Monday, August 30, 2010

I'm Moving....

Monday, August 30, 2010
I'm switching over to my own domain at www.piefinger.net but the site is currently under construction. The new and improved version should be up in the next few days!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Handy New Tool

Tuesday, August 17, 2010


I got this excellent dough mat this weekend and highly recommend that you own one too if you make a lot of pastry. It's nonstick, has a weight and measure conversion chart, and clearly marks your goal size for rolling out everything from a wee six inch tart to a giant 11 inch pie.

I also treated myself to a new book, Pastry Cook by Catherine Atkinson. It was a cheap treat and has pretty much already paid for itself with its many technique focused photos and its recipe for raspberry creme brulee tart, which I made for my brother's wedding. It got eaten before I could take a picture but it was something like this:
(Picture from Gourmet.com)

Super rich and sturdy enough to survive 2.5 hours in the car, this tart was pretty easy to put together and could easily work with a variety of fruits.

Raspberry Creme Brulee Tart from Pastry Cook - serves 10 to 12 in a 9 inch tart pan
For the crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1 pinch coarse kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk (reserve egg white)
Zest of a large orange

For the filling
1 1/2 cups whole fresh raspberries
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or one whole vanilla bean, scraped
2 Tbsp. caster sugar
1 whole egg
3 large egg yolks
6 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Instructions:
Blend in a food processor or with a pastry blender, the flour salt and butter until it looks like breadcrumbs. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolk and orange zest, add to flour mixture and knead until a soft dough forms. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, preheat oven to 400 and put a baking sheet in the oven while pre-heating. Bring heavy cream and vanilla to warm in a small heavy saucepan. Whisk egg yolks, whole egg, and sugar together in a small jug until light. Pour warmed cream into the egg and sugar combination and whisk to make a custard.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface (or dough mat!) and roll out to fit a 9 inch tart pan with releasable bottom. Prick the bottom of the tart shell and place on hot baking sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush shell with reserved egg white. Return shell to oven for another 3-4 minutes. Remove pre-baked shell and reduce heat to 325.

Scatter fresh raspberries evenly over the bottom of the pre-baked shell. Slowly pour custard over top and bake on the baking sheet for 15-17 minutes or until very lightly set. Cool completely and then chill for four hours or overnight.

To form bruleed crust before serving, sprinkle cold surface of tart with powdered sugar and place under broiler on low for just under five minutes. Obviously, a brulee torch works too. That will be my next handy new tool purchase.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Swede Approved, Probs

Friday, July 30, 2010


This is alternately giving me that pre-barf feeling in my throat and intriguing me to come up with some savory cocktail options, garnished with dill. It probably would be good in a bloody mary which is, apparently, the idea behind this refreshing bacon vodka.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Cinnamon-Cumin Pork Chops and Orzo Salad with Eggplant, Mint, & Feta

Friday, July 23, 2010

All day yesterday I knew I wanted to make a peach and blackberry cobbler for dessert but was at a loss as to what to have for dinner. My co-worker Jessie then solved that problem for me by saying that she had never really had a good, juicy pork chop. I took that as a challenge and made these pork chops glazed with cinnamon, cumin, lemon juice, and olive oil seared in a hot, dry pan.

But the clincher of the meal was this orzo salad which is super adaptable (could use Israeli cous cous, substitute different cheeses, veggies, and herbs) and can be served hot or cold.

Orzo Salad with Eggplant, Mint, & Feta - serves 6
Olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
Sea salt mix (sea salt with rosemary, tarragon, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes)
1 large eggplant, diced with skin on
1 medium zucchini, diced with skin on
1 box orzo
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 large red onion (or one small), finely diced
2/3 cup zante currants
1 large bunch chopped fresh mint
Generous handful of crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
Toss diced eggplant with the sea salt mixture and a good amount of olive oil. Roast in a 375 oven for about 25 minutes. Cook orzo just shy of al dente as it will absorb more cooking liquids when the salad comes together. As the orzo is cooking, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter to a large, deep saute pan. Add diced zucchini and cool for about 5 minutes then add currants and broth, allowing the currants to plump a bit. Drain pasta and rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process. Add pasta, raw onion, and eggplant to the saute pan and mix well. Transfer to serving dish and allow to cool a bit before finishing with the feta and mint.

Thanks friends!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

"It's Like Upton Sinclair Nightmare Bratwurst"

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The LAS-andwich. [Photo: News of the World]

In this week alone I've been made aware of the Candwich, the footlong cheeseburger, and this lasandwich. But of all the disturbing pre-fab foods I have learned of lately, this German-made hamburger in a can is top drawer. Everything about it is best summed up in the taste-test experience conducted by the Onion AV clubbers. Just be aware that the German company that makes these does not ship to the US.

