Cookistry

The latest book to reach my hands from my Cook My Book group was The Los Angeles Times California Cookbook. Originally published in 1981, the book has a nostalgic feel, and the pumpkin pie recipe is no exception.

Based on the "Impossible" pies made famous by Bisquick, this pumpkin pie is a little lighter, creamier, and fluffier than the typical super-dense pumpkin pie.

I have a few cracks and wrinkles on top of the pie, so it wasn't the prettiest thing in the world - but let's face it, once it's sliced, no one will know - particularly if you serve it with whipped cream. And, your pie might be prettier, since I live at high altitude and baking results can be different from what you'd get closer to sea level.

While the recipe claimed that this pie made its own crust, don't be looking for something as thick as a typical crust. But, amazingly, it was enough crust to keep the slices of pie together. While I love flaky pastry crust, I thought this was a nice departure from the usual.



Impossible Pumpkin Pie
Adapted from The Los Angeles Times California Cookbook

1 1/3 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, softened
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9" pie pan with baking spray or oil. Or butter the pan.

Combine all of the pie ingredients in a blender an blend until well-mixed and smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted halfway between the edge and center of the pie comes out clean.

Remove the pie from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack until it's room temperature, then refrigerate until fully chilled.

Let's be honest. I don't buy a lot of cookbooks these days. I get a lot of books for review, and there are only so many hours in a day and only so many burners on the stove and only so many feet of floor space where I can pile unread books.

So I don't need to buy a whole lot of books.

However, I did buy The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day. Well, technically I guess I didn't buy it since I used a gift card and not money that I earned, but the book didn't come from the publisher or PR people. And I could have used that gift card to buy a vat of lard or something.

Anyway, I like the idea of classic, old-time recipes, and this book certainly seemed to fit that category. In no time at all, I had bookmarked cinnamon-sugar-doughnut muffins, baked eggs, cinnamon - sour cream coffee cake, buttermilk chess pie, butter mints, and rustic cheddar pecan rounds ... just for starters.

I picked Buttermilk Chess Pie for my first try. For one thing, I had buttermilk on hand that I bought for a different recipe. For another, I'd heard of chess pie, but I'd never made one. It sounded like it was about time to make one.

I used my own pie crust rather than one in the book, but otherwise I followed the directions.

Except ... oops! I overcooked the pie. Not the fault of the recipe, but the fault of my inattention. Although it was obviously overcooked, it was still pretty darned tasty, which is a credit to the recipe. It was sweet, tart, creamy, and lemony. It wasn't as sort of smooth as it should have been, but I caught it before it was curdled and ruined.

Buttermilk Chess Pie
Adapted from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook bu Cheryl Day and Griffith Day

Oops. A little over-baked. but still good.

1 pie crust, unbaked
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons room temperature butter
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
Pin of salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Have the pie crust (home made or store bought) ready in a pie plate. Let it rest in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Have a rack in the lower third of your oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can use a hand mixer) cream the sugar and butter until light in color. I never got it to "cream" at all - the sugar remained fluffy and sandy. But I continued, anyway.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the flour, cornmeal and salt and beat until well combined.

Add the buttermilk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix until combined.

Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, then pour the filling into the crust. Place the pie into the oven on that bottom rack and bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325 degrees and bake for and additional 45 to 55 minutes, until the custard is golden brown and set around the edges but the center is still jiggly. It will firm up as it cools.

Let the pie cool at least 2 hours before slicing. Store in the refrigerator.

While it's still hot, it's puffy. It will flatten.

I always get excited when I see that a blogger I know (and I'm using the word "know" very loosely here) has written a book. When I had a chance to review Homemade Decadence by Joy Wilson from the blog Joy the Baker, I knew it was going to be a winner. And I couldn't wait to crack it open.

Since Joy is known as a baker and there's a cake on the cover, I was a little surprised that the book wasn't all about desserts. But then I was happy, too, because I had brownies and cookies that needed to be eaten.

But still ... sweets.

In the end, I was torn between two pies - a buttermilk pie and a quiche.

The decision was practical. I had everything I needed to make the quiche, but I didn't have any buttermilk. But that's okay. Buttermilk pie will be made very very soon.

