Pie is why, part 1

I've been on a bit of a pie-baking bender. Last night I made a vegetarian faux-beef pot pie. It was a big hit, even with a British meat-eater :)

I worked without a recipe, as I am wont to do lately, but it's a simple enough dish that it's easily recreated and pretty quick to make.

Oven temp: 400 degrees

Cook time: About 35 minutes

What you'll need for the crust (I'm giving away my gran's secret recipe here, so use it wisely):

• 
  
  2 1/2 cups flour
• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  
  1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 
  
  1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cold water
• 
  
  1 egg, beaten, for top crust wash

Mix all of the ingredients together until all the dry stuff is incorporated. Divide into 2 balls and roll out to pie pan-size between two sheets of wax paper. Line the pie pan with one of the sheets of dough and save the other for the top.

What you'll need for the filling:

• 1 bag of Gardein beefless tips
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 stalk celery, finely sliced
• 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
• About 2/3 cup frozen peas
• 1 packet instant vegetarian gravy (I used Pillsbury brown gravy)

Add a bit of oil to a large-ish nonstick pan and sautee the first 5 ingredients over medium-high heat until onions begin to brown and tips are thawed. Add peas and continue to cook until everything looks done.

Make gravy to instructions on packet and pour into pan with "meat" and veg. Then pour the filling into the pie pan and top with second sheet of crust. Poke some holes in the crust with a knife or fork and brush with the egg.

I recommend putting this pie on a cookie sheet before putting it in the oven as the gravy kind of bubbles out. Bake until the crust is a lovely golden brown, let cool, and enjoy!



It's a bit nutty.

This stuff is bizarre... I had to buy it because the name was hilarious. It's mushy peanuts suspended in a sugary syrup. The syrup isn't too bad (kind of like a liquified Salted Nut Roll), but the mushy peanuts? Too weird. And it comes with a little built-in spoon.

L'Etoile 11/14

Last night we brought the Bay and Schiefelbein clans together for an evening of fine dining at L'Etoile in Madison. Though the cheese platter disappeared before we had a chance to take pictures, enjoy the main courses and desserts!

Pear and Champagne Sorbet

Toffee Pudding

Tuna and Grits (fancier than it sounds)

Pheasant

Hickory Smoked Squash

Dinner 10/17

Ian showed me how to make baked brie, and it is super easy and delicious. We got a cracker assortment to go with the cheese and followed it with pasta and roasted red pepper alfredo sauce (from a jar, because I'm kinda lazy). Anyhow, making baked brie is tres facile and only takes about half an hour (maybe an hour and a half taking pastry thaw-time into account).

-Get a wedge or wheel of brie, some frozen puff pastry dough, and find some jam, jelly or preserves that are sweet but tart (we used my grandma's homemade currant jelly, but we also considered cloudberry jam)

-Preheat oven to temperature listed on pastry package

-Thaw a sheet of puff pastry until it's flexible enough to bend without breaking

-Spread a decent layer of fruit stuff on top of the brie, and wrap in the pastry dough.

-Bake according to the pastry dough instructions (the kind we used called for 400 degrees for 15 minutes, but I ended up baking it for about 8 minutes longer so the dough got nice and browned)

-Let cool for a few minutes so you aren't scalded with hot cheese; cut with a sharp knife and eat on crackers

Our baked brie looked like this:

My pictures are crap, but you get the idea. It is definitely delicious, but also very, very rich--so be ready to feel naughty.

Dinner 10/15

Mushroom barley stew! I followed this recipe, but doubled it. I also used regular russet potatos and cut them pretty chunky. I highly recommend it if you like mushrooms. Best vegetarian stew I've ever had, if I might say so myself. Could have used more potatos, though--I love potatos.

Dried porcini mushrooms.

Simmer!

The finished product--took about an hour and a quarter to prep and cook, and it was well worth it. Even a meat-eater loved it!

Drats

I made bruschetta and angel hair pasta with alfredo sauce the other night and forgot to take a picture... I am not doing well at keeping up with my Dinner Series, am I?

Anyway, if you want a really easy way to make bruschetta, you can try this--

Heat oven to 400. Tear up as much basil as you like (I like a lot), dice up about 4 or 5 smallish tomatos, dice 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, and toss it all together with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a handful of shredded mozarella. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Slice eight 1 inch slices of French or Italian bread (I used wheat French bread--delicious!), lay them on the cookie sheet, and evenly distribute the tomato mixture to each slice. Top each with a sprinkle of mozarella and bake for about 8 minutes. Finish with a very closely watched spell under the broiler (until the cheese gets brown in spots) and you've got a delicious appetizer or light meal.

Wahey!

Forward, friends, food

Through my best friend Ian I met Trevor and James, and they're rad. Last night Trevor's band Meridene played at Forward Festival in Madison, so James came up from Milwaukee and we hopped on the bus and went to the show. Trevor got us on the guest list for the Amble Down Records showcase and it was a lovely time (despite the expensive beer). The Rotunda in the Overture Center is pretty neat although everyone looking down the rabbit hole above is a little distracting. It was good to finally get to see Meridene after all these years (they, as well as their record label, are based out of Eau Claire/Minneapolis, somewhere I don't get very often) and hang out with Trevor and the other bands, especially The Wars of 1812.





After the show, we headed over to Denny's with James and I ordered this monstrosity, the SlamBurger (with a veggie patty substituted in for the meat, of course):

Hashbrowns, an egg over-medium and cheese sauce atop a Boca burger (and with seasoned fries). It was delicious, and I finished it, despite feeling as though I was having a mild cardiac episode. Ian got sick on cheesecake and James tackled the Lumberjack Slam--that is a hell of a lot of food. I was so full I came home and fell asleep in my clothes almost immediately. That's good for you, right?

Dinner 9/16

I've decided to start documenting the stuff I cook when I get ambitious (and the proper ingredients). Here's the first entry in the Dinner series.

I got done with work early yesterday and swung through the produce department of the local grocery on my way home. I spent the afternoon sauteeing and brushing up on my French with an audio course I picked up at the library. It was a lovely afternoon, and produced lovely results:

Pasta with asparagus, red pepper, tomato, broccoli, zucchini, mushroom, red onion, fresh basil and garlic sauteed in olive oil (plus salt, black pepper, mozzarella and parmasan cheeses and toasted French bread). It was the perfect early fall meal. The red pepper was wonderfully sweet (best pepper ever?), and the basil and olive oil really complimented the asparagus. The cheese and black pepper paired nicely with the sweet onion and zucchini. It was basically yummy, but next time--more garlic. It was a little bland, and garlic's incredibly good for you anyways.

Breakfast--the most adorable meal of the day?

I absolutely love this project... So pretty and twee.

Yum.

Epicute is wonderful.