In response to my recent announcement that I did not like cilantro and was sick of getting mountains of it every week from my CSA, a friend suggested I try to find some Peruvian stew recipes dealing with it and see how I felt afterwards. So I found this one and decided to give it a try. My version:
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
Hey, remember last year when I promised you a second pie recipe? Neither do I.
This recipe is from my friend Meg, who in turn got it from her mother. It's a once-a-summer sort of thing for me, and it is absolutely delightful; the version here has a few minor tweaks built in but of course I encourage you to experiment if that's your thing. Regardless, this pie is supremely tasty.
Glaze:
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
dash of salt
2x 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Blend strawberries until smooth. If you go a little over a cup it's not a bad thing. Put strawberry goo in medium saucepan, add 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup water. (Personally I put it and a dash more in the blender, swished it around, and got every drop of strawberry I could in to the pan, but I'm a bit obsessive.) Put the cornstarch in a small dish, prepare 1/4 cup water, set both aside. Also prepare two tablespoons lemon juice; set this aside as well.
Stirring constantly, bring contents of saucepan to a boil over medium heat. Cook (still stirring) three minutes. Remove from heat. Combine water and cornstarch, mix well, add to saucepan. Put back on heat, cook two minutes (still stirring). It will thicken as you cook and it will be pretty obvious when it's done. Stir in lemon juice, set aside to cool.
Filling:
3 cups strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 8oz package of cream cheese
2 tablespoons cream/milk
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
9 inch baked pie shell (Graham cracker crumb-style)
glaze (see above)
Put the pie shell in the fridge. Wash the berries, cut off the stem (I recommend a nice flat surface), set them on a towel to dry. Combine cream cheese, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, cream/milk, and almond extract. Beat until light and fluffy. Spread evenly into cooled pie shell. Arrange the strawberries, cut side down, over cream cheese mixture. Try to cram as many on there as possible. Pour the cooled glaze over the berries; you're shooting for an even coating here. Refrigerate until chilled, 3+ hours, and enjoy.
Notes:
At first I was iffy on the orange zest. The recipe calls for grated orange peel, which is what I thought zest was, but I don't have a grater and I keep forgetting to buy one, so I checked online and found this guide that told me to just chop it super fine. I did, and then thought it was a terrible idea, but I put it in anyway and I was very pleased with the result. Also, I squeeze the juice out of the same orange, which is probably your best bet for good juice. If you have a juicer, use it, because I made a mess, but no matter. You can, according to this recipe, just leave the orange out entirely, but I like what it adds to the pie. Plus, you have most of a nice tasty orange to eat after you make the pie! Win-win.
A note also on the strawberries: Using mostly-whole berries on the pie makes it a little awkward to eat. It tends to fall apart. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, if you want a more unified pie, you can slice them and pile them up; I did that the first time I made it. This lets you fit a lot more strawberries on the pie if you so desire, but it leads to a somewhat damper experience. Basically it comes to the quality of the berries. Last May they were so-so, so I liked each forkful to have berry and cheese and crust. The ones I used today are glorious, so they're excellent once they've fallen off the pie and they have just a hint of the glaze on them.
Lastly, as to crust: I used a shortbread crust that was sitting on the store shelf right next to the graham cracker crusts, and I found it to be the far superior choice for this pie.
This recipe is from my friend Meg, who in turn got it from her mother. It's a once-a-summer sort of thing for me, and it is absolutely delightful; the version here has a few minor tweaks built in but of course I encourage you to experiment if that's your thing. Regardless, this pie is supremely tasty.
Glaze:
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
dash of salt
2x 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Blend strawberries until smooth. If you go a little over a cup it's not a bad thing. Put strawberry goo in medium saucepan, add 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup water. (Personally I put it and a dash more in the blender, swished it around, and got every drop of strawberry I could in to the pan, but I'm a bit obsessive.) Put the cornstarch in a small dish, prepare 1/4 cup water, set both aside. Also prepare two tablespoons lemon juice; set this aside as well.
Stirring constantly, bring contents of saucepan to a boil over medium heat. Cook (still stirring) three minutes. Remove from heat. Combine water and cornstarch, mix well, add to saucepan. Put back on heat, cook two minutes (still stirring). It will thicken as you cook and it will be pretty obvious when it's done. Stir in lemon juice, set aside to cool.
Filling:
3 cups strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 8oz package of cream cheese
2 tablespoons cream/milk
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
9 inch baked pie shell (Graham cracker crumb-style)
glaze (see above)
Put the pie shell in the fridge. Wash the berries, cut off the stem (I recommend a nice flat surface), set them on a towel to dry. Combine cream cheese, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, cream/milk, and almond extract. Beat until light and fluffy. Spread evenly into cooled pie shell. Arrange the strawberries, cut side down, over cream cheese mixture. Try to cram as many on there as possible. Pour the cooled glaze over the berries; you're shooting for an even coating here. Refrigerate until chilled, 3+ hours, and enjoy.
Notes:
At first I was iffy on the orange zest. The recipe calls for grated orange peel, which is what I thought zest was, but I don't have a grater and I keep forgetting to buy one, so I checked online and found this guide that told me to just chop it super fine. I did, and then thought it was a terrible idea, but I put it in anyway and I was very pleased with the result. Also, I squeeze the juice out of the same orange, which is probably your best bet for good juice. If you have a juicer, use it, because I made a mess, but no matter. You can, according to this recipe, just leave the orange out entirely, but I like what it adds to the pie. Plus, you have most of a nice tasty orange to eat after you make the pie! Win-win.
A note also on the strawberries: Using mostly-whole berries on the pie makes it a little awkward to eat. It tends to fall apart. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, if you want a more unified pie, you can slice them and pile them up; I did that the first time I made it. This lets you fit a lot more strawberries on the pie if you so desire, but it leads to a somewhat damper experience. Basically it comes to the quality of the berries. Last May they were so-so, so I liked each forkful to have berry and cheese and crust. The ones I used today are glorious, so they're excellent once they've fallen off the pie and they have just a hint of the glaze on them.
Lastly, as to crust: I used a shortbread crust that was sitting on the store shelf right next to the graham cracker crusts, and I found it to be the far superior choice for this pie.
Monday, August 2, 2010
zucchini bread
Thanks to a running gag that a friend of mine has been working for a while, I've been really craving some zucchini bread. (I'd explain, but you really had to be there. The point is it came up in conversation a lot.) I've started getting some zucchini from my CSA, so I decided that now was the time.
Sadly, once I actually set out to make the stuff, it became a comedy of under-preparation. The good news is that the final product is quite tasty, so I'm calling it a win.
Sadly, once I actually set out to make the stuff, it became a comedy of under-preparation. The good news is that the final product is quite tasty, so I'm calling it a win.
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