Pi Day 2018

So, this year I planned ahead, picked out a recipe, and actually baked the pie the night before Pi Day so I'd be ready to eat pie on the actual holiday. I am very proud of myself! I chose a recipe card from my collection that doesn't have a source listed, so I have no clue where it came from, but it probably came from a magazine of some sort. Here is the recipe, along with my pictures and notes. Enjoy!

Marquis Old-Fashioned Cream Pie
Crust: 12 whole graham crackers, broken
2 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
Filling: 2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 cups cold milk
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp. butter
Fresh berries

1.) For Crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend graham crackers and sugar until finely ground. (Note: I did this later in the evening and didn't want to deal with the noise, so I put the graham crackers in a gallon-size bag and crushed them with the bottom of a heavy cup and also a rolling pin and then I mixed in the sugar. It did just as good, although the crumbs were probably a little bigger than if you'd done it in a food processor. It held up just fine though.) Add butter and pulse until combined. (I dumped the crumbs in a bowl and just mixed the butter in with a fork) Reserve 1/4 cup crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into bottom and sides of a 9" pie pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Cool while preparing filling.

This is post-baking.

2.) For Filling: In a 3qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Add milk and egg yolks and whisk to combine. Heat mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to bubble. Cook 1 minute longer.

(Note: This takes a lot of upper arm strength. It does take time for this to come to a boil and start to thicken, but stick with it, because it will work and it's worth it! Also, this will create a thick layer of froth while it's heating and you'll probably be concerned about it, but it will disappear when it thickens.)

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, nutmeg, and butter; place over an ice bath to cool slightly before pouring into baked crust.

I thought the nutmeg was a little too strong, for my tastes. I would cut this 1/4 tsp. down to 1/8th next time. Nutmeg is a classic flavoring with dairy-based sauces, though, so don't skip it entirely!

This was my idea of an ice bath because I don't have ice cube trays in my apartment. It worked pretty well, actually. I recommend this method if you too, don't have ice cubes readily available!

This is the cooled filling after it's been whisked over the ice bath.

Here is the nearly finished product. Before being covered with plastic wrap.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 5 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with reserved graham cracker crumbs. Serve cold with berries.

Makes 6 servings (Note: The recipe says it makes 6 servings, but I think that's not accurate. I'd say 8 servings is correct because 6 pieces would be gigantic!)

I used a combo of blueberries and blackberries because that is what my store had on sale! Raspberries would be fantastic with this as well. Strawberries might work, but you'd need to cut them into smaller pieces. The top of the pie is slick so the berries might slide around a bit, but the graham crackers help keep them in place.

My piece!

I took the rest of this to work the next day and when I set it out on the counter on my morning break, it only took about 10 minutes for it to be devoured!

This was a fun experiment and I'm really glad it worked out so well. I usually don't have luck making homemade pudding-type foods, to the extent that I was actually banned by my parents at one point in time from trying anymore, when I still lived at home. I guess I was wasting too many ingredients! But nothing was wasted on this pie. If you're a cream/custard pie fan, this is the pie for you!

Happy Baking!

Holiday Soiree: Autumn Celebration

I'm back with a new project! I have been researching holidays around the world and have found a lot to share with you all! I don't have one for every week, so in those weeks, I will work on other food-related things that I haven't had time to work on. I hope to have a similar structure to my previous projects, where I talk about the history of the holiday and/or the food I am preparing. Next week, there is no holiday either, so I will be focusing on Halloween for a couple weeks, but generally, I will only spend one week per holiday. Some weeks might have a single dish, and some weeks might have an entire meal. It just depends on how much time I have to put into it.

Last night, I made two desserts. I had fun picking out the recipes from my seasonal recipe card box. The first recipe is titled "Pumpkin and Walnut Spoon Sweet". I thought it was a fun name, so I had to try it out. I wasn't sure what it was going to be exactly, but it's basically stewed pumpkin. The second recipe is "Best Apple Custard Tart" and it was a pretty complicated recipe that took two recipe cards to write out. I wanted a challenge, so I took it! Luckily, I won!

