I used to feel that making apple pie was extremely difficult and delicate work. Difficult because you have to thinly slice a billion apples, and delicate because you absolutely cannot let the butter get warm. I’ve made really good apple pies in the past and also ones that come out with a crust that feels like wet sand.

Yesterday I was close to getting that wet sand texture but luckily the crust turned out well if a tad too soft on the sides. The filling was perfect and the apple sauce delectably sweet and gooey.

For the crust I used Julia Child’s recipe for sweet short paste from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. For the filling I used royal gala apples of varying sizes (they were organic and a bit on the small side). Most recipes will say to use tart apples like granny smith but I’ve used all kinds of apple varieties and they’ve all worked.

For the filling:

6 apples of your choice

the juice of half a lemon – about 2 tbsp

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon – I used a pumpkin pie spice mixture, which I found here.

Peel and core the apples and then thinly slice. In a bowl toss the apples with the lemon juice. In a separate bowl combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the dry mix to the apples and toss until everything is coated. I let this mixture sit in the fridge overnight but it’s also good to use after an hour or two. See my note about a sauce at the bottom of this post.

For the crust:

2/3 cup flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

4 tbsp chilled butter and 1 1/2 tbsp chilled vegetable shortening (I didn’t have shortening so I used butter). The butter should be cut into 1/2 inch bits.

2 1/2 to 3 tbsp cold water.

This recipe is good for an 8 inch tart shell.

After cutting the butter I would strongly suggest placing the cut pieces back in the fridge for several minutes as the warmth from your hands may cause the butter to soften too much.

Mix together all ingredients except the water. Quickly break apart the butter with the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like tiny peas. Add the water little by little (make sure it’s ice cold) and rapidly blend together until you have a mass of dough. Add more water if the dough is too dry. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Next, place the dough on a lightly floured counter to knead. Use the heel of your hand (not the palm, as Julia explains is too warm) and rapidly press the dough down in small amounts and away from you, making streaks across the counter. With a spatula or scraper gather the dough into a mass and quickly form into a ball. Wrap in wax paper and place it in the fridge for about 2 hours or overnight.

Another thing I’m not entirely fond of is rolling dough. I always seem to break the dough or it’s too sticky and most of it ends up smeared everywhere. When I brought out my ball of dough it felt almost rock hard but I followed Julia’s suggestion to hammer it with the rolling pin to soften it a bit. Next knead it into a fairly flat circle making sure it’s just soft enough that it won’t crack when you roll it out. Sprinkle flour over the dough and on your rolling pin then start from the centre and roll out away from you until it’s a circle about an 1/8 of an inch thick. At this point you can press the dough into your baking shell.  Fill with the apple mixture and cover with dough. I used 6oz ramekins and I had enough dough for three ramekins but I now have leftover apple filling, which I’ll be using for something else.

The baking part of this project is what I’m a little unsure of. My oven isn’t very accurate – it seems to be 15 or 20 degrees hotter than what’s on the dial. Anyway, I set the temperature to 400F and throughout the baking I turned it down to 350F and near the end to 400F again. I also checked on the pies first after 15 minutes and then every 10 minutes until the crust was golden and not soft.

If you want to make a sauce you can place the apple mixture in a strainer and collect the juices in a pan. I got about half a cup of juices out of my batch of apples. In a sauce pan I combined the juices with about a tablespoon or two of butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar. Over medium heat I cooked the sauce until it was reduced and very thick.

With a scoop of ice cream on top and a drizzle of apple caramel sauce the pies were like a little taste of heaven that the birthday boy devoured in an instant.

