If you like cranberries

I am bringing back this delicious dessert  because it is easy to put together and always a huge hit for a big meal like the upcoming Thanksgiving,  And if you are going as a guest tell them "I'll bring the dessert".    We have already had our family Thankful Day but I'm goin to make this for when Sister and Bro in law come up for the day next week.  I see a good hearty soup and this tasty dessert after an afternoon at the movies.
 

Cranberry Tart

3 cups (12 oz bag) rinsed cranberries

¾ cup chopped pecans

½ cup sugar

¾ cup melted butter

2 large eggs slightly beaten

2 tbls orange juice ***

1 cup sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

Butter and lightly flour a deep 10 inch pie plate or a 10 x 2 quiche dish.

Place cranberries in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle with the pecan pieces, then sprinkle the ½ cup sugar.

Now in a bowl combine the melted butter, eggs, juice (when I have a fresh orange I will add a bit of orange zest) and the 1 cup of sugar. Add the flour and whisk till smooth. Pour mixture over the cranberries.

Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. Insert the old toothpick in the center to check for doneness.

Let cool…………………add a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream or not.

Tomato Tart

I can't find the derned photo I took of this
Tomato tart
Ingredients

2 Small Tart Pans I used a 9 inch pie plate
Butter (for Greasing The Pan)
½ cups All-purpose Flour
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons Cold Unsalted Butter (cut Into Small Pieces)
4 teaspoons Ice Water, Or More As Needed
half of one medium onion   I used a vidalia
tomato for a 9 inch pie I used three larger tomatoes
Salt & Pepper To Season I also used fresh basil chopped fine
freshly grated parmesan cheese
goat cheese I'm not fond of goat cheese cooked so I used gorgonzola and mozzarella
Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

To make the tart dough: OK I make the very worst pie crust ever so I cheat and use Marie Callenders frozen pie crust, nice and flaky and fine for this dish

1) Put flour, salt & sugar in food processor and pulse to blend. Sprinkle the pieces of (VERY COLD) butter over dry ingredients. Pulse until butter pieces are reduced to small pieces.

2) Sprinkle ice water evenly over dry ingredients & butter, pulse until small clumps form. (You may add more ice water as needed.)

3) Take dough out of processor, press together lightly to form ball. Divide in half, pat each half into a disc, and wrap each in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Chill for 30 minutes.

To make tarts:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. I bake at 350 degrees

2) Thinly slice onion and cook in 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat until nicely caramelized. (This should take about 10-15 minutes.) Season with salt and pepper.

3) While onions cook, de-seed and slice your tomato. Season lightly with salt and pepper. I don't mind the seeds

4) Remove tart dough from refrigerator and roll out into discs a bit larger than your tart pans. Be sure to BUTTER your tart pans (trust me on this one), and then place the dough into the pan, pressing it lightly into the bottom and sides of pan.

5) Time to layer in the tart ingredients! I spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on the bottom of the crust first. Then several nickel size pieces of cream cheese scattered on the bottom. Put a layer of freshly grated Parmesan on the bottom of the tart, followed by some of your caramelized onions. Place tomato slices on top–you might have to cut your slices into smaller pieces to get them to layer nicely. Crumble goat cheese onto the top of the tomatoes. This is where I used the Gorgonzola Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top, then sprinkle with pepper. Fold the edges of the tart dough around the top. (It’s a lovely rustic look.) Brush the exposed edges with lightly beaten egg.

6) Bake your tarts for 20-30 minutes, or until the crusts are golden brown.

Note: You can easily scale this up for a larger crowd and bake it in a full-sized tart or pie pan. Use your favorite pie dough recipe, or even use a store-bought pie crust! Trust me, this one is easy, delicious, and VERY impressive-looking!

Hope you try it and then let me know what you think.

Coconut Pie; oh my!

If I had a family coat of arms it would be a chicken on a field of noodles wearing a coconut hat; that's if I had a crest. I will undoubtedly choose coconut over any other candy and love spring because Passover comes with the most delicious macaroons but that's for another post.

Last week was spent on the edge of the Arizona desert with my sister, Doodles and her husband and their somewhat rambunctious young cat, Bogart. Given enough time together Doodles and I will always find an antique shop to poodle through and this trip the find was an 8 inch glass pie plate.

My stove at home has a small, nine inch wide side oven and I've been trying to find a pie plate for about two years. Doodles is a full-time gypsy and her RV has a small oven as well. You can only imagine the joy we both experienced to find not one but a stack of old class pie plates; we each bought one.

When I got home I was dying to try it. Well, I was needing something sweet and it was sitting on my counter. Any who, I made a blind pie shell and got out my Bird's custard. Since the pie is so small I thought one pint would be enough. It should have been a bit more but it worked. Bird's is quite easy to use just add the milk and a bit of sugar. I toast my coconut because I love that flavor and texture and it's easy in a dry skillet. Toast twice as much as you need because you'll find yourself nibbling on it as the pie cools in the fridge. Or, that might just be me.

To the pud I added a handful, or so, of coconut and pour it into the shell. Just a word of warning; make sure you cook your pudding long enough or you'll have, what are darling mother used to refer to as, "spoon" pie. Not a complete failure but the filling was a bit soft which meant the whipped cream topping pushed it out of shape and when cut, the filling gushed out the sides. As a matter of fact it was mostly whipped cream but when has that ever been a bad things.

