Election 2016 and Chicken Braised with Grapes

Chicken Braised with Grapes

Well, that was a doozy.  I am going to offer one thought and then I will shut up about it.  The Democratic party has always been the party of the working class, not the elites.  That narrative was flipped in this past election and here we are.  There is a lot in that statement and there are many reasons why elections go one way or another, but in my mind, that is the heart of the issue.

Cherry Almond Coffeecake Pie

I am attempting to put out of my mind a less than desirable day and come to peace with the fact that sometimes being a parent can test every last ounce of patience I ever possessed. It was one of those days that I told my kid to go left, he went right, I said up and he went down, I said no and he did it anyway. My little man also decided to sprinkle a little back talk, a few tantrums and an overall questionable attitude into an already trying sequence of events. I am working alone and it is times like these when I wish I could morph into a male authority figure with a deep booming voice that always seems to get kids to behave. Instead, my child was in time out today on multiple occasions and Mommy had to break into a bottle of wine earlier rather than later. Note, this child can be one of the sweetest and most charming children I have ever been around but when he has a bad day, I am convinced my life expectancy plummets immeasurably.

Ok, now, about this pie and happier things. The combination of cherries and almonds was amazing and I insist that you make this addictive concoction immediately or while the cherry supply lasts. There is a layer of cherries on the bottom with a sweet almond filling and a bit of a bite from the sour cream. Sweet, nutty and wonderful with vanilla bean ice cream on top. Enjoy! xo - AJ

Key Lime Pie

The flavors of summer are so sublime. One of the advantages of living in a four season city, is having the distinct advantage of experiencing a range of seasons and the beauty and feeling that is unique to each one. Just as I love the warm and hibernating quality of huddling in front of the fire with snow falling outside of my window, a glass of Burgundy or Pinot Noir in my hand and a feast of Beef Bourguignon, I also love the feeling of sitting outside with the sun on my neck, a glass of sweet tea by my side and a piece of frozen Key Lime Pie. It really is the simple pleasures that make life so sweet.

So, about this ever so refreshing pie. I have made Ina Garten's Key Lime Pie for a long time and it has always been foolproof. However, because I can never just leave fabulous alone, I went searching high and low through the depths of the web and my piles of cookbooks, for a recipe or recipe combination that would improve a proven winner. I was surprised to find that Ina's recipe is not unique. The ingredients and method for all of the recipes I found were all basically the same. That said, I did find Emeril's recipe that called for sour cream and I imagine that would be an excellent complement and would add a creamy quality to the pie and accent the citrus flavor quite well.

So, try Ina's or Emeril's and remember to eat the pie with the sun on your neck. xoxo - AJ

Recipe adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Family Style, by Ina Garten

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) salted butter, melted

For the filling:
7 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons grated lime zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 limes)

For the decoration:
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Thin lime wedges dipped in sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pyrex pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and allow to cool completely.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of a clean electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze.

For the decoration, beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon or pipe decoratively onto the pie and decorate with limes dipped in sugar. Freeze for several hours or overnight.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb is such an odd vegetable, no? If you use the wrong parts, it's poisonous. When put in pie or used in jam, amazingly delicious with an incredibly sour taste that turns wonderfully sweet and subtle with sugar. Add in strawberries and the flavors play off of each other wonderfully. It's a difficult taste to describe and one of the few that if a person has not had it, I will say they just have to try it.

So, the challenge with liquid laden strawberries and rhubarb in the classic strawberry rhubarb pie is, of course, making a pie and not soup under a crust. Most recipes call for two tablespoons of quick cooking tapioca to remedy the liquid/soup issue. I have also tried arrowroot and flour and they would still come out soupy. I found the recipe below on the blog Smitten Kitchen which calls for a whopping 1/4 cup of tapioca. Ok, that's a lot but nothing else was working so might as well try it. The heaping pile of tapioca got the job done in terms of sopping up the liquid. My one little issue was that I was very aware of the tapioca beads and could feel their texture in the guts of the pie. So, verdict is that it was not perfect but definitely solved the soup issue.

