Thursday, July 17, 2008

Pocket Pies and Toaster Pastries

Alton Brown, "Good Eats" on the Food Network . . . his was about pocket pies and toaster pastries tonight. As a single woman who loves to cook, this is a perfect recipe for me.

Usually I don't like to freeze foods, other than meat and seafood, but this is the type of food that is perfect to freeze. He demonstrated sweet and savory recipes . . . an excellent idea for leftovers (he put leftover beef stew in pocket pies as an example).

An excellent episode . . . sorry, but I usually don't like his shows, his personality is way too corny for me, but if you have Food Network on demand and this idea of pocket pies sounds good to you, look it up and watch it.

In the meantime, here are the recipes from this episode . . .

Pocket Pies

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Show: Good Eats
Episode: A Pie in Every Pocket



Pastry:
9 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 cups
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 ounces shortening, approximately 6 tablespoons
3/4 cup milk
1 egg mixed with 1 to 2 teaspoons water
Vegetable, canola oil or butter, for frying

Curried Mango Filling, recipe follows
Chocolate Filling, recipe follows

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse for a few seconds and then pour into a large mixing bowl.

Add the shortening and knead it into the flour with your hands until it is crumbly. Add the milk all at once and mix in with a spatula until it begins to come together.

Lightly flour your hands and the countertop and turn the dough out onto the countertop. Knead the dough ball, folding over 10 to 20 times. Using a rolling pin roll the dough to 1/3 to 1/2-inch thickness, then cut into rounds using a 2 1/4-inch ring. Roll each round as thinly as possible or to 5 to 6 inches in diameter.

Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto the dough, brush the edges of half of the dough lightly with the egg wash, fold over and seal the edges together with the tines of a fork, dipping it into flour as needed. Gently press down to flatten and evenly distribute the filling and snip or cut 3 slits in the top of the pie.

Dock pies that are going to be deep-fried, instead of snipping or cutting slits.

To pan-fry pies, place a medium saute pan over medium low heat along with 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable, canola oil or butter. Once heated, place 2 to 3 pies at a time into pan and saute until golden on both sides, approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side. Allow to cool 4 to 5 minutes before serving.

To deep-fry pies, heat vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or a large heavy pot to 375 degrees F. Once hot, add 1 to 2 pies at a time and fry until golden brown, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.

To bake pies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place finished pies onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.


To make toaster pastries:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide dough in half and roll out to less than 1/8-inch thick. Cut into 4 inch by 5 inch rectangles. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto center of one piece of dough. Brush the edges with egg wash and top with second piece of dough. Seal edges by pressing together with tine of fork. Gently press down to flatten and evenly distribute the filling and dock the top of the pie. Repeat with second half of dough.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely and place into zip-top bags until ready to toast. The pies will not be brown until toasted.

Curried Mango Filling:
4 mangos, peeled and diced, approximately 2 cups or 12 ounces
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and place in refrigerator to cool completely before using as filling.

For each pie place 1 to 2 tablespoons onto the center of the dough. Follow directions above.

Yield: enough for 10 to 15 pies


Chocolate Filling:
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Pinch kosher salt
10 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
Place the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and butter into a large zip-top bag and squish to combine. Cut a whole in 1 corner of the bag.

For each pie, pipe 1 to 2 tablespoons of mixture onto the center of the dough. Follow directions above.

Yield: enough for 10 to 15 pies

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Spicy Corn Frittata




What a wonderful meal to celebrate the summer veggies that we grow in our gardens . . . hmmm . . . a frittata that has no rice in it? I'll be adding some colby cheese to mine :)



1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped (about 2 cups)

2 large (or 3 medium) ears sweet corn, kernels scraped off the cob (about 2 cups)

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 bunch (6 to 8) scallions, trimmed and sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

8 large eggs

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces



Set a rack on the top shelf of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.

In a large ovenproof skillet over high heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes. Add the corn, cilantro, scallions, garlic, and jalapeno and saute for 2 more minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and the mixture thickens. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and let cool for several minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

In a large bowl, season the eggs with salt and pepper. Beat them lightly with a fork, only enough to mix the whites and the yolks. Add the cooled vegetables and cold butter and stir to combine.

Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and put it over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, swirling it all around and up the sides of the pan. Add the egg and vegetable mixture and stir gently with the back of a fork without touching the bottoms and sides of the pan. Cover the pan, lower the heat, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the bottom of the frittata begins to set. Remove the cover and transfer the pan to the top shelf of the oven and bake until golden brown and puffed, about 15 minutes.

Slide the frittata onto a serving platter, cut it into wedges, and serve immediately or cool and serve at room temperature.


Nutritional analysis per serving:

Calories 385; Total Fat 28g; (Sat Fat 7g, Mono Fat 15g, Poly Fat 3.5g) ; Protein 16.5g; Carb 22g; Fiber 4 g; Cholesterol 430 mg; Sodium 165 mg



Source: The Food Network

Monday, July 14, 2008

Seafood Pot Pie

1 box frozen puff pastry sheets
1 egg, beaten
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons diced onion
1 tablespoon diced fennel
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons diced celery
2 tablespoons finely cubed carrots
2 tablespoons green peas
3 large scallops
2 tablespoons diced ham
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon seafood seasoning
1/2 fish-flavored bouillon cube
1/4 cup lump crab meat, picked over
3 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 large oysters, shucked
White pepper


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.


Thaw 1 sheet of puff pastry, unwrap it, and brush with beaten egg. Slice pastry into 1-inch wide strips. Weave strips into lattice design, sized to fit the top of a 1 1/2 quart oven-safe medium-sized serving bowl or casserole. Place pastry on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake until light golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand until needed.

Adjust oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Filling:

Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions, fennel, garlic, celery, carrots, and green peas and saute until tender.

Add scallops and ham and continue to saute until scallops are barely halfway done. Sprinkle in flour and stir until coated.

Add cream, nutmeg, seasoning, and bouillon. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When mixture reaches a boil, remove from heat.

Add crab meat, shrimp, and oysters and season, to taste, with white pepper. Pour into the oven-safe serving bowl. Top with the pre-baked lattice puff pastry and gently press down into filling. Bake about 10 minutes or until bubbly.

Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving


"UNCLE BUBBA'S SEAFOOD POT PIE"
Source: Paula Dean, The Food Network


Thursday, July 10, 2008

No Roll Pie Crust


Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 stick of butter or margarine
Powdered sugar


Directions

Melt the stick of butter or margarine in pie pan in oven.


Put in 1 cup of flour and a couple of teaspoon of sifted powdered sugar.

Mix in pan and as it cools a little pat it out mixing it at the same time.

Bake



NOTE: I have not used this recipe . . . not sure how long it should bake and what the oven temp should be . . . I'm gonna start with 350 degrees and keep a constant eye on it as far as time. This recipe comes from my personal collection.
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