Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I have been buying rhubarb in new york city (garden gourmet for 6.99/lb.!!!) and in harrisburg and
making rhubarb sauce, which little katie kelly has always loved!.....now she is pushing the bowl (or
throwing the bowl!)....so i thought for memorial day weekend i would make a strawberry rhubarb
pie....

i got this recipe off the internet from food network....most of the recipes i checked out were very
similar....

Crust:
2 c. all purpose flour, plus additional flour as needed
1/2 c. cake flour
3 t. sifted powdered sugar (10-x)
1/2 c. shortening (crisco)
1/4 c. salted butter
pinch salt
1 egg
2 t. vinegar
1/4 c. ice cold water

using 2 pastry blenders, blend the flours, sugar, shortening, butter and salt.  whisk the egg, vinegar and water in a 2-cup measure and pour over the dry ingredients, incorporating all the liquid without overworking the
dough. toss additional flour over the ball of dough and chill.  divide the dough into 2 disks.  roll out one piece of dough to make a bottom crust.  place into pie dish.  put dish in refrigerator to chill. preheat oven to
425*.

Filling:

2 1/2 c. chopped red rhubarb, fresh (1/2 " slices)
2 1/2 c. de-stemmed,. washed and cut strawberries (in large pieces)
1 1/2 c. sugar ( 1 1/4 c. for high altitude)
2 T. minute tapioca
1 T. all purpose flour
1/2 t. grated lemon zest, chopped
1/2 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. vanilla extract
3 T. butter, cubed small
1 egg white beaten with 1 t. water
large granule sugar (bakers' sugar)

mix rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, flour, zest and juice of lemon, cinnamon, and vanilla.
mix well in large bowl and poiur out into chilled crust.  dot top with butter.  brush edges of pie crust
with egg white wash. roll out other piece of dough and place over filling.  crimp to seal edges.  brush
with egg white wash and garnish with bakers sugar.  collar with foil and bake at 425 degrees for 15
minutes.  decrease temperature to 375 degrees and bake an additional 45-50 minutes, or til filling
starts bubbling.  let cool before serving.  (filling may bubble out so be sure to place pie pan on baking
sheet)

Easter Meat Pie

Italian Easter (meat) Pie is a tradition my husband grew up with.  The Intrieri family would make the pies
every Good Friday.  Since my husband was best friends with the son, Robert, he was able to partake
of their wonderful cooking!  I will be making these pies this Good Friday in keeping with the tradition.

This is Angie Intrieri's recipe:

Italian Easter Pie, makes 5 pies

dough:
 6 cups flour
 1-1/2 cups crisco
 6 eggs, well beaten
 1 t. salt
 water***add enough to make a soft dough (4-5T), roll thin

filling:

2 lb. ricotta cheese
8 raw eggs, well beaten
12 hard cooked eggs
2-1/2 lb. cooked ham, diced
1 small mozzarella, diced
1 stick pepperoni, casing removed, diced
chopped parsley
salt and pepper
romano cheese, to taste

1.  put all ingredients in large bowl and mix well.
2.  roll dough thin to line pie pans.
3.  divide filling evenly among pans.
4.  roll dough thin to top pie pans.
5.  brush top doughs with egg yolk glaze (1 egg yolk + 1 T. water)
6.  slit dough for air vents.
7.  bake 350-375* (depending on oven) for about an hour.  should be golden brown.

can eat warm, room temperature or cold

Cut Out Sugar Cookies for Easter

easter is just a week away!.....the time is surely flying by!
today i am getting a start on cleaning the house so i won't have so much to do at the end of
the week when i will be busy baking.

i am going to be listing several recipes and photos on foods which we prepare for easter.

i am making the dough for the cut out sugar cookies for easter.  this dough must rest in the fridge for
overnight before rolling out cookies.  then the cut cookies must rest in the fridge for several hours.
for this reason i am making the dough today, freezing it and i will take it to new york city with me
and roll and bake there and then bring the cookies home for easter.

i was thinking i might use some of the cookies as name place "cards" for our easter dinner.  (we shall
see how much time i have left at the end of the week!) i will be rolling out bunnies, carrots, eggs and
flowers.

here is the basic recipe:

2 c. all purpose flour (no need to sift)
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1 stick butter (no salt), at room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 egg, large
1 t. pure vanilla (not imitation)

1.  mix dry ingredients in bowl and set aside.
2.  cream butter, add sugar and then egg and vanilla, mixing well.
3.  slowly add dry ingredients, making sure to incorporate.
4.  wrap dough in saran and chill overnight.
5.  roll dough out and cut into desire shapes and place on parchment lined baking sheets. cover with saran.
6.  chill cut out dough for at least 2 hours before baking.
7.  preheat oven to *350.
8.  sprinkle sanding sugar onto cookies if desired and bake 8 - 12 minutes, depending on oven, til
edges are golden.
9.  cool on rack.  will keep for several days if kept in tight tin.


we got this recipe from martha stewart and therefore always called it "martha dough"....we would use this
same dough for our linzer tarts, which are absolutely delicious!

