Guest Post: Apple Rhubarb Pie

When Lynn asked me to guest blog, I was beyond ecstatic. I mean, it really was a culmination of life events for me. Lynn is just the coolest and the fact that she asked me to guest blog on her cooking blog means more to me than she can ever imagine.

A little about me, the best-guest-blogger-ever (sorry Sara):
My name is Melissa and I am a real housewife of the suburbs of Philadelphia. With my busy schedule of working and doing tireless tasks such as grocery shopping and getting the mail from the mailbox, I like to make a little magic happen... in the kitchen that is! I recently have been obsessive been trying to get rhubarb, even though it is barely in season (I was trying to seriously wow my future parent in-laws with my awesome baking skills over Easter with a serious rhubarb recipe, but much to my chagrin, none was available! Oh the injustice of life! So we got the next best thing.. an iced vanilla cake in the shape of a bunny that could have sent a diabetic to their grave. But the rhubarb has been a burning desire that I just could not squash. Thus, when Lynnie decided to ask me (ME!!!!) to guest blog, I knew what I had to make! So, all you need to know about me is that I am the best!

BUT, I end this little blurb about the best-guest-blogger-ever with a challenge: Paul, my betrothed, can literally do nothing right, not even load the dishwasher correctly, EXCEPT, he makes the best pizza dough this side of Italy. I say for a bit of fun and good natured fun, Paul and Lynn have a dough-off in Lynn's test kitchen. We make the pizza and a blind taste test will ensue. What do you say there Lynn? Are you chef enough?

YELC (Your Even Loving Chef),
Melissa

 

 

Apple Rhubarb Pie: 

This recipe was  borrowed from Cooking Light Magazine, April 2012 issue.

 

Hands on time: about 40 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pre-made pie crust (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking Spray
3 1/2 cups sliced rhubarb
1 cup granulated Sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/8 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Place pie dough on a lightly floured surface; fit to a 9" pie plate.
Spray your pie plate liberally with cooking spray.
Place the pre-made pie dough into the pie plate. Make sure there is enough 'overhang' so you can flute ( I don't know what 'flute' means, so I folded, into what I thought, was decorative).

Combine rhubarb, granulated sugar, lemon juice and apples; toss.

 

 

Sprinkle the mixture with cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 3 tablespoons of flour; toss.
Spoon (I used a slotted spoon since it was super runny) the mixture into the pie plate with prepared crust.

Set the prepared pie aside.

 

Level 3/4 cup of flour in a medium bowl. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt, brown sugar, and cut up 6 tablespoons of butter and mix (the recipe calls for the use of a pastry blender- whatever that is). I used two knives in a fashion to 'cut' the butter, like one would cut meat. Do this until the mixture resembles a mealy texture, or until your arms get tired (which seriously happened).

 

Stir in the walnuts (Baker's note: chopped walnuts were a full two dollars more, for less. So being the genius that I am, I purchased the larger, whole walnut, measured out 1/3 cap, placed them in a sandwich bag, placed the bag level on a tea towel and beat the pieces into chopped with my french rolling pin.)

Sprinkle the butter/flour/walnut mixture over top of the entire pie. Make sure that you fill in all the crevices with the mixture.

 

 

Bake in the pre-set oven for 15 minutes.

Reduce the heat of the oven to 375 degrees and bake the pie for an additional 30 minutes or until golden brown. I had to bake mine for about 50 minutes, but I have an electric oven. if the crust seems to be browning, you can place some foil around the edges of the pie to protect it from burning.

 

Let the pie stand at least 15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Pizza Rustica

I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. This is one of those recipes that makes me so happy to be included in the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group. If it wasn't for this group, I would think pizza rustica was just something that was ordered at the corner pizza shop and ready for pick up in about 20 minutes. Do you know what pizza rustica is? Did you imagine it to be bake in a pie dish? Did you know it's the perfect combination of sweet and savory?

Pizza rustica is an Italian savory pie with ricotta base that is traditionally filled with meat. Since I'm not a huge meat eater I replaced the prosciutto, that the recipe called for, with roasted red peppers. This takes the name "pizza pie" to a whole new level! 

A lot of the bloggers thought the crust was too sweet. I didn't find that to be a  problem. I honestly thought the sweet, savory combination was perfect! The dough was really easy to work with and didn't shrink up at all.


If you're hosting Easter and don't have your menu planned out, add this! It's perfect for a crowd (or just a few). It could be served as a first course (yes, something sweet for the first course) or it can be served as the main course with a nice salad. 


The recipe can be found on our host's blogs. Emily of Capitol Region Dining and Raelynn of The Place They Call Home. Thanks Emily and Raelynn for hosting this week.

What a Week!

Happy April Lots to Ladlers! 

There has been a lot going on! This past week was a busy one...busy in a good way! Nadya and I spent Sunday-Wednesday in Key West, FL. Our first time there! It was absolutely lovely!!! Perfect weather, perfect drinks, perfect food. 

And yes, I had key lime pie. It was my first taste of key lime pie, ever. Since it was my first time, I had to make sure it came from the best place in Key West. After a Google search and surveying the locals, it was determined that we were off to Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe.

Kermit's is really cute. They have key lime everything! You name it, they have it....key lime guacamole, key lime fudge, key lime popcorn, etc. I was there for the key lime pie but did get a sample of the key lime fudge which was mighty good! 

Here's a slice of pie. Looks like a cheesecake doesn't it? I liked the pie more and more as each bite went on. It was light and airy yet filling with a nice citrus bite. It had a great graham cracker crust and whipped cream topping that complimented the filling greatly.

Now if you can get your hands on some key limes you can make this pie yourself! Kermit's was featured on The Food Network and so was the key lime pie recipe. 

Kermit's Key Lime Pie:

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup key lime juice
• 1 (9-inch) graham cracker pie crust
• Whipped cream, to garnish

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a mixer on low-medium speed, blend the milk and egg yolks at low speed until smooth. Add the key lime juice and finish blending.

Gently pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool for another 15 minutes before refrigerating.

Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Serve cold and top with fresh whipped cream. 

In other news, I'm an aunt! I told you it was a busy week. Jake (that cutie below...no, not me, the other cutie) was born Wednesday, 3/30 and instantly stole the hearts of everyone in my family! So happy he's finally here! xoxo!

National Pie Day

Well actually it was yesterday, January 23th. 

To celebrate, I made these tasty savory pies. Mini Italian potpies to be exact. 

The recipe below comes from Martha and serves 4 (my ramekins are 7 ounces so I actually got 5 servings).  I stumbled upon this recipe on my Martha Stewart Every Day Food app on my iPhone. (Yes, Martha is everywhere I go.) Overall, this meal was a hit! I swapped out the ground beef sirloin for extra lean ground turkey and used skim milk to help make this meal a little lighter...Hey, it's still January and people still have their resolutions to follow!

Italian Potpies:  

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 pound ground beef sirloin, thawed if frozen

2 cups homemade or best-quality store-bought tomato sauce

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup whole milk  

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in lowest position. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion and carrots; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add beef, and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce; bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat mixture has thickened, 8 to 10 minutes; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, Parmesan, baking powder, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; make a well in center, and add butter and milk. Stir just until dough comes together.

Spoon meat mixture into four 8-ounce ramekins; mound dough on top. Place on a large rimmed baking sheet; bake until topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in topping comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes.