Lemon Meringue Pie

I love lemon meringue pies and, this time, I slightly adapted Martha's Mile High Lemon Pie recipe for the filling, though I just used a standard meringue topping instead of the one that she includes in her recipe. Her filling is unlike other lemon meringue pie recipes I've made as it includes butter in the filling; I reduced the butter a bit, and the filling was still a smooth balance of tart and sweet without being overly rich.

Prepare your favorite single-crust pie dough recipe and pre-bake the crust, lined with aluminum foil and filled with baking stones or beans, or pricked all over with a fork and lined with aluminum foil to avoid shrinkage. Let cool. Prepare filling.

Mile High Lemon Pie (filling) from marthastewart.com

• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sifted cake flour (I used regular, but a hair less)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I omitted this b/c I used salted butter)
  
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I'm lame and used bottled)
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon rind
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (I used 3 tablespoons and think even less could be used without harm)

1. To make filling, combine cornstarch, cake flour, salt, and sugar in a medium nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 2 cups cold water. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from heat. Temper egg yolks by beating a small amount of hot mixture into the yolks before adding them to pan. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from heat, and whisk in the lemon juice and rind. Add the butter one piece at a time. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and let cool.
4. Pour the filling into the cooled shell and refrigerate, covered with aluminum foil, until firm, about 1 hour.

Standard Meringue Topping (Non-stovetop)

5 egg whites, allowed to sit until at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
3/4 cup sugar

Combine the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla and beat until soft peaks form. Continue beating and gradually add the sugar, beating until glossy, stiff peaks form. (Don't be in a hurry like me and only reach stiffly soft peaks...) Spread the meringue over the cooled pie, taking care to spread all the way to the crust's edge to avoid weeping. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until golden-brown. Cool completely and serve. Lemon meringue pies are best the day they're made, otherwise the crust becomes soggy and meringue may fall.

(This picture, though, was taken the next day, and the pie was still finger-lickin' good.)

Sticky Caramel Rolls

Millie wanted to try sticky rolls for Easter morning, so I made these- sans pecans that we didn't have-- and they're yummy. But then, I imagine it's hard for a food that is mostly sweet dough, cinnamon-sugar, and caramel to be anything but yummy.


After being inverted onto a plate, in wan, electric light, they look like this.



A trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook was the source for this recipe.

Rolls4 to 4 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast (about 2 and 1/4 tsp.)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, softened (I used a bit more)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I increase the cinnamon-sugar mixture by at least a third, and I use brown sugar rather than white for a richer flavor.)

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat and stir milk, the 1/3 cup sugar, the 1/3 cup butter, and salt just till warm (120 -130 degrees) and the butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed three minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic. Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double in size.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. cover and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the caramel below and spread in the pans.

Roll each portion of the dough into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Spread the softened 3 tablespoons (or more) butter over dough, and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting from a long side. Seal the seam and slice each roll into 12 equal pieces. Pl;ace in prepared pans and let rise in a warm place till nearly double.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Do not overbake. Immediately inverted baked rolls from the pan. Eat. (I believe these are best eaten fresh.)

***These may be prepared the night before, as I did. Simply cover shaped rolls loosely with plastic wrap, leaving room for them to rise. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, uncover them and let them stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking.

Caramel
(I usually increase this to 1 and 1/2 of a batch)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
2/3 cup chopped pecans, opt.

Heat and stir over medium heat until combined. Divide between two 9 1/2-inch round baking pans. Sprinkle 1/3 cup chopped pecans in each pan, if desired; set aside until rolls are shaped.

Streusel-topped Cheesy Broccoli

I really liked this broccoli, and it's my new favorite way to eat little trees. It's much more flavorful than the typical cheesy broccoli casserole, due mostly to the savory streusel topping seasoned with garlic, onion, spicy mustard, and parmesan.



1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds of broccoli florets

Streusel Topping
2 tablespoons butter
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 -1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
@ three slices of fresh bread (I used oat) broken into smallish crumbs
Parmesan cheese, salt, and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Cheese Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
@ 2 cups milk
4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
salt, freshly ground pepper, ground cayenne, and ground nutmeg, to taste

Cook broccoli in boiling water for about 3 minutes until slightly cooked but still firm. Drain and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in butter over medium-low heat until onion is translucent. Add the mustards and the bread crumbs. Fry until crumbs begin to turn golden and then season with salt, pepper, and parmesan. Set aside.