Chicken Parmesan, serves 2-4 depending on how hungry you are
4 chicken thighs, I didn’t remove the skin or bones
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Frank’s Redhot
Pinch of salt and pepper

1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
Pinch of salt and pepper

1 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 5 oz can tomato paste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary
Water
Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese

Mix together in a large bowl the milk, eggs, garlic powder, onion powder, Frank’s Redhot, salt, and pepper. Place the chicken pieces in the bowl, cover, and place in the fridge to soak for 4 to 6 hours.
Once you’re ready to start cooking, make the sauce by heating about a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook another 30 seconds before adding the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir in the sugar, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper. Fill the empty can of tomato paste with water and add that water to the pot. Lower heat and simmer.
Preheat oven to 325F. In a shallow plate or bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and pepper. Cover each chicken piece in the bread crumb mixture making sure each piece is well coated. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken until just brown on each side.
In a baking dish, large enough to fit the chicken pieces without overlapping, pour half the tomato sauce on the bottom. Place the chicken in the pan and pour the remainder of the sauce over top. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese and put back in the oven for about 6 to 8 minutes more.
I served this with fried rice with corn and a simple salad. Jay was very happy and he absolutely loved the tomato sauce.

Once it’s baked, you flip it over and it looks like this:

Served in slices that make you smile and rub your belly in appreciation:

With dinner, we ate fresh baked bread that Jay made that afternoon. It comes from a Rose Levy Beranbaum recipe (found here) and it is amazing. The bread is so nice and thick, rich, and full of yum.

For the birthday boy, I made the Perfect Party Cake. This time, however, I’ve used the recipe as detailed in Dorie Greenspan’s book. Personally, I preferred the original Dorie version (which can be found here on tablefare’s blog) much more than the one I made for my birthday.

Covered in shredded coconut.

Delicious rice and chicken bake for pre-clubbing dinner on Saturday

Rice and chicken bake with salad.

Birthday cake made for our friend Dev on Saturday.

Birthday cake - I am amazed I was able to make so many layers!

The Delicious Rice and Chicken bake recipe comes from the inner workings of my mother’s mind. Well, the idea comes from her creation that she made when she was in her 20′s. I’ve made a variation of her original recipe, which includes ketchup, ham as well as chicken, mozzarella or cheddar cheese only, and sour cream instead of yogurt.

My version of Delicious Rice and Chicken bake (or arroz rico, as my mother would say):

6 cups cooked rice

2 chicken legs, cooked and shredded

1/4 red bell pepper

10 kalamata olives, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tomato, sliced

Approx 1/2 cup yogurt

3 or 4 oz feta cheese

3 o 4 oz cheddar cheese

Approx 1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp dried mint

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a fairly deep baking pan, maybe 9×11. Mix the chicken with the onions, red bell pepper, onion, and olives. Season with the mint and a little more than half of the oregano portion, reserve some oregano to sprinkle on top. Next, make even layers starting with yogurt at the bottom of the pan followed by rice, chicken, tomato slices, cheeses, and repeating until all ingredients have been used up, ending with rice. You can mix up the order of the layers but it’s a good idea to start with yogurt at the bottom so that the rice won’t stick. Finish with a rice layer on top, sprinkle more cheese and oregano and other spices if you want. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 mins or until cheese looks gooey and melty. Yum.

For the cake, I don’t remember where I found the recipe but it was in one of my recipe folders for a long time and I figured it was time to test it out. The cake was so moist and rich and yummy.

Yellow Butter Cake with Filling and Frosting

4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup plain cake flour, sifted after measured
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, softened but still cool

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease two 9 inch round cake pans and cover the pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper or waxed paper. Grease the parchment rounds and dust with flour, tapping out excess. May also bake in a greased and floured 13×9 inch pan.
Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla with a fork in a small bowl. Measure out 1 cup of this mixture and set aside.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir to blend. Using a fork, cut the butter into the dry mixture, one Tbsp at a time. The butter and flour will begin to clump together and look like small peas. When all butter is combined with the flour, use a mixer to beat the butter and flour for about 30 to 40 seconds. On a low speed, add the 1 cup of the egg mixture that was set aside and beat until incorporated (5-10 seconds). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add remaining egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, taking about 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat for another 15 seconds until thoroughly combined and the batter looks slightly curdled.
Divide batter equally between the prepared cake pans. Spread to the sides and smooth. Bake at 350 degrees until cake is a light golden color and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake round layers approximately 20 to 25 minutes and 13×9 inch pan 30 to 38 minutes.