Sad Keanu.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Challenge: Jacket Lunch Box

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Challenge...not accepted. I am not even artistic enough to trace this image onto a sheet of paper, let alone transfer its likeness in Marmite onto white bread.

I also really like this one using bits of fruit, rice, and nori but it is not quite as nuanced...or something.

I can't understand anything on the Jacket Lunch Box website of course but I found it via the Food Network Humor site which boasts this gem of a series: Unnecessarily Censoring the Food Network.

Get Kids to Eat Their Cereal, Jello, Peanuts, and BRAINS

Monday, May 17, 2010

Go To Birthday Cake

Monday, May 17, 2010

If you read this blog when I was actively watching (and complaining about) Top Chef, you are already familiar with my feelings about the contestant's inability to make dessert that is not a) savory ice cream or b) a rustic tart. This weekend I found the cake recipe that I will now memorize and forever have up my sleeve for dessert emergencies or....professional cooking contests. It's a pretty basic chocolate cake but it turned out extremely moist with a springy, spongy crumb and it wasn't overly sweet. This makes it an ideal cake for dressing up. It could go the route of Black Forrest, or salted caramel...I just slapped some whipped cream and bittersweet chocolate on it. Please make this:

Perfect, Easy Chocolate Cake (sent in by a friend, original source unknown)

2 cups sugar
1 cup oil canola or vegetable
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup HOT coffee
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
-----
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease and flour your cake pan(s) (2 round, or 1 sheet).
3. Add all dry ingredients (except sugar) to a bowl and whisk to combine.
4. In mixer, add sugar and oil and mix to combine.
5. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.
6. Slowly add milk, coffee and vanilla extract.
7. Add dry ingredients in increments with mixer on low speed.
8. Add sour cream and stir to combine.
9. Pour into cake pans and transfer to oven.
10. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Here's how it looked before I finished frosting, which was a lot like an Oreo cookie.


And here's how it looked being lifted up and served to a hungry Britta.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Meatless Mondays - Stuffed Bell Peppers With Feta

Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I am sure no one will care/do this, but don't hold me to Meatless Monday being an actual weekly thing. Ezra Poundcake does it so I was inspired to follow suit. PLUS my dear roommate is on a kick of trying to up her protein intake but is interested in doing so in a non-Atkins sort of way so last night I came up with these guys:


(I apologize for the picture quality. I meant to photograph them hot from the oven with my camera instead of cold from the Tupperware with my phone.)

The beauty of the recipe is that you can use up odds and ends of bits of veggies, sneak in some very lean protein with the fake meat, and it's all very pretty. If you have leftover rice, this would also qualify as something pretty quick to put together but since I made the brown rice just for these peppers, they took like an hour and twenty minutes. But you know, have a glass of wine, watch clips of the horrible new show Baggage, and get even more ideas for variations on this recipe by reading Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Suppers.

Stuffed Bell Peppers With Feta (makes 6 servings)
3 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
2 cups cooked brown rice (I cooked mine in vegetable broth)
Few Tbs. olive oil
1 shallot
2 medium diced carrots
1 diced tomato
1/2 package (plus) of Gimme Lean (ground beef OR sausage style)
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup water
2 Tsp. Italian seasoning
2 Tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 package sliced mushrooms
1 cup raw broccoli florets
Handful frozen corn
Handful raw spinach
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt & Pepper
Chiffonade of basil for garnish


Get yer rice going. It will take a while.

You could certainly use white rice, couscous, or quinoa, but I like the added texture of the brown rice for this. Also, I felt like a giant a-hole at the co-op when I had to ask "um...is this the ONLY bulk quinoa you have right now?"

Slice shallot roughly and add to a Tablespoon or so of oil in a good sized pan with sides. Eventually ALL of your filling will be in there so make sure you have room.

Once shallot starts to soften add carrots. Cook these for about 10 minutes until they are no longer super crisp. Add salt, pepper, and a little water while they cook and then remove from the pan and set aside.

Add another glub of oil to the pan and turn up the heat a bit so your fake meat will get brown. Crumble in about a half tube or maybe a bit more of the Gimme Lean. Once brown, add the diced tomato, mushrooms, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes, and tomato paste. Pour in a bit of water or wine to loosen and combine the paste. Add the carrots and shallot back into the mix and bring everything up to temperature.

Get a pot of salted water going and slice your three peppers top to bottom. Remove seeds and pith and drop pepper halves in the water for about four minutes to soften a bit. Turn your broiler on low.

