Deep-Dish Piecrust

I got this pie crust recipe from WIlliams-Sonoma. It is a more sweeter crust than others. It makes a double batch of dough, one for the bottom crust and the other for creating decorative cutouts to place atop the baked and cooled pie.
Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. salt
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into
1/4-inch pieces
6 to 8 Tbs. ice water
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tbs. water
Directions:
In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the 6 Tbs. ice water and pulse twice. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water, 1 tsp. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide in half. Shape each into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Place 1 dough disk between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper and roll out into a 12-inch round about 3/16 inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch deep-dish pie dish and press the dough into the dish. Trim the edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold under the excess dough and, using your thumb, decoratively flute the edges. Roll out the remaining dough disk in the same manner. Using decorative piecrust cutters, cut out about 30 cutouts and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the piecrust and the cutouts in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven. Place a baking sheet on the rack. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Brush the edges of the crust with the egg mixture. Line the piecrust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. (I used pinto beans. I've heard you can use marbles or rice. It keeps it from rising and cracking.)
Place the pie dish on the preheated baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and weights and bake until the crust is light golden, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Brush the cutouts with the egg wash and bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool. Makes enough dough for one 9-inch deep-dish piecrust plus decorative cutouts.

Five-Spice Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Walnut Toffee

I have always tried sweet potatoes that are a little more sage flavored and not so sweet. For my first time making sweet potatoes "sweet" they came out pretty good. Dustin likes them really sweet like how his sister makes them. And he said I did a good job. :) Thanks babe!

I got this out of a Food and Wine magazine that his sister gave me from November 2009.

1. INGREDIENTS
2. 6 pounds orange sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
3. 1 cup light brown sugar
4. 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5. 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
6. 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
7. Salt
8. Crunchy Walnut Toffee (Recipe See Below), coarsely chopped
9. 
   

1. Directions:
2. Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread the sweet potato chunks in two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes. Add 1 cup of water to each dish, cover with foil and bake for about 25 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are barely tender. Pour off any remaining water from the baking dishes.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar with the butter, five-spice powder and nutmeg and cook over moderate heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is bubbling, about 4 minutes. Pour the mixture over the potatoes, stir to coat and season with salt. Bake for about 10 minutes, basting a few times, until the potatoes are tender and nicely glazed. Sprinkle the walnut toffee over the potatoes and serve.
4. 
   

Crunchy Walnut toffee:

INGREDIENTS

1. 1/2 cup sugar
2. 1/4 cup water
3. 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
4. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1/4 teaspoon salt
7. 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and butter and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderate heat, swirling the pan a few times, until a light caramel forms, about 4 minutes. Stir in the baking soda and salt. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the walnuts. Quickly spread the toffee on the prepared baking sheet as thinly as possible. Let cool completely. Break into pieces and serve.

Canned Chicken

Canning chicken may sound weird to people who have never done it before or heard of it. Honestly I thought it was strange when I first heard. But canned chicken is a favorite way to cook chicken now for me. It makes great shredded chicken in enchiladas, chicken sandwiches, casseroles, and I use it in pasta as well. We try to be frugal with it though since it takes so long to do and we like to keep them for food storage. They can last in food storage for up to 2 years. It is great on Sundays when I forget to get enough ingredients for dinner so I can make a lot of things with this canned chicken when I can't make it to the store. It is a very simple process but it takes up half of your day to make them.

Raw chicken is very... slimy and yucky for me so I am getting ready to touch them.

Haha.

Look at the size of that breast!

Here we are cutting off excess fat from the chicken breast. Very gross...

Place a teaspoon of salt at the bottom of the jars.

Cut up chunks of the breast and place in jars, and then put lids on them. The lids don't need to be tightened too much because the cooker seals it enough for you.

Then we wait for like 1 hour and 30 minutes....

Take them out with this pincher thingy because they are super hot.

And wa-la! Half a day later you have 40 jars of canned chicken. Yum!

Grilled Ham and Cheese with Strawberry-Red-Wine Jam

These are very fast and easy sandwiches to make. Without telling Dustin what was in them I handed him a sandwich for lunch (he will eat anything I hand him, especially sandwiches...) and he looked at me and asked "What is in these?! They taste amazing!" I get tired of the typical sandwich so now I make them all the time.

Whenever I make these I always forget to take a picture of them...

So I used the magazines picture. :/

INGREDIENTS
-Enough slices of bread for however many people are hungry
-1/2 cup strawberry jam mixed with 2 tablespoons of Pinot Noir ( I used red cooking wine and it works just the same)
-Slices of baked ham
-Thin slices of Gruyère cheese (I prefer Gruyere but I am sure other choices of cheese work good too)
-Softened unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS
Heat a large griddle. Spread the bread slices with the jam. Top with the ham and Gruyère and close the sandwiches. Lightly butter the outside of the sandwiches and cook over moderate heat until toasted and the cheese is melted, 2 minutes per side. Cut in half and serve right away.

Sweet Potato and Sage-butter Casserole

So sometimes it is hard to make an amazing picture of a casserole so the picture does not do this casserole justice. I found this recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine.

