Let Them Eat Pie

Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate family, good friends, and other blessings that many of us take for granted every day.  Thanksgiving is also an opportunity to indulge, guilt-free, in a feast to celebrate our bounty.  This year, I was commissioned to make pecan pie, a critical member of the dessert family. 

1 pie crust

2 cups pecans, chopped in the food processor

4 eggs

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400.

Unroll the crust dough (I used Pillsbury 9" pie crust) and press it into a pie dish.  Spread the chopped pecans evenly over the crust.  Beat eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl, then pour the mixture over the pecans in the dish.  Bake for 15 minutes at 400, then decrease the temperature to 350 and bake for 30 more minutes. 

I arranged some whole pecans on top of the pie after baking.

Don't forget to top it with whipped cream! 

The Pompous Pomegranate

Last week, I was casually browsing the produce section at Harris Teeter when the pomegranates caught my eye.  How was it that I had never so much as seen the inside of this superfruit, this powerhouse of antioxidants?  Yes, I'd had pomegranate-flavored smoothies, but never the raw fruit itself.  I made the plunge and bought one without any real plan of what I was going to do with it.  After a few futile sessions of searching for pomegranate recipes online, I came across a blog called urban vegan, which describes the process of making chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds.  Apparently, the seeds, not the flesh, are the main attraction of the fruit. 

All you need is a pomegranate and some dark chocolate chips.

Cut the pomegranate into quarters.  Next, as countless sites on the internet agreed, the best method is to submerge the fruit in a large bowl of water, and carefully pry the seeds away from the flesh.  It's not unlike pulling kernels of corn from the cob, except these seeds are delicate because they're filled with juice and covered with a very thin membrane.

Drain the seeds and remove any remaining bits of flesh.

Lay the seeds on a paper towel and allow them to dry completely. 

Next, melt dark chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark chips) over a double boiler. Drop the seeds into the chocolate, coat with chocolate, then remove with a fork and place them on a piece of parchment paper.  Allow the morsels to sit until the chocolate has hardened. 

This process became rather labor-intensive, so my individually-coated seeds evolved into chocolate-pomegranate "clusters" to save some time (there are a lot of seeds in just one fruit!). 

The morsels are a satisfying combination of the bitter chocolate and the juicy, tart seeds of the once-intimidating pomegranate.

The Straggler

I started my patio "garden" pretty late this past summer, but I had high hopes for it.  Well, the spinach withered away after a few weeks, the basil thrived for a while but recently fell victim to frost, and I had all but given up hope that the little green fruit on the tomato plant would ever ripen.  This week, I checked on the garden (after neglecting it for a few weeks :\ ) and saw that the tomato plant finally produced!

Yes, it was tiny - about the size of a ping-pong ball - but it was incredibly satisfying to have grown some of my own food.  You can't get more local than your backyard, right?  Since I've recently developed a taste for tomatoes,  I sliced it up and enjoyed it raw with some vinegar, salt, and pepper (as per IDW's recommendation).

One small victory.  Next year I'll get an earlier start on gardening!

Eggplant Ecstasy

Last night, CBH came over for a girls' night at my place so I had the chance to cook with someone else for a change.  We decided to make eggplant parmesan, which I've only had once or twice before.  In general, I think anything parmesan is fairly high in fat, but I found a reasonable, "healthy" recipe that avoids frying and uses low-fat cheese (see the original recipe at eatingwell.com). 

1 eggplant
2 egg whites
1.5 tbsp water
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut eggplant into discs, about 1/4 inch thick.

Mix parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs in a bowl.

Beat egg whites and water together in a separate bowl.

Coat the eggplant discs with the egg white liquid.  Then, dip them into the cheese and breadcrumb bowl until coated.

Place the discs on a greased baking sheet.  Bake them for 30 minutes, turning them over after the first 15 minutes. 

Mix the basil with the tomato sauce, and use some of the sauce to cover the bottom of a casserole dish.  Place half of the eggplant discs in a layer on top of the sauce.  Add another layer of sauce, then put the rest of the eggplant on top.  Add the rest of the tomato sauce, and top with the grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is light brown. 

We served the eggplant parmesan over whole wheat pasta and had sauteed zucchini and squash as a side. 

We found this recipe to be a bit time-consuming, but it was nothing that a few glasses of wine and the Lady Gaga station on Pandora couldn't get us through.  Plus, the dish was absolutely delicious.  I highly recommend it and can't wait to try making chicken parmesan sometime!

An Apple a Day

Since apples are so plentiful this time of year, I continued my last post's theme and made apple crisp.  I followed the Betty Crocker recipe found at bettycrocker.com.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Grease an 8x8 inch pan.

Peel and slice 4 Granny Smith apples and lay the slices in the bottom of the pan.

Mix the following together in a bowl:
1/2 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 tsp nutmeg**
3/4 tsp cinnamon

Spread the mixture on top of the apples.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

*The original recipe called for 3/4 cup brown sugar, but it tasted sweet enough with just 1/2 cup. 
**The nutmeg overpowered the cinnamon, so I'd recommend using perhaps only 1/4 tsp nutmeg.