Ruggles Pie

I made this pie for the one month birthday of my little son Ruggles. The pie, like my Ruggles, is my own invention! Home grown. I'm sure there are other cranberry-cherry-lime pies out there (are there? I don't know) but this one I made up for Ruggles. It is based off of a little "tart" I made for Bob when I was pregnant with Ruggles. I hardly ever cooked or baked when I was pregnant, I just didn't have any desire to do so. No nausea, no food aversions... just no cooking bug. But with the few pies I did make, I started to make little "tarts" out of the left over dough instead of pie crackers-- the reason being that most pies really are better on the second day, but no one wants to wait that long to eat one, but if you make a little tart you can sate the desire to eat pie without actually eating the pie itself. And on one particular day I had some cherries in the fridge and, having never baked anything with cherries before, decided to give them a whirl. I must have had limes too, and we always keep frozen cranberries around, so I threw them all together into the little tart and it turned out quite delicious! I vowed one day to try and make a whole pie that way, and Ruggles' celebration seemed to be the perfect occasion. And the pie turned out quite well! I was very pleased with the result, and may not even tinker too much with this formulation in the future. Now that it is Ruggles' pie, he will be obligated to have this as his birthday treat and nothing else for the rest of his life.

The crust I used is a "cornmeal crust" and the recipe comes from the Luscious Little Dessert Company. I don't think you have to use a cornmeal crust, other crusts would be equally delicous, but in honor of the original Ruggles pie as it was baked and consumed you can find the pie crust recipe as below:

http://vegetabletuesdays.blogspot.com/2013/10/cornmeal-pie-crust.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/dining/that-photogenic-blueberry-pie.html

But first, pictures of the pie to whet your appetite:

Ingredients (for the filling):

16 oz (approx 3 C.) fresh or frozen cranberries

16 oz (approx 3 C.) fresh or frozen pitted sweet cherries (not cherry pie filling!)

2/3 C. brown sugar

1/3 C. white sugar

1/2 C. flour

1 very heaping tsp. cinnamon

1/16 tsp. ginger

Zest of 2.5 limes (2-3, whatever)

Juice of 2 limes (just however many you are zesting, 3 would be ok too)

Directions:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients and the lime zest in a mixing bowl. 

2. In a separate large bowl, stir together the cherries and the cranberries. You don't need to thaw them first or cut them up, although if you are using fresh cherries you should de-pit them which may involved halving the cherries. 

3. Pour the dry mixture over the fruit and combine thoroughly. Add in the lime juice and stir again until the berries are evenly coated with the dry mixture and the lime juice. You can either let the fruit sit for a while or use it immediately. Because the cherries/cranberries aren't that juicy, you don't need to "pre-bleed" the fruit like I will for other fruit pies to reduce the liquid content.

4. Add the filling to a large pie dish with one half of a crust in the bottom. Cover the filling with the top crust. Cut slits in the top to vent out extra steam-- this pie won't bubble much so you don't need a lot of slits or to put a pan under your pie plate in the oven. If desired, brush the top of the pie with buttermilk, milk or cream and top with raw (demerara) sugar.

5. Bake at 400 F for 20-25 minutes and then reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes or follow the instructions for your crust recipe and bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit has softened (approx one hour).

Serve hot or cold with whipped cream or vanilla icecream, although the pie is not too strongly flavored that this is necessary. Enjoy and picture the cute, cute baby as above. Cheers, Ruggles!

Dreamy Cream Scones

The last new scone recipe I tried was so bad I didn't even post it. The scones were lumpy and soggy and gross and I gave up on new scone recipes figuring, as you all figure, that I have enough. But then came this day after Thanksgiving when I had this exact amount of whipping cream I had to use, and this and another scone/biscuit recipe were both circulating the air, and the Robber was hungry, and such came to such and I made these with chopped fresh cranberries in them and then they were what every scone should be--  more biscuity rather than cakey, but not dry-- not too sweet-- and I ended up buying more cream and making them twice. The end.

Note: For the add-in I chopped my cranberries in half and then coated in sugar before adding to the dough.

