Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Easy as pie........

Roasted Root Vegetable Pie
This was amazing- very filling, sweet and savory at the same time.  Made two- and now one is in the new chest freezer to have another night!  This was served alongside Smoked Turkey, Mashed potatoes, Stuffing

The Recipe is courtesy King Aurthur Flour.  They have some lovely things o their website- I wish their flour was available in our area!

King Authur Flour's version Their tutorial is great- go read it!

My Version (Picture courtesy of Mike VandeBundt)

Savory crust

  • 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, chives)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese, chilled and diced
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons milk, as needed

Filling vegetables

  • 2 1/2 cups pearl onions (subbed diced sweet onion)
  • 1 cup peeled, diced winter squash
  • 2 cups peeled, diced rutebaga
  • 1 cup peeled diced white turnip
  • 1 cup peeled, diced parsnips
  • 1 cup diced leeks, washed and drained
  • 2 cups peeled, diced celery root (Subbed Beets)
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms (Forgot)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Potato filling binder

  • 2 medium baking potatoes
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt


Directions

1) For the crust: Whisk the flour, salt and herbs together in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is the texture of granola. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together but is not soggy.
2) Pat the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
3) To roast the vegetables for the filling. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the diced, chopped vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle them with the oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss all to coat. *
4) Spread the vegetables out on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 45 to 60 minutes total, stirring well every 15 minutes. The veggies are ready when they are fork tender and caramelized on the edges. Set aside to cool.
5) While the vegetables are roasting, bake or boil the potatoes until they are soft and easily pierced with a fork. Peel, drain and mash the potatoes in a large bowl.
6) Mix the warm mashed potatoes, eggs, herbs, and seasoning together, then fold in the roasted, cooled vegetables.
7) To assemble: Roll the pie crust to a 12" to 14" circle. Drape the crust into a greased 9" or 10" pie pan. Trim and flute the crust edges and place the filling in the unbaked crust.
8) At this point the pie can be well wrapped and frozen for up to 4 weeks. If you are baking now, bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes or until golden browned on top and the center is set.
9) If you have frozen the pie, you can bake it directly from the freezer at 350°F for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Be sure to check the edge of the crust and protect it from burning with a pie shield or foil. 

* just a note- If you are adding beets to this recipe, KEEP THEM SEPARATED  from all the rest of the veggies until just before you bake the pie. Roast them separately, Store them separately and  fold them in at the last minute, to avoid purple pie.



Monday, December 19, 2011

Between the oven and the camera.....

this blog has gone on hiatus the last couple of weeks.  Sorry about that.  Most of my cooking for the last two weeks has been Christmas cookies, using a friend's oven, and the we go out to eat. Or eat frozen slop from the microwave.

Hopefully next week the Service guy will be able to look at my 13 year old stove and tell us it would be cheaper to buy a new one than to fix the old one.

Pyrex® Bake, Serve ’N Store™ 12-pc Set

Next Monday (the 26th)my new chest freezer finally arrives, Now I need to start collecting freezer-to-oven storage containers, like these from Pyrex:


As well as breaking out the Food Saver Vacuum Sealer,  I have this model: 



This week's dinners are as follows:
Monday: Crock pot Chicken Thighs
Tuesday: Out  
Wednesday: Honey glazed ham with Mashed potatoes
Thursday: make ham stock from the bone- bean soup.
Friday: Calico baked beans
Saturday: Holiday tenderloin on the grill
Sunday: Merry Christmas!  Baked Cinnamon Tree for breakfast- dinner out with friends.



Tonight:
Monday: Crock pot Chicken Thighs
It doesn't get easier than this- throw 2 frozen thighs per person in the crock poth, sprinkle with Lipton savory herb and garlic seasonings, let cook 6-8 hours on high. i added about a cup of chicken stock half way through as it looked a little dry.  Served with Mashed potatoes, (flakes,  I cheated) made with chicken broth and most of the liquid from the crock pot.  Yumm. a little left over for pies later.





Friday, December 2, 2011

Eh?

The pork loin that has been curing for the last week in the bottom of my fridge is now on the grill with an extremely low fire, and some apple wood chunks.  Canadian bacon, here we come!


Canadian Bacon 

Cure
1 tbsp/lb Morton Tender Quick
1 tsp/lb brown sugar

Pork
1  3-5lb pork loin, trimmed of all fat
corn meal

Combine Tender Quick and brown sugar. completely coat pork.  Place in a large zipper bag in the coldest part of your refrigerator for at least 5 days, flipping daily.

The night before you plan to smoke your meat put your wood chunks in a bowl of water to soak.

On the day you plan to smoke your meat, pull it out of the fridge, rinse, and soak it in cold water for at least 1/2 hour.  This process is called "freshening" and will prevent you from having extremely salty meat.  While the meat is freshening, build a low fire on 1/2 your grill, and place a full pan of water on the other side.  Just before you place your meat on the grill, roll it in corn meal to form a rind, and toss the soaked apple wood chunks on the fire.  Place the meat over the water pan, NOT over the fire.  Allow to cook until internal temp reaches 145.  *NOTE - this is a smoked product NOT a fully cooked product. cook before eating!