Just In Time For Fall…

Before I get to my next recipe, I want to fess up….I have totally been slacking on the foodie blog front, and for that I formally apologize. That’s not to say, however, that I haven’t been cooking up a storm, just haven’t had time and/or ability to get it here…

Alright, with that out of the way, I can get to this delicious recipe, which if made with the right fruit, would be perfect for the upcoming fall season…. Triple Crust Pie!!!

Julia Child said it best when she said “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.”  That pretty much sums up everything I believe about cooking. Pie, I think, is one of those dishes that fully encompasses that idea. If made well, and from good ingredients, you pretty much can’t go wrong. I am, to the bottom of my heart, and to the center of my core, a pie lover. There’s something wonderful about the warm, flaky crust (sprinkled with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar, of course); a sweet and tart fruit filling seasoned with the best spices, and that sense of well-being and contentment that comes from putting a fork full of that scrumptiousness into your mouth… And, as I’ve mentioned before, the enjoyment that comes from watching your closest friends and family truly take pleasure in your baked creation doesn’t hurt either.

I got the idea for this dessert from my mother-in-law, Ann, who made a peach triple crust cobbler for a family gathering – needless to say it was fantastic! Add a little bit of vanilla bean ice cream or homemade whipped cream to the top of it, and you have one happy girl in your midst! In the interest of full disclosure, she used the recipe for Betty Crocker’s Triple Crust Peach Cobbler. I basically followed that same recipe, with a few exceptions like making my own pie crust (see this blog for recipe) and making the filling from fresh peaches versus canned. You can find the original recipe from Betty Crocker here.

I made this recipe for a huge family gathering we had this summer while we had several guests in from out-of-town. I needed a dessert that I could make that would feed a crowd, but be kind of low maintenance to serve. Pie is a good crowd pleaser, but a little 9 inch pie isn’t going to go very far with the crowd we had gathered that day. This triple crust pie seemed like the perfect choice – it can be made in a 9” x 13” dish, be made ahead of time, and people could grab a piece as they were ready for dessert instead of a big to-do song and dance that involves flambé and table-side custard making or something…

For that day I made two of these monsters, one in cherry and one in peach. For the cherry, I would have preferred to use fresh cherries, but with what our grocery stores had in stock at the time, I decided to go the canned route. (There’s nothing wrong with the canned fruit, but again, you have to pick the quality ingredients…oh and when I say “canned” I don’t mean that cherry flavored gel kind of gunk you put on cheesecake…)

The pies went over really well, and I don’t think we really had much left! This dessert is perfect for those big family gatherings where you must have something delicious, but still need to feed a crowd…

Here are the recipes:

Peach:

Triple batch of Fantastically Simple Pie crust (or whatever pie crust recipe you like)

1 ½ cup sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of the peaches)

½ to 1 stick butter, cut into small cubes

2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

2-4 peaches (depending on size of peaches)

Water or milk

Coarse sugar for topping

Cherry:

Triple batch of Fantastically Simple Pie crust (or whatever pie crust recipe you like)

1 ½ cup sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of the cherries)

½ to 1 stick butter, cut into small cubes

2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

½ – 1 tsp almond extract

1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

4-6 cans of tart cherries, drained

Water or milk

Coarse sugar for topping

1.       After making pie crust, divide it into three parts, one part slightly larger than the other two.  Shape these into rough rectangles and wrap them in plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least ½ hour.

2.       Heat oven to 350 degrees.

3.       Take pie crust out of fridge; roll out the largest of the three parts into a large rectangle (large enough to fill the bottom and sides of a 9”x13” pan. Press into pan. Set pan aside. Roll another part of the dough into a rectangle, big enough to fit into the 9”x13” pan flat – cut into 4 equal strips – place these on a cookie sheet and bake for about 18 minutes. Set aside.

4.       Peel and slice peaches into thin slices about ¼” thick. Mix peaches (or cherries), sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and lemon juice in a large bowl.

