homecooking

Apple Pie

| mrscheryllacy

A classic apple pie is the dessert of choice in my household. The smell of a freshly cooked pie brings me back to Massachusetts and my mother’s kitchen. She has always been an amazing cooker, baker and preserver. I hope I can pass that along to my daughter as well. But back to the apple pie, which is why you are here. There are many ways to make an apple pie. For me, the simpler the better. I do not like to have a bunch of additional ingredients or fancy designs (I save that for other pies), just a nice “A” in the crust put there with the tines of a fork.

You will see that I used store bought crust in the making of this pie. Sacrilege to some, but a life saver to others. For years, I only made pies with homemade crust, but then I got married, had a baby, a full-time job, etc. and just don’t have the time. Often for the holidays, I will still make my own crust, but it’s been super busy this year and I was working today… you get the point. As you will see, a store bought crust doesn’t have to diminish your results. Many times I’ve served my pies to people who would be shocked to learn that the crust wasn’t homemade. One caution though, purchase the premium brand crust as you will see a difference.

So, get your ingredients together, preheat that oven and get peeling. Happy baking!

Ingredients

  • 3-1/2 lbs of apples (1-1/2 lbs should be granny smith)20151125_164109
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 T sugar
  • 2 T flour
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 pie crusts
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place a large rimmed baking sheet on the lowest rack.
  • Peel and core the apples. Slice into 1/4 inch thick pieces and place into a large bowl.

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  • Add 3/4 cup of sugar, the flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon to the bowl and toss to cover all the apple slices.

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  • Place one crust into the bottom of a standard pie plate.
  • Spread the apples into the plate. Do not be afraid to pile these nice and high. Ensure that the different varieties are present in all sections of the pie.
  • Place the other crust on the top and crimp the edges with your fingers.
  • Cut vent holes into the top with a knife or using the tines of a fork create a pattern in the middle of the pie crust.

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  • Brush the crust with the egg whites and sprinkle sugar over the crust.

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  • Protect the crust edges with aluminum foil or a pie crust protector (as I’ve used).
  • Place pie onto the pre-heated baking sheet and turn over temperature down to 425 degrees.
  • Bake for 25 minutes.

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  • Turn the baking sheet 180 degrees. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and back another 30-35 minutes.
  • If using tin foil to protect the crust edges, remove now.
  • Pie is done when the juices are bubbling and the crust is a deep golden brown.

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  • Remove from oven and move pie to a wire rack for cooling.
  • Serve cool or reheat and add ice cream for apple pie a la mode.

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Ideas

  • Apples – most recipes will mention using two types of apples in your pie and while that is better than one, my recommendation is to use three types of apples. One of your apples should be granny smith, but feel free to experiment. In the pie you see here, I used golden delicious and fiji apples as well. Why? Different types of apples will yield a variety of different textures and flavors to your pie.
  • Amount of apples to use – I can’t say this enough, do not be afraid to pile them high.
  • Feel free to add other items to your pie like raisins, craisins, fresh cranberries, strawberries or plums. If you add any of these items, don’t add more than 1 cup full. You want this to be primarily an apple pie.
  • Do not forget to use and pre-heat the baking sheet. This is what helps the bottom crust cook and helps to minimize any sogginess of the lower part of your pie.
  • Pie crust – absolutely, make your own crust if you have the time and the inclination. Homemade, fresh pie crust is generally best.

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Cranberry Relish

| mrscheryllacy

Thanksgiving is just two days away and I’m preparing for a big day in the kitchen. There are only a couple of items that I can make ahead and cranberry relish is one of those items. Cranberries… yummy! I think people either really like them or really do not. Assuming you really like them (or why would you be reading my post about cranberry relish), I have a great recipe for you that yields just the right amount of tart and just the right amount of sweet.

But before we get to the recipe, did you grow up eating canned cranberry jelly or did someone in your family make a cranberry sauce or relish? I was lucky enough to have both as my father preferred the jelly and my mom the relish. To this day, I will happily eat both varieties but my favorite is cranberry relish. It’ll probably be your favorite as well. Happy eating!

Ingredients

  • 1 bag (12 oz.) fresh cranber20151124_183907ries
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground pepper
  • 2-4 clementines/mandarin oranges or 1 small orange
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions

  • In a medium-sized saucepan, over medium heat, cook cranberries, brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir occasionally. Cook time approximately 15 minutes or until cranberries pop and mixture thickens.