For the sauce, prepare a basic white sauce by melting the butter in a pan and then stirring in the flour. Whisk in the milk and cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens, whisking constantly. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne and add the grated cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and is incorporated completely, forming a smooth sauce.

Layer the broccoli in the bottom of a baking dish and spread the cheese sauce on top before sprinkling the bread crumb topping over it all. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the topping is nicely browned and toasted.



I added more mustard, garlic, etc., to taste as I made this, and the cheese sauce is just a guide. I usually just wing cheese sauces, so I'm not entire sure how much milk I added. It wasn't as thick a sauce as I'd normally make, but since it had additional baking in the oven, it turned out to be a perfect consistency.

Sour Cherry Sauce for Ham

This is a most excellent fruit sauce for ham. My mom's been serving it to us every holiday ham dinner since I can remember, and the tart sweetness of the sauce combined with the salty sweetness of the ham is heavenly. I'd love to give you her exact recipe, but I can't, because she doesn't have one. Here's the basic idea, though, thanks again to the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

A jar of sour cherries, canned by Mopsy, pitted and drained (Okay, I guess the cherries don't have to come from my mom)
3 tbsp. brown sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash of ground cloves
1 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon vinegar
a few drops of red food coloring, opt.

In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in apple juice, vinegar, and, if desired, food coloring. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Stir in as many of the drained cherries as looks right (the cookbook recommends 16 oz.). Heat through. Serve warm spooned over ham. Makes 2 and 1/4 cups sauce.

Spiced Honey Glaze for Ham

The glaze I used for the ham this year couldn't be simpler, and it's yummy, to boot. Any amount of brown sugar, honey, butter, and cloves could be used, depending on which flavor you want to be most pronounced, and a bit of ground mustard could also be added.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp. cloves, plus more to taste
a few smidges of ground mustard
dash nutmeg

Increase these amounts depending on the size of your ham, and before placing ham into the oven, stud it all over with whole cloves.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, while stirring, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.

Baste the ham with the glaze before placing in the oven and continue to baste about every fifteen minutes until the ham is done. (I wasn't home to do this, so I just basted it once at the beginning and then liberally slapped more on when I got home for the last 1/2 hour of cooking.) The heat may be turned up for the last ten minutes or so of cooking time if the glaze hasn't caramelized sufficiently.

Cream-Filled Crepes with Blueberry Sauce

Sundays aren't included in the forty days of Lent, so I've been using blueberries frozen and hoarded from last summer to make special breakfasts. Even I think I erred on the side of sweet this past Sunday. We ate these for breakfast, but in the future, I think I'll reserve this recipe for guests, fancy brunches, or dessert. (Ha! Like I've EVER hosted a fancy brunch...)

Growing up, I always made, and still make, what we Johnsons called "Swedish Pancakes" for breakfast. We'd drown them in syrup or spread them with jam and eat them all rolled up in a coil. It turns out that our "Swedish Pancakes" were essentially other people's crepes, which are used for breakfast dishes and-- you guessed it-- desserts.

So, here's a sweet-lover's breakfast meal or a sourpuss's dessert. Either way, it's pretty decadent.

Cream Filling

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used light)
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (almond or lemon could be substituted)

Blend well and set aside.



And here's the Johnson recipe for Swedish Pancakes, or, if you're fancy, crepes. I doubled this amount to make about 8-10 pancakes of medium thickness.

3 eggs
1 and 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Whisk eggs and milk together. Sift dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture. Whisk until well-blended. Alter the amount of flour or milk depending on your desired consistency. Heat a lightly greased pan and add batter. The amount of batter you add depends on how thin you want your crepes/pancakes. For very thin pancakes, use 2 tablespoons batter for an 8-inch pan. I usually use more because they're easier to flip and handle for impatient people like me when they're a bit thicker, but don't make them so thick that they turn into rubbery regular pancakes. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat the bottom with batter. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer for thin pancakes. Keep warm in a slightly heated oven.

