Recipe 44 Gluten Free Pie Crust

Posted on January 19, 2011 by seika

A great alternative for everyone, these gluten free pie crusts look and taste like those made with wheat flour.  You will never know the difference. There are several variations depending on the flour blends used. These pie crust can be filled with ANY pie filling you choose, be it sweet or savory.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

Recipe 1

1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon apple cider or white vinegar
3 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

Recipe 2

2 1/2 cups rice flour
1 cup potato starch flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon apple cider or white vinegar
3 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

Directions

Food Processor Method

Measure dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Use a large whisk to thoroughly blend ingredients. Pour the dry ingredients into a food processor bowl, fitted with a metal blade. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the butter cubes are reduced to the size of peas and the mixture looks like coarse, dry crumbs.

Add the lightly beaten egg and pulse just until egg is incorporated into the flour-butter mix. Add 1 tablespoon of ice water and pulse several times. Remove the processor lid and squeeze a small amount of the dough in your hand. If it holds together don’t add more water. If the dough is too crumbly and dry, add 1/4 teaspoon additional ice water and pulse several more times. Check the consistency of the dough again. If the dough holds together and you can form a ball don’t add more water. Adding too much water will make the dough sticky and harder to roll out and shape.

Scrape the dough, which will look crumbly, on a clean, gluten free work surface covered with waxed paper. Gather the crumbly dough into a ball. Flatten to a large disk shape. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out the dough. At this stage, the dough can be frozen. Place wax paper wrapped dough in a freezer bag, label and freeze for future use.

To Roll Dough:

Remove dough from refrigerator and place dough between two sheets of waxed paper. Let dough sit just until it’s soft enough to roll. When workable, roll lighlty from the center outward, working to make a circle about 10-inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick. If the dough should get too warm and sticky, place it in the freezer for several minutes and then continue rolling it.

Peel top sheet of wax paper from the dough and carefully flip the dough, on the remaining sheet of waxed paper, over pie plate. Gently peel the waxed paper from the dough.

Gently press the dough into the pie plate.

Trim edges with knife and crimp edge with a fork or using your favorite method.

Pie crust is ready to fill or parbake (partially bake) as desired.

To parbake the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a fork to pierce the crust- this will prevent the crust from bubbling up while baking. Or, line the dough with parchment paper and fill the plate with dry beans or pie weights. Bake the crust for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Yields 1 pie crust (double recipe to make double crust)

FOOTNOTE: For savory pies I omit the sugar in the pie crust. If you do not like to use a food processor you may make the pastry by hand cutting in butter with a pastry cutter or two knives.

    Posted in 365 Days of Reworked Recipes, Baking, Dessert, Food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

    Recipe 43 Snow Kissed Berries

    Posted on January 12, 2011 by seika

    With Valentines Day now on the horizon, chocolate covered strawberries are always a lovely treat that scream sensuality.  Nothing like sharing a few chocolate dipped strawberries and a glass of wine with your love on a cold winter’s night in front of a roaring fire.  Food is one of our pleasures in life and we should enjoy a little indulgence on occasion.  Instead of the standard dark chocolate I like to change things up by dipping the berries into white chocolate then crystallized decorative sugar. This gives the berries the appearance that they have been dipped in snow and the sugar glistens in the glow of the firelight. Now if you don’t have that  romantic hideaway with a roaring fire that’s alright these berries look and taste equally delicious no matter what the setting.

    The strawberry is native to North America and parts of Europe. The name “strawberry”, may have derived from it’s growing conditions as the plant was often found strewn among fallen leaves along the edges of a wooded area. Hence, the two words, “strewn” and “berries”.

    In England, children used to pick strawberries scattered in the wild and sell them in local markets. In order to handle them properly, the strawberries were tied to pieces of straws where the name may also have developed. Varieties of strawberries are also found in Europe and have been traced as far back as 234 BC, in Italy.

    In ancient Rome, the fruit was grown for the formulation of different types of medicines. In France the berries were used for medicinal purposes also. The strawberries that grew in the Alpines were used to treat digestive problems and skin diseases. Roots and leaves of the strawberry plant along with fruits were used in these treatments.

    Farmers began to cultivate strawberries in North America and many new varieties were developed in the 1700s. The varieties that developed from the cross breeding of American and European strawberries were known for their sweet taste and the perfect size.

