My Grandma's Rhubarb Pie

Grandma's Rhubarb Pie

I know I'm not the only one who thinks that her grandma made the best pies in the world.  But mine really did.  Even people from outside the family said so!  My second cousin opened a restaurant in the area several years ago and she told me all the pies she served were made by her mother, who learned how to make pies from my grandma.  People raved about those pies and would go there to eat just for the pleasure of finishing the meal with one of their homemade pies.  My grandma passed away over 20 years ago and although I don't always make the right choices at the right time, thank God I had the good sense to spend some time with her in the kitchen before it was too late.  My grandma showed me how she made her delicious, flaky pie crusts in just a fraction of the time it took other folks.  She didn't bother rolling the dough out.  She mixed flour, a  little cold milk, a bit of sugar, a pinch of salt, and some vegetable oil together in a mixing bowl and then dumped it into a pie plate.

Pie dough dumped in a pie plate

Then she would pat the dough down into the plate until she had a beautifully formed pie crust.

This method takes about five minutes, start to finish, and the crust always turns out flaky and delicious.  Whenever I'm making fruit pies, I always hold out some of the dough clumps to crumble on the top of the pie before baking.

I loved all my grandma's pies, but my favorite was her rhubarb.  It's taken me a while to be willing to share her recipe, but good food should be shared with family and friends and perhaps, in this case, maybe even a few strangers.  In the tradition of most grandma's, she never measured things out and I've had to guess and adjust the amount of ingredients.  Although my pies are very good, they don't taste quite like Grandma's.  I don't know if it's because I'm missing that emotional element that made eating my grandma's food so pleasurable, but I've resigned myself to the possibility that my pies might never be quite as good as hers.  If you give this a try, do let me know how it turns out for you!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c (more or less) chopped rhubarb (about 1 inch or smaller pieces)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/3 c unsalted butter, melted
1/4 t salt
dash of cinnamon
2 c sugar (I don't like my pie real sweet so I use a bit less)
1/4 (scant) c flour
1 c half and half
1 9 inch pie crust

Method:
1.  Mix all the ingredients, except crust, in a large bowl.  Do this in the order listed, mixing after each addition (salt, cinnamon, and sugar can be added all at once) so that the ingredients blend correctly and adhere nicely to the fruit.

2.  Pour filling into pie crust (sprinkle crumbs on top if you saved any out, dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.)

3.  Bake at 350 for one hour.  (Check to make sure it doesn't get too brown.  If the crust is browning too quiclkly cover lightly with tin foil.)

A slice of rhubarb pie with homemade ginger ice cream

Lemongrass Bars with Coconut Shortbread Crust

My friend, Suzi, is crazy about lemon bars, so I'm always on the lookout for a good bar I can make for her. When I came across this recipe for lemongrass bars in the March issue of Bon Appetit (the same issue I found the recipe for Fish Wrapped in Savoy Cabbage) I knew I had to try them.

The hardest thing about making these bars was having to lug out my food processor so I could pulverize the lemongrass with the sugar.  But other than that, this recipe was a breeze to make and I'll definitely be making them again!  The lemongrass filling was tart and delicious and the crust had just the right amount of chewiness.  Too bad Suzi wasn't around to taste these wonderful treats, but that just means I'll be making them again soon.  My plan is to exchange a batch of these bars for an invitation to her lake cottage!

It seems every dessert recipe I share involves coconut.  What can I say?  I am without apology!!  Coconut is one of my favorite flavors; from the milky juice to the moist, flaky flesh it is so versatile! 

Ingredients:

crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 T unsalted butter, room temperature

filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 lemongrass stalks, tough outer layers peeled away, bottom white part only, finely chopped
5 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 large eggs
1/4 cup flour
powdered sugar

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Butter 13 X 9 inch baking pan.  Mix flour, coconut, powdered sugar, and 1/2 t salt together in a large bowl.  Using an electric mixer, add in butter and beat until well blended.

2.  Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan.  Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

3.  While dough is baking, place sugar and lemongrass in food processor and pulse until lemongrass is pulverized and mixed well with sugar.

4.  Add lemon juice and blend for 30 seconds.  Add eggs and process to blend briefly.  Add flour and a pinch of salt and process until smooth.

5.  Reduce oven temperature to 325.  Pour filling over crust and return to oven until filling is firm, about 25 minutes.

6.  Let cool.  Cut into squares and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Supper in under an hour.....

When I don't have a lot of time to cook or don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I have a collection of quicky stand-by favorites that I turn to again and again.  One of the things my entire family loves is salmon cooked almost any way, but especially teriyaki.  I've experimented with lots of different teriyaki glazes.  I like a thick glaze and have found the best way to do this is to heat the glaze up with a cornstarch slurry. 

Tonight I made supper in under an hour, start to finish, and that includes dessert.  However, if there is a more messy, more unorganized cook anywhere on the planet, I would like to meet him or her! 

It doesn't matter how hard I try: my kitchen turns into a complete disaster when I cook.  Things happen to me.  Like, my clothes get caught on something and when I turn to disentangle myself, I knock something off the counter.  I spill things on the floor.  I cut myself on the lids of tin cans.  I drop eggs into the wrong bowl.  And I generate SO MUCH garbage!