When the pan-crepes are finished, spread a dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the center and fold from each side until the folded pan-crepe is rectangular in shape. If not serving immediately, place seam side down in a lightly greased baking pan and return to the warm oven, otherwise place on a plate and serve immediately with blueberry sauce spooned on top.

* A few alterations I may make next time:
The filling was quite rich and sweet. Don't misunderstand me; it was good, and we smacked our lips through breakfast, but next time, I might substitute half of the cream cheese with cottage cheese to lighten it up.

* I also might use less sugar in the berry sauce, to taste, but by then my sweet tooth could have adjusted in response.

Blueberry Sauce

Clarence Scrivner of Hartsburg, Missouri sent this recipe into a cookbook and called it Blueberry Sauce Supreme. Thanks, Clarence. It has a hint of orange due to the concentrate, and it works well over the crepes. Reduce the sugar if you desire, perhaps to 1/4 cup.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

In a saucepan, combine sugar, orange juice concentrate, and cornstarch; stir until smooth. Add blueberries and bring to a boil. Boil for two minutes, stirring constantly. Spoon over crepes and serve.

York-like Peppermint Patties

If you, like me, love York Peppermint Patties, then you'll love these candies. If you don't, then you won't, pure and simple.

Speaking of simple, this recipe is as simple a one for candy as they come, and soooo good (for those of you who love York Peppermint Patties, that is).

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon peppermint extract
6 cups confectioners' sugar
Additional confectioners' sugar
1 - 12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips (I always use more than this, at least 18 oz, more often 24 oz to be safe)

1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

In large mixer bowl, combine sweetened, condensed milk and extract. Add 6 cups sugar; beat on low speed until smooth and well blended. Mixture will be very stiff, and I often knead mine a bit with my (sticky) hands to incorporate all the sugar. Turn mixture onto surface sprinkled with confectioners sugar. Knead lightly to form smooth ball. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place
2 inches apart on wax paper-lined baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a flat-bottomed glass into a roughly 1 ½-inch patty.

Let dry 1 hour or longer; turn over and let dry at least 1 hour. Melt the
chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave until halfway melted. Stir halfway
through the heating time. Do not overheat or chocolate will scorch. If you want to take the time to properly temper the chocolate (which will prevent chocolate from "blooming," developing streaks, or losing its sheen), omit the shortening and melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler over low heat. [Follow online instructions for tempering chocolate, because I'm too tired to type them out at this late hour, and, to be honest, I'm usually too tired to temper the chocolate, too.] With fork, dip each patty into warm chocolate (draw fork lightly across rim of bowl to remove excess coating). Invert onto wax paper lined baking sheets; let stand until firm. Store covered at room temperature or in refrigerator. Makes at least 4 dozen.

Buckeyes

Here's another simple candy recipe, only this time the flavor favors lovers of peanut butter. If you like peanut butter, you'll love this candy; if you don't....you get the idea, right?




1/2 cup butter, softened
1 and 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
confectioner's sugar (one pound, though I use less)
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (as with the mint patties, I melt more-- 1 and 1/2 to 2 bags, to make sure I've got enough)

Cream butter, p.b., and vanilla. Add enough confectioner's sugar until a good consistency is reached. Whatever you do, don't add sugar until you think the dough will be easiest to handle, because these candies are best when the filling is still soft enough to fool you into thinking it melts in your mouth. Add only enough sugar to make it possible to roll the dough into balls that will hold their spherical shape.

Roll into one-inch balls and place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet. Melt the chips and shortening in an identical manner as in the peppermint patty recipe above, or be crazy, omit the shortening, and temper the chocolate like Martha would never fail to do. Dip the balls into chocolate and cover them about 3/4 of the way, either by using a toothpick poked into the top (which will leave a funny little hole) or by dipping them using a fork (which may leave some of the bottoms unevenly covered, unless you have a bonafide candy dipping fork, which I don't). Who needs a candy fork. These are yummy with or without even chocolate coverings, so go and make some. Now. And then give me some.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

These are worthy of multiple breakfasts and taste like a dessert when served plain-- you'd never know they're full of wheat germ-- but when covered with plain yogurt that's been flavored with vanilla and sweetened with sugar, they're even better. Top THAT with sliced bananas, and you've got yourself something that you might start finding excuses to make more than once a week.



