Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Well, it must be officially summer. I’ve baked my first strawberry rhubarb pies of the season. This is an old photo, taken with an old camera phone a long time ago. I was just too tired to photograph some new ones last night, but you get the idea. Maybe next time I bake some them, I will take some better photos and replace this one.

Anyway, sometimes I just crave the rhubarb. It reminds me of my Aunt Fran and Grama Dee. They used to have it growing in their backyard in Detroit, and I remember having plenty of rhubarb desserts as a little girl. As I was strolling through the grocery store last night, I spotted these very fresh and perfect stalks of rhubarb, and knew what must be done. Especially when I saw some super sweet strawberries a little ways down the aisle. There’s nothing like a little late-night baking for me to conjure up memories of my childhood. I was just in the mood to spend a little time thinking of my Aunt and Grandma last night. So here’s to you girls! And here’s to summer! Hooray!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Recipe from Julie Foxworthy

INGREDIENTS FOR CRUST (makes two crusts)
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt, any variety. (I prefer sea salt or kosher salt)
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup (16 tablespoons) very cold unsalted butter or shortening, cut into cubes. Just cut the stick once lengthwise, then four or five times across to make about ten chunks. You can also use half butter, half shortening if you like.
Approximately 8 tablespoons ice water. This water must be very cold: put some ice cubes in a bowl or measuring cup of water to keep it cold.

INGREDIENTS FOR PIE
2 – 2 1/2 cups diced fresh rhubarb
2 – 2 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 – 1 1/4 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of strawberries you can add a little less)
1/3 cup flour
cinnamon to taste
1 egg (for egg wash for top of pie crust)

RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS FOR CRUST:
I have used this recipe with much success, so I’m passing along to you. Of course I was lazy last night, and just used the refrigerated pillsbury pie crusts. 🙂

RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING:

• Combine diced rhubarb, sliced strawberries, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl until all the fruit is coated
• Pour mixture into unbaked pie shells
• Cover pies with 2nd layer of dough
• Seal edges around the pie, pinch with thumbs to make pretty pattern along the edges, or use a fork to seal
• Cut in some venting slices on the top of the pie
• Whisk egg in small bowl until slightly frothy, and brush on top of pie.
• Sprinkle top of pie with a little sugar
• Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Depending on your oven, if crusts become too dark, turn heat down to 375º halfway thru baking

Do not refrigerate fruit pies. Also, you have to let them completely cool before covering them with any kind of foil/plastic wrap, or else the top of the pies will become soggy.

Happy Summer, Enjoy!

Add comment January 16th, 2009

Green Bean and Chick Pea Salad

I don’t have a lot of time for cooking today (which is usually my Sunday pastime). So I decided to just whip up a quick, healthy salad for lunch. I love how colorful this salad is, and how fresh everything tastes.

Green Bean and Chick Pea Salad
Recipe from Julie Foxworthy

INGREDIENTS
About 4-5 cups of handtrimmed french green beans (haricot vert), steamed but still slightly crisp, you do NOT want mushy beans! YUCK!
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 can whole plum tomatoes, cut into quarters (minus liquid)
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
1 tsp pepper (more or less to taste)

RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS:

• Steam green beans, until tender, but still maintaining a bit of the snap/crunch
• Once green beans are done cooking, drain and pour them into a bowl of ice water to shock and stop the cooking
• Place green beans into appropriate size serving bowl and add chickpeas, tomatoes, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper
• Toss lightly with tongs, so everything is combined
• Adjust seasonings if necessary
• Serve with a squeeze of lemon and toasted pita points
• Enjoy!

Add comment January 5th, 2009

Chocolate Cake with Double Cream

Since I’ve pretty much been laid up for the last three weeks, I unfortunately didn’t have the energy to do any of my holiday baking that I love to do which has been a huge bummer for me.

But this morning, I finally felt well enough to try my hand at a recipe I spotted on tastespotting. It’s actually a recipe that is adapted by Fanny from a Nigella Lawson recipe.

I baked the cakes per Fanny’s recipe from the link above, with one change. Since we don’t have true double cream (the kind you find in the UK) here in the U.S. I did a little digging and found this recipe from Emily Luchetti at the Washington Post.

I made a batch of this, and substituted it for the double cream called for in the cake recipe. Well, I think it came out delicious! I had a ton of the fake double cream left over, so I decided to get a little creative.

The result is the tiny little cake above!

I cut the loaf cake in half (it’s not very high to begin with, but very dense) mmmmm! Then I cut out little circles with some bisquit cutters. I layered the chocolate cake with the cream, and then topped it with a dusting of cocoa powder, some melted bittersweet chocolate, and a pecan.

The perfect bite of chocolate cake, with a festive Christmas tree backdrop. It really doesn’t get more comforting than that.

Enjoy!

2 comments January 3rd, 2009