Cranberry Custard Pie

Seems like these days The Chef is spending more time rockin' the Gibson Flying V and less time rockin' the kitchen, and that means I get more "stove time" so yay!! I'm baking!! Seriously, as he is putting together a new band there is a lot of work to do. Working with other musicians can be as challenging as it is rewarding. You already know about his musical background, so let's talk about the future- still no solid band name, lots of ideas being tossed around. The lineup is complete with Mike, Steve and Dave rounding out the talent. The set list is mostly classic rock, not as heavy as I usually like, but its solid, has a great variety or eras and a lot of songs people are going to want to sing along with. 

The Chef is a big fan of Uncle Ted so Stranglehold is one he is particularly excited to play. He's got some Tom Petty in there, and the Buckethead/Alien Ant Farm version of Smooth Criminal, and of course, true classics from Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. He is a HUGE fan of Chicago so 25 or 6 to 4 is in the mix too. I tried to get him to add some Damn Yankees, to no avail, but a couple other suggestions might actually make the set list. I haven't given up on the Damn Yankees though. A girl can always hope, right?

The guys have been at this for a while now, sometimes derailed by the unpredictable Iowa winter weather. Schedule a practice on Monday and by Friday you're knee deep in heavy wet snow. Reschedule for Sunday but now it's 65 degrees and at least one guy is sopping up water in his basement. Plan on next weekend, but hey, ice storm!

As springtime reluctantly begins to shine here in Iowa, many of us, myself included, are thinking of all the beautiful spring berries that are starting to pop up in stores. Raspberries are by far my favorite of all berries, but there is a close second that you might find surprising. I mean, on one hand, we have plump, juicy and so sweet raspberries, and on the other we have kind of waxy textured, definitely not juicy and absolutely NOT sweet, and not in season in spring, cranberries. I love those guys! So much so that when they are in season, I will grab several bags of fresh crans and toss them in the freezer for later. When the holidays roll around I can always whip out a bag of cranberries and make homemade sauce, but I also like using them in other recipes, and outside of the normal cranberry season they are fun and unexpected. Which brings us to this pie. In all honesty I DID make this for Christmas dinner, but.... since I still have four bags of cranberries in the freezer this is something easy and inexpensive that I can whip up in a minute.

I make my own pastry usually but you absolutely can use purchased pastry- just roll it out and fit it into your pan, or use frozen in a disposable pan. I won't judge. Another pantry item I always have on hand is heavy whipping cream. I say pantry because I buy shelf stable heavy whipping cream at Trader Joe's. It's in the baking aisle and it comes in little boxes like juice boxes. No refrigeration is needed until you open the package. It's the best invention ever.

Cranberry Custard Pie

Adapted from Country Living

1 recipe single crust pie pastry

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries*

1 cup sugar, divided

1 tablespoon flour

1 egg white

1 cup heavy whipping cream

*If using frozen cranberries, allow the thaw at room temperature for an hour or so. I spread them out on a sheet pan to help them thaw quickly.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare the pastry, roll out and fit into 9 inch pie plate. Flute and crimp edge. Set aside.

Stir together 2/3 cups of sugar with the flour. In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks form. Fold into the flour mixture, stirring in the cream as well.

Pour the cranberries into the pie shell. Sprinkle the 1/3 cup sugar over the cranberries, then pour the cream mixture over all. 

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temp to 350 and bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely before serving. 

This pie is the perfect combination of sweet and tart and is absolutely wonderful with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Try it!!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Banana Cream Pie What ????

It's Saturday morning in mid March in Iowa. Spring should be in the air, green blades of grass peeking out, birds chirping, breezy days, but not today. We awoke to a blanket of white flaky yuck. Now, you're going to say "Hey, you always talk about how much you love winter!" and yes, for the most part I DO! Not once March gets here though! I'm so ready for flowers, pots of fresh herbs on the deck, sunshiny mornings and the first farmers markets of the season. Instead, today I'm thinking of reasons to kick on the oven and stay in. Baking? Maybe!