When your rice is just about done, put in your quick cooking vegetables (the ones you want to have retain their colors) like the corn and broccoli. After a minute or so (remember, these guys go under the broiler too) remove from heat and stir in a handful of raw spinach leaves. Add the rice and mix everything together. Check seasoning.

Stuff peppers with as much filling as they can handle. Any leftover filling can be served on the side. Top stuffed peppers with a generous sprinkle of feta and pop under the broiler until the feta gets toasty.

Garnish with chiffonade of basil. Real good.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Traditional English Trifle (Without Peas, Beef, or Onions)

Monday, April 12, 2010


My sister made this amazing and beautiful trifle for Easter dessert. I only ended up having a little bit of it because we had many, many other treats. Including these slightly scary looking Rice Krispie bunnies:



Provided you have a properly tall, cylindrical dish for putting this trifle together there isn't a very specific recipe for it. The layers are comprised of homemade pound cake (I suggest Ezra Poundcake's Sunshine Poundcake without the glaze), whipped cream, various fresh berries and bananas, raspberry jam, and English custard (recipe follows). Top with silvered almonds.

Vanilla English Custard for Trifle
2 2/3 cups milk
1 1/3 cups double cream (heavy whipping cream)
5 free range egg yolks
4 1/2 ounces caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped OR 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Put the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. As soon as the milk and cream mixture comes to the boil, pour onto the egg mixture and beat well.

Return to the pan and place over a very gentle heat (or in a basin over a pan of simmering water) and stir continuously until the custard has thickened. Allow this mixture to cool prior to layering over the pound cake and jam.

On a side note, I made this Roasted Vegetable Torte for a potluck last week and had about half of it leftover. I plopped all of it into a pan and heated through with chicken stock. Then I pulsed in a couple of times in the food processor, added Italian sausage and olives and let it simmer until it was a nice thick ragout. It was lovely over spaghetti.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Gracious Easter Eggs

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

If ever you are looking for a way to get all of your friends to rapidly exit your house and make their way to the bar, might I suggest boiling eighteen eggs? I learned firsthand that the smell really hangs in the air for a long time. Even after you devil said eggs. And though they are putzy, smelly, generally gross in concept, and produce extra-foul mouth noises when people eat them, I love me some deviled eggs.

The internets had really piss poor answers for what falls into the category of deviled food:

I don't buy it. It must refer to something about their cooking method...or something about their place of origin. Like how things "florentine" always have spinach and are in some way rooted in the food culture of Florence, Italy. I don't really buy that these eggs are deviled because they are hot. Because 1) they are served chilled and 2) they are not spicy in any way.

I think this wiki question must have been answered by Kenneth the Page.

Well this just gives me all the more reason to start referring to these as "gracious eggs" which is what my sister's friend Brad calls them. Someone in his family just didn't feel comfortable with something deviled being presented at an Easter feast.

I really fancied mine the eff up:

Gracious Easter Eggs for a CROWD (makes 36 gracious eggs)
18 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1 Tbsp. prepared Dijon mustard
2 1/2 tsp. vinegar (I used white but tarragon or champagne would also be great)
Abut 1 tsp. truffle oil
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. creme fraiche
1 1/2 tsp. celery seed
Salt & Pepper to taste
Minced fresh oregano or tarragon leaves for garnish
Smoked paprika for garnish

Basically boil these suckers using your preferred method, cool, peel, and halve.

Once all your yolks are in a bowl, add all the above ingredients and mix until smooth. Mash with a fork first and finish mixing with a spoon.

Add filling to a pastry bag and pipe into emptied out whites. Garnish with herb leaves and paprika and chill until you serve them.

Check out this exhaustive blog about deviled eggs. This woman really knows her shit. She also recommends tipping your unboiled eggs sideways in their container for 24 hours before cooking so that the yolks "right themselves." I guess you should do that if you are making deviled eggs for like, Alton Brown.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Dead Man Eating

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I have spent so much time obsessing over this blog which lists the last meal requests of death row inmates. SO MANY OF THEM REQUEST DR PEPPER. Also a lot of them seem to just be eating purely for mass and not necessarily for...flavor? Don't dig too far into the archives because it seems to have just started out as a blog which described lots and lots of heinous crimes, which, if you know me, is really not my jam. But I do like reading menus and spend my work break time perusing menus of restaurants I hope to one day visit. Once I found a pasta dish which listed human tears as an accoutrement to the sauce but that's neither here nor there. The point is: SHARE MY MORBID FASCINATION!! Apparently lots of other people do, according to this article in Time.