Pumpkin and Walnut Spoon Sweet
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 (2lb.) pumpkin, peeled and cubed
3/4 cup sugar (I cut this down to about 2 Tbsp. and found it to be perfectly sweet. The full amount of sugar would probably hurt your teeth!)
Zest of one lemon, cut in long strips
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on baking sheet, and bake 5-7 minutes, or until toasted and fragrant. Cool. (If you are confident enough, you can toast them in a frying pan on the stove, but if that sounds too intimidating, just use the above method.)
2.) Combine remaining ingredients plus 2 cups water in a large saucepan.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 1 hour, or until pumpkin is tender. Raise heat to medium-high, and cook 10 minutes more, or until almost all liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, and cool. Discard zest, cinnamon, and cloves, and serve sprinkled with toasted nuts.
6 servings 184 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g fiber

This smells so good! It really smells like Thanksgiving. I wasn't sure what stewed pumpkin would taste like. The flavor was actually pretty good, but the texture was odd to me. Maybe I'm just not big on squash, but I didn't care for the texture. A couple of tips when you are done cooking this: Remember how many strips of lemon zest you put in, because it will be difficult to find them again. The color is nearly the same as the pumpkin and the zest bunches up and doesn't stay in long strips. You do not want to accidentally bite into one of those! Also, the cloves seem to come apart a bit, so make sure to dig through and pull out all the different bits you find before eating. Again, you don't want a big bite of a whole clove either!

I'm not sure I would make this one again. If you like the texture of pumpkin, then this is a great recipe showcasing it. The smell is amazing. You can't help but be happy. But other than that, I think I'll just eat my pumpkin in pie form...

Best Apple Custard Tart
Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1" pieces
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg white
1 tsp. lemon zest
Filling:
3 med. Pink Lady or Fuji apples (I used honeycrisps because that's what I had on hand.)
1 cup apple cider (I used apple juice)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (I used lemon juice)
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar (I used the full amount. Because this is for the custard, you can't really mess with this.)
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 Tbsp. butter

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line the bottom of a two-piece, 10" springform pan with a circle of parchment or spray it with cooking spray.
2.)Make pastry: Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl, stir with a fork. Cut in the butter with two forks or a pastry cutter until the pieces resemble peas. Add the egg white and the lemon zest and mix until it just comes together. (It will seem really dry at this point. Resist the urge to add water.) Gently knead in the bowl for about a minute, just until the dough comes together and holds it's shape.
3.) On a floured surface, roll the pastry dough into a 10"circle and put in the springform pan. (This dough is actually really wet and crumbly. I found it incredibly hard to work with. I suppose I could have tried adding more flour to it, but I didn't think of that at the time. If yours is wet too, I would recommend rolling it on wax paper and using that to transport it. Mine fell apart and I basically pieced it back together in the pan. This was really hard and frustrating to do, especially for the sides.)

Line the pastry with parchment or foil and fill it with rice or beans. Bake the pastry until the edges are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove the parchment with the rice or beans and bake until the center of the crust is dry and just beginning to turn golden, about 5 minutes more.
4.) While the crust is baking and cooling, poach the apples and make the filling. Start by poaching the apples. Peel and core the apples and cut each of them into 1/8ths. If some of them are very big, cut them into uniform pieces to match the smaller ones. Put them in a large saucepan on the stove and pour over the apple cider and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat until the cider is boiling, then reduce heat to low and simmer just until apples are tender, about 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a large plate and allow them to cool while making the custard with the poaching liquid.
5.)To make the custard, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, the sugar, and the cornstarch in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Whisk in about half of the simmering cider(this is called tempering and you do it to keep the eggs from curdling when you add it to the hot liquid on the stove), then transfer the tempered egg mixture to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is boiling vigorously. (You will want a large whisk for this. It will get really frothy for a while and look like it's not doing anything. Be patient. Then all of a sudden, it will start to get chunky and you will be worried that you did curdle the eggs after all. This is when you'll want to whisk it as vigorously as you possibly can and remove it from the heat. What is actually happening is the cornstarch blooming all at once. It's kind of scary if you don't know it's supposed to happen, but don't panic. In the end, it will resemble the custard filling in a doughnut.)

Transfer the cooked custard back to the mixing bowl, whisk in the butter, and let it cool for 15 minutes or so. (I was so freaked out from how the custard sort of exploded into custard at the last minute and realizing I hadn't ruined it, that I forgot to add the butter. I have no idea what it would be like with the butter, but I'm sure it would be lovely!)
6.) When the tart shell has cooled completely, fill it with the apple custard and arrange the poached apple slices over the surface.

(I found the color to be a bit monochromatic, so I sprinkled cinnamon on top just for some contrast.)
Serve it at room temperature or chilled

The tart is really sweet, but it's mostly the fruit that makes it sweet. It's very apple-y too. I loved the tart crust. It's lovely with the lemon zest and I have never heard of making it with the egg white like that, but it worked really well. I think I might have cooked the apples a few minutes longer if I had to do it over again, because some of them were a little crisper than I wanted them to be.

