I have an announcement to make: This is our favorite item to date out of Dorie’s book,Baking: From My Home to Yours. Thanks to Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs for this week’s fabulous selection. It’s on the repeat list, and we thought it was so wonderful, I will be serving it to dinner guests in the future. Everything about the galette was absolutely delicious: the tender and buttery crust, the sweet white peach filling . . . .

What I changed: I cut the dough in half and made a smaller galette. I skipped the custard completely, because we didn’t need more calories, and because I didn’t want to detract from the flavor of the incredible white peaches that I had found. The skin on the fruit was so tender, I didn’t even have to peel it – just sliced it thinly and fanned it out over the pastry dough (yes, folks, I used one ONE peach!). I also used plum jam, and amaretti cookies, an idea that came courtesy of Ulrike over in the comments section of the TWD blog (be sure to check it out for links to the other participants). I froze the whole thing for 15 minutes before baking, per Dorie’s recommendation – it’s over 90 F over here, and the pastry really needed it.  Then I brushed the pastry with cream, sprinkled it with sugar, and baked it.  We devoured the galette in record time.

One more thing: as with the blueberry pie, I substituted low fat cream cheese for the shortening. This may well be my new favorite pie dough, too!

Pie is one of my favorite desserts, and blueberries are one of my favorite fruits.  This pie was a winner – thank heavens I cut the recipe in half, or there’s no telling the caloric damage that would have been done!

I did make a few changes, besides cutting the recipe in half: I used frozen blueberries, because the fresh ones around here are terrible, and cut back on the sugar a bit. I completely forgot to sprinkle the breadcrumbs on the crust bottom (my bad). I couldn’t find my shortening (which I use maybe once a year), so I substituted low fat cream cheese. Finally, I made a two crust crostata and baked the whole thing on a Silpat-lined baking sheet.

The result? Pretty darn amazing. The pie actually tasted . . . fried. Oh, lordie, it was so good. I also liked that, after letting the pie rest for an hour before I cut into it, no runny filling! And for you pie bakers out there, Dorie’s crust recipe is quite generous – you will not find yourself with too little dough to fill the pie plate, as is often the case.

Thanks to Amy of South in Your Mouth for this week’s selection. You can find the full recipe at her blog, or on pages 361-363 of Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. And for the full Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll, see here.

What a little marvel this is! At first I thought, “this is just a pie!” Well, it is, but with an amazing, puffy crust. Nothing competes with the flavor of the apples. It’s not rocket science to bake (although after the pecan biscuits, who am I to talk?) And it ended up tasting like an old-fashioned, homey, lovely little dessert.

I love the crust – very soft and pliable, which allowed it to conform to the filling, thereby eliminating that pie “gap” that often occurs between the filling and top crust when you make an apple pie. I made some adaptations to the recipe: (1) cut it in half, and baked it in a disposable 8-inch square pan, (2) used 4 Granny Smith apples and one Fuji, half the amount of raisins, all the sugar and cinnamon, and (3) added the zest of half a lemon to the crust. Then I mounded the filling over the bottom crust, and the pie/cake for about 35 minutes. The smell that filled the house was fantastic. I should mention that I rolled out the soft and sticky crust between two sheets of plastic wrap, after making it in my food processor.

Dorie says to let the cake cool to “warm” or “room temperature.” Riiiiight. In my book, that was about five minutes, and then I dug in. Did I mention that I was baking this at 9:30 at night? Mmmm. It was only through sheer force of will that I stopped myself to take photos of my soon-to-be-gutted little wonder. If you look closely, underneath the crisp surface of the crust, the texture is a bit “cakey.” Maybe that’s where the name comes from.Thanks to Natalie of Burned Bits for this week’s selection, and you can find the original recipe over at her blog. I agree with Natalie that this would be even better with some ice cream or some cream. Next week, Peabody has chosen Brioche Raisin Snails! And be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else’s creations!

As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favorite food magazines is Fine Cooking. During a recent visit with my auntie, she said that what sets this magazine apart is that she saves the entire issue. When it comes to other cooking magazines, she tears out pages that interest her, and she tosses the rest of the magazine.

