Crumb-topped Apple Pie

7-8 Granny Smith Apples Pared, cored, sliced

3/4 C sugar

2 T. flour

2 tes. ground cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

dash of all spice (optional)

dash of salt

Mix dry ingredients and sprinkle over apples after they are cored, peeled, and sliced.  Mix slightly and set aside.

Crust:

2 1/4 C. flour mixed with:

1 T. salt

cut-in 3/4 C. shortening until size of peas

Remove half of this mixture and stir-in 5 T. ice water.

Return to bowl and mix slightly.  You may add a few more drops of water if needed.

Divide the dough into two ball. Save one for a future pie and roll-out the remaining one on a floured surface.

Place one crust in a 9″ pie plate and add the prepared apples.

Dot with butter.

Crumb topping

Mix:

1 C. flour

1 C quick oats

3/4 C. brown sugar

dash or two of cinnamon

cut-in 3/4 C. softened butter

Sprinkle over the apples, but do not pack-down.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40 or so minutes.  Poke with a skewer to check for doneness.  You want some give in the apples, but not to solid or too mushy.

I started making this crumb topped pie when we went camping.  The children were little and I always baked a pie to take for our first meal when we arrived at the campsite.  The children were little so it usually took 3 days to finish the pie.   The crumb topping seemed to last better than the regular topped pie.  As the children grew older the pie lasted less and less time, until you found yourself lucky (of course we do not believe in luck) if you got a regular size piece.  Our family continues to grow, so the last time we went I baked two pies.

I rarely bake the double crust any more.  This crumb topping is easily the favorite.

Blueberry Mascarpone Turnovers

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon  lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/3 cup fresh or frozen and thawed blueberries
• 2 (9-inch) refrigerator pie crust
• 1 egg, beaten
• vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Special equipment: a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth. Stir in the blueberries.

Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut the pie dough into 12 circles. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg. Place about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cheese mixture in the center of the dough. Fold the dough in half to enclose the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Using the tines of a fork, gently crimp the sealed edges. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

While the pastry is chilling: In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don’t have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.) Fry the turnovers for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until golden. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with sugar while still hot. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon Bread

AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD

(CINNAMON BREAD)

Do not use metal spoon or bowl and do not refrigerate, but you may freeze.

Day 1-5 Stir with wooden spoon

Day 6 Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk

Day 7-9 Stir with wooden spoon

Day 10 Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk

Mix well and pour into 3 one-cup containers.  Keep one for yourself for a new starter and give the others to friends with this recipe.  Use what is left to bake bread.

* Triple recipe:                                          Quadruple:

Add:  1 C oil                                                Add:  3 C oil                                                      Add:  4 C oil

1/2 C milk                                                    1 1/2 C milk                                                      2 C milk

3 eggs                                                            9 eggs                                                                12 eggs

1 tes. vanilla                                                   1 T vanilla                                                        1 T 1 Tes. vanilla

In a large bowl mix:

2 C flour                                                           6 C flour                                                          8 C flour

3/4 C sugar                                                      2 1/4 C sugar                                                   3 C sugar

l large box instant vanilla pudding             3 lg. box instant vanilla pudding                4 boxes inst. Pud.

1/2 tes baking powder                                   1 1/2 tes baking powder                                2 tes. B.P.

4 tes cinnamon                                               4 T cinnamon                                                  5 T. Cinnamon

1/2 tes salt                                                      1 1/2 tes salt                                                      2 tes. salt

1/2 tes soda                                                    1 1/2 tes soda                                                    2 tes. soda

1 C nuts                                                            3 C nuts                                                             4 c. nuts

Add liquid with dry ingredients and mix well.  Grease pans and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Pour batter into pans.  sprinkle tops with cinnamon and sugar mixture also.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour for bread or 30 min. for muffins.

*I usually don’t give the starter away and triple the recipe and use three cups of starter saving one cup or quadruple the recipe and use all the starter.  I also bake them in the small baking dishes rather than the larger bread pans.  The muffins are good also.

You are supposed to get the starter from someone, but  due to distance, it is not always easy to get the starter to them. I tried starting one on my own and it worked great.  In a loose covered 1-1/2 qt. container mix 1 C warm milk, 1C flour, and 4T sugar.  Let it sit for a number of days stirring 1-3 times a day until it starts to bubble and sour.  Then start the above process.  I do not stick closely to the schedule.  I usually try to stir it once a day, but I don’t keep count very well.  When it starts to bubble well, I add the next step of ingredients and when it’s close to the 10th day and it is convenient, I bake the bread.

I origanally received the starter and bread from a friend of mine named Dorothy Proctor.  After feeling overwhelmed by the process, I froze the starter to get a break.  Later I used all the starter and each time I would begin a starter from scratch.  I had a sour dough starter  had received from Eva Battle and started using it.(bent pine: named for a bent pine tree in the yard of the man she received it from)

You can use instant chocolate or butterscotch pudding too, but my family prefers vanilla.

