Apple Crisp

in light of the "great move" coming in less than a month, i had a real hankering for apple crisp. THUS after a killer (in the good way) yoga class, i skipped over to kroger in my sweaty (and i do mean sweaty) clothes to buy some apples and other necessary things.

Here you go folks- how to make a delicious apple crisp. and don't worry, it's healthy because there are apples and oatmeal in it.

Step 1: Round up the most attractive assistants you can. I found two- see below.

Step Two- Preheat oven to 350 and butter up a dish. the recipe says an 8X8- but as you can see i just used what i had. it doesnt really matter. (please, do not stare at my midget thumb)

Step three: peel apples

Step four: Core apples and the slice into even smaller pieces. I did some long ways and some short ways just to "give it some texture." Frankly- i don't even know if that makes sense, but it sounded good to me at the time.Step five (and a few more)- lightly cover apples in lemon juice. toss. less lightly cover apples in sugar. dust apples with cinnamon. toss. put all of this in your buttered dish. hehehe.

Step six: make the topping. 1/2 cup (plus two tablespoons) of all purpose. 1/2 cup oats (the instant ones do just fine). 1/4 cup brown sugar. 1/4 cup regular sugar. 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg. 1/4 teaspoon (or however much you want) cinnamon. Mix with a fork. THEN (this is the good part kids) MELT 6 TABLESPOONS unsaled BUTTERRRRRR! and pour it in your mixture, then stir until its alllll mixed.

Step seven: Crumble the topping over the apples. Pop in the over for 35-40 minutes.

Step eight: admire your sweet assistant.

Step nine- remove from oven and feed your family--- hey dad!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm delicious. and remember, its healthy because it is made with apples and oatmeal.ps. this was devoured by my family within 24 hours.

Sur-PIEs!

My dad came up to Brooklyn to visit us a few weeks ago, and to celebrate both his arrival and the arrival of rhubarb season, we made him his favorite pie. Yes, for lovers of apple pie, cherry pie, even cheesecake, this may be an odd choice for a favorite pie, but to my dad, it is ecstasy. I have to say, being someone with a rather weak sweet tooth who would choose salty over sweet nine times out of ten, I am quite a fan of rhubarb pie for its tart punch. If you haven't tried it, it's worth trying once.

Or twice.

It's especially nice when balanced with homemade vanilla bean ice cream (but of course I would say that!).

A note to rhubarb novices: most recipes for rhubarb pie are actually for strawberry-rhubarb pie. The same goes for rhubarb jams and preserves. Strawberries offer a nice, sweet balance to the sour tartness of the rhubarb. I also bet that the mixture macerates better (into a gooier mix) when strawberries are involved, but that's just a hunch.

You should also know that rhubarb can be tricky to find and tends to be snatched up quickly because it's only in season in April and May, so get to your farmers market early!

Fortunately, I did that, so ingredients were no problem. On to the baking part...

I chose a recipe from Bon Appetit, though I altered it to be just rhubarb and not strawberries because that's my dad's preference and this one was for him. I used a slightly more complicated recipe for the crust though because I've used it before and I love it, but if you want to go with the simpler recipe, you can find it here (or, you know, use a store-bought crust...I won't tell).
The crust recipe that I used was from Tartine Bakery & Cafe here in NYC. Whatever you do, make sure you keep the ingredients all cold as instructed--it's key!

Georgie proved to be a great helper, as always--here he is adding the sugar on top. All in all, this sur-PIEs made for a great welcome-to-New York treat and a reminder to all of us that spring finally had arrived.

The recipes:

Flaky Pie Crust, from Tartine

(*I partially baked it for this recipe—see steps 5-6 below)

One (10-inch) pie or tart shell/pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup cold shortening, cut into pieces
1/3 cup water, very cold
Cooking spray
Aluminum foil or parchment paper
Pastry weights or dried beans

1. To make dough by food processor: Put flour and salt in work bowl and process a few seconds. Add butter and shortening and pulse just until coarse crumbs form. Add water and pulse until the dough just begins to hold together.

2. To make dough by hand: Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Scatter butter and shortening over flour. Using a pastry blender or forks, cut fat into flour until the mixture forms large crumbs. Drizzle in water and stir and toss with a fork until the dough begins to come together in a shaggy mass.

3. Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper and shape into a slightly flattened disk. Wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

4. To line a 10-inch pie pan, first spray very lightly with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/8-inch thickness; begin rolling from center out toward the edge in all directions. Lift dough and dust surface with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Roll to a circle about 2 inches larger than pan. Carefully transfer dough to pan and ease into bottom and sides, pressing gently. Cut dough so there's about a Ω-inch overhang, fold under and crimp or flute, or simply leave plain for a more contemporary finish. The unbaked shell will keep, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

5. To fully bake pie shell: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line shell with foil or parchment paper and add pastry weights or dried beans to cover the bottom; don't fill entire shell with weights. Make sure edge of dough is also covered with foil or parchment. Bake shell until the surface looks light brown, about 25 minutes; to check, lift a corner of the paper. Remove from oven and remove paper and weights. Return shell to oven and continue baking until golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

6. To partially bake pie shell: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line shell with foil or parchment paper and add pastry weights or dried beans to cover the bottom; don't fill entire shell with weights. Make sure edge of dough is also covered with foil or parchment. Bake on center oven rack 15 minutes. Carefully lift foil and weights out of pan and with a fork, lightly pierce dough that has puffed up. Continue baking 5 to 8 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack completely before filling. (A partially baked shell should be used right away.)


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, from Bon Appétit

3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.

2. Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter flass pie dish. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.

3. Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.

4. Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

Why we are all so fantastic...

Shelby sent me this article, but this, ladies, is why we are the way we are. We have each other!

http://www.slate.com/id/2253506/?from=rss

Yale food is already awesome

SO, when I went to visit Yale, my friend Grace (from camp, who is also going to Yale) and I opted out of the University provided dinner after church and decided to go to a "local" place.

A friend of hers from UNC had suggested Claire's Corner Copia (think, cornucopia). It is a vegetarian place (Grace is a veg), and kosher, and organic, and sustainable, and it was delicious.

I had this flat bread pizza- it had cheese (ALOT of cheese, i guess that's what veg ppl do since there is no meat, add a shit ton of cheese), tomatoes, spinach, and red onions.

See those thing on the right side and in the top left corner? Those are the Lithuanian coffee cake. It is a house specialty, and i have no words for it. They cut you a hugeeee piece and then put a gob of icing on it. heavennnnnnn

This is Grace- she got some veg burrito thing. It looks good and had salsa in it. I show this pic so you can get an idea for how cute this place was.

When you people come visit me at Yale, I'm gonna take you here.

Chipotle Burrito Plate

So, this past weekend, Nate and I made Chipotle Burrito Plates (his take on Chipotle Burrito Bowls). There is a back story to our cooking. See Nate has been on the road for the past 6 weeks, eating at fast food places and restaurants the whole time. He maybe had 3 home cooked meals the whole time. So, naturally, when he got back home on Thursday, he vowed we were not going to eat out during our two day visit. This meal is the product of that vow, a trip to trader joes, and Nate's unique cooking style. (He is still learning, but doing very well. I am proud of how much he is branching out.)

How we made this delicious-ness. It actaully was fantastic.

We gathered some baby spinach, salsa, cheese, and cut up some tomatoes.

Trader Joes has this guacamole making kit- and it looked all great until i realized the avacados were rotten. Fortunately, we had a big ole avocado sitting around. For some reason, our guac still didnt have enough avocado in it. but at least it tasted good.

Nate made some couscous. You know, just the simple box kind.

I sauteed some onions and mixed them with corn and black beans. We microwaved the mixture as a base layer of sorts.

Nate cooked the beeeeeeeeef. He cut it up into strips, put some pepper, salt, and lime juice on the meat, then pan seared it. DELICIOUS. def the best part of our burrito plate.

We piled everything on the plate and dug in. It was super yummy, pretty easy to make, and easy if some of these things are items you keep on hand (like corn, black beans, salsa, and avocados).

yayyyyyy for posting.

I love St. Louis Food

I'm sure many of you know, but last Monday was the first night of Passover, and I was home in Memphis. Before the seder, for lunch, I wanted pizza. Now I don't actually keep kosher for Passover anymore, but it was still really important to me to have my favorite chametz (food with flour) dish before the start of this holiday. My mom entrusted me to go pick something up. I love frozen pizza. All kinds really. But that Monday I decided to go for the more upscale Digiorno. When I got home, immediately it went in the oven. Then as my mom started to smell it cook, she came into the kitchen and this is the conversation that transpired.

Mom: What kind of pizza did you get?
Me: It's not delivery it's Digiorno!
Mom: Good, I was worried you would get some of that Kroger shit.
Me: I love Kroger pizza! You know, I don't think I have any quality control when it comes to pizza.
Mom: Yeah, I think that's because you're from St. Louis.