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  • While cranberries are cooking, cut up the oranges.

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  • Remove from heat and stir in orange pieces and walnuts.
  • Place into container, cover and chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours.
  • Serve.

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Ideas

  • My version does not have walnuts in it because my husband is allergic. If there are no allergy issues in your family, I highly recommend adding them. Of course, you do not need to stick to walnuts, if you prefer hazelnuts, pecans almonds, pistachios, by all means, add them to your relish.
  • Oranges, clementines, etc. Any of these are fine.
  • Alternative fruits – I used to put pineapple in my cranberry relish and it was amazing, but unfortunately, I developed a pineapple allergy. Stinks to be me, but you can still enjoy. If you do use pineapple, 8 oz should do it. Fresh or canned, but canned is actually better.
  • Spices. My favorite to use is cinnamon but be adventurous. If you like allspice, ginger, nutmeg or cloves, substitute them. Same quantity of 1 tsp.

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Awesome Kitchen Shears

| mrscheryllacy

Kuhn Rikon S/4 Ultimate Kitchen/Multi Use Shears with Gift Boxes

My mom got me these shears 2 years ago and I use them almost every day. If you need a multi-tool kitchen shear/carpet cutter/etc. they cannot be beat. I’m buying some now with this great closeout deal so friends, beware… you may be getting some for Christmas!

And a great shear is a must have in everyone’s kitchen!

http://www.qvc.com/Kuhn-Rikon-S4-Ultimate-KitchenMulti-Use-Shears-with-Gift-Boxes.product.K42900.html?sc=K42900-&cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-14-_-K42900&catentryImage=http://images.qvc.com/is/image/k/00/k42900.001?$uslarge$

Caprese Salad

| mrscheryllacy

OK, so it’s November and in most of the country you no longer have the luxury of fresh vegetables from your garden. I know, but… I woke up this morning to just a small amount of rain and was nostalgic for my Summer garden. While I live in Southern California and still have fresh basil and a few tomatoes in my garden, it’s not enough to make this dish without supplementing from the farmers market or the organic section of the grocery store, I still had to have some caprese salad. Sometimes we have to go out of our way to remind ourselves that Summer will be back and we will be wondering what to do with all of those tomatoes then anyway. And, of course, if you didn’t come across this post outside of fresh vegetable season where you live, then great. Ignore my earlier ramble.  Happy Eating!

Ingredients

  • 3-5 tomatoes20150728_185244
  • 1 small red onion
  • mozzarella cheese
  • 1.2 – 2/3 cup of fresh basil
  • balsamic vinegar
  • olive oil
  • orange juice
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  • Wash tomatoes, remove the greens/core, and slice into 1/4″ thick pieces.
  • Arrange slices in a layer on a large plate.
  • Slice mozzarella cheese into 1/4″ thick pieces and arrange on top of tomatoes.

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  • Cut red onion into small, bite size slices and place around tomatoes.
  • Wash and press dry (with a paper towel) the basil. Separate pieces and arrange around the tomatoes and onions.
  • In a separate bowl, make approximately 1/3 cup of dressing.
    • Fill glass measuring cup to a little below 1/3 cup line with about 1/2 of this height coming from olive oil and half from balsamic vinegar.
    • Add 3 T of orange juice.
    • Add salt and pepper amounts to your preference. About 1/2 tsp each minimum.
    • Mix well.
  • Pour dressing over plate with tomatoes, cheese, onions and basil.
  • Serve now or chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes

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And your final plate should look something like:

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Ideas

  • Orange juice – If you have fresh oranges, this is even tastier when you squeeze them for your juice. You could (and should) add some orange zest (up to 1 T) to the dressing mix.
  • Tomatoes – for an even more beautiful display and extra flavor, use different colored tomatoes like yellow and orange or heirloom tomatoes.
  • Salt and Pepper – if you have them, always grind fresh. I use at least 12 revolutions of ground pepper and salt in my dressing.
  • If you chill the plate before serving, the flavors are more pronounced and the tomatoes have had time to absorb more of the dressing… additional flavor. Yum!

