best apple pie

 Found this little apple pie and it's simple, but oh so delicious!

apple pie 
makes 1 pie

1 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup butter
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger powder

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, brown sugar., cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer. Combine sauce with sliced apples. Stir to coat the apples. 

2. Place the bottom  crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust, Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. 

3. Bake 15 mins in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 35-45 mins, until apples are soft. 

apple torte

 a variation of the NYT's original plum torte. We often make this with fruit that we need to eat up, but for whatever reason aren't eating it very quickly. With whatever fruit, it's always excellent!

apple torte
makes 8 servings

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1-2 apples, sliced
sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for topping

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cream the sugar and butter together in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs. Beat well. 

3. Spoon the batter into a springform pan. Place the fruit skin side up on the top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar (use turbinado sugar if you have it) and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon. 

4. Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees). 

one pot garlic parmesan pasta

 an easier and tastier alfredo sauce that actually sticks to your pasta. We ate this with some of our leftover christmas lamb and green beans. 

one pot garlic parmesan pasta
makes 4 servings

2 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
8 oz uncooked pasta
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 mins. 

2. Stir in chicken broth, milk and pasta; season with salt and pepper to taste. 

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is cooked through, about 11 mins (may vary depending on your pasta). Stir in parmesan. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached. 

4. Serve immediately, garnish with parsley if desired. 

scalloped potatoes

another dish to put into the holiday meal repertoire. this was perfectly creamy, but not overly so.

scalloped potatoes
makes 6 servings

5 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped oinoin
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or green onions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 2 1/2 quart baking dish. 

2. Layer potatoes and onion in prepared baking dish.

3. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat, stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth, mayonnaise, garlic, salt, parsley, and pepper. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly, about 2 mins. Pour broth mixture over potatoes and onion. Cover baking dish with foil.

4. Bake in preheated oven until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour and 45 ins. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 mins more. Sprinkle with chives or green onions to serve. 

moroccan vegetable tagine

this was wonderful and satisfying, and the perfect dinner of stewed veggies after a heavy lunch.

morroccan vegetable tagine
8 servings

1/4 cup olive oil

8-10 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, sliced
6 red potatoes (or 3 russet potatoes), peeled and cubed
salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup dried apricot, raisins or cranberries (I put mine in a strainer and add it for flavor, but remove it since our kids are not fans)
1 quart vegetable or chicken broth
2 cans chickpeas
1 lemon, juiced
handful of fresh parsley or cilantro leaves

In a large heavy pot or Dutch Oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat until just shimmering. Add onions and increase heat to medium high. Saute for 5 mins.

Add the garlic and the chopped veggies. Season with salt and spices. Toss to combine. Cook for another 5-7 mins on medium high heat, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, dried apricot (or raisins/dried cranberries) and broth. Season again with a small dash of salt. Cook for another 10 mins. Then reduce heat, cover and simmer for another 20-25 mins or until veggies are tender.

Stir in chickpeas and cook another 5 mins on low heat.

Stir in lemon juice and fresh parsley or cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt or spices to your liking.

Serve hot over couscous* or rice.

We ate ours tonight with couscous seasoned with lemon rind, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I also threw in some shredded carrots, cilantro leaves and toasted pine nuts - and it was excellent. :)

lemon dutch baby

when your kids want pancakes, but you have stuff to do! Dutch babies are really fluffy pancake with more eggs and less flour, that bakes and rises, or soufflés (literally French for to breathe or blow) in the oven. This recipe is from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life.

Dutch Baby Pancake
4 servings

2 Tbsp butter
4 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt

For the topping:
freshly squeezed lemon juice
granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put the butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet and place over low heat. Alternatively, put the butter in a similarly sized cake or pie pan, and place it in the preheated oven for a few minutes. As the butter melts, use a pastry brush to coax it up the sides of the skillet or pan.

Meanwhile in a blender or food processor, mix together the eggs, flour, milk and slat until well blended.

Pour the egg mixture into the warmed skillet. Slide into the oven and bake for 18-25 mins. The mixture will rise and puff around the edges, like a bowl-shaped soufflé. The Dutch baby is ready when the center looks set and the edges are nicely risen and golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and drizzle - or splash, really abundance is good here - with lemon juice and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar (you want to add the sugar just before serving so the granules stay intact and make for an excellent texture in your mouth). Serve immediately. 

cornflake marshmallow cookies

Inspired by the original cookie from Momofuku Milk Bar in New York. Note that in recent years, the bakery has taken to pre-making said cookies and sells them pre-made, prewrapped and they definitely taste like they have preservatives and suck now. In the early years of the bakery making these cookies, they were AH-MAZING, and THAT was what I was trying to recreate now that we live in Seattle.

