Spiced Plum Pie

Voila the spiced plum pie! I had wanted to make this pie for a long time, but the Robber likes so many other pies it is hard to get around to new ones sometimes. He left town and I wanted to make him a peach pie for his return out of my great love for him, but the peaches at the store were nowhere near ripe so shoot, shoot I just had to buy plums. And then I had to make plum pie. And my, oh my, was it so delicious! This is one of those pies that is going to be a strong favorite of mine forever, whether the Robber ever overcomes his preference for pecans or not.

A must. From Epicurious (with a few adjustments):

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spiced-Plum-Pie-232397

Ingredients:

Unbaked pie crust of choice (used Tender Pie Crust)

3 T. plus 1 C. granulated sugar

1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon, divided

4 T. cornstarch

2 tsp. (packed) finely grated orange peel

3/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. salt (I used a dash)

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. plums, haved, pitted, each half cut into 6-8 wedges.

2 T. whipping cream (or egg white, or egg yolk) for brushing crust

Directions:

1. Roll out 1 pie crust disk on floured surface to 13 1/2-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Refrigerate crust while preparing filling.

2. Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Place foil-lined baking sheet in bottom of oven to catch any spills. 

3. Mix 3 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl; set aside. 

4. Whisk 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and next 6 ingredients in large bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean. Add plums and toss to coat. (This is where I recommend macerating for at least two hours then draining off the excess liquid before pouring into the crust. That way your pie will be way way less goopy and it has worked consistently for me to do it like this, even though you end up wasting spices that way. You could always just macerate in sugar and then add less spices to the macerated fruit. Whatevs. But if you don't macerate, expect a goopy pie no matter how much cornstarch.) Spoon filling into crust, mounding slightly in center.

5. Roll out second pie crust disk on floured surface to 13 1/2-inch round. Drape crust over filling; trim overhang to 1 inch. Press top and bottom crust edges together. Fold edges under; crimp. Using sharp knife, cut four 2-inch-long slits in center of top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust (but not edges) with cream. Sprinkle reserved cinnamon sugar over crust. (I actually used turbinado sugar, not the cinnamon sugar, on my pie crust and it was excellent.)

6. Bake pie 30-45 minutes. Tent pie loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning. Continue to bake until filling bubbles thickly through slits, about 1 hour longer. Cool completely on rack.

Chicken Tikka Masala ala the Robber

The Robber made this awesome chicken tikka masala, and just the chicken alone would make a pretty awesome meal, quoth the Robber. "What I would almost want to do," says he, "the grilled chicken is always super tasty coming right off the grill and I think the chicken tikka masala is going to be better on day 2, so we should make extra chicken and eat it fresh with rice and veggies and use the leftover chicken in the masala sauce." Good logic Robber!

For the marinade:

Ingredients:

3 lbs. chicken, boneless skinless breast and thigh meat

2 C. plain yogurt

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1) Pound the chicken to flatten it and prepare it for the marinade. Mix together the yogurt and spices. Pour the marinade over the washed chicken and refrigerate overnight.

Next day:

2) Take the chicken out and scrape off the yogurt. Heavily salt the outside of the chicken according to your salting preferences.

3) You can broil or grill the chicken.

-- To broil: Cover the inside and edges of a baking dish with tin foil. Broil for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

-- To grill: Heat the grill on high, once the grill is maximum temperature (20 min or so) put the chicken on, let it cook for two minutes and flip it, then allow it to cook two minutes more. May need to cook additional minutes if not done.

4) When chicken is cool, chop into desired size of pieces for dish.

For the sauce:

Ingredients:

1 C. heavy cream

2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 onion, chopped

1 T. minced garlic

2 tsp. ground cumin

1-2 tsp. paprika

1-2 tsp. chili powder

2-4 tsp. garam masala

1-2 T. white sugar

Optional: additional cayenne pepper

Optional: 1/4 C. ground almonds

Directions:

1) Saute onion and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until onion becomes translucent. Add spices. Stir fry 1-2 min more.

2) Add in tomatoes (including juice) and sugar. Simmer for 10-20 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Add in cream. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

3) Add chicken. Simmer for another 10 minutes until ready to serve.

Serve over basmati or brown rice.

Plum Rhubarb Custard Pie

You know once I saw this I couldn't pass it up, right? That's how I feel about rhubarb these days. The store here in California has SO MUCH relatively cheap big red rhubarb I feel like I HAVE TO buy it, because sometimes you can go a whole summer and never get good rhubarb. So we have been a-feasting on rhubarb (I made a straight rhubarb pie last week) and I am loving it. The plums are a plenty too, so why not put the two together? I have this in the oven baking and my husband in the bed sleeping all in the same Cubby room together and life is good.

