Turning pumpkin pie disaster into a win

Photograph ©2014, Lori Korleski Richardson

Pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving tradition. And this year, disaster.

Those of you who have known me or have followed this blog for some time have heard me confess that I am a cook, not a baker. Never was that more apparent than on the morning of Nov. 27, 2014.

Jim and our friend Carla had gone on a country walk, our friend Rob was getting some much needed sleep, and I was doing prep for our big dinner to come. Every thing was going well. I remembered in years past that the recipe on the side of the pumpkin can made WAY too much filling for my 9-inch pie plate and I didn't want to make two crusts. So I thought, why not make the crust in my 10-inch springform pan? I'd done quiches that way and they had come out fine, even though the edge slipped down a bit and dropped over the filling; at least they were easy to cut at the table.

So I found a recipe for an extra crispy crust (a key ingredient: vodka) and proceeded according to directions, but neglected to notice the pie weights (which in my kitchen are dried beans) were supposed to go on top of the foil during the blind bake. So when I took it out of the oven after 15 minutes, the beans decided to stay right where they were. And when I tipped the pan to shake them out, the entire crust came tumbling out. By the time I got it righted and all the beans off, it was in five big pieces and a lot of little ones.

I really didn't have time to start over, since the prep and resting times for it were well over an hour. So I took the pieces, fitted them in the 9-inch pie pan the best I could so that they came up the side but not over, and pressed them together. I took the dough that had been left over, made it into a tight ball and rolled it out. I took one of my small decorative cookie cutters and cut out as many little flowers as I could. I then placed them, overlapping slightly, on the top edge of the pie plate, and pressed them into each other and the piecemeal crust.

Then I took the recipe off the side of the can and modified it thusly. Success!

Lori K's shallow dish pumpkin pie

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 large eggs

1 can 100% pumpkin (15 ounces)

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

4 ounces heavy cream

Instructions

Beat eggs until foamy. Add pumpkin and stir well. Add the sugar and spices and stir until combined thoroughly. Add the cream and mix well. Pour into the crust. Cook for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool. I served this with 4 ounces of heavy cream whipped with about a tablespoon of hickory syrup and a teaspoon of vanilla. Be sure to freeze the beaters and bowl for a half hour or so before whipping for the best result.

In full cauliflower

Cauliflower is perhaps the mildest of the cole family vegetables, and that makes it a good entry vegetable if you can't seem to bring yourself to eat broccoli or despise the smell of cooked cabbage. And this soup, which my friend Bambi Nicklin featured on a Facebook posting recently, makes the nutritious vegetable even more inviting. I served it with fried calamari (recipe below the soup) for a good, gluten-free meal. If you want to stretch this out to serve four people, add some appetizers and a salad.


Bambi's Cauliflower Soup
Serves 2

Cook a cored cauliflower in broth until it's very soft. Remove from broth with a slotted spoon and blend with a little broth until smooth. Return to pot. Add 3/4 cup finely grated cheese and dried thyme and whisk to blend the melted cheese. Meanwhile, cook 1 cup peas for 2 minutes in the microwave. Whisk in about 1/3 cup sour cream and add the peas.

Lori's note: I didn't have any sour cream on hand, so I used Mexican table cream instead. It was delicious.

Crispy Calamari
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 pound small calamari
½ cup rice flour
2 teaspoons Mas Guapo or other spicy salt

Instructions
Clean calamari and cut into rings. Drain well. Mix the flour and seasoned salt together. Dredge the calamari in the flour and shake off excess. You can do this in advance.

When ready to cook, bring the calamari to room temperature. Over medium heat in a cast-iron skillet, heat about ½-inch of canola oil. When hot, add rings in small batches so they aren't crowded. Cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes, then drain on paper towels. Let the oil come back up to temperature before adding more. Serve with lemon wedges or your favorite sauce.

A Christmas salad and chowder

My sister-in-law is planning to serve a crisp Romaine salad and a chowder that includes giant prawns, scallops and clams, and asked if I had a recipe for a good Caesar dressing and a nice chowder. Here were my recipes from the files, and I thought you might like to try them as well.

What are you fixing for Christmas dinner this year? I'd love it if you'd include your menu in a comment below, or send me an email.

