Kurby's Kitchen

Sour Cherry Pie with a Golden, Buttery, Flaky Crust

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 21:33:00 -0400

Today started off marvelously. My mama and I rode bikes down to the farmers market to pick up four pints of fresh strawberries (she heard from someone who heard from her farmer friend that it’s the last weekend for good strawberries in Holland. Yeah, it’s like that in Holland.) The new profile picture is a testament to the little red treasures we managed to snatch up despite the crowd of similarly-minded strawberry hunters.

Anyways, that’s for another day.

I made a cherry pie. From scratch.

As in I got multiple scratches from the branches of our neighbors’ cherry tree, which currently holds a bounty of sour cherries; however, about 85% are out of arm’s reach for me. I’m short. Even standing on the very top of a 12-foot ladder (slightly frightening but SO worth it. It’s pie.) I had to yank down the top branches with one hand and speedily plunder my way through the leaves and bad berries in order to get just under 8 cups of good cherries. This struggle between me and the tree is to be continued tomorrow, so look forward to homemade cherry ice cream (Aysha and I are busting out our giant beast of an ice cream machine for our Fourth party).

Anyhoos, here’s the recipe for the pie. The cheeky tartness of the filling is countered by the unbelievably buttery, flaky crust. I also found a recipe that replaced 1/2 cup of the flour with ground almonds (yum!), which would be delicious with any sweet fruit pie.

Ingredients:

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 1/2 cubes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 6-9 Tbsp ice water

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse to mix:

Next, add your cubes of butter. As you can see, I didn’t make cubes. But it worked. And it will work for you if you don’t make cubes. I promise. BUT you do need to make sure your three-dimensional shapes are SUPER COLD. Just cut them up, Ziploc them, pop them in the freezer, and go check your Facebook. You know you were wondering when you’d have time to do it.

Pulse 6-8 times to mix the butter cubes into the flour mixture, until it resembles a course meal, like this:

Next, add your ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until the mixture just begins to clump together.

The dough should be crumbly, but if you pinch it together, it should stick. It’s ready for shaping! Dump the dough onto a clean surface and gently shape it into 2 disks. Knead the dough just enough to form the disks (if you over-knead, the cold butter flecks melt and the final crust won’t be as flaky!).

Wrap these two little balls in plastic wrap/wax paper/Glad Press’n Seal (my food saver of choice), and pop them into the fridge for at least an hour and up to two days (but, let’s be real… you’re making this pie so you can eat it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE).

Now’s a good time to make the filling!

Filling Ingredients:

- 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 salt
- 5 cups whole, pitted sour cherries
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- Milk for brushing the crust

Position rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.

Whisk 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl to blend.

Here’s my mama pitting the cherries:

Stir in these yummy guys plus the lemon juice and vanilla and set aside:

Flour up a clean surface and turn your pie pan upside down. Roughly trace a circle around the pan to guide you when you’re rolling out the dough:

Roll out one disk to a 12-inch round. Transfer to a 9-inch glass pie dish (such as your great aunt’s hand-painted ceramic pie dish):

Yeah, I fail at rolling crusts. It is a character flaw I am working on.

Roll out the other disk into a 12 inch round. Using a large knife or a pastry wheel with a fluted edge, cut the round into 3/4-inch-wide strips. Transfer the filling, which will have gotten all sugary and delicious, like this:

to the dough-lined pie pan, mounding slightly in the center:

Dot the filling with the butter cubes.

Arrange dough strips on top of filling, forming a lattice. For tips on making a lattice crust, check out this handy site.

Fold bottom crust up over ends of strips and crimp edges to seal. Brush the lattice (but not the edges) with milk,

And sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar:

WOW.

Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch the cherry juice, which will bubble over, and any pieces of crust that fall off, which will happen if you are like me) and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Check on your crust every 15 minutes - if the edges are browning too quickly, cover them with a foil collar. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

Serve it up! I’d recommend topping it with the cherry ice cream and cherry sauce (look for it on Monday!). Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with whipped cream :)

This morning, I woke up extra early (aka 9ish a.m.) to bake a...

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:50:00 -0400

The recipe with a few changes

Whole wheat flour = yumm-o

Hello Amish oats :)

Disgusting-looking, but perfection

A potato masher = a banana masher

The successful final result! Om nom nom

This morning, I woke up extra early (aka 9ish a.m.) to bake a small batch of oatmeal banana bread, courtesy of (yes yes, I know, I know) Joy the Baker.

The occasion? My best friend, Sophie, is currently on a plane to Africa (well, technically Amsterdam, but after five brief hours in the real Holland, she’ll be reboarding a plane bound for Kenya). This recipe was the perfect breakfastyish, healthyish, car-ride-to-Detroitish snack.

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread (My Modified version)

Makes 1 loaf or a dozen muffins

-1 cup whole wheat flour

-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/4 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp cinnamon

-dash of nutmeg

-1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

-3 Tbsp Greek yogurt

-2 large eggs, beaten

-3 large bananas, super ripe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients.

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add yogurt and eggs.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick. A splash of milk can be added.

