Coconut Cream Pie

Every now and then I earn the title "the good child" from my mama. That's always a nice feeling. I earned it recently with this addition to my Thanksgiving dessert menu, which was requested by you guessed it... my mama. It was touch and go there at first - mama had asked for the pie with meringue, but I earned my way off the hook after everyone had tried this version. This has never been a pie that I requested or sought out - I'm much more fond of chocolate, french silk, or chess - but it did have a really good flavor and my stepdad and grandfather finished off this pie. I found more than a dozen recipe variations on Pinterest, but this is the one I decided to try: Coconut Cream Pie. I used my Pie Crust recipe again for this one.

1 baked pie crust

For the Toasted Coconut Topping
½ cup flaked, sweetened coconut

For the Coconut Custard
1½ cups coconut milk
1½ cups half-and-half
5 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp butter
¼ tsp salt
1½ cups flaked, sweetened coconut
1½ tsp vanilla

For the Whipped Topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Place into 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until coconut has just begun to turn brown. Be careful!  Coconut goes from toasting to toasted very quickly!  Watch it carefully, and go with the lesser time and add what you need. Set aside to cool.

Pour coconut milk and half-and-half into a liquid measuring cup. Add egg yolks and whisk together. Set aside.

***coconut milk is not the same thing as coconut cream. Ensure you have coconut milk!***

Add sugar and cornstarch to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk egg and milk mixture together once more and then slowly begin to add to the sugar and cornstarch, whisking together constantly.

Bring custard mixture to a boil. Switch to a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and continue to stir constantly. Boil one minute.

Remove from heat and add butter, coconut, vanilla and salt.

Spread custard into pie crust. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until set, about 30-45 minutes.

For whipped topping:

Add sugar and heavy whipping cream to large bowl. Whisk with an electric mixer just until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and whisk just until combined. Spread whipped cream on top of coconut custard. Refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to serve, top with toasted coconut.

Chocolate Meringue Pie

I think that, next to apple pie, there is nothing more American than Chocolate Meringue Pie. And nothing quite so tasty. They are somewhat temperamental to make though... I learned that many, many years ago when I tried to make my first one. To put it nicely... it was a disaster. Runny, flat meringue, just blecht. Put a few years on me, add a little more patience, and this attempt was an amazing success. I found this recipe on Pinterest - Aunt Julia's Chocolate Pie. I just made one tiny tweak - I added a teaspoon of ground espresso, which helps intensify the chocolate flavor. I also used my own Pie Crust recipe, but you can use whichever you like.

1 baked pie crust

1 cup sugar
2 cups milk (calls for whole, but I used 2 percent)
3 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp ground espresso
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

Separate eggs. I placed the whites in a large bowl and put those in the refrigerator to chill for the meringue. I left the yolks in half the egg shell until ready to add to the mixture. I also put the whisk attachment into the freezer to chill before making the meringue. In a bowl, combine 1 cup of milk, flour, and cocoa powder and whisk thoroughly to combine. In a saucepan, add remaining 1 cup of milk and sugar, and heat over medium-high heat until simmering. Slowly add the milk-flour-cocoa mixture and stir until combined.

Bring to a boil. Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the vanilla and then remove from heat. Pour the mixture into the baked pie crust and set aside.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. To make the meringue, add the cream of tartar and a pinch of salt to the egg whites. Using a hand-held mixer, whisk on high speed until foamy. 

Sift the confectioners' sugar a little at a time and whisk until the whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted.

Spoon the meringue onto the chocolate filling being sure to spread all the way up the the edge of the crust.

Bake until meringue is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.

Chess Pie

I can't think of a simpler, more delicious pie than Chess Pie. I can't really say that I know WHAT a chess pie is exactly. It's some type of custard base, and from the research I've done, it seems to be a fairly old tradition. No one knows exactly how it got its name. It just sort of IS. I had never heard of it until I started working at a BBQ restaurant in Athens, Ala., the summer I turned 19 years old. A lady came in to bake pies for the day - chess, chocolate, and coconut were her specialties, I think. It looked pretty good, and so one day I bit the bullet and bought a piece. Oh. My. Gosh. It just melted in my mouth. I had never had anything like it. So several years ago, I decided to search for a recipe. And I found one that just screamed "this is how your grandmother and your grandmother's grandmother made this pie!" I printed it out, and baked my first chess pie. I've always had good reviews over it, and frankly, I'm pretty fond of it myself. I use my Pie Crust recipe for the crust, and it is so flaky and yummy.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1/2 Tbsp vanilla (1 1/2 tsp)

1 Tbsp cornmeal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and sugars over medium heat just until melted.

Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. If you don't, the eggs will cook a little when you add them - you don't really want chunks of "scrambled egg" in your pie! Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Add the eggs - you can add them one at a time and stir after each addition, or if your mixture is cool enough then you can add them all at once. Either way, just ensure the eggs are thoroughly incorporated. Add the vinegar and cornmeal and mix. 