Caesar dressing recipe
from Sallie Y. Williams' "The Complete Book of Sauces":

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

6 anchovy fillets, rinsed, dried, smashed and chopped finely

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 large egg, soft-boiled for 1 minute

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

For a rustic vinaigrette, put all the ingredients in a jar and shake until well mixed. For a more creamy dressing, put all ingredients but the Parmesan in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Add the cheese and stir.

If I'm not lazy, I rub the salad bowl with a clove of garlic for extra flavor. If I'm pressed for time, I use garlic salt in place of the salt. Also, since I know where my egg has come from and I wash it before using, I skip the soft-boiled step. (I think the lemon juice "cooks" the egg.)

Seafood Chowder

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a first

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, cut into 3/4-inch dice
2 sprigs fresh summer savory or thyme, leaves removed and chopped (1 teaspoon)
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 pound Yukon Gold, white or rose potatoes (not russet), peeled and diced in 1/2-inch chunks
1 1/4 cups fish or chicken stock, or clam juice
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound of the following: mixed shellfish or skinless haddock or cod fillets, totally deboned
1/3 cup heavy cream (or half and half, or milk, if a lighter soup is desired)

For garnish

1 ounce lean bacon bits or lardons

2 teaspoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh chives

Instructions

Heat a 2-quart heavy pot to medium hot. Add oil, onions, savory or thyme, and bay leaves to the pot and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are softened but not browned.

Add the potatoes and stock. If the stock doesn’t cover the potatoes, add just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil over higher heat, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously for 5-10 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the stock hasn’t thickened lightly, smash a few of the potato chunks against the side of the pot and cook for a minute or two longer. Reduce the heat to low and season with salt and pepper (you will want to almost overseason the chowder at this point to avoid having to stir it much once the fish is added). Add the seafood or fish fillets and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and allow the chowder to sit for 10 minutes (the fish/seafood will finish cooking during this time).
Gently stir in the cream and taste for salt and pepper. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit for up to an hour at room temperature, allowing the flavors to meld. When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don’t let it boil. 

Warm the bacon or lardons in a low oven (200 °F) for a few minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to mound the chunks of fish and/or seafood, the onions, and potatoes in the center of large soup plates or shallow bowls, and ladle the creamy broth around. Scatter the bacon over the individual servings and finish each with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and minced chives.

Brown sugar, how come you dance so good?

Photo: © Lori Korleski Richardson

I love gooey, chewy caramel. But as I've gotten older, my teeth just can't handle it, and I'm tired of losing fillings to my sweet addiction.

I thought I'd try my hand this Christmas season at making some, but every recipe I found for caramels included corn syrup, which I refuse to buy. So what to do?

Then I remembered pralines. You can make them like caramels, or like a brown-sugar candy. I love both kinds, but thinking of my teeth, I opted for the latter. They are pretty easy to make. It helps if you have a candy thermometer, but that's no guarantee that they will set up. One sheet of mine did, the other didn't. Go figure. I put them in the freezer if they don't set up and use them for topping vanilla yogurt or ice cream.

Note: I keep my unsalted butter in the freezer. To use, I shred what I need with a grater. It comes to room temperature very quickly that way.

Lori K's Pralines
Makes 24 smallish ones

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar (I like dark best)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons butter, shredded
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped, plus 12 halves for decoration

Instructions
Melt the sugar and cream in a heavy pan over medium heat, using a silicone spoon to stir. Once it melts, turn up the heat a little and put in the candy thermometer, if using. Cook to soft-boil stage, 240 degrees, about 12 minutes. Turn the heat to simmer and let it cool down to 220 degrees. Add the vanilla and butter, and cook at 220 degrees for about 6 minutes until it's all well blended. Add the pecans and stir well.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment. Drop a spoonful of the mixture on the sheet, three across and four down. Top each with a pecan half. Repeat on the second sheet. The candy will harden as it comes to room temperature.

Weeknight nage for busy gourmets

The recipe I posted earlier this week is good but complicated. 

It took Jim a whole afternoon to prepare this wonderful dinner: 

Sautéed Maine Scallops on Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Parsley Nage in "Terra: Cooking from the Heart of Napa Valley" (Ten Speed Press, 2000, 256 pages) by Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani.

