Strawberry Lemon Meringue Pie

Yesterday I made a strawberry lemon meringue pie. It was so delicious I decided to try to write down how I made it! I don't really measure very much so the filling is all approximates. Last summer I wanted to make a strawberry meringue pie and did a quick search online and it yielded few results. This year I searched again and was pleased to see how many possibilities there were.
Unfortunately there wasn't ONE perfect recipe. So here is my version, compiled from many other people.

Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour
2 T sugar
8 oz butter
2 oz cream cheese
Extra butter or spray to grease pie pan

Filling

Lemon curd or lemon pie filling
2 lbs strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 T cornstarch

Meringue

½ cup water
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites (reserved from filling)
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract



Let me just say that I HATE making pie crusts. Which is silly because pie crusts are so easy. But the flour on the counter, the having to roll it out AND make it look pretty. Bleck.
But I tried out a recipe this weekend and I'm in love!!! No rolling out the crust and getting flour everywhere! So here it is!

Beat 2 oz softened cream cheese with 8 T (1 stick) butter until well combined, a good minute or two.
In a separate bowl,
combine 1 1/4 cup flour with two tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter.

Pour into kitchenaid with cream cheese and butter and beat on med-low for about 30 seconds or until small pea-sized crust forms. Beat on med-high speed until larger balls begin to form. Pat dough into a 6 inch disc. Place into a GREASED pie pan and using your palms press the crust into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Here is a tip that made me happy: the meringue will cover the edge of the crust so your edges don't have to be perfect! Once your crust is assembled, pop in freezer for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425, poke bottom of crust with a fork, cover edges of crust with foil or a pie shield and weigh down crust with beans or foil balls.

Once crust is done cover bottom of crust with a layer of lemon curd or lemon pie filling. I used 1/2 a can of lemon pie filling)



While the crust is chilling in freezer, you should prep strawberries. (or go start a load of laundry, or go blow bubbles with your kiddo!) You'll need two lbs strawberries, stemmed and cut in half.


Put one lb strawberries in a small pot with a 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat. Mash berries as they cook and once they start to boil add 1 T cornstarch to thicken. Stir until dissolved.



Pour on top of lemon layer and add the rest of cut strawberries on top of strawberry filling.



Time to make meringue! I love cooks illustrated and sometimes watch their show on channel nine. I used their recipe:

Meringue
½ cup water
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites (reserved from filling)
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil over medium to high heat. Once syrup comes to a rolling boil, cook for exactly 4 minutes (mixture will become slightly thickened and syrupy). Remove from heat and set aside while beating egg whites. The 4 minute time frame was stressed in the show to get the sugar syrup to the right temperature.

Beat egg whites in stand mixer at medium-low speed until frothy, about 2 minutes. Add salt and cream of tartar, and beat gradually increasing speed to medium-high, until egg whites hold soft peaks, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running, slowly pour hot syrup into whites. Add vanilla and beat until the meringue has cooled and becomes very thick and shiny, 7-9 minutes)

Mound Meringue into center of pie.



Use a spatula to smooth all over pie making sure you bring the meringue all the way to the edge of the crust. Cook at 400 for about 6-8 minutes!






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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Playdough

Fun activity to do with your kiddos - cheap and lasts and stays softer than the store bought stuff....doesn't smell as bad, and probably isn't as bad for your kiddos to eat as the store bought stuff too!

I especially like this recipe because if you have little helpers making this with you, it's pretty easy to divide up the steps so everyone gets to help as much as the next person.

PLAY DOUGH

1 cup flour

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup salt (I've used both kosher and table salt and it doesn't seem to make a difference)

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 TABLESPOONS oil

food coloring

Pour everything into a medium pot putting in food color last. Stir and cook over medium heat until thickened. I think it takes about 5 minutes. Once it starts coming together, dump it out and very carefully but immediately knead the playdough. (Don't let your helpers do this part) As you're kneading feel free to incorporate a little more oil into it. It will keep your playdough moist and long lasting. Knead playdough until it's cooled off then spread one more layer of oil all over the top of the playdough, and wrap tightly in saran wrap. Let rest 20 minutes before you let your helpers play with it....(I know 20 minutes seems like forever, but maybe you can have a snack while you wait?!) Enjoy!

