pie crust

This came in email form to me from PMC. I am posting it because if I don't I won't ever be able to find it when I need it!

I [PMC] learned how to make crust from the chapter Pies from Paradise in The Man Who Ate Everything.

Here are the broad strokes:

Put 1 c flour and a big pinch of salt in a big mixing bowl. Drop in 1/2 c of shortening (can be vegetable shortening, lard, butter or a combination).

Using your hands, rub the fat into the flour. I scoop with my hands, sweep my thumbs once over what I've picked up and let everything fall back into the bowl. This seems to keep the fat from warming up too much. When the biggest chunks of fat are about the size of a pea, pour about 1/3 c of cold water over the mixture and stir with a fork. You should be able to pull the dough together. Many would let the dough rest in the frige half an hour. I usually can't be bothered.

When you roll out the pastry, be liberal when dusting with flour. Sticking is a pain in the ass and you'd have to use A LOT of flour for it to have a discernable impact on your pastry.

When I make quiche, I put the pie in the oven as soon as I add the egg mixture and I put the plate on a cookie sheet that's been in the preheating oven. That seems to help get a good bottom crust.

This was sent in response to a request for a pie crust for quiche. Now if I were baking a fruit pie, PMC, would I bake the crust a bit before adding the filling?

lamb and beans

It is a crime to post this, because it is covered entirely by the baked beans and stew recipe algorithm posts. But I can't help it, because it came out so good.

Parboil about a pound of dried white beans (I used great northerns) in unsalted water for about 45 min. Pour the beans, a few cloves of garlic, some glugs of olive oil, some sage, and a lamb shank (incredibly cheap if you can find one) into an oven-proof pot. Add enough of the parboiling water to bring it to almost cover (but not quite). Throw it in the oven, covered, for a few hours at 250 F (120 C). Pull the meat off the bone at the end, cut it up and return it to the pot, salt heavily, stir, and serve. I served it with braised cabbage.

Some notes: It takes one heck of a lot of salt, so be prepared to stir it in, taste, and repeat a few times. You also might have to add some water now and then as it cooks, or when you re-heat it the next day. This meal is a trash meal, in the sense that its ingredients are cheap and have little commercial impact. No-one is raising lambs for their shanks! I'm all about that. It is also a meal you can make all winter with locally produced ingredients here in the northeast (except the olive oil, which could be replaced with butter or dropped). Many argue that stew tastes better the next day; I don't disagree.

This has the consistency of cassoulet and is in the same spirit. And it sure ain't rocket science!

P.B. People

I never cease to be amazed at what a kick kids get out of being allowed to play with their food. Yesterday, I took a few minutes to prepare a bowl with some thinly sliced and julienned carrots and some celery sticks. I used a vegetable peeler to make ribbons of carrot and then stacked these and cut them into threads. In a muffin tin, I also put out some apricots, sunflower seeds and GORP (good old raisins and peanuts). There was sliced whole wheat bread (whole slices and triangles), some apple slices and a big, wide-mouthed jar of peanut butter. I gave each of the boys a big dinner plate and a butter knife and said I'd like them to make a "p.b. person" for lunch, which they could eat as soon as I had taken a picture of their creation. That was both the only instruction and the only constraint (other than the fact that they had to choose from what was already on the table, but that was---apparently---implicit). I never said, "Spread some pb on a piece of bread, and then...." On the other hand, I did make my own PB person at the same time they were making theirs, so they probably took some cues from me. In any event, they ate as they created and had a great time.

This is Ben's PB person. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask the name, occupation and planet of origin of their people.

Here is Nathan's. He happily drew my attention to each facial feature he had eaten: "See, Dad? I ate his nose and one eye and one foot!" Spreading peanut butter is a sticky but fun challenge for a four-year-old. I made sure Nate didn't leave the table before giving his hands, face and shirt a good cleaning with a damp cloth.

braised cabbage pasta

This recipe was made up by me in an attempt to re-create a wonderful meal made by PMC many years ago in Québec City for the 'fuzz and me. I hereby call out PMC to post the real recipe! I think this is not really a recipe, in fact, but rather a recipe algorithm, which means that you can play arbitrary games with the fat, the meat (including dropping the meat entirely), the onions, the greens, and the liquid.

