Pies and Pastries

An amazingly popular restaurant here in Kentucky is Patti’s 1880’s Settlement in Grand Rivers. One of the things that helped make them famous is their pies. Below is a recipe for one called a Sawdust Pie. You’ll love it much…much…muchly!

7 egg whites, unbeaten
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1-1/2 cups pecans
1-1/2 cups coconut
9 inch unbaked pie shell

Mix all ingredients together and stir by hand. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven until glossy and set (about 25-30 minutes).

DO NOT OVERBAKE! Serve warm with sliced bananas and whipped cream. Serves 8.

Visit their website at http://www.pattis-settlement.com, and if you’re ever in the Land Between the Lakes area, don’t even think of eating anywhere else until you’ve had Patti’s!

There are only a few ways the Food Network could appease me if they gave me an evening with no Alton, Paula OR Rachael: One would be a lifetime supply of chocolate, another would be my own personal Starbuck’s in my backyard, and yet another would be a night devoted to garlic.

They chose to go with the latter - which is, oddly enough, fine with me. Besides, my other faves - Emeril and Jim O’Connor will be there. Check out some of the recipes that’ll be featured in tonight’s line-up:

• Romaine Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing and Roasted Garlic Croutons (Emeril Live)
• Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Jam (Emeril Live)
• Charlotte’s Pan-Roasted Latin Style Garlic Soup (Emeril Live)
• Stuffed Shrimp with Garlic Cream Sauce (FN Challenge)
• Garlic-Good Crab “Cakes” (FN Challenge)
• Chicken Florentine Risotto with Garlic Parmesan Cream (FN Challenge)

Emeril + Pork + Garlic = I’m there. With snacks.

Unwrapped and Secret Life Of also get in on the garlic fun. You can check the tv guide in the sidebar to see other highlights from today on Food TV. Paula Deen has a soup that’s spiked my interest (Senate Bean Soup) - it’ll be on her Paula’s Home Cooking show this morning. She’s also lined up to make a few pies that I KNOW I’ll have to introduce myself to.

I’m not sure why, exactly, but making pies is one of my favorite kitchen activities. There’s something very, very comforting and satisfying about making, baking, and eating a great pie. Especially if you make the crust yourself - that makes it even more special.

Joi

On a recent episode of Paula’s Home Cooking, she made a delicous-looking pie (Old Fashioned Fudge Pie). It looked about as good as any pie could possibly look, so my daughter and I scurried off to the store for the ingredients.

Oh. My. God. This is the most amazing pie I’ve had in a long time - a very, very, very long time. Trust me, you want to make this pie. The recipe recommends whipped topping or ice cream - but I wouldn’t suggest letting anything at all come between your mouth and this pie.

It takes me back, but to where I’m not sure! There’s a nostalgic, purely Heavenly chocolate taste to this amazing pie, but I can’t figure out if it’s one my mom, aunt, or one of my grandmothers used to make. Whoever, wherever, however….I know who’ll be making it now - moi….and often!!!

Here’s the link to the recipe - trust me, you’ll want to print this out. Then you’ll want to go to the store. Then you’ll want to make it. Then, on to the good stuff - eat it all! Old Fashioned Fudge Pie
If you have a certain someone special who you’d like to give something special for Valentine’s Day, this pie would earn you many, many sweetheart points. Of course, you’ll need to make one for yourself, too, because she/he isn’t going to share.

Just a side note: I’ve NEVER made anything of Paula Deen’s that wasn’t sheer Heaven. The woman knows her stuff like no other.

Everyone pretty much has a handful of websites they visit each day. The type of website they’re type in so frequently they don’t even have to look at the keyboard. With me and Food Network.com, my keyboard just types it in for me before I even sit down. The printer has also gotten pretty wise, too. He knows there’ll be plenty of recipes to print out, so he turns himself on and starts grinding them out.

A fairly new feature they’ve added is a collection of amazing video tutorials (Click HERE to see what I’m talking about). I watched one on Napkin folding a few minutes ago that was pretty slick. If you click HERE, you’ll find 5 by Paula Dean (love her, love her, love her) with the following quickie lessons: Whipping Egg Whites, Caramel Tips, Old Fashioned Pie Crusts, Whipped Cream, and Toasting Nuts.

Great stuff!

Joi

A few days ago i wrote a post about the top 10 things every new cook should know - things she/he should know as well as they know their own face. One of the things I should’ve, could’ve, and would’ve put on the list is this: Anyone who aspires to be a good cook MUST be able to make great mashed potatoes. Not decent, not good….and darned sure not instant or frozen!….GREAT.

For a simple, great traditonal recipe for mashed potatoes, see the Idaho Potato website. They have more recipes than just the basic one, you might want to check them out, too. Incidentlally, Idaho Potatoes are as good as it gets - they’ve never let me down.

Once you’ve mastered the basic mashed potato recipe, you can start getting cute. For really creamy and startlingly white mashed potatoes, add sour cream with the milk and potatoes - for thick and rich potatoes, add the sour cream instead of the milk.

If you’re wanting amazing richness in each bite, add cream cheese along with the other dairy products. And I know I’m a broken record, but use butter instead of margarine for the best potatoes (as well as everything else!).

Under the “Getting cute” category, you’ll want to try Alton’s Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Robin Miller’s Garlic and Celery Root Mashed Spuds.

I made The Garlic and Celery Root Mashed Spuds last week and they were out of this culinary world. If you’re looking for a way to jazz your potatoes up this Thanksgiving or Christmas - I promise you, this is the recipe you should try….and I’m not just saying it because the recipe calls for buttermilk! I didn’t include the celery root when I made these - I simply didn’t have one. I also sprinkled a bit of extra chives on top as well as folding in the desired amount.

One of my daughters now fully expects these mashed potatoes at every meal - she looks kind of disappointed when she doesn’t see them!

BTW, while on the subject, if you’ve never watched Robin Miller’s show on Food TV, you really should check her out. Like Emeril, everything she makes is amazing! I’ve never tried one of her recipes without it being a loud success….and I only recently started watching her show, myself. The title, “Quick Fixes with Robin Miller,” always fooled me - I thought she’d be all about instant this, canned that, frozen food…blah blah blech. She actually cooks just as much and just as brilliantly as any other chef. She gets jazzier than a lot of them, in fact.

On the same episode these potatoes starred on, she made an Apple-Sourdough Stuffing that lit the tv up. I want to make it sometime this week, but I’m sticking with my traditional family stuffing for the big day, itself. Maybe.

1 - 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening (Crisco or a GREAT store-brand)
Butter (the size of a walnut)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup very cold water beaten with 1/2 of an egg white

Mix the shortening, flour, and salt lightly. Add the liquid gradually.

Brush the crust with a little milk and use as your recipe directs.

A few tips:

1. If you can at all, use Crisco for this recipe - it’s a better quality and a lot softer than the cheaper brands. Save them for greasing pans, but use Crisco for baking.

2. Make sure your cold water is as cold as a baby polar bear’s behind. In fact, everything will go easier and will taste better if ALL of your ingredients are cool.

3. When working with a pastry, give it your undivided attention. Don’t try to do anything else at the time and don’t rush through the process. Give yourself plenty of time and enjoy the craft!

4. The lower crust (when applicable) should be placed in the pan so that it covers the surface smoothly. Be sure no air lurks beneath the surface - it’ll push the crust out of shape while it’s baking.

5. Folding the top crust over the lower crust before crimping will keep the juices in the pie rather than on your oven floor or racks.

6. When baking custard type pies (like pumpkin), bake at a high temperature for about ten minutes, then finish baking at a lower temperature. This prevents a nasty, soggy crust.

6 cups sliced apples
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 cup flour
3.4 cups quick oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
cinnamon

Spread apples in a 9″ baking dish. Cook the sugar, water and cornstarch until mixture is clear and thickened. Pour over the apples, sprinkle with cinnamon.

Mix the flour, oatmeal, sugar and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until apples are tender.

The kitchen smells like a slice of Heaven when this is baking! You could, of course, serve it with ice cream, if you wanted to - but it’s amazing all alone as well.

Joi

You know my favorite thing about blogging? The people - YOU! I love hearing from different people, whether they’re halfway around the world or from a neighboring town here in Kentucky.

It always fascinates me to get e-mail or comments from readers who live in another country - it flat out blows my mind. It’s verrrry interesting to hear what sort of foods they/you eat….what’s available, what isn’t. I recently got a comment and 3 e-mails asking about a few ingredients I’d mentioned.

In the future, I’ll try harder to keep this in mind - and I’ll give more info about certain ingredients….and, whenever possible, substitutions.

One ingredient that everyone asked me about was Pumpkin Pie Spice (Click the link for ordering info.). There are several brands here in the states, but I use the one you see pictured above. Basically, it is simply the typical ingreidents used in a Pumpkin Pie - they’re just all put togehter under one top. By the way, this stuff is also amazing on French Toast, Cinnamon Toast, Fried Apples, and oatmeal!

Another ingredient that raised a few question marks was Pet Milk (again, click the link to check it out). Pet Milk is simply evaporated milk. My father in law used to use it in his coffee all the time, but the only time I really ever buy it is for Pumpkin or Sweet Potato pies. (Though I will admit, one time I got curious and put some in my coffee - and it was really good!)

I’m going to start searching for Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Pie recipes that contain ingredients that are a little more basic - as soon as I find them, I’ll post them!

Joi

4 eggs, separated
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups pumpkin
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
4 Tbs. flour
pinch of salt
2 tsp. vanilla
5 cups pet milk, heated

Beat egg whites, then beat egg yolks and brown sugar together. Add granulated sugar, then the rest of the ingredients. Fold in egg whites last.

Bake at 425 degrees until brwn, thent 325 degrees for 45 mnutes

Yield: 2 pies

It’s actually kind of a “If-you-miss-it….no-biggie” day on the Food Network. I actually only saw 3 episodes that I’d really care to see. At least these 3 sound great - which is a good thing, because they’re carrying the whole day!

On Tyler’s Ultimate, he’ll be making Fried Chicken, Cherry Tomatoes with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing and Roasted Corn with Chili Lime Butter. I’m not sure which one intrigues me most - okay, I lied…of course it’s the Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing.

Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals are just okay-sounding today - but one of her $40 a Day shows tonight sounds pretty hot. She’ll be in The Keys - home of the bluest water on earth! I love it when she hits up places I’ve actually been; then I can see if I recognize any of the places. I’m doubting that this will be the case, because when we were down there we really didn’t experience very impressive food. EXCEPT for a Key Lime Pie that I’d set out walking for right now - all the way from Kentucky. It was that good. We got it from a place called the Blond Giraffe and I can almost taste it now.

My daughters and I sat around a little outside bistro table drinking coffee and devouring the pie. It was one of those moments I’ll cherish in my memory bank forever - sitting with three of the most important people in the world to you, in a glorious setting, drinking coffee and eating pie that’s too good to even describe. The only way it would have been any better would be if my husband hadn’t been in a meeting and could have joined us. Then again, if it hadn’t been for the meeting we wouldn’t have been there!

Check out the Blond Giraffe’s Online Store, where they have candles, t-shirts, mugs, an Island CD, Island Spices, Key Lime candy, Key Lime Pie on a Stick, etc… I’m snatching up some candles, a mug, candy for my girls, a t-shirt for the hubby and Pie on a stick. When you land on the site, be sure to use the navigation on the left - you have to venture around to find all they have.

Joi