This kind of salad was never really my favorite, but on rare occasions I find myself hankering for some. So I made one up last night. Mainly because my son started first grade, and I needed a snack for school today, and I thought he might like it. Also, a Waldorf salad typically contains nuts – but we have ... read on, Fisherboy »]]> You’ll call this a “Waldorf Salad” – but apparently the Waldorf Hotel has a trademark on using that name, so I don’t want to violate that in any way!

This kind of salad was never really my favorite, but on rare occasions I find myself hankering for some. So I made one up last night. Mainly because my son started first grade, and I needed a snack for school today, and I thought he might like it. Also, a Waldorf salad typically contains nuts – but we have a tree nut allergy in the house, so no nuts for this family.

I had some apples I bought locally – I’m not exactly sure what they are – but I have it narrowed down to McIntosh, Fuji or Empire. Empires are actually my favorite type of “eating” apple – they’re tart and sweet at the same time. I also used stuff I had around – there are no real measurements to this recipe, and I honestly don’t know how much actual salad this makes (like what a serving size is to tell how how many it makes. I will say that I have 2 sets of nesting bowls, and this recipe fills the smallest bowl of both up about 3/4 of the way.)

So here it is. Right off the bat, I’m going to tell you that the “tablespoon” I used was not a measuring spoon – it was a regular kitchen spoon, like the kind you have in your silverware drawer.

Apple-Raisin Salad

Ingredients

• 3 large apples (your favorite “eatin’” kind), washed and diced
• 2 snack-size boxes of raisins
• 2 ribs celery, washed and diced
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 kitchen tablespoon sour cream
• 1 kitchen tablespoon mayo
• 1 kitchen tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

1. Chuck everything into a bowl and mix, coating the apples well. Cover and refrigerate. Best after 24 hours, when the flavors marry (but still pretty good right away!)

I’ve been told that you can replace the sour cream with plain yogurt to reduce the calorie count, and I’m willing to bet if you used other dried fruit (like maybe dried cherries or craisins) it would still be yummy. I’m also thinking next time I might try chucking in some unsalted sunflower seeds – maybe toasting them up first and popping those in for that “nut” flavor (sans nuts). but I was surprised – as I said, normally I’m not a Waldorf-salad lover, but I think the addition of sugar and cinnamon really helped that flavor along.

Now, before I get started on the recipe, I want to ’splain why it’s not working for me. Basically, it’s too wet. The ... read on, Fisherboy »]]> Okay, so I’m posting this recipe, even though it’s not working correctly (for me, anyway…) Perhaps it’ll work better for you. Anyway, this pie is a family favorite. I jut started making it 2 years ago, but it’s been so popular that my husband – who has no sweet tooth at all – salivates when he sees me buying the berries for it.

Now, before I get started on the recipe, I want to ’splain why it’s not working for me. Basically, it’s too wet. The bottom crust does not get cooked, and frankly, it’s pissing me off.

I’ve learned a few “tricks of the trade” when it comes to cooking berry pies, but so far, this recipe is failing at every attempt. I have one last-ditch effort I’m going to try before giving up on this pie. One thread of hope. Basically, I plan to cook the filling before I put it in the shell – something I don’t normally do (unless I’m making some form of tart) – but I’m hoping that pre-cooking the filling will fix the issue I’m having with this pie.

Because really, it truly is too damn good to give up on – wet-bottom crust and all.

Now, I’m going to explain part of this recipe as well – which is the preparation of the pan and oven. This is (usually) the single best trick I know for baking a perfect double-crust pie. (Again, usually) this results in a perfect pie shell. So, this recipe aside, I highly recommend using these methods any time you want to do a double-crust filled pie. It’s no fail. (for a third time – usually.)

Tip #1: You want to preheat the oven to 450°F. I don’t care what any other recipe tells you – you want it at this nice, high temperature.

Tip #2: Put a rack in the very bottom of the oven, as low as it’ll go. Most recipes tell you to use the center position for your rack. Bull, I say! Lowest position. Every time.