Blueberry Buckle

Blueberry Buckle                        Crumb Topping

¾ C sugar                                    ½ c sugar

¼ c butter                                    1/3 c flour

1 egg                                                1 tes. Cinnamon

½ c milk                                    ¼ c soft butter

2 c flour

2 tes. Baking powder

½ tes. Salt

2 c fresh or frozen blueberries

Cream butter and sugar; Add egg; In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients; Add cream mixture and milk alternately to dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries

Spread into greased and floured 9×9 (not 8X8) pan. Sprinkle with topping.  Bake 350 for 40-45 minutes.  Check for doneness.

Dill Pickles

This is Anni Stipek’s Grandma Severson’s recipe.  She lived on Day Island and was still living when the children were young.  When we went to the beach we would enjoy some pleasant conversations.

When the children were younger she canned these and always share a few jars with us.  We always gobbled-up every jar, but due to the business of children, I never attempted to can any myself.  This year I decided to can the sweet dills and also wanted to attempt these.  Anni and I went to Duras Farms to purchase the needed materials.  The first trip I purchased 100 small and 100 medium cukes.  I used all of these to canvthe sweet dill recipe.  I went back to Duras Farms and purchased 200 medium cukes to make this dill recipe.  You really have to “pack” the jars.  It is hard work and kind-of like a puzzle;  what arrangement of pickles will allow me to fit the most in the jar?  The hardest job however, is peeling the garlic.  I decided next year I will purchase from Costco the jar of already peeled garlic.

50 small to medium cucumbers                                                                            Brine solution: Mix and bring to a boil  (Makes enough for about 8 quarts)

4 or 5 garlic heads                                                                                                    4 quarts water

fresh dill                                                                                                                     2 quarts vinegar

vinegar                                                                                                                       3/4 C salt

salt

red pepper (optional)

Wash pickles, peel garlic and wash dill

Put 2 garlic cloves in the botttom of a clean jar along with a piece of dill.  Push as many pickles into the jar.  You may need to slice one to fit into smaller spaces.  Place 2 more garlic cloves and another piece of dill towards the top.  Fill the jars with the hot brine solution and screw on a new lid.  Place the jars in heated water and heat for 20 minutes (recommended for sea level)  Remove and cool.  Now the difficult part; store in a cool, dark place and wait about 2 months to open. Yes, two months!

Sweet Dill Pickles

This was my Uncle Bill’s mother’s recipe.  My cousin Linda, loved these as a girl.  Uncle Bill asked his sister for this and made a batch and gave me a jar.  It was delicious and so I wanted to can some this September when the pickles were in season.  The fruit stand where I purchased the cukes could not find a supplier for the small onions, so I substituted a slice of a sweet onion instead.  This recipe is different since your liquid is cold and you heat it until boiling.  Three of the jars I heated the liquid and pour it over the cukes.  The pickles were greener, so maybe crunchier.  In a few weeks I’ll see how my test works.  The small cukes worked better for the pint size jars (about 11 cukes per jar) and a combination of small and medium cukes worked better in the quart size jars (about 7 whole medium plus one sliced and 2 small cukes per jar).  It will be difficult to wait to see how my first attempt of canning sweet pickles turned-out!

Sweet Dill Pickles

Place sliced cukes in jar   (I did not slice the small and medium ones)

Put a small onion on top   (I used a slice of a sweet onion)

Top with a piece of dill

Cover with vinegar solution

Vinegar Solution: Makes enough for about 3 quarts

2 cups vinegar

2 cups water

1 3/4 cups of sugar

2 tespoons of salt

Seal jars and place in cold water cooder with enough water to cover the jars.  Process until the water comes to a boil.  Remove at once.  Store in a dark place for several days before serving.

100 small cukes makes about 7 pints or 4 quarts

100 medium cukes makes about 18 pints or 9 quarts

Gobs

I received this recipe from my brother-in-law, Terry.  His mother came from the east coast to visit and she tried to recreate this recipe from memory.  They were good, but were told they were not gobs.  Upon returning from her visit, she sent the correct recipe and we have been enjoying them ever since.  We began taking them camping with us and I believe the children would think it a sin if we camped without them!

I keep them in the freezer after baking.  Over baking will cause dryness, so watch closely.

Cream:

2 c sugar

1/2 c shortening’2 eggs

1/2 tes. salt

1/2 tes. cinnamon

2 tes. vanilla

Mix then add to creamed mixture:

1/2 c dry cocoa

1/2 c boiling water

Mix and add to creamed mixture:

4 c flour

1/2 tes. baking powder

Mix and add:

1 c buttermild

2 tes. baking soda

Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet and bake 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Do not over-bake!  After they have cooled completely on a cooling rack, frost flat-surface of half of the disks.  Put tops on each frosted disk and wrap individually in plastic wrap for storage.

Frosting:

Cream:

1/2 c crisco

1/2 c softened butter

Add:

1 tes. vamilla

4 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon meringue powder

1 pound powdered sugar

Paninis

This is from my daughter and son-in-law, Deana and Zach.  All of my family had been served these paninis…..except me!  All I heard was how amazing these were.  We tried it last week and, like pizza, want to add it to our weekly menu!