There's one guy in there who requested "a small cup of yogurt"* only to be rivaled by Joan of Arc, an actual martyr, who requested holy communion.

*Turns out he actually settled for a small cup of yogurt when denied his orginal request which was for a lump of dirt.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

I'm IntoThat Japanese Funk

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Another R.I.P. post. This video should have given some indication that he was on a destructive path. But this interview is awesome. As is the shirt he is wearing when he "slaps on the headphones and dabbles with the keys." He also mentions dolphins more than once.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Girl - You'll Be An Internet Star Soon

Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A dear, dear friend of mine appeared today on the awesome work productivity killer
Awful First Dates

Hers is the one about the bindi - check it.

I got a potato ricer and will be doing a gnocchi post soon. I know, February was pretty lame but this slide show should make it up to you. My five followers.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

"They May Be Armed, But They May Not Be Amish!"

Thursday, February 4, 2010
I don't remember how I came upon these books, but as a result of my discovery, I'm starting a work book club where we all wear bonnets and read cozy mysteries. It's basically my ultimate ten-year-old dream.

The books, written by Tamar Myers (whose website is very unfortunately DOWN), are part of a Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery Series and the titles of each installment involve foodstuffs since all of the stories in the series also involve recipes.

As the World Churns is an early favorite, but I also like Assault and Pepper and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Crime.

Me (at work): "I wonder what has Tamar been up to..."
Tamar: "Over here in Amish Country coming up with gentle, food-related puns for my billion murder mysteries."

I am sure they don't really have murders. Based on the product description from one of them, I think the most salacious things that happen are a) women making financial decisions and b) people growing mustaches. WITNESS:

"Mennonite innkeeper Magdalena Yoder is at the bank with her four-year- old son when three armed Amish men burst in and start shooting and-more surprisingly-cursing. Magdalena protects Little Jacob, and the robbers flee at the sound of police sirens.

When Jacob wonders why the bandits had mustaches-unlike all the other Amish men he knows-Magdalena springs into action to catch the thieves. They may be armed, but they may not be Amish!"

This is from Butter Safe Than Sorry. You can find it on my Amazon wishlist. I just realized that introducing that passage with the word Witness might have been confusing. Because of the movie....Witness.

Indulge me and come up with your own titles.
You know, like a game.
Which no one would play with me in real life.

I'm going to search around on here for awhile and make some friendship bread.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

RIP Zelda Rubenstein (J.D. Salinger Not Pictured)

Thursday, January 28, 2010
A farewell to one of Pittsburgh's finest:


Pittsbugh's other finest:

Friday, January 15, 2010

Ladies Brunch Burger: The Follow-Up

Friday, January 15, 2010
A deep fried caper does actually sound good.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

How I Feel

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Beefcakes

We have a new IT guy in our office and I already liked him because he brought in a giant pan of bakalva for everyone. Now I like him even more because I just found out he is featured in the This Is Why You're Fat book for this Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with a layer of Mac n' Cheese.

Kind of jealous.

Leftovers - '09

Some food pictures I didn't use over the last year....next week I won't be so lazy.


Willa and her birthday cake. I guess this is more than a year old...

Roasted peppers and carrots


Spinach and arugula pesto


Lora's squash and oatmeal bread


Pumpkin soup

Monday, January 4, 2010

Gimme A Beet

Monday, January 4, 2010

The dumb thing about this soup is that I don't really think anyone ate it on Christmas. The other dumb thing is that in this picture it looks like marinara sauce.

There are a couple awesome things though, too:
1. This soup is endlessly versatile and cheap to make
2. It's very healthy and great for cold weather...or actually if you have a cold
3. It's pretty and festive
4. You get to use your immersion blender


Carrot-Beet Soup with Ginger - serves about 6 people as a starter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled
1 large peeled chopped apple
2 cans of small beets
5 cups vegetable stock
Handful fresh chopped parsley
2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange (or clementine) juice
2 tsp orange zest
2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: Plain yogurt to finish

Directions:
Saute chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat. When onions are soft add 1 1/2 cups stock to the pot and allow some of the liquid to absorb. Add carrots, apple, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper and cover with 3 more cups of stock. Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes. Check to be sure vegetables are all fork tender and blend this mix using a food processor or immersion blender.

At this point you'll have a puree but some liquid will separate from it as it sits. Simmer for another ten minutes as you add ginger, orange juice, vinegar, and orange zest. Add any remaining stock as you do another round of blending.

For a richer soup, garnish with plain yogurt or blend plain yogurt in during the second round.

For an extra smooth soup, run the twice-processed mixture through a fine sieve.
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