This one is complex. I won't lie. It's intimidating and I am probably a moderate when it comes to baking, not a beginner. If you want a challenge, this is a great one to try out. It's really tasty!

If you try out either of these, let me know. I'd love to hear how they turned out for you!
Ok, that's it for me this week, we'll see what I come up with for next week. Until then!
-Summer

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Galveston, Texas

The Location: Galveston, Texas

2013 census: 48,733 people. Per capita income: $37,154. 45.2% white, 31.1% Hispanic.
The city was originally part of Mexico, and was named after Bernardo de Galvez y Madrid, the Count of Galvez in Spain. It was built in or around 1816 by a French pirate in order to help the newly-formed Republic of Mexico fight against the Spanish. The Port of Galveston was built in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico after winning their independence from Spain. During the Texas Revolution, it would be used by the Texas Navy and eventually became the capitol of the Republic of Texas. During the 19th century, it would become a vital port for commerce.

In 1900, a major hurricane came through the Port and an estimated 6,000-8,000 people were killed. It remains, to this date, the largest natural disaster in American history. After the hurricane, the Galveston Movement, an immigration plan to help repopulate the city and region, would bring in about 10,000 Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, as well as many Italians and Germans. It would permanently altar the racial background of the entire region.

During the 1920's and 1930's, tourism would become Galveston's major form of income, which remains so to this day. During Prohibition, Speak Easies and gambling houses would become a major draw to people. Add to this a robust sex industry that had been going on since the Civil War, and it was a winning combination. Since the 1950's, however, the tourism has become much more family-friendly...

During the Second World War, the Port would become home to a major Army-Air Corps base, which would also bring with it an increase in population and change the type of industries in the region. Today it is still well-known for its tourism, but the insurance and health care industry also contribute a lot to the city's success.

The Event: 150th anniversary of Juneteenth

What is "Juneteenth"? you may be asking yourself right now. And how can it be 150 years old and I've never heard of it before? Juneteenth is celebrated in some parts of the United States more than in others, so you might not have been exposed to it before. Juneteenth is a contraction of the words "June" and "Nineteenth" and represents the date of June 19, 1865. This date is significant because it is the day that Major General Gordon Granger, leader of the Union Army, reached Galveston, Texas on his mission to occupy the state of Texas at the behest of the federal government. While the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the end of the Civil War had all occurred already, some states were still holding out on freeing their slaves and needed the federal government to step in and force them to. Texas was one such hold-out. The last hold-out, in fact.

On June 19th 1865, Major General Granger made the announcement that slavery was over with and would no longer be tolerated or allowed. This was the last area in the country to free their slaves, so this event marks the true ending of slavery, something that the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the end of the Civil War, were all unable to do by themselves.

Juneteenth is a community celebration, with barbecues, parades, prayer services, and games being held to enjoy. It has had its ups and downs over the years. It lost popularity during the Great Depression since people couldn't afford to celebrate. But during the 1950's and 1960's, it had a resurgence due to the Civil Rights movement. In 1980, Texas became the first state to declare it a holiday. Today, nearly half the states in the country do this as well.

The Food: Two foods have become synonymous with Juneteenth: Barbecue and Strawberry Soda Pop, and that is what I made to honor the day. I'm not sure about the pop, but the idea behind the barbecue is that a, it's delicious, and b, it creates a pleasing smell that, when cooked outdoors, wafts up to the heavens. This wafting to the heavens is so that your ancestors can then partake in the meal and the celebration with you. Juneteenth is a day of remembering your loved ones, the ones who left too soon, and your ancestors. Particularly if you, or they, ever lived in a time when they were unfree. You celebrate your freedom with them as they look down on you from above. In a way it's almost like El Dia de Los Muertos that way. Connecting then and now through food. It's beautiful to me.

Strawberry Pop/Soda/Soda Pop
I tried to think of how to make homemade soda pop without using sugar or corn syrup, so I looked around the internet for recipes that I could alter. I found a generic one using a simple syrup flavored with strawberries that you then add to sparkling water. This made me think about making my own syrup without adding sugar. I didn't bother to keep track of the original recipe since I would be turning it entirely into my own. I think it turned out pretty tasty! I used a recipe I've done before for one of my "pie bites" I like to make, using strawberries and lime juice to create a strongly-flavored fruit pulp. It's so easy it's ridiculous. Here's how to do it:

In a small frying pan, with a box grater, use the side with the smallest shred and grate 4-5 very ripe strawberries, leaving out the leaves. This will basically create strawberry pulp. Heat it over medium-low heat until most of the water has evaporated and it's concentrated to a thick paste. Add a few squirts of lime juice and mix.

