Grandma’s Chocolate Pie

Grandma’s Chocolate Pie
by Rebbekkah Fisher
adapted from The Homesick Texas Cookbook by Lisa Fain

Filling ingredients:
4 tablespoons of cocoa or 1 1/2 squares of baking chocolate
3/4 cups of sugar
5 tablespoons of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 egg yolks, beaten slightly
1 tablespoon of butter

Meringue ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of sugar

Method:
Mix your sugar, flour, salt, cocoa, eggs and milk (all except vanilla and butter) with a whisk.

Cook while stirring on medium until it bubbles and thickens, about five to 10 minutes. If it becomes lumpy, just beat out the lumps. (It will not get any thicker in the oven so cook until it's as thick as you want it.)

Remove from heat and stir in your vanilla and butter. Meanwhile, poke holes in your pie crust with a fork and bake it at 350 until it’s brown, about 20 minutes.

Beat your egg whites with salt and when they start to get fluffy add the sugar or use with a stand mixer. Pour the chocolate custard into the baked pie shell and top with the beaten egg whites. Bake it until it the peaks on the meringue are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Grandma says: “It’s real good hot, wonderful cold and you can even eat it frozen—then it’s like a popsicle!”

Note: All that's happening in the oven is the browning of the meringue. So be sure and keep cooking the custard in the pan until it's your desired consistency.

Grandma’s Pie Crust

by Rebbekkah Fisher
adapted from The Homesick Texas Cookbook by Lisa Fain 

For the crust (makes enough for two):
2 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil (she used to use corn, but I believe she uses canola now)
1/4 cup milk

Method:
For the crust:

Mix flour and salt. Mix oil and milk. Pour oil and milk into flour and salt and stir until combined into a dough. Can add more milk if dry. Separate into two balls (save one ball for another pie). Roll crust out between two sheets of wax paper, line a buttered pie pan with crust.

Carne Guisada Shepherd's Pie

Carne Guisada Shepherd's Pie
by Sandra Simmons

When you have a blackberry cobbler and a tres leches cake in the fridge, you really don't need to make a sweet pie, now do you? That said, Carrie's Pie Challenge could not have come at a better time for me! Willie'd just made carne guisada the night before and there were leftovers. The carne guisada was incredible and I always love to be able to serve leftovers in a different way. And the Cowgirl Chef's Green Chile-Goat Cheese Smashed Potatoes immediately popped into my head when I started thinking about shepherd's pie! We loved it! Hope you will too!

leftover Carne Guisada
Green Chile-Goat Cheese Smashed Potatoes
salt and pepper
cilantro, chopped (for garnish, optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375. You can use absolutely any baking dish, including a cast iron skillet, for this. I used some Mason jars but you can use any size baking dish that works for the amount of leftovers you have. One recipe (below) of the smashed potatoes will work well with 4 cups of Carne Guisada.

Add your leftover Carne Guisada to your baking dish. Top with the smashed potatoes. Sprinkle with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and bake for 20 minutes or until the Carne Guisada is bubbling and the potatoes have browned. Top with chopped cilantro and enjoy.

Carne Guisada
adapted from Gringo's Mexican Kitchen's recipe in Houston Classic Mexican Recipes

3 1/2 pounds Top Sirloin
3 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper, fine
1 tablespoon cumin, ground
2 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 cups yellow onions, 1/2-inch dice
1 1/2 cups green bell peppers, 1/2-inch dice
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomatoes, crushed

Clean and trim most of the visible fat from the meat. Cut the meat in 1-inch cubes. Season the meat with the salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder.

Put the meat into a large Dutch oven or stock pot and cover. No oil is necessary, the meat gives off a lot of liquid. That said, if the liquid cooks off, add some water to the pot as needed. Cook over medium to medium high heat (depending on your stove top) for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low to medium and continue cooking, covered, for 40 minutes. Check occasionally to see if you need to add water. Do not let the pot cook dry.

Add the onions and peppers and stir. Continue to cook at the same temperature for an additional 20 minutes.

Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Continue to simmer, covered, for another 20 minutes. At this point the meat should be tender. If it's not, reduce the heat to low and check every 10-15 minutes until tender. You can make this dish specifically for the Shepherd's Pie recipe but I would recommend you eat it in a tortilla with guacamole and sour cream the first night and save the leftovers for the second night for your Shepherd's Pie! Delicious!

Green Chile-Goat Cheese Smashed Potatoes
adapted from Cowgirl Chef's recipe 

1 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, cut in 3-inch chunks
3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons half and half

1/2 (4.5 ounces) can chopped green chiles
4 ounces goat cheese

salt and pepper

Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with 4 inches of water. Cover, and turn on high heat. When it boils, turn it to low and set the timer for 10 minutes. When it goes off, see if the potatoes are ready by puncturing them with a fork – the potatoes should be soft, yet not mushy. If they’re ready, take them off the heat and drain them. If not, give them a few more minutes and keep testing until they’re done.

After you’ve drained the water off of the potatoes, add the 3 tablespoons of butter and stir it in. Add the half and half and stir. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher but not too much, leave some chunks in there. Add the green chiles and the goat cheese and just give it a couple of stirs. It's preferable to have some chunks of goat cheese in the potatoes here and there. Season to taste. Set aside until you are ready to assemble the Shepherd's Pie.


P.S. Both of the cookbooks cited above are fantastic! You NEED them!

Shoofly Pie

Shoofly Pie

by Carrie Mason 

I am PA Dutch by heritage so I grew up with Shoofly. I did not grow up loving it though. There are two main Shoofly Pie camps, there is the Wet Bottom Camp, and the Dry Bottom Camp. The problem is that both camps, in my very humble opinion, are dead wrong. You need a compromise, a balance, you need a wettish bottom for it be just right. 

Huh?!? 

Let me explain. A wet bottom Shoofly pie is sweet and gooey and sticky on the bottom, and it has a thin crumb top that is sort of dry. A dry bottom Shoofly pie is cooked longer and the whole inside becomes more cake-like. Where the pie changed for me was when I took one bite of a perfectly perfect half wet bottom pie....the bottom was sort of gooey, not overly sweet and topped with a spicy cake-like layer, and then a nice crumb layer that is similar to coffee cake. SO GOOD! Now, it is still an acquired taste, so follow the old adage -- if it's too sweet, just serve it with a dollop of whipped cream, or ice cream....oh, and it is best served slightly warm.

Mix for crumbs: (reserving ½ cup for topping)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon solid shortening
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Filling:
1 cup molasses (good and thick)
¾ cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all crumb ingredients.

Combine soda with boiling water, then add molasses. Add the crumb mixture (this will be lumpy). Pour into unbaked pie crust and cover with reserved crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until firm and slightly golden on top.

Meet Carrie Mason

Good morning! 37 Cooks is all about cooking challenges. Our members are...cooks! But they are also amazing people! Our hope is that through the food challenges you will get to know each of us better. Carrie Mason is the sponsor of the challenge currently underway, Carrie's Pie Challenge. Hey, Carrie! Nice to meet you!

Hi!  I'm Carrie Mason, a home cook from the Philadelphia 'burbs.  I have 3 1/2 half men in my life: 

• my husband AKA Bob or Buhbah,
• my grandfather AKA the old man, 
• my cat AKA Neepneep, AKA Mr Feecock, AKA fatty boombotz, 
• and the baby boy in my belly, AKA JR. 

I love these guys more than pie.

Some facts about me:

•  I have a seriously hard time ordering from a menu when I go out to eat, because I change my mind too many times.
•  I am close enough to Jersey to have fist pumped with the best of  'em and not be ashamed of that.
• Three years ago I hung up my dancing shoes, gave up the life of a bartender and became addicted to gardening, cooking, and entertaining. 
• I can be a tad sarcastic.
• There is nothing I like to do more than to have friends and family over for a nice meal and maybe a few more cocktails than necessary.  
• I am 9 months pregnant, which means I have lived the last three months of my life in what is basically a bathing suit cover-up, since that is the only thing that fits me.
• I am the designated picture hanger in my house, but that is only because my husband has never looked behind any of the pictures to see the 5 others holes I have pounded into the walls.
• I have never learned how to drive a car, because they scare the crap out of me. I am working on that.