Well said.This past Thanksgiving, I decided to add a chocolate pecan pie to the menu, in addition to my favorite pecan pie. I’m just getting around to posting about it now, in part because the making of said pie was traumatic:

Yes, that’s my homemade tart shell on my kitchen floor. This is why I have commercial crust back-ups in my freezer. The pie weights left dents all over the bamboo – it looks like someone shot it up with a BB gun. But I’ll deal with that at some point in the future!

Rose’s tart on the left, chocolate espresso tart, in production, on the right

So, I used a Pillsbury pie crust for a recipe by pastry chef Karen Barker in Fine Cooking’s issue #88. Boy, this is one rich, sweet, fudgy pecan pie. Too sweet, I thought, but I noticed an odd thing: folks would take a small bite and, overwhelmed by the richness of the pie, they would set it aside. And then come back for another bite. And another. Hhm. I guess some folks like really sweet, chocolatey pecan pie. Imagine that!

I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit to tone down the sweetness, but trust me, it will still be very sweet. And do not be tempted to use anything but unsweetened chocolate, or your teeth will ache!
The original recipe used corn syrup and a cup of sugar.

Chocolate Espresso Pecan Pie

Adapted from a recipe by Karen Barker, in Fine Cooking #88

One 9-inch pie crust, homemade or purchased, and blind-baked until a light golden brown
For the filling:
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Valrhona. Boy, is it good!)
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1 cup Lyle’s golden syrup
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbs. instant espresso powder (I used Megdalia D’Oro)
2 Tbs. coffee liqueur
2 cups lightly toasted, coarsely chopped pecans
About 1/2 cup perfect pecan halves

To make the filling:

Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave or in a small metal bowl set in a skillet of barely simmering water, stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth. Set aside and allow mixture to cool slightly

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, Lyle’s golden syrup, sugar, and salt. Dissolve the instant espresso in 1 Tbs. hot water and add to the egg mixture, along with the coffee liqueur and the melted chocolate and butter. Whisk to blend.

Evenly spread the toasted pecan pieces in the pie shell. To form a decorative border, arrange the pecan halves around the perimeter of the pie shell, on top of the pecan pieces, keeping the points of the pecans facing in and the backs just touching the crust. Slowly and carefully pour the filling into the center of the pie plate and over the pecans until the shell is three-quarters full. Pour the remaining filling into a liquid measuring cup or small pitcher. Transfer the pie to the oven and pour in the remaining filling. (The pecans will rise to the top as the pie bakes.)

Bake the pie until the filling puffs up, just starts to crack, and appears fairly set, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer it to a rack and allow it to cool completely (at least 4 hours) before serving. The pie is best if you refrigerate it overnight – the filling sets and the flavors develop.

Another tasty bite from what has turned out to be one of my favorite cookbooks, Molly Stevens’ All About Braising. I had one more commercial pie crust to use up, and I’ve had such success with recipes from this book, that I decided to give this one a try. I was not disappointed, and
(gasp!) I am not really a fan of gruyere. Master Chow enjoyed both the goat cheese tart and this one, but preferred the bite and depth of flavor that the gruyere and leeks gave the latter.

I did not alter this recipe, and as I’ve blogged about several dishes in Molly Stevens’ book, I won’t do so again. I urge folks to check it out from the library or buy it for yourselves. (Disclaimer: if you click on Amazon through this website, I get a small percentage of the sale. And I get paid in gift certificates, which I promptly apply to more cookbooks. It is a vicious cycle.).

To summarize, though: I braised the leeks with butter, salt and pepper, garlic, nutmeg, fresh thyme, stock, lemon and thick-cut bacon. I then chopped and combined the leek-bacon mixture with Gruyere, eggs, creme fraiche, half-and-half, fresh thyme, more nutmeg, and salt and pepper. I spread the leaks on the bottom of the pie crust, and poured the egg mixture over it. Popped it in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes, and then devoured it.

