Two Pies for Pi Day

I'm sure I've mentioned that Pi Day is one of my favorite holidays. If you haven't heard of it, Pi Day is so called because March 14th or 3.14 is, of course, the begining of pi. This year (since it is pi month--March 2014--and we get those so rarely) I made two pies, one savory and one sweet.

Mint Hearts (with Recipe)

These mint hearts are a really simple Valentine's Day treat. I made an extra stiff cream cheese mint dough, rolled it out between two sheets of parchment and cut it with a heart shaped aspic cutter (aspic cutters are smaller than most cookie cutters--I usually use mine to cut the centers of linzer cookies).

New Year's Eve "Party"

I was invited to New Year's parties, but I don't do New Year's parties. Ever. My family has a rule that you must wear stretch waist pants on New Year's Eve. We eat snacks and party food and go to bed at 12:01 (which is earlier than we normally go to bed, but that's not the point...) The point is, this year my mom, my friend Adriana, and myself stayed in and ate our way into the new year.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

I made these for Sophie and her family. The cookies are the chocolate cream cheese snacking cookies from Baked's latest cookbook. I've made them before and had wonderful feed back. The main thing about these cookies is that people who say they don't like sweets or really chocolatey things like them and people (like me) who would live on chocolate if they could like them. I figured that'd be good since Sophie's parents aren't as into sweets but her sister is and Sophie herself falls somewhere in between.

Savory Onion Tart, the remake

Remember this? I first made this in culinary school and loved it so much I made it at home a couple times. One of those times happened to be for Sophie. That may have been a mistake. Ever since, she's been asking (nagging...begging...) me to make it again. If you don't remember it, basically it's a flakey, tender, buttery tart crust topped with sauteed onions, heirloom tomatoes, walnuts, and stilton.

Happy Pi Day

I'm a nerd at heart. I'm also a pastry chef (in case you didn't know). So Pi Day is one of my favorite holidays. It combines math (March 14th --> 3/14 --> 3.14, which, of course, is pi) and dessert (pie) into one great holiday.

I happen to be on vacation and am staying with a friend. I didn't want to go crazy in her kitchen (which is a lovely kitchen, but still) so I opted for an ice box pie. This particular recipe comes by way of the William's-Sonoma pie cookbook. It's a cream cheese pie with oranges and a graham cracker crust. I admit the crust is store bought, like I said I didn't want to make a mess in the kitchen. I used heirloom navel oranges on top. they were sweeter and more flavorful than usual navel oranges, perhaps because the were organic and heirloom or perhaps because it's citrus season right about now. The filling's a mixture of cream cheese, lemon juice and condensed milk. It's a delicious, sticky mixture, but it did not thicken or set at all, so it was very messy!

The pie really didn't hold together like a pie when you cut into it (because the filling was too liquid) but gosh was it good! You don't even have to take my word for it: everyone loved it (and ate large helpings). I believe one word bandied around was "refreshing." I think that's a very accurate description of this yummy, citrus-y pie.

I had a little left over filling so I made a few mini pies.

Walnut Stilton Scones

These savory, walnut and Stilton scones from Alice's Tea Cup's cookbook are delicious! They resemble a really nice, flakey, buttermilk biscuit more than a traditional scone. The veins of blue cheese in the scones are strong but not overpowering. The walnuts are relatively soft, as nuts go at least, so they add texture without being so crunchy as to distract from the normal scone texture. The scones are perfect for an afternoon tea if you are also serving a sweet scone (such as pumpkin scones) but they are really lovely on their own with a cup of strong tea or even on the side of tomato soup.

Pumpkin Scones

I love the pumpkin scones at Alice's Tea Cup. The slightly spicy pumpkin-y goodness and the sticky caramel sauce that soaks into the top and drips down the side of each scone is addictive. I always wanted to know how to make them so I bought the Alice's cookbook as soon as it came out. Of course I was busy and have only just made the recipe. It did not disappoint--much.

