Peanut Pesto Focaccia

I saw this recipe on Lidia Bastianich's show on PBS for Thyme focaccia. Focaccia is a thicker crust than pizza and becomes very airy when it rises. This recipe uses yeast. I didn't have any so off to the grocery store I went. This recipe makes two large focaccia. I made one in a glass baking sheet and topped that one with garlic and Parmesan. The pesto one I baked the tomatoes on top and added the pesto afterward. I wanted the pesto to stay bright green.  I have been growing my own Basil and harvested the top leaves. I have made the pesto in the past with all kinds of nuts including pistachios. Pine nuts can be really expensive. Peanuts were on hand this day. If you don't have basil readily available, you can use parsley and cilantro in this recipe too.
Note: I made the pesto during the second rising of the dough.
Peanut Basil Pesto

10-20 leaves Basil and stems
2-4 garlic cloves
4 oz Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

after 2nd rising

In a food processor, grind the garlic and nuts. Add a basil leaves. Begin to drizzle in the olive oil, add the Parm, salt and pepper. Process until there are no big bits of nuts or Basil.

Focaccia

5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 packets yeast
2 cups warm water
1 TBSP sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp.  Thyme leaves (I used dry)
1/2 cup coarse Parmesan
sea salt for sprinkling
ground black pepper for sprinkling
Roma tomatoes for topping
2 TBSP cornmeal for the bottom of the pans

Add the warm water, sugar and yeast into a bowl and mix. Let sit for 5 minutes. To a large bowl add the flour and olive oil along with the yeast mixture. Beat with a mixer until the dough comes together. I add the thyme in this step also. Remove from the bowl and knead the dough with your hands until it forms a sticky ball and all of the flour is incorporated.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover dough with a paper towel and let rise in a warm place. I used a spot in front of my window. Let rise for 45 minutes. Remove dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Cut in half and either freeze the one of the halves for up to two weeks or make both like I did. I oiled a glass Pyrex and sprinkled the bottom with cornmeal.  I then rolled out one of the halves of dough big enough to fit my Pyrex. I poked holes in it with my finger and topped with olive oil, Parm, salt and pepper. Let this dough rise for another 20 minutes.

Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes. I followed the same steps for the other piece of focaccia. I let it rise, poked it with holes and then topped it with the Parm and tomatoes. When I removed it from the oven, I topped it with the pesto. We had rather large pieces, but this would be good as an app. at a party in smaller pieces. This is great hot or cold.

Dried Cherry Cake

I recently came across two huge bags of dried cherries. We have been eating them as fruit snacks, putting them in pancakes, eating nothing but cherries. I recently came across this recipe for dried cherry cake. It's more like a coffee cake as there is no frosting and it is a bit more dense. It's topped with sugar but I think it would be good with a powdered sugar glaze. I made it in a 9x13 but you could do it in a cake round too.  Here's how I made it.

Dried Cherry Cake

1 cup dried cherries
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
8 oz of flavored or plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup oil
1 cup water (pour a little in  at a time)
chopped almonds (optional)
2 TBSP sugar for topping

Firstly boil 2 cups water and cover the cherries with it for 20 minutes. Drain the cherries and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl mix the dry ingredients and then add the yogurt, vanilla, egg, and  oil. If the batter is too thick start adding water about 1/4 cup at a time. You want the consistency of cake batter. Fold in the cherries with a spatula.  Even out the batter in the pan, sprinkle with sugar and almonds, and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.

Review of Sara Moulton's Bacon, Tomato, and Egg Pie (BLT Pie)

I love quiche and when I saw Sara Moulton's show on PBS, it brought the things I like the best bacon and quiche. The pie crust I love to use is Martha Stewart's recipe. I used the one for only one pie crust. I was amazed that Sara's recipe only called for 3 eggs. The thing I probably would have added with this recipe is a tsp. of baking powder. My pie didn't come out as high as hers and I did add a 4th egg. She also layered tomatoes on the bottom which I did not. I used two really big Roma tomatoes. The caramelized onions added a sweetness.  Overall I liked the flavor of the pie. I used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon (3 strips diced)  The tomatoes and the Mayo taste great together. She also salted her tomatoes before hand which enhanced the flavor.

