Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie

For some reason, the thought of making pies seems like so much work.  This particular recipe has a few steps and a bit of waiting and cooling between crust prep and filling layers. This is definitely not a recipe you can throw together at the last minute--it took about 4 hours end-to-end.  Don't let that scare you though because each step is easy-peasy and the result is well worth it.  It has all of the creaminess of coconut cream pie but with the added fabulousness that is chocolate ganache. 

Chocolate ganache belongs in everything.  The End. 

Seriously, sometimes I just can't handle all of the cuteness radiating from this one.  

Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredients

Crust:
1 pkg chocolate wafer cookies, broken into pieces
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Chocolate Ganache:

6 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into small pieces
1/3 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt

Coconut Cream:
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 3/4 cups milk (I used whole milk)
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Chocolate syrup for drizzling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. In a food processor, combine cookies and salt; process until fine crumbs form. 
3. With machine running, slowly pour butter through feed tube and process until mixture resembles wet sand. 
4. Press crumbs in bottom and up side of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake until crust is set, about 20 minutes. Remove and let cool completely
5. Combine ganache ingredients in a small saucepan over med-low heat and whisk until chocolate begins to melt.  Remove from heat and continue whisking until chocolate is fully melted.  Pour into cooled pie shell, spread up the sides of the crust a bit and then refrigerate for 1 hour. 
6. In a medium heavy bottom saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, milk, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt over medium heat. While whisking constantly, cook until bubbles form at the edge and mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.  Stir in coconut. 
7. Pour filling into cooled crust and smooth top. Lay plastic wrap over filling to prevent skin from forming and refrigerate until filling is chilled and completely set, about 2-3 hours.
8. To serve, whip cream until soft peaks form. Top pie with whipped cream and drizzled chocolate syrup.  Chocolate shavings and/or toasted coconut would also be fantastic. 

Happy Memorial Day!

There's nothing like a long four day weekend to relax and take in the smell and sights of the high country.  

And of course...

For the brave men and women that protected our freedom and to the families who lost loved ones...thank you for your ultimate sacrifice. 

Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Pie

As I perused my many, many, many, many cookbooks looking for a new pie to make for pi day on March 14, I came to realize the following two things: 

1) Pie is not a very popular recipe to include in cookbooks 

2) A surprisingly large percentage of cookbooks have an apple pie recipe

Since I was looking for something new and fun, I was a little frustrated by the numerous and almost identical apple pie recipes I found....I mean apple pie is apple pie.  A classic of course, but really so classic that every cookbook is obligated to include the same apple pie recipe?

So then of course that got me thinking about what we could do if we really wanted to shake up the apple pie arena a bit. There were quite a few somewhat crazy combinations running through my head, but each time I asked myself "but what if it doesn't taste like apple pie anymore?"  I guess a classic is a classic in my mind. 

This is a standard apple pie recipe with a bit of salted caramel thrown in.  Since my salt tooth is about a 100 times stronger than my sweet tooth--the caramely saltiness was perfect while still allowing the pie to retain it's essential "apple pieness."  It's a real thing. 

For the salt caramel, I use this recipe for bourbon salt caramels and only let the caramel cook to 190-200 degrees or until it's a slightly thickened consistency.  I learned awhile back  that our caramel temps at altitude are a bit different than those cooking at sea level so the 190-200 is just a guide (and much less important than when you are making caramel candies).  Really you just want the sauce to be thick like a caramel sauce.  When cool, store in a jar and use to drizzle on brownies, ice cream, and of course, salted caramel apple crumb pie. 

The crumb topping is optional--you can opt to to top your pie with another crust.   I think the oatmeal crumbs add a nice bit of texture to the pie.

The result is an ultra juicy pie with creamy bites of caramel...just a teeny tiny twist on a classic.  Now what to make for Pi day?

Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Pie

Ingredients:
1 pie crust
6 c peeled and sliced granny smith apples
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup salted caramel

Crumb topping ingredients:
1/4 c flour

1 c oats
1/2 c brown sugar
2 tsp tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  
2. Roll out pie crust and lay into standard pie dish.  Trim edges and crimp to create a fluted edge
3. Place apple slices in a large bowl.  Add flour and spices and stir to coat apple pieces
4. Addvanilla and lemon juice and mix well
5. Fill pie crust with apple filling
6. Drizzle salted caramel over apple slices
7. To prepare crumb topping, combine flour, sugar, spices and oats in a medium bowl.
8. Pour cooled melted butter over flour and oats mixture. Toss and cut until small to medium sized chunks form. 
9. Sprinkle crumb topping over entire pie.
10. Cover pie loosely with foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes
11.  Reduce heat to 375, uncover pie and continue baking for an additional 35 minutes.
12. Cool pie before slicing

Chicken Pot Pie with Cheese Crust

Taking a small break from the trip pictures for a little food posting, well, because it feels weird to go too long without food.  This particular food post is for one of my all time favs, chicken pot pie. 

I'm generally not a casserole dish loving kind of girl and I almost never make them...except chicken pot pie.  If you hate chicken pot pie because you associate them with those frozen ones in the tin,  know that homemade chicken pot pie is only a distant relative of the frozen kind, a third cousin twice removed really. 

When you make it yourself, the food chicken veggies can remain independent entities rather than morphing into one food. 

 I made individual pot pies but the recipe will make one full size one as well.

Chicken pot pie with regular 'ole crust is good stuff, but I got to thinking about what would happen if it was topped with the homemade Cheese Its I posted last year. Are you picking up what I'm laying down here?

Mostly cheese, a little bit of flour.  This crust is not for the faint-hearted or the lactose intolerant.  Or those who don't like cheese if such people exist. 

Chicken pot pie traditionally has a top and bottom crust.  I wasn't too sure how this "crust" would fare as a bottom crust so I just topped each of the individual pies with the crust.  The recipe is pretty rich so I'd say that just one crust is more than enough. 

The cheese crust recipe was plentiful enough to have leftovers to make actual Cheese Its, or as we made in this house, puppy Kong stuffers.   One of these fit perfectly into a Kong and kept someone busy for a little while.  

Yes, puppies LOVE Cheese Its as well so this recipe keeps everyone in the house happy. 

"I need Cheese-its" face. 

Chicken Pot Pie with Cheese Crust

Pot Pie Ingredients
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast cubed into 1/3 inch pieces

1.5 cups diced potatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk

Cheese Crust Incredients
1 cup flour
4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small squares
8 oz bag grated strong flavored cheese such as extra-sharp cheddar or parmesan
pinch of salt
Ice water

Directions: 

1. Prepare cheese crust by combining all dry crust ingredients in food processor, and pulse until crumbly. 
2. Add ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together. 
3. Form into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. 
4. Lightly grease baking dish, pie pan or individual pie pans.
5. In a large saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, and potatoes. Add water to cover and cook over med for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
6. In the saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter.  
7. Stir in flour, salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.    
8. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer until thick. 
9. Add cooked chicken, carrots and potatoes along with frozen peas.  Stir to coat and spoon into prepared baking dish/es.
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
11. Lightly flour rolling mat or table and roll out cheese crust  to 1mm thickness with a rolling pin.
12. Using a rolling cutter or kitchen shears cut dough into piece large enough to cover pot pie dish. 
13. Bake dish for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and crisp on top. 
14. Remove from oven and serve hot.

Not Quite Pecan Pie

Hope you all had the happiest Thanksgiving and a well deserved 4 day weekend!    It's still surprising to me how much menu planning and prep goes into the day and how quickly the meal comes and goes. 

Puppies may sit for pictures in front of Christmas trees, but they really prefer Thanksgiving.  Yes, puppies LOVE Thanksgiving. 