Meanwhile, the French Onion quiche happened like this:

French Onion Quiche 
Adapted from Homemade Decadence by Joy Wilson

For the onion mixture:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium yellow onions, cut in half and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons wine, beer or broth
For the pie and filling:
Pie dough or puff pastry to fit a 9-inch pie pan
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (4 ounces)
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. Add the onions, stir, and cook for a few minutes. Add the salt, thyme, pepper, and sugar and stir. Cover the pan and cook for about 12 minutes, stirring once in a while, until the onions are brown and soft.

Add the liquid and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook for a short while until most of the liquid is gone. Take the pan off the heat and set aside to cool.

The book didn't suggest chilling the onions, but I don't like the idea of adding warm ingredients to a pie crust, so I chilled it. It wasn't cold, but it was no longer warm when I used it.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees

The cookbook recipe suggested using store-bought puff pastry, but I had pie crust chilling in the refrigerator with no plans to use it.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with pie dough or puff pastry, as you would for any pie.

Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the pan and top with about half of the cheese. Set aside or refrigerate until needed.

Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until well combined, then add the milk, cream, salt, and nutmeg.

Pour the egg mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the prepared crust. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Set the pie crust on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until the center of the quiche is set - about an hour. The quiche will puff up when baking, but will settle as it cools.

Transfer the pie dish to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Note: The book photo looks like the onions were stirred in to the mix rather than in a layer at the bottom. Next time, I might try stirring it all together before baking. Just to see what I think.

The result was good, and I'm looking forward to trying more recipes from this book. There's a breakfast nacho recipe on the short list, a couple of drinks I want to try, and some cookies and cakes that need to be baked. And of course that buttermilk pie.

And then when summer comes, I'll be heading over to the ice cream chapter. Oh yeah!

While I wouldn't call this book an absolute must have for everyone, I'm really happy to have it, and I'm looking forward to spending a lot of quality time with it.

So, with this Cook My Book group that I belong to, we pass cookbooks around, trying recipes, scribbling in them, and posting results in our Facebook group.

We're not required to cook recipes from any particular book, but it would make no sense to just pass them around and read them. So we all cook stuff.

I try really hard to cook at least two recipes, and I cook more when I have time and when I particularly love the book.

Sometimes I only manage one. Sometimes I cook a lot. Sometimes I only cook one or two, and I copy a bunch of recipes and I cook them after the book has moved on to its next home.

Most of them are good, but let's face it, not every recipe is one that I want to make again. Sometimes a recipe is good, but I already make a recipe that I like. Others, I know I want to make them over and over again. Some recipes are good enough to make again, but I still don't blog about them. I have to like the recipe AND the photos.

When I got my paws on Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen, there were two recipes that I was awfully fond of. The first was chilled asparagus with a citrus vinaigrette. I love cold asparagus, but I usually go with simple squeeze of lemon or drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and a little drizzle of oil.

But when I tried the vinaigrette, I loved it. Not only on the asparagus, but it made a create drizzle on other vegetables and on green salad. The asparagus is basic chilled asparagus. If you've cooked it before, you probably don't need instructions.

But the vinaigrette is really great. Give it a try.

I skipped the mint, because I didn't want to buy it just for a garnish.

Chilled Asparagus with Citrus Vinaigrette
Adapted from Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen by Tyler Florence

2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
Juice and zest of 1 orange
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Juice and zest of I lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground black cppr
1/4 cup canola oil
Fresh mint, for garnish

Bring a pot of lightly called water to a boil and till a large bowl with ice water. Trim the woody ends off the asparagus spears. Blanch the asparagus in the boiling water for 3 minutes (or until they're done to your liking). Dump the asparagus into the ice water to stop them from cooking any further. This also keeps the bight green color.

Whiz the citrus juices. zests. mustard, salt, and pepper together in a blender Gradually drizzle in the oil until the vinaigrette thickens,

Drain the asparagus and arrange the spears on a serving platter. Pour on the vinaigrette, garnish with fresh mint, and serve,

One more recipe ...

The second recipe I loved from this book was a ricotta tart. Next time I make this, I think I'll cut back on the garlic, or possibly eliminate it and add some herbs instead. Or perhaps a layer of caramelized onion.

For the tomato salad, I used the same ingredients, but cut the tomatoes into slightly larger wedges.

Instead of putting the tart on top of the tomatoes, which would have been wobbly and probably would have made it harder to eat, I served the tomatoes on the side.

