Maple Pumpkin Pie with Candied Ginger

Eren and I first made this pie 8 years ago. Every time the weather turns cold we remember this recipe, and yearn for the fall that we lived in the same town and baked pie after pie. I think it is everything pumpkin pie should be: not too sweet, perfect custard texture, creamy, and very pumpkin-y. The maple adds this really nice richness without being too sugary, and the ginger is amazing. And we got to make it this weekend! Pie recipe is here at Epicurian: Ginger Maple Pumpkin Pie. The "pumpkin" we used was actually a kabocha squash that was a super rich dark orange color.

The crust we used was another Baking Illustrated recipe. Baking Illustrated is like the science version of cooking - they test every recipe (ever seen America's Test Kitchen? this is them) with different ingredients to come up with the fail-proof perfect one. According to science. Kind of fascinating.

Pie Dough for Prebaked Pie Shell (1 single 9" pie)
1 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 t. salt
1 T. sugar
3 T. vegetable shortening, chilled
4 T. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4" pieces
4-5 T. ice water

Process flour, salt and sugar in food processor until combined. Add shortening and process 10 sec until texture is like sand. Scatter butter over flour mix and pulse to a course mixture (10 - 1 second pulses). Turn the mixture into a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle 4 T. ice water over mixture and use a folding motion to mix. Press down on dough until it sticks together, adding 1 more T. of water if dough is not coming together. Flatten dough to 4" disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least an hour or up to 2 days. *I have made this crust without a food processor: grate butter into flour mixture with a cheese grater and cut it in using one of those cutter-inner tools.

Remove dough from fridge (if in longer than one hour, let stand at room temp until malleable). Roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface, or between two sheets of parchment to a 12" circle. Transfer to a 9" pie plate. Trim the edges to 1/2 beyond the pan and fold it under itself. Refrigerate until firm (40 mintues) and then freeze 20 minutes. (*Note, I don't have a 9" pie pan so I used a bigger tart pan - no prob. Also, I skipped the refrigerator/freezing step and all was fine.) Preheat oven to 375. Press foil to chilled crust (make sure to cover edge) and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 25-30 minutes and carefully remove weights. Continue baking 5-6 minutes for a partially baked crust, or until golden brown for a fully baked crust (12 minutes more).

Using a partially baked crust, we filled it with the custard and baked it according to the pie recipe. Because of my odd pan, the edge was a little too low, so it could not hold as much of the custard. Alas. Still delicious.

Pizza: Sauerkraut, Apple, Cranberry and Pesto Tomato

This weekend brought Eren and Naomi to town for anniversary and birthday celebrating, Barebones, and some seasonal feasting. Pizza was selected for Saturday dinner. I got the crust recipe from Baking Illustrated (my go to for always perfect baking) and we tried a couple of different toppings. Topping one involved some recently finished sauerkraut and an amazing Sauerkraut/Apple/Cranberry recipe from a canning class KP and I took earlier this month. Topping two included leftover Cilantro Pesto and roasted tomatoes. Yum. Perfect early dinner pre-Barebones and to celebrate the years of love among us.

Pizza Dough (makes enough for three pizzas) *hand kneading version
1/2 c water
1 envelope instant yeast
1 1/4 c. water at room temp
2 T extra virgin olive oil (just realized I forgot that part!!)
4 c bread flour (Up to half can be wheat - I went 1 c wheat/3 c white)
1 1/2 t. salt

Sprinkle yeast on warm water and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells (about 5 minutes). Add remaining room temp. water and oil and stir to combine. In separate, deep bowl, combine half the flour and salt. Add the liquid ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the remaining flour and stir until a "cohesive mass" forms. Turn out to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (7-8 minutes), using as little dusting flour as possible. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled in size: 1 1/2-2 hours. (Note the wheat flour will slow rising time a bit.) When risen, press dough to deflate, divide into three balls, and stretch/pull with hands to form crust.
*Baking Illustrated recommends a pizza stone for perfect pizza. Sprinkled semolina/corn meal or parchment paper allows you to transfer the uncooked crust to the pizza stone that you want to have pre-heating in the oven. Cook pizza hot - 500 degrees, and remove when crust is turning brown and toppings are sizzling (6-12 minutes).

Pizza One: Sauerkraut with Apples and Cranberries and Squash
*Makes 3 pints (which you then would can, 1/2 the recipe for a more manageable amount to consume before it goes bad!)
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
3 large sweet apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 c. dried cranberries or cherries
1 t. caraway seed
1 t. fennel seed
1 bay leaf
4 c. fermented sauerkraut and juice

Combine apple cider and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Add onion, apple, cranberries and spices and simmer gentely until apple is tender. Stir in sauerkraut and juice. *If canning, heat mix to 180 degrees, fill scalded jars leaving 1/2" headspace and process for 25 minutes.
We put this mix on the pizza with some baked squash and cheese. Yum. Toss a little salt on too for some improved flavor.

Pizza Two: Spicy Pesto Tomato
Cilantro Pesto: food process 1/2-1 bunch cilantro with nuts (almonds or walnuts), salt and pepper, parm cheese, and olive oil. Sorry I don't have better amounts, I don't think you can go wrong though!
Roasted tomatoes
2ish T. Red Onion, chopped
2ish T. Jalepeno, minced
Cheese!

chili! part two.

Allison's last post made me crave Chili and, one day, after I go to the store and get the ingredients for it, I'm really looking forward to trying it.