Put a spoonful at the bottom of a glass and top it with sparkling water, or club soda and stir. The strawberry mixture is flavorful enough to flavor the entire glass and color it as well, but you've added no sugar to it besides what was in the berries. This amount of fruit paste is enough for two servings. Increase the amount based on however much you need to make. It is really delicious!

BBQ-
I made two, actually three recipes for this one, and tried it out on two separate cuts of meat with two different cooking methods. I think they both turned out really great!

Citrus Roundup BBQ Rub-if I recall correctly, this came from a Disney Insider email and is what they use at the BBQ place in Disneyland. I will write it out exactly as it's written, but will put in notes of what I changed for myself.

2 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
2 Tbsp. seasoning salt
2 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. sugar(I reduced this down to 1/2 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar(I reduced this down to 1/2 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. ground cumin(I reduced this down to about 1/2 tsp. because I really don't like a strong cumin taste, but that's just my personal preference.)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

That's it for that recipe. I used it to coat a small rack of baby back ribs and baked them in an oven. I put them in a shallow dish, put water in the bottom, covered with foil and baked it for about 2 hours. I turned the ribs and put in more water half way through. The seasoning flavored the water to create a bit of a jus that I spooned over the ribs when I served them. I think this worked out pretty well, though I think the seasoning was a bit too thick. Next time I would use less. The flavors were fine, but the seasoning created a thick crust I didn't care for. And the recipe makes enough for leftovers, so you can use this on other things too if you make it. It should keep at room temperature for quite some time, so make it once and keep it until it's gone. It was really simple but delicious!

BBQ Sauce for Chicken or Pork
This was also a recipe card, though I don't know the source, unfortunately.
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. grated, peeled ginger
3/4 cup chili sauce(I found a recipe, the link will be in my sources, and made the chili sauce by scratch. The only alteration I made to the recipe was to cut the sugar listed in half. Feel free to use commercially-prepared chili sauce if you'd rather.)
1/2 cup ketchup(I don't eat ketchup anymore and used 1/2 cup tomato sauce and it turned out just fine)
1 Tbsp. sugar(I reduced this to 1/2Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce(I used reduced sodium)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1.) In nonstick 10" skillet, heat over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender and lightly browned.
2.) Stir in chili sauce, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and 1/3 cup water.(I actually didn't see this part about the water and didn't add it. I think it was just fine without probably because I used tomato sauce instead of ketchup. Ketchup is thicker and would need to be watered down. If you use tomato sauce like I did, I wouldn't recommend adding the water. It would be too watered down.) Cook 5 minutes, partially covered, to blend flavors.
3.) Brush sauce onto spare ribs, pork roast, or chicken during last few minutes of cooking. (Makes enough for 4 lb. spare ribs or 2 chickens.) Cover and refrigerate sauce if not using right away. Sauce will keep up to 1 week in refrigerator or up to 2 months in freezer.
Makes about 2 cups. Per 1/4 cup: 70 calories, 2 g. fat

I made the sauce ahead of time but didn't have time to saute the onion or ginger, so I did that after I got home from the birthday party I had attended yesterday. Once the sauce was assembled, I place a few spare ribs in my crockpot and covered it with the sauce. Not all of it, but just enough to cover it. I cooked it on high for several hours and it came out amazing! Though, I think it needed a bit more vinegar for my tastes. Next time I'd add more vinegar. The meat was flavorful and tender and I used the sauce to cover the plain rice I had made to accompany it. This was a winner dinner! I highly recommend trying these recipes out. The sauce and rub made enough that I might have to use them again for the 4th of July.

Sources:
City Map

City Info

City Pic

Homemade Chili Sauce Recipe

Juneteenth History

 More Juneteenth History

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Hood River, Oregon

The Location: Hood River, Oregon

Hood River is located at the base of the Columbia River, near Mt. Hood. It is about sixty miles east of Portland. As of the 2010 census, there were 7,167 people living there. About 62.9% are white, and 24.4% are Hispanic or Latino. As of the 2000 census, the per capita income is $17,609 and 17.3% live below the poverty line.

The area is known for its fruit production, specifically cherries, apples, and pears. There are several orchards and wineries set up in a large circular pattern that one can visit on the famous "Fruit Loop". Agriculture, recreational sports, and tourism have always been the three largest industries in the area, but the 1990's brought to the region several high-tech companies that helped boost the economy even more. Interesting foodie factoid: The company that makes the Tofurky, is located here.