A little hint for whipping the cream, to the 1 cup of heavy cream, whipped to a very soft peak, I added 3 heaping tablespoons of powdered sugar and about 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Then whipped the heck out of it. Don't forget to sprinkle on a bit of toasted coconut just in case you forget what kind of pie it is. Yeah, like that would happen.

Cast Iron Potluck a big success

Here's an update on my earlier post, Cast Iron Pie. I made the changes I mentioned in the recipe and it was very well received.

We all had fun talking with one another, sharing recipes and techniques, and then sitting down to eat. My Apple Pie wasn't as pretty as the early post but was very tasty. I'll make that again.

Out my door

stands this beautiful tree. The fruit on this tree is a limon, which as you probably know is a cross between a lemon and a lime.

Here we sit in our RV in Mesa, AZ fruit trees everywhere around us. And we are so lucky to have access to this bountiful limon tree.



Asked Mr Doodles to pick me some ripe fruit so I could make a Key Lime pie. Notice the the skin is the lemon but the flesh is the lime, dang these are good so I knew what a great pie they would make.

Here ya go but this photo does not do this pie justice one bit cause Mr Doodles said "ya know living in the Florida Keys we had access to some of the best key lime pies in the world, this is better than any of those". WOW!!! what a compliment huh? He's my sweetie tho.

Now where I got the recipe I do not know but it is one I have used for years, it's the key lime pie that gives you that tart taste but rich enough to curl your toes.

So if in fact you do partake in this recipe don't email me about the calories I already know, but what is worrisome is that there is still more of the little gems coming ripe on that beautiful limon tree, there goes the hips.

Citrus Key Lime Pie

Crust
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs or cheat like I do sometimes buy a prepared crust
3 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp butter, melted

Filling
1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk
3 large eggs
1/2 cup key lime juice NEVER use bottled juice/regular limes are OK
2 tsp lime zest

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, or a food processor, combine wafer cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter, stirring until mixture resembles wet sand. If you are using vanilla wafers or graham crackers, add 2 tsp lemon zest or lemon extract.
Pour into a 9-inch pie plate and press into an even layer across base and up sides.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust begins to lightly brown.
Cool completely before filling.

Preheat oven to 300F.
In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, egg, lime juice and lime zest until mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared crust.
***Bake for 20 minutes, until filling is just set.
Cool to room temperature then chill in the refrigerator before slicing.
Top with whipped cream to serve.

*** not everyone bakes their key lime pie..........I always have because of the eggs.

Pineapple Pie; for breakfast

When I talked about what my eating establishment might be, if I had the guts to open one, it made me hungry for my favorite pie, pineapple. Our mom/grandma used to make it and I usually requested it for my birthday. Who needed cake if you have a great pie baker, and she was.

It is pretty easy and great for winter time as you can make this one when there isn't any fresh fruit in the markets.

Pineapple Pie
9-inch pie

Filling
2 cans crushed pineapple, drained
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
The amount of sugar has to do with the sweetness of the pineapple. This is where you'll need to taste it.

Pie crust
2 cups flour
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons ice water

Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until it's the size of small peas. Sprinkle water over flour mixture a tablespoon at a time.

Big hint: This all has to be done quickly as the flour will absorb more water than necessary. Too quick and you don't get enough moisture in the flour. It just needs to hold together. It is all by touch so I don't use a food processor to mix the dough.

Divide dough into two parts. Roll out on floured board to desired size. Line pie pan with with one piece and roll out the top.

Mix filling well and pour into pie crust, brush edges with water. Dot with butter and top with second crust. Crimp the edges, slash the top, and bake in 450 degree oven for 10/12 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake another 40 minutes or until nicely browned.

Another big hint: I put a piece of penne pasta upright in the top, to vent the pie. This helps with boil-overs and a mess to clean up in your oven. Don't ask me why it works but it usually does for me.

Cool and serve.

Last big hint: For the shortening, of that cup I use Crisco and a few tablespoons of butter. I've never use lard but one of the grandmothers did and it was delicious, artery clogging but delicious. I believe you use less lard.

We had one slice after dinner and one for breakfast. Now the rest is wrapped to give to the neighbors. With only two of us here, I've found it's easier to just get it out of the house and they are pretty happy with the results.

Blog hopping finds

can be very beneficial to foodies and I am truly one to search and find.

Now I have my favorites one of which is Baking Bites I have said this before that I'm not a baker by any stretch of the imagination, however Nic does review some products, some of which I have actually gone out and purchased. While poking around on Baking Bites the other day I came across this regular feature she does on Bites from other blogs This one caught my eye


Any time I see pecan pie I must take a look and oh Lord I am so glad I did. WOW!!! are these good. Although, they reminded me more of a muffin than a cupcake. These taste very much like pecan pie and are so incredibly easy to make. I made them in my silicone muffin pan and baked for 20 - 25 minutes.

Next time I'll make the mini size. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I can see making these for a gift during the holidays or a pot luck that requires a dessert. You'll get rave reviews I tell ya.