Mixed Berry Pie

Tis' the season - strawberry season that is...

After spending the weekend at her country house, my friend, Maureen, brought me back the most beautiful selection of freshly picked strawberries. After much deliberation, I finally decided on their fate - a mixed berry pie. I knew raspberries and blueberries would compliment their taste perfectly, and I have been seriously craving pie for quite some time. Below is the recipe for the crust and the filling. I have made this crust many times and it is officially my go-to pie crust recipe - it is adapted from Martha's very own, and I HIGHLY recommend using it for all your favorite pies.

Pie Crust 

Makes two 8- to 10-inch crusts

1 cup (about 2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pie plate

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Ice water

Directions:

1. Cut each stick of butter into eight pieces, and refrigerate until needed. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and mix to combine.

2. Add the chilled butter using a pastry blender.  The mixture should resemble coarse meal with small pieces of butter (the size of small peas) remaining visible.  I don't have a pastry blender so I used a food processor, and it worked out just fine.  

3. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of ice water over the flour-butter mixture, and blend. Repeat with an additional 2 tablespoons water. At this point, you may have to add more water: When a handful of dough squeezed together just holds its shape, you’ve added enough; if the dough crumbles, continue incorporating water, 1 tablespoon at a time, checking the consistency after each additional tablespoon.

4. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide into two equal pieces, and place on two separate sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two disks. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

5. Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Place the chilled dough in the center of the work surface, and dust the dough as well as the rolling pin with flour. Position the rolling pin on the center of the disk, and begin rolling the dough away from you. Give the disk a quarter turn, and roll again. Continue turning and rolling until you have an even 1/8-inch thickness. Turning the dough as you roll will prevent it from sticking to the work surface. A dry pastry brush is handy to remove any excess flour during and after the rolling process.

6. Lightly butter the pie plate. To minimize stretching when moving the dough, roll it around the pin, lift up, and unroll over the buttered pie plate. Using your fingers, gently pat the dough into place. Trim any excess dough with a paring knife or kitchen shears, leaving a 1-inch overhang; then fold dough under to reinforce the edge.

Pie Filling:

1 cup fresh strawberries, halved (1 box)
 2 cups raspberries (2 boxes)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (about 1 box)
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 egg beaten (for wash)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar and cornstarch.

2. Add strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries; gently toss until berries are well coated with mixture.

3. Lightly grease pie plate. Carefully lay 1 pie crust pastry in the plate. I roll it onto my rolling pin and then unroll it into the pan so it doesn't stretch out.

4. Stir berry mixture, and transfer to the crust lined pie plate.

5. Top with second crust (I did a lattice top) and seal and crimp the edge.  I used this link for help:
How to make a lattice top

6. Brush top of pie with egg wash.  To make sure your pie edges don't get too brown when baking, cover the edge of the pie with foil.

7. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Milk Bar's Full Vegetarian Breakfast Home-styled

This morning Andy and I prepared for our scheduled "meeting" where we were to discuss some of the details of our upcoming trip.  He brought his travel books, his computer and his moleskin to our dining room table while I brought my own unique contribution, a home cooked, restaurant inspired breakfast. It was a-maz-ing!  In case you didn't know, we are leaving N.Y. for the summer to travel around South East Asia, and we couldn't be more excited!   However, when I know I am going to be away for a long time, aside from spending time with my friends and family, there are always little things I want to experience before I go.   Hence....a homemade breakfast!

I decided early this morning that I was going to make my own version of Milk Bar's full vegetarian breakfast.  My friend, Emily, turned me onto it over one of our school vacations, and I haven't ordered anything else off their menu since.  In case you're thinking, "Milk Bar? What's that?"  Let me please share... Milk Bar is an awesome little brunch spot located on Vanderbilt, right in Prospect Heights.  It has a relaxed atmosphere and a very vegetarian friendly menu.  All their eggs are organic and cage free and the milk they use is bottled on a local farm.  Did I mention how delicious their freshly baked bread is?  Oh yes.

Milk Bar's official website

Anyway, my version wasn't exactly like theirs, but it was close and equally delicious!  My own variation of their vegetarian breakfast consisted of 2 slices of bread cut from a baguette, toasted and topped with melted gruyere cheese and 2 poached eggs.  On the side, was sliced avocado and deliciously cooked home-fries.  I also fried up a side of bacon for the carnivore of the house (not me).

Before I share anymore, I need to give a huge shout out...
This breakfast (and pretty much all of my breakfasts) could not be possible without the guidance of smitten kitchen.  I use her home fries recipe religiously, and she also has an EXCELLENT post that shows you step-by-step how to poach an egg.