I may have been obsessing over cake lately but there is always room for pie, right?  Of course there is! As a baker, I love the challenge of making a really good pie. Achieving a perfect flaky pastry, and creamy fillings that are smooth and free from lumps are not that hard to accomplish. Fruit pies are my favorite pies to bake, especially with fresh fruit. Getting that perfect tart sweet balance, and a slightly thickened juicy filling that doesn't make the crust soggy are the big challenges but simple additions like cornstarch make it happen perfectly. Cream pies are some of the easiest pies to make and offer you lots of chances to use time saving products, and that's what we are going to make today, creamy banana cream pie with a surprise topping- bruleed bananas.

You can classify this one under the No Recipe Cooking file because we will be using some store bought products to save time but you can certainly make your own graham cracker crust and pastry cream for the filling. Let's get started!

You will need a graham cracker pie crust, 3 ripe but firm bananas, 1 package COOKED vanilla or banana pudding mix, 1 3/4 cups milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, granulated sugar, coconut oil and whipped cream. The first thing we are going to do is combine the pudding mix with the milk in a medium saucepan and cook according to package directions. We are using less milk than the box calls for because we want the pie to set better for slicing. Once the pudding is cooked stir in the vanilla, transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap- make sure you place the wrap directly on the surface of the pudding so a skin doesn't form.  If you choose to make homemade pastry cream you want to do the same thing. Chill completely.

To prepare the pie, slice two of the bananas into the crust and spread them out evenly. Remove the plastic from the chilled pastry cream or pudding and spoon into crust, smoothing out to cover the bananas. Place in the fridge while you make the bruleed bananas.

To make the bruleed bananas, slice the remaining banana into ten even slices. They should be fairly thick so they cook too much and get soft. Sprinkle some granulated sugar onto a small plate and coat both sides of the banana slices with the sugar- press it gently to get lots of sugar to stick.  

Heat a small nonstick skillet over fairly high heat. Add a small amount of coconut oil to the skillet and add the banana slices. Cook quickly to brown and caramelize the sugar, turning once. Work fast so the bananas don't overcook. Set aside on small plate to cool. If you have a kitchen torch you can use that to melt the sugar too.

Decorate the top of the pie with dollops of whipped cream and a banana slice.

Wasn't that easy? Your friends and family will rave over this pie and the extra step of bruleeing the bananas makes it look like you invested a ton of time- when really, it was a snap!! Give it a try, it's one of my family's holiday favorites.

Apple Pie on a Stick? Yes!!

This is a post from City Girl Country Life, centering around the Iowa State Fair, and food on a stick. The blog City Girl Country Life is heading into retirement so many of the recipes originally shared there will make an appearance here over the next several months. This story was originally published in August, 2015.

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It's that time of year again. The Iowa State Fair kicks off in two days with the annual parade through downtown, and ten days of  rides, shows, food, competitions, concerts, food, tractor pulls, lemonade, food, baby animals, arts and crafts, food, free stuff, contests and of course- food! The Iowa State Fair is the once a year event for many of us to throw good eating habits out the window and have that fried-something-naughty-on-a-stick. You can't eat that everyday but once a year, you just have to!

The first ever Iowa State Fair was held in 1854, a mere eight years after being granted statehood.  It was quite an event for the time, admission was 25 cents. Women on horseback was the entertainment highlight of that first fair. Ten women participated, all competing for a gold watch as the prize. The fair moved around Iowa several times before finally landing at it permanent home in Des Moines in 1879. In 1886 the current location of the fairgrounds was purchased, and the rest is history.

Our great state fair is well known for many things, from crashing locomotives for entertainment, to the famous Butter Cow, and most notably, for being the inspiration for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Tony Award-nominated musical State Fair, the story of the Frake family and their Iowa State Fair experiences in 1946.

Now, without a doubt, when we talk about the state fair, we usually don't talk about the historical stuff (other than the musical, because most Iowans think that is pretty cool actually), we talk about the FOOD. Starting in the early days with humble lemonade and popcorn, to today's fair with more vendors than I can count, selling everything from corn dogs, to hot beef sundaes (yes, it's a thing) to deep fried butter on a stick (yes....that is also a thing). Deep fried, on a stick and hugely oversized- think smoked turkey legs- is the Special of The Day at the fair. Every year several new signature items are added to the food lineup. This year they include the Bacon Brisket Bomb, Corn in a Cup, and fried Apple Pie on a Stick. 