5.       Pour about half of the peach/cherry mixture into the prepared 9”x13” baking dish. Scatter about half of the cubed butter over the top of the peaches/cherries.

6.       Then place the four dough strips over the peaches/cherries. Pour the remaining peach mixture over the strips and scatter the remaining pieces of butter on top.

7.       With the final piece of dough, roll it out to make sure it covers the top of the dish – seal it to the edge of the dish.

8.       Cut holes in the top dough for vents. Brush top with milk or water and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

9.       Bake pie for one hour or until top crust is golden brown and fruit mixture is bubbling. Let cool; or serve warm. Store covered leftovers in fridge.

Here’s how they turned out:

And just so you know it feeds a crowd, here’s the rowdy bunch I made them for:

Tags: baking, Cherry, Dessert, Family, Food, Food for a crowd, Friends, fruit, Peach, pie

Fantastically Simple Pie Crust

I used to be one of those people who thought making pie crust from scratch was incredibly difficult, time-consuming, and overall just not worth it… That was until about three years ago… I was making pies for the family Thanksgiving and decided on a “throw-caution-to-the-wind” kind of whim to try to make the crust from scratch. Well, it turned out really well; at least I think it did if all of the “mmm” and “yum” noises coming from my family were any indication; and now I’ll never go back to store-bought crusts.

Store bought crusts are great if you have to throw something together last-minute, but I think there’s a certain nostalgic deliciousness that comes with a homemade pie with crust made from scratch, and the pure happiness and feeling of well-being you get when you put something like that in your mouth. A lot of why I cook is the satisfaction I get out of watching my family and friends eat what I’ve made and truly enjoy it. I think that’s something you can only get with making traditional recipes from scratch…

This pie crust recipe is simple and not terribly time-consuming, but it tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen. It’s flaky and buttery and perfect for fruit or cream pies, Quiche, or anything else you can think of. I’ve even made homemade toaster pastries with it, and it’s great there too. You can even freeze the dough so you always have some on hand…

Scroll to the bottom for the recipe.

This particular batch of pie dough was used in a Triple Crust Pie I made for a big family gathering. That recipe post is up next, so keep checking back!

You’ll need shortening, flour, salt, and ice-cold water. I like to use Crisco shortening sticks, in butter flavor. It gives the pie crust a delicious butter flavor, and the sticks are great to use because they have measurements printed right on the side.

Mix the flour and salt together, and then add the cubed chilled shortening.

I really prefer to use a pastry blender/cutter like the one in the photo. It gives you a little more control than a fork does.

The mixture should look like this when you’ve incorporated the shortening. Now add the ice water, tablespoon by tablespoon, until a dough forms.  Don’t worry about accidentally adding too much water, if you do, you can add a little more flour to even it out.

What the dough looks like when it’s ready.

Now form them into rounds and wrap each round in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes. When you’re ready, roll them out according to your recipe and bake accordingly. If you’re not using it right away, you can put the wrapped rounds in a large zipper bag and store in the freezer until you’re ready to use it.

Here’s the recipe:

For a double crust 9-inch pie

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

¾ cup well chilled shortening, cut into cubes

4-8 tbsp ice-cold water

Blend flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut chilled shortening into flour mixture using a pastry blender until mixture looks like coarse crumbs, with a few pea sized pieces. Sprinkle half of the water over the mixture and mix with pastry blender. Add more water by the tablespoon, mixing until the dough holds together. Divide the dough into two, with one ball being slightly larger than the other. Flatten dough into round disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. Place larger disk of dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a circle, about 2 inches wider than the pie plate. Ease bottom crust into pie plate and trim around edges. Fill unbaked crust according to recipe. Roll top pie crust and lift onto filled pie. Fold top edge under bottom crust, press edges together and flute. Cut slits in the top crust to vent. Bake pie according to recipe directions.