Pour/scoop batter into pan and bake until the top is firm to the touch (45-50 minutes for a loaf of 15-20 minutes for muffins). Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for at least another 10 minutes. Nom and enjoy!

Hot and fresh and oh so nomnom.

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:25:00 -0400

I know what you’re thinking - “Didn’t that girl get eaten by her final paper?” “Are you actually going to post things, or just say you are, like when you used to tell your mom you’d empty the dishwasher but continued to play Sims and wait for her to ask your sister?” “Are you going to make up your own recipes or just continue to mimic Joy the Baker’s every delicious move?”

1) No, I did not. Though I did consume an entire packet of gum in one night. That could have been just as fatal.

2) I promise the posts are going to be happenin’! Why? It’s the summer. My best friend is going to be leaving me/this continent for a month. Food is just a wonderful thing. Okay? I’m being totes forrealsies this time.

3) Errr… here’s the dealio: Joy the Baker is a food goddess. And though I’m anticipating a lot of original-recipe-testing and oldies-but-goodies-making, I just know that I can always count on something perfect coming out of the oven/off the stove whenever I turn to Joy. Also, I don’t have the money for too many disappointing food experiments. That one time I made something up with buttery, flakey dough, which I stuffed it into mini-muffin tins and dolloped jam into and called the surprisingly edible result jam cups was a long time ago (12 years, to be exact). The Omnomnom Fairy is rarely with me during these dark days of too-bitter-homemade-dressings and guacamole-gone-bad (both of which may or may not have happened yesterday).

Luckily, it’s summer and sunny and the kitchen is my second favorite place to be in the summer (the first = sitting in either my or Sophie’s basement, watching a) The Parent Trap or b) Titanic, and consuming youdon’tevenwannaknow amounts of sunflower seeds). So, look for those pictures that make you feel hungry even though you just ate 3 fudgesicles and half of your body weight in delivered pizza (sure signs of summer) - I’ll be posting them :)

I made bubble tea! It was good. It was cheap. It was...

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:44:00 -0400

I made bubble tea!

It was good.

It was cheap.

It was easy.

(TWSS).

One trip to the Asian grocery store I never knew existed and $1.99 later, I was filling up a pot with water to boil. Here’s how I made this delicious iced coffee bubble tea, step by step:

Serves 4

Tapioca Bubbles:

In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a rolling boil. Pour in 1/2 cup of tapioca pearls and stir softly for a couple of minutes (until the powdery coating has gone and the pearls have plumped up). Then, turn the heat down to medium, cover the saucepan, and let the pearls cook for 4 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with a gentle stream of warm water. Set aside.

I decided to make a chocolate-y iced coffee - something like a mocha Frappuccino. Bubbles can be added to any drink: a fruity tea, iced tea, orange juice, lemonade, milk tea… the possibubbleteas are endless!

1 1/2 cups strong coffee
2 cups milk
5 tablespoons granulated sugar (if you use an artificial sweetener or Truvia, use 2-3 tablespoons as they are usually more sweet than natural sugar).
2 tablespoons hot fudge sauce or 4 tablespoons chocolate syrup
12 ice cubes

Blend everything but the ice, then add the ice and finish blending until it’s liquid smooth.

Scoop your preferred amount of bubble into a clear glass and pour in the coffee. Grab a spoon and drink/eat away!

Have you visited Joy the Baker? She’s kind of the...

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:07:00 -0400

Get grinding w/ a mortar & pestle

Chill this sans spinach leaves.

Add spinach and NOM :)

Have you visited Joy the Baker? She’s kind of the greatest thing to happen to food since schools started selling raw cookie dough. Anyhooverville, I decided to make her Spicy Chickpea Salad today because the gorgeous collage she put up was too reminiscent of Anna Maria Island - my favorite spring break destination. After picking up a few ingredients that we didn’t have on hand, I got to work.

Except, there’s really not that much work involved in this salad. Technically, you could make this with a knife and fork. I used a few tools - like a mortar and pestle, microplane, and juicer - only because I had them on hand and, indeed, because they made the job a tad bit easier. But you’re talking to someone whose dorm made a key lime pie by hand. You really can skip those handy helpers if you must.

A few modifications - I skipped out on the jalepeño pepper because, quite franky, they’re too expensive ($2 per tiny pepper!). According to my mom, we had some frozen (if you haven’t already learned, the freezer is my mom’s best friend), but I didn’t want mushy jalepeño ruining an otherwise delicious salad, so I omitted the fiery fiend. I went with cashews instead of almonds and honey instead of agave - not really because of personal preference, but because we didn’t have the other options on hand. However, I did buy the whole grain mustard. It’s was only $1.50 and worth it - the mustard is a key flavor to the dressing and too much of a good thing would be the result of putting in pungent yellow mustard.

Make it! Just do it! Stop walking towards that industrial-style shelving unit in your room to grab an Easy Mac. If my dining hall is pretty typical, you could “steal” the following from yours: garbanzo beans, red onion, olive oil, spinach leaves (all from the salad bar), honey (from the tea station) and maybe even the lemon (just fill a cup up with those pieces they put by the water). Your salad bar might even have a red wine dressing that you could substitute for the red wine vinegar. If you really want, you could hit up Whole Foods, but only if you’re willing to dish out at least $15. One of the greatest things you’ll learn at college: the value of Tupperware. Use it, y’alls.

