Summer makes me think of pie, Berry Pie!

An afternoon at home with such summery weather had me torn between staying in and writing recipes (like I promised I would!) or getting out in this beautiful sunshine! I managed a bit of both and while I was contemplating which next formula to tackle, I remembered the great post on Michael Ruhlman's blog about pie dough from his new book Ratio. It made me go back and revisit our formula, just to see if it could use a little tweaking. In the end, I reduced the butter by a smidge, but other than that I think we have a winner. Pie crust purists may scoff at the addition of an egg yolk and sugar, but it adds a tenderness to the crust that we really enjoy! Since the rhubarb is still looking like an alien we have to turn to the freezer to use up the rest of the berries.
For the crust:
2 1/2 cup unbleached flour
7 ounces cold butter, cut into little pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup ice cold water
1 egg yolk
splash lemon juice
Cut cold butter into flour, working the mixture with your hands and rubbing between your fingers in a sheeting motion. When it is well combined add sugar and salt and mix together wet ingredients... Add to flour mix and work to form a ball of dough, using more flour or water as needed to keep it from being too dry or too sticky. Wrap tightly and refridgerate for an hour or up to a week. Will freeze for one month.

Berry filling;
5 cups IQF frozen Berries- thawed just slightly
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup corn starch

toss all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside



To Assemble:
On a well floured surface roll out 1/2 the ball of dough to about a 12" circle, Place this into a 9 inch deep dish pie plate.
Fill the center with the berries. Roll out the other half of dough into a rectangle this time, about 14" x 10". cut 1 1/2" strips the short way...about 10 strips total. Lay 5 strips across berry-filled pie, folding back the two alternate ones from the middle. Lay one strip down perpendicular to these across the middle of the pie. lay the two strips back into place and pulling back the three alternating ones, lay another strip down and repeat process on other side until all 5 remaining are used. Tuck the ends up under the edge of the pie plate and crimp around the edges. At this point, I like to guild the lily even more by brushing with egg wash and sprinkling with a little sugar. place on parchment lined sheet pan in a 375 degree oven. Bake one hour or until bubbly in the center.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

This soup is familiar to many out there as a favorite from the Moosewood Cookbook. For a long time I made their recipe at the different establishments I cooked for, and it was always great. Then when we started making large batches at the bakery, we had a problem burning the bechmel that was used to thicken it. Because it had a milk base, it would also curdle if you added too much lemon or let the mixture come to a boil. It was then that I decided to rethink our approach to produce a more reliable and shelf stable and, I think, TASTIER, soup!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion- diced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds fresh button mushrooms, sliced 1/8th inch
3 Tablespoons Paprika
2 teaspoons Salt
1 1/2 teaspoon Dill
1/2 cup Flour
8 cups Vegetable Stock or water (I usually use water!)
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 cup Heavy Cream



Method:

In a heavy bottom soup pot on medium heat:
Saute onion in olive oil until just translucent...2 minutes
Add mushrooms and turn up the heat slightly...saute 2-3 minutes more
Stir in: Paprika, Salt and Dill
Saute 5 minutes more, stirring frequently.
Add the flour and mix well to hydrate all the flour
Pour in Liquid (Water or Stock) and whisk well with a large whisk
being sure to scrape all bits of bottom of pan.
Switch to a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat
Stirring quite frequently and being careful the flour doesn't stick
to the bottom of the pan.
Once the soup comes to a low boil, simmer 5 more minutes to
thoroughly cook the flour.
Add Heavy Cream, Lemon Juice and Soy sauce.
Enjoy!

Bench Notes:
This soup has infinite possibilties for variations:
Use wild mushrooms, leave out cream and use sour cream or no cream
Deglaze the pan with Red Wine, add mustard powder...go crazy people!

Maple Butter Cookies

I never much liked sugar cookies. They just weren't very exciting and seemed to me to purely be a medium for decoration, the cookie dough itself had no real taste so you had to sugar it up. I discovered this recipe many years ago...it was, in fact, one of my first 'holiday' cookies and remains our standard dough for making cut-outs. The maple flavor gives these cookies an unexpected depth...I love watching peoples faces the first time they try one...they think it's going to be another cardboard tasting sugar cookie...but no! there's actual flavor in there...can I have another one of those?

Maple Butter Cookies

1 cup Butter-soft
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Maple syrup...the real stuff
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour

Cream together butter, sugar and maple syrup
Add egg yolk...mix well
sift flour and salt gether and stir into above
wrap tightly and refridgerate 1 hour
roll out on floured board and cut out as desired.
for the cookies above use two heart cutters of different sizes
and fill the center with crushed hard candy.
Bake at 325 for 10 - 12 minutes.