"momofuku" cornflake marshmallow cookies
makes ~15 cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flor
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups cornflake crunch (see below)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows

For cornflake crunch:
5 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup milk powder or ground cashews
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
9 tbsp butter

Make your cornflake crunch: 

Heat the oven to 275 degrees.

Pour the cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush them with a cup or glass (or use a food processor). Add the milk powder (I used ground cashews as a substitute), sugar and salt and toss to mix. Add the butter, which will act as glue to bind the dry ingredients and create small clusters.

Spread the clusters on a parchment paper or silpat lined sheet pan and bake for 20 mins, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery and crunch gently when cooled slightly and crispy.

Cool completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for 1 week, in the fridge or freezer for 1 month.

To make the cookies:
*If you have a stand mixer, use your paddle attachment. Otherwise, I just used my handheld mixer and it worked just fine. 

Using a mixer, combine the butter and sugars and cream together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla and beat well to combine.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and combine the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until the dough comes together.

If using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, use low speed to paddle in the cornflake crunch and chocolate chips until incorporated. If not using, use your hands (I always use gloves, so not sure if your bare skin can handle the scratchiness of the cornflakes!) to incorporate the cornflake crunch and chocolate chips into your batter.

Divide dough into 1/4 cup balls, stuff 3 mini marshmallows anywhere on top and line balls on a parchment paper or silpat lined sheet pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or place in freezer for 30-45 mins. According to the original recipe, chilling your balls of cookie dough is critical!

Heat the oven to 365 degrees.

Rearrange the the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on your parchment paper or silpat lined sheet pan and bake for 15-20 mins. Cookies will puff, crackle and spread.

Cool cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or air-tight container for storage.

blueberry coffee cake streusel muffins

Daughter and I have been reading The Secret Garden. There was mention of the main character eating muffins, and naturally, daughter asked for some blueberry muffins. I find the usual muffins a bit boring, so this is what we made instead. 

berry coffee cake streusel muffins

makes 12 muffins

1/4 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

10 tablespoons butter, softened and divided

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup yogurt or sour cream

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup berries (fresh or frozen)

2/3 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin or line with paper liners. 

In a medium bowl, combine chopped almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix well and set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut 8 tbsp of butter into 1/2 inch pieces and sprinkle evenly over flour mixture. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until butter is oat-sized. Remove 1 cup of the flour-butter mixture and stir into reserved brown sugar mixture until combined to make streusel. Set aside. 

Add baking powder and baking soda to remaining flour mixture and combine. 

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together sour cream or yogurt, egg and vanilla. Add liquids to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add 3/4 of streusel mixture to the flour mixture and stir until streusel is just distributed throughout batter. 

Melt the remaining butter and stir into remaining streusel mixture, until it resembles a crumble. 

Gently fold blueberries into batter. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups and sprinkle generously with streusel topping, crumbling with your hands to make some big chunks. Bake 25-30 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. 

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the glaze, whisk the confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla extract together. Drizzle over muffins. Store in a sealed container for up to 2 days. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

peanut butter chocolate chip banana bread

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup unsweetened crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 large egg
1 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9x5 in loaf pan with cooking spray.

Whisk whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Stir mashed bananas, peanut butter, brown sugar, yogurt, egg, and canola oil thoroughly in a separate bowl.

Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined; stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until the loaf is lightly browned at the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-50 mins.

Cool the bread on a rack for 15 mins before removing from pan. Slice when cool.

omelet

made my first ever omelet this morning and it turned out well and everyone liked and ate it!

classic omelet

4 eggs
salt and pepper
handful of cooked vegetables
2 tbsp cheese

Beat eggs with salt and pepper.

