Triple Berry Pie

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Isn’t this one of the most gorgeous examples of pie that you’ve ever seen? I can’t claim it as my own, as I’m usually horrible with pies. I always screw some integral part up – like the filling is too runny, or I botch the crimping of the crust. Luckily, my good friend Colleen is great with pies. I’ve had 2 of hers now (a delightful apple crumble pie, and the beauty pictured here), and I can never get over how lovely they look, and how wonderful they tasted!

You can use whatever berries you like. This one was filled with plump blackberries, juicy blueberries, and tart raspberries. The tri-fecta of berries, in my humble opinion. I asked Colleen how difficult the gorgeous decorative crust was to make, and she said that surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad at all. The hardest part was “rolling” out the vine ropes and placing them on top, as they wanted to crack at the bends. Slightly wetting your hands when rolling will probably help that.

So, in short, a big shoutout and thanks to Colleen. I love a dessert that I can enjoy, but don’t have to bake myself. You’re a true friend! Hope everyone is able to enjoy this at some point this berry season. Enjoy!

Triple Berry Pie

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/4 – 1/2 cup ice water
1 egg, separated
1 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

For the filling:

5 – 6 cups mixed berries (I used blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)
1/2 – 2/3 cup granulated white sugar (depending on your desired sweetness)
1/4 cup tapioca starch OR corn starch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor (or bowl, if that is what you have to work with). Add butter and pulse to combine until resembles course crumbs, about 10 to 15 seconds (if using bowl, cut the butter in with a pastry blender). Add ice water in a steady stream, starting with just 1/4 cup. Process just until the dough pinches together. If necessary add a little more water until you get to this state. You should not need more than 1/2 cup nor require longer than 30 seconds processing.Turn the dough out onto your work surface and divide in half. Shape into flattened discs, wrap each into plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Take one disc and roll it out onto your floured work surface until about 12″ in diameter. Roll from the center out and rotate your crust quarter turns occasionally to avoid sticking.  Transfer the crust to a 9″ pie pan.  (To transfer, I gently fold the dough into quarters and unfold in the pan.)  Trim the edges, leaving about 1/2″ overhang and then fold them under. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Repeat process with second disc. Cut about 3 to 5 long, thin pieces from the middle. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Gently pinch each piece all along the length, and then roll so it is rope-like. Using a small flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut out and transfer about 7 flowers to the cookie sheet. With the remaining dough, use an almond-shaped cookie cutter to obtain as many pieces as you can. From the scraps, cut out small circles that will be the center of your flowers.  To finish off the leaves, use a knife or clean razor blade to lightly etch “leaf lines” into each almond-shaped dough piece. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

For the filling, rinse and dry the berries.  Place them in a large mixing bowl, and stir in the remaining ingredients until uniformly coated. Remove the bottom crust from the refrigerator.  Use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer of egg white to the bottom.  Pour the filling into the crust-lined pie pan, and level with a spoon.

Whisk together the yolk and cream.  Brush a thin layer around the edge of the crust.

Remove the crust flowers, vines and leaves from the refrigerator and let sit for a couple of minutes.  Start by putting down one long piece of rope-like dough across the top of the berry filling in a loopy, simple way (like an S shape).  Just make sure each end overlaps the bottom crust edges.  Lay down the other rope-like pieces as branch offs, keeping the design simple and loopy.  Cut down the lengths of the dough rope as it suits you.  Don’t worry about bad branch connections or cracking/breaking pieces; you can always cover them up with leaves.  Once you are satisfied with the general vine shape, brush a thin layer of the yolk-cream mixture over it.

As you finish decorating from this point, apply the yolk-cream mixture on the tops of each piece as you go.  Use a little on the undersides of those that do not want to stay (especially the center of the flowers to their petals); it’ll work like a paste.

Wherever you want to designate as the ‘top’ of your pie, that is where you will place a flower.  First place a leaf lightly down on either side.  Place a flower down between them, slightly covering the inner corners of the leaves.  Place several more leaves around the edge.  You will have to raise the previous leaf slightly and slide the new one under.  You can place as many around the edge as you want.  I did not go all the way around but left a few inches opposite the flower uncovered.

Place as many leaves as desired hanging off the vine branches.  You do not need to pinch these down; just gently place each where you want them.  Place your flowers where ever looks good to you.  Overlapping a leaf or two looks nice.

Place the pie in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the pie in the oven on top of a cookie sheet.  At about 10 to 15 minutes into baking, place an aluminum foil ring over the pie edges to prevent them from burning.  Continue baking for another  35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: Instructables user kathrynl

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

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Last week, Shawnda of Confections of a Foodie Bride devoted a whole week to pizza. I happened to have pizza on the menu for Friday evening, and I couldn’t help but be inspired by all the fun twists on pizza that she’d shared during the week. I’ve been in the mood for wings for a couple of weeks now. So, I thought, why not a buffalo chicken pizza? Yum!

I looked around on a few different recipes, and there are several variations out there. I settled on Racheal Ray’s version. Say what you will about her “stoups” and sammies, but what recipes I’ve tried of hers have yet to let me down. I liked the idea of a Buffalo pizza sauce, versus just a buffalo sauce, or ranch dressing as the base. I didn’t have blue cheese, so I just mixed in a little bit of cheddar. I was thinking feta might be a good substitute as well, with the nice salty kick it lends. And last, but certainly not least, the red onions. Which, get nice and charred under the intense heat in the oven.

