Fallen Souffle

Yes, I know it is shocking, but I have never been able to make pie crust from scratch. It has always intimidated me, I think because I have always worked with bread dough which isn’t as delicate and fragile as a tender pie dough, I never knew how to handle it. However after a trip to the farmer’s market and a 3 quart bucket of very ripe strawberries and a pound of butter in the fridge I figured I might as well try now.

This also gives me a chance to try a recipe from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book which I was sent a while ago and have been flipping through for some time now trying to figure out what to make first. Melissa’s recipe is rather basic, not unlike other pie recipes I have read but I figured this chick has a successful bakery so she should know how it’s done.

The pie was ok, not terrible not fantastic, and certainly not due to the recipe used. I used a regular pie filling of berries, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch. The crust should have been rolled a bit thinner, especially for the top crust. Also, I learned not to leave the butter chunks in the freezer and then proceed to talk to your Mom on the phone on Mother’s Day…yea…the butter was rock solid and took forever to incorporate. So next time I will chill it for much shorter and the butter bits should be smaller.

Overall, I think I have moved past my fear of pie crust. I may make more this weekend and instead make little hand pies instead of one big one.

I would highly recommend the Sweet Melissa Baking Book as she has a wide variety of baking essentials, many with a special twist

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This dessert is awesome. Really. Perfect dessert for the spring, the honey and orange are light and fresh yet the ricotta and cream cheese provide a richness that isn’t too overwhelming. It’s perfect if you crave cheesecake but don’t want a thick slice of heaviness.

I used biscotti for the crust but I think amaretti cookies or even a graham cracker crust with some ground almonds would work. I somehow had a crapload of crust crumbs left over, I was going to save them and make some mini cheesecakes but I don’t have mini pans so I threw them out Both the crust and filling are made in a food processor which is super easy. I was making rolls while making this so I was able to clean my processor and let it dry in between crust and filling.

Please try this recipe, it’s wont disappoint!

Honey Orange Ricotta Cheesecake
From Giada

8 ounces purchased biscotti
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 (12-ounce) container fresh whole milk ricotta, drained (I used low fat and did not drain it…whoops missed that step!)
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature (used low fat)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange blossom or clover honey (I used orange blossom and it rocked!)
1 tablespoon orange zest
4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Finely grind the biscotti in a food processor. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom (not the sides) of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.

Blend the ricotta in a clean food processor until smooth. Add the cream cheese and sugar and blend well, stopping the machine occasionally and scraping down the sides of the work bowl. Blend in the honey and orange zest. Add the eggs and pulse just until blended.

Pour the cheese mixture over the crust in the pan. Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. (I skipped this because I was lazy, my cake did crack but I decorated it with orange segments so no one knew) Bake until the cheesecake is golden and the center of the cake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour and 5 minutes (the cake will become firm when it is cold).

Transfer the cake to a rack and cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days. Cut the cake into wedges and serve.

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I have almost a full box of phyllo in the fridge and I thought I would try and make a dent in it by using it to make a pie for a luncheon. Phyllo is paper thin sheets of pastry used in things like baklava other pastries. Because I have yet to conquer the pie crust I built my crust with layers of phyllo and melted butter, as Ina would say…how bad can that be!

This pie turned out really well. I like the creaminess of the bottom layer, the sweet and tart mix of the berries, and the crispy crust. It was easy to put together and I could pop it in the fridge overnight to chill.

Sorry for the lack of picture, it went too fast to grab a shot. I still have some phyllo left, maybe I will make an Apfelstrudel for the beach

I modified the recipe from Allrecipes.com

Berries and Cream Phyllo Pie

12 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
16 ounces of cooked berries*

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. In a medium mixing bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside.

3. Remove thawed phyllo from package and unroll. Keep stack covered with a damp towel at all times to prevent drying out and tearing. Separate one sheet of phyllo from stack, brush lightly with melted butter or margarine, and place sheet in a 9-inch pie pan. Let edges of dough hang over sides of pan. Continue this process with 5 more sheets of phyllo dough. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly into pan.

4. Spread fruit filling over cream cheese layer. Fold overhanging phyllo dough over fruit layer. Brush another sheet of phyllo with melted butter or margarine and lay over top of pie. Continue this process with remaining 5 sheets of phyllo.