Meatless Monday? Try this Polenta Pie!

Polenta Pie is by far one of my favorite recipes for the begining of fall. I original stumbled across this recipe in a Martha Stewart Everyday Food Mag. It was called something different (I've searched for the original recipe, but to no avail...) This recipe is great if you are looking for a meatless monday recipe. It would also work great as a side dish, although I love to eat just this for dinner. It's pretty reasonable to make too. I buy a tube of polenta at Trader Joe's for about $2.00. Then you need 2 cans of beans, and a can of tomatoes! That's only about $3.00. I add some garlic, cilantro and green onions, and you probably at $2.00 more - though you'll have leftovers of those, so it doesn't really cost a whole two bucks. Top it off with a little cheese and sourcream if you have it/want it, and it should cost you less than $10.00. My recipe makes two 9 in pies. Hope you'll give this a try!

POLENTA PIE

1 tube polenta (I buy the organic polenta from Trader Joes)

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes

2 small cloves garlic, minced

1 jalepeno, seeded and diced (I like to leave some of the rib intact for a little extra kick, but if you get rid of ALL the seeds AND the rib, it won't be spicy at all)

3 green onions, chop it all - save the chopped greens for topping!

1 handful cilantro - rough chop

In a medium saucepan, heat up some good old olive oil. 1 glug is good. Just enough to get the pan coated, you know? Once the pan is nice and warm, add the WHITE parts of the green onion and the jalepeno. Let that cook for a couple minutes or so. They should be soft-ish before you add the garlic. Once you've let the jalepeno and onion cook up, add the garlic. Cook for just about 30 seconds -(Now make sure you have your beans prepped and your tomato can OPENED before you get to this step - you want to be able to dump as soon as that garlic is done! If you cook garlic too long it get's bitter. Yucko Wucko!) Then dump in tomatoes and drained beans.

Cook on med-high for about 10 minutes. While it's cooking, smash about 1/2 the beans up with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. Slice the polenta into round discs. One tube should be enough for TWO pie plates. Once the mixture has thickened up, add the cilantro and cook for one more minute. Put the polenta discs into the bottom of two pie plates, and then divide bean mixture between the two pans. Sprinkle with pepper jack cheese for a kick, or any other kind of cheese that floats your boat. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. Serve with lime-zested sour cream, and green parts of onion. Garnish with cilantro. Soo good.

Chicken with Mango Salsa over a Sweet Potato

A couple weeks ago, Dave's family came into town. We had a great time visiting with them! While they were here, we went out to eat at a local chain restaurant. I ordered Jamaican Jerk Chicken over a Sweet Potato. It was so good, that I couldn't wait to get home to make my own version of it. If the sweet potato scares you, (I'm finding out that a LOT of people don't like sweet potatoes!) you could always make this into chicken soft tacos with a mango salsa. That's what I did with my leftovers! (Even though I only made enough for two, Dave isn't a fan of sweet potatoes, hence the leftovers. Here you go. Enjoy!

PREP THE SWEET POTATOES

Preheat oven to 350. Scrub and poke the potatoes. (No explosions please!) Pop the potatoes in the MICROWAVE for 4 minutes, and then finish the potatoes off in the oven. I like to do it this way: it's quicker than baking them from start to finish, but I don't like fully microwaving them because I think they get a weird texture.

MAKE THE MARINADE FOR CHICKEN
I originally found this marinade in a Rachael Ray cookbook. She was making something else, I can't remember what! But I thought, "This would be a great go-to marinade for chicken!" and it turned out it was. Its so easy to make, but if using a food-processor or blender scares you, I'd look for some Jamaican jerk rub at your local market and use that.