Everyone really enjoyed it, in fact we ate the whole thing that night. Usually, on pizza night, there’s always at least a half a pizza left over between the traditional pizza I make for the boys, and the more adulterated pizza I’ll make for us. I’m already craving this again, so I have a feeling it won’t be long before it’s making an appearance on our dinner table soon. Make sure you have plenty of ice cold beer to serve with it, as they go down too easy together!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

3/4 pound chicken breast cutlets
olive oil, for drizzling
2 teaspoons grill seasoning
1 pizza dough
Cornmeal or flour, to handle dough
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
2 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce (I like Frank’s Red Hot)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup shredded Monterey or Pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Preheat grill pan to high.

Place chicken on a plate and drizzle with olive oil , then season with grill seasoning. When grill is hot, add chicken and cook about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Once chicken has cooled, slice it into 1/2″ thick strips.

Stretch dough to form pizza using cornmeal or flour to help you handle it. Set pizza on pizza pan to the side and clean board.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir in Worcestershire, hot sauce, and tomato sauce. Remove from heat. Add chicken strips to sauce and toss to coat, then remove and set aside.

Cover the pizza dough with remaining  pizza sauce, then top with the cheeses, chicken pieces, and red onion. Bake 15 minutes or until crisp.

Source: adapted from Racheal Ray

Fresh Whiskey Sours

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It’s been a year and a half coming, but AMC’s Mad Men is coming back for Season 5 this Sunday night. To say I’m excited, is, pretty much an understatement. It’s such a wonderful program – the cast, the costuming, the sets. I just love it. I can’t wait to see what our favorite dashing gentleman Don Draper has been up to. And of course my favorite lady, Mrs. Holloway-Harris. How is she, ahem, progressing? All I can say is, I’m thanking my lucky stars that the premiere is 2 hours long!

So, to celebrate the return I wanted to share a retro cocktail. Whiskey sours are probably one of the most beloved mix drinks in existence. I’ve had them before, usually at a party or bar in my younger  years. They were always palatable, but they used the bottled sweet and sour mix, and that’s just not as good. The fresh lemon and lime juice, really sets it apart from the pack. Just enough to make you pucker, but then the sweetness added by the simple syrup rounds it out and brings all the flavors together. And, if you think you don’t like whiskey – give it a try. It’s amazing what lots of fresh citrus juice and sweetness can mask. Have no doubts though, these still have the power to put you on your ass.

I’m making a retro themed menu for Sunday night.  Nothing is set in stone yet, but I’m thinking Swedish meatballs and Pineapple Upside Down Cake. If you’re wondering where I got the flashy cocktail shaker and napkin, I applied to be a host for the Mad Men House Party that AMC was sponsoring, and I got chosen. So, in my party pack were a few Mad Men themed goodies, including the shaker and napkins. Thought they were too cute not to use!

Fresh Whiskey Sours

3/4 cup whiskey (recommended: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
2/3 cup sugar syrup (see note)
Ice cubes
Maraschino cherries

Combine the whiskey, lemon juice, lime juice, and syrup. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice and pour in the drink mix 2/3 full. Shake for 15 seconds and pour into glasses. Add a maraschino cherry and serve ice cold.

Note: To make the sugar syrup, bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil, and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved. Chill before using.

Source:  Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten

DIY Pita Bread

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I’ve been making my own pita bread at home for a few years now. Finding them in my local grocery store can be hit and miss, so it started out as a necessity. But, like everything else – once I had them homemade, I couldn’t go back. I figured it was high time I shared it with you guys. These pitas are puffy, pillowey, and soft . Everything that you could possibly want in pita bread!

They’re easier to make than you’d think too. I’m able to put the dough together at 3 in the afternoon, and we’re eating gyros with the pitas I’d made by 6 in the evening. It comes together quickly, and is very workable. To shape the dough, I like to stretch with my hands (like you would a pizza) and then finish with the rolling pin. I don’t like a giant “pocket” in my pita, and this technique seems to help with that. I also like a slightly larger pita, so I roll it thin.  But, if a pocket pita is what you’re looking for, just make the dough circle a bit smaller and thicker.

The recipes make 8 pitas, which was perfect for the guys and I to have dinner. Then, we enjoyed pita pizzas the next day for lunch simply by topping with pizza sauce, cheese, and some fun toppings. The boys loved having their own individual pizza to decorate, and I always love turning leftovers into something new. Enjoy!

Pita Bread

3 cups flour, plus 1/2-3/4 cup more as needed
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar or honey
1 packet instant yeast
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups water, roughly at room temperature
2 tbsp. olive oil, vegetable oil, butter or shortening

Mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar.  Add the olive oil and 1 ¼ cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon.  All of the ingredients should form a ball.  If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.  As the dough is mixing, continue to add flour, a tablespoon or two at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky.  (I add a significant amount of flour, so don’t be afraid to keep adding more until you reach the right consistency.)

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the dough around so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it will be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450°. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while it is preheating. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between ¼ – 1/8” thick – 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently, you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5-10 minutes before trying again.

Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment paper and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.

Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn’t necessary.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker, via Annie’s Eats