I made the scone sans sauce--as is typical of a sauce, it is applied after the scones are baked, so leaving it off doesn't affect the baking process. The scones rose properly and were flaky and light inside. I've had trouble with a few of the Alice's scones coming out flat, dense, and a bit damp, so I was thrilled that these didn't give me any of those problems. Of course the dough was extraordinarily sticky and I had to add quite a bit of flour to make it workable--so that could be why they worked well (and came out a bit dry, as mentioned below.) The pumpkin flavor was just as I remembered: pumpkin, spice, and a hint of baking soda (in a good way...rather like a baking soda biscuit).

As I said, I did not make the caramel sauce. I love it and from glancing at the recipe it seems simple and probably perfect, but I was out of heavy cream and didn't want to go out for it. In any case, I wanted to keep the scones to munch on for a few days and I figure the caramel sauce will make them soggy if they sit overnight. Obviously this did change the taste of the scone, since the caramel sauce soaks into them at the restaurant, but it wasn't much of a difference--since their scones are very large, much of the middle and bottom of their scones remains untouched by the sauce. It did render them slightly drier than they should have been, so I whipped up a pumpkin and mascarpone cream. The dainty scone cream with a healthy dollop of the cream and a little raspberry jam spread was delicious! (I can't wait to try it with the glaze.)

Milk Chocolate, Orange, and Mascarpone Mousse

This, like my usual chocolate mousse, is not technically mousse. But it's delicious and mousse-y, so close enough. I made this by whipping heavy cream and mascarpone to soft peaks with a bit of orange zest and extract. Then I folded in melted milk chocolate that I'd allowed to cool to about 100*F (that's basically body temperature, so if you stick your finger in and the chocolate doesn't feel warm or cold, you've got the right temperature) into cream and cheese mixture.

You can serve this right away, but it keeps perfectly in the fridge. I recommend making it before you start making the meal (it doesn't take long since you can whip the cream while the chocolate is melting--just keep an eye on the chocolate, you don't want it to burn), letting it chill, and serving it just before you eat.

To serve, I used an ice cream scoop to get nice even scoops and plopped them into tea cups. I topped the mousse with a sprig of basil--basil is a cousin of mint and is underused in sweet applications, which is a shame really as it's lovely with citrus and chocolate--and voila, a delicious, no cook, gluten free dessert.

Pesto Pizza

I'm not sure this is really pizza. I used homemade pizza dough (left over from the pizzas I made yesterday), but the basil and pine nut pesto and Parmesan cheese topping isn't quite the stuff of pizza. It's more of a garlic bread type creation, but with pesto instead of garlic butter. Regardless of what you call it, it was a delicious afternoon snack!

Homemade Pizza

I love pizza and nothing beats homemade pizza on homemade pizza crusts. The homemade dough really does make a difference; the flavor is better and the dough is more tender and the crust crisps up a bit better. We made four mini pizzas, two each of two flavors. Both types had basil pesto and fresh mozzarella, half had slices of heirloom tomato and the other half had truffle salami and a drizzle of truffle oil. Yummy!

Homemade Viennois

At the FCI we used fresh yeast when we made bread. For the life of me I could not find it anywhere. Well I recently found a store that sells little cubes of it, so I'm getting back to making bread. I'm very happy; I like making bread and I love homemade bread.

By the way, I obviously could use dry active yeast but I like the FCI recipes and I have yet to figure out an exact conversion between the two, so to use dry active yeast (or instant yeast for that matter) I have to use other recipes. If anyone happens to have a good conversion (that definitely works) between the different yeasts let me know--I think that's the one thing I didn't learn in culinary school that I wish I had learned.