5. Tuck edges of top phyllo sheets inside pie between pan and filling, sealing well. Cut small slits in top layers of dough to allow steam to escape. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, ensuring that phyllo doesn’t get too brown, just golden. Cool completely before serving. Refrigerate leftovers, if any …

*I used a random mix of berries for this, I had some defrosted strawberries, blueberries, blackberry and raspberries that I thawed. i then added some cherries that I had cooked down a few weeks ago, I also threw in a handful of cranberries for fun. I added all the fruit to a medium saucepan and added about 1/3 c of sugar which was perfect, not too sweet.

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I have not posted yet because frankly I was disappointed that I didn’t win anything with this recipe, it encompasses absolute strawberry goodness and who wouldn’t love that! But after taking a look at the winning recipes I realized I had some stiff competition this year! Notably, the second place winner has been in a few pie contests that the Food Network has covered. I also need to stick to my strategy of bringing in my entry near the end of the registration period because that means it will be tasted near the end.

The post was also prompted because Evan recently went to the Outer Banks on a “business” trip. This is in quotes because I always question how much business is actually conducted when he is there Nonetheless, he raved about this strawberry pie that our friend Grier made. He said it was really simple but really fantastic, so he got the recipe from her and forwarded it onto me. The recipes were almost identical! So I guess my recipe wasn’t as original as I thought but it’s good to know that Evan will eat it if I make it again.

So here is my recipe, just a quick note, the sugar can be adjusted to how sweet your berries are. mine were pretty sweet so I only used 1/2 a cup, but if yours are less sweet use up to 1 cup.

Good Ole Strawberry Pie
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or Cool Whip

1. Arrange half of strawberries in baked pastry shell. Puree remaining berries and combine with sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. In a small bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of pie with a dollop of whipped cream.

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For my birthday I decided I wanted a big hunk of cheesecake, what better way to celebrate then a rich and creamy slice of fattening heaven. This was super easy to put together, requires minimal ingredients and is a great base for whatever other flavors you can think of. This recipe also doesn’t require a water bath, I didn’t have a problem with this cracking but if you did just pour some chocolate ganache over it.

The cake was a hit with everyone, especially my father in law. (hence the lack of pictures, instead enjoy a picture of Evan and I in New York)

New York Cheesecake
from Martha’s Everyday Food

4 T. butter, melted
8 graham crackers, broken into pieces (I used one package, I think there were 9 in there)
2 T. light brown sugar
3 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/8 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
5 large eggs, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with Pam or butter. In a food processor (or ziploc bag) crush graham crackers. Add sugar and butter and process or stir until moist crumbs form. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of pan.

3. In a large bowl, cream together cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth. Add one egg at a time, mixing well in between each addition. Pour filling into pans and bake until center is just about to set and the top is slightly brown, 60-70 minutes. Allow to cool about an hour and then refridgerate for atleast 12 hours.

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Seriously. These are the best and easiest brownies you have ever made. They require the use of one saucepan and a 8×8 baking dish. In 10 minutes the hard work is done and the chocolatey goodness is put in the oven to set, just enough to create a nice crust but still moist in the center. These little babies were a hit at the office and with my loveable husband (couldn’t you just pinch those cheeks!)

Best Brownies Ever

1 stick butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I just used chocolate chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small saucepan, met the butter and chocolate over medium low heat, making sure not to scorch the chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. Add one egg at a time, mixing well to incorporate. Stir in vanilla, flour and nuts/chips.

3. Pour batter into a greased 8×8 inch pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges begin to pull from the edges and the middle has just set (You don’t want to overbake these!). Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares!

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Ok so the collection just consists of two ribbons, but it’s a start! I won second place at the Raleigh Farmer’s Market Peach Day Recipe Contest this past week. I am moving up, now I have to work on first prize for the next contest! I submitted a Peachy Almond Galette. I wasn’t even going to enter this because, honestly, I was a bit lazy and didn’t feel like making it that morning but I knew my Mom would ask how I did (I made it the weekend before for the Fam at the beach) so I went ahead and entered. Unfortunately, I really didn’t think I had a chance because there were many more entries than the Strawberry Contest; one lady even entered 3 different recipes. Therefore I didn’t come back for the awards ceremony, so I have to wait for my check and ribbon to be mailed. Oh well, I certainly learned my lesson and will make sure to show up for my 15 seconds of second place glory!