First REAL food post! Collective...

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:18:00 -0400

First REAL food post! Collective ‘hurray!”

___________________________________________

I made tonight’s dinner because my mom had to work both jobs today (she’s been at it since 8am… a moment of silence for those incredible beings we call mom). She left out some thawed chicken breasts and told me to “do whatever” with them. She suggested I do something Parmesan-y, which I (obviously) agreed to. RULE: If you are ever forced to decide between cooking something “Parmesan-y” or cooking something that is NOT “Parmesan-y” YOU ALWAYS CHOOSE THE FORMER. Parmesan cheese is good, ok?

I Googled “parmesan chicken” and found a delightfully easy recipe from allrecipes.com. I cut it down by half since I only had 3 chicken breasts; however, I still cooked the chicken for the full 30 minutes and they came out perfectly.

For the salad, I simply added baby spinach leaves to a raw veggies mix my mom made up yesterday. It’s filled with crisp and flavorful veggies like cauliflower, bell peppers, and snap peas. *It’s called “Green Thumb Salad” because the peas came from my mom’s garden. She harvests a ridiculous amount of green vegetables in the summer and freezes them until… well, basically until she gets fresh ones next summer. I then looked up a recipe for Italian dressing and found one named (to my delight) “Olive Garden Italian Salad Dressing.” Yes, it came gloriously close to recreating the tangy yet smooth dressing that coats that addicting Olive Garden “never-ending” salad. I modified it by leaving out the raw egg and pectin. I used a whisk, but if you have time to quickly blend this dressing, it would save it from the dreaded “cheese-at-the-top-liquid-at-the-bottom” syndrome that plagues chunkier dressings. I also halved this because I only needed it for two small salads - obviously, there was still some leftover (perfect for the extra salad in the fridge).

The bread is a delicious whole grain baguette I think my mom picked up at Family Fare. To “doctor it up,” simply brush on a mixture of melted butter and olive oil (about 2 parts olive oil to 1 part melted butter). Sprinkle with some rosemary and oregano to complement the seasonings of the chicken and salad dressing. Don’t salt and only a little black pepper. This is bread, not a 20 oz. sizzler.

To end on a sweet note, I topped some Oikos plain 0% fat Greek yogurt with banana slices, roasted peanuts, and cinnamon sugar. The cinnamon sugar really balanced out the tanginess of the yogurt and the mushy bananas were so good with the peanuts. Then again, anything banana and anything peanuts go together. Sadly, I didn’t take a picture (we ate it too quickly, anyways).

And so went today’s dinner. If your mom works, give her a break and make this eazy-peazy meal for her. She’ll love you even more than she does when she has to make dinner and you’re Facebook stalking your high school teacher.

Here we go!

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:47:00 -0400

First post! This is not the start of an ambitious effort to cook through an entire cookbook (Julie & Julia-esque) nor is it a food critic’s online outlet. This is simply me and the food I make. All the pictures are mine (and I swear I didn’t Photoshop pictures from foodnetwork.com - neither my cooking nor my Photoshop skills are that good!)

I’ve been cooking and baking since I could toss a salad and hold a hand mixer. Though I was a little more innovative in the recipe creation process back then, the food I make tastes a whole lot better these days :) I’ve gathered these recipes from countless magazines, websites, and my mom’s cherished wooden recipe box. I fully plan on giving credit where credit is due, so keep an eye out for scrumptious resources you can use to get going on your own delicious adventure.

I had multiple reasons for creating this blog: My family is by no means ‘wealthy.’ We’ve never paid for a dinner that’s over $20 a person and I can’t remember the last time we had a bottle of wine in the house that we actually bought ourselves. However, my family LOVES to cook. We never bonded over a football team or a mutual love of bird-watching, so instead, we congregate in the kitchen and start rummaging through the cabinets for that one recipe we’re craving at the moment. Then, we make it, we eat it, and we are happy. And this brilliant process is a whole lot cheaper than “bonding” at Bloomingdale’s or sitting in front of a ginormous flat screen. There’s nothing wrong with retail therapy or shared vegetation - but it’s just not what we do for real fun. Moreover, I’m going to try to make recipes that don’t require scouring the aisles of Whole Foods or that ridiculously overpriced gourmet “grocer” down the street. Hopefully I can prove (to you and me) that your taste buds can be appeased without dropping a day’s paycheck on “the wholest whole grains” or “organic water.” Wholesomeness shouldn’t mean hole-in-your-wallet-ness.

I’m also growing wary of Facebook (have you seen this? - haha..*nervous laughter*) and would rather not have albums ripe with food pictures and caption spaces too short to share the stories that lie behind many of those creations. Here I can put food into a livable, smellable, and (most-importantly) eatable context.

So, there you have it. My first post. Nothing grand. Now, let’s cook!