Time for Pie

I believe everyone likes “Pie” but have their own favorites.  Which helps give us all the varieties of pies there are in the world.  My top four are cherry, pecan, pumpkin and any pie with rhubarb in it.  Now I’ll eat many other favors of pie but there are some I would pass on.  What are your top four favorites?

Now eating pies and making pies are quite different.  But making pies doesn’t have to be that difficult for you.  The first thing that scares most away is making a “pie crust” from scratch.  That’s easy to get around these days.  There are plenty of good ready-made crusts today.  That’s both refrigerated and frozen crusts.  So don’t let that stop you from making pies.

But if you would like to make your own pie crust, it’s not that hard.  There are plenty of recipes out there online or in cookbooks for you to try.  And you can find a lot of variations, so one should fit your need.

One of the basic ingredients in a pie crust is the one that pulls it all together.  However, you even have to make a choice here.  Butter, shortening and lard are the three main binders.  Personally, I prefer the lard to the others with butter second.  But that’s a choice everyone has to make for themselves.

A couple of key factors to remember if you make your own crust. Form your dough into a disc shape before refrigerating and rolling out.  It helps in rolling out the dough. Always refrigerate the dough for an hour or two before rolling it out.  Always use a floured surface to roll it out.  Flour your rolling pin before starting.  Then roll out from the center of the disc to the edges.  Turn the dough a quarter turn each time you roll out from center.  When done rolling out, dust it with a little flour and wrap around your rolling pin or fold in half to make transfer to the pie pan easier.  There will always be extra dough sticking over the sides of the pie pan when you lay it out.  Leave your self some for the crust edge but cut the rest away.  Find an edge or crimp you like for your pie crust and master it.  Not always, but many times a recipe will call for you to prick the crust with a fork.  These air holes help keep the crust from bubbling up on you.

I have several crust recipes in the tabs above.  So check them out or use another that you find and like.

It will be no surprise that the recipes this week include rhubarb and cherries.  Wednesday is “Rhubarb Meringue Pie” and then “Cherry Berry-Berry Pie” on Thursday.  Hope you like them and “Happy Cooking” until next week.

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 medium Spaghetti Squash

as needed Salt and Black Pepper

10 oz. thick-cut bacon, ½ inch dice

5 large Egg Yolks

1½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese plus

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Halve squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds.  Season squash with salt and pepper generously and place cut-side down on the parchment paper.  Place in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until fork tender.  Meanwhile, set a medium skillet over medium-low heat.  Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat renders and bacon crisps (10-15 minutes).  Fill a medium pot with 3 inches of water and bring to a gentle simmer.  In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together egg yolks and Parmesan.  Mixture should be as thick as glue; add more cheese if needed.  Run the tines of a form through the cooked squash so flesh separates into spaghetti-like strands.  Carefully transfer strands to pan with bacon and gently stir to combine.  Transfer squash-bacon mixture to bowl with eggs and gently toss to combine, taking care to keep strands intact.  Set bowl over pot of simmering water and gently toss squash mixture until sauce thickens and coats strands (about 1 minute).  Season with salt and pepper, and add more cheese to taste.  Serve immediately.

Note:               You could add some red pepper flakes to give it a little heat, if you like.

Ideas for Future Efforts

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Smoked Gouda Carbonara

Smoked Gouda Carbonara

(6 servings)

Ingredients:

1 lb. Spaghetti

6 large Fresh Eggs

1 cup plus Smoked Gouda

to taste Salt and Black Pepper

1 tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive oil

6 oz. Slab Bacon, finely diced

¾ tsp. Crushed Red Pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, cook spaghetti according to package leaving it al dente.  Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.  Separate the yolk from the white for 5 of the eggs.  In a large bowl, beat with a whisk the 5 egg yolks and the one whole egg with the cup of cheese, ½ tsp. salt and 2 tsp. pepper.  Very gradually whisk in ½ cup of reserved cooking water to temper the eggs.  Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat oil and then add the bacon doing this over medium heat.  Cook until rendered but not crisp (5-7 minutes).  Now add the pasta, red pepper and ¼ cup of reserved pasta cooking water.  Cook, tossing, until pasta is coated (1-2 minutes).  Scrape the pasta mixture into the large bowl of the egg mixture and toss vigorously until creamy (1-2 minutes).  Add more cooking water if needed.  Season with salt and pepper, divide pasta mixture among bowls and serve.  Pass more smoked Gouda at the table.

Note:               You can use sliced bacon if needed.  Just dice it up

Ideas for Future Efforts

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Carbonara with and without Pasta

Carbonara is a basic pasta dish that is easy to make.  But there are many variations of this simple pleasure.  This week, I give you two.

The dish is just pasta, eggs, meat and cheese.  It’s usually spaghetti, mostly egg yolks, pancetta or bacon and grated parmesan cheese.

You can change out the pasta, but long strands are best.  Five egg yolks are normal but some recipes add a whole egg as well.  Be sure to temper your eggs so they don’t cook on you and become scrambled eggs.  Pancetta is the preferred meat of choice but other bacons can work well and save on the pocketbook too.  Cheeses, now here you can change the flavor dramatically but always use grated.  Many people add pasta water to help with the sauce.  Just add a little at a time.