Tip #3: You want a cookie sheet (if you have a large pizza pan, that’ll work great) covered with aluminum foil. If the sides are shallow (as in less than 1/2″) thenfold up the edges of the foil to create a “lip”. Put this pan in the oven while the oven is preheating.

Tip #4: Butter your pie pan. Seems crazy, right? but no – butter it. And use Butter if at all possible – because butter will cause a nice crispness. You want to grease the sides and bottom completely. Then sprinkle a fine layer of granulated sugar all over the pan – make sure it’s got a nice, even coating. Then roll out your bottom crust into the pan.

These steps will pretty much guarantee you have a nice, crisp, fully-cooked bottom crust as your pie bakes. You know, as long as your filling isn’t too wet. (Gah!) but like I said, next time I make this, I’m going to fully thaw the berry mixture, toss in the thickening agents and cook it over the stovetop to be sure it sets up. That should take care of the “wet bottom” issue, and give me a nice crust.

So without further ado:

Jumbleberry Pie

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 7 cups mixed berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries. (You can buy frozen mixed in a 4-pound bag at your local grocery store – it’s perfect for this)
• 4 Tbsp cornstarch
• 4 Tbsp tapioca
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 1 egg, broken and mixed with about 1 Tbsp water
• granulated sugar for dusting
• Your favorite pie crust (I use Pillsbury – why mess with a good thing?)
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar (optional)

Preparation

1. Place bottom crust in shell, preheat oven (according to notes above) to 450°F.
2. In a small bowl, blend 1c sugar, cornstarch, salt and tapioca; mix well.
3. In a large bowl, turn out your berries. Add in the sugar mixture, and toss to coat well.
4. Place all ingredients into pie crust. Using a pastry brush, swipe a little egg over the overhang. Roll out the second crust over the berries, press edges together and flute.
5. Brush all over the top of the shell with the egg. Dust lightly with sugar. Using a small, sharp knife, cut 6 large vent openings in the top crust.
6. pop into the oven and back for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F, and continue baking until the crust is golden brown, another 40-50 minutes.
7. Cool to room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream, or chantilly cream (recipe follows).

Optional Chantilly Cream addition

1. Place heavy cream into a cold bowl. Place cold beaters into your mixer.
2. Add in vanilla and sugar.
3. Whip on high speed until cream achieves stiff peaks.

1 serving (without chantilly cream):
279 cal, 9.3g fat, 46.6g carbs, 2.3g fiber, 1.9g protein

Now, if anyone actually does try this recipe with the modifications I mentioned above (i.e. pre-cooking the filling before adding it to the shell) please let me know how it turned out. I highly suspect an additional tablespoon or two of tapioca will be necessary as well, but again, this is something I want to experiment with before committing to it. but even if you don’t, trust me – this is freaking delicious and you won’t be sorry about the mess you made. (It all tastes the same!)

The answer? Popcorn Balls.

Now, I know when I was a kid, I loved them. I remember trick-or-treating and some of my friends were upset because one of the neighbors was handing out homemade popcorn balls instead of “real” candy. I, however, was happy to take them off their hands – ... read on, Fisherboy »]]> So, my son is supposed to bring a handmade gift as a “Secret Santa” for a classmate. The thing is, the silly bot told the recipient that he was his “Santa,” and specifically asked him what he wanted.

The answer? Popcorn Balls.

Now, I know when I was a kid, I loved them. I remember trick-or-treating and some of my friends were upset because one of the neighbors was handing out homemade popcorn balls instead of “real” candy. I, however, was happy to take them off their hands – I loved them. My mother never made them, and any time I got a chance to have one, I took it.

I, myself, have never made them either – until last night, when my son helped me make the balls. I’m going to share the recipe with you, because they really did turn out delicious – and they were so easy to make.

Popcorn Balls

adapted from AllRecipes.com
makes about 5-10 balls, depending on size

Ingredients

• Just under 1/2c light corn syrup
• 2 Tbsp margarine or butter
• 1 tsp cold water
• 1 1/3c powdered sugar
• 4 large marshmallows (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 large bag (about 3.5-4 cups popped) microwave popcorn, plain

Preparation

1. Pop the popcorn as instructed, place in a large bowl. Pull out a cookie sheet and line with wax paper or Saran Wrap.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine everything but the popcorn. Bring to boil and mix well.
3. Pour the syrup over the popcorn and mix well, coating the popcorn evenly.
4. Spray your hands with PAM® and rub together to coat them well; or use some other kind of flavorless shortening or oil to get nice and greased up. Start forming balls of popcorn and dropping them on the cookie sheet.