    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes

    Ingredients

    1 pint of large strawberries with stems
    1/2 lb white chocolate
    crystallized decorating sugar

    Directions

    Wash and pat dry strawberries and set aside. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Once creamy and smooth remove from heat. You will have to work fast as the chocolate will start to solidify when cooling down. Dip the strawberries into chocolate and roll into decorating sugar. Place onto wax paper to dry.

    Yields 12 chocolate dipped berries

    FOOTNOTE: Dark Chocolate may also be used. Try chili chocolate for a spicy, sweet lovely Valentine’s Day treat and dust with gold powder for extra decadence.

    Posted in 365 Days of Reworked Recipes, Appetizers, Dessert, Food, fruit | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

    Recipe 42 Twisted Pork Croquettes

    Posted on January 10, 2011 by seika

    Holidays are FINALLY over!!!! YAY… can’t say I’m not happy to see them go. I am now looking forward to the days becoming longer and the sun shining more often. Spring is only 69 days away. So the gloves are off and lightening up the food fare is on the agenda. This recipe is a simple way to get your meat, veg and fruit in one fell swoop and tastes great to boot.

    Food historians tell us recipes for croquette-type dishes likely descended from Ancient Roman rissoles: minced, spiced meat bound with fillers, carefully shaped, and deep fried. Recipes varied according to culture, cuisine, and period. The primary difference between rissoles and croquettes is the former is wrapped in pastry while the latter is rolled in breadcrumbs. Cooking method, presentation and purpose are generally similar. References to “Croquettes” appear in print in the early 18th century. The earliest recipes we find in English/American cookbooks date to the early 19th century. Croquette recipes are absent from the popular mid-18th century British works of Hannah Glasse, E. Smith, Mrs. Raffald, and Mrs. Moxon.

    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes

    Ingredients

    1/2 lb ground pork
    1 lb potatoes
    3 large cooking apples
    1/2 tsp ground sage
    1/4 cup onion diced (optional)
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

    Directions

    Peel the potatoes and cut into even-sized pieces. Steam or cook in boiling salted water for about 20 minutes until tender. Drain thoroughly and mash well. Add the minced pork. Finely chop or grate the cooking apple and onion and add to the potato. Add sage to the mixture and season generously. Work the mixture together until evenly combined. With lightly floured hands, shape the mixture into 8 cakes. Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan on a medium heat, and cook the cakes for 12 – 15 minutes, turning them occasionally until golden-brown on both sides.

    While the cakes are cooking, core and cut the dessert apples into quarters. Fry the apple in a small amount of oil or butter until the apples are cooked through. Serve the cakes with sauted apple quarter on top.

    Yields 4 servings

    FOOTNOTE: For a twist drizzle cakes with a touch of maple syrup, serve with a light salad to complete the meal or serve cakes on a whole grain bun.

    Posted in 365 Days of Reworked Recipes, Food, fruit, Meat, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

    Recipe 38 Strawberry Chiffon Pie

    Posted on January 3, 2011 by seika

    So what if it’s only a week after Christmas and you’re on a self imposed diet to lose the few pounds you packed on over the holidays. There is always room for a slice of pie. This pie is light and airy and if you substitute the whipped cream for something slightly more healthy such as the low fat recipe included below you can now have your cake… well in this case pie AND eat it too.

    The general consensus of American food historians is chiffon pie (chocolate & other flavors) first surfaced in the United States sometime in the 1920s. Precursors can be found under different names but the underlying inspiration is likely meringue.

    Who gets credit for “inventing” the chiffon pie? A gentleman by the name of Monroe Boston Strause. In Clementine Paddleford’s words describing the man:

