1-2-3 Pear Tart

1-2-3 PEAR TART, from Pamela Hendrix

2 pie crusts (thawed if frozen)

3 T. butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

5 firm pears, peeled, cored & quartered

2 T. flour

1 egg

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; add sugar & cinnamon; stir and add pears. Cover and cook for 15-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until pears are tender. Add flour and mix well; pour into one of the piecrusts. Beat an egg in a bowl and brush edge of pastry; put second crust on top; brush edge again with more egg; press edges with your thumb to seal; use more egg if needed to patch any broken spots; brush top also with some egg. Bake at 375 degrees (190 Celsius) for 25-30 minutes. Let stand 45 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Perfect Piecrust

Martha Stewart's recipe for 2 crusts:

2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup ice water

Lay out three-quarters of the butter pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.  Refrigerate rest of butter.

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor.  Add refrigerated butter and pulse to combine 10 times.  Add frozen butter and pulse until mixture resembles course meal with some blueberry-size clumps.

With food processor off, add ice water all at once and immediately pulse until water is just incorporated- about 10 times.  Don't pulse so long that it forms a ball.  Squeeze a small amount of dough to see if it holds together.

Lay out two pieces of saran wrap.  Empty half the dough onto each piece.  Bring the edges of the dough together and press into disks.

Roll out disks, still wrapped in plastic, to 1/2 inch thick rounds 8 inches in diameter.  Refrigerate at least 45 minutes (and up to 2 days).  Can be frozen for 1 month.

Apple-Cranberry-Walnut pie

Ocean Spray recipe

4 cups sliced apples
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
two pie crusts (refrigerated store-bought or homemade)

Preheat oven to 325.  Line a deep pie plate with one pie crust.  Mix remaining ingredients, pour into pastry-lined plate, and cover with top crust.  Seal edges and cut several slits in top crust.  Bake 50 minutes or until golden brown.

Apple-pear-frangipane galette

I had some leftover frangipane from making a galette des rois last weekend, so I combined a few recipes and came up with this.

1 apple and 1 pear, sliced

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 refrigerated (or homemade) pie crust

frangipane (about 1/3 cup)

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

raw sugar

whipped cream, for serving

Combine fruit and sugar in bowl, allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe. Roll pie crust out onto a piece of parchment paper or silicone liner for baking pan. Spread frangipane in the center, leaving several inch border around crust. Pour fruit on top of frangipane. Fold pie crust over the outside fruit. Mix together egg and water and brush on pie crust. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until pie crust has browned. Remove from oven and allow to sit at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream.

Fresh Cherry Pie

Fresh Cherry Pie

recipe from Pamela

serves 8

for European size tart dish, multiply ingredients by 1.5

sugar: 3/4 cups for sweet cherries; 1 1/2 cups for sour cherries

1/3 cup flour

pinch salt

5 cups fresh pitted cherries (or 1 kg frozen)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 pie crusts

5 lady finger tea cookies, crumbled

Combine sugar, flour, salt. Add cherries and almond extract. Put pastry in a pie pan and sprinkle with crumbled cookies. Spoon cherry mixture on top. Top with second pie crust and cut 4 slits in top. sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce to 375 and cook for another 30 minutes, until bubbly in center. Cool on rack for an hour before serving

Graham Cracker Crust

Here is a very easy recipe for a graham cracker crust... I made it for a pudding pie for Doug today.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and press into a pie dish.

Bake at 375 for 7 minutes. Let cool before filling. Or, if the recipe calls for an unbaked crust, chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Apple Pie

I had some more canned pumpkin, so I made this pie. It was surprisingly tasty! Doug says it is a keeper and a must-make for next fall.

Pumpkin Apple Pie

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

2 Granny Smith or Fuji apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)

1 egg
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup fresh or canned pumpkin purée
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup evaporated milk

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell (in pie pan)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Put brown sugar, cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, water and butter into a medium pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Add apples and cook, tossing to coat in sugar mixture, 3 to 4 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg, granulated sugar, pumpkin, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, cloves, ginger and milk until well combined.

Pour apple mixture into pie shell then spoon pumpkin mixture evenly over the top. Bake for 10 minutes then reduce temperature to 375°F and bake until filling is just set in the middle, about 40 minutes more. Set aside on a wire rack to let cool completely then cut into slices.

Rustic Pear Tart

Just made this recipe... very quick, easy, and good... I made a couple of adjustments:

Rustic Pear Tart

-1 refrigerated pie crust (I used pate brise)

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-3 teaspoons brown sugar

-1 teaspoon flour

-5 pears, cored and sliced

-1 teaspoon honey

-1/4 teaspoon boiling water

Preheat oven to 425. Take pie crust out of the fridge and let it sit for a few minutes. Meanwhile, mix cinnamon, brown sugar, and flour in a mixing bowl. Dice pears and add to brown sugar mixture, coating well. Unroll pie crust onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Trim parchment paper around crust. Pile pears into center of crust, leaving 2 inch border. Fold pie crust over outside of pears. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then decrease temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 35 minutes. Remove tart from oven and transfer to a plate to cool. Whisk together honey and boiling water and brush onto pears and crust. Cut into 6 wedges and serve hot or room temperature.