***Do not beat the mixture.***

Pour in unbaked pie crust. Bake for 1 hour. If you have trouble with your crust edges cooking too quickly, then cover them with aluminum foil for most of the cooking, remove 15 minutes or so before cook time is complete. Turn off the oven and let pie rest in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely and set before cutting.

Pie Crust

It really isn't that hard to make a pie crust from scratch. It takes longer than grabbing one out of the freezer, of course, but it is fairly simple and definitely tastes a whole lot better! I use the recipe out of my Better Homes and Garden cookbook my mom gave me years ago. This recipe creates enough dough for an 8- or 9-inch pie. This is the same crust recipe I used for the Coconut Cream Pie, Chocolate Meringue Pie, Chess Pie, Quiche Lorraine and Spinach Pie. The crust is flaky and light and quite delicious!

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp shortening

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 to 3 Tbsps cold water

Place the shortening, flour and salt in your bowl.

Using a pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the flour until it is a crumbly texture and you don't see any white left. You can test the dough by pinching some between your thumb and forefinger. It should hold together.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of cold water, and using a fork, toss the dough with the water until it begins to clump and form most of a ball. The dough will clean the sides of the bowl. Gather pastry into a ball. 

Roll on a lightly floured surface 2 inches larger than your pie plate. Fold dough in half, then in half again and gently place in pie dish and open back up. Follow directions for what you are making. If you need a baked pie crust, bake at 475 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden.

Orange Salad

My family has been making this Orange Salad for special events such as Thanksgiving and Christmas since I was in school. I've had several people ask me about the recipe, so I've decided to blog it so that you can make it with your family and maybe start a new tradition! I'm now passing this one to my teenage daughter. She's made it the past year or two every time we've needed it. The new expert actually made this one in the photos as well. I wish I could give a credit for the recipe, but it was passed down from my grandmother and I have no idea where she got it from - but I've altered nearly every quantity in it since I first made it, so not sure it would matter much. lol

1 large container of Cool Whip
3 ounce box of orange Jello
8 ounce container cottage cheese
2 medium cans of mandarins
1 large can of crushed pineapple
1/2-1 cup of chopped nuts to taste

Pour Cool Whip into large bowl, and add orange jello powder and mix completely.

Add cottage cheese and mix until blended. Drain mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple completely (any juice left with make the salad runny). Mix until blended.

Add nuts and mix until combined. We used pecans in this making of the Orange Salad, courtesy of my mom, but I usually use diced walnuts.

Chill for at least an hour or two before serving.

Gingersnaps

For many, many years, I never even thought about gingersnap cookies as something other than what you get in those brown bags at the store. While searching online for recipes several years ago, I came across a recipe for gingersnaps, and when I read it, I knew that this was a very traditional and very good recipe. My copy is now covered in butter, flour, and molasses splashes. Lovingly used you might say. But I don't make these often throughout the year. These are winter and Christmas cookies. And they are always a hit! Pure perfection in a cookie.

NOTE: the ingredients are for a batch of cookies. The photos I took was when I was making a double batch!

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon in small bowl.

Cream shortening and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg and mix completely.

Gradually add flour mixture to ingredients and mix well.

I chill my dough for about an hour before shaping them into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar.

 

Place balls on cookie sheet. Recipe calls for 2-inches apart, but I've never put mine that far. They don't spread too much. I lightly flatten mine with my forefinger and middle finger before baking. I think it helps form the perfect shape that I get with mine. Bake for about 12 minutes.  I actually bake mine for about 8.5 to 9 minutes, but my oven is crazy old and temperamental. With a normal oven, I think they baked about 9.5 to 10 minutes. Just watch them. They should not look fully cooked, but should be fairly flat and look like a cookie and not a doughy mass. They will finish cooking after you remove them from the oven. I let mine sit for a couple of minutes before I try to move them or they will fall apart. Enjoy a few of these warm and you will never buy another bag of gingersnap cookies again!

Pumpkin Seeds

Several years back, I decided to roast the pumpkin seeds that we scooped out of the pumpkins we had bought in October. I was amazed at how awesome they were. There's not much to it. All you need is the pumpkin seeds, olive oil, salt, and aluminum foil. So, I'll do this post just a little differently, and just show the photos and tell you some tips that I do in preparing mine.

Start by scooping the innards together and loosening the seeds up. Carefully separate the seeds from the pumpkin.