Tags: baking, cooking, crust, pie, recipe

Summer Spice Fruit Dip

Okay, okay, before anyone says it… I know I haven’t posted any recipes yet! Not to mention I haven’t posted anything for a few months…. I can honestly say I have no excuse… at least not a good one. Now, that’s not to say I haven’t been cooking; I just haven’t been documenting that process and then posting it here. Well, all that changes now…

I have a fairly notorious sweet tooth, much to my husband’s dismay, so I’m always looking for something to satisfy that, while not being terribly bad for you (something that I don’t always succeed at). This recipe, however, I think does a pretty good job of accomplishing both, good for you and sweet. Hey, it involves fruit right??

This dip is super easy to make, delicious, and avoids heating up the oven on hot summer days. I made it for a small family breakfast when my aunt and uncle came to Colorado for the summer from Boston. They both like to eat healthy, and it seemed to go over well with everyone. You can eat it with whatever fruit you like, but I happen to be quite fond of berries, so I served it with an assortment of berries.

I always use an electric stand mixer, but I’ve been known to use a hand mixer in a pinch. The stand mixer whips in some air, making it nice and fluffy. (Oh, side note, I didn’t put it in the picture, but I added some vanilla to the dip too, just for good measure!)

First, I added the marshmallow creme to the mixer and whipped it by itself for a few seconds to loosen it up a little bit. I then added the vanilla and cream cheese to the bowl and mixed that for a few minutes until the cream cheese was entirely incorporated.

Once all that is mixed, add the cinnamon and nutmeg. I personally like a lot of spiced flavor, so I added quite a bit of both; but its something that you could play with depending on the level of spice you’d like.

Looks delicious doesn’t it?? My mouth is watering as I type this….

Now, just add it to a bowl for serving or to a Tupperware if you plan to store it.

I like to dust it with a little bit of the cinnamon and nutmeg before serving.

Like I said before, I serve mine with an assortment of berries, (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and bing cherries, since they happened to be in season here!) but I’ve eaten it with apples and bananas too, and it’s just as good!

This dip is great for family gatherings, barbecues, breakfasts and brunch, or just to keep in the fridge for snacking!!

Enjoy!!

Find the recipe below!

**All of these beautiful photos in my blog, and in future posts have been taken by my brother, Benjamin Krudwig; an aspiring and amazingly talented photographer! Check out his blog, And The Day Continues, here.**

Summer Spice Fruit Dip Recipe

1 large jar Marshmallow Crème

1 block cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp (or to taste) cinnamon

½ tsp (or to taste) nutmeg

Assorted fruit

Put marshmallow crème in bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on high for a few seconds. Mix vanilla and cream cheese in to marshmallow crème. Mix on high for 1-2 minutes, or until fully incorporated. Add nutmeg and cinnamon and mix to combine. Scoop dip into a serving dish or into an airtight container to store. Serve with assorted fruit. Refrigerate any leftover dip.

Tags: cooking, dip, fruit, snack, spices, summer, sweet, yummy

Hello world!

So, welcome to my new world of blogging! I’ve wanted to start my own blog for a long time, but just never sat down and did it. So, here’s my shot at a foodie/family/everything blog…

This blog will be my outlet for all kinds of stuff. Talking about my life with my husband, our two cats and our dog; my family and friends, and of course, the stuff I cook. I cook all the time; and as you may have read, will cook just about anything anyone’s willing to eat. I love to bake, saute, boil, broil, grill, pan fry, stir fry, anything! It’s truly one of my passions in life and I have come to enjoy it very much! It serves as one of my favorite stress relievers (though, admittedly, it sometimes becomes the source of my stress…)

In the future, each blog post will probably be accompanied by a delightful recipe, with a few photos (courtesy of my immensely talented brother, Ben); as for right now, I just thought I’d get my toes wet by posting something simple….

So, enjoy! And ALWAYS do things FOR THE LOVE….of family, of life, and of food….

And just for fun, here’s a couple of pics of me and my husband Alex, both foodies at heart at a young age….