Double Crust Apple Pie

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago on Whole Foods' blog, and I finally tried it today. Yum! And SO easy! I think I'll make it again for the church potluck Sunday since it is different than a pie you would typically have in France.

Double Crust Apple Pie

-2 pie crusts

-2 tablespoons flour

-3/4 cup brown sugar

-2 teaspoons cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-6 apples (I used 3 gala and 3 granny smith... or you could throw in a few pears if you wanted), cored and sliced

-1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

-1 tablespoon milk

-1 teaspoon raw sugar

Lay one pie crust in a pie dish. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add sliced apples and stir until apples are coated with sugar mixture. Pour into pie crust and dot with butter. Lay second crust on top and cut slits for air to escape. Press edges of the two crusts together. Brush milk on the top crust and sprinkle raw sugar on top. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Plum Apple Pie

I am making this pie right now with plums and apples from this morning's market. Here's the recipe...

Plum Apple Pie

-2 pie crusts (one for top, one for bottom)

-1 pound plums, stones removed, sliced

-3 large apples, chopped

-1 tablespoon lemon juice

-3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more to dust top of pie

-3 tablespoons all purpose flour

-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 teaspoon water

-1 teaspoon milk

-1 egg yolk

Roll out pie crust into pie dish. Trim edges and brush border with water.

Mix sliced plums and chopped apples with the lemon juice in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour the sugar mixture over the fruit mixture and then mix well until coated evenly. Pour fruit into pie crust. Place second pie crust on top. Trim edges and press the border to the first pie crust. In a small bowl, mix the milk and egg yolk. Brush the egg wash over the top pie crust. Cut slits in top pie crust to allow air to escape. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top of pie crust. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 for an additional 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is soft and bubbly.

Mmmm!

Plum Galette

I have made this twice in the last week! The recipe is Martha Stewart... you can see the original "fancy" recipe here.

I didn't use all her ingredients or do all of her steps... here is my adapted recipe:

Plum Galette

-1 prepared pie crust (if you are in a store where you have a choice of pie crusts, look for one that is specifically for tarts or fruits... pate sucrée or pate sablée)

-1 tablespoon sugar

-1 tablespoon all purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-5 cups of pitted plums, sliced about 1/4" thick

-1 large egg

-1 teaspoon water

Unroll pie crust into pie dish and prick with fork. Place plum slices in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour flour mixture over plum slices and mix well until evenly coated. Place coated plums into the pie dish and fold the excess pie crust over the sides of the plums. Mix together the egg and water in a small bowl and brush the egg wash on the folded pie crust. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until pie crust is golden brown and plum mixture is bubbling.

Galette de Banane

Galette de Banane

1 refrigerated pie crust

3-4 bananas

¼ cup packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon gound cinnamon

1 Tablespoon water

4 Tablespoons butter and extra for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 450º
2. Place pie crust on baking sheet, brush both sides lightly with melted butter, prick with fork
3. In small saucepan, stir brown sugar, cinnamon, and water over medium heat. Stir in butter until melted.
4. Slice bananas diagonally ¼” thick and arrange in overlapping circles on the crust.
5. Brush the brown sugar mixture evenly over the galette. Bake 10 minutes or until shiny.
6. Cut warm galette into wedges, serve with ice cream.

This is a traditional Mardi Gras recipe- yum!

Chocolate Pie

Chocolate Pie

1 pie crust

½ cup milk

½ cup whipping cream

7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, grated or broken up

2 eggs

2 Tablespoon sugar

Bake piecrust according to package directions. Bring milk and cream to a slight boil; add chocolate. Beat eggs with sugar; add to chocolate mixture; pour into baked piecrust. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Icebox Pie

I adjusted this recipe from a chocolate peanut-butter icebox cake from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine...

Chocolate Peanut-butter icebox pie

1 chocolate graham cracker crust (store bought or homemade)

2 cups heavy cream, well chilled

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

chocolate wafter cookies or chocolate chips for garnish

In a large bowl, whip 1 1/2 cups cream with sugar until soft peaks form. In a small bowl, whisk peanut butter and remaining cream until blended. Fold peanut butter mixture into whipped cream. Pour mixture into graham cracker shell and garnish with wafer cookies or chocolate chips. Place pie in freezer until set. Store in freezer or refrigerator (if you store it in the freezer, set it out 10 minutes before serving).

Paula Deen's Chocolate Mousse Pie

Normally I'm not such a big fan of Paula Deen... mostly due to the heart attack factor of most of her recipes... see the Ladies' Brunch Burger video for more info on this!

Doug saw her chocolate mousse pie on the Food Network and decided we needed to make it. It was very easy, but we divided the filling between 2 pies instead of piling it all in one... we probably could have even made 3 pies with it.

You can get the recipe here.

(just a note... we also omitted the chocolate liqueur)