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Roasted Tomato Salsa

| mrscheryllacy

Who doesn’t love a really good salsa? The problem is that it’s not always easy to actually find a really good salsa. Many are pretty good and have good flavor, texture and colors, but many are extremely disappointing to the palate. I had the great good fortune to take a Mexican cooking class while I was on maternity leave. The ladies who taught this class were amazingly talented cooks and their food was phenomenal. However, in typical Cheryl-style, I’ve modified their recipe and have perfected it. This comment isn’t actually mine, but comes from my family, friends and coworkers. Try this recipe and let me know if you too believe that this salsa is close to perfection. Happy eating.

Ingredients20150907_130404

  • 12-14 roma tomatoes
  • 1 bunch of green onions
  • 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1 T salt
  • 2 limes
  • 1 heaping cup of cilantro
  • 1 hot red pepper

Instructions

  • Place a skillet (cast iron is best) on the stove over medium heat.
  • Rinse the tomatoes and pepper; add to the skillet.
  • Turn the tomatoes occasionally, and cook until the tomato’s skin has split on at least 2 sides.
  • For the pepper, lightly brown on all sides.
  • Once it has split, remove from the skillet and place into a large ziplock bag.
  • Once all the tomatoes are placed in the ziplock bag, seal it and let it sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes.

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While tomatoes are cooking, prepare the rest of the salsa items.

  • Slice the green onions and add to a glass container.
  • Rinse, dry and mince the cilantro, add to container.

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  • Add garlic, salt and juice from one lime.
  • Mix well and let sit.

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Once the tomatoes have cooled down a little:

  • Peel the tomatoes and chop into small pieces.

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  • Add to “green” mix. Stir well.
  • Taste.
  • Add additional salt and lime (to taste).
  • Add pepper to taste

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  • Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour.
  • Serve.

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Ideas

  • 2 limes should be sufficient, but don’t be afraid to use a good amount of lime.
  • Tomatoes should be medium sized. Use more if they are smaller, less if they are bigger.
  • Pepper – my family likes their salsa mild, I like mine medium. I make one large batch, chill it. Then I put some in a smaller container with the hot pepper and mix for me. It’s important to let it chill all together (if you will separate as I do) to have optimal flavor throughout the batch.

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Avgolemono (Greek Egg Lemon Chicken Soup)

| mrscheryllacy

Ah, the tang of lemon in a creamy soup…one of those surprisingly invigorating tastes that lingers in your mind until the next time you are blessed to have this dish. There are many versions out there; some good, some not so good and some that you always wish you could recreate. I was introduced to this soup about 14 years ago and it became an instant favorite. I remember going to a couple greek restaurants and ordering it with such excitement for the culinary delights to come. Then when putting my spoon into the bowl and excitedly bringing to my lips, my excitement changed into “BLEH”! These soups lacked lemon, the creaminess of the egg yolks folded in properly, the flavor – of well, anything. Hence my quest to find the perfect avgolemono for my family. And maybe this strays rather far from the original recipes intention, but you won’t be sorry once you start making it at home as well.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup of fresh lemon jui20151025_132328ce
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 medium carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 tsp crushed/diced garlic
  • 1 cup chopped cooked chicken
  • 1/2 cup orzo pasta
  • 4 egg yolks

Instructions

  • In a large saucepan over medium heat, add about 1/2 T of olive oil.
  • Once oil is hot, add the garlic. Cook for about a minute.
  • Then add the onion. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add the chicken. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.

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  • Add the chicken broth, carrots, orzo, pepper and lemon juice.
  • Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes until the orzo and carrots are tender.

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  • Remove 1/2 cup of soup and gradually pour into the egg yolks. Whisk.
  • Stir back into soup.

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  • Heat soup thoroughly but do not let boil so the eggs to do solidify.
  • Serve.

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Ideas

  • Chicken – like so many of my recipes, you can cook the chicken yourself, get it from a can or cut pieces from a rotisserie chicken to make this. Whichever is easiest for you.
  • Carrots – are tricky. If you just cook them normally they’ll probably still be quite crunchy when everything else is ready. Stick your carrot(s) in the microwave for about 1 minute before cutting up.
  • Lemon slices – Feel free to garnish with lemon slices.
  • Serving – this goes great with pita bread, french bread or crackers. Make a meal out of it, or just have a small appetizer sized bowl.