What follows is my simplified version for two people. It takes about 30 minutes to fix, and is a good way to flavor up chicken breasts. It also looks impressive. If you don't care for cilantro, use flat-leaf parsley instead.

Lori K's Chicken Breasts in Rustic Nage

Serves 2

Recipe ©2012  Lori Korleski Richardson

Ingredients

For the nage

1 small minced shallot

3 tablespoons dry white wine

1/4 cup heavy cream

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 small bunch cilantro, stemmed

1/4 cup packed spinach leaves

1/3 cup chicken stock

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 ounces white or brown mushrooms, sliced

For the rest

2 small chicken breasts

Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

Spray olive oil

8 baby carrots

4 spears asparagus

1/2 yellow bell pepper

2 cups boiling water

1 pack (4.1 ounce) Idahoan Baby Reds instant mashed potatoes

4 sprigs cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

To start the nage, combine the minced shallot and wine in a small, heavy, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1 tablespoon. Add the cream and return just to a boil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Put the cilantro and spinach in freezer zip bag and partially close. Microwave until just wilted. Seal the bag and throw the bag into the freezer to chill. Put the stock and garlic into a blender, along with a little salt and pepper. Take the bag out of the freezer, drain the greens, squeeze out any excess water and add to the stock and garlic. Process until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over high heat, add the mushrooms and sauté for 4 minutes. Set aside.

Using the microwave, cook the baby carrots in a bowl with a little water until tender, about 4 minutes. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus, then put them in a freezer zip bag and partially close; cook about 2 minutes or until bright green. Cut the ribs and seeds off the yellow bell pepper and cut into 8 strips. Cook in a freezer zip bag until just well heated. Drain all these, season with a little salt and pepper and keep warm.

Pound the chicken breasts until they are about a 1/4-inch thick. Season with salt and pepper and spray with olive oil. Heat a cast-iron shallow skillet to hot over high heat. Sauté the breasts on one side until they are very white around the edges. Flip and cook about a minute less on the other side. Remove the pan from the heat and let the breasts rest in the pan for 1 minute.

As you do this, boil the water for the potatoes. Add the pouch of potatoes all at once and stir well to moisten. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, finish preparing the nage: Reheat the cream mixture, and add the cilantro-spinach purée and the mushrooms. Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside and keep warm.

To serve, put 1/2 cup mashed potatoes in the center of each of 2 warmed shallow bowls. Spoon the  nage evenly around the potatoes, then place one chicken breast on top of each serving of mashed potatoes. Arrange the vegetables on and around the chicken. Garnish with cilantro springs.

A nage to remember

©2012,  Lori Korleski Richardson

Nage isn't a word we use much, even among dedicated cooks. It is a French word that means "swimming," and is used to describe a dish served in a soupy sauce.

For my birthday this year, my dear husband - who before he met me was considered a gourmet bachelor cook - took over the kitchen for an afternoon and made me a version of this dish. He substituted haricots verts for sugar snap peas, a wild mushroom mixture for the chanterelles, and he skipped the baby squash.

There's a saying popular among cooks: "Never go to a restaurant for a meal that's not significantly better than what you make at home." It's no wonder we don't eat out more often.

And I must say, my birthday dinner was better than the meals at any of the restaurants that we tried for Restaurant Week, although the one at Ten came very close.

Jim found this recipe in "Terra: Cooking from the Heart of Napa Valley" (Ten Speed Press, 2000, 256 pages) by Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani. We've eaten at cozy Terra several times, but have never ordered this dish.

If this seems like way too much work (not everyone has a whole afternoon to prepare a dinner), or you don't care for scallops, I'll be posting my simplified version of this recipe, made in less than 30 minutes with chicken breasts, later this week.

Sautéed Maine Scallops on Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Parsley Nage
Serves 4
Typed in by Lori Korleski Richardson
Ingredients
For the nage
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, stemmed
1/2 cup packed spinach leaves
2/3 cup chicken stock
Pinch of minced garlic
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 1/2 ounces chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and cut or torn into bite-size pieces

For the rest
3 tablespoons clarified butter
20 ounces large scallops, cleaned (hinge removed)
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 peeled young thin carrots, tops trimmed to 1/2 inch and blanched
4 baby yellow squash, blanched
12 sugar snap peas, blanched
2 cups hot garlic mashed potatoes (recipe)
4 sprigs parsley, for garnish

Instructions
To start the nage, combine the shallots and wine in a small, heavy, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Add the cream and return just to a boil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the parsley and spinach, and blanch for 10 seconds. Drain and immerse in ice water until cold. Drain, squeeze out all the excess water and coarsely chop. Combine in a blender with the cold stock and garlic and process until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the solids with the back of a large spoon to extract all the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids. Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan or skillet over high heat, add the mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes. Set aside.

