Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

Family dinners have always been one of my fondest memories growing up. Every night we would gather around the table and poke fun at one another. Dad would always leave a souvenir on his shirt and one of the family members would be the butt of almost every joke for the evening. It was a time for us to connect together and leave our day behind us.

Thanksgiving was always a heightened version of these hysterical events. Adding more people in the mix only added to the playful bickering and the laughter grew louder the more we ate. You could always tell a new-comer by the various shades of red they would turn.

Mom would always make too much food and there was always room left for Key’s (that’s me) Pies. This year I wanted to do something different so I tried this recipe from Gourmet. I mean, how can you go wrong with cheese and apples???  Enjoy!

Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

yield: Makes 6 servings

active time: 40 min

total time: 5 1/2 hr (includes chilling dough and cooling pie)

For pastry:

·         2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1/2 teaspoons salt

·         1/2 pound extra-sharp Cheddar (preferably white), coarsely grated (2 1/2 cups)

·         1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

·         1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening (trans-fat-free), cut into 1/2-inch pieces

·         6 to 8 tablespoon ice water

·         1 tablespoon milk

For filling:

·         1 1/2 pound Gala apples (3 medium)

·         1 1/2 pound Granny Smith apples (3 medium)

·         2/3 cup sugar

·         3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·         1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

Make pastry dough: 
Stir together flour, salt, and cheese in a large bowl (or pulse in a food processor). Add butter and shortening and blend with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 6 tablespoon ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: If dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide in half, then form each half into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Make filling and bake pie: 
Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Peel and core apples, then slice 1/4 inch thick. Toss apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice, and salt until evenly coated.

Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining disk chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out remaining piece of dough into an 11-inch round.

Transfer filling to shell. Dot with butter, then cover with pastry round. Trim edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press edges together to seal, then fold under. Lightly brush top crust with milk, then cut 5 (1-inch-long) vents.

Bake on hot baking sheet 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 375°F and bake until crust is golden-brown and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes more. Cool to warm or room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.

Cooks' note: Dough can be chilled up to 2 days or frozen up to 3 months.

Cornish Game Hen with Garlic and Rosemary paired with Champagne Risotto

With Thanksgiving around the corner, everyone is gearing up for the one night when they succumb to the gluttonous pleasures of one of the biggest meals of the year. Though the thought of seeing my family excites me to no end, the thought of stuffing myself with turkey (yet again) was somewhat less than exciting this year for some reason. I want something different!!! Why is always the same thing?

Now please don’t get me wrong, Thanksgiving is a tradition in my family and I have been making it by my mother’s side my whole life. Sipping wine, trading secrets and throwing pie dough is one of our favorite pastimes. Though the amazing meal is always due to my mother’s epic cooking skills, I am always in charge of the pies.

Because traditions are sacred, I decided to try something different for one of my Sunday dinners. I thoroughly enjoy duck when I come across it but I wanted to try something I’ve never had before. (Big surprise!) So I called my local grocery store and had them set aside some fresh Cornish Game Hen for me. My friend, Navanjali, gave me the idea for champagne risotto to pair with it. Well, that and I wanted to have an excuse to buy a bottle of champagne for myself. What?! 

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! 

Cornish Game Hens with Garlic and Rosemary

AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 Cornish game hens
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 24 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

2.      Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

3.      Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting

about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.

4.      Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.

Champagne Risotto

Epicurious.com

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2/3 cup arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
• 1 cup dry Champagne
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can (or more) low-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; sauté 1 minute. Add rice; sauté 2 minutes. Add Champagne; simmer until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1 can broth; simmer until rice is almost tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Stir in Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Just remember…..I’m in charge of the pies! 

Winter Squash Soup with Fried Sage Leaves

Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s NPR podcast “The Splendid Table” is by far one of my favorite guilty pleasures. The amount of knowledge that woman has about food never ceases to amaze me and I always learn something from every podcast. A few episodes ago, a caller asked Lynne what she could do with her overgrown sage plant. Lynne, as always, spouted out tons of mouth watering recipes that had me running home to try. One tip in particular that caught my ear was frying the dried sage leaves in olive oil and mixing them with blanched green beans with balsamic vinaigrette. I made this recipe for a few of my guests at my last pot luck and was complimented on my use of the intoxicating plant.

Having found a new passion for fried sage leaves, I was naturally excited to have stumbled upon a winter squash soup recipe that featured them. This recipe is painfully simple and extremely delicious. I altered the recipe a bit by adding pancetta to the hot oil after I took the sage leaves out then starting the stock from that same oil. I also find that blending thick soups like this makes for a smooth consistency and allows for the flavors to blend just a little more. This recipe is perfect for those bitter fall nights when you need something extra to warm those chilly bones. 

