Topsy-Turvy Honey Apple Pie

Topsy-Turvy Honey Apple Pie

                             

Crust:

2 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 ounces or ¾ stick butter (cold)

2/3 cup vegetable shortening (cold)

½ cup ice cold water

In food processor, put butter, shortening, salt and flour.

Pulse until crumbly.

While food processor is on add ice water.

Watch until the dough forms into a ball.

Take out and put on plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Filling:

Peel, core and slice up 8 apples into a large bowl.

Add to the apples:

3 tablespoons flour

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Stir this until well coated and add:

1/3 cup honey, again stir until coated.

Glaze:

1 tablespoon butter, melted

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

½ cup pecans

Assembling the pie:

Preheat the oven 425˚.

Take the butter and brush around on the bottom of a 10” pie plate.

Sprinkle evenly the brown sugar, then pecans on the bottom of the pie pan.

Next drizzle the honey on.

Set aside.

Roll out half of the pie crust to fit the pie pan, about 12” circle. Keep the other half in the refrigerator.

Add the apple mixture.

Roll out the other half of the pie crust and put on top of the pie. Put little holes on top to vent the steam.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, turn down oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes more, until crust is a golden brown. Don’t over bake, if edges are turning too brown, put on small pieces of foil around the edges.

Take out of oven and make sure you have a plate big enough to turn the pie onto. With pot holders turn the pie over onto the plate, as it is hot and steam can burn your hands.

*Was really pleased with this recipe. I took it from 3 different recipes and came up with this one. Will be making this on Thanksgiving. It taste like apple and pecan pie mixed. Yummy!!!! Hope you like it!

The only thing I will try different is to cut back on the butter and shortening, I think I will use just a 1/2 cup of each in the crust and see if it with still bake up as nice.  I was disappointed at one thing, I put a pretty letter 'A' on top and forgot that I needed to turn this pie over, lol!

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Pie

Came across a good looking peanut butter marshmallow at King Arthur's web site and couldn't resist trying to make one. Check out their pie at this web site: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/peanut-butter-marshmallow-pie-recipe
So here is my attempt to make a peanut butter pie! 
Note to self: next time I will sprinkle not spread melted chocolate on top of pie, as a decoration. It was hard to cut into and I think it would of looked prettier.
 
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon Wilton meringue powder
1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cup marshmallow creme
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips melted
1 graham cracker pie shell

To prepare the filling: Place the cream and yogurt in a mixing bowl and blend with beaters until the cream leaves a trail in the cream.
Blend together in a small bowl: the meringue powder, powdered sugar, corn starch and sugar.
Add this slowly to the cream yogurt mixture.
Mix in the marshmallow creme and peanut butter. Beat until well combined, thick and fluffy.
To assemble: Take the melted chocolate and spread on bottom of pie shell.
Then add the cream mixture in, spreading to fill into the pie shell.
Refrigerate add least 2 hours. Cut and serve. Can put a spoonful of whip cream on top of each serving.
Serves 8.

Mom's Tacos

Mom’s Tacos

Long time ago my mother made the best tacos!!! Many of my high school friends and family who came to our house had tacos at different times. There were many contests to see who could eat the most! Quite a few of my brothers' friends along with my brothers could eat 12 each at a sitting no problem. My mother would roll, fry and serve them up! We also made salsa then, no store bought. Simple salsa: chopped some green onions, with canned tomatoes and a small can of Ortega@ diced chilies. On the way going home with our bag of groceries, I loved the smell of the green onions, even though I didn't like them back then. We also bought fresh corn tortillas from LaTolteca in Azusa.

My mom would have two pans going. One for the meat and one to fry up the tacos. She would put some meat on a tortilla, roll it up,put a toothpick in it and then fry it. After the frying, they would go on a plate, dozens of them and we would take out the toothpick, put salsa and lettuce and tomato in one side and eat them up. Yum!!!

I no longer fry the tortillas, mostly just heat one up add the lettuce, tomato, cheese and salsa. We never use to put cheese in our tacos, I don't know why, we just didn't.