Ok, so people either love or hate St. Louis style pizza. I am one of its ardent lovers. So much so that whenever I want pizza, I usually want it to have a crisp, thin crust (this is why I love Domino's - really good thin crust and Pete and Sam's pizza. They're originally from St. Louis). For those of you who have never had St. Louis style pizza before, let me describe. It has a very thin, crisp crust with a sweet tomato sauce and an amazing cheese concoction that you'll only find on this pizza. Provel cheese. Provel cheese is a combination of chedder, swiss, and provolone that was designed about 50 years ago specifically for St. Louis style pizza. According to wikipedia, "Provel was developed to meet perceived demand for a pizza cheese with a 'clean bite': one that melts well but breaks off nicely when bitten." And that's totally true. Haters of St. Louis style pizza often criticize the cheese the most. But I love it.

See just look at that beautiful, gooey wonder. At the end of February, I got a chance to go to St. Louis for admitted students day at Wash U Law School. Where I'm going next year! My mom made a business trip out of it, and my little cousin Danielle took the bus down from Chicago to visit. So the three of us got to play in St. Louis for the weekend! St. Louis is my birthplace and though I barely lived there, I remember the food distinctly. And eating the food again brought back so many memories. Immediately, I remembered summers in St. Louis playing in the backyard sprinklers. Anyways, the place to get this pizza is Imo's. There are other places. But I think Imo's is the best. We went for lunch and their lunch special is such a deal! Small salad, 8 inch pizza, and a drink for only about $7. You can't beat that.





And then we went to Ted Drewe's. If anyone has ever spent more than 2 days with me, they will quickly learn that I not only love frozen dairy products but have to eat them. Frozen yogurt, ice cream, gelato, you name it, I love it. But I think that love all began here in St. Louis with frozen custard. Ted Drewe's is on historic Route 66 in St. Louis and maintains that kitschy 50s feel. During my St. Louis summers, my dad and I would drive here in his '67 Ford Fairlaine and eat Ted Drewe's on the hood of his car. The custard alone is delicious, but the best treats are their concretes. Similar to a Dairy Queen Blizzard or TCBY shiver, Ted Drewe's concretes mix various toppings in the custard. My favorite combination is oreo mint. As soon as we got to St. Louis, we went to eat at my mom's favorite Italian restaurant then I begged like a 5 year old to eat at Ted Drewe's. And then I did that every single day. Hopefully, I'll have a little more self control when I actually live in St. Louis, but this frozen custard is to die for.

DC Brunches... and Books!

Belga Cafe

In January, I went to DC to meet up with Camille, Marion, and Brittany and my old college roommate for a weeked. What we did of course was BRUNCH.

Belga Cafe was a discovery of mine over a year ago on a previous visit and has been a constant favorite for my friends. Pictured to the right is the goat cheese waffle and is absolute perfection. The goat cheese blends perfectly with the roasted tomatoes, and I'm fairly certain the waffle itself is herbed as well as the salad. I ordered this delight over a year ago and had been craving it ever since, but I also regretted passing up on the waffle with carmelized apples. Luckily a whole year and two months later, I knew exactly what I wanted to order....

Total Disappointment. I knew I should have stuck with the tried and true goat cheese waffle, but for some reason I thought this waffle would be smothered with hot, caramel apples. Do you see them? Oh look, there are a few in that corner. Needless to say, it was still delicious. But once you order the goat cheese waffle I really don't know how you could ever eat anything else. But for some reason, other people seem to like other menu items.

Marion ordered her usual banana, nutella crepe. I don't think I would personally categorize this as a crepe. Yes, it tastes like a crepe. It has a filling like a crepe. It doesn't look like a crepe and my favorite crepe man at the St. Palcide metro stop in Paris never made a crepe like that. But the presentation is lovely. And I ate her left over ice cream.

Other orders included green eggs and ham and a smoked salmon eggs benedict. The best thing about Belga Cafe is its location to the Eastern Market. After brunch on a weekend morning, I couldn't imagine anything better to wander around the Eastern market at all sorts of trinkets and art and fresh food. One of my favorite used books is also right around the corner. And something I love even more than brunch is a bookstore.

Kramer Books

And Kramer Books combines those two loves! The next day, Jacki (my college roommate) and I met our friend Mohammed for brunch here. Kramer Books is a little reminiscent of one of my favorite places in Boston, Trident Books, but it definitely pulls off the bookstore/cafe in its own way. Kramer Books is really popular and always has a line so I love browsing through the books with my friends while we're waiting for our table. What I love about this brunch is that everyone gets a glass of orange juice and coffee and little muffins and other baked goods included with their order. So as soon as you sit down, a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee follow. The brunch is nothing that makes you go "OH WOW. I don't want to stop eating." But it's good. And you want to eat here because you're surrounded by books and by people who love books.

Now look at the pretty pictures of our food!