Winter Squash Soup with Fried Sage Leaves

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ to 3 pounds winter squash
• ¼ cup olive oil, plus extra for the squash
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 12 whole sage leaves, plus 2 tablespoons chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• Chopped leaves from 4 thyme sprigs or ¼ teaspoon tried
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• Salt
• Freshly milled pepper
• 2 quarts water or stock (I only used 3 cups instead of 4)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Brush the surfaces with oil, stuff the cavities with the garlic, and place them cut sides down on a baking sheet. Bake until tender when pressed with a finger, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat the 1/4 cup oil until nearly smoking, then drop in the whole sage leaves and fry until speckled and dark, about 1 minute. Set the leaves aside on a paper towel and transfer the oil to a wide soup pot. Add the onions, chopped sage, thyme, and parsley and cook over medium heat until the onions have begun to brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Scoop the squash flesh into the pot along with any juices that have accumulated in the pan. Peel the garlic and add it to the pot along with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes. If the soup becomes too thick, simply add more water to thin it out. Taste for salt.

Depending on the type of squash you've used, the soup will be smooth or rough. Puree or pass it through a food mill if you want a more refined soup. Ladle it into bowls and garnish each bowl with the fried sage leaves, add pepper, and serve.

You can find this recipe at Epicurious.com 

Mushroom Ravioli and Tuscan Bean Soup

Inspired by Dominica Marchetti’s ravioli recipe in this month’s Food and Wine magazine, I decided to finally fulfill my ongoing desire of making ravioli.  Now, I’ve seenJacques Pepin do this with ease and thought “this can’t be so hard.” I honestly couldn’t have been more wrong. Someone once told me to always have a backup plan when trying out new recipes, just in case, so I decided to pair the ravioli with Tuscan Bean soup. (Inspired by Emeril Lagasse’s recipe)

Off to the market I go in search for inspiration for my ravioli filling. I think of all the different types of cheese concoctions I could whip up but then decide that I want to go for something with more a fall taste. I didn’t want to go too crazy with the recipe my first go around, so I settle on a mushroom and ricotta filling.

Following the simple ravioli directions religiously, I start on the soup while the dough comes to room temperature.

 

Tuscan Bean Soup: Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 -14-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 - 14-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 pound diced pancetta
• 2 cups diced yellow onions
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 - 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 quarts chicken stock, plus extra water if needed
• 1 sprig of fresh oregano
• 2 heads of kale, stems removed and cut into bite size pieces
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, for serving

Directions

1.      In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta, cooking until slightly crispy. Sauté the onion, celery, and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in one cup of chicken stock and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes. This will allow for the seasonings from the pancetta and the onions, celery and garlic to become more concentrated.

2.      Once the soup turns to a dark yellow/brown color, add the kidney beans, cannellini beans, carrots, tomatoes, oregano and the rest of the chicken stock. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, and then add the kale. Continue cooking for about an hour.

Now, ya see, I’ve obviously never made ravioli before and from watching chefs make it on TV, it seemed to be a pretty simple task to accomplish. I do not have a hand cranked pasta machine so I thought rolling it out the old fashioned way would be just as good. Let me be the first to admit how much I cursed while making this dish. 

I cut the dough into four pieces, as the recipe stated, and got to work. When I first started working with the dough, I thought I had done something wrong. It was a little crumbly and didn’t look like it was going to roll out nicely. Showing it some tough love, I started kneading, and kneading, and kneading. The oil and warmth of my hands aided in combining the dough and it slowly began to form a malleable consistency. I could see it was ready to be rolled out.

Smacking the oval of dough with my rolling pin a few times to begin, I start the ever so challenging rolling of the dough. Dominca states as a tip in her recipe that she knows the dough is ready when you can hold it up and see a shadow of your hand behind it. Good luck getting to that point with a rolling pin.

I thought of the old Italian woman and their strong arms as I pushed the dough. I thought of my grandmother in the kitchen for hours making pierogies, which I heard are just as challenging to make. I thought of me, without my pasta machine, determined to succeed in my ravioli making quest. I pressed on and started to enjoy the tedious process.

Finally, I see the shadow behind the dough and break out my cookie cutter. I wanted to get the most out of the dough considering it was difficult to make so I decided to use a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter to make the raviolis. My rounds are cut and I’m ready to stuff them with my mushroom ricotta recipe.