Here is the taco recipe:

Chopped up 2-3 celery stalks

½ to 1 whole onion, diced and chopped, (depending on how much you like or if the onion is big or small)

To these add and put in a cast iron skillet or fry pan:

1 pound ground hamburger

After the hamburger is browned,

then put in the following spices:

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper, I like freshly ground

¼ teaspoon cumin

¼ to ½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon season salt, like Lawry’s ® brand or store brand

1/3package (about 1 tablespoon) of La Tiara’s ® Taco Seasoning mix (this is the mix I have found that reminds me of the spices my mother used in her taco meat, but you can use want you want). Also if you want spicier you can add more. *My mom never used a mix, it was only the salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder, until Lawry's came out with the season salt.

Let all of this simmer about 5 minutes, I do add water to the meat to soak up the juices of the meat. I add 1 tablespoon at a time up to 4 tablespoons, to line the bottom of the skillet.. After the water has evaporated then the meat is ready.

Make the tacos how you wish. With corn tortillas or floured, fried or just heat up a tortilla and fill. Yum!

32 BBD - Italian Breads

Bread Baking Day was created by Zorra of 1x umrühren bitte, and I love it. It helps me to create something new most months. I haven't written in awhile and saw the 32 Bread Baking Day, so I will try and be back in!!!
My bread for this month is a cinnamon roll recipe from Rustico Cooking (http://www.rusticocooking.com/bread.htm). I wanted something from Italy and so as I google searched Italian bread recipes I came across their web page. So many different types of bread and when I saw the 'Panini Dolci alla Cannella e Mandorla', I said to myself this is it, the one I want to try!




As always, I have to make do with what I had on hand and so I changed a few of the ingredients but stayed close to the instructions of the recipe. I wanted to try and get a cinnamon roll that is lighter than what I am used to baking. Go to this web page for their delicious recipe: http://www.rusticocooking.com/desserts.htm#paninicannella
This is not a quick cinnamon roll recipe, it takes about 4 hours from start to finish.


Here is what I did:
Dough


1 small russet potato
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the bowl and baking dish
1/2 cup home-made plain yogurt
Filling
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons unbleached flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon milk
Icing
1/2 cup powered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

Make the dough
1. Cook the potato until tender and mashed it.
2. Combine the flours, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the plastic blade. Add the butter and pulse a few times to break it down into small pieces.
3. Add the mashed potato and pulse again to combine.
4. With the motor running, pour in the yogurt until a smooth dough forms. You may need to add a little more flour if the dough if wet or a little more yogurt if the dough is dry. The dough should be moist, slightly tacky, but not sticky. Process a total of 45 seconds after it forms a ball.
5. Shape the dough into a tight, round ball. Butter a bowl and place the dough in it. Turn the dough once to coat with butter and cover with plastic wrap.
6. Let it double in size, about 2 hours at room temperature.

Shape the dough
1. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter, if you must, as it is suggested no flour needed. (but my did stick a little)
2. Pat or roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches by 8 inches.

Make the filling
1. Combine the cinnamon, flour and sugar in a bowl. Set aside.

Brush the dough with the milk and sprinkle evenly the cinnamon sugar mixture onto this.
Roll the dough lengthwise into a tight, even roll; as you roll it, use your hands to gently stretch it out. It should measure about 20 inches in length once rolled.

Using a sharp knife, cut into 9 even rounds and put into a buttered 9-inch round glass baking dish.
Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, (I was able to use the same plastic wrap all this time) and let rise until almost doubled. About 30-50 minutes.





Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Uncover the baking dish and bake the rolls for about 25 minutes, until a nice light golden brown.

Make the icing while the rolls are in the oven.

Icing
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and wait for the rolls to come out of the oven. If the icing is not spreadable, add more milk, a little at a time.
Brush the icing onto the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. Some of the icing will be absorbed by the rolls, and some of it will fall off and coat the bottom of the baking dish, soaking through the rolls from the bottom. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Makes 9 rolls.


I did enjoy these rolls, they are lighter than the typical cinnamon rolls I make and next time will have on hand some buttermilk and almond extract. The only thing is I wish they wouldn't take so long to make.
Thank you Zorra and thank you to the people at Rustico Cooking!!!