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I was so excited to be asked to participate in the Cookbook Spotlight for the new book Kitchen Sense by Mitchell Davis which is being co-hosted by Cath at a Blithe Palate and Sara at i like to cook. This is quite an extensive cookbook and I could write about many of the recipes but I will focus on my first dish, a Berry Crisp. The original recipe is called Apple Cranberry Crisp but I had a hoard of berries and other fruit from a trip to the Farmer’s Market so I decided to use those up instead.

The recipe is totally fail-proof and absolutely delicious. I served this on Father’s Day with some good vanilla ice cream. It reheats beautifully, keeping it’s topping crisp and can be made ahead of time and reheated.

In regards to the cookbook itself, it really has just about every recipe you could think of. From the basic to the exotic and unique, it’s all in there. I really liked how there are suggestions for advance prep, variations, and what to do with leftovers. My only dislike is that there are no pictures! But that will just entice you to actually MAKE the dishes! Overall, a very nice cookbook that I would recommend to everyone.

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Happy Blog Party!

I almost didn’t make it in time this week…something about two jobs, a cake class and oh yeah…housework almost kept me from the fun this month! Luckily I have two super easy recipes to contribute.

I have been making this yummy tea recipe since I saw Ina make it a couple of years ago. It is refreshing and good for you! I rarely drink anything else besides water during the day, but a nice cool glass of this with lunch it truly a treat!

Ina’s Fruity Summer Tea
4 Celestial Seasoning Red Zinger Tea bags
4 Celestial Seasoning Lemon Zinger Tea bags
4 cups cold apple juice (I actually used white grape juice this time around)

Steep all 8 teabags in 4 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes. (I usually throw in a bit of ice to cool it down before combining with juice.) In a large pitcher combine tea with juice and add as much ice as desired. Enjoy!

For the appetizer/dessert I decided to stick to two very lady-like things…cheesecake and lemon curd…what could be better! I have made these mini cheesecakes before and have added preserves to the top but seeing as I have a large amount of lemon curd in my fridge right now, I figured this would be a great way to use some of it.

Mini Lemon Curd Cheesecakes
1 8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cookies (I have been using vanilla wafers but used the Girl Scout shortbread cookies this time and they are fabulous!)
lemon curd

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth and well blended.

Place muffin liners into muffin tin and drop a cookie into the bottom of each cup. Spoon about 1/4 cup of cream cheese filling into each cup. Top with desired amount of lemon curd (I used about 2 teaspoons in each cup) and swirl with a toothpick.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

**Jen’s Note- These mini cakes tend to fall a bit after baking so you could leave out the curd until after baking and you would have a nice little dimple to fill with cool lemon curd.

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And what did I do with all of these you ask? Well for starters I entered the Raleigh Farmer’s Market’s Dessert Contest. I figured this would be the best start to my future (hopefully) in cooking contests. I made my dessert last night and carefully drove it the Farmer’s Market this morning and then had to wait 2 hours for the results. I was fine until about 10 minutes before they were to announce the winners. I don’t know why I got all worked up, 1st prize was only $100, but I guess I can just excited about my chances, I was really happy with the dessert I made. So the panel of judges included TV weathermen and government officials and the results were read with Suzy Strawberry nearby. I won third place. I was quite proud of myself since this was my first contest and the winner was about 60 so she had some experience over me. I took home my $50 and white ribbon proudly and I look forward to the next contest…peaches!

So My Mother-In-Law got some pictures of the announcement that I will have to get from her and because I was such a ball of nerves I forgot to take a picture of the entry but I will pass along the recipe incase you find yourself with a large amount of strawberries.

A Slice of Strawberry Heaven

2 cups strawberries, divided
juice of half a lemon
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 packages (3 ounces each) ladyfinger cookies

1. In a blender, puree one cup of sliced strawberries together with the juice of half a lemon. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whip together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold whipped cream and strawberry puree into cream cheese mixture.

4. Line a 9 inch spring form pan with plastic wrap. Arrange ladyfingers around sides and bottom of the pan, standing ladyfingers lengthwise around sides of pan. Pour 1/2 of the filling into the pan, then arrange about 1/2 a cup of sliced strawberries over the filling, then place a layer of ladyfingers on top of strawberries. Pour remaining filling over ladyfingers.

5. Place the remaining strawberries, either whole or sliced on top of the final layer of filling. Refrigerate overnight and remove from pan once thoroughly chilled.

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