Like many of you, I planned my ingredients for the Thanksgiving cooking and baking extravaganza.  Somewhere in the process of putting groceries away, ingredients are bound to get lost in this house and this time it was the pecans.  You would think that an ingredient as important as pecans would be sheltered and cared for right around Thanksgiving time...since pecan pie is essential Thanksgiving eats in my mind.  Once a year that overly-sweet pie tastes just perfect after a little turkey and mashed potatoes.

Somehow, I managed to misplace those pecans so thoroughly that I had to come up with a  backup plan that didn't involve the running out to the craziness of grocery stores the night before Thanksgiving. 

A little internet searching and I found a recipe from Christy at Southern Plate for a pecan-free pecan pie  Yep, pecan pie made without pecans.  

Even better, pecan pie made with pretzels instead of pecans.  Genius. 

The idea that pretzels coated with butter and sugar could replace pecans seemed a little daring to me, but have to say I loved, loved, loved this--maybe even as much as pecan pie. I used my own favorite maple pecan pie recipe and then topped it with the pretzel recipe from Christy's blog.  The result was a pie that was almost indistinguishable from real pecan pie--the only giveaway was that some of the larger pretzel pieces gave a crunchy cookie texture to some bites(which I kind of really liked).  No one else had a clue that it didn't have pecans in it until I told them.  Really.   Shocking right?  This is definitely a make again recipe--maybe pecan pie will become a twice a year affair. 

Look what I found after the pie was cooling.  Of course. 

Faux Pecan Pie

adapted from Southern Plate

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Pie filling ingredients:
1 c pure maple syrup
1/3 c packed brown sugar

1/3 c white sugar
3 large eggs
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

"Pecan" topping:
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pie crust.
2. Whisk together pie filling ingredients in large mixing bowl until well combined.
3. Pour into pie shell.
4. For topping, combine all ingredients in medium bowl and stir well to coat pretzels.
5. Sprinkle topping evenly over pie.
6. Bake in 350 oven for 1 hour, covering with foil halfway through baking if needed to prevent over browning.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before serving. (Best made day before serving

Blueberry Pie

Labor Day.  The holiday where we celebrate our roles as workers in the American labor force by well, not laboring.  I love this holiday.  The excitement begins to build as autumn becomes more real.  And of course, just like Memorial Day, Labor Day is another three day weekend where getting away is almost a requirement to me.  

Tomorrow I'm heading to Alaska to visit my friend Mel.  To me, that seems almost adventurous enough.  But really, it's not.  Mel and I are booked for an Alaskan Bear Adventure this holiday weekend.  Yep, yep, we are getting up close and personal with those cuddly bears.  The tour guides fly us on a bush plane right into Katmai into prime bear country and we walk right up to those furry creatures and do a little bro fist knuckle bump.  Some of the photos I've seen from the tour's Facebook page, web page and others who have taken it, show that you get pretty darned close to them....like in the same camera frame close.  Reading about the bear attack in Denali this past weekend where 50 yards was entirely too close and hearing the recommended distance is quarter mile should be enough to deter us, or so you'd think.  But alas, it's not and we are off on a little adventure.  Wish us luck.

Blueberry pie is much sweeter and gentler than bears and a great All-American dessert to celebrate a great All-American end to the summer.  Hope your Labor Days are safe, exciting, fun, and fantastic!

Cheers,

Dances With Bears

Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust 2 pack
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp teaspoon ground cinnamon, if desired
6 cups blueberries
1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp lemon juice
1 egg with 1 tbsp water beaten together to make egg wash
Large granulated sugar crystals for topping

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F. 
2. Unroll one pie crust and place in bottom of pie dish.  Press into crevices if needed. 
3. In large bowl combine blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon and lemon juice and zest.  Mix well. 
4. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate.
5. Cut remaining crust into long strips and weave into lattice top. Fold over at the edges and crimp to seal.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
6. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.
7. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through top crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking.
8. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours.

