Buttery Pastry Dough

Years ago I lost the recipe for the meat pie dough that was an important part of my favorite party food.  Don't you hate when you lose one of your favorite recipes?  In all these years, I have not found a good pastry dough recipe . . . so, here is another one I will try out.Like my original pastry dough, it is a versatile dough that can be used for many different recipes from turnovers to pie crust.  I got the recipe from Fine Cooking, where they claim that the crust is very tender like a shortbread cookie when baked.  We'll see!I will update this post when I try it out . . .

Yields enough dough for 1 single pie crust, 8 mini tarts, or 12 turnovers.


9 oz. (2 cups) bleached all purpose flour 

7 oz. (14 Tbs.) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces 
1 large egg, lightly beaten 
2 Tbs. granulated sugar 
1 Tbs. chilled heavy cream 
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice 
1 tsp. table salt 

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In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, egg, sugar, cream, lemon juice, and salt and pulse until the dough starts gathering together in big clumps, as shown below. Turn the dough out onto a counter and gather it together. Shape the dough as directed in the recipe you’re making.

leftovers

Turn leftover pastry dough into shortbread cookie bars.

photo: Scott Phillips

From Fine Cooking 79, pp. 68

June 1, 2006

Serious Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This sandwich looks delicious!  I'd love to try it as a breakfast sandwich, substituting a fried egg for the prosciutto . . . maybe add some bacon.  The possibilities are endless for creating your own favorite sandwich.

3 oz. grated aged Gruyère (1-1/4 cups) 

3 oz. grated fontina (about 1 cup) 

2 Tbs. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste) 

8 1/2-inch-thick slices rustic Italian bread 

4 very thin slices prosciutto, halved crosswise 

2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices 

Kosher salt 

2 Tbs. salted butter, at room temperature 

1 to 2 large cloves garlic, halved and peeled for rubbing 

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Lightly toss the cheeses and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Put 4 slices of the bread on a work surface and evenly distribute half of the cheese mixture on top. Put 2 pieces of prosciutto (1 full slice) on each sandwich and top with 2 to 3 slices of tomato—enough to cover the cheese and prosciutto in a single layer. Season the tomatoes with salt and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. 

Lightly butter one side of the remaining bread slices and place them butter side up on the sandwiches.

Heat a griddle or a large skillet over medium-low heat. Arrange the sandwiches butter side down on the griddle and cook until the bread is toasted and  golden-brown, about 2 minutes. 

Meanwhile, spread an even layer of butter on the top slice of bread.

Using a spatula, flip the sandwiches and cook until golden-brown on the other side, gently pressing the sandwiches with the back of the spatula to compress, about 2 minutes. 

Remove the sandwiches from the griddle and lightly rub both sides of each with the cut side of the garlic. Using a serrated knife, slice the sandwiches in half and serve immediately.

Sources:  

photo: Scott Phillips

From Fine Cooking 112, pp. 22

July 7, 2011

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Here's a quick, easy and delicious

 semi-homemade type of dessert!

Ingredients

• 1 (14.4-ounce) box honey graham crackers (see Tip)
• 2 (4-serving) packages French vanilla instant pudding mix
• 3 cups milk
• 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (16-ounce) container ready-to-spread chocolate frosting
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Instructions

1. Line bottom of an ungreased 9- x 13-inch baking dish with one-third of the graham crackers.
    
2. In a large bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk; add whipped topping, stirring until mixture thickens.
    
3. Spread half the pudding mixture over graham crackers in baking dish. Repeat layers with one-third of graham crackers and remaining pudding mixture. Top with remaining graham crackers. Spread with chocolate frosting. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Tip

One box of graham crackers contains 3 individually wrapped packages of crackers. Use one package for each layer of this decadent dessert.

Source:  Mr. Food

Fresh Corn Cakes

"Garden-fresh corn on the cob is the key to making these awesome Fresh Corn Cakes. Whether you serve these as is for a novel veggie side dish, or drizzled with a bit of honey for brunch, you can't go wrong."

Source:  Mr. Food

UPDATE . . .


We made these awesome corn cakes and they were delicious . . . I highly recommend this recipe!  Of course we made a few changes to the recipe to suit our taste . . . we added a bit of a hot pepper concoction The Captain makes (minced assortment of hot peppers with a bit of vinegar and olive oil, kept in a jar in the refrigerator).  Another change . . . we did not chop the corn and left them as whole kernels.  


We will make these corn cakes again and again . . . we liked them that much!  The next time, we will substitute some cheddar cheese (maybe half and half with the mozzarella cheese).

Ingredients

• 2 ¹/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears), divided (see Notes)
• 3 large eggs
• ³/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• ³/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ³/4 cup yellow or white cornmeal
• 1 (8-ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¹/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine 1-3/4 cups corn kernels, the eggs, milk, and butter; process 3 to 4 times, or just until corn is coarsely chopped.
    
2. Stir together flour, cornmeal, mozzarella cheese, chives, salt, and pepper; stir in remaining corn kernels and the chopped corn mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened.
    
3. For each cake, pour 1/8 cup of batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or skillet. (Do not spread or flatten cakes). Cook cakes 3 to 4 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Turn and cook other side 2 to 3 more minutes.

 Makes about 3 dozen.

NOTES:

To remove corn from the cob, cut the wide end so it stands up and, using a sharp knife or corn stripper, cut off the kernels. It’s also fine to substitute thawed frozen corn for the fresh.