I lifted this recipe from a Bon Appetit reader named Kelsey. I can't give her more credit because I ripped it out of the magazine and left her full name behind. Thank you, Ms. Kelsey, or Kelsey Somebody-or-Other, whatever the name may be. (And for those of you who think I vandalized a magazine, it was my own magazine from the subscription sent me by a mysterious [mom-in-law] elf.)

I'm really happy to have discovered these pancakes for two reasons.
One- they are, quite simply, yummy, and could stand in for dessert
Two- they are, quite simply, healthy, and could stand in for, oh, I don't know, something healthy



They are not a fluffy pancake, mind you, and perhaps the title Griddle Cake would be more suitable, though they're made in a pan and not a griddle. I'm making no sense, I know, but it's very late...

Without further ado, here's the recipe.

1 and 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
5 tablespoons butter (I used only three tablespoons, and perhaps even less could be used)
1 and 1/3 cups flour (I used nearly 1 cup flour and substituted quick oats for the rest)
2/3 cup toasted wheat germ (I used raw wheat germ)
1 cup brown sugar (I used 3/4 of a cup)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 (generous) tsp. salt
1/4 (generous) tsp. nutmeg

1 and 1/2 cups diced fruit, optional, to mix into the batter (I just added fruit to the top of the cooked pancakes instead)

Stir water, oats , and butter, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook until mixture is very thick, stirring constantly, about five minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let sit 15 minutes or until cooled. Stir in flour (and quick oats, if substituting), sugar, wheat germ,. eggs, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Batter will be very thick. Mix in fruit, if desired.

Heat pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Melt a bit of butter in pan and drop batter onto griddle in 1/3 to 1/2 cup amounts (this will vary according the cook). Spread batter into rounds and cook until brown and cooked through, flipping halfway through.

Spicy Shrimp and Rice

I blame this dish on both John and Sarah. Last May, she served our family a yummy meal that had shrimp in it and casually mentioned that she'd bought the shrimp at Aldi. Now, I've eaten shrimp maybe four times in my life, and, though I think it's yummy, it's not something I browse through at grocery stores. I don't browse through grocery stores at all; I arrive with an agenda, fight my way through the hordes to reach what's on my list, and arrive back at the van, usually unharmed.

Last week, however, I saved money in other areas, and Saturday found me insecurely browsing through the shrimp in an Aldi freezer case, wondering if the least expensive shrimp were less healthy or tasty than the plump ones. Three cheers for stingy Ebenezer!

John's to blame, too, because after his employer sent him to a conference at a fancy hotel and paid for meals eaten at the restaurant of his choice, he's been mumbling about spicy shrimp in his sleep. So, thanks to Sarah's knowledge of all things seafood and John's nighttime murmurs, I trawled the internet recipe archives, made spicy shrimp and rice, and I even enjoyed it.

Below, I give the rough amounts of the spices I used, but after I adjusted spices to what I thought was the perfect amount, I shoveled in loads more cayenne and black pepper, because I knew that John would beam at me for it. He did, and that beam was worth the burn. If you or someone you love is like John, add even more cayenne, to taste. If you don't like things that spicy, reduce the amounts below accordingly.

a bag of cheap, foreign shrimp, the kind that's fully cooked and frozen (I think it was 10 or 12 oz of the teensy 70-90/lb shrimp )
1 tsp. cayenne, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
3/4 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
@ 6-8 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced or pressed
@ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup butter

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Saute the minced garlic in butter for 30 seconds to a minute. Add the rest of the spices, and stir in the thawed shrimp (remove their tails before you dump them in if you want to avoid removing them during supper). Cook until heated through and serve alongside the rice below.

4 and 1/2 cups cooked rice
After cooking, flavor the rice with at least one tablespoon lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne, salt, and butter, to taste. Add enough lemon juice to cut through the spice and to balance out the crazy-hot shrimp that are about to join it.

Eat while saying, "Ow! Good! OW! Too spicy! GOOD!" at your beaming husband.

Chiles Rellenos

*Edit: We've since made this using hot peppers AND regular ol' green garden peppers, which pleases the younger set of the family enormously. It's a yummy way to use up a bounty of peppers and is received better than the more common and infamous "stuffed peppers."