...but since I didn't want to leave the house, I improvised this recipe from what I had on hand. Really easy and delicious.

chili:

any type of beans (i used a mixture of pinto, kidney, black eyed peas, and adzuki beans)

roasted tomatoes (from the garden last year, roasted and then frozen)

vegetable stock

pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

onion

salt+pepper to taste

i used dried beans, cook until tender then drain. add to sauteed onions and add rest of ingredients. simmer. even better the next day.

cornbread:

2 Tbsp butter

1 1/4 cup yogurt (or buttermilk)

1-1/2 cups medium-grind cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 egg

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Use a square 8x8" baking pan and heat the butter directly in the pan until hot for about 2 minutes and then turn off the heat.

Mix the egg into the yogurt. In a separate bowl, place all the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined, if the mixture seems too dry, add in a few tablespoons of milk. Pour directly into the pan with the butter in the bottom. Smooth out the batter if necessary and place into the oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes and the top is lightly browned, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the sides of the bread shrink back from the skillet. Serve hot or warm.

Chili!

Although I wouldn't really consider myself a chili fan, I was really craving some the other day, so turned to Heidi Swanson (of course!). This recipe is a beast! It's actually quite easy, but she isn't kidding when she says to use your largest pot--it makes so.much.food. Which is great. Anyway, I'm excited about adding this to my rotation. Enjoy!

Plum-Apple Top Crust Pie

This recipe is another Smitten Kitchen one - the top crust just looked so delicious I couldn't not make it. And there were some gorgeous plums at the co-op this week...I can't remember the kind, but they are this beautiful dark red color. The crust is a little easier than the standard - you cream the butter and sugar and use an egg rather than water. Also, because it puffs up a bit and you dish it up like cobbler, it doesn't seem so fragile. Just roll it out and plop it on. The grated lemon/orange rind is amazing in the crust...and I ate it with ice cream rather than whipped cream. YUM. I want pie every night.
Apples, squash, and pumpkins are abundant. Pie season is upon us.

Roasted Root Veggies with Garlic-Lime Sauce, and Double Quinoa Cornbread

Megan's latest entry inspired me to (finally) add these two dishes that I've been meaning to post for a few weeks. Both are from Vegan Soul Kitchen (yay, Bryant Terry!)--I think this might be my favorite cookbook. Yum!

OK, roasted root veggies:
Pick a bunch of your favorites and cut 'em up. (I use approx. 1/2 pound each of carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes, two kinds of yams, and sometimes celery root or rutabaga.) Toss them with olive oil and sea salt, and roast in a preheated 450 degree oven for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes for even cooking.

Garlic-lime dipping sauce:
Roast garlic per Megan's instructions and then enjoy squeezing it out of the peel. (This is so incredibly gratifying to me.) Add 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 T. minced cilantro, 1/4 c. freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/4 c. water, and 1/4 t. coarse ground sea salt. Combine in a blender and add to the veggies. Done!

Quinoa-quinoa cornbread:
5 T. corn oil
1/4 c. quinoa
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/2 c. quinoa flour (kind of pricey but worth it!)
1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. unflavored rice milk
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. agave nectar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease an 8-inch square bread pan. Toast the quinoa over medium heat until the grains start to pop (about 3 minutes); transfer to a large bowl. Add the rest of the dry stuff and whisk to combine. In another bowl, whisk together the liquids and the 5 T. of corn oil. Transfer the bread pan to the oven to preheat until sizzling (about 5 minutes). While the pan is heating up, combine the wet mixture with the dry with a large spoon, and quickly mix just until the dry ingredients are moist. (BT's warning: Do NOT overmix!) Remove the pan from the oven and add the batter. Bake until set in the middle, approx. 15-18 minutes.

Squash Tart and Roasted Veggies

Sunday, a delectable day to sleep in and clean and cook, was perfect to do something with the bits of random veggies from the garden (4 tomatoes, 2 eggplants, 2 squash). I also wanted to try this Squash tart, which involved roasting squash and garlic. So - I roasted it all, and now have these amazing delicious veggies for a sandwich, polenta toppings, or stir-fry, or I don't know what. I just cut the veggies up, olive oiled and salted them, and cooked them in an oven at 350 until they were done. My favorite was actually the squash, which I roasted in pieces for the tart. Also the garlic- omg! You just cut off the top of a garlic clove, drizzle it with olive oil and salt, wrap in foil and bake at 400 for 45 minutes or so. It smells amazing, and then you just squeeze out this amazing garlic puree.

Squash Tart (modified from ReBar - again!) *This is another rich dish...ah the cold weather. The roasted garlic is amazing in there - but again is so rich. I made some kale to eat with it, which helped cleanse the pallet a little!
1 pre-baked whole wheat tart shell (make sure to make the sides high on the crust, mine almost over-flowed)
1 small squash
1 T butter
2 shallots, minced
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
1 c heavy cream
1/2 c. light cream
2 garlic bulbs - roasted and mashed
1 1/2 T minced sage
1/4 t cracked pepper
1 1/4 c. grated smoked cheddar

1. Peel and seed the squash and cut it into 1/8" slices until you have just over 2 cups or so. Toss the squash with enough olive oil to coat and a pinch of salt. Spread the squash on parchment or foil and roast at 375 until tender - 15 minutes or so (if you roast longer you get crispier, more chip like pieces)
2. Heat butter in small pan and saute the shallots (I subbed onion) until golden. Set aside.
3. Lightly whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Add the cream, mashed garlic, pepper, and salt; whisk to combine.
4. To assemble tart: sprinkle cheese over crust, then shallots and sage. Arrange the squash slices in a single layer and pour the custard over the top. Bake for 20-30 minutes (until custard sets and top is lightly browned). Cool thoroughly.