If you're not in the mood for making a ricotta tart, the tomato salad is great on its own.

Ricotta Tart with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil, and Black Olives
Adapted from Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen by Tyler Florence

For the pastry:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted buttet, cold, cut in chunks
1 egg, separated
3 tablespoons ice water, plus more, if needed

For the ricotta filling:
I head roasted garlic
4 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the fresh tomato salad:
4 ripe tomatoes. cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives
5 fresh basil leaves. hand-torn
Zest of 1 orange. finely grated
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To roast the garlic:
Bang the garlic head on the counter to loosen the cloves. Put the separated
cloves in a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, and close up the pouch. Bake for 30 minutes
(you can bake them with the tart shell). The garlic should be soft.

To make the crust:
Pulse the flour. salt, and sugar together in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the butter and pulse until the dough resembles cornmeal. Add the egg yolk and the ice water: pulse again to pull the dough together.

Flour your work surface and turn out the dough. Knead VERY briefly by hand, then form the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest and chili in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight. .

Lightly flour your work surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle. Place the dough in a 10 1/2 inch tart pan with a removable bottom, Press the edges into the sides of the pan. It is important to press the dcugh evenly into every nook and corner. Fold the excess dough inside to reinforce the rim. Put the tart in the refrigerator for 15 minutes
.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prick the bottom of the tart with a fork. Lay a piece of aluminum foil on the the bottom of the tart shell and add about 1 cup of dried beans, or use pie weights. Bake for 30 minutes, then lift out the foil and beans and bake for another 10 minutes. or until the pastry is lightly golden.

Beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water and use this to brush the bottom and sides of the pastry.

Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into a large bowl. Beat in the eggs and the cheeses, along with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the tart shell on a cookie sheet and pour the egg mixture into the shell, filling it three-quarters of the way. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 3o minutes The tart should still jiggle slightly In the center; it will set up as it cools.

To make the tomato salad:
Mix the tomato slices with the olives, basil, and orange zest. Drizzle with a 2-count of oil: season with salt and pepper and gently mix.

Remove the ring from the springform pan and then slide the tart off the base and onto a plate. Let the tart cool to room temperature. Cut it into wedges and drizzle with a little olive oil and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper. Spoon some of the tomato salad onto each place and put a slice of tart on top,

That's it. Just crust.

In a food processor.

Ideally, everything should be as cold as possible. You can use mostly-frozen butter, if you like. Then, move fast. You want the butter to remain in itty-bitty pieces rather than mixing into the flour.

The larger the butter pieces, the larger and more layered the crust will be - like a puff pastry crust. But if the butter chunks are large, they also need to be very very flat.

I've made pie crust doughs where the butter was visible as dime-sized, super thin layers, and I've made crusts where the butter seemed to be nothing more than tiny flecks. And I've made pie crusts with liquid oil instead of a solid fat. It's all a matter of taste.

Pie Crust 1

6 ounces (a shy 1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vodka
3 tablespoons very cold water

Put the flour, sugar and salt in the processor and pulse a few times to mix it up.

Cut the butter into a a bunch of chunks and add it to the food processor. Pulse a few times to break up and distribute the pieces.

Combine the vodka and water. With the processor running add this. When the dough starts clumping together, you're done. You can pulse a few times if you've got flour that's not quite incorporated, but this should should happen very quickly. You don't want to combine the butter with the dough - you want it to remain in itty-bitty pieces.

Transfer the dough to a plastic zip-top bag, flatten the dough (it chills faster) and refrigerate for at least an hour, but up to a few days.

Continue with whatever recipe you're making.

Pie Crust 2
Slightly larger crust, a little sweeter

2 cups (9 ounces) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup very cold water

Put the flour, sugar and salt in the processor and pulse a few times to mix it up.

Add the shortening and process until it disappears into the flour.

Cut the butter into a a bunch of chunks and add it to the food processor. Pulse a few times to break up and distribute the pieces. There shouldn't be any large chunks, but you've got a lot more processing about to happen, so it's fine if there are visible pieces.

Combine the vanilla and water. With the processor running add this. When the dough starts clumping together, you're done. You can pulse a few times if you've got flour that's not quite incorporated, but this should should happen very quickly. You don't want to combine the butter with the dough - you want it to remain in itty-bitty pieces.

Transfer the dough to a plastic zip-top bag, flatten the dough (it chills faster) and refrigerate for at least an hour, but up to a few days.

Continue with whatever recipe you're making.

Have you ever sharpened your pizza wheel? Have ever even thought about sharpening it?

Yeah, me either. I mean, it's not like you need a sushi knife for whacking your pizza into pieces, right?

So, when I saw that a pizza wheel sharpener ($14.99) existed, I was surprised.

But ... the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I have one pizza wheel that I like, and I use it for all sorts of things besides pizza. I use it for bread dough, noodle dough, pastry dough, focaccia, tortillas ... all sort of things.

But I don't treat it like a knife. When I cut something with a knife, I use a cutting board that protects the blade and keeps it sharper longer. When I use that pizza wheel, I'm probably cutting on the counter. Or on a metal baking sheet. Or on a pizza stone. Or just about anywhere except a cutting board.

So, I'm guessing that it's not quite as sharp as it used to be. In fact, I know it isn't.

So I gave the pizza wheel sharpener a whirl. It's basically two ceramic rods that the pizza wheel fits between as you roll it back and forth. For a smaller pizza wheel or a non-fluted pastry cutter, the back-and-forth is enough to get the whole circumference of the wheel. For my larger wheel, I had to make sure I was getting all the way around. Simple though - just roll back and forth.

The result? Well, I have to say that my pizza wheel was pretty dull to begin with, so it took some sharpening to get a decent edge. But now I have a pizza wheel that might actually be sharper than it was when it was new.
One-trick pony? Yes. But I can't think of another way to sharpen a pizza wheel or pastry cutter.

The product was supplied for the purpose of a review on Serious Eats; this was previously published on Serious Eats.

When the PetitePie Maker from Chef's Choice landed on my doorstep, the first thing my husband said was, "Pot pies?!?!" Well, I was thinking about apple, but ... yeah, I guess we could do pot pies.

First, let me say that generic pre-made pie crust is pretty awful. Subsequent batches with better quality dough tasted a heck of a lot better. (What was I thinking?)

The pie maker works like a waffle-maker, but with pie-shaped recesses designed to cook pastry dough. A cutting tool for making the correct-sized rounds is included, along with a "pusher" to help the bottom crust properly fit into the recess.

I have to say there's a bit of a learning curve involved with making pies in this gadget. One important consideration is the amount of filling. Since the top crust cooks from contact with the top plate of the pie maker, you need a large enough mound of filling - a generous half-cup - so the top crust is high enough to make contact. Too much filling, and you risk having it leak out.

Cooking time is based entirely upon the browning of the crust. The filling gets plenty hot during the baking process, but it's not in there long enough to actually cook. Cooking time, depending on the crust and filling, was about 8 minutes.


Speaking of hot, the filling, even when I started with refrigerator-cold ingredients - was screaming hot when it came out of the pie maker. So if you need to make two batches and want to serve hot pie, the first one should still be plenty warm by the time the second is done, or toss them into a warm oven if you need them to keep longer.

The one on the right isn't as pretty, but not awful.

I have to say that I had a few spectacular failures along with the successes, not necessarily the fault of the gadget. In my experimenting, I tried one filling that was too wet and not conducive to mounding - more like a chunky jam than a pie filling, and the filling boiled and leaked out of one of the pies and created a rather amazing mess. Meanwhile, since the pie filling didn't mound high enough on another pie, that one had a very pale top. On the plus side, the surfaces are nonstick, so cleanup wasn't nearly as bad as it looked.

I'm not going to stop making full-size pies, but I have to admit that the mini-pies have their advantages. Like portability. And portion size. I plan on making a whole army of turkey pot pies after the bird is done, and freezing them for easy lunches.

Okay, maybe the mushrooms aren't quite duxelles, but I liked the rhyme. And when you're in your kitchen, you can certainly make a true duxelles. There are plenty of recipes online.

I used a duck egg here because 1) I had them from the farmers market and 2) I wanted to make these really rich. A chicken egg will work just fine.

Croissants aren't terribly hard to make, but they do require some time and some work with a rolling pin. This recipe is a little bit easier than the traditional method, since it uses a food processor in the first stage.

The smaller bits of butter also make the dough easier to roll, so there's a little less work involved. I'm not going to lie to you and say that this is as easy as making cake from a mix. But c'mon, it's home made croissants. People will think you're magical if you make these.

Croissants are always best on the day they are made. they lose the shattery crispness in the crust when you store them. They're still good. Just not as great a the could be.

Easy(er) Croissants with Morel "Duxelles"

For the croissants:
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup cold milk
1 small(ish) duck egg (about the size of a chicken egg - or use a chicken egg)
11 1/4 ounces (2 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick salted butter, cold
1 stick unsalted butter, cold
Eggwash:
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
For the "duxelles":
1/2 ounce dried morel mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
Pinch of salt

Put the yeast, water and sugar into a medium bowl and stir to combine. Set aside until it begins to get foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and egg, and beat lightly to break up the egg and combine it all.

Put the flour and salt into your food processor, and pulse to distribute the salt. Cut each stick of butter into tablespoon-sized pieces. Put all of the pieces into the food processor with the flour and pulse about 10 times to distribute the butter and break the chunks just a little. You don't want small pieces as you would for pie crust; larger chunks are preferable.

Add the flour and butter to the liquid in the bowl, and fold gently with a spatula until all the flour is moistened and it is well combined, being careful not to break up the butter. The butter should still be fairly hard at this point. The dough will be very wet; don't worry about it. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

The mixture can be used the next day, or kept refrigerated for an additional day if you aren't ready for it.

When you are ready to roll, flour your work surface generously, and have more flour standing ready. Turn the dough out onto your work surface, sprinkle some additional flour over the top You can be generous here, and form it into a rough square.

Working quickly, roll the dough out to an approximate 16-18-inch (sort-of) square. You don't have to be precise. Because the dough is fairly wet, it should roll easily, but it might be a bit sticky. The point here is that we need to flatten those bits of butter, so this first roll is more about getting that butter flatter and more pliable.

Add flour as needed on top and underneath to keep it from sticking any time during the process. At first, you might need a bit of flour. Later, a light dusting will suffice.

Fold the dough in thirds, like a letter. Then fold it in thirds again, to make a square.

Do this again three more times. Use flour as you need it and work quickly. If it's really hot in your kitchen and you feel the butter starting to get melty-soft, you can stop and refrigerate the dough. If the butter melts, you'll never get the layers you're looking for.

After the last fold, put the dough into a plastic bag and put it into the refrigerator for at least an hour, or up to three days.

Meanwhile, make the mushroom mixture:
Fill a small pot with a couple inches of water. Heat to a boil and then turn off the heat. Add 1/2 ounce of dried morel mushrooms an let them soak until they are softened.

Remove any tough or rubbery bits - I found that the "stem" bit was often just a bit rubbery. Chop the mushrooms into small bits. You could use a food processor, but we're not talking about that many mushrooms.

Heat the butter in a pan and fry the mushroom bits for a minute or two, then let them cool. If you're not using them right away, refrigerate until you need them.

When you are ready to make the croissants, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

The dough may have risen while refrigerated. After an hour you won't see much action, but if you left it refrigerated for longer, you will see that it rose a bit.

Flour your work surface and roll the dough into a circle about 14 inches in diameter.

Cut the dough into 8 pie-shaped wedges.

Pull the outside edge so that it's at least 8 inches wide and pull the dough lengthwise so it's about 10 inches long. It won't look like a perfect triangle any more - it will be more like the side view of a golf tee- but that's okay.

Take the prepared mushroom mixture and spread it over the surface of the triangles, leaveing a little edge uncovered on all sides.

Starting at the wide end of each triangle, roll the dough toward the the point.

Place the finished croissants on the prepared baking sheet with the point underneath. Curl the dough into a crescent shape.

Leave room on the baking sheet for the croissants to rise as they bake. These are pretty big croissants. you might as well put 4 on each sheet, so the have plenty of space.

Cover them with plastic wrap and set aside for 45 minutes. They won't rise much at all, but they should feel puffy instead of firm, and when you gently push on the side of one, the indent should fill in very slowly instead of bouncing back. Brush the croissants with the egg wash.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool.


This recipe was written for the Marx Foods 5th annual Morel recipe contest. For this contest, people were asked to bake with the morels. We were each given a sample of dried morels to work with.

The contest is now open for voting. Cast yer votes RIGHT HERE.

Pi Day is here and Virtual Potluck is celebrating with ... well, pie. All kinds of different pies.