Not only does John think my chiles rellenos are better than those of the fancy-schmancy Mexican restaurant in the city, but this is one of his most favorite meals now. The humdinger is that I found myself surprised by the fact that it is now also one of my favorites. I've been craving it, and if we had hot peppers hiding in our snow-shrouded garden and if I was excited about gaining 20 more pounds in the next two months, I'd eat this meal a few times a week.

These really are delicious, and the sauce is so good, I could happily eat it plain. The batter around the peppers is an unusual one for me, made only of eggs. It is light and airy, with an almost spongy consistency, rather than the thicker coating that one usual finds in fried foods. The sauce is a heavenly mixture of spicy and sweet. (I'm hungry just thinking about it.) And the rice? Well...it's rice!

@ 6 Poblano and 4 Anaheim peppers (or the equivalent amount of others), roasted and seeds and skin removed
6-8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese (we just use part of an 8 oz. block from Aldi), cut into sticks nearly the length of the peppers
6 eggs, separated
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
canola oil, for frying

Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and roast before removing the skins. Mix the flour and salt in a small bowl. (Meanwhile, prepare rice and sauce. I usually cook up 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups dry rice.) Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold in yolks. Heat canola oil in fryer or in deep pot on the stove, to a two-inch minimum depth. When oil sizzles when a pinch of flour is dropped into it, it is hot enough. Wrap peppers around cheese, roll in the flour mixture, and carefully coat with the egg batter. Drop in the oil and fry until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels and then set aside on a wire cooling rack on top of a rimmed cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven to remain hot until all peppers are done.

Serve over rice and top with sauce. Eat immediately, and then scoop out seconds.

* The first time I made this, I used jalepenos from our garden. Too hot! The last two times our garden was barren, and we bought Poblano and Anaheim peppers. Some were too mild, perhaps the Anaheim. For ease of preparation, Poblanos are best, because they are the biggest and easier to wrap completely around the cheese.

* I find the easiest way to roast peppers is to simply broil them close the the heat until the skin is charred and bubbly. Turn them for even roasting, and then the skin is easy to remove. (There are internet tutorials with pictures somewhere, too; I'm just not good enough to provide them!)

* When working with hot peppers, one should use gloves, as the acid from them can burn fingers and hands. I know from experience that this is no old wive's tale...



Red Sauce

About 20 small romas, peeled and seeded (The first time, I used our garden goods, but the last two times, I used the equivalent of home-canned tomatoes-- perhaps a quart and a half-- with excellent results. I left in some of the liquid so that I could simmer the sauce down and let the flavors meld.)
one onion, chopped
8 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
olive oil
1 tsp. salt.
@ 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I've noticed the last several times, I've added more than this, to taste)
several shakes ground cloves
ground cayenne, to taste
a few shakes of garlic powder, to taste

Saute onion in a bit of olive oil until tender. Add garlic and spices and saute for about 30 seconds to a minute. Add tomatoes, break them down with a spoon, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until sauce is reduced to your liking.

* If using fresh tomatoes- ah, summer!- then pop the tomatoes in boiling water for about one minute before slipping them out of their skins. I don't bother with the seeding for either fresh or canned tomatoes. Just dump 'em in; no one will notice except Martha, and I doubt she's eating at any of our places on a regular basis.

Chicken Mole

I post this in response to your request, Mateo. Me gusta pollo con mole! Millie actually likes this better than any of us, and since the time I made it a month and a half ago, she's requested it about a dozen times. Go figure. Many thanks to Paula Deen, whose Quick Chicken Mole recipe I used as a base to which I added and subtracted ingredients. 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, chopped at least 6 cloves fresh garlic, chopped or put through garlic press @ 1 and 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. sea salt @ 2 tsp. freshly grated orange zest ground cayenne pepper, to taste 1 can diced tomatoes, drained (I used home-canned tomatoes, to taste, about a pint?) 2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped (I used about 1/3 cup poblano chiles, roughly chopped, because we had some leftover from making chiles rellenos) 1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth (Boil the chicken carcass to make the broth!!!) 2 tablespoons peanut butter 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1 (5-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces Sesame seeds and queso blanco, for garnish Corn tortillas or white rice, for serving Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and briefly saute to develop flavor (don't overcook the garlic, however). Add diced tomatoes, chipotles, broth, spices, orange zest, peanut butter, and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes. Puree until smooth. I went so far as to find a recipe for homemade corn tortillas before I came to my senses and served it with white rice. We also had no sesame seeds, and our queso blanco was highest quality monterey jack block cheese from Aldi. :) A few suggestions: if serving with corn tortillas, the amount of sauce is sufficient; if serving with rice, double the sauce. You'll need it. Second: add more cayenne if your hot peppers, like ours, were simply not hot enough. Third: Add or subtract to your liking! This dish is quite similar to the one we had in New York City, but as that's my only experience with chicken mole, I don't have any other standard to compare this to. De nada!

