Pies!

It all started with Emma making the crust for the butterscotch pie. I did the filling and Rebe made the meringue. *HINT* Double the recipe and make that meringue stand out. Thanks, Michal, for the tips on cooling pies. Also pictured are hickory nut and apple pies, both using key ingredients grown here on the farm. Crusts handmade by Rebe.












Recipe for the butterscotch pie

Heat then remove:
6T butter
1C brown sugar
1C boiling water

Mix and add:
3T cornstarch
2T flour
1/2 t salt

Add and then heat:
3 egg yolks
1 2/3 C milk

Location:Gerald, MO

Dinner on the Farm

Arrived at Grandma's farm this afternoon with a carload of kids: mine and Aunt Rebe's. My parents stopped by J&L M
arket for sausages. They make them there at the store and use natural casings. Also served were mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, pickled beets and canned green beans from grandma's garden and cornbread -- smooth and creamy. For dessert, Hermit cookies made with coffee, raisins and black walnuts.

Location:Down on the Farm, Gerald, MO

Christmas Eve South of the Border

Forgot to post this. . . Beef enchiladas with salsa verde and a corn, black bean salad

Prime Rib

Rebecca, mom and dad in passing through town so I treated them to prime rib. Slow smoked the ribs at 200 in the Green Egg for 5 hours. Rub was pasilla, cumin, coriander, s&p. Brought temp up to 130. Took off grill to rest and temp rose to 140. Perfect medium rare. Side was beer cheese rissotto: beer and chicken broth with Cabot cheddar thrown in at the end. Salad of romaine, walnuts, dried cranberries, cheddar with a pomegranate vinaigrette.

Pumpkin Flan

Auntie Michal made her tasty pumpkin flan. Gluten free and Henry friendly. He loves it. Carmelized sugar for the sauce. Yum.

Steak and potatoes

Nothing fancy. Steak seared medium rare. Baked potato with sour cream. Broccoli with a lemon, garlic, mayo sauce (too thin to be aioli) and bleu cheese slaw. The steak sauce was ketchup, Worcester, apple cider vinegar, and garlic powder. Emma so loves steak.

This was from last night. More artery killers. . . scallops cooked in bacon grease over angel hair pasta with parsley. Sauteed spinach with more pomegranate infused balsamic vinegar. Oh, and a Kroger crabcake

Location:Scallops

Smoked Ribs

Ooh, this came out well. The rub was cilantro and Italian parsley with brown sugar and S&P. Slowed smoked for 5 hours with applewood. Brought up to 165 degrees and then rested. Both sides came out well, too. Brussel sprouts started with applewood smoked bacon. Sauteed the onions in the bacon grease. Added quartered sprouts and softened. Then a 1/2 cup or so of chicken stock and steamed. The potatoes were boiled then added sour cream, parsley, butter, crushed garlic.

Blueberry Brie

Thanks, Tony and Jane, for the homemade blueberry jam from Canada. Here it is atop some warm Brie cheese on a Triscuit.

A Berry Whiskey Sour take 2

Blueberry infused Buffalo Trace. 1/4 oz Chambord. 1/2 lemon. 1/2 oz syrup. Yum.



Here's a clip of filtering the infusion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOjE-MeWHKY&feature=youtube_gdata

Ravioli #2

Got out the pasta rollers yesterday and made a return to my Ravioli experiment. What's with my iPhone that the colors are so washed out? So here's the recipe: 1/2 c. cake flour, 1/2 c. all purpose flour, one egg, T of olive oil. (Mark, thanks for the tips. Yes, I will only use semolina in pizza.) Water as needed. Was way too dry so added another egg and probably another 1/2 c. of flour. Use extra large eggs next time? Made three different fillings: (1) Parmesan and Ricotta, (2) Feta, ricotta, and sauteed spinach with oregano powder added to the pasta and (3) chopped braised beef, salsa, hot sauce with tomato paste added to the pasta. Ate #1 last night. This time use a full tablespoon (probably more like 2 T) of filling. Helped. Still having trouble with raviolis opening in the boil. Is it the sealing technique or the tools (fork) I'm using? Vodka sauce: sauteed onion and garlic, tomato puree, 1 T vodka, 2T or so heavy cream. Salad: Baby spinach, apples, Brie, tomatoes, finely diced onion with a pomegranate-infused balsamic vinaigrette (using Dijon mustard and olive oil). Emma no likey the vodka sauce. . .

Fondu

I've never felt particularly adequate making fondu. Somehow it just doesn't come off the way it ought. Well, this recipe used beer (inappropriately Dos Equis although really any lager will do, right?), Vermont cabbot cheddar, garlic powder, Dijon mustard, and Worcester sauce. Sadly, I added too much liquid and needed to thicken it. Tore the kitch apart looking for corn starch for gluten-free/Henry friendly fondu--no luck so used flour. I did learn that my little Croquette, if turned on like an hour before serving, will actually keep the fondu heated at the right temperature--about 200 degrees. Picture of the broccoli, apples and bread (from both Le Matin and Great Harvest) below. Well, Emma snarfed it down. I'm going to have to go back to working on this recipe. . .

Berry Sour

The perfect follow up to an hour and a half of Emma's holiday concert. Actually listening to a 4th grade orchestra and chorale requires several of these in advance: standard whiskey sour of Wild Turkey rye, juice of 1/2 lemon, simple syrup but with 1/2 oz Chambord in place of the Grand Marnier.

More Adventures with Mark

Helped Mark with a catering gig at a local (and quite classy) jewelry store, St. John and Myers. It was a mix of appetizers and desserts to compliment some fine whiskey cocktails served by Joy Perrine, author of The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book. Here's a sampling:

Potato Croquette of mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese served with a dab of aioli:


A flour-less chocolate tort:

Deviled quail's egg:

Aioli Platter

Aioli: lemon juice, mayo, garlic, cilantro. Blanched bell pepper and broccoli. Baked cod. Boiled potato. Crabcakes (conventional).

Location:Tremont Ave,Lexington,United States

Braised Hen

Nothing fancy here: Cut a Cornish gamehen in half. Seared each side. Then sauteed onion, carrot, and celery. On the crock pot with white wine and chicken stock. Risotto made from the broth. That was excellent. Mayo lemon juice on steamed Brussel sprouts.

Location:Tremont Ave,Lexington,United States

A P Roots Meatloaf

A P Roots meatloaf: good presentation but poor execution (burned on bottom) but a neat take on a meatloaf. Think giant meatball atop mashed potatoes with wilted spinach on top.