Place a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add 1/2 tbsp butter and swirl to melt. Add the eggs and stir briefly with a rubber spatula, then let the bottom set but not brown. Fold like  a letter.

berry cocoa smoothie

has cocoa so M loves it, but also there's no added sweetener so... kid tested, mom approved? (ok, well only 1 kid likes it).

berry cocoa smoothie
makes 3 smoothies

2 frozen or unfrozen bananas (optional)
1/3 cup frozen strawberries or blueberries (I add more if I'm not using bananas)
2-3 Tbsp heaping cocoa powder
4 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 -1 1/2 cups milk (or can sub almond milk)

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

simple spinach quiche

classic, french.

classic spinach quiche
makes 2 quiches

2 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crusts
2 tbsp butter
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
7 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
pinch ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
2 cups finely shredded Gruyere
1 16 oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung free of water

Preheat the oven to 400. Remove pie crust from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork, about 10 mins. Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork. Bake until fully cooked and lightly golden, 10-15 mins.

Set aside and turn oven down to 350 degrees.

Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the shallots until soft and translucent, about 8 mins. Do not brown. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and paprika.

Place the cooked pie crusts on a baking sheet. Spread the shallets over the bottom of the crust, then sprinkle the shredded Gruyere over top. Scatter the spinach evenly over cheese, breaking up the clumps as best you can. Pout the egg and cream mixture over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 mins until the custard is set and top is lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.

vegetable stir fry

light, and not too gloopy!

vegetable stir-fry

1/4 cup chicken broth (or water)
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/2 tsp sugar
white pepper, to taste
1 tsp corn starch
2 tsp water
vegetables (i.e. mushrooms, water chestnuts, bok choy, broccoli, etc.)
salt, to taste
1-2 tsp sesame oil
1-1 1/2 tsp sesame seeds

Combine chicken broth, oyster sauce, rice wine, sugar and pepper in a small bowl or jar.

In a separate bowl, stir the cornstarch into the water.

Stir-fry the vegetables. Once they are tender, push the vegetables to the sides of the wok. Give the sauce a quick re-stir and pour into the middle of the pan. Bring to a boil.

Give the cornstarch / water mixture another stir and pour into the sauce, mixing quickly to thicken.

Stir to combine the vegetables with the sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.

Remove wok from heat and stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.

lu rou fan (taiwanese braised pork)

my mom made this all the time (like many Taiwanese moms). I suddenly smelled this walking by someone's lunch yesterday, and promptly looked up a recipe and made it. every person in our fam liked it, too!

lu rou fan / taiwanese braised pork over rice

serves 4-6

1.5 lbs mix of pork belly with skin on, and pork shoulder (might try and use just ground pork next time)

1/4 cup minced shallots

8 garlic gloves, minced

4 ginger slices

2-3 star anise

1/2 tsp five spice powder

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1 cup cold water

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

3-6 hard boiled eggs (optional)

1 green onion, thinly sliced

Brown pork in instant pot (using saute function): Add 1 tbsp peanut oil, make sure whole bottom is coated. Lightly season pork belly's skin with salt. Place skin side down and brown pork for roughly 5 mins per side. Lightly season the other side of pork with salt. Then set aside. 

Add 1.5 tbsp butter to instant pot, making sure the whole bottom is coated. Add 2 tbsp brown sugar, then stir very occasionally until caramelized or sugar has a deep brown color.

Stir in shallots to keep sugar from burning. Then add in ginger and garlic. Saute for 1 more minute. 

Pour 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine and 1 cup cold water into pot. Deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot. 

Add in 2-3 star anise, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, 1/2 tsp five spice powder,  and 1/4 tsp ground white pepper. Give it a quick mix, then turn off the heat. 

Slowly cut the pork into thin strips, and add to Instant pot. Stir. 

Close lid, turn venting knob to sealing position. Pressure cook at High Pressure for 20 minutes + 10 minutes Natural Release.

Vent the Instant pot, carefully releasing the steam. Remove and discard the star anise and ginger chunks. Add in hard boiled eggs, and simmer the pot on Saute function to break down the meat and thicken the sauce. Stir occasionally. 

Taste and add any more salt or sugar to taste. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve over rice. 

light and crispy waffles

we ate these all up! (ok, save for one, but we usually have a bunch that end up going into the freezer)


light and crispy waffles
makes about seven 3 3/4 in square waffles

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
6 tbsp vegetable  oil
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, separated
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a glass measuring cup, blend the buttermilk, vegetable oil and milk. Beat in the egg yolk.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg white to soft peaks. Add the sugar and beat until firm and glossy. Beat in the vanilla.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just blended. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the beaten egg white until just incorporated.

Preheat waffle iron (we have a 8 in circle one) and oil it lightly. Pour about 1 cup of the waffle batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook for 4 mins or until browned and crisp. Transfer the waffles to the oven rack to keep warm and repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve warm.