Grasshopper Pie for St. Patrick's Day!

this is the yummiest!....i have made this for st. patrick's day for many years now.  grasshopper pie is
a take on a drink served back in the 1950's and  it is a cinch to make.
 
1 Oreo Pie Shell (found in bakery section of food store)
1 (8 oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese, very soft (take out several hours prior to use)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 T. lemon juice
1/4 c. creme de menthe
1/4 c. creme de cacao
1 (4 oz.) frozen cool whip

Beat cream cheese til light and fluffy.  Slowly add small amount of condensed milk and continue beating.
Scrape bowl to incorporate all the cream cheese.  Then slowly add remaining condensed milk.  When
nice and smooth, add the lemon juice and the creme de menthe and creme de cacao.  Fold in cool whip.
Let chill in fridge 30 minutes.  Mound into pie crust and freeze for several hours or overnight.  Garnish
with Shaved Chocolate.  Serve right out of the freezer.   Enjoy!

Katie Kelly Gets Her Own Room!

We are in Riverdale helping Barby and Sean with the move into their new apartment.  Barby has created the sweetest
room for Katie Kelly!  Actually, she had acquired a lot of things this past eighteen months and it is amazing how

everything jells and really looks great together!  The rug is soft colors, kind of patchwork.  The quilt is hand made
and i had purchased it at the Arts Festival in Harrisburg, Pa in 2010 just before Katie was born.

German Apple Cake Recipe

while black forrest cake is what one might think of initially for a german dessert, i thought this
apple cake would be great with coffee and tea and would also travel well since we will be
driving for probably two hours.  i got this off the internet at a site called 'quick german recipes'.

3 -5 apples
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. lemon juice
1-3/4 c. all purpose flour
1-1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
10-x sugar (also known as powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar)

1.  preheat oven to 350* and prepare apples.  the apples should be peeled, cored and
divided into quarters.  these quarters should be sliced paper thin but not all the way through.
if the apples are large, you will need 3 but if they are small you should have 4 or 5.

2. grease sides and bottom of 10" springform pan.  in medium bowl, beat butter and sugar and then add eggs and lemon juice, til creamy.

3.  blend flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl.  stir into sugar mixture alternately with milk.
spread batter in prepared pan.  arrange apple quarters on top of batter.

4.  bake 50-60 minutes or til wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  cool in pan on wire
rack and then remove cake from pan and dust with 10-x sugar.


***you can add 1/2 t  - 1 t. almond extract instead of the lemon juice if you like

Carmine's Country Rigatoni Recipe

we are going to philly, well, actually, south jersey, tomorrow for bob's aunt lottie's 85th birthday.....she is
from germany and came over here after world war 2.   apparently the custom in germany is to have an
open house to honor one's birthday, anniversary, etc. so that is what her daughters are doing.  it's just
coffee, tea and sweets so i thought i would make something to take.  i found an apple cake that is
supposed to be traditionally german.  that recipe will follow next.

what i just made for us to have tomorrow is carmine's country rigatoni....it's such a crowd pleaser and
has become a favorite of our family.  carmine's is a wonderful "family-style" italian restaurant in new york
city (actually has two locations there) and is where our barby and sean had their rehearsal dinner ~ what
fun that was!

you can make the recipe ahead (like i did tonight) up to the point of boiling the pasta and broccoli.....the
sauce will marry overnight and be just lovely!....then you just cook your pasta and you have a wonderful
meal!

carmine's country style rigatoni
serves 2-4

1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. coarsely chopped garlic
1/4 c. thinly sliced onions
8 oz. fennel sausage, casing removed (i use bob evans italian)
8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 T. chopped flat leaf parsley
one 18 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken stock (i use college inn bold rotissierie chicken stock)
1/4 c. butter
1-1/4 c. grated romano cheese
salt and black pepper
2 T. thinly sliced prosciutto
12 oz. dried rigatoni
8 - 10 spears broccoli, each about 3" long   (i usually use broccolini)

1.  in large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  when oil is hot, add onions and cook 3 minutes,
stirring.  then add garlic and cook one minute.

2.  add sausage, basil and parsley.  break up the sausage and cook several minutes til sausage is browned.
(I keep breaking it up as i toss it around so there are no really large chunks) add beans, chicken stock, butter, and raise heat to high and bring sauce to boil.  reduce heat slightly and simmer briskly for 5-9
minutes to start to thicken.  season to taste with salt and pepper.  stir in prosciutto and 1/2 c. romano
cheese.  let mixture simmer for 2 minutes before removing from heat.

3.  meanwhile, in large pot with boiling salted water, cook pasta for 4-6 minutes.  add broccoli and cook
additional 4-6 minutes to til pasta is al dente.

4.  drain pasta well.  bring sauce to boil.  add pasta and broccoli to sauce and mix well.  stir in 1/4 c.
romano cheese, if desired.  serve with remaining romano cheese passed on side.  also can garnish
with parsley and basil.