From Confessions of a Cardamom Addict: http://cardamomaddict.blogspot.com/2011/06/plum-rhubarb-custard-pie.html

Ingredients:

For the crust

2.5 C. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

2/3 C. very cold (frozen, preferably) butter

1/3 C. very cold (frozen, preferably) lard

4-6 T. ice water

For the fruit

2 C. rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces

3-4 firm purple/black plums, chopped into 1cm pieces

1/2 C. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

For the custard

1 1/4 C. table cream (18% cream) or milk (I used half-and-half)

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

1/2 C. sugar

1 T. cornmeal

Directions:

For the crust

1. Mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Grate in the butter and lard and then rub into the flour mixture.

2. Sprinkle in enough water so the dough comes together. Form a ball and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For the fruit mixture

1. Mix all the fruit ingredients together into a saucepan. Over a medium flame, bring to a bubble, stirring occasionally, and let cook for about 10 minutes or until the rhubarb softens and the juices are thick. Take off the heat and let cool.

For the custard:

1. Add the cardamom to the cream or milk. Scald the cream, take it off the heat and let cool.

2. Beat the eggs into the sugar. Keep on beating as you dribble in the slightly cooled cream.

3. Remove about a quarter cup of the mixture and mix in the cornflour to make a slurry.

4. Rinse out and dry the saucepan in which you scalded the cream. Return the cream mixture (the one without the cornmeal) to the pan. Over a low flame, stir the custard for a few minutes. Add the slurry and keep on stirring until thick and the custard coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool.

To assemble

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll out the pastry to fit a 10" x 2" tin. Blind bake for 20 minutes.

2. Spoon in the fruit mixture and then pour the custard over top. Level as best as you can and bake for 30 minutes. The pie is done when the custard is just set.

3. Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly before slicing. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if you wish.

Notes: You can use pluots or apriums instead of plums, and omit the cardamom or substitute vanilla powder instead if you like.

Post-Edit: This was good, but you definitely have to let it set up overnight before it will be anything but runny! I think next time I make it I will omit the cardamom (it's good but the Robber didn't favor it), spice it more traditionally, and 1.5 or double the custard while appropriately reducing the fruit while cutting the custard into the fruit slightly. Sadly the rhubarb is already gone so the re-make will have to wait until next year.

Citrus Pear Pie

I have had my eye on this recipe now for a few months, and a belated spring Easter dinner with Bob seemed the perfect time to try it out, especially with Bob around to help zest the lemons. He is a natural zester. Who knew?

I used my standard pie crust, but include their pie crust recipe just for future reference. This website is really into cold corn oil in their crusts. Maybe some day I'll be tempted to try it out, but for now I'm happy with my pie crust and Bob is happy with it so I don't feel like rocking the boat.

This is from the same place I got the boozy Liz banana pie recipe. They make a convincing argument in favor of pear pies. I have never even had a pear pie before and they list at least five different recipes! Very strange. The website advises using Anjou and Bartlett pears, but not too ripe! If you use Bartlett, you have to use more thickening as they are juicier. I used three Anjou and three red pears, just for effect. Here's the link:

http://everythingpies.com/citrus-pear-pie.html

The red pears were so pretty in the final baked pie. What is funny about this pie is that the Robber loved it more than I did. Since when does that happen for a fruit pie? He raved about it. It was good, light, and yet with an interesting flavor but wasn't my favorite fruit pie. None-the-less, because the Robber loved it so much I will be making it again. If I make it again I think I will increase the zest, add just a little bit of lime zest, macerate the pears first, and then boil down the released juices and add them back in so that the pie retains more of the lemon flavor. I also baked the pie for much longer than the recommended time (for an hour at the lower temperature) and I think I would do this again as the pears, which were firm and crunchy before baking, were the perfect softness with the longer baking time.

Ingredients:

Pie crust (makes one double crust)

3 C. all-purpose flour

4 T. sugar

1/4 C. ice cold water

1/4 C. cold corn oil

1/2 tsp. fine salt

1 C. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

1/8 tsp. fresh lemon zest

Pie filling:

3 pounds pears (about 6 pears)

1/2 C. fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp. fresh lemon zest

2/3 C. sugar

2 T. all-purpose flour

2 T. tapioca flour (I just used 2 T. more all-purpose flour)

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

pinch of salt

1 T. cold unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Prepare the pastry: Roll the pastry and line a 9-inch pie plate with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Chill the pastry.

2. Preheat the oven to 425° F.

3. Pour the fresh-squeezed lemon juice in the bottom of a large bowl. Add your lemon zest to the bowl. Peel, halve and core the pears with a melon baller or corer. Be sure to remove the fiber in the center of the pear. Slice them evenly about a 1/4 inch thick into the bowl, coating them with the lemon juice as you go.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, tapioca flour, cardamom, ginger and salt. Add them to the pears just before you want to bake the pie, mix gently and then taste a pear slice. Add more sugar to taste as needed.