Commenter CorgiMan just sent me his version of these cookies...so cute! I'm glad you had fun, Skip!

Chocolate and Bacon Truffles

These were the topic of conversation all week and beyond as we watched the varied responses that these little delicasies provoke...

1/2 # Applewood smoked bacon - cut into 1/2 " pcs.
Brown in a large nonreactive skillet until quite crisp
Strain off fat and set aside for use in coating
return bacon bits, (saving out 1/4 cup for the brickle topping!)
to pan and deglaze over low heat with 1/2 cup brandy, careful now!
When most of the liquid has evaporated,
Add 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream.
Heat Cream over med-low heat until it boils stirring up
the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Turn off the heat and let sit 20 minutes.
Before straining, turn heat back on and bring just to slight simmer

Strain this mixture into a large stainless bowl
filled with 1 1/2 # (4cups) chopped semisweet chocolate.
Whisk until well combined. Cover and chill over night.

roll chilled chocolate into balls. (the size of your balls
is purely up to you, I like to keep mine kinda smallish)
lay out on parchment covered sheetpan and freeze while
you are melting the coating.

For Coating: melt 3 cups chopped semisweet choclate
and 1/2 cup of the bacon fat over simmering water until smooth.

For brickle topping: heat together reserved bacon bits with
1/4 cup turbinado sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small heavy bottom saucepan
boil gently until mixture is carmel colored and thick
pour onto sheetpan lined with parchment paper and spread out to cool.
When completely cool, cover with another piece of parchment and bash with a rolling pin to pulverize.
Sprinkle liberally onto truffles while chocolate is still wet for maximum adhesion and crunch factor.

To Finish: drop chilled truffles one at a time into chocolate coating mixture. ..fish out with a large fork, tapping the sides of the bowl with the handle of the fork to remove as much excess chocolate as possilble. immediatley dress the top with a little of the bacon brickle. chill flat on parchment and move to paper cups once they harden. Best ejoyed at room temp. but keep refridgerated otherwise...have fun with the possibilities! and let me know how they work for you!

Chocolate Fudge

After 20 years of trying to make fudge I finally did it! The answer I'm sure is wrapped in science but it's manifested in the addition of treacle instead of corn syrup...allow me to introduce the magic ingredient: Lyles Golden Syrup!
Here is my formula:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup treacle
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate- chopped
2 tablespoons butter

Now here is the method:
in a heavy bottomed 3 quart saucepan melt together the milk, cream, sugar and treacle
over medium heat, cook until sugar is dissolved. Add chocolate and stir until smooth.
Raise heat to med-high and attach a candy thermometer. boil until temp reaches 238 degrees
(firm ball stage) turn off heat and leaving thermometer in place put pats of butter on top and
let rest until mixture reaches 120 degrees. Do not disturb or jostle in any way...this is very important! Remove thermometer and using a wooden spoon
beat mixture vigorously (maybe 5 minutes?) until it just begins to loose it's sheen.
Quickly turn out into a buttered 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper. Let cool. Wrap tightly
Hide from the kids...Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookies

One of our favorite Homer gardners, Dave Schroer, is notorious for many things...starting the local golf course (for which my husband is very grateful!) and his amazing sweet pea bouquets at the farmers market, most of all, though, when you mention his name to a longtime local they talk about his pumpkin patch. How he used to let the kids run through and scratch their name in a pumpkin early in the season and collect them up again come harvest time. His lovely wife Beth threw him an 80th birthday party this summer and we were honored to help her with the food. As a tip, Dave dropped off some pumpkins...with his grandkids names scratched in the side. First thing we did was roast them up for...Cookies!

Pumpkin cookies...the best part, besides eating them, is they make your house smell great!

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup white flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teasppon salt 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, beat well, then add pumpkin puree and vanilla...stir to combine.
in another bowl mix together all dry ingredients and toss well to combine thoroughly.
Stir dry into wet until well blended. drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
and bake until center is firm to the touch, 12-15 minutes. Let cool a bit while you mix the glaze.

Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons soft butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
mix with whisk, or even better in a cuisinart or blender
spread on slightly warm cookies
We like to use colorful sprinkles to jazz them up...kids
will pick a cookie with sprinles every time!
Chocolate chips are very popular also...!
enjoy!

Vegan Muffins

Whatever Muffins...they can be whatever you want them to be!

drymix
4c whole wheat flour
1/2 c oats
1t salt
4t baking powder
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 c granola
1c fruit, carrot, zuke...whatever
3/4 c brown sugar

1 1/3 c rice or soy milk
1 c oil
2 c juice

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl...mix wet in separate bowl and then pour into dry. mix till just combined. spoon into greased muffin tins lined with cups.Top with a little brown sugar and oats.
bake 350 degrees...20 minutes