Final note on this post is about the crust. I have always and I mean always used shortening in my pie crusts as I believed that was the only way that the crust would fall like a blanket on the pie filling instead of standing crunchy and dome-like over the filling. A dome over a pie is never good and annoyed me endlessly when it used to happen with other crust recipes that I had used that were primarily made with butter. This recipe has changed my thinking completely on this issue! Not only did this crust taste absolutely delicious, there was no dome action that occurred. This crust fell beautifully over the pie, like aforementioned blanket and had that buttery richness that could only come from an all butter crust. The crust is also from the Smitten Kitchen and it will be the only one I use moving forward or until a better crust catches my attention.

Enjoy! AJ

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 recipe All Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough or double-crust pie dough of your choice

3 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds, untrimmed) rhubarb, in 1/2-inch thick slices
3 1/2 cups (about 1 pound) strawberries, hulled and sliced if big, halved if tiny
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon buttermilk (for glaze)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a well-floured counter, roll half of pie dough into a 12-inch circle and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. (I like to fold my gently into quarters, to transfer it more easily, then unfold it in the pie plate.)

Stir together rhubarb, strawberries, sugars, lemon, salt, vanilla and tapioca in a large bowl. Mound filling inside bottom pie crust and dot with bits of unsalted butter. Roll second half of pie dough into an 11-inch circle and cut decorative slits in it. Transfer it to center over the pie filling. Trim top and bottom pie dough so that their overhang beyond the pie plate lip is only 1/2-inch. Tuck rim of dough underneath itself and crimp it decoratively.

Transfer pie to a baking sheet and brush egg yolk mixture over dough. Bake for 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until the pie is golden and the juices bubble visibly.

Transfer pie to wire rack to cool completely (several hours).


All Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough

Makes enough dough for one double-, or two single-crust pies.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces, 16 tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold

Gather your ingredients: Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside. In a large bowl — whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt. Dice two sticks (8 ounces or 1 cup) of very cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch pieces.

Make your mix: Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and mix a few times with the paddle attachment on your Kitchen Aid. When all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas — stop.

Glue it together: Start by drizzling 1/2 cup of the ice-cold water (but not the cubes) over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. You’ll probably need an additional 1/4 cup of cold water to bring it together, but add it a tablespoon as a time. Once you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula, take it out. Gather the clumps together into one mound, kneading them gently together.

Pack it up: Divide the dough in half, and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Touch and handle the dough as little as possible. Let the dough chill in the fridge for one hour, but preferably at least two, before rolling it out.

Do ahead: Dough will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer longer. If not using it that day, wrap it in additional layers of plastic wrap to protect it from fridge/freezer smells. To defrost your dough, move it to the fridge for one day before using it.

Twix Pie

I have a friend. He is remarkably persistent and he has a sweet tooth that rivals mine. My friend loves Twix candy bars. He loves them so much that he gave me this recipe about six months ago with a polite request to make this pie. I told him I would and I meant it. However, with a pile of recipes a mile high, this one kept falling into the, I'll do this one late category.

Then a mutual friend had a birthday approaching. This mutual friend also happens to love Twix candy bars and therefore, my friend who gave me the recipe, kindly and with a hint of desperation, asked me to make the pie for our friend's birthday. I tried to dodge it and then, this so-called friend pulled out the big guns. I saw that this recipe required homemade caramel which is remarkably easy to botch and I mentioned, very passively, that I would have to make the caramel. My friend replied, "Oh, well, if this is too difficult for you, I understand." To say that this friend, who is fully aware that I am a baking fanatic, hit me where it hurt, is an understatement.

Of course, we all know what happened. I told my friend that those were fighting words and immediately went home to make this pie. Did his tactics work? Without a doubt and I took the bait like a ravenous shark smelling blood for the first time. In the end, I am glad I made this pie because it was undeniably good. Warning though, it is incredibly sweet and I would not suggest having this one at an office meeting. Everyone will crash hard and will not be able to keep their eyes open for the remainder of the day. If your goal is to take a nap, this pie is for you! Enjoy! AJ

Recipe from Ahmed on Group Recipes

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large egg yolks
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Caramel filling
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate ganache
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

For crust:
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Butter 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add 1/2 cup butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks; process until moist clumps form. Add cocoa powder; blend in using on/off turns. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on rack while preparing caramel filling.

For caramel filling:
Combine sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil without stirring until mixture is deep amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 7 minutes. Watch carefully,sugar may burn so fast.
Remove from heat; add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Add butter and stir over low heat until caramel is completely smooth. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; stir in salt. Cool 10 minutes. Pour warm caramel into crust. Let stand at room temperature until completely cool, about 45 minutes.