4th of July Tarts

Have you seen the little tart making tool-a-ma-thing from Pampered Chef?  I've been to many a party and come away with many a product that I rarely use or even remember I own.  The mini tart shell making thing (what is it called?!) is something that I grab often though....it makes mini tarts about as easy as they come.

I started with my fav tart shell recipe from Dorie Greenspan. Food processor makes it easy peasy.

Then all you do to make these shells is just drop a ball into each mini muffin cup, dip the tool into powdered sugar and then press it firmly into each cup.  The dough will push up the sides. You'll want to press the the dough fairly thin as it rises slightly during baking.  I was able to make 30 shells with the one recipe and it took about 15 minutes.  Then you freeze and bake and fill with your favorite filling and fruit.  Lemon and lime curds make some pretty phenomenal fillings and you can't go wrong with any berry (I used the greek yogurt filling from my original tart post above.) Be warned though that mini tarts are a bit dangerous as they are just so easy to pop right in your mouth.  Oh how I do love fresh ripe summer berries...

Happy and safe 4th of July!

Amaretto Pumpkin Pie with Almond Praline

I found a turkey in my freezer a few weeks back--I think I bought it last Christmas to cook up sometime in the spring.  Sadly, even 12 lb turkeys can get lost in my freezer.  As the supply of Stella and Chewy's dog food continues to take over the freezer, I knew the turkey had to come out.  In this house, we have priorities people. 

I actually really enjoy roasting a turkey.  I think it's the long hours it's in the oven while the scent permeates every corner of the house. And of course, if you are going to bake a turkey, you have to make all of the fixings.  Is turkey only for Thanksgiving?

All of this intro is really only to justify my choosing to bake a pumpkin pie the first week of November.  It felt kind of wrong--as if pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving dinner exclusive. But alas, just a flip through this month's Food Network magazine, and I was convinced I absolutely, positive had to make a pumpkin pie. The magazine had a feature highlighting a "classic" Thanksgiving dessert (pecan, pumpkin and apple pies) and then a "twist" on that classic.  Throwing amaretto into a dessert is just good thinking.

The best part of this recipe is that no where is there any mention of "rolling out" the pie crust.  It's a crumb crust--genius. 

And the verdict?  The crust was fabulous.  The praline topping was definitely a fun sugary, crunchy twist. The pie itself was eh. The amaretto was so subtle that I think I only imagined it there.  And unlike a traditional pumpkin pie with all those fabulous spices, this one ended up just tasting like straight up pumpkin. Not bad in any way, I was just thinking a bit of cinnamon and cloves would have been a perfect addition.  I would definitely try this again in a sort of morphed form-with the amaretto cookie crumb crust and almond praline topping but with perhaps a bit of a more classic pumpkin pie filling.

Does this mean that theoretically, Thanksgiving is over for me and I can start on Christmas? Sadly, I am not jesting.

Amaretto Pumpkin Pie with Almond Praline
from Food Network Magazine November 2010
For the Dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup crumbled amaretto cookies (about 10 cookies)
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

For the Filling:
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Praline:
Vegetable oil, for brushing
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Make the dough: Pulse the flour, cookies and salt in a food processor until the cookies are finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Drizzle in 1/4 cup ice water and pulse until the dough begins to come together. Turn out into a 9-inch glass pie plate (not deep dish) and press into the bottom and up the sides about 1/4 inch above the rim. Pierce all over with a fork and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the crust with foil, then fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is golden all over, 10 to 15 more minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

Make the filling: Whisk the pumpkin, cream, sugar, eggs, liqueur, nutmeg, vanilla and salt in a bowl. Pour into the crust and bake until the edges are set but the center still quivers, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

Meanwhile, make the praline: Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and brush with vegetable oil. Stir the sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, swirling the pan but not stirring, until amber, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the almonds and salt. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it as thinly as possible with a rubber spatula. Cool completely.

Coarsely chop or break the praline and sprinkle over the pie right before serving.