The Best Home-Baked, Thin-Crusted Pizza Yet

This is completely and totally not an original recipe, and I'm so glad I stumbled across it. Many thanks to Deb of Smitten Kitchen!

John grew up eating really, really good thin-crust pizza from local Italian places on Long Island. The puffy, thick-pepperoni-ed upstate NY pizzas were a new experience for him, and, honestly, having now tasted those really, really good downstate pizzas myself, I can say there's no comparison. Upstate pizzerias aren't necessarily bad, and some are downright wonderful (Mama Guiseppa's, we laud you for your upstate presence!), but the yummy dough and tomato sauce that most serve doesn't compare to thin-crust pizza with from-scratch sauce.

This isn't really like that pizza, either, but it's the best homemade pizza I've ever made, and I'll keep making it until (if) something better comes along.

We double/triple the following. If you have more than two people living in your household, you'll have to do the same.
*My notes in italics

[Deb's] Pizza, Updated

Yield: One small, thin-crust pizza

Dough
6 tablespoons warm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more water)
2 tablespoons white wine (I use white cooking wine)
¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
½ teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups flour

Assembly
Cornmeal for sprinkling
Flour for dusting counter
½ pound torn-up buffalo mozzarella (as much as I'd like to do the same, we use the cheapest, regular mozzarella available in bulk. For shame!)
Few leaves of torn-up basil

Of course, top this as you would any other pizza, with your choice of favorites.

Whisk wine, water and yeast in a medium bowl until yeast has dissolved. Add honey, salt and olive oil and stir. Add flour and no matter how dry it looks, work it with a spoon and your fingers until it comes together as a dough. Add more water one tablespoon at a time if you need, but in my experience, this is almost never necessary.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter and knead the dough for a minute or two.

If you’re like me and always trying to reduce the number of dirty dishes left at the end of the night, wash the bowl you made the dough in, dry it and coat the inside with olive oil. Put the dough in, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise for an hour or up to two, until it is doubled.

[Easiest way to tell if a dough has risen enough? Dip two fingers in flour, press them into the dough, and if the impression stays, it’s good to go. If it pops back, let it go until it doesn’t.]

Meanwhile, make some sauce [recipe below].

Preheat your oven to its highest temperature. If you have a pizza stone, sprinkle it with cornmeal and put it in the oven. Otherwise, sprinkle a baking pan with the same.

Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured counter and gently deflate the dough with the palm of your hands. Form it into a ball and let it rest on a floured spot with either plastic wrap over it (sprinkle the top of the dough with flour so it doesn’t stick) or an upended bowl. In 15 minutes, it is ready to roll out.

Do so on the floured counter until pretty darn thin, then lift it onto a cornmeal-sprinkled baking sheet or pizza paddle. Add the sauce, torn-up mozzarella and slivers of fresh basil.

Slide the pizza from the paddle to your preheated pizza stone, or just put the baking sheet in the oven as is.

Bake for about 10 minutes, checking at 7. Slice and serve immediately.

[Deb's] Moderately Easy Tomato Sauce

4 roma tomatoes
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced (I use more garlic than this)
Pinch of red pepper flakes (Ground cayenne, to taste, will also work)
Splash of white wine (again, I just use cooking wine)
½ teaspoon sugar
¾ teaspoon salt

Bring medium pot of water to a boil. Poach the tomatoes for one minute only, and then drain them. As soon as they are cooled off enough that you can touch them, peel them. The peels should come right off. If they don’t, make a slit in the skins. This always does the trick.