    “Monroe Boston Strause, pie engineer. Here is the man who invented chiffon pie–and his recipe…Fruit-fragrant chiffon will be the pie star on the menus of tomorrow, is the prediction of Monroe Boston Strause, number-one pie engineer of the nation. And pie man Strause ought to know: Commercial bakers in 48 states look to him as style leader in the building of America’s favorite dessert. Monroe Boston Strause has a weakness for that pie called chiffon; it’s an invention all his own. But chiffon pies postwar will have a different kind of thickening from those of today. Cornstarch is being outmoded by new gelatinizing agents, tasteless, clear as glass, that can be combined with the filling without beating. Fresh fruit chiffons will taste like fresh fruit. It was in 1921 that ambitious, redheaded Monroe Strause, 16, went into the business with an uncle who fancied himself a pie baker. Cream pies were Uncle Mike’s specialty–stiff with cornstarch. Monroe couldn’t bear the sight of them, let alone promote their sale…Determined to make his first business venture succeed, the youngster began fooling around with pie fillings. He started with a recipe for the French cream used in eclairs in which boiled sugar syrup is added to beaten egg whites, then the cornstarch filling folded into this. Anything for lightness, so Monroe began piling in the egg whites. First thing he knew he had a filling ethereal. This creation he carried home to show off to his mother. ‘Why, it looks just like a pile of chiffon,’ she said and so the pie was christened.

    Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

    Ingredients

    1 1/2 cups (about 1 quart) crushed fresh strawberries
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 tbsp gelatin
    1 tbsp lemon juice
    1/4 cup cranberry juice
    2 cups whipping cream, divided
    1 baked 9″ pie crust
    strawberries halved, for garnish

    Directions

    Combine strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and let stand 30 minutes. In another bowl combine gelatin and cranberry juice. Set bowl into larger bowl of boiling water stirring until gelatin has dissolved. Stir gelatin mixture into berries. Refrigerate until partially set. In a large bowl, whip 1 cup of cream. Fold whipped cream into berry mixture. Pour filling into baked and cooled pie crust and chill until firm. When ready to serve, whip remaining cream and spread or pipe onto top of pie. Garnish with strawberry halves.

    Yields 6 to 8 servings

    FOOTNOTE: This recipe can be made with most soft fruits. Try using peaches or raspberries for a nice twist or made with a healthy whipped cream substitute as follows:

    Healthy Whipped Cream

    With only 5 calories per tablespoon, this is a great healthy whipped cream you can prepare yourself. Prepare this whipped cream substitute just before serving, as the mixture deflates rather quickly. You can speed up the process by having the ingredients pre-measured and ready to go.

    Ingredients:
    1/2 cup skim milk
    1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
    1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
    4 teaspoons lemon juice
    2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

    Directions:

    Put the skim milk in a small metal bowl, set in the freezer, and let stand just until ice crystals begin to form-about 15 minutes. Remove from the freezer and add the dry milk powder and cream of tartar. With a hand electric mixer, whip the mixture at high speed until foamy. Beat in 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice and continue beating until the mixture begins to thicken. Beat in another teaspoon of the lemon juice and, if desired, the sugar, and continue beating until the mixture peaks softly. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice and continue whipping to stiff peaks. Fold in the vanilla extract, if desired, and serve immediately as a dessert topping.

    Makes 2 cups.
    Preparation: 25 min., including 15 min. refrigeration

    Posted in 365 Days of Reworked Recipes, Baking, Dessert, Food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

    Recipe 41 New England Boiled Dinner

    Posted on January 2, 2011 by seika

    Corned Beef and Cabbage has often been attributed to the Irish and with the influx of Irish immigrants to North America from the late 1600′s onward it has become embedded in North American food culture. Common cultural based dishes change over time when people are faced with the challenges of new ingredients. The New England Boiled Dinner, Corned Beef and Cabbage and Newfoundland’s Jigg’s Dinner are all examples of a very similar dishes that have morphed due to changes in ingredients from the original recipes. They do however, remain close to the originals with tasty, hearty, stick to your ribs  ingredients that are easy to prepare and great in cold weather. Whatever the variation don’t be confused, these are NOT stews. Even if the ingredients are cooked together they are served side by side on the plate. There is no soup base or gravy involved.

    If you think of corned beef and cabbage as Ireland’s unofficial national dish, you may be surprised to hear that many on the Emerald Isle have never tasted it. They eat their cabbage with bacon (actually, it’s a kind of ham, more like Canadian Back Bacon).

    The classic corned beef and cabbage combo probably got its start here more than a century ago, when Irish immigrants shopped at Jewish butcher shops, says Brendan Keenan, chef/instructor at the Art Institute of New York City.

    Since they shopped at Jewish butchers on the lower East Side, they bought corned beef as a substitute for the cured pork, or bacon, that they were used to buying in Ireland,” says Keenan. “Cabbage, of course, grows well in warm, hot or cold weather, and it’s available for most of the year, so they could continue to eat this with the meat.”

