I consulted Food Network for something different to try this year. These were hits.
Ham with Toasted Spice & Honey (Maple) Drizzle
~ Michael Chiarello @ Food Network
At first, I was a little worried as I was toasting the spices in the pan. The coriander has a very strong, distinct flavor and scent; I was afraid it would overpower the rub mix. It didn’t. It made the house smell wonderful, and continued on with a very soft and pleasant spicy aftertaste; almost like a puff of spicy. I did change one thing though, and used 1 cup honey and 1 cup maple syrup instead of 2 cups honey. It was delish!
Roasted Cauliflower
~ Dave Lieberman @ Food Network
Another successful and delicious way to prepare cauliflower. This will go in my recipe collection to add to our meals. A few things I might change, however, would be to mince the garlic. Although the roasting reduces the “bite” of the garlic, we prefer not to get the bite from the slices. Mincing would allow for a more blended garlicky flavor. I might also use grated, rather than coarsely shredded, Parmesan cheese. Parmesan does not melt well and tends to get “crispy” if you will. In its finely grated state, it would, like the garlic, blend in much better. Otherwise, another successful and delicious side dish.
With that, we had the rest of the usual holiday dishes: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes cooked in brown sugar and butter, green bean casserole, cornbread stuffing, rolls.
For dessert, we had plenty of Christmas cookies on hand, and I made an apple pie. I tried mixing Fuji apples (you MUST try Fuji apples; they are wonderful) with Granny Smith. I’m not sure which one, the Fuji or the Granny, did not cook down completely, so I had some crunchy apple bites in the pie. The one I made at Thanksgiving was perfect overall…the crust was flaky and tender, and the apples were cooked just right. It’s a different experience every time.
I did finally get my pie crust worked out so results are consistent every time.
Pie Crust:
Makes two 9-inch crusts
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup COLD unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup COLD shortening (I like the butter-flavored Crisco sticks for pie crust)
4 to 6 tablespoons ICE water
Blend flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut cold butter cubes and shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender or in food processor (best method) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons water into mixture; mix gently with fork. Continue to add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until dough begins to come together.
Divide the dough into two balls, with one slightly larger than the other. Flatten dough into 1/2-inch thick disks and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
To form crusts: Tear off 2 long sheets of waxed paper. Place disk on one sheet of paper and the remaining sheet on top of disk. Roll out dough outward from center of disk with rolling pin, turning dough 1/4 turns as you go. Roll dough until it is 2 inches larger than the pie plate.
Remove top layer of waxed paper. Carefully place dough side down into pie plate and remove waxed paper.
For double crust pie: Roll out dough as before. Carefully place dough on top of filling, removing waxed paper. Trim edge of dough, leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Fold or roll dough together and flute as desired. Cut slits in top crust to vent.
Bake pie as directed in recipe.
Tip: I prefer waxed paper over plastic wrap for rolling the dough out. When you put the crust in the pie plate and have to remove the paper, you can simply tear the paper and not damage the crust as might happen by pulling off a sheet of plastic wrap.
No comments:
Post a Comment