I used regular bamboo skewers you can find in any kitchen

store, but I cut them in half.

Of course, our office loves to have food days. We have one for loads of occasions and certainly State Fair Food sounds like an amazing chance to whip up something utterly naughty, maybe fried, maybe on a stick even..... and share it. So the committee that plans events sent out an email last week announcing a State Fair Food Day with prizes in several categories. My brain immediately started planning......and after much internal debate settled on Apple Pie on a Stick. I have heard that the fair's apple pie on a stick is simply apple wedges, threaded on a skewer, then dipped in funnel cake batter and fried. Well......I can do better than that!! Let's make MY version!

Apple Pie on a Stick With Bourbon Cinnamon Glaze

(makes about 36)

2-3 Granny Smith apples

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 batches double crust pastry (3 packages store-bought)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon Bourbon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

milk

bamboo skewers

Prepare your pastry. If using the store bought rolled up kind (and hey I did!!) let it rest at room temp while getting the apples ready.

Peel, core and chop the apples into small cubes. The "pies" are small so you need tiny pieces of apple. Place apples in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, allspice and ginger over. Toss well to evenly coat the apples with the mixture. Set aside.

I love the flavor of cinnamon and allspice with apples, so I

went pretty heavy handed with spices. You can adjust to suit

your taste, same with the sugar.

Roll out (or unroll) the pastry and cut into circles using a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter or, as I did, the ring from a canning jar- that is the perfect size. Working with one pie at a time, use your fingers to moisten one side of a pastry circle. Press a skewer lightly into the pastry.

A canning jar ring made the perfect cutter. I moistened the

pastry circle with water and lightly pressed the skewer into

the dough so it would be pretty secure.

Spoon on about a tablespoon of the apple filling into the middle. 

Top with a second pastry circle and press the edges to seal. Crimp however you like, as fancy as you like, and cut a couple slits in the top to allow stem to escape.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

If you like, you can brush them with milk and sprinkle with

sugar before baking. I did not, since I was adding a glaze.

I made a batch at a time, working on the next dozen while one was in the oven.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool.

Aren't they pretty?

In a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, bourbon, vanilla, spices and enough milk to make the glaze a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the pies (on a rack over the cookie sheet is good) and allow the glaze to dry before storing loosely covered.

I was a little disappointed that the food day ended up being cancelled because not many people were able to participate. That's not unusual this time of year- it's back to school, fair time, families are busy with kids, sports, school supplies, vacations and so on. Sadly that meant no prizes and no voting, but I did get a quality coupon that's redeemable for paid time off as a thank you for participating, so I was happy. All my team members said I would have won Best Food on a Stick so I went home with very few leftovers and feeling pretty good!!

The Perfect Lemon Meringue Pie

Every summer the State of Iowa for one week the State of Iowa is home to the annual RAGBRAI- the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. The Des Moines Register, the city's largest newspaper, has hosted this annual event for close to fifty years, and it's famous for attracting people from all over the world, of all athletic abilities, and everyone who absolutely loves biking and pie. Seriously. Ask any RABGRAI participant and they will have a pie story from every stop along the way.

A table full of classic- apple, strawberry rhubarb, Dutch
apple and key lime pie.

Last summer the ride began in Glenwood and ended, six days and just over 400 miles later, in Muscatine. Every town along the route gets in the spirit and welcomes riders with carnival-like celebrations, live music, a place to pitch a tent for the night, food and drink, partying, and of course, pie. Do a quick Google search if you don't believe me- "RAGBRAI pie" and you'll see exactly what I mean. Each town along the route assembles an army of volunteer bakers and servers to meet the pie demand of the visiting riders. No store bought pie will do for these folks either. Hand rolled crusts, fresh berries and fruits or handed down recipes for creamy fillings, baked with love. Cut and served by volunteers to keep the hungry riders full of pie.

