Bumbleberry Pie

I stumbled upon this recipe in Bon Appetit many years ago and it continues to be my favorite fruit pie. You can make it all winter long since all of the fruit is frozen, except for those two apples. I LOVE this pie.

2 unbaked pie crusts
2 large Baking apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1 cup Frozen, chopped rhubarb
1 cup Frozen raspberries, thawed
1 cup Frozen blackberries, thawed
1 cup Frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup Sugar
1/3 cup All purpose flour
1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and stir to combine. Spoon mixture into pie crust. Roll out remaining dough disk on lightly floured surface to 11-inch-diameter round. Place round atop pie filling. Trim crust, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold top crust edge under bottom crust edge, pressing to seal. Crimp edges. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Place pie on baking sheet and bake 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350'F and bake until crust is golden and juices bubble, about 30 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool.

Lemon Bar from the Barefoot Contessa

This filling in these is tart and wonderful and full of lemon-ey goodness. Love these.

For the crust:

1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 t. kosher salt

For the filling:

6 eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
2 T. grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light. Combine flour with salt and add to butter until just mixed. Dump dough onto well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten with well-floured hands and press into 9 x 13 baking sheet, building up a 1/2 inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake crust for 15 to 20 minutes until very lightly browned. Let cool on wire rack. Leave oven on.

For the filling, whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour. Pour over crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners sugar.

These are so good I deleted my previous 'lemon bar' post. Thank you, Ina!

Brownies

Husband's favorite since 1983.

Mix the following dry ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
1/4 t. soda
1/4 t. salt

Mix over low heat:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 T. water

Add 6 oz. semisweet bits until blended with 1 t. vanilla.

Beat in 2 eggs

Fold in dry ingredients and spread in 9" square pan. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes.

Quiche

I had a taste of quiche yesterday . . . it was lucious. This recipe is another really ancient recipe from an old friend in Boston - I learned many things from her about cooking and baking, including that thing about never running mushrooms under water. Maybe she lost it when she saw me rinsing her mushrooms. Yep, she did.

Best thing about quiche is the versatility factor. Have some leftover bacon? Throw it in. Like spinach and mushrooms? Do it. Want broccoli and ham? That works! Most cheese variations work. Go crazy. Don't forget that tiny bit of onion on the bottom of that quiche. If you hate the onion, grate it. Just don't skip it.

7-8 eggs
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup swiss cheese (or cheddar)
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup onion
salt and pepper
brocooli
ham

Place onions and cheese on bottom of precooked crust and pour egg mixure over top. Bake at 375 till tip of knife comes out clean and egg mixture is solidified.

Janeil's Baked Stuffed Shrimp

This was our Christmas Eve dinner. I confess I added a tiny bit of onion to the stuffing. I've been using this recipe for 20 years. I like it that much.

2 t. fresh parsley
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1 slice white bread
1/2 stick butter
1/4 lb. scallops

Cook scallops and butter until no longer transparent. Spoon into Cuisinart and add liquid until moist. Lay shrimp split with stuffing on top. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until easily pierced with knife.

Apple Slab Pie

Last July I saw this recipe for Sour Cherry Slab Pie. Will you look at those pictures? I bookmarked the recipe and was determined to get around to it. Sour cherries are hard to come by in the desert. Eventually I stumbled across them at Harry & David, but alas . . . $25 was a little too steep for someone with a tendency to be crust-challenged. So apple it was. Same recipe, different fruit. It was a Christmas dessert this year and, sadly, I have no pictures. I am committed to buying the sour cherries now. Slab pie is spectacular.