Painlessly Simple Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli Stuffing:

Ingredients:

·         One stick of salted butter, cut into 6 pieces

·         1 lb. brunoise white mushrooms

·         8oz whole Ricotta Cheese.

Directions

1.      Melt the butter in a large non stick pan and combine with the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until they are soft and golden brown.

2.      Remove from heat. Drain access butter and put aside to use for the sauce.

3.      In a medium bowl, add ricotta to the mushrooms

I dab a teaspoon of my filling in the middle of each round and top with another. Being careful to keep the filling from oozing out, I pinch the outer corners of the ravioli and form a seal. I then throw them in a boiling pot of salted water for about a minute or two. Voila! They’re beautiful!

Over medium heat in a small sauce pan, I add a tablespoon of olive oil and a minced garlic clove to the mushroomed butter and pour over my cooked ravioli. By now my soup is complete and I’m ready to dine.

I top my soup off with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano, pour a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and marvel at my creation. Every bite is more delicious than the next and both meals complement each other beautifully. As I finish off my ravioli, I vow to treat myself to a hand cranked pasta machine before I try the cheese ravioli.

Simple Mushroom and Poached Egg Recipe

This recipe is one I always make when I have some extra mushrooms laying around. It is beyond satisfying and perfect for a chilly fall morning. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

·        Two pieces of whole wheat bread

·        4 Large eggs

·        ½ lb Mushrooms cut into small pieces

·        ½ stick of butter

·        Parmesan Cheese

·        Salt & Pepper

·        Pot of boiling water

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter and cook the mushrooms until they are broken down. Towards the end of the cooking process, begin to toast the bread.
2. Once the pot of water comes to a rolling boil, gently poach each egg and place on top of toast and  mushrooms. Add salt, pepper and Parmesan Cheese.

Weekend Shenanigans

Thursday 10/7:

• If you’re like me and never seem to get the chance to try any of DC’s amazing food trucks, come join us for Curbside Cookoff today and tomorrow (10/7-10/8). This event is free and will be held at the old Washington Convention Center (11^th &H NW), running both days from 11:00am to 9:00pm.  So come out, enjoy some music, art and the best street food the city has to offer!

Friday 10/8:

• Hungry for more Street food? Curbside Cookoff – Day Two!

Saturday 10/9:

•  Come out and taste what Georgetown has to offer at this year’s Taste of Georgetown. Relax to some jazz from Blues Alley, sample some wine and taste food from thirty of Georgetown’s finest restaurants. Admission is free, tasting tickets are $5 a piece (5 for $20).

Sunday 10/10:

•  Wind down your weekend with a stroll through Eastern Market and find out what fall has to offer. Summer is coming to an end and soon the famers will be hibernating for the winter, but not before they bring us our favorite autumn produce. Go shopping at the flea market and enjoy the beautiful weather with a lunch outside at one of the local bistros. Bring the dogs and kids, all are welcome!

The Tale of Three Figs

It’s that inevitable time again – dinner time. Neglecting my culinary adventures this past week, I have not been to the store and not have just a few things lying around to work with. Standing in front of the fridge, the cold air surrounding my legs, I lean down to take inventory of my sad selection of food. The rain is falling hard outside and I know there is no way I’m going anywhere. I must make do with what I have.

A crumpled up bag in the far back of the fridge moves slightly as I rummage around. Figs! I then spot several different cheeses I have scattered about and the wheels begin to turn. Though I only have three left, I’m confident I can make a tasty appetizer – or three.

First Fig:

This fig is inspired by a recipe I found on Gourmet.com. Simply cut the fig into four parts, leaving the base connected, stuff with goat cheese and peppered honey. The creamy salty goat cheese gives way to the sweet honey and cold fig leaving a hint of pepper at the end. What a beautiful idea!

Second Fig:

Inspired only by my taste buds, this fig is a salty sweet concoction consisting of pancetta, honey and a generous slice of burrata cheese. The burrata was a generous gift I received from the clerk at the P&C Market right off Lincoln circle. It is new to me yet the familiar mozzarella taste was very inviting. With its milky center, the sweet fig and honey combined with the salty bite of the pancetta left my taste buds running wild.

Third Fig:

What’s any meal without dessert? The simple combination of vanilla Greek yogurt, sliced fig all drizzled in chocolate sauce was a perfect way to end my fig journey. Using Greek Yogurt allowed for the sweetness of the chocolate sauce and the fig to shine through without being too sweet.