This has been a wonderful summer. And now it is the middle of August. The mornings are getting cooler and the sun rises later. In the evening the light has a golden tinge which signals the coming Autumn. An even surer sign of summer's end is the sound of children waiting for the school bus. Their laughter is such a pleasant sound to wake to although I am sure they would rather not be headed back! My tomato plants are sagging under the weight of ripening red orbs and I have eaten tomato sandwiches for lunch and dinner with an undiminished joy. But, as the summer harvest continues, even ...
Pies
ALASKA: MOUNTAINS, SEA, ICE AND PASTRY???
I went to Alaska on a culinary tour with Access Culinary knowing I was going to see some beautiful scenery, eat some great food, meet some great chefs and learn some new things but I was not prepared for Laura Cole and her pastry. Laura is the owner and chef of 229 Parks Restaurant and Tavern, just inside Denali National Park in Alaska. It is considered to be the finest restaurant in the state. You may know her better from Season 15 of Bravo’s series, Top Chef . It was day one of our tour and we left Fairbanks early for the two hour drive to Denali and our cooking class ...
CHICKEN POTPIE WITH FRESH PEAS AND TARRAGON
So many things are going on in my life right now. My garden is starting to produce vegetables and fruits and the herbs are green and lush. I have been working with pastry almost on a weekly basis. And I have been meeting potters all over Asheville, talking about their products and how they can be used in baking. It all comes together in a dish that is not something I usually go for, but it just spoke to me: Chicken Potpie with Fresh Peas and Tarragon. Let’s start with the peas and tarragon. My mother used to put fresh mint in with the peas when she made them which is ...
JUMBLEBERRY PIE
It was a jumbleberry weekend at our house. We were getting together to throw a bridal shower for Abby, my youngest, and all of my daughters were coming home, including my lovely granddaughter. My brothers and sisters would be there as well as Abby’s future in-laws, and that meant it was time for pie! Jumbleberry Pie, a delicious concoction of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries (or as Abby would say, “All the berries!!). Pie is deeply ingrained in my memory: My mother made pies for every occasion and many happy hours were spent in the kitchen helping her peel fruit ...
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE DISCOVERY
My sister is five years older than I am. I have been eating pie with her my whole life. So it absolutely floored me when she told me that Strawberry Rhubarb was her favorite type of pie. My mother never made a strawberry rhubarb pie. I don’t think we ever had rhubarb in any form in my childhood. It wasn’t until I was married and in my late 20’s that I even tasted rhubarb, occasioned by early food memories of my then-husband and the loving desire to make him a dish he liked. So, I never saw my sister eat a strawberry rhubarb pie. I never heard her mention it was one of her ...
COOKING WITH FRIENDS: DONNA’S APPLE CRISP
Yes, we are back to brown food again! I promise this is the last one for a while. At least until next Winter. And besides, for those of you who watch “The Worst Cooks in America” (my not-so-guilty-pleasure), as Anne Burrell says, “Brown food tastes good.” This brown food comes from my daughter’s future Mother-in-law. Joe’s favorite dessert is his mom’s apple crisp. So much so that he asked for it to be served at the rehearsal dinner for their wedding. But the crisp the caterer gave us to taste was subpar so, good mother that she is, Donna has agreed to make it for the ...
ALL ABOUT PIE: RUM RAISIN PECAN PIE
Pe-can, Pe-cahn, Pe-kin, it doesn’t matter how you say it, to most of us it means deliciousness. In general, pecan pie consists of corn syrup, eggs, spices and pecans. But I was looking for something more than a sticky sweet pie with nuts (excellent though that may be). Like my not-pumpkin pie recipe , I wanted to mix things up a little. A reinvention of this popular pie, taking what we love about it and adding something more. First off, the crust. Guess what? You don’t need pastry for this pecan pie! I decided to go with a graham cracker crust. Graham crackers, with their honey ...
ALL ABOUT PIE: PUMPKIN PIE UPGRADE
For Thanksgiving this year you could: Buy a premade pie crust, open a can of pumpkin, open a can of evaporated milk, throw in some eggs and some spices and be happy. Make your own pie crust and proceed as above. Do something completely different and make a pumpkin pie but better! I am not a food snob. If you chose to go with option a, that’s fine with me. But I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin pie so every year I find myself searching for something that will make the pumpkin pie fans happy and that I will like too. This year I think I found it. The secret? It’s not ...
ALL ABOUT PIE: FRUIT PIES (APPLE AND PEAR)
Apple Pie My mother took the phrase “Mom and Apple Pie” to heart. I don’t know if it was because we lived near an apple orchard or if she had a genuine love for apple pie but we ate a lot of apple pie growing up. Fortunately she made a great apple pie. Her apple pie was filled with apples, not flat thin slices but big chunks of apple. Her pastry was a high dome of crust over cinnamon, sugar and apples and nothing else. To me this is how an apple pie should be. (And apparently to my children as well. Once my daughter was looking at table full of pies brought to a Thanksgiving ...
ALL ABOUT PIE: THE PASTRY
Welcome to part one of All About Pie! This is intended to be a fun way to get you to the Thanksgiving table with a lovely homemade pie. I promise I will always show you the finished cooked pie (because it always looks great before you put it in the oven) and I will share my mistakes and lessons learned as well as my successes. On to pie! Pies were an important part of my upbringing. My mother made wonderful pies for every occasion. My father loved her mince pie, a carry-over from the British traditions of her family. My oldest brother loved her lemon meringue pie with its tart lemon ...
