Upside Down Pecan Apple Pie
Ingredients & Directions 1 c Chopped pecans 1/2 c Br.sugar 1/2 c Melted butter or margarine 1 pk Refrigerated pie crusts 6 c Apples; thinly sliced 1/4 c Sugar 2 Tbsp.flour1 3/16 ts Cinnamon 1/3 ts Nutmeg Combine pecans, br. sugar and margarine in a 9″ pie pan. Spread evenly over bottom of pan. Place pie crust over pecan mixture. In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon into crust-lined pan. Top with remaining crust. Fold edge of top crust under bottom crust. Press together to seal. Flute edge. Cut slits in top crust. Bake 375 for 40-50 minutes. Cover edge of crust with strips of foil after 15-20 minutes of baking time to prevent excessive browning. Cool pie upright for 5 minutes. Place serving plate over pie; invert. Carefully remove pan. Cool at least 1 hour before serving. Yields 1 Servings
Cultivating A Taste For Ground Cherry Pie
Ingredients & Directions 4 c Ground cherries 1/2 c Sugar 2 ts Quick cooking tapioca Handful all-purpose flour Juice of 1 large lemon Pastry for a double-crust -9-inch pie 2 tb Butter BY JEFF COX One of the joys of making a kitchen garden is getting to grow and taste new and unusual varieties of vegetables. Unfamiliar vegetables are like unfamiliar people. They take time to get to know. Lack of understanding can lead to mistakes takes. So I put most of my energy into growing my own garden tested favorites, and limit the number of unfamiliar varieties in each garden to just one or two. Elusive Habits: One year I tried ground cherries, Physalis pruinosa, which produce tiny tomato-like fruits in papery husks on low, lanky, herbaceous bushes. I planted them in a corner of the garden that didn’t get much traffic, and never did see them sprout, or see them growing during the summer, either. I thought they died from neglect. When things thinned out later in the year, I discovered that the whole area was covered with the trailing vines of the ground cherries, and there were enough fruits to make an intensely-flavored and very wigged-out ground cherry pie. Ground cherries also are known as husk tomatoes, and are a smaller, more flavorful cousin of the tomatillo (Physalis ixocarpa) used in Mexican salsa verde. They’re also related to the Hawaiian poha (Physalis peru viana). They like the same conditions as tomatoes, and thus will do best in the portions of the Bay Area that stay warmest at night. However, if you can grow tomatoes, you can grow ground cherries, and they’re worth a try. They always pull their disappearing act if grown among other plants. They like to drape their long trailing branches over their neighbors’ leaves, and run down among long grasses. Only becoming visible when the other plants die back late in the year. The plants are sprawling and grow about 18 inches tall. Their flowers are inconspicuous little bells less than a half-inch long, whitish yellow with brown spots. They set fruit sparingly until mid- season, when they finally produce large clusters of fruit that develop inside green ish husks. These dry when ripe to a lacy brown paper. The fruits are green and unpalatable until ripe, when they turn a rich golden yellowish brown. Small But Sweet: The fruits are the size of blueberries, and are intensely sweet with a low acid finish. They’re surprisingly savory and good for preserves, although I prefer them in a once-every-five-years version of ground cherry pie. More often than that, and I get squeamish. Order ground cherry seed from Nichols Garden Nursery, 1190 North Pacific Highway, Albany, Oregon 97321. A packet plus handling charge is $1.65. You’ll enjoy having the Nichols catalog of herbs and rare seeds, too. [This info may be dated++the article is three years old. S.C.] Plant the seeds in the spring in an out-of-the-way part of the garden and make sure the area is not allowed to undergo severe water stress. Ground cherries are hardy, but not drought-proof. They’ll grow in any good garden soil. If you can avoid eating them all out of hand, try the pie. Jeff Cox, a Bay Area resident, an editor and writer for Rodale Press and author of several gardening books. Directions Gently mix together. ground cherries, sugar, tapioca, flour and lemon juice. Let stand for 15 minutes while you line a 9-inch pie pan with half of the pastry. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Turn the fruit, mixture into the pastry- lined pan, and dot the top with the butter. Cover with a well-pricked top crust or lattice work of dough. Bake at 450F for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 40 minutes, or until golden brown. San Francisco Chronicle, 12/7/88. Yields 1 servings
Lemon Tort
Ingredients & Directions 175 g Plain flour; (6oz) 125 g Butter; melted (4oz) 40 g Icing sugar; (1 1/2oz) 1 tb Cold water 125 g Caster sugar; (4oz) 3 Eggs; size 3 142 ml Double cream; (5fl oz) Grated rind and juice of 2 -lemons Lemon slices; icing sugar -and ; shredded lime, to ; decorate Mix together the flour, butter, icing sugar and water. Press the soft dough into the base and up the sides of a 20cm (8inch) fluted flan ring. Pierce the base several times and bake blind on a baking tray in a preheated oven 190?C/375?F/Gas Mark 5 for 20 minutes, until golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 150?C/300?F/Gas Mark 2. Place the caster sugar, eggs, cream and lemon rind and juice in a bowl. Whisk together until blended, then carefully pour into the cooked pastry case. Return to the oven and cook for a further 35-40 minutes, until set. Arrange lemon slices on top, sprinkle generously with icing sugar and place under a preheated grill for 2-3 minutes until golden. Sprinkle with grated lemon rind and serve with creme fraiche or cream. Yields 6 servings