Fill with cooked condensed milk (dulce de leche) using these instructions from David Lebovitz.

Frost with chocolate buttercream

2 2/3 c. sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, softened
3 tbsp. hot water

Sift confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and salt into medium-sized bowl. Add egg, softened butter and hot water. Blend with spoon, then beat with rotary beater or electric beater until smooth. This frosts 1 (8 inch) triple-layer cake.

Now on to Thanksgiving!

Butternut squash soup.

Fall off the bone turkey, tofu and spinach stuffed shells, corn, The Stuffing, and super creamy mashed potatoes made by my little sister, Sue.

Pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with yogurt topping.

I want to thank my lovely friend, Nervous Chef, for the butternut squash soup recipe, which she raved about and told me I simply had to make it. She was so right. The recipe can be found here from epicurious.

The stuffing turned out amazingly good and the recipe can be found in my previous post.

Prepping the turkey is one of the messiest jobs to do. You definitely need someone to be around to help you wash up every 2 minutes, like your devoted and helpful boyfriend. Thanks Jay!!

For my family’s version of turkey you’ll need the following:

Butter

About 2 cloves garlic, cut into small pieces/slivers

A few cloves

Mustard

1-2 bottles of beer

About 4 or 5 banana leaves, cut roughly into 9×11 inch sized pieces

So, first you start by washing the turkey, inside and out and make sure you remove the bag of giblets and the neck. Next, poke small holes/slits all over the turkey and fill the slits with slivers of garlic and cloves. Once that’s done, rub butter all over the bird, especially around the wing tips. Next, rub mustard over the butter, stuff the turkey with stuffing and place, breast side up, in a roasting pan. Pour a bottle of beer over the turkey and pray that the beer doesn’t wash the mustard off. Sprinkle salt and pepper and then cover the turkey with moistened banana leaves (these add moisture and flavour). Cover and bake at 325F for approx 4 hours (for a 12-14 pound bird). Turn the turkey over every hour and baste with juices, making sure to cover it back up with the banana leaves. After about 2 hours, add the remaining bottle of beer or whenever you think the liquids are drying up. Uncover the turkey and let it brown for about 30 minutes. Let the turkey stand about 15 minutes before carving.

For my dad, the vegetarian, I made stuffed shells from a recipe I found on Post Punk Kitchen. Recipe here.

The corn was probably the easiest thing to make. Fill a pot with water and salt, add the corn and cook on medium heat for about a half hour. Done.

The amazing pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake recipes can be found here and here. The only change I made was the pie shell for the pumpkin pie was store bought and the topping on the cheesecake was yogurt. I have no leftovers of pie or cheesecake – it’s all gone and I’m very sad.

Now that the weekend of cooking is over I feel a sense of accomplishment and a little sadness because it’s over. The sadness is quickly replaced by an eagerness to host a dinner very soon!

Over the weekend I celebrated my birthday and I took that opportunity to make myself and my family this amazing cake. I don’t know why but I think I was a little intimidated by the recipe and the cake itself but after putting the finished product on my cake stand, I thought, “That was easy!” Well, for the most part.

Because I didn’t have 4 inch cake pans, I made two 9 inch cakes. This was probably the most annoying part because my oven is incredibly tiny so I had to bake the two 9 inch cake batters one at a time.

In the recipe it says to use “seedless chocolate raspberry” preserves and I had no idea what that meant and I also couldn’t find that at the grocery store. What I did was to melt about half a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and I mixed that with half a can of raspberry pie filling. I didn’t use rhubarb as the recipe says.

Overall, the cake was amazing but so very rich. I was struggling to finish my slice. As Jay said, “This is the kind of cake you can only eat one slice per week.” My little sister disagrees, “You can eat two slices per day.” I think I could probably eat one tiny slice per day. I’ll definitely be making this cake again but next time I’ll be changing the filling and I might make a lighter frosting.

Gorgeous, velvety lemony buttercream frosting.

White chocolate shavings on top.

The slice I couldn't finish.