But I always get the kitchen cleaned up before eating.  That way, I can enjoy my meal without the pressure of knowing I have a huge mess waiting for me.

Tonight, I made teriyaki salmon cooked under the broiler.  To go along with it, I made a barley salad filled with veggies and tossed in a sesame/soy dressing.  And I made a salad of thinly sliced daikon and cucumber in a sweet/sour marinade.  The cucumber salad was delicious and went really well with the salmon!

The barley took 45 minute to cook and while it cooked, I chopped the veggies and made the dressing.  I did this early in the day so the barley would have time to cool.  Just before dinner, I sliced the cucumber and daikon, made a quick marinade with rice vinegar, sugar, and a little salt, tossed it together and stuck it in the fridge while I made the salmon. 

For the salmon, I made a standard teriyaki glaze, dipped the salmon in the glaze and stuck it under the broiler for about 10 minutes.  While it was cooking, I tossed the barley salad together.

For dessert, I made a banana cream pie.  (Yes, that's right.  A dessert that does NOT involve coconut!) Years ago I sold Pampered Chef and this is a recipe I remember from my days as a Pampered Chef consultant.  It goes like this:

Mix together

   3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

   2 T sugar

   1/2 cup melted butter

Press into the bottom of a nine-inch pie pan or spring-form pan

Mix together

   12 oz Cool Whip

   1 cup sour cream

   1 package instant vanilla pudding

Spread half of this mixture over the graham cracker crust and top with

   3 sliced bananas

Cover with the remaining Cool Whip mixture.

Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

This pie sets up quickly.  It doesn't need more than 30 minutes in the refrigerator!  So YUMMY!!!

Another really delicious coconutty dessert!

Today is my daughter's birthday.  One of her favorite desserts is coconut sticky rice with mango, the kind you can get at a Thai restaurant.  Although I'm a huge fan of sticky rice, I really love tapioca.  So, for my daughter's birthday, I decided to try a recipe using the flavors of her favorite dessert with tapioca.  It turned out YUMMY and was so easy to make!

I found the recipe in a Bon Appetit magazine from 2007.  Here is my edited version.

Process in a blender for 20  seconds
   2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
   1 inch piece of galangal, peeled and sliced
   10 Thai basil leaves
   6 fresh cilantro sprigs
   2 kaffir lime leaves OR 2 t grated lime peel
   1 stalk lemongrass, sliced

Bring to a boil and let steep for 20 minutes
   the above blended ingredients
   2 cups of water

Strain into a saucepan, add the following, and bring to a boil
   2 cups milk
   1/2 cup sugar

Stir in
   1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (not quick-cooking)

Return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until thickened and reduced to about 2 1/4 cups.  (This might take 20 to 30 minutes)

Stir in
   1 can coconut milk

Refrigerate overnight.  (It will seem runny, but will thicken up overnight)

When ready to serve, scope into serving dishes and top with chopped mango that has been tossed with a little lime juice and some cayenne pepper.

Don't be put off by the unusual list of ingredients.  All these things can be found at any Asian market (like the ones on Calhoun St. in Fort Wayne.)  Galangal is a root that looks a lot like ginger root but it has a much paler skin color and is harder to peel.  Lemongrass is a grassy stalk with a tough outer coating.  Cut off the root and only use the white part along with the first little bit from the green section.  Kaffir leaves are the leaves off a special variety of lime tree.  The have a glossy sheen on one side.  If you can't find them, use lime peel.

Coconut Crème Brûlée

Talking about coconuty Filipino doughnuts the other day, brought to mind one of my all-time favorite desserts.  Anybody I have ever served this creme brulee to, has moaned in delight at the first bite.  I even had a vegan dinner guest suck one down and finger-lick the little custard cup after listening to everyone else around her moaning in pleasure. 

The custard is made with egg yolks, coconut milk, heavy cream, and coconut rum.  After the custards are baked and cooled, sugar is sprinkled on the tops and they are passed under the broiler.  The result is a delightfully crunchy crust which you break through to scoop out the silky, creamy custard.

I decided to make a batch of these for the family tonight.  One of the great things about this recipe is that it fills eight custard cups and there are only four in our family.  You do the math!  I had to think long and hard about sharing the recipe because I like be the only one who knows how to make these, but here goes....

1 c. sweetened flaked coconut (divided)
3/4 c. sugar plus 8 T
7 large egg yolks
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 1/3 c. heavy cream
2 T coconut rum (such as Malibu)
1/2 t salt

Toast 1/2 cup of the coconut in a 350 oven.  (10 - 12 minutes stirring frequently)

Mix together 3/4 c. sugar and the egg yolks.

Bring the heavy cream, coconut milk, and coconut (both the toasted and untoasted) to a gentle simmer.

Gradually whisk the cream mixture into the egg mixture.  Stir in the rum and the salt.  Pour the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer. 

Fill eight custard cups and bake in a hot water bath at 350 until set (45 to 50 minutes).

Let cool.  (can do this a day ahead and hold in the refrigerator overnight).

Sprinkle a T sugar on top of each custard and place under broiler until sugar is melted and caramelized.

Refrigerate several hours before serving.

The only part I don't like in this recipe is straining out the coconut.  I hate throwing it away, so if anybody has a suggestion as to what I can to with it, let me know!