An old Smitten Kitchen recipe:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2006/11/dream-a-little-dream-of-scone/

Ingredients:

2 C. all purpose flour

1 T. baking powder
3 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
5 T. chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 C. heavy cream

1/2 - 3/4 C. currants, cranberries, etc.

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F.

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. 

3. Using a pastry cutter, quickly cut the butter into your flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in add-in ingredient (currants, etc.) 

4. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

5. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form dough into a round disc and flatten gently until about 1-1.25" thick. Cut into 6 wedges.

6. Place wedges on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cranberry Nut Bread

I made this bread as part of our family graduation party and the Robber liked it so much that he insisted we get the recipe. So my mom photocopied it from her recipe book and sent it to us and the Robber cannot believe his luck. . . well he won't believe it when I make it again. The recipe strongly recommends pecans but gives the ok to walnuts and advises against slicing too soon out the oven, good advice given the crumbly nature of this bread when it is hot.

From American Classics, possibly from Good Housekeeping.

Ingredients:

1 T. grated orange zest

1/3 C. fresh orange juice

2/3 C. buttermilk

6 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg, beaten slightly

2 C. all-purpose flour

1 C. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 C. cranberries (about 6 oz.), chopped coarsely

1/2 C. pecans, chopped coarsely and toasted

Directions:

1. Toast the pecans by placing a skillet over medium heat, adding chopped pecans and toasting, shaking the pan frequently until nuts are fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375F. Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan; set aside.

3. Stir together the orange zest, orange juice, buttermilk, butter, and egg in a small bowl. 

4. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just moistened.

5. Gently stir in the cranberries and pecans. Do not overmix.

6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smoother the surface with a rubber spatula. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F; continue to bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45 minutes longer.

7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a wife rack and cool at least 1 hour before serving. Once cooled, the bread can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for a couple of days.

Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans

So one thing about my current rotation is that their food is GREAT. They are a vegetarian residency and every day they have salad and the best fruit salad and I am just in eating heaven because I can eat a lot of volume with few calories. A few days ago they had this amazing couscous chili with garbanzo beans and kidney beans and couscous and tomatoes and it was so so good. But on to this couscous. This couscous, also so so good. Light. Tasty. I thought the finely chopped pecans were essentially to giving it an underlying nutty, tasty flavor but then the Robber thought they weren't needed as much. Who knows, but that this was delicious.

From the NYTimes Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving 2010 blog:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html#Couscous_Salad_With_Dried_Cranberries_and_Pecans

Ingredients:

1 C. couscous, preferably whole wheat
Salt
2 large carrots, grated
1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. chopped dried cranberries
1/4 C. chopped scallions
1/4 C. olive oil, or more as needed
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, or more juice as needed
1 tsp. coriander
Pinch of cayenne, or to taste
Black pepper
1/2 C. chopped fresh parsley
1 T. chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried

Directions:

1. Put the couscous in a small pot and add 1 1/2 cups water and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil, then cover and remove from the heat. Let steep for at least 10 minutes, or up to 20.

2. Put the slightly cooled couscous in a large salad bowl along with the carrots, pecans, cranberries, scallions, oil and lemon zest and juice, and sprinkle with the spices and salt and pepper. Use 2 big forks to combine, fluffing the couscous and tossing gently to separate the grains. (The salad can be made up to this point and refrigerated for up to a day; bring to room temperature before proceeding.)

3. Stir in the parsley and sage. Taste and adjust the seasoning, moisten with a little more oil and lemon juice as you like, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Cornmeal Cranberry Drop Scones

Why would you eat cornmeal scones when you can have cornbread? This is what the Robber asks me after taking a bite of these scones. I, on the other hand, find that while corn-bread-ish indeed these were actually surprisingly there own thing. A little more dense than cornbread. The dough only barely sweet, making each bite with a dried cranberry in it a tangy surprise. And a satisfying scone matrix, if you ever decide you want your butterscotch chips/raspberries/dark chocolate/apricots/what-have-you in cornmeal instead of cream.

From the Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving Blog from the NYTimes. If you haven't discovered their vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes, you should, because some of them are pretty fabulous:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/01/health/20111101_vegetarian_thanksgiving.html#Cornmeal_Cranberry_Drop_Scones

Ingredients:

1 C. whole wheat pastry flour

1 C. coarsely ground cornmeal

1/4 C. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. lemon zest

7 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 egg

2/3 C. buttermilk

3/4 C. dried cranberries, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and drained (I suspect these would be good with whole frozen cranberries too)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment.

2. Sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Dump any bran remaining in the strainer into the bowl. Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the butter and lemon zest and pulse until you have a coarse, even mixture.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and the buttermilk. Turn on the food processor and add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. As soon as the dough comes together, turn off the machine. Add the cranberries and pulse just a few times to distribute through the dough. Don’t pulse too many times or the cranberries will be chopped.

4. Drop the batter by heaped tablespoons (or larger wedges) onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving an inch or more of space between each one. Bake one baking sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, reversing the baking sheet front to back halfway through, until lightly browned.

Yield: 20 3-inch scones or 8 regular size scones.

Nutritional information per 3-inch scone: 113 calories; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 20 milligrams cholesterol; 17 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 113 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Not being 100% happy with my Annie's cranberry scone recipe (although it is delicious!) and still having frozen cranberries left over I chose to use the rest of my berries by making 1 1/2 of this recipe. I didn't make any major changes except using frozen vs. dried cranberries, but did add a few more cranberries than it recommended just to use them all and because I always want more than the recipes writers. The reviewers love this recipe and don't mess with the base much, but do add whatever they want in it. The dough by itself had a lovely texture and a good flavor and I'm excited to try one of these sometime soon.

Here's the link, originally from Bon Appetit 1998:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Orange-Scones-15682

Ingredients:

3 C. all purpose flour

1/3 C. sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 T. grated orange peel

3/4 C. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3/4 C. dried cranberries

1 C. chilled buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl. Mix in orange peel. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in dried cranberries. Gradually add buttermilk, tossing with fork until moist clumps form.

3. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly to bind dough, about 4 turns. Form dough into 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

4. Bake until tops of scones are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

Cranberry Scones

Still marching on through Annie's scone recipes. So far, so good (although I wasn't a huge huge fan of the strawberry scones.)

These scones Annie recommends making at Thanksgiving time and freezing (of course!) and then baking for breakfast the morning after. Why not? She also notes that you can use lemon or orange zest in the recipe equally well. I used lemon. Also a very sticky dough that will probably have to sit in the freezer for a good old time before being sectioned.

Originally from Smitten Kitchen, by way of Annie's Eats:

http://annies-eats.net/2010/11/02/cranberry-scones/

Ingredients:

1½ T. freshly grated lemon zest

2½ C. all-purpose flour

½ C. plus 3 T. sugar, divided

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1¼ C. fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped (I used frozen and just chopped each berry in half)

1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

1 cup heavy cream

Additional sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a food processor*, combine the lemon zest, flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder and salt. Pulse briefly to blend. Add in the cold butter pieces and pulse again briefly until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the butter pieces are no larger than peas. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.

3. In a small bowl, toss together the chopped cranberries and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir this into the flour-butter mixture.

4. In another small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, combine the egg, egg yolk and heavy cream; whisk to blend. Add the liquid ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula or wooden spoon just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Knead gently to be sure the dough is evenly mixed, being careful not to overwork the dough.

5. Place a 2½- or 3-inch round biscuit cutter on the lined baking sheet. Scoop some of the dough inside the cutter and pat down gently to form a 1-inch thick round. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the rounds 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet.** Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.

(To freeze before baking, flash freeze at this point. Place the baking sheet with the shaped scones into the freezer and chill until frozen. Transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag and store until ready to bake.)

5. Bake in the preheated oven until light golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. (If baking from the freezer, add approximately 5 minutes to the original baking time.)

*Note from Annie: A food processor is not required for this recipe. You can achieve the same result using a stand mixer, a pastry blender, or even just two knives. I like the food processor because it is quick and easy, but all methods work equally well.

**Note from Annie: There are many different ways to shape scones. You can pat the dough into one large disc and slice into triangular wedges, roll it out and cut with a biscuit cutter, use a dough scoop and simply make drop scones, etc. Do whatever you prefer. I like this method for this particular scone dough because the dough is sticky and this prevents overworking.