Yum. Next time, though, I might try this with Emmental instead of Gruyere.

Well, I’m back. It has been a busy summer on so many levels, and my blogging has suffered for it. For those of you who read my humble blog, I’ve been working on so many projects (including me), that something had to give, and it turned out to be this blog, not to mention my favorite hobby – cooking.I decided that my body was starting to creak a bit too much, so I did something about it. I started exercising more vigorously, and finally had some injuries looked at; it it appears that I may need some knee and wrist surgery, not to mention physical therapy on a shoulder. On a brighter note, in the past month I adopted a low-sodium, high fruit and veggie approach to eating known as the DASH “diet.” It’s purpose? To lower blood pressure. I must say, mine has plummeted. Diet and exercise never did much for my blood pressure before, but this “diet” has – on medication, my BP was 150/100 a month ago. Now, it is 106/68. I am stunned, and so is my doctor. For an easy-to-read yet thorough explanation of this approach, check out this link (pdf file, so you’ll need Adobe).

But before my summer heated up, I managed to bake a fresh sour cherry pie. I adapted this recipe from one I found in Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Pie and Pastry Bible. I added 1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to the filling, because the sour cherries I had were a bit on the sweet side. And, for a change, I followed Rose’s recipe exactly when I made my favorite crust, her Perfect Flaky & Tender Cream Cheese Pie Crust. The result was the best sour cherry pie I have ever made, and one I plan to repeat this winter because I froze several pounds of berries! If you can find frozen sour cherries, or have some on hand, I encourage you to try this recipe.

Puffy, golden goodness. Mmmm.

Inspired, yet again, by Ina Garten, I decided to try her goat cheese tart. Now, you may wonder at my use of a commercial crust. I make no apologies – they are my yearly Thanksgiving backup, ever since the Jehovah’s Witness Incident of 2004.

What, you ask, was that? Ah, yes. I remember it well. I was furiously baking pies on Thanksgiving day. And it was one of those times when nothing was working quite like I had planned. I had just rolled some pastry into one of the pie pans, when a group of very nice Jehovah’s Witnesses rang my doorbell. I was covered in flour, and my hands were filthy. I set the rolling pin on top of the Pyrex pie plate so that I could wash my hands, and the entire pie plate shattered. Glass everywhere. Pastry ruined.

Well, ever since then, I make sure to buy a couple commercial pie crusts, just in case. Of course, that means if things go well, I have to use up those crusts, which I did here. Quite tasty, I must say.

Even though I prepared the shallots, I forgot to add them to the tart. So I had them on the side. I think the shallots are important, so I would suggest not leaving them out. I also took the liberty of adding some thyme.

Goat Cheese Tart

Adapted from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

3/4 cup chopped shallots (3 to 4 shallots)

10 1/2 ounces garlic-and-herb soft goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet)

1 cup heavy cream (preferably NOT ultra-pasteurized)

3 extra-large eggs

1/4 chopped fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the tablespoon of butter in a small pan and saute the shallots over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tender. Place the goat cheese in the bowl of the food processor and process until crumbly. Add the cream, eggs, basil, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper and process until blended.

Scatter the cooked shallots over the bottom of the tart shell. Pour the goat cheese mixture over the shallots to fill the shell (if the shell has shrunk, there may be leftover filling). Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tart is firm when shaken and the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve hot or at room temperature.

The tart puffs up beautifully, and yields six generous slices. The perfect accompaniment is a green salad with a light vinaigrette.

Like all cooks, there are recipes that I try that are not a success. For example, last August I purchased a bunch of Italian plums, and time got away from me. So, after a week or so, I was faced with a bunch of plums that had to be used up, and little time to cook.

As is often the case, I turned to Ina Garten.

She has a simple Plum Tart recipe that can be put together quickly. It looked beautiful, but I have to say that for the first time, I was disappointed with one of her recipes. There was too much crumb topping, and the whole thing wasn’t as flavorful as I’d hoped. If I make it again, I’m going to use different fruit, and less topping. I would also consider spreading a jam layer in the bottom of the crust, and adding some lemon juice. It could have been the plums, which weren’t very tasty raw, but cooking fruit usually remedies that problem, bringing out previously hidden flavors.

