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November 9th, 2010 
This was, quite possibly, one of the best pecan pies I’ve ever had. Not that I eat pecan pie very often (I don’t), but it is simply just that decadent. Enough so to make me end my 4-month period of blogging absenteeism. Enjoy!
For the pie crust:
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
⅜ cup ice-cold water
- In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Fold the butter cubes into the dry mixture until they are coated.
- Place the mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse in 5-second intervals until the butter cubes are reduced to the size of small marbles.
- While pulsing in quick bursts, drizzle the cold water through the feed tube and continue to pulse until the dough has formed a ball. Tip: The plunger for my food processor’s feed tube actually has a couple of tiny holes at the bottom, so I was able to just pour all of the water into the plunger and let it take care of the rest.
- Flatten the ball into a 5- to 8-inch disc and then wrap in parchment paper and plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. (If making the crust in advance, it can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for up to 3 months.)
- Grease and flour a glass pie dish.
- Once the dough is firm, roll it into a 12-inch circle and transfer it to the pie dish. Fold any overhang under and crimp the edges as you go.
- Cover the crust in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at 2 hours.
For the filling:
2 cups pecan halves
3 large eggs
¾ cup light corn syrup
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. bourbon (optional)
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
⅛ tsp. salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
- Toast the pecans. Spread them out on a lined baking sheet and place in the oven @ 250°F until dry and crisp, checking frequently to make sure that they do not burn.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, then add in the corn syrup, sugars, vanilla extract, bourbon (if using), melted butter, and salt. Continue to whisk until combined.
- Coarsely chop ¾ cup of the toasted pecans and fold them into the mixture.
- Remove the pie crust from the freezer, unwrap it, and scatter the semisweet chocolate evenly over the bottom.
- Gently pour the mixture over the chocolate.
- Place the remaining pecans on top of the mixture and press down until they are incorporated into the mixture.
- Bake the pie for 30 minutes at 325°F. After 30 minutes, cover the edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until set.
- Cool the pie on a wire rack and eat warm or at room temperature.
July 13th, 2010 So, people have asked for this. No surprise. For those who are brave enough to attempt this recipe (I promise you that it’s worth it!), please make sure that you give yourself plenty of time. This is not a recipe that can be rushed.
Ingredients:
3 thawed racks of (baby-) back ribs†
For the roasting glaze:
2 C. Stubbs Original BBQ Sauce
2 C. Bullseye BBQ Sauce
2 C. Catalina dressing
For the grilling glaze:
¼ C. pineapple juice
¼ C. whiskey or brandy‡
1 Tbsp. coarse-ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground red pepper
† I picked mine up at Costco for $23 and they turned out great.
‡ Yes, you can omit this if you prefer not to cook with alcohol.
Instructions:
1. Determine the lowest temperature at which your oven can operate. To fully cook, pork needs to reach 165°F, but to keep the meat tender, we want to first heat it for an extended time at a low temperature rather than merely trying to get the meat to reach that cooking point. For more detail, please read this great article on the subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/dining/30curious.html
2. Preheat the oven to the desired temperature. The lowest my oven can go is 170ºF, which left my ribs a little drier than I would have preferred, but a lot of people may not even notice the difference.
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the ribs on the foil and baste them thoroughly with the roasting glaze. Turn and do the same for the other side.
4. Cover the baking sheet and ribs with foil, making sure to seal the edges. This reduce the amount of moisture that is lost. Place the covered sheet on the middle rack of the oven. If you’re really concerned about moisture retention, you can also put a 9″×13″ pan filled with water on the bottom rack. Just realize that this will add even more time to the tenderizing process.
5. Flip and re-baste the ribs every 2-3 hours or as needed, re-sealing the foil each time.
6. After the ribs have reached the desired tenderness (or your guests are just too hungry to wait any more), remove the ribs from oven and start preheating your grill at low flame.
7. Add the ingredients for the grilling glaze to what remains of the basting glaze.
8. Place the ribs on a grilling pan and place on the grill at low flame (or just line the grill with foil and mist the foil with olive oil.) Coat the ribs with the glaze mixture and close the grill.
9. Rotate, flip, and re-coat the ribs frequently until done, using up the remainder of the glaze mixture. (Ribs are done when they begin to fall apart when you try to flip them.)
10. Grab a roll of paper towels and enjoy!
January 24th, 2010
This is a fairly simple recipe that, more than anything else, just requires the dough and fudge to chill in the refrigerator. It’s a great recipe to make in advance, as the completed logs can be wrapped and stored in the freezer until they are needed, and a single batch makes 7 dozen (small and thin) cookies.
Fudge Ingredients:
1 ½ cups chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange extract
1 ½ cups chopped pecans or walnuts
Fudge Instructions:
1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and butter.
2. Once the chocolate is melted stir in the sweetened condensed milk, nuts, and vanilla and orange extracts. Chill for 30 minutes or until firm to the touch.
3. Form the fudge into logs between 12″-15″ long and ½″-¾″ thick. Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate until firm.
Dough Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 egg
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Dough Instructions:
1. Cut the butter into ½″ cubes and place in bowl of electric mixer.
2. With the paddle attachment, beat in sugar and zest at medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. At low speed, beat in the egg.
4. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. At low speed, mix into mutter mixture just until incorporated. The dough should stick together in clumps but not pull away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Roll the dough into 12″-15″ long × 4″-5″ wide sheets ¼″ in thickness on parchment paper and refrigerate until firm.
Final Instructions:
1. Wrap the chilled dough around the fudge logs so that the edges overlap slightly. Press the edges together to seal as necessary.
2. Re-wrap the logs with parchment paper and chill for another hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. After the logs have chilled, cut into ¼″ slices and set 1″ apart on the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until edges begin to brown slightly. The fudge center will remain soft.
6. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
November 27th, 2009 Many of you have probably heard of the up-and-coming fad of Pie Wednesday, which is exactly what it sounds like – rather than waiting until after we’ve all stuff our pie holes with things other than pie, we bake as many pies as we possibly can the day before Thanksgiving, and immediately commence devouring them like a pack of starving hyenas. Because this results in a large number of pies being baked (and consumed) in a very sort span of time, it’s critical that there be a fair amount of variety among the selection of pies. No one wants to end up with dozen pumpkin and apple pies – unless, perhaps, you work at a bakery or grocery store. I chose to go with a Butterscotch Pear pie and a Raspberry Bavarian Cream pie, the latter inspired by a viewing of Julie & Julia while on a recent date. The pies that the others baked were even more amazing – this will definitely become a standing tradition, just as will the day-after-Thanksgiving airsoft war. I’ll post the recipes shortly.
November 24th, 2009 I’ve had a lot of fruit salads over the short span of my life – some were great, others not so much. Many of them, quite frankly, have contained more high-fructose corn syrup than actual fruit, which is a sad statement on American cuisine. The recipe I like to follow is simple, delicious, and equally elegant – enjoy!
Ingredients:
3–4 cups whipping cream, chilled
¼ cup confectioner’s or baker’s sugar (optional)
3 large apples, chilled
2 pears, chilled
4 almost-ripe bananas
2 pomegranates, de-seeded
Instructions:
- Combine cream and sugar if desired
- In a large bowl, whip the cream until it stiffens
- Wash, peel, core, and slice the apples and pears. Gently fold the pieces into the whipped cream.
- Peel and slice the bananas and gently fold into the mixture.
- Carefully fold the pomegranate seeds into the mixture, chill, and serve.
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