stack of paper towels, turning them over once to remove any excess oil.*** At this point, I was working quickly to get the doughnuts fried and dipped into the glaze on each side because the glaze was hardening so fast, so I couldn't get decent pictures.  I transferred the dipped doughnuts to wire racks over paper towels to cool.

Some doughnuts still didn't get glazed, so I melted some butter and dipped them lightly on each side into that and then into a mixture of 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 tsp cinnamon.  

I think I actually preferred the cinnamon and sugar ones, but because I didn't do that until the next day, I only took pictures of the glazed.  Not that the glazed doughnuts were bad.  They're almost all gone now...

****

DEEMS THIS RECIPE:
Somewhat surprisingly, easier than pie.

* I am that person who likes pumpkin everything in the fall.

**Yes, this took almost 40 ounces of canola oil. Try not to consider it a waste, because you can reuse oil for frying.  Let it cool, then funnel it back into the bottle using a paper towel or cheesecloth to catch any burned food bits.  

*** If done properly, there shouldn't be much excess oil.  Food absorbs far less oil during frying than you might think.

****I should have a better camera in time for the next post!