I decided in my quest for the perfect pie to try and master the perfect meringue. This was more of a challenge to me than I expected. I am not a huge fan of meringue on a pie. Crispy meringues, sure, I'll eat those all day, like crunchy meringue cookies that are baked at low temperature and left to dry in the cooling oven. I love those. Meringue on a pie though, it's soft and squishy and eggy and a little like marshmallow and I am more of a crispy flaky crust kind of person. Pie crust I mastered long ago so I accepted the challenge and decided to make a couple classics, a key lime pie and a lemon meringue pie. I really love the tangy lemon filling, and homemade is so easy and fresh. Don't forget to give your lemon a really thorough scrub as you will be using the zest from one whole lemon to add incredible lemon flavor to your filling. Invest in a good quality rasp-style zester and you'll get all the delicious zest without the bitter pith underneath.

The Perfect Lemon Meringue Pie

Filling:

4 egg yolks

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1/2 cup cornstarch

pinch of salt

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

zest of one lemon

2 tablespoons butter- NOT MARGARINE!!!!

Meringue:
4 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

One baked pastry shell, 8 or 9 inch

For the meringue, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time while eating until firm peaks form and sugar has completely dissolved. Check by rubbing meringue between fingertips- you should not feel any graininess. Set aside.

For the filling, beat the yolks with the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients except the butter. Cook over medium low heat until mixture bubbles and thickens. Whisk constantly!!!! Stir in the butter.

Pour the filling into a baked pastry shell. Immediately cover with meringue, spreading to edges and sealing against the crust. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven until the meringue browns slightly. Cool completely before serving.

Besides the tangy lemon meringue pie I also made a key lime pie at the same time. Key limes are teeny tiny limes sold by the bag full and if you are going to juice your own you'll need quite a few. You'll also want to zest several of them- you usually want a generous tablespoon of shredded zest for your filling.

It's All About The Pie

Country folks really do love pie. Seems like every small town cafe we stop in for a quick bite has a pretty impressive selection of homemade pies. You can't argue the simple deliciousness of this classic dessert, and small town folks are pretty down to earth and usually pass on the froofy stuff.

So they love pie.

Naturally as a baker I am drawn to this phenomenon. I think of myself as more of a cake person but really, I love making pastry. I love the idea of the homemaker spending the afternoon cutting up fresh apples or sorting berries, piling it all into a flaky crust and baking it until a perfect golden brown. In a different time it might have been me in that kitchen, wearing a pretty apron, flour sprinkled on my shoes, rolling out the pastry to the perfect thickness. Maybe I picked the apples or peaches just that morning, from a tree in my own yard, or maybe I stopped at the market in town and bought a basket full.

Life has moved on from those simpler times, but even in the midst of our busier lives, there is something so special about a perfectly baked pie. Maybe it reminds us of our grandmothers, or Mom's homemade chocolate cream pie, or family time over the holidays with pumpkin and mince pies. Whatever our individual connections to those memories might be, the fact is, we all need to make time for pie, and while the era of the homemaker spending hours in the kitchen making homemade desserts all the time may be gone, but the generosity and friendship you find in America's small towns remains. A neighbor with an apple tree means everyone has fresh apples. 

I love hearing my friends' stories about their mothers and grandmothers and the different pies that were popular in their families. My friend Tina has a wonderful story of her mom's award-winning- and drop dead gorgeous- apple pie. Seriously, this pie looks like a giant sunflower and every time I see Tina make it and share pictures I can just imagine her mom in the kitchen peeling apples, rolling dough, crimping edges.

Almost everyone loves apple pie, but a very very special lady who was once a huge part of my life taught me to make an old fashioned creamy apple pie that her mother used to make, and I loved it, and when I make it now it reminds of her and all the time we spent together. She taught me so much about life and strength and how to always be gracious. It just seems fitting that I would make "her" pie and share it with you.

Evelyn's Sour Cream Apple Pie

pastry for one pie shell

6 or 7 apples*

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

several grinds freshly grated nutmeg

big pinch of salt

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Crumb Topping (recipe follows)

*Choose apples that are good for baking, but not too tart. I like to mix up a couple kinds of apples.

Peel, core and cut up the apples into small pieces. Toss with lemon juice in a large bowl. Sprinkle with flour, spices, sugar and salt and toss to coat apples completely. 

In a small bowl combine the egg, sour cream and vanilla. Pour over apples and mix to coat well.

The velvety sour cream mixture coats the apples and
makes this pie so extra special.

 Roll out the pastry and fit into 9 inch pie plate. Crimp the edges. Pour the apples in the crust and place in a 350 degree oven. Bake the apples in the crust for 45 minutes. Watch the edges of the pastry closely and cover with foil if it's getting too browned.