That’s pretty much it. A side note, though: my son helped a lot with this. We measured and stirred (of course, i was right there supervising him) and he was all excited to make the balls – BUT I wouldn’t let him because it was really hot. I used to do pulled sugar work in school, and although it wasn’t that hot, it was still pretty dang hot. So a tip would be to wait a couple of minutes to let it cool off slightly, and then sort of scrape the popcorn off the top and around the edges. The popcorn seems to hold the heat in, so if you just grab a handful down the middle, it’s gonna hurt.

Also, a lot of people wonder how you get that sticky stuff cleaned off. I’m going to provide you with a useful tip: when you’re finished with everything, run very hot water in your sink, and rinse out the bow and spoon with the hot water. (This trick works well when you’ve over-caramelized sugar or just let it get hardened so it doesn’t come off without chipping, too – add boiling water and it softens and comes right off.)

We wrapped these balls in a square of saran wrap and tied them off with some pretty silver ribbon. He made a card for his classmate, and soon, they’ll be off!

]]> http://candybill.com/bites/desserts/best-popcorn-balls-evah/feed 0 http://candybill.com/bites/desserts/eggless-brain-cupcakes http://candybill.com/bites/desserts/eggless-brain-cupcakes#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:32:36 +0000 Shelly http://candybill.com/?p=368 My son is in kindergarten, and his class recently had a Halloween party to which I volunteered to bring snacks for. Since I have a culinary degree, signing up to bring food is always my number one choice, and when I can be creative and fun, I’m all over it.

I was informed that one of the children has a nut allergy, and another has an egg allergy. So usually, baked goods are out of the question. When I told the organizing mom that I would bring cupcakes, ... read on, Fisherboy »]]>



Eggless Brain Cupcake

My son is in kindergarten, and his class recently had a Halloween party to which I volunteered to bring snacks for. Since I have a culinary degree, signing up to bring food is always my number one choice, and when I can be creative and fun, I’m all over it.

I was informed that one of the children has a nut allergy, and another has an egg allergy. So usually, baked goods are out of the question. When I told the organizing mom that I would bring cupcakes, I could tell that she didn’t believe I could pull it off without excluding some children.

My original idea was to use bananas or applesauce in place of the eggs, and I was also told that using flax seed was an excellent egg substitute – but unfortunately I couldn’t find any in my area, and it was too late for me to order any online. But when I came across the recipe, i was surprised, and my 8th Grade Science Project (the ever-standard fallback of a volcano) came flooding to mind when I saw this. (See, Mr. DeLong? The volcano does come in handy in real life. I still haven’t needed the “two trains coming at each other at X MPH…” question though.)

The cupcakes were actually terrific. I was surprised at how good they were. they were moist enough to chow down on without any frosting at all. but my son is a 5-year-old boy, who loves bolidy functions and being as gross as possible. When we were moving through the grocery store, he saw Martha Stewart’s magazine (Halloween issue – and trust me when I say I am typically not a MS fan at all.) and loved the “brain cupcakes”, and begged me to make them. So I found an eggless frosting recipe and went to it.

Cupcakes

(adapted from Gourmeted.com)
Makes about 30-36 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp vinegar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray cupcake pans with vegetable oil spray.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients (except for the vinegar) in a separate bowl.
3. Stir in the wet ingredient mixture with the dry ingredients until well combined.
4. Mix in the vinegar rapidly and immediately fill the cupcake pans 1/2 to 2/3 full.
   Bake for 15 minutes, or until set.
5. Allow to completely cool in the pan.
6. Enjoy on their on or frost with your favorite frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

makes enough to generously frost the above recipe with some left over

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, soft
• 1# confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2oz – 1/2 c lukewarm water
• red food coloring (I used gel, but drops would work too)

Preparation

1. Whip butter and vanilla until fluffy.
2. Add in sugar slowly, whipping until light and fluffy.
3. Use water to loosen up the frosting if it gets too thick.
4. Add in red food coloring until desired color is achieved.

