Cholesterol Pie

I think most families (except mine?) make this dessert, they just call it something different. In the case of the Robber's family they call it cholesterol pie and someone makes it for every major family event. The Robber himself loves it and when his mother came to visit and to help out with Ruggles last week, the Robber requested special that she make it for him. I ended up making it, in a grand gesture of support for the Robber and to allow Nana to spend more time with Ruggles and I think everyone was happier that way (see note on pecans below) but I think the future I will leave the making of this to the Rawles.

Writing Ruggles and "cholesterol pie" in the same paragraph hurts my heart a little, even if it is entirely hypocritical given that I exposed him to icecream in grand amounts during my whole pregnancy.

Notes: I added chopped pecans to the crust and toasted chopped pecans and some chopped dark chocolate chips to the top. The pecans to the crust were genius for the Robber and I felt the toppings were too, but the Robber scraped them off the top and then ate the rest. Hmmm. If I were making this again I would make a thicker cream cheese layer and remember that the crust is kind of crumbly, so you have to portion out the cream cheese layer for the spreading, not just plunk it down in the middle and spread it out from there.

Ingredients and Directions:

Layer 1

1 C. flour

1/2 C. butter or margarine

1/2 C. chopped nuts (not optional, pecans!)

Mix together and spread in a 9x13" glass pan. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 min.

Layer 2

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 C. powdered sugar

1 1/2 C. Cool Whip

Cream together and spread over cooled Layer 1.

Layer 3

1 large package instant chocolate pudding

2 1/2 C. milk

Beat together for 2 minutes and pour over Layer 2.

Layer 4

2 C. Cool Whip

Spread on top of pudding layer. If desired, sprinkle top with nuts, chopped chocolate, etc.

Creamy Peach Tart with Smoky Almond Crust

Sometimes when I read other people's food blogs I feel like all they ever do is post dessert recipes and I think to myself, "How are these people not HUGE? Don't they eat anything besides sugar?"... and then I do a little self-reflection and realize that in the last month I have posted cookie, pie, bar, cake, whatever recipes and precious little in the way of anything else. Hrmmmm.

Don't think this is everything the Robber and I eat. I think there are a number of reasons why I'm more likely to post a new dessert recipe than a non-dessert recipe, most of which revolve around the Robber's preferences, my own spirit of adventure, our eating patterns at work, and our love of hummus, goat cheese, bell peppers, pita bread, and grilled meat. But excuses aside, perhaps we do eat a bit much too sugar. Even when we are sharing.

This following recipe we did not share, but we did enjoy it, even the Robber who was deeply deeply skeptical of the smoky almonds in the crust until he tasted it and realized you can't even tell and that the filling was much akin to the beloved "cheesecake pie" of his childhood. I baked this in a pie plate because I don't have a springform pan (see previous post) and if I were making this again, would 1.5 times the recipe to make more filling and just turn it into a pie. We replaced the peaches with nectarines with good results and the Robber happily ate a third of it while I was sleeping last night.

Mildly adapted from Food and Wine Magazine August 2011.

Ingredients:

2 C. vanilla wafer cookies

1/2 C. smoked almonds

6 T. sugar

5 T. unsalted butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 C. sour cream

1 egg

2-3 firm, ripe medium peaches, cut into wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Using a food processor or other instrument, crush wafer cookies and almonds until fine crumbs are obtained. Combine wafer crumbs, almond crumbs, and 2T. sugar. Add melted butter and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

2. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a 9" springform pan. Bake for ten minutes at 350F until the crust is set.

3. While the crust is baking, combine cream cheese, sour cream, egg, and 2T. of the sugar and blend with electric mixer until smooth. Pour the cheese mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set. 

4. Allow to cool slightly and transfer to freezer to chill, about 15 minutes. (Do not allow to freeze thoroughly.)

5. In a bowl, toss the peaches with the remaining 2T. of sugar. Arrange the peaches in 2 concentric circles over the custard. Remove the ring, cut the tart in wedges and serve. 

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

This recipe came to me from our friend KK who posted it on my Facebook wall. The story behind the recipe is actually quite sad... this is the favorite pie of a food blogger's young husband who passed unexpectedly about a year ago. As a tribute to her husband the blogger asked others to make this pie for him on a certain day. I missed the day, but pulled out the recipe to use some cream cheese we had that needed using before our big trip to Thailand. Peanut butter pie is not the Robber's favorite, but I personally always enjoy it and was excited for this one. The chocolate/peanuts part at the bottom of the pie is wonderful and the flavor of the filling was perfect, in my opinion-- very peanut buttery and not too sweet.