Country Cranberry Cake
Ingredients & Directions 1 18 1/4oz bx White cake mix 1 ts Grated orange rind 1 1 lb can 1/2 ts Orange extract ———————–CRANBERRY SATIN FROSTING———————– 1 pk White frosting mix Jellied cranberry sauce 1/2 c Boiling cranberry juice Preheat oven according to directions on cake mix package. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Grease and flour 2 8-inch round cake pans. Spoon 1 cup batter into each pan. Cut cranberry sauce into 8 equal slices. Place 4 slices over batter in each pan toward center; sprinkle orange rind over all. Spoon remaining batter evenly over cranberry slices; bake as directed on cake mix box. Remove from pans; cool on racks. Prepare Cranberry Satin Frosting. Place 1 cake layer cranberry side up on cake dish; frost. Top with second layer cranberry side up; frost top and sides of cake. CRANBERRY SATIN FROSTING: Combine frosting mix and cranberry juice. Beat until frosting stands in stiff peaks. Home Cooking Magazine, April 95 Yields 1 servings
Baked Hush Puppies
Ingredients & Directions Nonstick cooking spray 1/2 c Yellow cornmeal 1/4 c Unbleached all purpose flour 3/4 ts Baking powder 1/2 ts Granulated sugar 1/4 ts Salt (optional) 1/2 ts Celery flakes 1/4 ts Cayenne pepper 1 Egg white; beaten 1/4 c Skim milk 1 tb Vegetable oil 1/4 c Finely chopped scallion; -including green top Heat oven to 425 degrees. Using nonstick cooking spray, coat miniature muffin pan ( 1 3/4 inch cups). In medium sized bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, celery flakes, and cayenne pepper; stir until well blended. In a small bowl, combine egg white, milk, and vegetable oil; stir well. Add liquids to dry ingredients; stir just until blended. Stir in scallion. Spoon about 1 tablespoon batter into each muffin cup. Bake until hush puppies are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove immediately; serve warm. Yield: 12 servings Per Serving: Calories – 42 Fat – 1 gram Sodium – 30 milligrams Yields 1 Servings
Fruit Tarts
Ingredients & Directions CHEESE TART SHELLS 1/2 c Vegetable Shortening 1 1/2 c Unbleached Flour 5 oz American Cheese Spread;1 Jar FILLING 2 ea Navel Oranges;Peel & Section 1/8 t Salt 8 1/4 oz Pineapple; Crushed, 1 Cn 1/2 c Orange Juice 1/4 c Sugar 3/4 c Cheddar; Sharp, Shredded 5 t Cornstarch 1 tb Lemon Juice CHEESE TART SHELLS: Combine the shortening and cheese spread in a medium bowl. Cut flour into the cheese mixture with two knives until well blended. Shape into a roll 1 1/4-inch in diameter and 12 inches long. Wrap completely in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Slice 1/8-inch thick. Using 12 (2 3/4-inch) muffin cups or 3-inch tart pans, place 1 slice of dough in the bottom of each. Overlap 5 slices around the outside of each. Gently press together. Pierce the bottoms and sides with a fork. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven until lightly browned. Cool in the pans on a rack and gently remove the shells when cold to the touch. FILLING: Cut each orange section into 3 pieces and set aside. Drain the pineapple, reserving the syrup. Combine the pineapple syrup, orange juice, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Stir in the rest of the ingredients except the cheddar cheese, and cook, stirring gently, over medium heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in the orange pieces and pineapple. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Spoon the chilled filling into the baked tart shells and sprinkle each tart with about 1 Tbls of the cheddar cheese. Refrigerate until serving time. Yields 4 servings
Plum-almond Tart
Ingredients & Directions 1/2 pk Frozen puff pastry, 1 sheet 2/3 c Toasted sliced almonds -finely chopped 1 1/2 lb Plums; halve, pitted, sliced 1/4 c Sugar 2 tb Sugar 1 ts Grated lemon zest NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION/SERV x 222 calories x 4 g protein x 35 g carbohydrate x 8 g fat x 5 mg cholesterol x 21 mg sodium 1. Preheat oven to 400F. On lightly floured surface, roll thawed pastry sheet to 14×12 inch rectange. With sharp knife, cut off 2 inches from ong side to make a 12 inch square; cut 14×2 inch strip lengthwise into four 1/2 inche wide strips. Brush edges of pastry square with water; attach a pastry strip on top of each edge, pressing gently and trimming to fit. Place on baking sheet. 2. Sprinkle almonds over pastry (not over strips). 3. In bowl, combine plums, 1/4 cup sugar and the lemon zest; toss to combine. Arrange plums, overlapping, in rows over almonds; reserve any juices from plums. Sprinkle plums with remaining 2 T sugar. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Brush top with any reserved plum juice. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yields 9 Servings
