Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie

from Megan

makes 2 pies

Ingredients:

2 frozen crust (9inch) or homemade dough crust

4 eggs beaten

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups pecans (halves or crushed)

Instructions:

1. Set the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Then add vanilla extract to the eggs. Mix white sugar, brown sugar, and flour in a separate mixing bowl and thoroughly whisk through. 

3. Pour room temperature butter into dry ingredients and mix, then mix in the egg mixture. Add the pecans and corn syrup and mix again thoroughly. Once completely mixed, put the 2 pie crust on a cookie sheet and pour filling into each pie crust evenly.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the cookie sheet and repeat another 20 minutes. Pull out pies and let rest at room temperature.

Chocolate Wine Pie

 

This is one of those viral recipes I had to see to believe. It's actually quite nice! A rich chocolate flavor with the red wine backbone. not overly sweet, and texture is like a cross between pudding and mousse. It's fun to serve alongside a glass of the same wine just to compare flavor profiles, so pick-up 2 bottles of the same! I used a bottle of Trader Joe's Chianti and I think that was a perfect pick for this recipe.

Note: this recipe makes about 2 cups more filling than can actually go into the pie, so try to get a deep crust pie if you can, a mini pie crust, or be prepares to save/throw out the extra.

Chocolate Wine Pie

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

1 chocolate pie crust (cookie, wafer, or graham)

1-750 mL bottle good dry red wine

1/2 cup corn starch

1.25 cup sugar

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate bars, chopped small (optional: save off a few chocolate curls to top the pie)

2 Tbs. butter

pinch of salt 

Whipped topping:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs. sugar

Instructions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the cornstarch and 1.25 cups sugar. Over medium heat, slowly whisk in wine to prevent lumps from forming. Cook until mixture has come to a simmer and is very thick, about 8 minutes, whisking constantly. 

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, butter and pinch of salt until smooth.

3. Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate until chilled and set, about 4 hours and up to overnight.  

4. For the whipped topping, beat together cream and remaining 1 Tbs. of sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over cooled and set pie, and top with chocolate curls if desired.

Beet Galette

My aunt made this for me when I visited her new digs, and it was fantastic! Simple. elegant, and delicious.

Beet Galette

based on Food Network 

Ingredients:

16 oz cooked beets, sliced thin

1.5 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

2 Tbs olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 pie crust

4 oz soft garlic-and-herb cheese (such as Boursin)

1 small onion, thinly sliced 

pinch of salt

pinch of sugar

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs chopped walnuts

1 tsp finely chopped chives

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F. 

2. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add onion, pinch of sugar, pinch of salt, and start caramelizing (30-40 minutes). At the end of cooking, add balsamic vinegar and cook for 1 more minute.

3. Pat beets dry. In a medium bowl, combine beets, 1 Tbs olive oil, and thyme.

4. On a pizza pan, unroll pie crust. Spread cheese on pie crust, leaving 1.5 inch boarder.

5. Layer beets on top of cheese. slightly overlapping. Fold crust edges over beets, and brush with olive oil.

6. Bake galette until the edges and bottom of the galette are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

7. Top galette with onions, walnuts, and chives. Cut into quarters and serve.

Pie Crust (Pâte Brisée)

I've used essentially this formula for years, if not decades at this point. I'm still not a great pastry cook, but I've made many a good fruit pie and quiche using this basic crust recipe. I've always made it as an all-butter crust, but you can do half lard if you so choose.

Pie Crust (Pâte Brisée)
based on Simply Recipes
makes single crust

Instructions:
1.25 cups (160 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar (1.5 tsp. if for a sweet recipe)
1 stick butter (112g.) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3-4 Tbsp. ice water

Option:
- replace half of butter with lard

Ingredients:
1. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse to combine.
2. Add the butter, half at a time and pulse until mixture is coarse and mealy.
3. Add 2 Tbsp. of ice water to mixture and pulse until just combined. Slowly add more ice water tsp. at a time, pulsing a few times after each addition until mixture just holds when pinched between two fingers.
4. Turn crumbly mixture out onto counter, and fraisage: press the heel of your hand down on the crumbly mixture 4-6 times, to make crust flakier.
5.  Form dough into a flat disk. Cover with plastic wrap.

Later use:
- Freeze for up to a month.

Immediate use:
1. Refrigerate dough disk for an hour or more.
2. Take out of fridge and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Between 2 sheets of wax paper, roll dough out into desired size and shape to about 1/8 inch thickness. Gently massaging together any cracks that form in the dough.
3. Line pie or tart pan with dough, trimming excess. Line inside of crust with aluminum foil.
4. Freeze for at least 15 minutes before use. This will help prevent crust shrinkage.
5. Preheat oven to 425 F. Do NOT defrost crust before blind-baking.
6. Take crust out of the freezer. Poke holes across the bottom of the crust with a fork. Then foil line crust and fill with dried beans, rice, sugar, or pie weights.
7. Place crust in oven, turn temperature to 400 F, and bake for 10-15 minutes until raw dough look is gone
8. Take crust out, remove pie weights and foil. Decrease heat to 350 F and bake for another 10-15 minutes until starting to brown if baking crust again or 15-20 minutes until fully golden brown if making a no-bake pie.