Here is a sad story with a happy ending..so stick with me.

I went to the grocery store. They had white peaches…RIPE AROMATIC white peaches on sale. I grabbed 13 of them, one for everyone in the house. I mean, who can resist a perfectly ripe peach?

I rarely buy fresh fruit like that. Honestly we can’t afford it. The peaches cost me 12.95. Yeah..just under a dollar each. But they were ripe. right? Read more

This is going to be long, so I am going to use as few words as possible. It is hard to explain but easy to do. Mainly it takes patience. I think the results are absolutely worth it though. It is an unusual and beautiful technique!

You have to have a good, workable dough. Don’t be afraid to use water and get it moist. I find that most people make a crust that is too dry and then it is crumbly and they get frustrated. Use plenty of butter, cut in well, and add enough water to make a good workable dough. I will add this tutorial to the side bar. Just because I am nice. Read more

You have to love Spring….because it is strawberry season of course! Maybe not where you are, but here? Strawberries have been ripening for a few weeks and last week the rhubarb started coming in to the stores.  Big, juicy stalks of rhubarb.  I have been waiting for this!

Of course, the classic combo is strawberry rhubarb pie.  I like to make it with Read more

When I was growing up we did not have President’s Day.  We had two separate holidays, one for Lincoln and one for Washington, usually giving us two four day school weeks in the middle of February.  You ate cherry pie on Washington’s Birthday, and a rolled chocolate cake made to look like a log on Lincoln’s Birthday.  Life was good.

I love the vintage cookbooks.  This recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens 1959 Holiday Cookbook, which is to my left,  falling apart, even as we speak.  The pictures in it are fantastic.   Not because the food looks so mouthwateringly good, but just because it looks…uh…very…1950s.

This is what it says: We can thank George Washington and his hatchet for the  custom of serving delicious cherry treats in February.

Top on the list is Red Cherry Pie (*as opposed to blue cherry pie? Who wrote this stuff?) Peek -a-boo crust shows off bright red filling: flavor’s a perfect blend of tart and sweet.

And then there is the picture of the table setting.  Seriously,  a fake cherry topiary? Would you put that on your table?   I would use those plated, however.  I have a cake plate from that company in a similar design and I love it. Read more

This months challenge was Lemon Meringue Pie. YUM!

Lemon Meringue is one of Marc’s favorites. This was a fun challenge and because it was a challenge I took the extra time to pipe the meringue. Sorry to say that by the time I realized MOST of my pictures were blurry the pie was LONG gone.

One of the things I normally do differently is to bake the meringue separately from the pie and add it on before cutting and serving. This keeps the meringue crispy and keeps the filling from weeping under the meringue, you know that watery layer that sometimes happens when you cut into the pie? To bake the meringue separately just bake it on parchment in a round that is about 1/2 inch bigger all around that the pie.

I baked this meringue on top of the pie, as the instructions stated, and had no problem with weeping. Check out the other Daring Bakers…there are some incredible pies! Read more

One of the cool things about marriage is how two completely different heritages/cultures can come together and meld into one.  Marc is the son of French Canadians whose family settled in Quebec in 1630 or something like that. There is a long tradition of excellent cooking and special foods in his background.

  Tourtiere is one of these. This was traditionally a holiday dish for them, his mom used the filling as a stuffing for turkey and the pie was created for special occasions.  I used to make it only for Christmas, but as I have gotten older I have become more aware of how certain foods can encourage, comfort, and bless and so it has become something I try to make more often…while still keeping the special occasion aspect to it.  It is simple and inexpensive and delicious, and you can’t ask for more than that.  We had it yesterday to celebrate Father’s Day and let Marc know how loved he is.

Ingredients:

pastry for a 2 crust pie

1 1/2 lbs ground pork

1 large baking potato

1 large onion, minced

1/2 tp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

pinch fresh grated nutmeg

1/2 c water

1 egg (for brushing on top crust

Bake the potato until done (or microwave). Peel and mash.

Place the water, pork, potato, onion, and spices in a pan and simmer until thick about one hour.

Prepare pastry and line a deep dish pie plate with pastry. spoon in filling, spreading evenly. Cover with top crust. Make steam vents.

brush with egg beaten with a little water and bake at 350 for 50 minutes. serve warm. serves 8

Here are the pictures! Thanks Marc!!