I do a heavy wash on my seeds. I put them in a colander and rest that on a larger bowl. Fill it up and let them rest in the water occasionally agitating the seeds. Dump the water and do it again. This will help separate the pumpkin guts that are stuck to the seeds. I usually do this at least overnight. When I'm in a hurry, I will still do this at least three times.

Layer the seeds in a shallow pan. Normally I use a 9X13, but this year I had more seeds and ended up using and 11X17 (I think it is anyway). Just make sure you have enough side so that when you stir the seeds you're not knocking them out of the pan. Lightly drizzle them with oil and sprinkle with salt. Stir them to make sure they are all evenly coated. I bake mine at 300 degrees F, stirring every 10 minutes or so. I scrape the the edge in when stirring to make sure they cook evenly. And I taste test them for doneness. They need to have a little crack to them when tasted. 

I've had a lot of compliments on these, and my daughter and I both love them. If you try them, please let me know how you like them!

Corn Casserole

I've found quite a few good looking recipes in the newspaper's Parade section from each Sunday. Some I've tried, and some I'm still waiting for the opportunity. This is one, Dynasty Corn Pudding, I tried for a dinner for my mom a year or two ago, and it was such a hit, that I've made it several times since. In fact, I prepped it the other night for Thanksgiving dinner! It's not a terribly difficult recipe, and has a very good texture and flavor - one hint though, use a bigger casserole dish. If you use too small of one, the top cooks too much but the insides aren't set. I use a 9X13 pan for mine and it works great!

4 oz (1 stick) unsalted, melted butter

3 cups corn kernels (they call for fresh from 4-5 ears of corn, but I just buy the frozen bag)

2 eggs

8 oz (1 cup) sour cream

9 oz Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (again, most cheese comes in 8 ounce packs, so I use that and add about an ounce of whatever I've got in the fridge.)

1/2 cup cornmeal

4 ounce can of chopped green chilies

1/2 tsp salt (and I also add some pepper)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Parmigiano-Reggiano)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. The recipe calls for buttering your dish, but I just use Pam and it works. Also, they call for a 2-quart casserole dish, and as I mentioned above, I couldn't get mine to set right, so I use a 9X13 pan).

In a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup corn kernels, eggs and melted butter.

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients except Parmesan. Add pureed corn and mix well. 

Pour into dish and top with Parmesan. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Cucumber Salad

Growing up many of my years in Germany, this was something I was exposed to quite frequently... but I wouldn't eat it. I didn't like cucumbers back then. So when I finally expanded my taste buds and added cucumbers, I started growing them in my garden - and then had to find new recipes to use them all! So I found this one German Cucumber Salad. It's very easy to make and is quite tasty. I added some parsley to my version as well.

2 large cucumbers

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp dill

1 tsp paprika

1-2 tsp parsley

Peel cucumbers and slice very thin. Place cucumbers in colander and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 15-30 minutes. Squeeze liquid out of cucumbers. Whisk remaining ingredients and pour over cucumbers. Set in fridge and marinate for at least an hour.

Focaccia

Mmmmmmmm bread... I couldn't imagine life without bread. But crazy enough, I really don't eat a lot of sandwiches. I like rolls and side breads rather than sandwiches. Enter focaccia. Made this lovely recipe with dinner the other night. OMG it was so good. I think I could have just eaten the bread and nothing else. I found this recipe on Pinterest: One Hour Skillet Focaccia. This recipe is quick and quite easy. If you are interested in trying your hand at some homemade bread, then this is a recipe you should try.

Bread
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp yeast
2 Tbsp olive or canola oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Topping
4 Tbsp butter, melted (3 Tbsp)
1.5 Tbsp parmesan (1 Tbsp)

1 tsp Italian seasoning (1/2 tsp)

Place water, sugar and yeast in bowl. Allow to rest until yeast proofs. This usually takes 5-10 minutes.

Add 1 cup of flour and salt and mix well.

Add oil (I use olive oil) and remaining flour slowly until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Heat oven to 220 degrees. When warmed up, turn it off and leave door closed.

Turn dough onto floured surface and turn several times until dough is smooth and not sticky anymore. Roll out dough to the size of your skillet.

Grease skillet, and place dough in it and stretch dough up the side.

Cover skillet with towel and place in warmed over for 20 minutes.

Remove skillet from the oven. Turn oven on to 400 degrees. Make indentions in dough using finger. Prepare topping while oven heats up. Melt butter in microwave in 10 or 15 second increments until melted. Let cool just a little and then add parmesan and seasoning. If you add the parmesan too quickly, it will melt and clump. I like my food a little bolder and a little spicier, so I increased the topping mixture. The number in parentheses above indicates original recipe amounts. Brush topping onto dough. If you want, you can also save some for when the bread comes out.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. With my crazy oven, I think it only took about 15 minutes. Serve, and trust me... ENJOY!!!!