Hood River was incorporated in 1895, but the area was settled much earlier than that. In 1805, the Hood River, the actual river, not the town, was named Labeasche River by the famed explorers, Lewis and Clark. Over time, though, the river came to be known as Dog River, named after the meat that many settlers were forced to eat in order to survive. In the end, however, it was a pioneer named Mary Coe, whose family would be one of the first to plant apple trees in the region, who managed to get the named changed to the more pleasant-sounding Hood River, named after the mountain that is its ultimate source of water.

Up until 1920, the region was known for its apple orchards, but in 1919, many of the trees were killed due to a freeze. Pear trees were planted in their place and now the region is known for that. Specifically the D'Anjou/Anjou pear. In fact, it is one of the world's largest producers of this particular species of pear.

The Food: D'Anjou Pears

I actually did not know until I researched the area that it was specifically D'Anjou pears that Hood River is known for. I knew pears, but not which kind. So, when I went to the store yesterday with the intent of buying Bartlett pears, but came away with a bag full of D'Anjou pears, it was a happy coincidence for me! Really though, it boiled down to money. Bartletts were $1.99/lb but D'Anjous were on sale for $0.99/lb. D'Anjous tent to be harder than Bartletts but one of them was rather soft and none of them were rock hard, which was good. Since they were all being cooked first, it was less important for them to be very soft. The flavor is very similar to a Bartlett, and it also has that pear "grit" mouth feel when you eat one. I chose a savory and a sweet application for them and was quite pleased with how they turned out. I found recipes from my recipe card collection, so I will write them out here, and put in any changes I made, as well as any notes.

Chicken in Pear Sauce:(Yes, I really made a pear sauce on purpose. This is a note for any of my family members who might have been around for the now infamous "pear gravy" incident at Thanksgiving many years ago...) This recipe comes from the Taste of Home magazine, August/September 2000 edition.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
5 thick-cut bacon strips, diced (I find it much easier to dice bacon when it is almost completely frozen. It makes it less of a greasy mess to deal with. I highly recommend putting your bacon in the freezer until it's almost frozen before dicing it up.)
1 can(14.5oz) chicken broth
2-3 medium ripe pears, peeled, cored, and diced
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water
1 Tbsp. dried chives(that's what I had on-hand, the recipe calls for 1/4 cup snipped fresh chives, if you have those on-hand)

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in oil on both sides for about 10 minutes or until juices run clear. Meanwhile, in another small saute pan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 Tbsp. drippings, set bacon aside.

When the chicken is mostly cooked, remove from the pan to a plate and cover with foil. Add the reserved bacon drippings to the pan and gradually stir the chicken broth in as well. Bring to a boil and stir well to loosen anything on the bottom of the pan.(This is called "deglazing", fyi...) After about 5 minutes, add the pears, and bring to a boil again. Boil, uncovered, about 5 minutes, or until the pears have softened. Combine the cornstarch and cold water, and add to the pan, whisking immediately into the liquid to keep it from gelling. Stir in the bacon bits and the chives until everything has heated through. Add the chicken back to the pan to coat on all sides.

Makes 4 servings.

This was something I was worried about. How would pear, bacon, and chicken taste together? It turns out that the answer is: Delicious. Pear isn't too far off from apple, flavor-wise, and apple and bacon is a natural combo. The chicken also had an almost smoky quality from the cooking process which blended well with the other flavors. I made steamed red potatoes and green beans for the sides. They taste good on their own but don't lend too much of a strong contrast to the other flavors. They allow the sauce and chicken to play the central flavor role in the meal. This was really good and I'd definitely make it again.

Harvest Pear Crisp with Candied Ginger (Source unknown)

 

Ingredients:

Topping: 

1/2 cup flour

1 Tbsp. brown sugar(it calls for 1/4 cup but I cut it down to a quarter of that.)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chilled butter, but into 1/2" cubes(I actually used softened butter and it turned out fine)

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup coarsely chopped whole raw hazelnuts(it calls for almonds, but I switched them out for hazelnuts because that is another Oregon specialty food)

1/4 cup crystallized ginger, minced

Filling:

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

4 lb.(6-7) ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2" cubes

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Topping: Whisk first four ingredients in a medium bowl. Add butter. Thoroughly incorporate butter into the flour mixture. It will resemble cookie dough. Stir in oats, nuts, and ginger. Mix until well combined. Chill while preparing the filling. Can be made one day ahead. (I actually did the filling first and then the topping and didn't chill it at all. It still turned out just fine.)

Filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk first three ingredients in the bottom of a 13"x 9" oval baking dish(You can use whatever shape you have, I just happen to have the oval one it called for). Add pears; toss. Pour the applesauce over this and mix well until all the pears are coated.(I replaced the sugar in the recipe with the applesauce. Also, apples are an Oregon ingredient, so it makes it even more appropriate to use!) Sprinkle the topping over the pear mixture. Bake until topping is crisp and golden grown, and juice is bubbling, about 50 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 8-10 servings

I was really impressed with how this turned out. Granted, my palate is adjusted to enjoy less sweet things, so to others, this might taste bland. To me, it was very peary and sweet. Because there isn't the sugar called for in the recipe, it might not have been as juicy as it was supposed to be. Sugar tends to draw moisture out of fruit, but I still think it was really good. The topping was crunchy and flavorful. The crystallized ginger adds more sugar to the recipe, so you don't need as much sugar as it calls for, I think. It was really amazing. This could easily be served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, but I ate it just like that. Some people don't enjoy cooked fruit, but I think it's worth trying.

The D'Anjou pears turned out to be the better choice, in the end. If I'd used Bartletts, I think those would have broken down too much during the cooking and baking process and been way too mushy. I made a half batch for both the recipes I tried and they worked just fine. I would definitely make both of these again some time.

This meal made me want to go down to visit Portland again, and make a special trip over to Hood River to see the orchards in person. I might just have to do that one of these days...

Sources:

City map

City pic

Hood River History

More History

Dining In-A Culinary Tour of America: Celebration, Florida

Location: Celebration, Florida

This city is a relatively young city, and has an interesting background. It was developed in the mid 1990's by Disney's real estate division. The city's architecture has a distinct Disney touch to it. To a Disney fan, this city might be heaven on earth, but if you're not a Disney fan, it might be a bit much for you...It's proximity to Disney World is also beneficial to Disney fans. I am a Disney fan and if I could handle the heat and humidity, I would seriously consider living here one day. It would be like living in Downtown Disney and who wouldn't want that! The company continues to do much of their office-related work for the park in Celebration.

As of the 2010 census, there are 7,427 people living in Celebration. 91% are white, and the majority of the rest of the people are Hispanic/Latino. 4.1% of the city's population lives below the poverty line.

You might be asking, why did you choose Celebration? Well, for one good reason: It is the host of the annual "Great American Pie Festival" and 3/14/15 is Pi Day. One must always make pie on Pi Day, so what better place to visit? The festival is held in April, so we're a little early for it, but I think it still works.

The Food: Asparagus Quiche and Bumbleberry Pie

My first thought for dinner-related pie was the obvious: Chicken pot pie. However, I have done something quite similar to that already when I featured Vermont and I don't want to repeat myself if at all possible. So I wracked my brain a bit more and thought of quiche, another savory pie. I was able to find a recipe card that I had never tried and was quite excited about that. I also wanted to make a dessert pie and ran across another card for bumbleberry pie and thought it would be a fun one to experiment with. The quiche I followed the recipe exactly, but the bumbleberry pie I altered so much that I will just write out what I did, as opposed to writing out the original recipe with my notes. It'll be easier to read that way.

Asparagus Quiche: Courtesy of the Taste of Home Magazine, a recipe I cut out forever ago, but have never tried till now.

1lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed
1 unbaked pastry shell, 9"
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese(I used reduced fat and it worked just fine)
1/4 cups dry bread crumbs(I recommend Trader Joe's brand or make your own. All the other brands from the store have corn syrup in the ingredient list and that's not what I want in my bread crumbs...But to each his/her own...)

Cut 8 asparagus spears into 4" pieces; cut remaining spears into 1/2" pieces. Cook all of the asparagus in a small amount of water until tender(I did it until it was al dente. It will continue to cook in the oven so you don't want to overcook it at this point.); drain and set aside. Line the unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer.(This is known as blind-baking, where you prebake the shell for a while without the filling in it. If you ever come across this term in a pastry recipe and don't know what it means, now you know!) Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, stir in flour and salt. Gradually add milk; cook and stir until thickened.(This is called a bechamel sauce and is usually the base for macaroni and cheese, if you have ever made that from scratch before.) Stir a small amount into eggs(this is called "tempering" and it's vital to do this properly or you will scramble the eggs. Do not skip this step and make sure to whisk the eggs constantly while adding the hot bechamel sauce.); return all to the pan. Stir in cheese and 1/2" asparagus pieces. Pour into the crust.(I found it was just a bit too much for the crust and about 1/4 cup of the liquid spilled out. I allowed it to spill and just cleaned it up because I didn't want it to spill even more in the oven and burn. This turned out to be a good way to do it because it turned out just fine.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Arrange the 4" spears in a spoke pattern at the top.(As you can see from the pictures, I actually did that prior to baking and I think that worked out just fine.)
Yield: 6-8 servings