5. Scrape the filling into the bottom crust, dot with butter and cover it with the second crust. Trim and crimp the crust; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Cut vent slits in the top crust. It is your option to sprinkle it with sugar or brush the top with egg white.

6. Bake the pie on a baking sheet for 10 minutes or until the crust looks dry, blistered, and blonde. Turner the oven down to 375°F, and bake for at least 30 minutes more or until the crust is golden brown, and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through the slits in the top crust. Check if the bottom crust has darkened. If not bake a little more and cover the top crust, so it does not burn.

7. Cool the pie completely before cutting at least a few hours. Serve it at room temperature. Store the pie uncovered in a cool place up to three days.

Cardamom-Scented Oatmeal Pancakes with Apricots and Almonds

From the Minimalist Blog at the NYTimes. Mark Bittman has this way of convincing you that really, oatmeal cardmom apricot almond pancakes aren't any harder than the usual kind. And don't they look even more delicious in the picture?

I don't always fall for what he passes off as "minimal," but this one taunted me into trying it this Sunday morning. I brought extras to my little teacher development class for a lesson and they were generally well received, although I don't think anyone is a permanent convert from the regular pancake.

I recommend following his suggestion and serving with honey, although maple syrup works too but it has a tendency to overpower the subtle flavors more than the honey. They are not too sweet alone and would also be overpowered served with very sweet fruit like pineapple or canned peaches. Fresh bananas and milk might be a better choice. These would well for a small brunch with friends.

If I made this again, I might increase both the cardamom and the apricots.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cooked oatmeal
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

Vegetable or olive oil, for frying
Honey, for serving.

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Combine the flours, oats, almonds, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk; stir in the cooked oatmeal and the apricots until just incorporated. Add the oatmeal mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently; don’t overmix. The consistency should be that of thick pancake batter; add a little more milk or whole-wheat flour as needed.

3. Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin film of vegetable oil and let it become hot. Spoon out the batter, making any size pancakes you like. Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes and cook until they’re browned on the other side, a couple of minutes more. You may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on the heat source and pan. As they finish, transfer them to a plate in the oven while you cook the remaining batter. Serve with honey.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

KT's Banana Bars

Another dip into the KT-box for this recipe, which I baked up this morning in homage of Mother's Day and two quickly ripening bananas left on the kitchen counter. The ingredients given in italics or to the side are my modifications to the original recipe, in hope of making a jazzier treat. (The originals are delicious and addicting, but not particularly jazzy.)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (omit the vanilla, add 1/2 tsp. coconut extract)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used 1/2 tsp. salt)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cardamom
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 (16 ounce) container cream cheese frosting
Toasted coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.

2. In one bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom.

3. In a second bowl, mash two bananas.

2. In a third, large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the sour cream and flavoring. Stir the flour mixture into the batter by hand, not with the beaters. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

4. While baking, spread a generous layer of flaked coconut on to a full size baking sheet and toast at 350F. Set aside.

5. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting with the cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle toasted coconut on top of the frosted bars.

KT says: p.s. I just mix 8 oz. of cream cheese with 2-2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to get the cream cheese frosting - so easy!

Super easy to make and always a winning way to dispose of bananas or produce a quick treat for social occasions.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie version 3.0

THE CRUST:

2C flour
1 t salt

2/3 C cold butter + 1 Tbsp. sour cream
6-8 T cold water (I add an ice cube to water in a 1 cup measure.)

1) Combine the flour & salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening. Then add the water 1 T at a time, stirring clockwise with a fork until the dough turns into a nice ball (The butter dough will take 7-8 Tbsp and may want to be kneaded with your fingers in the bowl.) Wrap the dough tightly in saran wrap and put it in the freezer while you cut and mix up the berries.

THE FILLING:

1) Cut 2 green grocery containers strawberries as follows: wash with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove the leafy part and then cut the strawberry in thirds so that the pieces are as flat as possible. Cut 1 lbs. rhubarb stalks into 1-inch squares, avoiding leaving long strings in your cut fruit.

2) In separate bowl combine:

3/4 C white sugar
2-4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
generous dash ginger
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. mace
1/4 tsp. cloves

1/8 tsp. white pepper

3) Add the combined above to the fruit, stir it all up so the fruit is all covered.

4) In separate bowl, whisk together 2 Tbs. sour cream and 2 Tbs. corn starch to form starchy paste. Add the paste to the top of the strawberries. Add 2 Tbs. lemon juice. Stir, until berries are coated in sour cream, sugar, and lemon juice mix. Allow the berries to sit in the juices while you roll out the crust.