2 Tablespoons Olive oil
zest and juice of one BIG lime
1 handful of cilantro
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1/2 of a med-to-large jalapeno. If you don't like it spicy, make sure you remove the ribs and the seeds.(Cut 1/2 jalapeno into sizes similar to the size of garlic for easy processing. While you are already working with the jalapeno, dice the other half of the jalapeno up and reserve for mango salsa)
1 Tablespoon cumin
salt and pepper



Throw all ingredients into food processor, and pulse until it's nice and smooth. It should be like a dressing, but will like pesto from the cilantro. It seriously takes less than 5 minutes for this marinade and it's so worth it.

PREP THE CHICKEN

6 chicken tenderloins

Pour all over the chicken, and turn and coat the chicken. Make sure you get all the pieces good, you don't want any pieces of chicken feeling left out! Now at this point, you can either pop the chicken into the oven next to the sweet potatoes and cook, or you can grill them, too. I just to bake mine yesterday, mostly because I didn't feel like turning on the grill for such a little amount of food.




MAKE THE SALSA

1 large mango, or 2 small mangoes
1/4 cup of diced red onion
1/2 of a cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 of a jalapeno, diced
1 avocado, cut into small chunks
1 handful chopped cilantro
1 lime (just the juice) I usually microwave my limes for 30 seconds before I juice them. I get a lot more juice that way.
Salt and pepper to taste

I really liked this salsa! Next time I might throw in some red pepper, jicama and perhaps a peach.



Check on your potatoes and chicken! By now, they should be done, or at least really close.

To assemble cut potato in half, brush with butter, and a little bit of honey. Put chicken on top of potato, and salsa on top. If it's a little spicier than you want, serve with fresh lime juice and sour cream. Enjoy!

Parmesan Baskets

I found this recipe in a culinary magazine under a section for "making week nights special." When I first read the magazine I laughed at it. I mean who has time to make something like this on a week night? But then, I thought what if I made this on a weekend instead...so I tried it, and it was difficult to get all the quirks worked out, but well worth the effort.

First use a non-stick small skillet. Sprinkle fresh grated parmesan into a cold skillet. Turn your skillet on med - low to medium.

You don't need a lot of parmesan, just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet.

Let the cheese get good and melty. Don't be in a hurry! If you're worried about it burning, turn the burner off before it's all-the-way done and leave it on the hot burner.

Now here's something I learned with the last batch of parmesan baskets I made! You don't have to get the cheese out of the pan right away! (trust me, your fingers will thank you for this!) Remove the pan from the hot burner and allow the cheese to cool and harden up a bit. Run a knife underneath the edges of the parmesan to loosen it up a bit. Now for the tricky part. You have to get the parmesan out of the pan, and wrapped around a china cup or small bowl or whatever kind of mold you want to use. I use a china cup turned upside down.

The best thing about these parmesan baskets is that they can be made early in the day, and then set aside til you're ready to serve them. Its versatile, too. You could serve a ceasar salad, a spinach salad (like the one pictured above) or even a fruit salad! So much fun to make!

Northwest flavors (MattMatt's birthday) Finale

Quick Strawberry Trifle

I found this recipe on http://www.cookscountry.com/. This is the second time I've made this recipe and I can't say as if I changed it up at all, or made it my own in any way, so I can't post the recipe, but here's some pictures for your enjoyment.

First I cut up four lbs of strawberries! That's right, 4 lbs! There were 13 people coming over for dinner (or 11 plus Dave and I) and my family's motto has always been "it's better to have too much, than too little."

Time to add a little sugar to make it sweeter!

And with four lbs. of strawberries, you have to have lots of angel food cake. So I used two angel food cakes, and then cut them into large chunks. Using store-bought angel food cake was a life-saver on this day!

Time to assemble: angel food cake, whipped cream with cream, sour cream, cream cheese (all low-fat of course!) almond extract and all sorts of yummy goodness, strawberries. Repeat layers over and over again until you get this:

(shot from the side)

(shot from the top)