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Blueberry-Orange Quick Bread

| mrscheryllacy

Who doesn’t enjoy a nice dessert or breakfast quick bread? This is a variation of the breads that most of us are familiar with like banana nut, zucchini, date nute, and so many more. My husband is allergic to nuts, so I do not use them with this recipe, but you can. I’ve added that optional information on how much and the way to prep them. Here’s to a quick and easy (and delicious) bread to add to your recipe repertoire. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour20150808_162934
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk
  • 6 T (3/4 stick? unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 T grated orange zest (optional)
  • 1-1/2 cups blueberries
  • 1/2 cup toasted pecan, chopped coarse (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Coat a 9×5 inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.
  • In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

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  • In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, orange juice, egg, and orange zest.
  • Fold the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula.

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  • Mix until just moistened. Do not over mix.
  • Add the blueberries and pecans (if using).

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  • Pour mix into loaf pan.
  • Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached. About 55-60 minutes.

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  • Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour.

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Ideas

  • Flour – I prefer unbleached (why add more to your food than necessary), but use what you have.
  • Buttermilk – If you don’t have any, you can make some in your kitchen with regular milk. It’s best to have buttermilk though. Add either 1 T of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
  • Orange juice – if you have oranges and can squeeze them for the juice, this is best.
  • Pecans – toast them in a frying pan. Heat to medium and toss them often. Cook for about 5 minutes.
  • Cooling on wire rack – I don’t like to get grooves on the bottom of my bread, so I place a paper towel on top of the rack.

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Quick Cream of Asparagus Soup

| mrscheryllacy

Ah, asparagus. This is a vegetable I have loved since I was a child even though I couldn’t pronounce it. For most of my childhood, I called this delicious vegetable “fat grass”. Growing up, we grew green asparagus in our yard. Late Spring and early Summer were ideal times for picking. I use the term “picking” lightly in this case as you do not actually pick asparagus, but use a sharp knife to cut the stem as close to the ground as possible. It was always important to pick the asparagus as soon as it was ready until the days started getting too hot. If you missed a stalk, it would grow quite tall, then flower and seed. Once this started happening, the picking was essentially over until the next year. Of course, once the really warm weather was upon us, we’d let all the remaining stalks go to seed so that we’d have another great year of picking to look forward to.

As I have loved asparagus my whole life, I’ve had a difficult time eating it unless it was steamed and with a little salt on it. This is for no other reason than that I felt it was absolutely perfect that way so why cook it any other way. I no longer live in a place where I can have an asparagus patch in my yard and I have to buy it from the grocery store. I still love to steam my asparagus, but nothing is quite like picking it and having it on your dinner table an hour later. So I began looking for other, but still simple, ways to prepare asparagus. Here is my version of “cream” of asparagus soup. It’s simple, tasty and not really creamy, but you’ll love it anyway. Enjoy!

Ingredients 20150726_195312

  • 1-1/2 cups of chicken broth
  • 1-1/2 lbs of asparagus
  • 1/2 c 2% milk
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions 

  • Rinse the asparagus.
  • Snap off the “hard” ends of the stalk but holding the middle of the stalk with one hand and the thick end with the other. Bend and the stalk will snap just above the “hard” end. Throw out the “hard” ends.
  • Steam the asparagus until it is softened (could be cut with the side of a fork).
  • Cut the asparagus into about 1-1/2 to 2 inch sections.
  • Put 1 cup of the chopped asparagus aside.
  • In a blender, add the chicken broth and the remaining asparagus.
  • Attach lid and begin to blend, starting at a low speed.

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  • Bring up to medium (or high, depending upon your blender) speed and blend until well mixed.
  • Turn off the blender.
  • Pour soup into a stockpot. Using medium heat, bring the soup to a low boil.
  • Pour in the milk, salt and pepper and the reserved asparagus stalks. Stir well.
  • Return to a low boil and add salt and pepper (per your preference).
  • Turn off the heat.

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Instructions – Serving

  • In small soup bowls, scoop several of the reserved asparagus sections from the pot and place into the bowls.
  • Ladle soup over the asparagus.
  • Serve.

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Ideas

  • If you are a traditionalist and prefer to use heavy cream, please do so. This would still be 1/2 cup.
  • Breaking off the hard part of the stalk isn’t necessary (to most people). This is why you will often have asparagus at a restaurant and have hard, chewy sections that you basically don’t or can’t eat. You can leave them on if you want, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
  • In lieu of extra salt at the end, use a little more of the chicken bouillon seasoning powder.
  • Steaming – My mother bought me this great vegetable steamer so I can just pop them into the microwave. It works great and shortens prep time considerably.
  • Serve with a nice warm baguette for more of a meal than an opening course.

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