    Corned beef also became popular in the U.S. in the late 19th century because many new immigrants lived in poor neighborhoods without modern ways to preserve food, says Margaret Johnson, author of “The New Irish Table” They used a brine made with kosher salt to preserve meat,” she says. “Before long, they were making corned beef.”
    By ROSEMARY BLACK | DAILY NEWS FOOD EDITOR

    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
    Total Time: 4 hours

    Ingredients

    4 lb corned beef brisket
    15 whole peppercorns
    8 whole cloves
    1 bay leaf
    8 small beets
    2 turnips, cut into piece
    16 small new potatoes
    16 baby carrots or 4 medium carrots cut into pieces
    8 small whole white onions
    1 head of cabbage cut into wedges

    Directions

    Place beef into large stock pot and add enough cold water to cover. Boil with pot covered for 10 minutes. Skim off and discard residue that forms on top of the water. Add spices and simmer for 3 hours, or until meat is tender. Add beets to a separate pot and cook for 30 minutes, peel and set aside.  Add other vegetables, except cabbage to stock pot with meat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add cabbage to stock pot and simmer for another 15 minutes. When all vegetables are tender remove meat and slice on cutting board.  Drain vegetables and place along with beets with sliced meat on platter.

    Yields 8 servings.

    FOOTNOTE: Corned beef may be substituted with a pot roast cut of beef or a pork shoulder.

    Posted in 365 Days of Reworked Recipes, Food, Meat, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

    Recipe 40 Rumbledethumps

    Posted on December 31, 2010 by seika

    Growing up in a predominately Scottish/English household foods such as Bubble n’ Squeak were common but, at Christmas or New Years there was always the turkey and other specialties. To the Scots New Years is also known as Hogmanay and with it come many traditions and foods that go with ringing in the New Year such as Black Buns, a variation of plum pudding or mince meat, Scotch Broth Soup which is a common starter on New Year’s Day, Clootie Dumpling and Shortbread. Scots also like to eat traditional foods such as haggis, neeps and tatties or older recipes like clapshot and one of my favorites: rumbledethumps.

    Historically, Hogmanay was the central celebration in a Scottish town as it was often the ONLY day that the local workforce enjoyed a day of rest during the winter months. The towns people gathered in a central location often the town square or hall or a church to enjoy a feast, music, dance and of course drink.

    Hogmanay Guisin’ on the eve of the celebration was much like Hallowe’en. Children would go out guising around the neighbourhood knocking on doors to receive treats such as oatcakes, a piece of black bun, shortbread sweets or money.

    On the day of Hogmanay the household would be busy cleaning so that the New Year could be welcomed into a tidy and neat house. Fireplaces would be swept out and polished and reading the ashes of the very last fire of the year was done to foretell what the New Year would hold. The act of cleaning the entire house was called “the redding” or getting ready for the New Year. Debts would also be paid by New Year’s Eve because it is considered bad luck to see in a new year with a debt.

    Branches from a Rowan tree would be placed above an outside door to bring luck. In the house a piece of mistletoe was hung, not for kissing under like at Christmas, but to prevent illness to the householders. Pieces of holly were placed to keep out mischievous fairies and pieces of hazel and yew were thought to have magical powers and protect the house and the people who lived in it. Juniper was burnt throughout the house like an incense, then all the doors of the home opened to bring in fresh air.

    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes

    Ingredients

    2 cups potatoes peeled and boiled
    2 cups of cabbage, boiled
    2 green onions, sliced thin
    1/4 cup butter
    salt and pepper to taste
    1/4 cup Scottish Cheese (cheddar or other hard sharp cheese may be substituted)

    Directions

    Boil potato, and cabbage. I will often do this together. Drain and add butter, green onions, salt and pepper. Mix gently, you do not want mushy potatoes. Preheat oven to 400F. Add ingredients to baking dish and top with shredded cheese. Place in oven for 10 minutes or until top is golden brown and cheese is melted.

    Yields 4 to 6 servings

    FOOTNOTE: Left overs can be tossed into a frying pan with a little corned beef the next day for a delicious lunchtime nosh.

    Posted in 365 Days of Reworked Recipes, Baking, Food, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment