nutty sour cream apple pie

I love apple pie, but wanted something a little different.  And I had some sour cream that needed to be used or tossed today.  And so the perfect solution!

This pie was delicious.  The filling is a little custardy, but certainly not as much as the apple pie in orange custard that I made back in January.  It was also a much heavier pie.  But the custard was just creamy enough and the apples just soft enough to create a really interestingly textured filling.

The crust is made with a bit of orange rind and orange juice instead of water, and that was an interesting idea, but I’m not sure it really came through in the final product.  But still, an interesting idea.  I’d rather like to play with it in the future.

Nutty sour cream apple pie, from Philip Stephen Schulz’s As American as Apple Pie.  pg 21

modern yorkshire pudding

I’m not entirely sure what makes these modern.  Of course, I haven’t actually read the article or even the recipe.  Did I mention that B made our whole sunday dinner on this Monday afternoon?  He spent all afternoon on it.

I, however, did plenty of eating and I can say that this was, without a doubt, the best Yorkshire pudding I’ve ever had.  B made it vegetarian (so no salt pork), but I promise you that did not detract at all from the Yorkshire pud experience.

A-triple-plus, would eat again.

Modern yorkshire pudding, from the December/January 2011 issue of Cook’s Country.  Pg 15

butter roasted potatoes

“The recipe’s a little complicated,” I told B.  ”What,” he asked, “like cut the potatoes and roast them, right?”  ”Uh, no.  That’s not complicated.  When I said complicated, I mean complicated.”

After all was said and done, he certainly agreed.

First you brown the butter.  Then you slice the potatoes and boil them.  Then you drain them.  Then you marinate them in the butter for 10 minutes.  Then you roast them for 40 minutes.

And they were good.  Very, very good.  Worth all the effort?  I’m not sure.  But they were very, very buttery and good.

Butter-Roasted Potatoes, from the December/January 2011 issue of Cook’s Country.  Pg 12

grandma’s roast beef

A real Sunday roast, for this lovely Monday holiday!  B stayed home from work today for the cable guy, and when it turned out we needed an emergency diaper run, he went all out and got the fixin’s for a traditional Sunday supper.

I, of course, had no hand in the making of this roast.  What I can tell you is that it was slowly cooked in a low oven for several hours, and that B said it was “perfect.”

So there you go.  Perfect roast beef.

Grandma’s roast beef, from the December/January 2011 issue of Cook’s Country.  Pg 12

no fail fudge

No fail fudge my ass!  Five cups of sugar fail is a better name for it.

Being a New Englander, Fluffernutters are one of those wonderful treats that I have when I remember that marshmallow fluff exists.  And this recipe is on the side of the container, and I’ve been staring at it thinking about how good fudge is for months.  So I went and bought all of the ingredients to make this motherload of a recipe (makes about 4lbs) and followed the directions and…

Oh boy, the results were not pretty.

The above is what it looked like on the second attempt at boiling it.  We decided that maybe I didn’t get it hot enough.  The recipe, of course, offered no temperature guidelines, it just said something about boiling for 5 minutes.

Fail.  Massive fudge fail.

No Fail Fudge, from the back of the Marshmallow Fluff container.

cheddar biscuits

This was an excellent recipe: much better than my previous cheddar biscuit endeavor.  They used a lot less cheese, and it was a much better balance.  They were light and fluffy, like the other recipes I’ve made from this book.  A great cheddar biscuit recipe!

Cheddar biscuits, from Biscuit Bliss by James Villas.  Pg 39

milky way tart

Joanne, you have let me down.  Your perfect cookbook contains one dud, I am sorry to say.

I was reading the directions, and I thought “that’s not gonna work.”  And it didn’t.  I have no idea how to make it work.  My chocolate cream spent a full 24 hours in the fridge.  I beat the shiznatz out of it.  And still, it was not firm enough to support a pie.  I cut into it, and it all just oozed out.  The above photo has two slices cut out.

Plus, whipped cream kinda unwhips itself pretty quickly in the fridge.  So even if you made it and it was as firm as it’s supposed to be, after a few hours in the fridge it wouldn’t be.

I think I just don’t understand this recipe.

On the plus side, the caramel that was part of the recipe was AMAZING.  I’ve been using it for all sorts of yummy things.

I’d like to make this again, using a different filling recipe.  One that’s intended to firm up.

The unfortunate thing is that I intended this tart to be a gift, so I carefully made two, and had to throw the one I finished out after everyone had a slice and said WTF?  No way could I give it.

Milky Way Tart.  From Flour, by Joanne Chang.  Pg. 230.

indian cornmeal biscuits

Still on the search for a nice, hearty biscuit to have with a heavy stew, and this seemed like a good contender.  It was a bit heavier than ideal, and the rise wasn’t what it could be.  I’m not sure I’d make these again, though they were good with butter and honey for breakfast.

Indian cornmeal biscuits, from James Villas’ Biscuit Bliss, pg 29

cornmeal-lime cookies

I’m a citrus junkie, so I loved these!  No one else wanted anything to do with them, so that meant more for me!  What an original cookie idea.  They were thick and cakey and the glaze was nice and sweet.  I’d love to make them again, but probably won’t because everyone else thought they were weird.

cornmeal-lime cookies, from Flour, Pg 118

meringue clouds

This is the best baking cookbook I own, with the clearest directions.  Every step is carefully measured and most are fully explained and I’ve learned so, so much from it.  And one of the main things that I’ve learned is that certain directions in baking exist for a reason, and they shouldn’t be cut.

Which is why it was really dumb of me to try to cut corners and which is why I fully deserved these dud meringues.  Sad though they made me.

The instructions said to carefully fold in the sugar with a spatula.  That seemed like a lot of extra effort when I already had the electric mixer hooked up.  The result?  Overmixed meringues that are flat and raw in the middle and made me a sad panda.

Next time I’ll follow the directions.  I promise.

meringue clouds, from Flour, pg 126

 

buttermilk waffles

Another day, another waffle recipe.  These were really good, a little bit crispy but also light and fluffy.  I’ll definitely be making these again.

buttermilk waffles, from New Basics, pg 452

quick tomato sauce

I had a bunch of tomatoes on the turn, and a few meatballs left in the freezer, and half an hour before the kids needed dinner, so I happened upon this recipe for “quick tomato sauce.”  However, the authoresses have a slightly different definition of “quick,” so dinner was pretty late.

I did sort of burn it, but it still tasted good.  Not, like, the most amazing sauce ever, but that probably had more to do with the quality of the tomatoes.  Half rotten tomatoes in February are not the best.

Good thing it made quite a bit, so I have a big jar in the fridge to use when in a hurry.

quick tomato sauce, from Silver Pg. 343.

Lemon-Raspberry Cake

This may have taken all day to make, required two trips to the grocery store (with 3 children in tow… not an easy or simple feat), and caused undo stress trying to keep my middle child from poking holes in the entire thing as he tried to eat the icing as I was decorating it… but it was worth it.

The cake itself was a little heavy: I whipped the egg whites in the stand mixer, as the directions instructed, and about 10 minutes later I called it a day.  I should have used the hand mixer.  But it was still delicious, and the icing was amazing.

If you do make this? Make sure you have enough eggs on hand.  It requires a full 14.  You can knock out some by using store-bought lemon curd, but the homemade lemon curd was so rich and delicious and not at all hard to make, so I do recommend making it.

Happy birthday to B, the most wonderful husband ever!

Lemon-Raspberry Cake, from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe, by Joanne Chang.  Pg 172

Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding

This is what B really wanted for his birthday.  He loves bread pudding and he loves chocolate, and he’s been begging for this recipe since the cookbook arrived.  After our dinner of cake, bread pudding with whipped cream and chocolate sauce made the perfect late night snack.

The recipe takes some planning, as it has o soak for 8-24 hours, but it was delicious.  Light and fluffy chocolate, with chunks of banana make a great contrast.  I’m sure I’ll be making this again.

Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding, from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe, by Joanne Chang.  Pg 254

chocolate fudge sauce

I was told that I had promised to serve my chocolate banana bread pudding with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.  Funny, I remember making no such promises.  However, it was easy enough to make: chocolate chips, butter, vanilla, and cream over a double boiler.

Chocolate fudge sauce, from The New Basics Cookbook.  Pg 662.

pizza dough made with whey

I have a whole lot of whey left over from the Ricotta I made yesterday, and this pizza dough was one of the recipe suggestions in the booklet.  It was super simple (mix flour, yeast, whey, and oil; knead; let rise 10 minutes; roll out) and really good.  I just used jarred pizza sauce and pre-shredded mozzarella.  Both kids even asked for seconds!

I have a lot more whey in the freezer, so I’ll definitely be making this again.

Pizza dough made with whey, from Ricki’s Mozzarella and Ricotta Kit.

Harvard Beets

Another recipe that is apparently a “real thing” that I’ve never heard of, as Harvard Beets seem to appear in an awful lot of my cookbooks.  I love beets, so I figured I’d give this a shot.

I think I didn’t use enough beets.  Either that, or I used too much vinegar.  I’m on a vinegar/pickled foods kick, but this was really overdoing it.  I’m intrigued by where this recipe was going (a gelatinous ruby red side dish), but it wasn’t quite there.  I’ll definitely be making this recipe again, from another cookbook, and then compare.