Sweet potatoes are by far the best kind of potatoes and since they are popular over the holidays everyone has their own preference on how they like them cooked. I love them roasted and Dustin likes sweet potatoes in a casserole so I wanted to make a good sweet potato casserole. And I did! :)

Serves 6 to 8
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus 1 ounce (2 tablespoons), melted
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 cups whole milk, warmed
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (from 3 slices white bread, crusts removed)

Directions:
1.Place sweet potatoes and potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water, and season with salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 9 minutes. Drain; pass through a ricer into a bowl.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 1 stick butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat; add 2 tablespoons sage. Stir butter mixture and milk into potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 2-quart casserole dish. (Mixture can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

3. Combine breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons melted butter and remaining 1/2 tablespoon sage. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Top potato mixture with breadcrumbs. Bake, uncovered, until bubbling around edges and breadcrumbs are golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. (If browning too quickly, tent with foil.) Let stand, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Cornish Game Hen with Cranberry and Thyme Sauce

I am obsessed with cranberries during the holidays and so I loved adding cranberries to the sauce that went over this. This was my first time making cornish game hen and it was a success! Perfect for a holiday meal. I found this recipe in Bon Appetit of course.

Everyone loved it!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
• 1 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-pound Cornish game hen, halved, backbone removed, rinsed, patted dry
• 1/2 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white grape juice
• 1/3 cup frozen cranberry juice cocktail concentrate, thawed
• 1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries

• Ingredient Tip

  Look for the Cornish game hen in the frozen foods section of the supermarket. Or for easier preparation, buy one from the butcher and have him halve it and remove the backbone.
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Blend 2 tablespoons butter, sugar, and 2 teaspoons thyme in small bowl. Sprinkle hen halves with salt and pepper. Spread skin of each with half of butter mixture. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add hen halves, skin side down. Sear until deep brown, about 4 minutes. Turn, skin side up, and sear 1 minute. Remove from heat. Transfer hen halves, skin side up, to small rimmed baking sheet. Reserve skillet (mixture will be dark). Roast hen halves until cooked through and juices run clear when pierced with fork, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, blend remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon flour in small bowl. Add broth, grape juice, cranberry concentrate, and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme to reserved skillet. Boil until sauce is reduced to 3/4 cup, whisking often, about 7 minutes. Whisk in flour mixture and cranberries. Simmer until sauce coats spoon, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  
  
• Transfer hen halves to plates. Spoon sauce over and serve.

Maple Pumpkin Pie

I have made a few pumpkin pies but I liked adding maple syrup to this one. Not only is it extra sugary but it tastes great. The topping was my favorite. I liked the idea of adding maple syrup to the whipped cream. YUM!

Ingredients:
Crust:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
1 can (15 ounces) plain pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon or more Mapleine or other maple extract
Topping:
1 cup chilled heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 cup real maple syrup

Instructions:
1. To make the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the shortening and butter. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the shortening and butter into the flour mixture until crumbly and some pea-size pieces of fat remain. If time permits, chill the flour mixture for 30 minutes.

2. Drizzle the ice water over the flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until all the flour is moistened and the pastry just clears the side of the bowl (adding an additional 1 to 2 teaspoons water if needed). Using lightly floured hands, gather the dough into a ball. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.

3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, if needed, soften slightly for easier handling. Roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured board, between 2 sheets of parchment paper or heavy-duty plastic wrap, or on a pastry cloth with a cloth-covered rolling pin. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan, easing it into the pan. Trim the overhanging edge of the pastry along the pan’s edge. Chill for 30 minutes.

4. To make the pastry leaves: Roll the extra piecrust dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a maple leaf cookie cutter, cut out 6 to 7 leaves. Using a knife, incise the lines of the leaf. Transfer the leaves to a small baking sheet. To give the appearance and shape of falling leaves, use small wads of foil under each leaf as support, then turn up the ends or sides of the leaf. Chill until baking time.

5. To make the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pumpkin purée, granulated and brown sugars, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Transfer to a 3-quart saucepan. Over medium heat, cook the pumpkin mixture, stirring constantly, until thick and hot, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the half-and-half and maple syrup. Remove from the heat and whisk in the eggs until blended, adding the maple flavoring to taste.

6. Place the prepared pie shell on a baking sheet. Pour the filling into the chilled pie shell. Bake in the lower third of the oven until the filling is puffed and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Bake the leaves on an upper shelf until the tips just start to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the leaves and the pie to a rack to cool for at least 1 hour.

7. To make the topping: In a chilled bowl, beat the cream until stiff. As the cream begins to thicken, gradually drizzle in the maple syrup. Continue beating until the cream is softly to moderately whipped.
8. To serve, garnish the cooled pie with the maple leaves and serve with the topping. The pie is best eaten within a few hours. Immediately refrigerate any remaining pie, and eat within 1 day.
Recipe from the book Holiday Baking by Sara Perry.

Servings: 6 to 8
The baking time is 60 minutes