• 1/4 lb prosciutto or bacon or bresaola or equivalent
• 2 leeks or 1 onion or a couple shallots, finely sliced
• 1 large cabbage or 1 large bunch of collard greens, or a mixture, shredded
• 1 glass of wine (red or white)
• pasta for 4 (what the package says serves 6 or 8)
• hard cheese

While the water for pasta is coming to a boil, try out the meat (I used prosciutto) in some olive oil with the shallots or equivalent (I used shallots). If you have a fatty meat, I am sure you don't need any olive oil. Once the meat is starting to get crispy, add the cabbage or equivalent (I used one small cabbage plus a small bunch of collard greens) and the wine (I used white). Mix.

While the pasta cooks, cook the cabbage and wine (and etc) mixture at pretty high heat. Make sure the pan never goes completely dry, because you are effectively "steaming" the cabbage as you sauté it. I think that is what is known as braising (PMC: am I wrong?).

When the pasta is done and the cabbage is done, mix it all in a big, oven-warmed bowl along with lots and lots of grated cheese. Season with plenty of salt and pepper.

ratatouille

Here's what I did (with some help from the 'fuzz) to make the simplest possible ratatouille with all our farmer's-market late-summer vegetables:

• 2 onions, sliced
• 6 small eggplants (or 2-3 huge supermarket-style ones), diced
• 3 zucchini, diced
• a few sweet peppers, seeded and diced
• 3 large tomatoes, diced
• a few tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• salt, pepper, olive oil

Soften the onions (and maybe some garlic) in a lot of olive oil. Add eggplant and cook until it starts to soften. Add zucchini and peppers and cook until the zucchini starts to soften. Add tomatoes and basil and a fair bit of salt and pepper and simmer until the whole thing turns into ratatouille (about an hour, maybe less). Fix seasoning at the end. Serve with crusty bread, and then freeze some for the coming winter.

chicken and dumplings

Today I put chicken, onions, carrots, and celery in a pot with salt and pepper and covered it all (not quite) with water. I simmered it for two hours (checking seasoning now and then). I finished by dropping on top large spoonfuls of my my biscuit dough, as suggested by PMC in the comments of that post. It took less than 10 min for the dumplings to cook, at which point we had chicken and dumplings!

biscuits

Whew! Many cups of flour were harmed in the creation of this recipe, despite its incredible simplicity. But that's just because I didn't keep a log book! You would think I don't know how to do research.

Pre-heat the oven and a pan of some kind (I use cast iron as always!) to 400 F (200 C). Cut 3 tbsp butter into 1 cup of flour, 1.5 tsp double acting baking powder, and a large pinch each of sugar and salt. Mix in milk, a bit at a time, until the ball of dough just barely cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough a few times on a floured board or counter.

Cut the dough into six parts (I roll the dough into a 5-inch-long cylinder and cut it into six slices, but it is traditional to roll the dough flat and cut it with a cookie cutter—is that rocket science?). Bake in the pan for about 25 or 30 mins or until starting to brown on top.

skillet cornbread

Put an iron skillet holding 1 tbsp butter in the oven and pre-heat to 350 F (175 C). Cut about 1 tbsp butter into 1 cup of cornmeal, 1 heaping tsp of double-acting baking powder, and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt. Break an egg into a 1 cup measure, and fill up to the 1 cup level with milk or buttermilk. Five minutes before you expect the oven to be ready, mix the wet and dry ingredients. When the oven is ready, tilt the skillet to spread the butter, and then pour in the batter. Bake for about 30 min or until lightly browned or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Serves four.

pot roast

Now this is not rocket science:

• few tbsp fat (I used rendered bacon fat)
• few lbs beef (I used the cheapest chuck the 'fuzz could find)
• few onions, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc
• salt, pepper, water

Sauté one chopped onion and the beef in the fat, turning occasionally, until the beef is brown. Then salt and pepper it very generously, add some water (I used less than 1 cup), and put in a 300 F (150 C) oven. After 2 h add vegetables, maybe peeled and quartered. Cook for another 1.5 h for a total of 3.5 h. Drain and serve with sautéed greens or equivalent, with some of the pot liquor as a sauce. Serves at least two per lb of meat.

Some would have you thicken the sauce to a gravy; I bet PMC would! Next time I might use cubed salt pork as the fat.