This was good hot out of the oven and I ate a piece cold for breakfast today and it was good too. I think though that room temperature would probably be ideal. This is obviously good for breakfast or brunch. Because the filling made so much that it spilled, I would not recommend adding anything else to this unless you wanted to leave out or reduce the amount of asparagus. This had no meat in it and I felt like it was just fine without it.)

Bumbleberry Pie: Source unknown, but heavily altered by me, so I will present my recipe.
1 unbaked frozen pie crust, thawed
1 cup each fresh/frozen blueberries(I used fresh), raspberries(I used frozen), blackberries(I used frozen), and sliced strawberries(I used fresh)(If you use frozen, let them sit in your bowl for a bit to begin to thaw)
1 cup fresh/frozen chopped rhubarb(I used fresh)
2 honeycrisp apples, peeled and cored, divided(One apple, dice for the pie. One apple, grate on the small holes of a box grater and make sure to collect any juice that comes out of it. Drain the majority of the juice from the shredded apple and keep these in separate containers.)
1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Oat Crisp Topping:
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup sliced almonds, crushed(I just had this on hand. You can leave it out or use walnuts or any type of nut you want.)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. butter
3-4 Tbsp. apple juice from the honey crisp apple you grated

In a large bowl, combine all of the berries, the rhubarb, the diced apple, and the lemon juice and mix together. Add the shredded apple and mix well to break up the clumps of shreds. This is replacing the sugar you would normally add to a pie.

In a small bowl, combine all of the oat crisp topping ingredients and use your hands to mix the butter in. When it's well incorporated, sprinkle in the 3-4 Tbsp reserved apple juice from the shredded apple and mix in to sweeten the topping. There will be juice left over from this, so mix it into the berry mixture for the pie.

Sprinkle the flour over the berry mixture and mix well until completely incorporated. Pour the berry mixture into the pie shell. You do not need to pre-bake or poke holes in the shell. When it's filled, place the pie onto a baking sheet. You don't want to bake it without one or you'll spill everywhere and the oven will become a smoky mess. Carefully spread the oat topping over the pie filling and try to make sure it's evenly divided over the top.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is cooked through.

I ate this while it was warm last night and it was good. The flour felt a little gummy and I was concerned that it might have been too much. I ate another piece cold this morning and it was just fine. This is definitely better chilled overnight. The diced apple is still basically raw, however. This was the only issue with the pie. If I do it again, I might saute the apple in a pan to partially cook it before adding it to the berry mixture. The flavor is amazing and you absolutely do not need added sugar to make this taste good. I really feel that I am onto something with this fruit-juice flavored desserts. I might need to develop a cookbook or something...! I would definitely enter this one in the Great American Pie Festival.

This was really easy to make. It was just chopping for the prep. You could make this gluten-free if you wanted too. All you'd need to do is prepare the fruit filling and leave out the flour. You could probably sprinkle a little cornstarch or tapioca in it and mix it together to help thicken it as it bakes. Put it in a pie tin or a baking pan and top it with the oat-crisp topping and you'd have a lovely fruit crisp that's added-sugar and gluten-free! And if you used vegan margarine instead of the butter for the topping, it would also be vegan!

My pies turned out really great last night and some day I will work on my pastry and not rely on frozen pie shells. But last night was not that day...! These were pretty simple baking projects. They'd be good for beginners who feel like they don't know what they're doing. So, if that might be you, then maybe you can try these out next year for Pi day! Happy baking!

Sources:
City Picture

Map

City Information with Pictures of the Town

Other City Information

Great American Pie Festival website

Apple Spice Cake

This cake took three attempts to perfect, but I finally got it. I have altered the original recipe enough in the ingredients as well as the method for preparing it that I can safely call it my own creation. I am really excited about this because since I don't really eat sugar anymore, except in the form of fruit, I miss out on a lot of textures. I don't miss sweet because I get plenty of that from fruit, but baked goods and the textures they produce are something I definitely don't get enough of anymore. Well, here is a cake, with a real, true cakey texture, but with only fruit for sweetener. So, without further ado, here is the recipe, along with notes for why I did what I did.