I digress. I decided to make Viennois, which is one of my favorite breads (I like it so much I chose to make it for my bread exam). It is sort of a light brioche, less egg and butter but a similar taste. I decided to make rolls, rather than the baguette shaped loaves I made in school. The little rolls made the perfect little sandwiches: cucumber with butter, egg salad, and cheese. The bread holds its own, even with the strong English cheddar, but doesn't distract from the flavors of the filling, even the mild cucumber and butter. It's a nice lunch sandwich bread, a lovely bread for non-traditional finger sandwiches, and even for dipping in the homemade tomato soup my mom made. Yum, yum!

Cocktail Party Snacks

I may have mentioned that we are entertaining quite a bit lately. We've made some lovely hors d'oeuvres lately and I thought I'd share them.

At the top we have endive with English Stilton and a pecan. This is so simple to make and absolutely delicious. It's also very nice to serve--and clean up--since there are no utensils (or even toothpick) required. If you want to get a bit fancier, you could use a candied pecan--it's delicious but you lose the ability to pretend that you've made the cheese healthy by paring it with endive and a nut (they have omega-3 fatty acids).

Another simple one is radishes with salted butter. I make my own salted butter by mixing softened butter with good sea salt, but you could obviously use some nice store-bought salted butter. I'm not a huge fan of radishes myself, but this French staple is delicious if you do happen to like radishes.

This platter of saucisson sec and cucumber is also absurdly simple. All you have to do is slice the salami and the cucumber to the same thickness and spread them out on a platter. Just don't forget to provide toothpicks if you are having a standing shindig.

This last one is one of my personal favorites. It's not quite a high brow as the other three, but it is still lovely to serve at slightly less formal occasion. It's a very fresh, simple avocado and heirloom tomato salsa with scallions. Delicious served with blue corn tortilla chips!

All of these are fresh, simple, and delicious for a cocktail party, an appetizer, or even an afternoon snack.

Caprese Salad Two Ways

Top: family style plating
Bottom: cocktail party/buffet plating

Recently we decided to make a nice fresh Caprese salad. We wanted a more classic look than the tomato and mozzarella plate I made a few months ago. We also wanted it to be easy to eat at the family style meal we were planning--just grab a stack and put it on your plate. We came up with two platings. One is better for a family style meal and one is better for a cocktail party or buffet plating, though either plating could work for either use.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Snacking Cookies

These are some of my favorite cookies ever! They are not too sweet, just a tiny bit tangy (from the cream cheese), and quite chocolaty--what could be bad about that? The texture was great too: soft and chewy, but not doughy or under baked. Everyone I gave these to loved them, which was a shame really because I then felt obligated to let them have more, which meant fewer for me. Seriously, these were great as a dessert and, unfortunately, they lived up to their name--given to them by the Baked guys in their newest cookbook, Baked Essentials--and were the perfect snacking cookie.

Balsamic Strawberry Icebox Pie

Remember the peach icebox pie I made? I really liked the cheesecake-esque pie and wanted to make it again but I didn't have any peaches. Then I decided that it could really have any fruit topping I wanted. I opted for strawberries, partly because I had some in the fridge and partly because they are a traditional cheesecake topping, which I though might be fun.

I didn't really want to do plain strawberries or, I shudder at the thought, strawberries with some sort of glaze so I opted for balsamic strawberries. Basically, I macerated sliced strawberries in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, chambord, and sugar for a few hours before draining them and putting on top of the pie. This is a much more dressed up version of the pie--I always feel that peaches (and other stone fruits) are somehow more down-home than other fruits. I love both versions and I'm not sure I could pick one that I like more since they really are so different. I don't know how I'll decide which topping to make when I make this pie again. Perhaps I'll just have to try something new!

Heirloom Tomatoes and Mozzarella

I know it isn't difficult to make this, but I wanted to share it anyway. I found delicious and beautiful heirloom tomatoes at Whole Foods and decided I had to use them in a way that showcased them. I cut one slice per plate of a lovely green tomato and arranged a pile of mozzarella wedges on top. Then I placed some wedges of tomato and cheese around the plate and lightly drizzled on some good balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. It was fresh and delicious--a lovely summer dinner!

