Category: Favorite Recipes

Posted in Favorite Recipes

Double Crust Apple or Peach Pie

Posted on by Tony

Who doesn’t like Apple pie with vanilla ice cream? Even better, Peach Cobbler (pie)? I learned to make both of these at The Culinary Institute of Charleston. This is a great recipe. I couldn’t believe how well it turned out the very first time we made it in class. I know you will be pleased as well.

Ingredients:

Pie dough 2 twelve oz discs, chilled
5 oz granulated sugar
0.5 oz Tapioca starch
1 oz cornstarch
2 grams salt
1 gram ground nutmeg
1 gram ground cinnamon
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz butter, melted
24 oz Apples or peaches, peeled, cored, sliced 1/8 thick

Egg wash (1 egg, tbs water, slightly beaten) as needed.

Directions:

1) Roll both discs of dough into 1/8” thick circles. Line the bottom of a pie pan with one crust. Chill both crusts.

2) Combine the sugar, tapioca starch, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon juice, and melted butter and toss with the sliced fruit.

3) Fill the chilled, unbaked pie shell with the fruit mixture.

4) Egg wash the edge of pie shell. Top with a second rolled piece of pie dough(or lattice).

5) Crimp the edge to seal. Vent if not making a lattice top.

6) Egg wash the top crust or lattice.

7) Bake pie on a paper lined sheet pan at 375°F (non-convection) until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden approximately 45 minutes.

8) Serve warm or cool to room temperature.

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Posted in Favorite Recipes

3 – 2 – 1 Pie Crust

Posted on by Tony

Here is a simple but tasty pie crust (pastry). It is worth a little effort to get a better crust than you might find at a grocery store in frozen foods.

Ingredients:

8 oz flour
4 grams salt
5.5 oz shortening
2.75 oz water

Directions:

1. Combine flour and salt.
2. Mix flour mixture and shortening together by hand until it forms pea size pieces.
3. Add water and mix just until dough comes together (should still be able to see pieces of fat in the dough)
4. Scrape out onto a floured table; knead slightly.
5. Portion out dough mix into 8 oz pieces (shape into a hockey puck)
6. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill.

 

Posted in Favorite Recipes

Classic Lemon Meringue Pie

Posted on by Tony

This is one of my favorite desserts. And if I have never said so, pies of all types are my favorite desserts. I don’t eat pie very often because they are also some of the most sugary desserts created. Lemon Meringue Pie was one of my Mom’s specialties. She usually made them at Christmas time. This isn’t her recipe but it is a very good one. It comes from BettyCrocker.com

Ingredients:

Pastry
1 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

Filling
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water SAVE
3 tablespoons butter or margarine SAVE
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 drops yellow food color, if desired
Meringue
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Direction:

  1. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
  2. Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry flakier. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
  3. Heat oven to 475°F. With floured rolling pin, roll pastry into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of pie plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute as desired. Prick bottom and side of pastry thoroughly with fork. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown; cool on cooling rack.
  4. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F. In small bowl, beat egg yolks with fork. In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.
  5. Immediately stir at least half of hot mixture into egg yolks; stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 2 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in butter, lemon peel, lemon juice and food color. Pour into pie crust.
  6. In medium bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Beat in vanilla. Spoon onto hot pie filling. Spread over filling, carefully sealing meringue to edge of crust to prevent shrinking or weeping.
  7. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until meringue is light brown. Cool away from draft 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate cooled pie until serving. Store in refrigerator.

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Marinated Skirt Steak

Posted on by Tony

Marinated Skirt Steak is one of my favorites. I mainly use it for fajitas. This marinade recipe comes from Epicurious.com. I used it a few days ago and it is quite tasty. Here it is:

Ingredients

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup corn oil or other neutral oil such as grapeseed or canola
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 pounds skirt steak, cleaned of all exterior fat and connective tissue

Directions

1) Put all ingredients except the steak in a blender and blend until smooth.

2)Pour the marinade over the skirt steak in a nonreactive pan.

3)Break Point

4)Marinate, refrigerated, for 3 to 4 hours before grilling, but no more than 10 hours.

5)When ready to cook the steaks, prepare your grill for grilling.

6)Remove the skirt steak from the marinade and clean away any excess marinade with the back of a knife.

7)Grill the steak over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side to serve it rare to medium-rare.

8)When cooked, slice the steak thinly against the grain, starting at one corner and cutting on the bias. Serve either hot or at room temperature.

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Braised Red Cabbage

Posted on by Tony

By Chef John

This was one of the best things I learned to make in culinary school. Not this exact recipe, however, it was very close. I trust Chef John. I haven’t come across one of his recipes that I haven’t like yet. And BRAISED RED CABBAGE IS THE BOMB! I think you will enjoy this as much as I did.

Ingredients for 4-6 portions:

2 tbsp butter
1 small Red cabbage, sliced thin, about a 1 1/4 pounds
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup red wine
2 tbsp red wine vinegar, or to taste
2 tbsp white sugar
pinch of caraway seeds
salt and pepper to taste
*Note: there are SO many ways to tweak this recipe! Raisins, currants, shallots, onions, leeks, apples, and pears are just a few things that rock in this recipe.
Posted in Favorite Recipes

Risotta a la Milanese

Posted on by Tony

I learned this particular recipe at school. We served it with Osso Bucco, an Italian braised beef shank dish. It was quite delicious. It was a special interest culinary class focused on Italian cuisine.