Here's how I made it:

The Crust

1 stick of butter cut into slices
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2-4 TBSP ice cold water

I love using the food processor for this crust. I pulse all of the ingredients until I see the dough begin to come together. It looks a little crumbly and you can see butter in the dough. Remove the dough to a piece of plastic wrap and shape with your hands into a disc. The dough should come together without much kneading. Put in the fridge for at least a hour.
Flour both your rolling pin and your surface. Roll out the dough starting in the middle and working your way out. Turn the dough 1/3 turn until you have a circle that will cover a pie pan with a little room to spare on the edges. Set the pie crust in the pan and be careful not to rip the bottom.  Use your fingers to pinch the pie crust around the top and prick holes in the bottom of the crust.

sprinkle both sides with salt and let sit

The BLT Pie Filling (my adaptation)

4 eggs
2-4 large Roma tomatoes sliced thinly
3 slices cooked crispy turkey bacon diced
1 onion diced
3/4 cup skim or fat-free milk
1/2 cup Mayo (I used the real thing here)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of Cayenne
1 tsp. baking powder

I didn't make the L part or the lettuce part of this recipe. She has a recipe for a nice dressing on the PBS site but I didn't add the salad to mine. We did eat this for dinner. Kids love breakfast for dinner.
Brown the onions for 5 minutes in a bit of oil and cool.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Layer some of the tomatoes on the bottom of the crust.
Mix the eggs and milk and beat with a whisk. Add the Mayo, cooled onions,  bacon, salt, pepper and cayenne, and baking powder. Once fully mixed add to the pie crust. Layer the top of the pie with more tomatoes.

I baked mine for 35 minutes and found the crust wasn't all the way baked. You may want to go 40-45 minutes. You are looking for the inside to be set. Serve with the side salad or on it's own.

Pickle Making Day

I love dill pickles! In-fact I will eat anything pickled. When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter I ate one of those industrial sized jars of pickled mushrooms. I had wanted to make some of those too but the Farmer's market was all out. To make pickles you need a few essential ingredients: 6 lbs. Pickling cucumbers, garlic, dill,  jars for canning with lids, a pickling pack (I am using Mrs. Wages), pickling vinegar, a large pot with a lid (I am using my tamale steamer),  another pot for the pickling solution, and a ladle. Fill the large pot with water and bring to a boil. Sanitize all of the jars and lids along with any tools you will be using to pick the jars out of the water or to fill them. Set to the side and let cool. Continue to let the water boil.

I firstly washed and cut all of the cucumbers into spears. I like to cut off each end first. Then I cut the halves into 2-4 pieces depending on how big the pieces were. I peeled 6 cloves of garlic (one for each jar) and then added a few sprigs of dill to the sanitized jar. Each jar gets dill and about 12-16 spears.

In another pot follow the package directions for the pickling liquid. I know from prior experience that I always run out of pickling liquid so I added two more cups water to one cup vinegar. To each filled

pickle jar I ladled in the liquid until there was about 1/2 inch head space between the lid of the jar and ringed edges. I filled to right below the start of the first ridge.

Each jar was fitted with a lid and then put into the boiling water with the tongs so the water covers the top of the jars. You may have to remove or add water here so the jars are covered and then bring it back to a boil. I am able to fit in 4 jars at a time and I covered the pot with a lid and let it process and boil for 10 minutes. The jars were then removed with the tongs and let to sit on a table to cool. The seals will make a popping sound when sealed. It may take a few hours. Let the jars continue to cool overnight. These jars are shelf stable for 6-12 months due to their high acid content. I keep one or two in the fridge and a few in the pantry. I plan on making some sweet pickles towards the end of the growing season and possibly some pickled beets.

Strawberry Freezer Jam and the Not So Bloomin' Onion

I got my hands on a flat of strawberries this week for only $6.00 at Pete's Fruit Market on 17th and

Freezer Jam

Greenfield. I was intent on canning jam this weekend however my hubby has misplaced all one dozen of my jars. I did have a pack of Mrs. Wages freezer jam though and tried it out for the first time. I ended up mashing the strawberries with my pastry cutter. Whatever works right? Then I added 1 1/2 cups of sugar and the Mrs. Wages pack. It's all mixed together and sits for 3 minutes. Then into plastic bags or sanitized jars. It will stay in the fridge for a week or up to 6 months in the freezer. We have enjoyed it with cream cheese on toast.