This meal requires 2 recipes so here goes:

First we make homemade pesto for the pesto mayonnaise on the sandwiches. This is a recipe that a friend, Anni, gave us when we got married:

• 2 cups fresh herbs, the majority being basil - we use all basil
• Grated peel of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic
• ¼ – ½ cup olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Then you mince them all together and inhale – it smells so good! I use my Cuisinart. Last time I made it Z told me I’m supposed to slowly add the oil in a small steady stream (he comes from a cooking family and took at least one cooking class in Italy, so he knows what he’s talking about), but I forgot and dumped it all in together which seemed to work fine. We often double this recipe and save some to have on pasta for dinner another night.

I also made this Basic Focaccia bread recipe from this cookbook, Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

I love this cookbook, I mean look at that picture! I’m so excited to try new recipes. I’ve tried two so far and they’ve both turned out beautiful and yummy.

Basic Focaccia

• 2 packages (5 tespoons) active dry yeast
• 1 ¾ cups warm water (105°-115°F)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneeding
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt (optional)

I use my kitchen-aide mixer.
In the 5-qt bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, ½ cup olive oil, the flour, and the fine sea salt. Place the bowl on the mixer, attached the dough hook, and kneed on low speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Add up to ½ cup flour while kneading to prevent the dough from sticking.  Remove the dough from the bowl.

Form the dough into a ball, transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, 1-1½ hours. (I warm the over for a few minutes, turn it off, and let the dough rise in there.) For a more flavorful bread, make the dough up to this point, punch it down, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Let the dough come to room temperature before shaping.

Pour the remaining ¼ cup oil evenly into a half-sheet pan. Turn the dough out into the pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan. If it is too elastic to spread without springing back, let it rest for 5 minutes. Cover the pan loosely with a dry kitchen towel let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat to 450°. Dimple the dough by pressing your fingertips all the way into it at 1-inch intervals over the entire surface. Sprinkle it with the coarse salt, if desired.

Bake the focaccia until golden brown, 20-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature. Store tightly wrapped in aluminum foil at room temperature for up to 1 day or freeze for up to 2 weeks. Reheat at 375° for 10 minutes.

Thumb Print Cookies

The desire to make these cookies came from a gift of fresh strawberry jam I received from Anni.  I thought thumb print cookies would do justice to the jam.  I found a recipe and increased the butter, decreased the shortening, and deleted the nuts.  I topped some with Anni’s strawberry jam and part with my homemade raspberry jam.  I even left a few jamless and the plain version was great also.  We all loved them.

3/4 C. butter

1/4 C. shortening

2/3 C. brown sugar

2 egg yolks

1/2 tes. salt

1 tes. vanilla

1/2 tes. almond extract

2 C. flour

Cream first four ingredients.  Add flavorings.  Work in dry ingredients.  Scoop with small scoop and divide into two balls.  Place on cookie sheet and make a deep thumb print in each cookie.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.  When cool fill print with jam.

Artisan Bread

I’ve joined the artisan bread bandwagon, kind of.  Back in January I started reading about a cookbook, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  Since then it’s been on my Amazon wish list.  In February I found this blog.  She has a version of artisan bread that I’ve had a lot of success with.  In fact, we can no longer get together with Z’s family for a meal without bringing this bread.  I love this bread recipe and we make it a lot, but there’s still a special place in my heart for Jackie’s French Bread.  Of all the thinks I bake and cook, bread is my favorite.  I genuinely enjoy the process of making bread – kneading warm bread dough is so relaxing.  And I love eating bread, so  the work is always worth the results.

• 3 cups of warm water (110º-115º)
• 1½  tablespoons of yeast
• 1½ tablespoons of salt
• 6½ cups of flour. (She said that she uses 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1½ cups of bread flour, and 4 cups of all-purpose.  I’ve made this with just all-purpose and a combination of bread flour and all-purpose.   I would like to try it with whole wheat, but I haven’t yet, maybe next time.)

Mix the ingredients in something with a lid, or in a covered bowl, and put the dough in the fridge overnight.  She says they dough will keep for up to a week or two.   I think I’ve waited a few days to bake the bread, but I haven’t waited two weeks.

When it’s time to bake the bread, pull out all of the dough, or half if you want a smaller loaf. If I’m just making it for Z and myself, I only bake half. Form it into a ball and place it on a floured cutting board (those plastic flexible ones work great) with the smooth side of the ball up.   Cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise for about 2 hours.

When the bread is almost done rising, put a dutch oven, cast iron pot, or other oven safe pan with a lid into the oven and preheat the oven to 450º.

When you’re ready to bake the bread, remove the preheated pan from the preheated oven and carefully flip the bread into the hot pan. (the smooth side of the dough will now be on the bottom and the uneven side will be on top, but that’s okay – it means a yummy crunchy top!)

Bake the bread in the pot with the lid on for 30 minutes.  Then remove the lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Jackie once told me that any bread is done when the internal temperature is 190º.  So I always take the temperature of my bread, and call it done when it’s 190º and that’s always worked deliciously for me.

When the bread is done, turn it out of the pot and cool on a wire rack.  Slice into it and enjoy.  Z loves his with a little butter, which is good, but I usually just eat it as is, because that’s just so good too.