Now, a word. One thing I absolutely detest is what is called “American Buttercream.” Most people know it as the stuff that’s in the middle of an Oreo cookie, or what Wal-Mart puts on the birthday cakes. I find that stuff absolutely revolting. I hate it with every fiber of my being. It basically has two ingredients: Powdered Sugar and Crisco. (God, even typing that made me want to puke.) My favorite type of butter cream (and meringue, actually) is the Italian – where you cook the sugar into a syrup and add it in while whipping. American Buttercream is sickly sweet, and always leaves an icky coating on your tongue. Gah. But people like it because there is no color in Crisco: your frosting will be pure white. And it’s cheap. (as a defense to these arguments: 1) when you whip butter it gets lighter in color, and if you want pure white, then make your own. It’s dead easy- just whip heavy cream until it turns into butter; and 2) you get what you pay for.)

The above frosting recipe was pretty good. Better than Wal-Mart, that’s for sure. But it did still remind me of it. The frosting was certainly too sweet for my palate, and if I ever make this again, I’m definitely cutting a lot of it out, and possibly replacing it with something that provides some flavor. If it weren’t for the child that had a nut allergy, I probably would add a bit of almond extract or something to give it a little more kick. But if you like really sweet stuff (and you’re a fan of Wal-Mart frosting) then you’ll probably like it just how it is.

Now, that aside, the assembly it really easy. All you need is a pastry bag with a fairly wide round tip. I used to have one, but at some point, my sin must have thought it was a toy, because I couldn’t find it. So I did the trick of using a Ziploc bag and cutting off one of the bottom corners. Worked just fine. Load it up with frosting (not too much, though – it warms in your hands really quickly, and it’ll lose its shape – so load in enough to do maybe 4 or 5 cupcakes before needing to get more) and really all you have to do is squirt it out in squiggly form on one side, and then the other (the brain has a division/seam down the center, so all you have to do is try and keep that in mind).

The kids ate these up. (Literally.) Enjoy!

]]> http://candybill.com/bites/desserts/eggless-brain-cupcakes/feed 5 http://candybill.com/bites/entrees/red-snapper-cakes-with-nectarine-citrus-salad http://candybill.com/bites/entrees/red-snapper-cakes-with-nectarine-citrus-salad#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:04:30 +0000 Shelly http://candybill.com/?p=333 Serves 4
Ingredients 3 nectarines, stoned and sliced 2 oranges, suprême 1/2 small red onion, sliced thin 3 Tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 pound red snapper fillets1, skinned and finely chopped 1 large egg 3 Tbsp cornmeal 1 small shallot, minced 1/2 jalapeño pepper2, seeded and finely chopped 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro 3/4 tsp salt 4 tsp olive oil Preparation Make the salad: combine the nectarines, oranges, onion, basil and lemon juice in a bowl. Set aside. Combine the snapper, egg, cornmeal, shallot, jalapeño, cilantro and salt in a bowl. Form four 3-inch cakes. Heat the oil in ... read on, Fisherboy »]]> Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 nectarines, stoned and sliced
• 2 oranges, suprême
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
• 3 Tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 pound red snapper fillets¹, skinned and finely chopped
• 1 large egg
• 3 Tbsp cornmeal
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper², seeded and finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 tsp olive oil

Preparation

1. Make the salad: combine the nectarines, oranges, onion, basil and lemon juice in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine the snapper, egg, cornmeal, shallot, jalapeño, cilantro and salt in a bowl. Form four 3-inch cakes.
3. Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the cakes and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side.
4. Serve with salad.


¹Tilapia is actually cheaper and has a similar flavor – an excellent substitute.
²I have small children, so I usually leave this out. My husband likes the “heat,” though, so I’ll give him Tabasco Sauce, which is an acceptable substitute.


Source: Weight Watchers Ultimate Flex & Core Cookbook

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