Let me add that not everything I make comes out right. I had always wanted to make a Bloomin' onion at home and got my hands on some delicious Vidalia onions. I started out wonderfully by making the perfect looking bloomed onion. I left the root end on and peeled the onion. I then made four cuts from the top to a few centimeters above the root. In those sections I made 2-3 more cuts. The onion should have a minimum of 16 cuts. Then I separated all of those sections.

The batter was good I thought. It had 2 TBSP paprika, 1 tsp of salt, cumin, cayenne, and was an egg batter. So two eggs to the 2 cups flour and then 1 cup milk or buttermilk . If the batter is too thick you can add water to it.

You could also sub out beer for the liquid and make a beer batter just omit the eggs.

Here  is where I think I went wrong. I really needed a basket fryer for this. I tried to do it on the stove top. the batter wasn't all in the grooves of the onion and stuck to the bottom of the pan. The heat also wasn't enough. The temp should have been around 400 degrees and then is lowered to around 350.

My onion came out a bit soggy. Oh well, there is always next time. I ended up using the batter for fried pickles. I have a recipe for that in the search.

not so Bloomin onion 

Homemade Garlic Bread

We are blessed with many good bakeries here around Bay View. I found a nice wide loaf of bread for the perfect garlic bread. My hubby once attempted to make garlic bread but used garlic salt. Needless to say it was a tad salty! This bread uses delicious butter, fresh garlic, and the herbs you have on hand to make a perfect side for your spaghetti dinner. For those of you that don't know, you can freeze bread. Please make sure your loaf is defrosted before attempting to cut into it! It did make for a few funny moments in my kitchen. No worries! Just leave the bread to defrost on the countertop.

Garlic Bread

1 large wide loaf of bread from the bakery

1 stick of butter
2 tsps garlic (I used pre minced)
herbs of your choice (if you use fresh they may burn) such as Oregano
1/4 cup Parm cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix the herbs, Parm, and garlic into the butter along with the garlic salt. Spread liberally over the two halves of the bread. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Cut into pieces and serve with your favorite main dish.

Lemon Meringue Pie

For many years it was the meringue that eluded me. I could never get the peaks stiff enough. After much practice I have finally done it! I managed to make my first perfect meringue during Christmas and have been doing it ever since. Some tips: Firstly use a clean glass bowl that has no detergent residue in it. Secondly use a electric mixer on high. Thirdly, use a stabilizer like cream of tartar. You need just a pinch. Fourth, be careful not to get any egg yellows into the whites. This will doom you for sure!

This is what they mean about stiff peaks. 

I made this lemon meringue pie. My Mom would make it growing up and it always tasted fantastic. When I tried to duplicate it a few years back using Jell-o pie filling, there was something off with the taste. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com for the filling and love it.

Here's what you need: For the crust I have fallen in love with Martha Stewarts pie crust. It makes two and I used one of them to make Pasties or pies filled with meat, potato, carrots,and peas. http://www.marthastewart.com/283515/basic-pie-dough  Form and crimp the crust around the pan, use dried beans or pie weights in the bottom of the pie dough our you will have it rising all over. You need to blind bake this crust at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. Reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees.


Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Filling

1 cup sugar
2 TBSP flour
3 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. water
2 lemons juiced or I used 2-3 TBSP bottled
4 egg yolks (reserve whites in a separate bowl)

In a saucepan mix all of the ingredients except the egg yolks with a whisk. This is something you need to keep an eye one or it will clump. You are looking for the filling to thicken. Remove from the heat.  In a separate bowl add the egg yolks. Add about a cup of the sugar mixture into the egg yolks beating continuously. Then add the egg yolks into the rest of the sugar and continue stirring. This step is called "tempering."  If you don't do this you will have scrambled eggs. Turn the heat to medium low and bring up to a boil. Then turn it back off and let cool. Add to the cooled pie crust.

Egg White Meringue topping

4 egg whites
6 TBSP sugar
a capful of vanilla or 1 tsp.
1 pinch Cream of Tartar

Beat the egg whites on high with a pinch of Cream of Tartar. Gradually add in the 6 TBSP of sugar and vanilla. They will become frothy but are done when you can pull the mixer paddles out and make stiff peaks. Using a spoon layer the meringue on top of the pie filling. I used a knife to make the peaks. Just touch the pie with the knife and pull up. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Let cool on the counter for one hour and then stick in the fridge for a hour before serving.