Harvard Beets, from From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens, by Phyllis Pellman Good and Rachel Thomas Pellman.  Pg. 137

Spinach with Dressing

Another Amish recipe with a bit too much vinegar.  This time I know I followed the directions, but it was just… not good.  I don’t really like mayonnaise, either, so that was a bit much.  There are better ways to cook spinach.

Spinach with Dressing, from From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens, by Phyllis Pellman Good and Rachel Thomas Pellman.  Pg. 134

Premium macaroons

There’s junk food so bad it’s good, and there’s junk food so bad that it gets thrown away.  Seriously, even Bobs refused to eat these things.  Actually, that’s not true: he ate one, grimacing and wincing with each bite.  Then he’d stare at it, and take another bite.

We ended up throwing them away.  Seriously gross.  Too bad: it had potential as being the first kind of junk food.

Premium Macaroons, from the back of the Saltines box.

traditional baking powder biscuits

I think we’ve all noticed my biscuit love by now, and a request to my mother for her copy of this book resulted in her sending me my very own.  Hooray!  Thanks, Mom.  A whole book of biscuits.

The baking powder ones seemed a simple way to start, and boy were they amazing.  Just look at the rise on those babies.  They poofed straight up, and were as flaky and buttery and delicious as biscuits could possibly be.

I did substitute butter for the shortening.  Hello, Mr. Villas: it’s 2011.  I don’t even own shortening.  I’m sure that changed the texture, but these were so good it’s hard to see how they could be improved.

Traditional baking powder biscuits, from Biscuit Bliss: 101 Foolproof Recipes for Fresh and Fluffy Biscuits in Just Minutes, by James Villas.  Pg 10.

Mussel Chowder

Trader Joe’s had some canned mussels, and, without a clue as to what you do with canned mussels, I bought them.  There they sat in my cabinet for a few months, when I was going through this cookbook and found mussel chowder.  What an interesting idea.

This soup was really, really, really good.  It’s a milk based chowder (and I had a lot of extra milk, so I upped the milk), that obviously features mussels, as well as the usual chowder mainstays of potatoes and onions.  But the recipe also called for some carrots and leeks and a pepper, and these additions made it very interesting tasting.  The mussels themselves were rich and buttery and melted in your mouth.

Superb soup, and I’ll definitely make again.  So long as TJ’s keeps canned mussels on the shelves.

Mussel Chowder, from The New England Clam Shack Cookbook, by Brooke Dojny.  Pg 54.

banana donuts

My trusty donut maker, which is basically a waffle iron that makes donuts, is always handy when I want a quick junk food snack.  And I had some near-gone bananas, so I was quite happy to see this recipe in the recipe pamphlet that accompanied donut maker.

These were every bit as good as they looked.  The banana was an interesting flavor for a donut, but it worked very well.  I decided it needed a little extra oomph, so I coated them with some melted chocolate chips.

Banana Donuts, from the Russell Hobbs Donut Bites “Instructions and Warranty” booklet.  Pg. 12.

buttermilk waffles

Our meals were all off today, and B cooked the kids a huge hot lunch and then went out to a work networking event, so I wanted something nice and simple for dinner.  Usually when we have dinner for lunch, I make lunch for dinner: sandwiches and all that.  But then I decided, why not breakfast?

This is easily the easiest waffle recipe I’ve come across: no yeast, no rising time, no separating eggs.  And they were very, very good.  This will probably be my main waffle recipe that I use in the future.

Buttermilk Waffles, from Williams Sonoma Breakfast.  Pg. 21.

whole wheat corn bread

A very heavy cornbread that was perfect for the stew that we had it with.  It would probably hold up well if you poured a stew or some veggies in a thick sauce or something like that over it: I always like mixing bread and soup.  This recipe is exactly what it says: whole wheat and cornmeal are the only two flours in it.  It’s a bit too heavy to be my go-to cornbread recipe, but it definitely has its place.

Whole-wheat-corn-bread, from Ken Haedrich’s Country Baking.  Pg 45.

honey-glazed buttermilk ebelskivers

Snow days call for a special warm afternoon snack, and these sounded perfect.  They’re a bit heavier than the ebelskiver recipes I’ve tried before, which I think would have actually made them a better side dish than main dish.  It was all kind of a bit much.  I could see serving these as a side to a chilled berry soup.  Sans the honey glaze, which was very simple to do and added a light touch of crunchy goo to the exterior, they would be excellent for a savory hot soup.

Which is to say that they were very good, but they didn’t quite hit the mark as a stand-alone late afternoon snack.  At least for me, because I prefer my late afternoon snacks light.  The filled ebelskivers that I usually make are better for that.

Honey-glazed buttermilk ebelskivers.  From Ebelskivers: Filled Pancakes and Other Mouthwatering Miniatures, by Kevin Crafts.  Pg 30.