Ingredients:

1 Small Onion, finely chopped
4 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter
1 Tbsp of Olive oil
1 cup of Arborio Rise or Risotto Rice
½ cup of White Wine
4 Cups of Chicken Stock might need a bit more
½ cup of Freshly Grated Parmiggiano Reggiano
½ tsp of Saffron Threads
Salt and Pepper To Taste

Directions:

1) In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the chicken stock and saffron and bring to a simmer, turn the heat down to low and let it sit there as you make the risotto.

2) In a large deep saucepan, large enough to hold the risotto and all the broth, add the oil and onions, season with salt and pepper and cook them over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until the onions start to soften.

3) Add the white wine and cook it for 1 minute. Once the wine has reduced, add a ladle full of the chicken stock, making sure that most of that liquid has cooked out before adding another ladle full. Continue adding chicken stock one ladle full at a time until the rice is mostly cooked though. This can take up to 20 minutes.

4) Once the rice is just about cooked all the way, add one more ladle full of chicken stock along with the butter and Parmigiano. Stir everything together and adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve it right away!

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Bacon Cheddar Corn Muffins

Posted on by Tony

This is one of the first quick breads we learned at The Culinary Institute of Charleston. If you like cornbread, you will like these muffins. You might not even be able to wait for the rest of dinner to be done.

Ingredients:

Note: all measurements are by weight. You need a food scale.

6 oz cornmeal
6 oz ap flour
1.5 oz granulated sugar
0.2 oz baking powder
2 grams baking soda
3 grams salt

3 eggs (approx 5 oz)
12 oz buttermilk
4 oz canola oil

3 oz corn kernels
3 oz cheddar cheese
3 oz cooked bacon, chopped
1/2 oz fresh chives

Directions:

1. Accurately measure all ingredients (mise en place)
2. Sift the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until completely smooth. Add the buttermilk, canola oil until combined.
4. Add the liquid ingredient to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
5. Gently fold in the corn kernels, cheddar, bacon and (optional) chives. Do not over mix.
6. Portion into lined muffin pans with a scoop. filling them 3/4 of the way full.
7. Bake at 375º until the center of the muffins bounces back when lightly pressed, approximately 20-25 minutes.

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Buffalo Wing Sauce

Posted on by Tony

Did you ever wonder what was in that sauce they put on buffalo wings? Me too. I learned a pretty good recipe at school. I was told that it is as close to the real recipe as you can get. It certainly tasted like the real thing to me.

You can prepare your wings the way you want. I like to deep fry them and then toss them in the sauce. And this sauce is super easy.

Ingredients:

4 fl oz hot sauce
4 fl oz butter
1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
1/2 Worcestershire
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp Garlic, granulated

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan.
Heat and simmer until well blended.

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English Toffee Cheesecake

Posted on by Tony

I have not tried this one yet. I probably will soon. I have a friend who loves cheesecake. It is one of my favorites too. The only flavors I can do without is any kind of chocolate cheesecake. They all taste the same. I like chocolate a lot; just not in cheesecakes.

I love English toffee and I’m guessing it taste good in cheesecake. If you try this one before me come back and let me know how it was. I found it at the Eagle Brand website. You know, the people who make sweetened condensed milk.

BTW, that’s not an actual picture above. I couldn’t find one big enough. I’ll replace it when I make mine.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted
3 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 (8 oz.) package English toffee bits, divided
2 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk chocolate toffee bits
2 teaspoon Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
1 (12.25 oz.) jar Smucker’s® Caramel Flavored Topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Direction:

HEAT oven to 325°F. Stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press into bottom and halfway up sides of 9-inch springform pan.

BEAT cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla until blended.

STIR English toffee bits and flour in medium bowl to coat toffee bits. Stir 1 cup into cheesecake mixture. Pour into prepared crust. Sprinkle remaining English toffee bits evenly over cheesecake.

BAKE 60 minutes or until almost set in center. Cool on wire rack 1 hour. Chill several hours or overnight. Drizzle individual servings with caramel topping. Sprinkle lightly with milk chocolate toffee bits, if desired.

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Almost Tuscan Sausage & Kale Soup

Posted on by Tony

One of my favorite things to eat is soup, especially if there is sausage in it.I think that is my favorite part of a good gumbo too. This is kind of an Italian, but not quite. Nor do I know how to take it to that level. I lived in Italy for about 3.5 years, and nobody makes soup like they do. This one is pretty good though. You should give it try. I found this one on AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 pinch ground black pepper, or to taste
1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups chopped kale
1 (15 ounces) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (OMIT for Keto)
1 cup peeled and chopped yellow potatoes, or more to taste (OMIT for Keto)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat until the oil shimmers; cook and stir onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper until onion is translucent, 10 to 15 minutes.

Mix sausage, basil, and paprika together in a bowl.
Stir sausage mixture into onion mixture; cook and stir until sausage is browned and fully cooked 5 to 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, kale, cannellini beans, and potatoes to sausage-onion mixture; lower heat to medium low. Cover stockpot and simmer until potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

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