So, the breakfast I made this morning was really simple to make.  It went a little something like this:

1.  I started the home fries and bacon since they take the longest to cook.  Whenever I am making a breakfast like this, I heat my oven to 200 degrees and that way, if my timing is off, I can use it as a warming plate so nothing gets cold.

2.  While the home fries and bacon cooked, I grated gruyere cheese,  and sliced the baguette and avocado.

3.  Next, I toasted all the slices of the baguette, topped them with gruyere cheese and placed them in the heated oven so they would melt.

4.  Meanwhile....it is time to poach the eggs.  Very scary, but have faith.  It will work!  Like I said earlier, I followed smitten kitchen's directions to a 't', and I found the vinegar and whirlpool method to be especially successful.  If you don't know what I mean,  click here!

5.  Finally, it was time to plate our food and dig in!  The beauty of poached eggs is that you can throw (not really throw, more like delicately place) them back in the hot water for a very short time just to reheat them.  That way, everyone's poached eggs are done at the same time.

Not the most photogenic plate, but trust me...it was good!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I brought these to Sunday family dinner at my mom's, and they were a nice little addition to the table .  If you ever need a quick, but delicious something to bring somewhere, these are a very worthy choice. They take about 40 minutes start to finish, and everyone I know loves chocolate covered strawberries!



Ingredients:

• 2 pints strawberries
• 1 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or any of your favorite chocolate)
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup (this makes the chocolate smooth and shiny)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• parchment paper or wax paper

Directions:

1.  Wash strawberries and pat them dry.

2.  In a double broiler, melt the chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup together. Stir occasionally until the mixture is completely smooth. 

*I don't own a double broiler, so I just make my own by using two sauce pans (1 medium and 1 small).  You cannot melt the chocolate directly over the flame because it will burn.

Go to this site to see how:  How to make a double broiler 

3.  Line a baking sheet with wax paper and when the chocolate mixture is totally smooth, remove the chocolate from the heat.

4.  Dip the strawberries into the chocolate and set them on the wax paper.  

*You can use your fingers to dip the strawberries, or you can put them on a skewer and dip them.  The skewer method is good if you want them to dry in the air and not on the baking sheet, which can affect the way the chocolate shell looks.

5.  After all the strawberries are covered, refrigerate them for 20 minutes until the chocolate is set.

Shrimp Po' Boy Sandwiches

After having po' boys at Stan's Place (on Atlantic Ave) a while back, I was determined to make them for us at home.  After trying this recipe out a few years ago, it is now one of my go-to work night meals.  It is easy, cheap and perfect for any number of people.  It is definitely one of Andy's favorites and he is always asking when we are going to have them again.

I love this recipe because the remoulade sauce makes more than enough for just 2 servings, so I store it in the fridge and have it on hand for next time.  Same with the flour mixture.  I usually only use half and keep the remainder in a tupperware with the spices.  That way, next time I'm making po' boys, half the work is already done.  Also keep in mind, these are spicy little suckers, so if you like less spice, you can always cut it down.

Servings:  2 (with extra sauce and flour mixture)

Ingredients:

• Remoulade sauce
• 4 ounces mayonnaise (1/2 cup)
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• 1 tablespoon pickled relish
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• Shrimp & Sandwich
• 10-12 medium shrimp (5-6 per sandwich) - clean and deveined
• oil (for frying, enough to fry shrimp in)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt
• pepper
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 rolls (French bread or Ciabatta) - lightly toasted
• lettuce
• tomato - sliced

Directions:

1.  Combine all ingredients for the remoulade sauce in a large bowl and whisk until combined.  Refrigerate.

2.  Prepare 3 bowls. Add salt, pepper, and all other spices to the flour. Divide the flour between the first two bowls. Combine and beat the egg and milk in the third bowl. Arrange the bowls so you have flour, egg wash, and flour.

3.  Moving left to right, coat each shrimp first in flour (first bowl), then in egg wash (2nd bowl), and last in flour again (3rd bowl).  You want them to be coated evenly.

4.  Heat the oil until a drop of flour placed in the pan sizzles.

5.  Carefully place each shrimp into the oil.  Cook until browned on both sides (a few minutes).

6.  Prepare bread, lettuce and tomatoes.  I like to lightly toast my rolls so they do not get soggy with sauce.  Generously spread remoulade sauce on roll.  Add shrimp, top with lettuce and tomato, and enjoy!