To sauté the scallops, heat the clarified butter in a large sauté pan or skillet over high heat until hot. Season the scallops with salt and pepper, dust with flour on both sides, and sauté until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Remove the pan from the heat and let the scallops rest in the pan for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, finish preparing the nage: Reheat the cream mixture, and add the parsley-spinach purée and the mushrooms. Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside and keep warm.

At the same time, melt the butter in a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium heat, add the carrots, squash and sugar snap peas, and sauté until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, put 1/2 cup garlic mashed potatoes in the center of each of 4 warmed shallow bowls. Spoon the mushroom and parsley nage evenly around the potatoes, then place one fourth of the scallops on top of each serving of mashed potatoes. Arrange the vegetables on and around the scallops. Garnish with parsley springs.

Cookbook: The Art of the Dessert

We have a winner - Janice Dean of Charlottesville. Check back next Friday for another cookbook giveaway.

Although I love to cook, I have always been frustrated by baking. As the years have gone by, I have come to realize that they are two distinct disciplines and success at one does not ensure great results at the other.

But I do appreciate a good dessert and the pastry chefs who make them. Ann Amernick is one of these. While the rest of us poor slobs are trying to do our best with cup measures and tablespoons, she's expertly measuring out her ingredients with a gram scale for consistent results. But in "The Art of the Dessert," she also has tips for the home cook, and shares her techniques for getting the best out of your recipes. And then there are her recipes, nearly a hundred of them: cakes and tortes, pies and tarts, cookies and candies, cold desserts, warm desserts, and dessert sandwiches to impress your guests.

 If you want this week's book, "The Art of the Dessert," be the first to click the PayPal button (Buy Now) below, follow the directions to deposit a payment to my account, AND leave a comment at the end of this blog item with some way to contact you for your address or in case you were not the first one (I have only one copy of each book). I will send the book by Priority Mail. Offer good in the United States only at this time. You don't need a PayPal account, but you will need a credit card to pay with the button.

If this isn't the book for you, keep checking back on Fridays. I offer a different cookbook each week. I'll edit the post to indicate when a book is no longer available.

If you live in Charlottesville, you can save the money by coming to pick up the book. Be the first to leave a comment, with a way to contact you.

To give you an idea of the recipes in "The Art of the the Dessert," here is a sample recipe.

Triple Chocolate Terrine
Yield: 1 9x5inch loaf

Ingredients
5 ounces white chocolate
5 ounces milk chocolate
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 3/4 cups heavy cream

Preparation
Lay a length of double thickness plastic wrap large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan on a work surface. Smooth out any air bubbles. Fit the plastic wrap into the loaf pan, lining the bottoms and the sides and allowing it to extend over the sides of the pan. Press the plastic wrap in well to get rid of any air bubbles. Set aside.

Instructions
Chop the white, milk and bittersweet chocolates separately and place each in a microwave bowl. Whip 3/4 cup of the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Microwave the white chocolate on medium power for 20 seconds, then 10 seconds, stirring between each interval. As soon as the chocolate begins to melt, decrease the interval time to 5 seconds. The chocolate should be warm and completely melted without being burned. As soon as the chocolate is melted, fold in the whipped cream quickly, so as not to solidify the chocolate with the coldness of the cream, until no streaks of chocolate show. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a 2-inch wide offset metal spatula. Refrigerate.

Whip another 3/4 cup of the cream until soft peaks form. Set aside. Repeat the melting process with the milk chocolate, then fold in the whipped cream. Pour over the white chocolate and smooth. Refrigerate.
Barely whip the remaining 1 1/4 cups cream to less-than-soft peaks, until the tracks of the whisk are just visible in the cream. Remove 1/2 cup of the cream and set aside. Melt the bittersweet chocolate using the same method as the white and milk chocolates. The chocolate should be very warm to best mix with the whipped cream.