For ganache:
Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Let stand until slightly cooled but still pourable, about 10 minutes. Pour ganache evenly over caramel filling. Refrigerate tart uncovered until chocolate is firm, about 2 hours. do ahead Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Apple Pie (Bourbon Filling/Cheddar Crust Optional)

By all measures, I should not be as enamored with pie as I am. My Mother never made it, we never brought it home from the store and there was not a Grandmother's knee I sat at while she crimped a pie crust from a recipe that was passed down from some family ancestor from the 1600's. No, there is nothing in my history that I can point to that would make me have such a deep love of pie. Somehow though, I am utterly enamored and fascinated by it. It might be that I love American History and I worked in politics for a while so perhaps this is just the sap in me that loves the fact that this truly is the most American of American desserts.

Pie personifies the U.S. in that it is rustic, imperfect and takes work and practice to get right. It can be made with a million different combinations of apples and no one combination is better than the other because we all have different tastes and preferences. That, to me, is what America is, rustic, imperfect, with many different cultures, races and traditions that are tied together with some common ingredients. Even the crust over the apples looks like an American Quilt covering one of those lumpy old mattresses that those poor unfortunate Colonists had to sleep on.

So, with the above in mind, give your pie a few tries with new ingredients and tailor it to fit your taste. I love cheddar cheese in my crust and Bourbon on the inside with a huge huge hit of vanilla bean ice cream and a swirl of caramel on top. I think the cheddar cheese is more of a East Coast thing since I tell people about it in the Midwest and they look at me like I am crazy. Trust me on this though, the cheddar cheese adds a richness to the crust that is amazing. After that, hit it with the Bourbon and you have a dessert that truly is the most delectable of delectable desserts. xoxo - AJ

Pie Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
7-8 large Granny Smith apples (or any combination of apples with some sweet and some tart)
1 tablespoon juice and 1 teaspoon grated zest from 1 lemon
1/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 tablespoons Bourbon (optional)
Pinch of allspice
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 large egg beaten with a tablespoon of heavy cream

Method:

Adjust oven rack to low position, place a rimmed baking sheet on it and pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. If dough has been in the refrigerator overnight, take it out and let it stand four about an hour until it is soft enough to roll out.

Roll the dough out on a well-floured board into an approximate 12-inch circle. Be careful to bring the edges of the dough together when they start to break apart and turn it on the board with your hands to make sure that it is not sticking to the surface of the board. Flour the board in between rolling if necessary to keep everything sliding well. Transfer the dough around the rolling pin gently into pie pan and leaving the flaps of the dough hanging over the sides. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

Take out second pie crust and let stand at room temperature while preparing filling. Peel, core and slice the apple into thin slices and toss in a large bowl with lemon juice and zest. Add in the flour, sugars, spices, Bourbon is using and salt and mix well with very clean hands. Taste for seasoning and sugar and adjust to your taste. Dump the fruit mixture and any residual juices into the refrigerated pie crust and spread out evenly or mound up in the shell. Dot a few tablespoons of butter on top of the mixture and place back into the fridge while you roll out second pie crust.

Roll out the second piece of pie dough as you did with the first one and carefully place over pie filling. Trim the sides to about a half an inch below the pie lip. tuck the edges under and crimp dough with three fingers or press the dough with a fork. Cut four slits in the top of the dough and brush the egg wash and cream over the dough and crimped sides. Sprinkle lightly with white sugar and place back into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Take the pie out and place on the baking sheet in the oven and lower the temperature to 425 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes, rotate the pie and lower the temperature again to 375 degrees and continue baking until the top is a light caramel brown for about 30 to 35 minutes. If the top is getting too brown at 10 to 15 minutes, take the pie out and lightly cover it with tin foil until the time is up.

Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool to room temperature for about 4 to 5 hours. Slice and serve with vanilla bean or dulce de leche ice cream.


