Good food!!

I have had so many people ask me what I was going to do when I retired.  They all said they knew I would get bored.  I cannot ever see that happening as there are so many things I love to do.  Cooking is one of those things.  Below are some of the things that I have made in the last couple of weeks. 

 I made Jon some more donuts the other day and sprinkled them with powdered sugar.  They turned out so nice and were delicious.  I love my Wilton donut baking pans.

My Mom was known for her pies.  She made the best butterscotch pie in the world (I am sure most of us feel that way about out Mom's cooking).  She used only lard for the shortening in her pie crusts and they were so flaky and tender.  I have tried her recipe over and over, but my crusts are never as good as hers.  So, I did some research on the web and I found a recipe (and video) that uses lard and butter and I love it.  It is much easier to roll out and it is very flaky and tender.  Everyone loved this butterscotch pie. 

The meringue turned out pretty good too, but  I found a recipe that adds little corn starch to keep it light and fluffy, so I think I will try that next time.  Have any of you made a meringue that uses cream of tarter and corn starch?  If so, please let me know what you think of it!

 

 

This is Mom's famous Rhubarb Cream Pie Recipe that my family loves (all but Jon).  It is so yummy.  We especially love it with ice cream.  I only bake a few in the spring, but right now I am trying to freeze some rhubarb to see if that will allow us to have pie after the rhubarb season is over.

I hope to bake another one next week to take to Lori as she loves them as much as I do.  How about you, are you a Rhubarb Cream Pie lover???  If not, what is your favorite pie?

 

 I can add the recipes to this post if anyone needs them.  Just let me know.
 

Butterscotch Pie
I prebaked the pie crust for 10 minutes (using pie weights)
1/4 cup real butter
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks, separate eggs
(reserve whites for meringue topping)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 (9 inch) pie crusts, prepared
(baked and cooled)
meringue SEE RECIPE BELOW
3 large egg whites
(reserved from pie filling recipe)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350°.
2 Stir brown sugar and butter in a saucepan until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cook 2-3 minutes longer on low-medium heat, and then remove from fire.
3 Beat egg yolks.
4 In separate large bowl, mix flour with 1/2 of milk, until smooth. Then add beaten egg yolks and salt and mix well. Blend remaining milk with this mixture.
5 Add flour mixture to saucepan with sugar/butter mixture and cook on low/medium heat until thickened (anywhere from 30-45 minutes), stirring CONSTANTLY.
6 Remove from heat and blend in vanilla extract. Stir CONSTANTLY until well blended and slightly warm and then pour into a prepared (baked) 9" pie crust.
7 Top pie with meringue (recipe to follow).
8 After meringue is spread on top, Bake at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes, or until meringue is golden. Cool for 10-15 minutes.
9 MERINGUE: 3 egg whites (reserved from pie filling recipe), 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar, 6 tablespoons granulated sugar.

10 With a mixer, beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff and glossy peaks form and all sugar is dissolved.

11 Spread meringue over slightly warm filling, sealing to edge of crust. (Then bake and cool as directed above.).


BAKED DONUTS - Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

Ingredients

• Baking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• For the topping:
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 doughnut pans well.
Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined.
Spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each one a little more than three-quarters full. Bake for 17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then tap the doughnuts out onto a sheet pan.
For the topping, melt the 8 tablespoons of butter in an 8-inch saute pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each doughnut first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, either on one side or both sides.