Working very quickly, pour the very warm chocolate into the remaining whipped cream and immediately begin whisking the mixture very quickly and thoroughly to combine the chocolate and cream, until no chocolate bits are visible. (This step must be done quickly so the chocolate goes in smoothly.) Add the reserved 1/2 cup whipped cream, whisking it in thoroughly until blended.
Pour the bittersweet chocolate mixture over the milk chocolate mixture in the pa and smooth the top.

Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Turn the terrine out onto a serving platter, remove the plastic wrap, and cut into 1-inch slices.

Place a slice on each plate and surround with raspberry coulis, a blend of 2 pints mashed fresh raspberries, 1 tablespoon framboise, and 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar (or to taste).

Making something healthful unhealthful

California Avocado Commission

Why do restaurant chefs just pile on the calories, after they've created something that sounds right and healthful? Case in point:

CHOPPED SALAD

Recipe Provided By Chef Kevin Gin, Bridges in Danville, CA

Serves: 4

Ingredients

12 ounces grilled chicken breast, diced medium

6 ounces crisp cooked smoked bacon, chopped small

8 ounces fresh avocados, diced medium*

4 petite hearts of romaine, chopped (about 2 cups lightly packed)

8 small tomatoes (2" diameter), cut in quarters

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon mixed herbs

Creamy Basil Dressing (recipe follows)

Instructions

Marinate the cut tomatoes in the olive oil and mixed herbs for about 10 minutes.

Toss the chopped romaine with the Creamy Basil Dressing. Divide the mixture between 4 serving bowls.

Top each bowl with chicken, avocado, bacon, and tomato. Serve.

*A large Fresh California Avocado weighs about 8 oz.

Creamy Basil Dressing

(Yield: 1 1/4 cup)

Ingredients

8 ounces sour cream

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ ounce fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

Whisk all ingredients together.

Now tell me, how does the dressing make this salad any better than if you added a couple of basil leaves and a squeeze of lemon? Why add cream and sour cream to a basically healthy dish?

A side note: Bridges is a fine restaurant, and if you're ever in Danville, you should check it out. If you don't plan a trip to this East Bay burb anytime soon, you can see the restaurant in the movie "Mrs. Doubtfire."

Bananas and toffee and cream, oh my!

Banana cream pie was one of my favorite childhood desserts, and in Sacramento, my favorite was the one my friend Elaine did for the restaurant she and her husband David owned, Bamboo.

But the Brits one-upped us in the 1970s when the owners of The Hungry Monk, a restaurant in East Sussex, invented Banoffi Pie, which combines the flavors of banana and toffee. It's really easy, too.

Banoffi Pie

Ingredients
3 cans sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
1 9-inch deep-dish pie crust
3 large bananas
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

Instructions
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Pour condensed milk into pie plate, sprinkle with salt and cover tightly with foil. Put in a roasting pan, then add about a half inch of boiling water. Bake, refilling pan to halfway with water about every 40 minutes, until milk is thick and a deep golden caramel color, about 2 hours. Remove pie plate from water bath and transfer toffee to a bowl, then chill toffee, uncovered, until it is cold, about 1 hour.
While toffee is chilling, clean pie plate and bake empty pie crust in it (pie weights will keep it from puffing up too much). Cool crust completely in pan on a rack, about 20 minutes.
Spread toffee evenly in crust, and chill, uncovered, 15 minutes.
Cut bananas into 1/4-inch-thick slices and pile over toffee.
Beat cream with brown sugar in a clean bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks, then mound over top of pie.
The toffee can be made up to two days before.

If you want to make your own pie crust, here's the original recipe from The Hungry Monk:
For the pastry:
1 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg and 1 egg yolk

Place the flour and sugar in a bowl, cut the butter into cubes and then rub it in to the flour / sugar until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Work in the egg to form a paste.
Chill for half an hour then roll out to 1/8-inch thick and line the deep pie tin.
Prick the base, line with parchment paper and weigh down with dry beans.
Cook for 15 minutes then remove the beans and paper.
Put the crust back into the oven and cook until it is evenly golden.
Remove from the oven and cool.