Notes: The crust definitely needs a different cookie/butter ratio, or some melted chocolate in it to act as a binder. Much too crumbly. Also I omitted the cup of powdered sugar simply because I didn't have any and I was glad as the pie was plenty sweet without it. I whipped some additional cream to go on top, but it doesn't really need it as it would just dilute the wonderful peanut butter flavor of the filling. I didn't have a 9" springform pan and most of my problems with the pie came from this fact. It's amazing how much of cooking is just having the right equipment.

From In Jennie's Kitchen:

http://www.injennieskitchen.com/2011/08/for-mikey.html

Ingredients:

8 oz. chocolate cookies

4 T. butter, melted

4 oz. chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 C. chopped peanuts

8 oz. cream cheese

1 C. creamy-style peanut butter

1 C. confectioner's sugar (can be omitted)

1 – 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 C. heavy cream

Directions:

1. Add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs.  Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well.  Press mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. 

2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Pour over bottom of cookie crust and spread to the edges using an off-set spatula.  Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

3. Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use.  

4. Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner's sugar.  Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.

5. Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream).  Fold in the remaining whipped cream.  Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan.  Drizzle additional melted chocolate on top (optional) and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the frosting that the Robber used for my carrot cake birthday cake. After making the recipe we both thought it wasn't maple-y enough, so the Robber added in perhaps another 1/4 C. of maple syrup but then the frosting was too runny. What to do? Use maple extract instead of syrup? So there is that speed bump to consider but the maple in the cream cheese with the cake was actually very good and worth trying to find a way to make it work. Tried to find help with that on the reviewers comments on Epicurious, but no luck.

The link also sends you to a carrot cake recipe that the Epicurious people just love, love, love so if our other carrot cake recipe ever disappoints we may try turning to that one. The reviewers are also a fan of some cream cheese lemon zest frosting recipe on Epicurious, so if you think maple sounds gross try looking for that one. I'll only be posting the recipe for the maple frosting here, however, not the cake or the lemon frosting.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrot-Cake-with-Maple-Cream-Cheese-Icing-102155

Ingredients:

10 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

5 T. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 C. powdered sugar

1/4 C. maple syrup (Robber used 1/2 C.)

Directions:

1. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended.

2. Beat in maple syrup. Chill until just firm enough to spread, 30 minutes.

3. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup icing. Top with second layer. Spread remaining icing over entire cake. Arrange walnut or pecan halves around top edge. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)

Grasshopper Pie

For my birthday I really really wanted a grasshopper pie. This because the Robber bought Thin Mints and I started thinking about them in pie form and hence the craving for grasshopper pie was born. I emailed my Mom for a recipe and she sent me this, which she says is of her own design.

1 baked 9 inch graham cracker crust

Ingredients:

I put a few things together from different recipes, but for my crust I used approximately:

1/3 cup crushed chocolate cookie crumbs
1 2/3 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into fine crumbs
7 Tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

1. Mix the crumbs, sugar, and chocolate together. Melt the butter and pour the hot butter into the crumb mixture. The hot butter will melt the chocolate. Combine and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Note: You may have some extra crumbs. I just put these on the top of the pie, in between the top chocolate layer and the whipped cream.

Filling

Ingredients:

Green filling Chocolate filling
4 oz. cream cheese 4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar 1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. sour cream 1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. whipping cream, whipped 1/2 c. whipping cream, whipped
1 t. mint flavoring 1 t. vanilla flavoring
green food coloring 2 1/2 oz. sweet chocolate, melted

Directions:

1. Mix the ingredients as above. You can mix the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and whipping cream for both flavors together and then divide into half and then add the remainder of the ingredients to the two halves separately. Or mix them separately to being with. Whatever is your fancy. Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature or it will not blend well.

2. Layer the fillings in the crust in three layers--chocolate, green, chocolate.

3. Top and decorate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

4. Store in the refrigerator.

Moosewood Noodle Kugel

Oh Moosewood. How I have missed you long these summer nights, when feasting from the freshness of the earth I have not had your recipes to guide my hand!