Pie Crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup very cold shortening
1 1/2 sticks salted very cold butter diced
9-10 tablespoons ice water
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded and very cold

Process flour, salt, sugar and cheese in a food processor until combined. Add in diced/cold butter and pulse a few times until it looks like peas in the flour. Add in the shortening and pulse a few times to combine. Add in ice water a couple of tablespoons at a time until dough just comes together into a ball. Add more water if necessary but make sure to not add too much to the point that the dough is too soft and tacky.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead a few times to bring it all together. Cut the dough into two and shape into two disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Banana Cream Pie Controversy

Good God this pie caused a lot of controversy. It started out so very simple. I was out on a seemingly harmless date and I asked, "What is your favorite kind of pie?" Thinking that I was the pie baking goddess and that no man could resist my skills in the kitchen, I thought I could really wow him with whatever pie he wanted. On top of my overblown ego, he said his favorite was banana cream. Jackpot! I had made a banana cream pie with my cooking club fellow goddesses from an Emeril cookbook a few years back and it was heavenly. How could I possibly go wrong? Ugh, famous last words.

I proceeded to diligently prepare the pie with what I thought was some skill and care. I took this photo and texted it to the guy. Lesson #1 in this scenario, never text the finished product to the taster as this will lead to too much build-up, leading to high expectations and a diminished rate of return upon tasting. Note: don't do food trailers.

The first two pieces of pie went to my parents and being the sweet parents they are, said the pie was "amazing". Lesson #2, do not test recipes on your parents as they are your parents and they will lie to your face because they love you and still think you are 8 years old cannot handle their real opinion.

The second two pieces went to two guys in my office who taste a lot of my baking. When they are not fond of something, they are pretty diplomatic but honest so I knew they would tell me the truth. I thought if these two like it, I am golden. One of them liked it and the other said it was the best thing I had ever made.

So, by now, I am feeling pretty good. My family and colleagues all gave the big thumbs up and collectively indicated that whoever did not totally dig the pie was mentally deranged. Fast forward to a random Tuesday night. I ask the target audience to come over and taste the last piece of pie I had. He says no need to twist his arm and that he will put in a double work out to prepare. Lesson #3, people who spend a lot of time at the gym and watch every little thing they eat should not be completely trusted with providing credible food tasting opinions. Their taste buds have been diminished by bland food without salt, sugar or fat. Anyway, I gave him the pie, left the room and returned to find that he had eaten most of the pie but left some of the graham cracker crust on the plate. Not good. He then proceeded to say the following, "it was good but if I could offer a suggestion, I like banana cream with the regular butter crust rather than the graham cracker crust you have." There you have it, everyone liked the pie except for the person it was aimed at. Crashed and burned.

To make matters worse, I then proceeded to call my Mother to tell her what happened and she said, "yes, your Father and I thought the same thing, it was a little overwhelming with the graham cracker crust." I understand lying to me about the Tooth Fairy and Santa, but my baking? She said they didn't want to hurt my feelings.

I will try the pie with the butter crust in the next few months. Until then, here is the fateful recipe that I still personally love. Cheers to Emeril, who, in my book, is a genius.

Recipe:

4 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise in half

2 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 recipe graham cracker crust

3 pounds (about 9) ripe but firm bananas peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine 2 cups of the cream, the milk, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the vanilla bean, and the vanilla seeds in a large heavy saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

Combine the eggs, egg yolks, cornstarch, and 1 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until pale yellow. Slowly add 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. Gradually add the egg mixture to the hot cream and whisk well to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly with a heavy wooden spoon, and cook until this mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. (The pastry cream may separate slightly; if so, remove from the heat and beat with an electric mixer until thick and smooth.) Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing it directly against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 4 hours.

To assemble, spread 1/2 cup of the pastry cream over the bottom of the prepared crust, smoothing it with the back of a large spoon or rubber spatula. Arrange enough banana slices (not quite one-third) in a tight pattern over the custard, pressing them down with your hands to pack firmly. Repeat to build a second layer, using another 3/4 cup of the pastry cream and enough bananas to cover it. Do a third layer using the method above. If there is any remaining cream and bananas, do a fourth layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

In a medium bowl whip the remaining 2 cups cream until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and the vanilla extract until soft peaks form. (In my version there is also a tablespoon of dark rum that went into this but that's up to you.) Pile the high with the whip cream or pipe on the cream for a more refined look.

Graham Cracker Crust Recipe:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a bowl and mix well. Press the mixture into the sides and bottom of a 9-inch pie pan.

Bake the crust until browned, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.