My cooking style is pretty loosey goosey, which means, if it sounds good, I will throw it into the pot. I read cookbooks for fun, and don't really use them for recipes as much as I do for inspiration when I am out of ideas on what I want to eat. This poses a problem for me when it comes to baking. Most of my baking projects end in failure, I have never made a good biscuit, or ANYTHING that contains yeast. That being said, for some reason, I make a fantastic pie crust, so I love PIE!  If you come over to spend some time on our deck, you will most likely be treated to a couple of hefty cocktails and a slice or two of pie. 

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Tart

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Tart
by Woo Brower

I love zucchini.  Silky sautéed, sweet and smoky grilled, grated into muffins or breads, simmered or gratineed, I love zucchini.  This summer I’ve been in love with zucchini ribbons.  Thinly sliced and salted, the raw ribbons become pliant and tender.  I’ve been adding them to salads.  I’ve been wrapping them around cheese fillings.  One of my friends uses zucchini ribbons in place of pasta.  Actually she’s the one who got me hooked on raw zucchini ribbons (yeah, you Mandy). 

Today I decided to make a squash tart.  Well, I should say I decided to make a tart because I found a foil wrapped packet in the freezer which turned out to be a lonely sheet of puff pastry.  AND because my friends in 37 Cooks have been engaged in a pie challenge.  I love pies.  A Dutch apple pie is my absolute favorite pie, but it’s not apple season yet. And I’d rather use something seasonal.  And knock out a meal while I’m at it.  So a savory tart came to mind.  Plus, I like the word “tart.”  It’s a noun, an adjective, and a verb!  Hussy, trollop, ho.  Sour, sharp, acidic, attitude.  Get gussied up, flirt about and around.  Wait, sorry, what was I saying?  Oh yeah, the tart:

1 small onion
splash of balsamic vinegar (about a TBS or two)
2 cloves of garlic finely minced, divided
1 medium zucchini with a nice uniform shape
     sliced into ribbons on a mandoline
1 medium yellow squash with a uniform shape
     sliced into ribbons on a mandoline
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1/3 cup of ricotta cheese
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 TBS finely grated parmesan cheese
1 egg lightly beaten
1 sheet of puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm)
olive oil for sauté
salt and pepper to taste

Slice onion and sauté with a little olive oil and garlic over medium heat.  Allow onion to caramelize, season with salt and pepper.  Deglaze with a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Continue to cook until vinegar is reduced and onions are evenly glazed.  Remove onions from heat and set aside to cool.

On a clean, lint free kitchen towel or large, clean cutting board, lay out the ribbons of squash in a single layer.  Lightly sprinkle with kosher salt.  Set aside for 30 minutes to allow salt to draw moisture from the squash.  After 30 minutes blot up the moisture with paper towels or clean cloth.  I needed 5 ribbons of zucchini and 6 ribbons of yellow squash to make the lattice top.  The number of ribbons you’ll need will depend on the squash size and shape. 

With the remaining squash and zucchini, finely dice or slice into matchsticks, sauté with olive oil and garlic, season with a pinch of fresh thyme and a bit of ground pepper.  Remember it’s already been salted so taste before adding additional salt.  Set aside to cool.

Beat 1 egg and set aside about 1 TBS of egg.  To the remaining egg, stir in ricotta and goat cheese until well combined.  Add a pinch or two of fresh thyme, season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

To the set aside 1 TBS of egg mix in 1 tsp of water.  This is the glue and the glaze for the tart shell.

Spread the goat cheese mixture into the cooled tart shell.  I had a tad of filling left.  I was really tempted to make it all fit, but refrained since I had no idea what would happen.  Add a layer of caramelized onions and sautéed squash.  (Again, I had a bit of both left over so I planned on throwing the leftover filling into an omelet or frittata.)  Weave the squash lattice top.  Trim ends to fit.  The squash ribbons will shrink slightly during the baking so do not trim too perfectly.  I did the weaving ahead of time with the best shaped ribbons, set aside during the rest of the prep, and transferred the top with a large spatula.

Bake entire tart at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Shield crust edges with foil strips for the first 15 minutes then remove to allow edges to get golden brown.  Remove to wire rack to cool. 