I decided to make a crostata - a rustic sort of pie, baked free-form. Sort of flat. In this case, it's very flat, since i didn't use solid fruit - I just used a very flavorful jam.

When my husband was in the hospital, I called upon cooking friends and fellow bloggers to do guest posts here. One was my friend Charles who goes by the name "Catboy" on some of the sites we frequent. Although he's not a blogger, he offered to post one of his recipes - and he chose plum jam.

And then, as a very awesome surprise, he sent me some of his homemade jam. And that's what I used in this recipe. Let me tell you, that jam is pretty darned awesome. Give it a try when plums are in season. You won't regret it!

Meanwhile, we have pie. Any thick jam, or even a lemon or lime curd would work in this. Something as thin as a jelly might be a problem though.

CatBoy Plum Jam Crostata
Recipe © by www.cookistry.com. Do not republish without permission.
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 to 1 cup plum jam (recipe here)
Eggwash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)

Put the flours, salt, sugar, and vanilla bean paste in your food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.

Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the food processor. Pulse until you have pieces no larger than a pea. It's fine if there are one or two pieces that are slightly larger, but the majority should be pea-sized.

With the food processor running (and work quickly here) add the water as fast as the flour can absorb it, and continue processing until the dough forma a ball.

Stop the food processor and remove the dough. Quickly form it into a ball, and then flatten to a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap an refrigerate at least an hour. It's fine if you continue the next day.

Preheat to 375 degrees and have a baking sheet and parchment paper (to fit the baking sheet) ready.

Flour your work surface and turn out the dough With a rolling pin, roll it into a rough circle about 14 inches in diameter. You don't have to be precise. Transfer the dough to the parchment paper. It's fine if it's hanging over the edges a bit.

Spread the jam over the surface of the dough, leaving a few inches around the edges uncovered. Again, you don't need to be precise.

Fold the edges of the dough - about 3-4 inches worth - over toward the center of the dough, working all around the dough until you have all the edges folded over and a few inches uncovered jam in the center. It really doesn't matter how much you fold over, how you pleat the dough, or how much is showing in the center. It's your creation.

Slide the parchment paper - with the crostata on it - onto the baking sheet.

Brush the exposed dough with the eggwash, and sprinkle with as much sugar as you like.

Bake the crostata at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, or until the pastry is nicely browned.

Let the crostata cool a few minutes on the pan, the slide the parchment paper onto a rack to cool. As soon as it's cool enough to handle, slide the crostata off the parchment and allow it to cool completely on the rack.

Slice into wedges to serve.

Want more PIE???

Check out these other great recipes!

Farmgirl Gourmet made Goat Cheese Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust
Cooking with Books made Carrot, Jalapeno and Cheese Pie
Thyme in our Kitchen made Chicken Pot Pie with Bacon and Butternut Squash
Miss in the Kitchen made Mini Lemon Pies
Diabetic Foodie made Crustless Crab and Asparagus Quiche
30a Eats made Tomato Pie
Foodhunter's Guide made Lemon Cheese Danish Pie

It's Julia Child's 100th birthday this week, and PBS is celebrating for her. You'll be seeing all sorts Julia Child recipes popping up all over the Internet from August 5-15 and plenty of tweets with the #CookForJulia hashtag.

I'm starting my celebration with a very French item (to celebrate her tenure as The French Chef) that is sort of a bread, and is what most people think is a really difficult recipe - croissants.

Truthfully, croissants aren't that difficult. The first time you make them, they seem difficult. They take a long time.

But really, most of the time is resting time. You're resting, the dough is resting, and nothing is going on that needs attention. And you can pretty much stop the recipe at about any time you want and chuck the dough in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Or even for an extra day. It's all good.

There are also a lot of measurements where you're instructed to roll the dough to a specific size. After making croissants a number of times, I've got to tell you that exact measurements aren't something you have to stress about. You should get close, but you don't need to be exact. It's not like you're trying to fit it into a pan.

This recipe is from the book From Julia's Kitchen by Julia Child. The instructions are much more detailed in the book, but this will get the job done for you.

When you get to the butter measurement, here's the deal. The more butter you use, the better the croissants will be. However, the less butter you use, the easier it will be to work with. Julia suggests starting with a smaller amount of butter - just the one stick - and working your way up to using more, until you get to the maximum.

Croissants
Adapted from From Julia's Kitchen by Julia Child

1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons tepid water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup tepid milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 to 7 ounces (1 to 1 3/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter
Eggwash

Mix the yeast, water and sugar while you measure the flour and salt into a medium bowl.

Blend the milk and oil with the yeast mixture, then add that to the flour.

Mix until well combined, then turn it out onto your work surface. Let it rest for a few minutes, then knead until the dough feels smooth and begins to draw back into shape when pushed out during kneading. (You'll probably need a dusting of flour during kneading, but try not to add too much.)

Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until the dough has at least tripled in size. This should take at least 3 hours. If it seems to be rising too fast, put it in the refrigerator for a while to slow it down, then take it out to resume rising.

After the first rise, turn the dough out, fold it over a few times, put in back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise until doubled in size. This should take 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If it rises too fast, give it a short nap in the refrigerator to slow it down. It's perfectly fine if it takes longer to rise.

Turn the dough out onto a floured plate (I used a cake pan) cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Turning it out will deflate it. That's supposed to happen. At this point, I left it in the refrigerator overnight.

Take the butter out of the refrigerator and beat it with a rolling pin to soften it so you can spread it. You want to do this quickly so it doesn't get warm. Scrape the butter up with a dough scraper, fold it over, and whack it again if need be to get it soft. The book suggests spreading in with the palm of your hand, but my paws are too warm for that.

Flour your work surface and turn out the dough. Roll it to about 14x8 inches and spread the butter over 2/3 of the length of the dough. Fold the uncovered third over the buttered center, then fold the other side over that, like folding a letter (does anyone fold letters any more?)

Lightly flour the dough, roll it to about 10x16 inches. Fold it into thirds like you did before (but obviously no butter). Flour the dough, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate it for at least 45 minutes.

Take it out of the refrigerator. If the butter has become solid, whack the dough with your rolling pin to soften it. Then roll it to a rectangle (size isn't listed in the book - figure about the same as before.) Fold in thirds again as before. Then roll and fold one last time.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap again and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I used two sheets because I wanted to give the crescents plenty of space. The book suggests buttering the baking sheet, but I prefer parchment.

Roll the dough to a rectangle about 20x5 inches. Cut it in half crosswise and return half to the refrigerator. Roll the half you're working with to about 15x5 inches. Cut it into thirds so you have three 5x5 pieces. If you can work quickly, leave them out of the refrigerator. If you work slowly, keep one piece out to work with and refrigerate the other two.

Cut your 5x5 piece diagonally into 2 triangles. Lengthen the triangle to about 7 inches and stretch the base, pulling it with your fingers, until it's another inch wider. Starting at the base, roll the triangle toward the tip. Bend the two ends to form the curve of the crescent.

Place the roll on the prepared backing sheet. Continue with the rest.

Cover the baking sheets and let the croissants rise until they are about tripled in size and they feel puffy and light. This should take 1 1/2 hours and possible more, depending on how cold the dough was before you started this last procedure.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees before the buns are fully risen so it's ready to go. When the buns have risen fully, brush them with the egg wash and then bake at 475 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Let them cool on a rack for 10 minutes or so before serving.
This post is part of #SundaySupper. Here's the full lineup of blogs participating this week:

Breakfast
Râpée Morvandelle by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Croissants by Cookistry
Cheese and Bacon Quiche by Tora’s Real Food

Lunch
Tuna Salad Nicoise by Magnolia Days
Blood Orange, Walnut, and Rocket Salad by Granny’s Down Home Southern Cooking
Croque Monsieur by Webicurean
Spinach and Cream Cheese Pancakes by Happy Baking Days
Julia’s Chicken Salad by My Trials in the Kitchen
Pissaladière Niçoise (Onion Tart with Anchovies and Black Olives) by The Wimpy Vegetarian
Provencal Tomato Quiche by Are you hungry?
Quiche Lorraine Spoon and Saucer

Dinner
Bouillabaisse by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
Boeuf Bourguignon by Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence
Orecchiette Con Broccoli Di Rape and Sausages by Doggie at the Dinner Table
Boeuf Bourguignon by Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
Veal Stew with Onions and Mushrooms with Baked Cucumbers and Boiled Potatoes (Blanquette de veau a l’ancienne with concombres au buerre) by Kimchi Mom
Salmon en Papillote by Girlichef
Poached salmon with cucumber sauce by Katherine Martinelli
Lobster Souffle and Deviled Chicken- Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
Roasted Chicken with Julia’s Mustard Marinade by The Meltaways
Wild Mushroom and Herb Stuffed Chicken- Mama Mommy Mom
Puree of White Beans with Garlic and Herbs (Brandade á la Soissonaise) Avocado Pesto
Poulet au Porto by Family Foodie

Sides
Hollondaise over Blanched Asparagus by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and Garlic (Gratin Dauphinois) by Home Cooking Memories
Ratatouille by Basic N Delicious
French-style country pate by There and Back Again
White Bean Dip with Homemade Tortilla Chips Momma’s Meals
Oeufs à la Diable by What Smells So Good?
Soubise by The Weekend Gourmet
Ratatouille by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

Desserts
Cream Cheese and Lemon Flan by Juanita’s Cocina
Strawberry Sherbert in Cooky Cups by Cravings of a Lunatic
Creme Brulee by Wine Everyday
Mousseline Au Chocolat by Small Wallet Big Appetite
Peach Tarte Tatin by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Cinnamon Toast Flan by Vintage Kitchen Notes
Dark Chocolate Crepes by Family Spice
Crepes Fines Sucrees by Mangoes and Chutney
Pommes Rosemarie:Apples Rosie The Daily Dish Recipes
Espresso Soufflé by Chocolate Moosey
Best Ever Brownies by In the Kitchen with Audrey
Orange-Almond Jelly Roll Cake by Mrs. Mama Hen
Orange Spongecake Cupcakes by Mama’s Blissful Bites
Orange Mousse with Greek Yogurt by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz

Beverages
Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ

This has been submitted to Tastespotting.

When a friend proposed a little food challenge to remake a dish from a chain restaurant, the first thing I thought of was cheddar biscuits from a certain seafood restaurant. To be honest, my choices were pretty slim. We don't go out to eat all that much, and when we do, we tend to go to a few local places that we like a lot.

So, when I was thinking of dishes to remake from a chain, there wasn't much that was particularly memorable.

But those biscuits are famous. There are bazillions of copycat recipes. But I didn't want to make my biscuits exactly the same way, I wanted to make my own version. Better, maybe.

Definitely not the same.

The first thing I changed was that these are cut biscuits instead of drop biscuits. So instead of looking like lumps, these are tall, layered, and proud.

And then I had fun with the flavor. I added plenty of cheese flavor, and some dried chives as well. And then - for the bit of bayou, I sprinkled the finished biscuits with just a little bit of Slap Ya Mama seasoning.

I got my cheese powders from Savory Spice Shop; I'm sure there are other sources.

Cheddar Bayou Biscuits

1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) self-rising flour
2 tablespoons cheddar cheese powder
2 tablespoons romano cheese powder
1 tablespoon chives
4 tablespoons cold butter
2/3 cup cold milk
Additional butter for brushing the biscuit tops
Slap Ya Mama spice mix

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the self-rising flour, cheese powders, and chives. Whisk to combine.

Cut the butter into chunks and drop it into the bowl with the flour. Cut the butter in with two knives or a pastry cutter until the largest bits are no bigger than a pea. Add the milk and fold gently to moisten all the flour. The dough should be a little bit wet. If it's dry and thick, add a bit more milk. If it seems too wet, don't fret. You can make up for that when you roll the biscuits.

Flour your work surface and turn out the dough. Dust the top with flour. With a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the dough and your work surface as needed to keep the dough from sticking. You'll need more at the beginning and not much later.

Fold the dough in thirds, like a letter. Roll the dough again, this time to 1/2 thick. Fold in thirds again, like a letter. Roll it to 3/4 inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, dip the cutter in flour, then cut as many rounds as you can from the dough. Try to keep from twisting the cutter as you cut.

Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet leaving space bewteen them.

Gather the scraps, piling them on top of each other, trying not to turn them sideways - you created nice layers with the folding, you want to keep them running horizontally. Roll the dough again to 3/4 inch thick and cut as many more biscuits as you can.

You can re-roll a third time, if you need to, or just gather the scraps and make one last hand-formed biscuit.

Bake the biscuits at 400 degrees until nicely browned, about 18 minutes.

Move the biscuits to a rack. Brush the tops with butter, then sprinkle with as much of the Slap Ya Mama seasoning as you like.

Serve.