Wednesday’s recipe of “Smoked Gouda Carbonara” uses spaghetti as the pasta.  But Thursday, the recipe of “Spaghetti Squash Carbonara” uses the strands of spaghetti squash as the pasta.  Now days, with the spiral cutting kitchen equipment one can use zucchini or butternut squash as the pasta too.  Or anything else you can spiralizer.

Once you’ve tried one of these or one of some other carbonara recipes I have in the tabs, use your imagination and favorite flavors to create a carbonara of your own.

Enjoy and “Happy Cooking” until next week.  Be sure to share these recipes and others with your friends, family or co-workers.  Thanks in advance for that from me.

Crab and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

Crab and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

(25 caps)

Ingredients:

25 medium Whole Baby Bella Mushrooms

8 oz. pkg. Imitation Crabmeat

1 ½ cups Refrigerated Spinach Dip

¼ cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs

1 tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tsp. Olive Oil

Directions:

Line a baking pan with foil and set aside.  Clean mushrooms with a damp cloth or rinse lightly and gently dry with a paper towel.  Remove stems and hollow out caps.  Place caps on foil lined baking pan with hollowed out sides up.  Set aside.  Chop crabmeat and place in a medium bowl.  Add the spinach dip and mix until combined.  Divide equally between caps, mounding slightly.  In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, cheese and oil.  Sprinkle this mixture over each filled cap.  Place pan in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes or until filling is heated through.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Note:               To hollow out caps, use a spoon or a melon baller.

Ideas for Future Efforts

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Porcini and Olive Stuffed Mushrooms

Porcini and Olive Stuffed Mushrooms

(20 pieces)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

¾ oz. Dried Porcini Mushrooms

1 cup Hot Water

pinch Salt and Black Pepper

20 Firm White Mushrooms (1½ inch caps)

4 tbsp. Unsalted Butter, room temperature

¼ cup Fresh Flat-leaf Parsley, chopped

¼ tsp. Dried Oregano, crumbled

½ medium Fresh Lemon, juiced

15 Castelvetrano Olives, pitted, rinsed and finely chopped

Directions:

Grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.  In a small bowl, combine dried mushrooms and hot water with a pinch of salt and let stand 20 minutes.  Separate the stems from the caps of the white mushrooms.  Place the caps, gill-side up on baking sheet.  Trim stems and finely chop.  Set aside one cup of these and discard the rest.  In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp. butter with a pinch each of salt and pepper.  Dot the butter evenly in each cap.  Place caps in a pre-heated 325-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until a little moister is released.  Set aside to cool.  Meanwhile, rub dried mushrooms between your fingers in the soaking water to remove any grit.  Lift out mushrooms and squeeze dry over bowl and finely chop.  Slowly add soaking liquid to a medium skillet, over medium-low heat, stopping when you reach the grit in bottom of bowl.  Add both types of chopped mushrooms to the pan and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer gently until all liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes).  Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.  Add remaining butter, parsley, oregano, lemon juice and olives to cooled mushroom mixture.  Season with salt and pepper and stuff each cap with about 1 tbsp. of mixture.  Place baking sheet in an oven now pre-heated to 400-degrees.  Bake until tender when pierced with a toothpick and sizzling, about 10-15 minutes.  Serve hot or at room temperature.  

Note:               Try it this way first.  Then if you like a little cheese flavor, top each cap with a little grated Parmesan cheese before baking.

Ideas for Future Efforts

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Different take on Stuffed Mushrooms and the Start of Year 7

We’re starting my seventh year of “Cabana Boy Cooks” this week.  I hope the changes I’ve made over the last two weeks are helpful to your surveying the site.  Please note that all the “Gluten-Free” recipes are now available under their own “Recipe Tab” to make it easy for those needing them.  There are 50 plus GF recipes as of now and I add two more every four weeks. 

There are now over 650 recipes under all the recipe tabs for you to enjoy and share.  Please do try the recipes that fit your taste and lifestyle and share the link with any and all your family and friends.  Thank you and please ask questions or give feedback so I may serve you better.  Now let’s get started with the 7^th year.

If you like “Mushrooms” than I’m sure you must like “Stuffed Mushrooms” too.  Never tried them, you don’t know what you’re missing.  The recipes this week are a must try for anyone.

The two best mushrooms to use for stuffing are the ever available white mushrooms and baby bella mushrooms.  You will want to use ones that have a diameter of about 1½ inches.  These give you plenty of room for the filling and make a two or three bite delight.

If you are serving them as a finger food as people mill around at a party, you might go down to a one-inch diameter.  That way you don’t need utensils.  The cooking time will need a little adjustment for this size.

Fillings for stuffing mushrooms are really almost unlimited.  After you have tried making a few different stuffed recipes, use your imagination and experiment with some of your favorite foods.  Cheeses, sausage, bacon, bread crumbs and fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro are popular as components in the stuffing mixture.  One of this week’s recipes calls for imitation crab, which saves money.  But fresh or canned crab meat works wonderfully too.  Just a little more expensive.

Remember to be careful in cleaning the mushrooms.  They absorb water easily so do a quick rinse and dry with a paper towel gently.  Another way is to just use a damp paper towel and lightly rub the mushrooms.

Also, be careful removing the stems.  That’s what helps create the cavity to hold the filling.  Don’t throw the stems away.  Trim them and dice up to use in the filling.

The recipes this week include Wednesday’s “Porcini and Olive Stuffed Mushrooms” and then “Crab and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms” on Thursday.  Enjoy trying them and “Happy Cooking” until next week.