Serve with a few drops of port reduction, red wine syrup, or balsamic reduction. 
Pair with a green salad for an elegant and delicious lunch or light dinner.
Serves 2

Salmon and Sorrel Pie

Yesterday,  I mentioned that our first member of Friends of 37 Cooks, Maurita Plouff, would have another featured recipe today. Here it is!  Check out Maurita's blog called Get the Good Stuff. 

Have a great weekend, 37 Cooks 

Salmon and Sorrel Pie 

by Maurita Plouff

Don't be intimidated by this! It's going to look like a long recipe, because I'm going to describe everything in detail. But there are only three simple components: the salmon filling, a sorrel sauce, and the pastry top. I made the pie dough for the crust, but you can certainly use refrigerated pre-made crust, or even frozen puff pastry.

If you start with leftover salmon and use pre-made pastry, this pie will go together in less than 5 minutes. It's not all that difficult making everything from scratch. Try it and see!

Part 1: prep the pastry

I used a simple 3-2-1 pâte brisée recipe, which I'll give here. Remember you can use refrigerated or frozen pastry for simplicity's sake. 

• 6 oz all-purpose flour  (3 parts by weight)
• generous pinch salt
• 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, very cold, cut in 1/2" pieces  (2 parts)
• 1 to 2 Tbsp ice water  (1 part)

Mix the flour and salt - I use a food processor, so stick them in and pulse it once or twice. Add the chunks of cold butter, pulse again 6-8 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal, with some pieces of butter up to pea-sized. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until the mixture just begins to clump together.

Remove mixture, mound it on a clean surface. Gently shape the mixture into a disk, wrap it loosely, and refrigerate it until you're ready to roll it out.

Part 2: the salmon filling

If you have any leftover salmon, this is a perfect place to use it. I didn't.

•  about 1 1/4 lb salmon fillet
• a bunch of fresh dill
• 1/2 c white wine
• 1 large Spanish onion, sliced thinly
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter

First, cook the salmon. Preheat the oven to 425˚ or so. Put the branches of fresh dill on the bottom of a baking dish, and place the salmon, skin side down, on top. Pour white wine around the salmon. Cover the dish with foil, and bake about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover, and set aside. The fish will be almost cooked through.

While the salmon is cooking, melt the butter in a skillet. Add the sliced onion, stir it to coat it, and cook over medium-low heat, until golden and beginning to caramelize.

Take a pottery or Pyrex pie dish, and grease it lightly. Take the cooked salmon, cut it into rough chunks, and add it to the cooked onions in the skillet. Mix gently, and transfer the salmon/onion mixture to the pie dish.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400˚ while you make up the sauce.

Part 3: the sorrel sauce

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• one bunch sorrel leaves (I like sorrel a lot, so I used a large bunch)
• about 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup heavy cream

Stack the sorrel leaves, roll them up side-to-side like a cigar, then slice crosswise into thin pieces (a chiffonade). In the same skillet you used for the onions, without bothering to wipe it out, melt the butter. Add the sorrel leaves, and let them cook a bit. Stir them often; they'll melt into a sludgy green mass. When the leaves are wilted, add the wine. I used the liquid that was left in the fish-baking dish, and I'd suggest you do that, too. Cook it down a bit, and when the liquid is reduced by half, add heavy cream. Cook that down a bit, too, and when you're pleased with the texture, add it to the fish and onions in the pie dish. Combine gently, to distribute the sauce evenly.

Part 4 at last: Finishing the pie! 

• 1 egg, beaten lightly with 1 tsp water

Now it's time to put the crust on top and bake that pie. If you made your own crust, roll it out on a lightly floured board. Transfer the crust - no matter whether it's homemade or packaged - to the top of the filling in the pie dish, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold any excess under all around, then flute the edges. Score the top of the pie with at least 2-inch long cuts, so that the steam from the cooking pie filling can escape. Make the cuts pretty any way you like them, I used chevrons in this pie.

If you have any leftover bits of pastry, you can shape them decoratively and stick them on top of the pie in some pleasing pattern.

Brush the top of the pie with the egg to make a glossy crust.

Put the pie on a baking sheet, in case of any spillover. Bake the pie at 400˚ for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.