I will post pictures of this in a bit. You see, there has apparently been a mutiny in techni-land and my computer is not speaking to my camera. Even my husband, who is the computer fixer in our family, has been unable to mediate between the two. He has graciously and wonderfully volunteered to take my camera to work and load the pictures on his laptop when he has time and then emailing them to me. As soon as that happens pictures will magically appear on today’s recipe. Life is good.
Anyway. In my shopping the other day I found a nice, slightly overripe papaya that had been marked down. I snagged it and was thinking about what I would like to use it in…the different flavors, etc. I came up with this tropical fruit tart which has a summery/vacation in the Bahamas type of flavor and is very easy and relatively quick. The presentation is beautiful, as you will see when the pictures come up, and the pastry was buttery-crumbly perfection and held up well out of the tart pan. The rum glaze added a faint pina colada type flavor which complimented the fruit and filling nicely. I would not add the fruit to this more than about 2 hours ahead and, as the glaze got a bit cloudy as it chills, I would glaze the tart right before serving. If you are making ahead and not glazing brush the bananas with lemon to prevent browning. This should serve 8-10 depending on the generousity of your slices.

Tropical Fruit Tart with Rum Glaze

Tart pastry

1 1/4 c flour
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c butter
1/4 c organic shortening
about 4 tbs ice water
Bowl of ice water

Mix together dry ingredients.
Blend butter and shortening well and chill a few minutes in freezer.
Put fingers in bowl ice water, shake off excess water and cut butter mixture into flour mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs, keeping fingers cold by dipping into the bowl of ice water as needed.
Add the 1/4 c ice water and toss together until dough holds together well.
Turn pastry out on a floured surface and roll to size.
Place in tart or pie pan, and, using a small ball of leftover dough, press gently into pan.
Prick with fork all over.
Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 400 until golden..about 10 minutes
Set tart pastry aside to cool completely. you may remove it completely from the pan when it is cooled or finish in the pan. I removed mine.

Filling
1 lb cream cheese at room temp
1/2 c cream of coconut ( Coco Lopez)
1/3 c sugar
1 c toasted coconut
1/4 c finely chopped crystallized ginger

Beat cream cheese and cream of coconut together until fluffy.
Add sugar, beating until smooth and not grainy.
Add coconut and ginger and mix well.
Spoon into cooled crust and smooth.

May be refridgerated at this point and finished later.

Topping
I/2 ripe papaya
1 banana
1 ripe strawberry, hulled
3 mint leaves

Slice papaya thinly in a horizontal (across the narrow) direction to make petals.
Lay the papaya petals around the edge of the tart, overlapping slightly.
Slice the banana about 1/2 inch thick on a sligh diagonal.
Lay the banana slices around with tips overlapping the papaya row, just slightly.
There should be a small space in the middle of the tart at this point.
Take the strawberry and carefully with a sharp knife cut oval *petals* without cutting through the base..continue as long as you can, 4 around the outside and then some in the middle.
Gently peel back the petals to open up the strawberry flower.
Place in the center of the tart.

Glaze

1/3 c cream of coconut
1 tbs butter
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp rum extract..
cook first three ingredients, stirring, until sugar is no longer grainy and butter is melted.
Add extract.
Cool slightly and brush over fruit.
Garnish Tart with mint leaves before serving.

UPDATED! HERE is the picture..and we had a great time taking care of the *example pie*!

I looked through my files..thought I had a picture of this and didn’t…aww…gee, I suppose that means that I am going to have to actually force myself to make it so I can get a picture in the next few days..I know, it’s tough, but someone has to do it, right?

  This is an absolutely delightful blend of flavors. A layer of buttery rich praline coats the flakey crust and then a thick layer of coconut cream, all snugly covered with a thick whipped cream.

 Coconut praline pie is a perfect finish to a typically southern meal, or will be a nice ending to anything spicy/tropical/exotic.  be sure and use the canned, evaporated milk. You will rarely hear me say that, I much prefer cream, half and half or raw goat milk, however the texture of the custard is dependant on the canned milk. Go figure!

1 baked 9″ pie crust

Praline layer:

1/2 c dark brown sugar

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter

  melt together, stirring constantly, until sugar loses it’s graininess. Quickly pour into the bottom of the prepared crust, spreading to cover.  Sprinkle with 1 1/2 c chopped pecans. Set aside.

Coconut Layer:

1c sugar

3 tbs flour

2 egg yolks

2  14 oz cans evaporated milk

pinch salt

 Whisk together until well mixed and add:

1 c coconut

Microwave for 9 minutes or so, stirring about every minute, until mixture coats a spoon. You can also use a double boiler.

  Let cool for a bit and stir in 2 tsp mexican vanilla (if it is available to you or regular vanilla if not) and 2 TBS butter. Pour over cooled praline layer and chill with a layer of greased plastic wrap over the surface.

  Just before serving whip a pint of cream with sugar to your taste and place a thick layer over top of the pie.  Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Serves 8

  I like to plate this on a dessert plate drizzled with some of the praline syrup.  and then dusted with confectioner’s sugar. It just seems to jazz it up a little and make things looks special.

  Picture coming soon..I promise!