ASSEMBLING THE PIE:

1) Roll out 1/2 of the dough for the bottom crust using plenty of flour. Store the other half back in the freezer while you roll out the bottom crust. Half way through rolling, flip the dough over and roll on the other side until the have a smooth, flat circle. Place in the pie tin. Cut the bottom crust off at one finger's width distance from the rim of the pie plate. Prick with a fork.

2) Roll out the remaining dough for the top as above, again using plenty of flour and flipping the crust half way through, making sure to brush excess flour of the top surface.

2) Spoon filling into the pie crust. The strawberries will have released quite a bit of juice, due to the sugar coating. Spoon the berries into the crust, but leave the extra juices in the bottom of the bowl behind (this may be about 1/4-1/3 cup of juices left behind. If you add them, the pie will be too soupy.)

3) Use your fingers to wet the edges of the bottom pie crust with the ice water. Place the top crust over the pie and cut the top crust off at two finger's width distance from the rim of the pie plate. Fold the top crust edge over the bottom crust edge just inside of the pie plate and flute the edge. Cut a pattern into the top crust to help some of the juices escape during baking.

4) Bake pie for 30 min at 425 F (depending on your oven) and then 30-35 min at 375 F. It's wise to put a cookie sheet on the rack beneath the pie while it's baking just in case some of the juices run over (they will.)

5) Let the pie cool on the counter, then chill the pie in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours before serving (preferably overnight, which allows the pie to settle thickly together).

La, le perfection in pie form. So tartly sweet, so melt-in-your-mouth, such spicy goodness. I see no reason to ever make a strawberry rhubarb pie any other way.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie v 1.0

I had wanted to make the missionaries my signature strawberry plum pie, but alas! No plums at the grocery store. But hark! early rhubarb! Cut and prepackaged along side the strawberries. Despite never having cooked with rhubarb before, I bought some and attempted my first strawberry rhubarb pie, thinking of it along the same lines as the strawberry plum pie with some distinct differences.

THE CRUST:

2C flour
1 t salt

2/3 C yellow shortening
5-7 T cold water

1) Combine the flour & salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening. Then add the water 1 T at a time, stirring clockwise with a fork until the dough turns into a nice ball (I usually add 5 T, then one T more to the very bottom of the bowl and use my fingers to make the dough into a ball.)

THE FILLING:

1) Cut 2 green grocery containers strawberries. Remove the leafy part and then cut the strawberry in thirds so that the pieces are as flat as possible. Cut 1 lbs. rhubarb stalks into 1-inch squares.

2) In separate bowl combine:

1C sugar
1/2 cup flour
mild dash ginger
generous dash cardamom
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. mace
1/4 t cloves

1 very generous pinch white pepper

3) Add the combined above to the fruit, stir it all up so the fruit is all covered.

4) In separate bowl, whisk together 2 Tbs. sour cream and 2 Tbs. corn starch to form starchy paste. Add the paste to the top of the strawberries. Add 2 Tbs. lemon juice. Stir, until berries are coated in sour cream, sugar, and lemon juice mix. Allow the berries to sit in the juices while you roll out the crust.

ASSEMBLING THE PIE:

1) Roll out 1/2 of the dough for the bottom crust and put in the pie tin. Cut the bottom crust off at one finger's width distance from the rim of the pie plate. Prick with a fork.

2) Spoon filling into the pie crust. The strawberries will have released quite a bit of juice, due to the sugar coating. Spoon the berries into the crust, but leave the extra juices in the bottom of the bowl behind (this may be about 1/4-1/3 cup of juices left behind. If you add them, the pie will be too soupy.)

3) Roll out the remaining dough for the top. Place the top crust over the pie and cut the top crust off at two finger's width distance from the rim of the pie plate. Fold the top crust edge over the bottom crust edge just inside of the pie plate and flute the edge. Cut a pattern into the top crust to help some of the juices escape during baking.

4) Bake pie for 20 min at 425-450 F (depending on your oven) and then 35-40 min at 350 F. It's wise to put a cookie sheet on the rack beneath the pie while it's baking just in case some of the juices run over (they will.)

5) Let the pie cool on the counter, then chill the pie in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours before serving (preferably overnight, which allows the pie to settle thickly together).

What a wonderful tart pie. I was afraid that this pie would be too strong, but I loved it-- the perfect combination of textures and flavors. It's possible that all the spices obscured the rhubarb a little too much, but the spices really help the strawberries have some oomph, and I think the rhubarb was able to hold its own. I might even reduce the sugar just a little bit next time, but keep the level of spicing. I would also be willing to try this pie with the buttermilk crust from Sokolov's pumpkin pie, but that might be overkill. I will have to make a strawberry rhubarb pie without much spicing to compare and know if the rhubarb does equally well without the extra spicy help.

I think the strawberry pie still remains my signature event.

Also consider this: rhubarb is a vegetable.