While pie is baking, make the topping. After 45 minutes, remove from oven, sprinkle with crumb topping, and return to oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. 

Serve slightly warm or cool.

Crumb Topping

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sliced almonds

Combine everything except almonds and pulse in food processor to make crumbs (use a whisk or pastry blender to make by hand). Stir in the almonds. Sprinkle over the pie and continue baking.

Just the aroma of this amazing apple pie makes me smile and think of Evelyn. She taught me all about babies, when I knew absolutely NOTHING about how to care for a baby, all about canning (although she did things the "old" way and I don't), all about saving money and always making sure to have a secret grocery stash- a "squirrel cupboard" as she called it, and to always put my children first. She was a great role model, a hardworking strong woman, a cancer survivor, a volunteer, a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She helped me through some very difficult times over the years and told me to always hold my head up high. She was my mother in law, and I miss her every single day.

Gobble gobble !! In other words- EAT !!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone !! When it comes to holidays, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite. I love everything about fall, the food (long simmering stews, roasts that cook all day, apples baking....), the smells (leaves burning, crisp fall rain, and the food....) and my birthday.

Sometimes the best part of a big holiday celebration is dessert !!! The Chef and I had to split our celebrating between two families this year- not uncommon for lots of families, but totally new for me ! And as always with my family, they knew exactly what the wanted me to bring- cheesecake. I considered all the different flavors and varieties.....and decided to go with a citrusy cheesecake paired with bright red raspberries, which I love.

Sunny Citrus Cheesecake

1/2 box vanilla wafers, finely crushed
2 tb sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
4 8 oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 lemon
1 orange

In small bowl combine crushed cookies, sugar and melted butter. Press onto bottom of 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Set aside.

Beat softened cream cheese with mixer until fluffy. Gradually add sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Zest the orange and the lemon, mix into cheese mixture. Juice one half of the lemon and one half of the orange and add to mixture (about 1 tb lemon and 2 tb orange).

Pour filling into pan. Bake in a 325 degree oven for one hour until almost firm (still a little jiggly- will firm as it cools).

*NOTE* I always bake cheesecake with a pan of hot water underneath it. It helps prevent the top from cracking. Also, you can switch this one up with your favorite citrus zest and juice and of course, whatever fruit topping you like, or skip the fruit and serve as is.

Let cool, then refrigerate. Serve with fruit topping if desired (I used raspberry sauce).

The Chef's family had recently seen some of the photos of food that he and I make around the house- and of course, they saw the pies......so for their Thanksgiving dinner, pies were the requested dessert. You can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, so that was a definite must have.

The Old Standby Pumpkin Pie

1 unbaked pastry shell
1 can Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs

Combine filling ingredients and pour into crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 degrees and bake 50-60 minutes or until just set. Cool before serving.

But I had a terrible time deciding on a second pie !! But most people love apple pie, and with a cranberry twist it seemed to fit the bill for Thanksgiving.

Apple Cranberry Pie

pastry for 2 crust pie or 1 crust with crumb topping
5 or 6 Granny Smith apples (about 2 lb)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, quartered
3 tb flour
3/4 c sugar, divided
cinnamon
butter

In small bowl combine cranberries with 2 tb sugar- add about 2 tb water, cook in microwave for 1 minute. set aside to cool (can also cook on stovetop just for a minute or so until berries barely soften). Peel, core and slice apples into large bowl. Toss with flour, remaining sugar and cinnamon. Mix in cranberries. Pile into pastry-line pie plate. Dot with butter.

Add top crust, seal and flute. Vent crust. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar if desired. (Instead of top crust you can follow recipe for your favorite crumb topping such as Dutch apple).

Bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Cover edges of crust with foil for half the baking time to prevent burning.

It was a wonderful holiday, spent with family, good food and fun stories, football, grandkids and dogs and cats. Happy memories.....

My lovely mother-in-law enjoyed the apple cranberry pie !!

And that my friends, is another Thanksgiving in the history books. For me and the Chef, the start of new traditions perhaps ? I hope so.... I hope we have many more holidays together in our future.  And now..... the Christmas madness begins....................