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.

Barefoot Contessa's Mac and Cheese

I doubled this recipe for our family Rock Band party tonight. I still haven't been able to find cavatappi in my grocery store. Have you?

Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 quart milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

THE Sugar Cookie . . .

I'm fairly confident this is the one I've settled on. Have a Merry...

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 cup softened butter
1 egg
3 T. cream
1 t. almond extract

Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in butter and other ingredients. Blend thoroughly and chill for several hours. Using a rolling pin roll out dough on floured board between wax paper. Roll out to about 1/4" thickness (see post below re: rolling pin gadget). Cut out dough and place on parchment paper. Bake 5 - 8 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as you see them turning color at the base of the cookie. Let cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Christmas breakfast? I'm always looking for something to have on that cake platter for the kitchen table. I watched Ina make this one ... piece of cake!

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional
NOTE: Next time I make this I will double the streusel ingredients

For the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Cookie icing . . .

Have you made Christmas cookies yet? Try this...

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1/2 t. almond extract
1/4 cup milk
food coloring

Combine to make the frosting the consistency of thin glue. Pour into shallow bowls wide enough for dipping cookies. Add food coloring.

To decorate, dip the topside of each cookie into the icing. Remove quickly and let icing drip off. Let dry if you want to further embellish.

Anna Mason's Buttercrunch - Toffee!

More Christmas candy . . . and so easy to make.

1 cup butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 T. light Karo
3 T. water
1 cup chopped almonds
6 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Melt butter in 2 quart saucepan. Add sugar, water, Karo. Cook, stirring often, to hard crack stage - 300 degrees. Quickly stir in chopped almonds and spread in well greased 9 x 13 pan. Cool. Spread melted chocolate bits and sprinkle finely chopped nuts on top. When thoroughly cooled (4 hours) break up and package.

Anna's Caramels

Want to make candy this Christmas? My longtime friend, Anna Mason, taught me how to make these (what seems like) a hundred years ago.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 t. vanilla
3/4 cup corn syrup
1 cup light cream
1/2 cup nuts (if desired)

Combine sugar, syrup, butter 1/2 cup cream and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add remaining 1/2 cup cream and cook slowly to hard boil stage (260 degrees). Remove from heat, add nuts and vanilla and pour into greased 8 x 8 inch square pan. Cut when cold, wrap each piece in a square of waxed paper. Keep in airtight container. Makes 36 pieces or 1.5 lbs.

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger, and fill the hole with preserves.
3. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies.

Snicker Cookies

This recipe comes from a Christmas cookie contest for the Las Vegas Review Journal. They are now a family favorite.

1 cup soft butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2.5 cups flour
1 t. baking soda
20 Snickers bars

Wrap cookie dough around each snicker bar. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Martha Stewart's Almond Crescent Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter
2/3 cup confectioners sugar (plus more for rolling)
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
2 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1. Heat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream together butter and 2/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Beat in extracts, then add almonds. Stir in flour and beat until well mixed.

2. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a log 1 inch in diameter. Cut each log into 3/4-inch pieces, and roll each piece into a cylinder 2 inches long. Place cylinders 1 to 2 inches apart on baking sheets, and form into crescents.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let crescents cool, then roll in additional sugar.

Chicken Empanadas

8 oz. skinless boneless chicken breasts (cut into 1/2" cubes)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup water
2 T. raisins
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 T. tomato paste
1 T. chopped pimento stuffed green olives
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 T. dry breadcrumbs

36 potsticker wrappers
1 large egg

2 cup oil

Combine and cook first 6 ingredients. Transfer to food processor and add remaining ingredients. Wrap with potstick wrappers and use egg to seal. Fry till golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve with various dipping sauces

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Torte

My friend (hi Robyn) was just visiting from Boise and mentioned how much she loves this recipe. It's another great holiday dip that can be made ahead of time. Take this to your Christmas party . . . it's delicious.

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 oz.)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I like more than 2 cloves)
1 T. milk
1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup firmly packed fresh parsley sprigs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. olive oil
2 T. pine nuts
1/2 cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
french bread slices

In food processor bowl combine cream cheese, feta cheese, 2 cloves garlic and milk. Cover and process or beat with electric mixer on medium speed till almost smooth.

For pesto combine basil, parsley, parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup nuts, 2 cloves garlic and olive oil. Cover and process or blend till almost smooth.

Line 4 cup mold with plastic wrap and sprinkle the 2 T. roasted nuts over bottom of mold. Spoon 1/4 cheese mixture atop nuts, spreading evenly. Carefully spread with half the pesto. Add another one-fourth of cheese mixture.

Sprinkle tomatoes atop cheese in mold Add another 1/4 cheese mixture and remaining pesto. Spread remaining cheese mixture atop and cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve, unmold onto platter and serve with French bread.

O Henry Bars

4 cups oats
2/3 cup butter
1/2 Karo syrup
1 cup brown sugar
3 t. vanilla

6 oz. chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter

Pat dough in 9 x 13 pan and bake at 35 for 15 minutes only.

Melt peanut butter and chocolate chips. Spread on dough and let set before cutting.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

* 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 2/3 cup water
* 3 cups white sugar
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Egg Rolls

1 lb. uncooked medium shrimp
1 lb. uncooked bonless lean pork
4 oz. fresh mushrooms
8 green onions
1 red pepper, seeded
8 oz. Chinese cabbage
1 can water chestnuts
3 T. sherry
1 1/2 T. soy sauce
2 t. grated pared fresh ginger root
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 T. cornstarch
24 spring roll or egg roll wrappers
3 cups vegetable oil

Finely chop shrimp, pork, mushrooms, onions, pepper, cabbage and water chestnuts using cleaver or food processor. Add sherry, soy sauce, ginger, sugar and salt and mix well.

Mix water and cornstarch in small bowl until blended. Place 1/4 cup filling evenly across corner of each wrapper and brush cornstarch mixture evenly over all edges of wrappers. Carefully roll wrappers around filling folding in the corners.

Heat oil in wok over high heat until it reaches 375 and fry 3 to 4 rolls at a time until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.

P.S. I frequently use only chicken in these egg rolls. I posted the recipe the way I learned it . . . I mostly make chicken only egg rolls.