I'm back in Rochester and that means back to the Moosewood and my Vegetable Tuesday adventures. I'm easing back in. This recipe is one I tried last year but never blogged. It is easy and produces a simple, rich dish you can serve as a dessert or an entree. Once you've had a noodle kugel it quickly becomes a comfort food, something you can eat on cold or sad nights and feel warmth inside of your stomach and a little boost to the soul. I'm always surprised to find out that few people seem to have experienced kugel before, but I am always happy to introduce them to such a fabulous new food.

Ingredients:

4 cups raw wide flat egg noodles, boiled in salted water, drained, and buttered

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup sour cream (or yogurt)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
few dashes salt

2 medium cooking apples or 2 fresh, ripe peaches, sliced

1 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1) Combine bread crumbs to brown sugar in a separate bowl and set aside as crumb mixture.

2) Combine eggs to salt in a blender and beat together until smooth.

3) Combine buttered noodles, egg mixture, and peaches together. Spread into a well-buttered casserole dish.

4) Top with the crumb mixture and dot with butter. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes at 375F.

5) Serve warm or chilled.


You can omit the sour cream and the butter on the noodles or on the top. The dish is plenty rich enough without it! You can also probably use neufchatel instead of cream cheese for a more low fat version. I like to use wheat noodles in this dish, I feel like it gives it a deeper, healthier flavor. You can also use different flavorings-- for this one I used almond extract and added some sliced almonds to the crumb mixture on the top.

Serves 6-8. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Nothing vegetable about this-- the only cupcake left of two dozen (in two days.)

Craving cupcakes (and needing to bake for the medical school talent show bake sale), I turned to the New York Times (via The Confetti Cakes Cookbook by Elisa Strauss) for this delectable recipe:

Red Velvet Cake

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/dining/141vrex.html

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3½ cups cake flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1½ teaspoons salt
2 cups canola oil
2¼ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1¼ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2½ teaspoons white vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place teaspoon of butter in each of 3 round 9-inch layer cake pans and place pans in oven for a few minutes until butter melts. Remove pans from oven, brush interior bottom and sides of each with butter and line bottoms with parchment.

2. Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.

3. Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.

4. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.

5. Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes (or about 30 minutes for cupcakes). Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Cool completely before frosting.

Yield: 3 cake layers (or about 30 generous cupcakes.)

and...

Red Velvet Cake Icing

(NYTimes via The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook by John Doherty with John Harrison)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/dining/142vrex.html

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream, cold

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

12 ounces mascarpone (I used 15 ounces of "Farmer's Cheese" which was soft and came in a tub)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted.

Directions:

1. Softly whip cream by hand, in electric mixer or in food processor. Cover in bowl and refrigerate.

2. Blend cream cheese and mascarpone in food processor or electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla, pulse briefly, and add confectioners’ sugar. Blend well.

3. Transfer cream cheese mixture to bowl; fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate until needed.

Yield: Icing for top and sides of 3-layer cake (or bucket loads of cupcakes, piled to overflowing).

(Don't forget the sprinkles. Amazing.)

Banana Sour-Cream Pie

Looking for the Creamy Rice Pudding recipe, I came across this second recipe in the Moosewood and was immediately intrigued. I just knew I had to make one, especially as I had ripened bananas attracting fruit flies on the counter. In fact, I thought it was such a good idea that I made two.

Original:

Ingredients:

Crust
1/3 lb. (1 "stay fresh" package) crushed graham crackers
6 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 C. finely chopped almonds

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Press firmly into a 9" pie pan, building up thick sides with a nice edge.

Filling
12 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 C. (packed) light brown sugar
3/4 C. mashed, ripe bananas
2 Tbs. fresh lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/4 C. sour cream

Beat together all ingredients, until well blended. Pour into crust; Chill 3-4 hours, at least. Overnight chilling is ideal.

My comments:

I used sliced almonds from a package in the store and didn't chop them any further, this seemed to work well for me and I liked having the almonds visible. Also I used dark brown sugar instead of light, as that is what I had. This pie does have a very rich filling, but it is very distinctive and very delicious. The first pie disappeared in the first 24 hours and I think the 2nd pie will go almost as fast. VERY FAST to make as far as pies go-- if I go anywhere for Thanksgiving this year maybe I will consider contributing this pie, as it will be easy to make late the night before or early the morning of and still have enough time to chill.