You may have better plums at your disposal, and better luck than I did. So, I present you with . . .

Italian Plum Tart

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

• 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced

• 1 egg yolk 2 pounds firm, ripe Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly. Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums.

Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it’s lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

***UPDATE*** – From Rose’s blog:

Keep in mind that if there are any holes in the crust the sticky filling will find its way there, leak below the crust, and stick to the pan’s bottom. To avoid holes best not to pierce the bubbles that form during blind baking, after removing the rice or beans to weight it down, but just to gently press down the crust a few times as it bubbles and finally it will set and be flat.

Should a hole develop, fill it with a little dab of egg white and return it to the oven for about 30 seconds. And if worse comes to worse and the crust sticks, just serve the pieces–no one will complain. This pie is the very definition of heavenly!

Be sure to use the Lyle’s golden refiner’s syrup which is so much more flavorful than corn syrup in a butterscotchy/tangy way, and preferably light Muscovado sugar (I love the one from India Tree). And be sure to weigh or measure the yolks. For this pie/tart that calls for 4 yolks I needed to use 6 to equal the right amount as they were so small. Without enough egg yolks the filling will not set effectively.]

One last word of caution: When heating the filling go by the thermometer rather than looking for signs of thickening. And when baking test at 15 minutes. I find it usually takes 20 but it should just shimmy slightly when moved and begin to puff.

This is the best pecan pie recipe I’ve come across, courtesy of the The Pie and Pastry Bible,by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The use of Lyles Golden Syrup makes it less cloyingly sweet. The egg yolks give the filling a thicker consistency, and the addition of bourbon makes it hard to resist.

Pecan Pie
Adapted from the “The Pie and Pastry Bible”

• Crust for a 9 1/2-inch tart, prebaked. I used Rose’s Favorite Tender and Flaky Piecrust
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves (5.25 ounces = 150 grams)
• 4 large egg yolks (2 full fluid ounces = 2.6 ounces = 74 grams)
• 1/3 liquid cup (lightly greased) Lyle’s Golden Syrup (refiner’s syrup)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed (3.75 ounces = 108 grams)
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (2 ounces = 57 grams)
• 1/4 liquid cup heavy cream
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 Tablespoons bourbonPreheat oven to 350°F.Chop about half the pecans, and leave the rest whole. Place in the bottom of the baked crust.

  On top of a double boiler, combine egg yolks, syrup, brown sugar, butter, cream, and salt. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula and without letting the mixture boil, until it is uniform in color and just begins to thicken slightly (160°F on candy thermometer), 7 to 10 minutes. Strain at once into small bowl and stir in vanilla and bourbon.

  Slowly pour filling over pecans, coating their upper surface.

Place a foil ring on top of crust to prevent overbrowning; bake about 20 minutes or until filling is puffed and golden and just beginning to bubble around the edges. Filling will shimmy slightly when moved. Cool completely on a rack, about 45 minutes, before unmolding.

I seem to be trying a lot of Ina Garten’s recipes lately. Probably because they are usually quite good, always seem to work, and adapt well to my constant tweaking!

I tried this recipe without changing a thing, a rare and noteworthy event. I still ended up adapting it a bit!

Ina Garten’s Frozen Key Lime Pie

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature (if you have only large eggs, just use an extra yolk)
1/4 cup sugar 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons grated lime zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 regular limes, about 20 key limes)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Crust: combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Filling: beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze.

Freeze for several hours or overnight (it really needs at least 8 hours in the freezer).

Thoughts: this is a good recipe – lots of flavor, and great texture. Very refreshing on a hot summer day. That being said, the next time I make this, I will NOT use the lime zest if I use key limes – it’s just way too much lime (and I’m a citrus lover). If you use regular limes, I would recommend that you include the zest – regular limes are not as tart or intense as key limes.