Drain and dry the pot. Put it back on the burner over medium heat. Pour in olive oil and let it heat completely before adding the garlic and stirring it for a minute with a wooden spoon. Add the red pepper flakes and stir it for anther minute. You do not want the garlic to brown. Put the peeled tomatoes in the pot, along with the wine, sugar and salt. Break the tomatoes up with your spoon.

Let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down. Carefully taste without burning your tongue and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Makes enough for one small/medium pizza.

Abby again with the italics:
* I love having extra sauce for dipping, and I hate not having quite enough for the dough, so I usually make one and a half or twice the amount of sauce.
* During the summer, I used fresh garden tomatoes, but this winter, I've used the equivalent of home-canned tomatoes, and it's just as yummy.

*** THE LAST TIME I MADE THIS, inspired by Mama Guiseppa's, I topped the sauce and cheese with very thinly sliced, fresh garlic cloves. John said it was the best pizza I'd ever made, and as I like garlic, I agreed.

Garlic and Herb Cherry tomatoes

Sigh. Looking at these summertime pictures of summertime food is killing me. I can't wait to make this again this summer. The recipe comes to us from the Barefoot Contessa. I don't really know who she is, but John has a television in the room at work, and though they can't see much on it, it has audio. Being the tomato lover he is, he printed this recipe out and brought it home.

I loved these, but John decided he still likes cherry tomatoes best uncooked, straight from the garden, by the dozen, and unadulterated by anything but copious amount of shaken salt.

3 tbsp. good olive oil
2 cloves freshly minced garlic
2 pints cheery tomatoes (I just grabbed an apronful from the garden....sob!)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp. chipped fresh parsley (I think I added less, with a bit more basil instead)
2 tespoons chopped fresh thyme (I didn't grow thyme, so I omitted this)
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan large enough to hold all the tomatoes in one layer. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to loose their firm round shape. Sprinkle with a little fresh chopped basil and parsley and serve hot or at room temperature.

YUM!

Cumin-spiked Hummus

I created this at two in the morning the first time, and guests loved it. The second time, I made it a day ahead, and people still requested the recipe, so I assure you that you can make it at anytime of the day, and it will be tasty.

2 15-oz. cans garbanzo beans, juice reserved
4-5 plump cloves fresh garlic, finely minced or pressed
a few tablespoons tahini
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 and 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, to taste
@ 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
@ 1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (in wonderful summertime) or a tsp. dried parsley.
a few pinches of sea salt, to taste
generous drizzle of olive oil
reserved garbanzo juice



Puree garbanzo beans until smooth. Add garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and remaining spices, and puree again. Add olive oil while pureeing and add as much reserved garbanzo juice as needed to make the desired consistency. Serve with crackers or pita wedges.

*I usually taste-test this before adding the reserved garbanzo juice, because sometimes it needs another splash or two of lemon juice first.

Gingerbread Scones

I like gingerbread. I like scones. I like gingerbread scones served whipped cream and tea.

2 cups flour
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, separated

sugar

In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, combine the molasses, milk, and egg yolk until smooth; stir into the flour mixture just until moistened. Turn on to a floured surface; knead gently 6-8 times. Pat into an 8-inch circle; cut into 12 wedges and place 1 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Beat egg white until frothy; brush over the scones and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with whipped cream (or, if you're lame like me, serve with lumpy, faux Devonshire cream).

Key Lime Pie

John and I are great lovers of key lime pie, and, for a funny reason I won't divulge here, it has special significance to us, so when John's mom brought some limes on a summer visit, I set some aside for this pie. Although some recipes I've made are in reality lime-meringue pie (a kissing cousin to this), this recipe is the genuine article, which, according to Martha, has changed very little in the years since it was first created, although the ratio of condensed milk to lime juice varies slightly. It's only too bad I use regular limes in these pies instead of tiny key limes. I love citrus pies: lime meringue, lemon meringue, orange meringue (someday), but Key Lime pie takes the cake...er, pie....for me.

The filling is perfectly tart-sweet, with the balance slightly in favor of tart.  Creamy and addictive, I find it hard to resist eating it all as I spoon it into the crust.  If you have similar weaknesses, may I suggest you exercise control, because it tastes even dreamier layered between graham cracker crust and freshly whipped cream. 

Now I want to go make myself a pie for breakfast.

Key Lime Pie

Prepare a graham cracker crust.
-6 oz. graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
-2 tbsp. sugar
-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
-2 and 1/2 oz. butter, melted
Mix the above and spread into a lightly-greased 9" pie plate.

Bake the crust in a 325-degree oven for five minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

Filling:
-1 and 3/4 cups canned sweetened condensed milk*
-1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
-finely grated zest of 3 limes
-4 egg yolks

*Yup, you read that right.  Easy CANNED ingredient!  It's okay, though.  Remember, Martha says so.

-Heavy cream, for whipping, at least a half-pint.
-Sugar, to lightly sweeten the whipped cream

Beat the condensed milk, lime juice, lime zest, and egg yolks together in a bowl until well blended. Remove the crumb crust from the oven, pour the filling into the crumb crust, and spread out to the edge. Return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until the filling is set around the edge but still wobbly in the center.

Let cool completely on a wire rack, then cover and let chill for at least two hours. Prepare the whipped cream:  you know, whip and whip and add sugar, a leetle bit at a time, until you're satisfied.  This means you'll have to taste the whipped cream, probably repeatedly-- DEFINITELY repeatedly-- to make sure.  

Serve pie spread thickly with whipped cream.  Garnish with additional lime zest if desired.

*I've also frozen this by the slice and enjoyed it as icy key-lime pie.

Cheeseburger Soup

Far more savory and not at all greasy as its name implies, I post this delicious recipe for Leah. My mom makes this soup, along with many others, in the fall and winter months, and it's packed with flavor. I've only made it a handful of times because though John's growing favor now includes a wide range of soups, it still boycotts those soups that have a creamy or cheesy base. The girls and I smack our lips and eat it when he has to work late...

It serves as a perfect supper served with homemade biscuits or rolls. Really, as with all soups, homemade bread of any kind is a great complement.

Saute the following together until cooked and tender:
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery (I skip this b/c we rarely buy celery)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. parsley
1/2- 1 lb. ground beef

White Sauce:
3-4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 and 1/2 cups milk

Melt butter in pan, stir in flour, whisk in milk and stir until thickened and bubbly. To this sauce add 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 2 cups diced or shredded American cheese (I usually use sharp orange or white cheddar to add more flavor).

In three cups of chicken broth, cook 4 cups diced potatoes (peeled if you must) until tender. Add the white sauce mixture to the broth, stir together until mixed, and add 1/4 cup sour cream (fat free doesn't harm anything).

Mix and heat until warmed through. Breathe in the aromas and serve immediately.

*I usually add 5 minced fresh garlic cloves while cooking the onion and ground beef together.  I also use more carrot than the recipe calls for.

*I use a couple tablespoons of frozen-fresh parsley from the summer garden instead of the dried stuff.  Ditto for the basil.

*This is excellent with added chopped kale.  Excellent! 

* Due to reasons of thrift, health, and, sometimes, not enough cheese in the fridge, I've only made this ONE time with the full battery of cheese. Usually, I cut back quite significantly on the amount of cheese, and the soup is still scrumdiddlyumptious.

Lemon Bars

This is another food I never thought I would love so well. I first made lemon bars from this recipe a couple of years ago, and, without fail, a few times every winter I'm struck with a sudden and undeniable hankering for them. I don't make dessert regularly for our family, and most dessert recipes on buildabelly are due to company or get-togethers, but these lemon bars usurp the norm. I usually ONLY make these for us.

We prefer them completely cooled.




Crust:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour

Update: I always add more lemon juice to the topping now, in order to increase the lemon punch, and then a tad more flour to keep the consistency similar.

Topping:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
cherry flavoring oil, if desired (*this comes in an eensy bottle and is usually used for flavoring candy, so it's highly concentrated)

Additional confectioners' sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add flour; beat until crumbly. Press into an ungreased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, for topping,. combine eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice, extract, baking powder, salt, and flavoring, if desired, in a mixing bowl. Beat until frothy. Pour over the hot crust and bake at 375 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a light golden brown. Cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Eat until there are none left to eat (I just may be endorsing gluttony here...).

* I began adding a few drops of cherry flavoring oil, to taste, when I first made these because I had no lemon extract. Now I add it in addition to the lemon extract and it makes these bars even better.