Peach Icebox Pie Recipe

The icebox pie before I put the peaches on top.

As promised, here is the recipe for my peach icebox pie. It's quite easy to make and can be made and almost fully assembled a day in advance. Enjoy!

Crust:

• Aprox 1/2 box graham crackers, finely crushed
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2-1 stick butter, melted
• 1 tbsp cinnamon (optional)

Filling:

• 8oz cream cheese
• 8oz mascarpone
• 8oz greek yogurt
• 1/4-1/2 cup superfine sugar (or to taste)
• 1 vanilla bean scraped or one 2tsp vanilla bean paste (note: if you have neither, you can use 1tbsp  vanilla extract, but you won't have the lovely flecks of vanilla bean)

Topping:

• 2 cans peach slices in fruit juice
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp peach schnapps (optional)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

To make the crust, mix the graham cracker crumbs, the pecans, the brown sugar, and the cinnamon (if you are using it) together. Mix in 1/2-1 cups melted butter, until the mixture comes together. Press the crumb mixture about 1/4 inch thick into a lightly buttered 9-in pie plate. If you have extra (I did) press it into the bottom of a few ramekins. Bake at 350* until golden and somewhat dry, about 10-15 min for the pie. Let cool.

To make the filling, whip everything together until it reaches soft peaks. You will have leftover, fill the ramekins if you have any, if not just put it in a tupperware and serve it with fresh berries when you've finished up the pie. Spread it into the cool pie crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

To make the topping, drain the peaches and mix them with the other ingredients. Put in a covered container and allow to chill until you are ready to serve the pie. 

To serve, either top the entire pie with the peaches or slice then top each slice (the best bet if you don't plan on serving the whole pie in one night, since it can make the pie a bit soggy if it sits too long.) To slice the pie, run a sharp knife under hot water, wipe with a towel, and cut. This allows you to have nice clean slices through the semi-soft filling. 

Peach Icebox Pie

An individual serving of peach icebox pie.

The other day I had a slice of peach jamboree (or something of that nature) at Magnolia Bakery. It was very good and I was disappointed to see that I didn't have a recipe for it in my Magnolia Bakery cookbook--either it's in one of their other books or they decided not to tell the public how to make this one. I decided that I really did want to make it, so I worked from memory and recreated it. I don't actually think I was terribly accurate, but that's alright I love my version anyway. It's sort of a cross between cheesecake and a peach pie--what could be bad about that?!

Basically, I made a graham cracker crust, a creamy cheese filling, and a peach topping. Technically this isn't an icebox pie, as I chilled it in the refrigerator rather than freezing it. I had extra crust and filling so I made little individual pies in ramekins. They were a perfect serving size for one person but I thought the crust to filling ratio was a bit off--I prefer more crust than you get in a ramekin since you can only line the bottom.

It was easy and only the crust required baking, which was nice on a hot summer night like tonight. I wrote down approximately what I did, so I'll type it up and give you all the recipe for my peach icebox pie soon.

BLT

Who doesn't love a BLT?

This isn't dessert, nor is it the most impressive thing I've ever made, but it's a perfect Sunday afternoon lunch or even a weeknight dinner. It's a pretty traditional BLT made with, you guessed it, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. I used New York rye bread, because that's what I had at home. It's very good with rye, but a nice brioche would be good too. I spread mayo on one slice of bread and blue cheese on the other. Then stack on the boston butter lettuce (I used shredded lettuces that was left over from making tacos last night, but you could use whole leaf), thinly sliced heirloom tomatoes, and crispy slices of uncured chipotle bacon. That's it! Simple and delicious.

A note on the bacon: I typically get uncured, natural applewood or maple bacon, but I saw the chipotle and thought that sounded too good not to try. It really is excellent and I recommend it if you can find it.