Apple Spice Cake
Wet ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, softened--You want this to be quite soft, because it's the only fat source in the entire batter, besides the egg, you need it to be able to mix easily into all the dry ingredients. I microwave it until it actually starts to melt, that's how soft you want it.
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large sweet apple, peeled, cored, and grated with the small shred option on a box-grater.--Do this over a bowl to collect any of the juices that will drain out because there will be a lot. I used a large Honeycrisp apple. And by large, I mean one of those "big as your head" apples.

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups flour--I put the first cup of flour into a sifter, then added the spices and baking soda and topped it with the second cup of flour and sifted it all together.
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground ginger--This is the key spice. It was my addition and it really adds a warmth that is amazing.
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1 1/2 cups chopped pecans--You could easily use walnuts or omit these altogether if you so desire. Pecans are a naturally sweeter nut, though and that's what I chose to keep them in from the original recipe.
1 cup raisins, chopped--Chopping the raisins is key to the recipe because it allows the sweetness otherwise trapped inside the raisin to permeate the entire batter during the baking process.

1.) Butter a 8"x8" baking dish(I used Pyrex) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.) In a small bowl, mix the butter and egg together(because you can't really cream the butter without adding sugar to it, the butter will be oddly chunky-looking, but this is ok), then add the vanilla, the unsweetened applesauce, and mix well.
3.) In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients except for the pecans and raisins. Add the applesauce-butter mixture all at once and mix until combined, trying not to overwork the batter. Add the grated apple and any collected juices, the pecans and the raisins and mix again until thoroughly combined.
4.) Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for about 40 minutes. Use toothpicks to test for doneness. This makes 12 generous servings.

I have not attempted to freeze portions of this but will try with this batch. I don't know why it wouldn't work. I think the next thing I might try, if I wanted to, would be to attempt this recipe with a gluten-free flour mix to see if it will hold up as well. I cannot vouch for that, but if you try it out yourself and it works, please let me know! I am also tempted to try out a version with pear and dried cranberries instead of apples and raisins, but that probably will be for another time...

Baking Adventures

I tried a new type of pie recipe a short time ago and was quite pleased with the results. Pear pie, akin to apple pie, but even better, I'd say. Pears have a spicier, more exotic flavor than an apple, but if you get ones that are still quite firm, they bake just like them. I took this to work and it was devoured and received high praise. It was quite easy to make, so I'll share the recipe here for all to try out.





Pear-Walnut Crumble Pie
1 pie crust
5 cups sliced, peeled pears(about 5 large)
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Dash salt
Topping: 1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1.) Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie crust in 9" glass pie plate.
2.) In a large bowl, lightly toss pears and remaining pie ingredients. If pears are very juicy, add additional 1 Tbsp. flour. Spoon into the crust-lined plate.
3.) In medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter, or hands until mixture is crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Spoon over pear mixture.
4.) Cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake 35-45 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

8 servings. I'll spare you the fat and calories, just pretend it's good for you and don't eat it too often and you should be fine! The good thing about this pie is it's not overly sweet. It's a really nice break from apple pie.

Banana Muffins

I had three bananas in the freezer to use and that's just the right amount for banana bread. I also had walnuts and mini chocolate chips sitting around waiting to be used for something. I used a recipe my sister had for banana muffins and toasted walnuts to add to the batter. I mixed in mini chocolate chips and boy did they turn out really good. They were pretty easy to make too, which is always a good thing.

Infamous Apple Enchiladas

We had a potluck at work for National Tortilla Chip Day. I wanted to do something that fit in with that idea, but was unique at the same time. I wanted to do something with apple pie and then turn it into Mexican food. The easiest way? Enchiladas. There are recipes out there for dessert enchiladas, but most of them call for that nasty canned fruit stuff for pies. Blech. So I got my dad's apple pie recipe and just used the filling part to develop my own recipe. I cooked the apples the day before assembling the enchiladas. I did it in a pan on the stove with water, spices, and some lemon juice. I cooked them till they were about half done, then drained and cooled them. I saved the juice and added caramel sauce to it. I used that to dip the tortillas in and then with the apples and more caramel sauce, I made them into enchiladas. When I finished baking them a lot of liquid was sitting in the pans so I took out the liquid. Since they'd be refrigerated overnight I didn't want them to get soggy. But I saved that liquid and added more caramel sauce and used it as the sauce to serve it with. It needed something so I got some whipped cream and Cool Whip to serve it with. They all got eaten so they must have turned out ok.