Raspberry Rhurbab Lattice Pie

From Martha. Again. There's a whole section of rhubarb recipes on her site. 

Ingredients 

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (4 cups)
• 2 cups raspberries
•  1 1/4 cups sugar, or more to taste
• Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   On a lightly floured surface, roll out one half of dough for bottom crust. Fit into an 11-inch pie plate. Trim pastry using scissors or a sharp paring knife, and chill. Keep remaining half of dough, which will be used to make the lattice, refrigerated and wrapped in plastic.
2. Combine rhubarb and raspberries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, flour, and lemon juice. Toss gently so as not to break raspberries. Spoon into pie shell, and dot with butter. Refrigerate while preparing lattice top.
3. In a small bowl, combine egg and heavy cream, whisking lightly; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining piece of dough for lattice, and cut it into 1-inch strips. Weave strips together over filling, and place an extra strip or two along the edge, where the bottom crust joins the lattice top; press this strip with tines of a fork to seal well. Brush lattice and all pastry edges with egg glaze, sprinkle top with sugar, and place pie on a parchment paper's lined baking sheet.
4. Bake until pastry is golden brown and juices in center of pie are bubbling, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.

RESULTS:
Tiff, this is for you! I made this for a backyard bbq that was tons of fun, even when torrential rain drove us inside. last I heard it was 4 inches in 2 hours! Chris and I saw Noah and his ark on the way home on Clairemont, he was stopping to assist the passengers of a car that stalled out. Anyway, back to the food. I sort of followed this recipe. I used the full Pate Braise recipe for the pie crust. I think the filling is variable, I used it mostly as a guide to sugar amounts, cooking time and temp, and "total fruit volume." I only had about 1 cup of raspberries, so I made the rest up with more rhubarb. Briefly considered using some of the farmer's market strawberries I brought home that morning, but decided that would be a waste of amazing strawberries. I also wondered what blueberries would taste like in there. Anyway, after consulting my Flavor Bible, I discovered that rhubarb also loves vanilla and ground ginger, so I put a splash and a pinch of both in, respectively. Next time I might make it two splashes and two pinches. I completely forgot about doing the cream and egg wash, as I usually do. Despite that, the pie turned out great, especially with some friends' homemade buttermilk lemon sorbet. 

Celery

I'm intrigued...let me know if you make any of these before I do...

Banana Ice Cream

This is amazing. Basically, you just freeze banana slices for a couple hours and then grind them up, and you get banana ice cream. I tried it with the blender first, which didn't work because there wasn't any liquid to keep the solids moving down to the blade, and then I tried my mini-food processor, which worked but the bananas made their way up under the blade into the shaft, and I'd be worried about it sticking up the motor. Next time, I'll try either the full sized food processor or maybe even my immersion blender. Let me know if you try it with the immersion blender before I get to it!

Mini Rhubarb and Raspberry Galettes

From Martha

Yield Makes 8

Ingredients

• Pate Brisee, do not divide into 2 disks
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 1/2 pounds trimmed rhubarb, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
• 8 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• Coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Divide dough evenly into 8 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece to a 7-inch round, 1/8 inch thick. Transfer rounds to 2 large parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets (don't use silicon!), arranging several inches apart. (If rounds become too soft to handle, refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.)
2. In a large bowl, toss to combine rhubarb, raspberries, cornstarch, and granulated sugar.
3. Cover each round of dough with a heaping 1/2 cup rhubarb mixture, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold edges over rhubarb filling, leaving an opening in center; gently brush water between folds, and press gently so that folds adhere. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush edges of dough with water, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until crusts are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees, and bake until juices bubble and start to run out from center of each galette, 15 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely before serving.

Results:
I got to work on Friday and saw about 10 pounds of free rhubarb to be given away, so I grabbed a bunch and thought I'd make a pie. The problem is, although we COULD eat a whole pie, we probably shouldn't. So then I was trolling the internet this morning to find a recipe for mini-pies, either in a small cast iron skillet or muffin pans or something. I wasn't quite sure. Then I stumbled across this recipe for galettes, which was so perfect because you don't need to risk having the wrong sized pan and risk having to fiddle with cooking time and temperature. Also, it's easy to halve the recipe, and then you only have to share the equivalent of a half a pie between two people.

The flavors of this tart are right on. Really good and sour, but also sweet. Excellent. But here are some "do as I say, not as I do" tips. After forming the tarts and refrigerating (end of step 3), I left them in the fridge for a few hours instead of 30 minutes. This was bad because it gave the fruit more time to masticate in the sugar and juice was already running from them by the time I got around to cooking.  Maybe freezing would keep them longer if you're not ready for baking? I'm not sure. Either way, make sure you either use a rimmed baking sheet or engineer some sort of tin foil juice catcher under your baking sheet because they'll probably leak a lot of juice which will then burn on the bottom of your oven and smell really bad.

After they were done baking, I had trouble picking them up with even a really big spatula to move to the baking sheet (possibly because the bottom crust was soaked through with juice, or possibly because I rolled the crusts too thin). I'm hoping the crust will harden up as they cool and won't stick too much to the parchment paper. Also, if you just can't wait for them to cool, and you happen to break part of a tart off as you move it to the cooling racks, remember before you gobble it up that hot sugary filling is REALLY HOT, even if the crust is already cool. Also, be sure to wash any and all cooking implements that come into contact with the hot sugary filling IMMEDIATELY before the sugar cools, or you're going to have issues. And the sugar cools fast.

Pate Brisee

From Martha:
Yield
Makes two 8- to 10-inch single-crust pies or one 8- to 10-inch double-crust pie

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut in pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

1. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube, just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.
2. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide in two. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two discs. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.

Results:
I'm pretty sure that Pate Brisee is French for "pie dough." I haven't cooked the crust yet, but the dough itself tastes just like pie dough made with butter.  :)  This recipe finally prompted me to confront the food processor that I've been wanting for years and finally got for Christmas (thank you!!) but have been too intimidated by to move out of the store room, let alone take out of the box. Let me tell you, that was some wasted 6 months. It's an amazing machine. I just need to find space for it in the kitchen. Some of you might know this, but I used to be really good at making pie crust. I proved the saying "easy as pie." And then I went to college and somehow my pie crust making abilities got smooshed out by philosophy class. So I haven't made much pie since then, but I think this might turn it around. Stay turned for finished pie results....

Big Hearted Macaroni and Cheese with Artichokes

From the Kitchn:

serves 6 to 8

• 12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts
• 1 pound elbow macaroni or small shells
• 8 ounces silken tofu (soft)
• 2 1/2 cups skim milk
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 6 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs or panko
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
• Olive oil

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Place the frozen artichoke hearts in a colander and run cold water over them for a few moments. Remove from the colander and set aside.
2. Heat a 4-quart pot of salted water to boiling and add the pasta. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package specifies, to just barely al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the pasta from cooking. Return to the cooking pot.
3. Cut each artichoke heart into several bite-sized pieces and stir into the cooked pasta.
4. Place a 10-inch deep skillet or wide saucepan over medium heat. Place the tofu in the pan, and mash it thoroughly with a fork or whisk. Whisk in the milk, mustard, salt, paprika and pepper. Warm the mix until bubbles form around the edges, then whisk in the cornstarch and shredded cheese. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens just slightly. As it heats, it will appear somewhat lumpy. This is fine; just whisk occasionally as you stir.
5. When the mixture has thickened slightly, turn off the heat and pour it into the pot with the macaroni and artichokes. Stir thoroughly, and taste for seasoning. If necessary, stir in a little extra salt and pepper, then spread in the prepared baking dish.
6. Mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan and sprinkle over the pasta. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy on top. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

RESULTS: I was intrigued by this recipe because it has tofu in it, and I'm trying to eat more protein, and it also has artichokes, which Chris loves. LOVES. I think with some tweaks it could be really good. I didn't care for the artichokes as is. They didn't add good flavor to the dish, they kind of clashed with the cheese. If I were to make this again, I would probably saute or bake (can you back artichokes?) before putting them in with the pasta to get some richer flavor to them. Chris agreed to try this because I assured him that he wouldn't be able to taste the tofu, and his clean plate seemed to confirm that. I would also adjust the cooking time for the pasta. It was still pretty mushy. Maybe cook the pasta for 4 minutes less than the box says to? experimentation needed. The very best part of this was the panko topping. I HIGHLY recommend panko over breadcrumbs, it really makes a huge difference.  

Spicy Squash Salad with lentils and goat cheese

Recipe, intro, and footnote from Smitten Kitchen:

If you’d like to toast the seeds, simply clean them off, rinse and pat them dry and toast them in the oven on an oiled baking sheet, sprinkled with salt. But this comes with a warning: they like to pop, seemingly more than regular pumpkin seeds do, or maybe it’s just my bad luck. I suspect if you let them dry out for a day first, they wouldn’t, but who has that kind of patience?

Serves 6 as an appetizer, 3 as a main

• 3/4 cup black or green lentils
• 6 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash or sugar pumpkin (1-inch cubes) (from about a 2-poudn squash)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika*
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 4 cups baby arugula (I skipped this)
• 1 cup soft crumbled goat cheese
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves (optional; I used this, but added it after I took a photo)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, plus additional to taste
• Roasted seeds (about 1/2 cup) from your butternut squash (optional; see note above)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss squash or pumpkin cubes with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika and salt. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet and roast 20 minutes. Flip pieces and roast for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until tender. Cool.
2. Meanwhile, soak lentils for 10 minutes in a small bowl, then drain. Cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and cool.
3. Combine lentils, pumpkin, any oil you can scrape from the baking sheet (I didn’t get enough for this to be worth it) with arugula, if using, half of goat cheese, mint, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper and extra vinegar, if desired (we felt it needed it). Divide among plates and pass with remaining goat cheese to sprinkle.

* I swapped half with sweet (not hot) smoked paprika. If you don’t have either on hand, there are ways to approximate this smoky/spiciness with what you have in your pantry, such as mixing some regular paprika with a ground chipotle powder or another smoky spice, and then a pinch of cayenne for extra heat.

RESULTS: Needs bacon. Otherwise great.