Savour Fare » Quick

Essential Potato Salad

Kate — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:44:35 +0000

Labor Day weekend is bittersweet, like the end of an affair. Three days of sunshine, of flip-flops, of beaches and barbecue. But Tuesday lurks around the corner, like a raincloud with the smell of ozone to the air. There’s almost a sense of desperation — just one more cookout! — before fall settles in, with its dark evenings, the smell of cinnamon and freshly-sharpened pencils, and its long march to winter.

I’ve been busy collecting summer, whether it’s making just one more fresh fruit pie, canning a batch of tomato jam, downing bottles of rose, or just sneaking outside to enjoy the sunset. I keep getting ideas and checking them off the list: Hollywood Bowl tickets, picnics, Lemonade! And one of my favorite summer foods is potato salad. I wanted to get in one more potato salad before roast potatoes become de rigueur.

I love old fashioned potato salad made by my grandmother, but this isn’t that. I also love newfangled potato salads, but this isn’t that, either. This is potato salad reduced to its essentials — a little mayonnaise, a sprinkle of tart vinegar, the oniony breath of chives, and at the end, a dusting of lemon, to add aroma and color, to wake the tastebuds and make the salad sing. It’s hardly a recipe at all, but it’s well worth making all the same, in this last weekend of summer.
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Serendipity — Grilled Eggplant with Mint

Kate — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:46:34 +0000

I often say that I blog what I eat, and it’s true. But it’s also true that when I’m sitting down Saturday morning to make my grocery list, I’m thinking about things I’d like to write about, to share with you. I write about recipes that fit into my life, but I’ve also planned them to fit into the blog. I think about the light, about when I’ll have time to photograph them, or how to serve them.

Isn’t it a saying that life is what happens when you’re making other plans?

Then, there are the other recipes. The ones I just make because I felt like it — because I saw a recipe I wanted to try, or some great food in the markets, or it fit into a meal I was planning. This is that time. We had family over for dinner Sunday night because I felt like making peach cobbler (for the blog, natch. Not enough fruit desserts this summer!), and we couldn’t eat an entire peach cobbler by ourselves (OK, we could, but we SHOULDN’T). So invitations went out to my mother, my cousin, my aunt. Casual. And since we couldn’t just serve peach cobbler for dinner (well we could, but we SHOULDN’T), I picked up some sausages to grill, and then I saw these gorgeous eggplants at the market. I remembered a recipe — so simple it was barely a recipe — in the Canal House cookbook (I forget which volume) and we threw these on the grill with the sausages. I almost forgot to put them on, but I was looking for some parsley in my refrigerator and found the eggplant, and it was the work of a moment to get them ready for the grill.

When the moment came, they smelled so good, and looked so good I just snapped the photograph above. No styling, no planning. Just good eating. And they were good. They were so good, I wanted to share them with you.
As for the peach cobbler? Well, it was too dark by the time we ate it, and it disappeared so quickly I didn’t have time to shoot it in the morning. It was good peach cobbler. I’ll just have to make it again.

That’s what I get for making plans.

As a note: a moment can be serendipitous, but it can also be heartwrenching. A couple of weeks ago, blogger Jennifer Perillo lost her husband in just such a moment. I told you about it, and the Peanut Butter Pie made in his honor. I know from experience that one of the difficult things about a loss like that is that you have to deal with the real world while you’re trying to deal with heartbreak. The mortgage still has to be paid. The kids still have to go to the doctor. Groceries still need to be on the table. A new non-profit organization, Bloggers without Borders, has begun a fund to help Jennie and her girls through this, to make the mundane a little easier. You can read about the project here, and if you feel moved, donate through the badge below:

Recipe
Serendipitous Grilled Eggplant
With much thanks to Canal House Cooking
4-5 Thin Japanese Eggplant
Some good glugs of olive oil
1 lemon
Salt (I used smoked salt because a) I had it and b) we were cooking on a gas grill. Regular salt also good.)
A small bunch of mint

Wash the eggplant, slice them in half lengthwise, cut off the stem end.

Place the eggplant in a bowl with a good glug of olive oil and the juice from half your lemon. Sprinkle them with some salt, and toss to coat.

Grill the eggplant over medium heat, cut side down for 5 minutes, then flip and grill for 5 minutes more.

Squeeze the juice from the other half of the lemon over the eggplant, and scatter a shower of chopped mint leaves.

How to do summer — Chopped Caprese Salad

Kate — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:34:13 +0000

How to do summer, in 19 easy steps:

1) Chill the Vinho Verde.
2) Pack the kids off to grandma’s, or distract them with a movie, in a darkened room.
3) Head out to the garden. Stop to smell the roses. Get distracted by the hammock. Lie down, for just a minute.
4) Take a nap, or not.
5) Remember your original objective. Return to the vegetable garden.
6) Marvel at the size of the zucchini. Decide not to pick one, just to see how big it will get.
7) Tomatoes! Pull out the ripe ones, testing each one for weight and ease of separation. Peer into the cool depths of the tomato patch. Don’t miss any!
Eat one of the cherry tomatoes, just because you can’t resist. Let the sun-warmed fruit pop in your mouth. Eat one of the heirlooms like an apple. Breathe in the scent of the tomato vines.
9) Return to the hammock. Eat another tomato, then another.
10) Take your bounty to the kitchen. Turn on some mellow music. Get out a big bowl.

11) Rinse the tomatoes, and chop them up. Put them in the bowl, then taste the sweet tart juice on your fingers. (wash your hands)
12) Take a lump of fresh mozzarella out of the refrigerator. Chop it into cubes; throw it into the bowl. Some caprese salads are stacked, but who has time for that fussiness?
13) Pull a few sprigs of basil from your windowsill garden. Crush them lightly in your fingers, and take a deep breath. Wrap the basil leaves into a neat package, then sliver it into ribbons. Add to your bowl.
14) Humming a little, pull out the good olive oil. No not that bottle, the GOOD one. Drizzle it over your tomatoes. Add a sprinkling of sea salt.
15) Dig your fingers into the bowl, and gently toss your salad. Find a big spoon.
16) Grab a couple of pretty plates, a couple of pretty napkins. Take them out onto the shady deck, and set the table. Fold the napkins in half to serve as makeshift placemats.
17) Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over your salad, and bring it out to the deck with a couple of tall glasses of lemonade, cut with fizzy water. Call your spouse.
18) Eat, enjoy, talk, laze. Hear the humming of the bees, feel the warmth of the day, taste the creamy cheese with the sweet and sour tomatoes. Kiss your spouse. Live in the moment.

19) Remember the wine. Pour yourself a glass. Share it. Finish the bottle.

Father’s Day Grands-Peres – Maple Syrup Dumplings

Kate — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:17:22 +0000

Before Mother’s Day, the web abounds with recipes for Mother’s Day breakfast in bed and Mother’s Day brunch. Apparently, the morning belongs to the women, because you don’t see nearly as many Father’s Day breakfast recipes. But in my mind, weekend breakfasts — the kind that kids delight in, with pancakes and waffles and sugary anythings — are a dad thing. My mom is not a big breakfast eater, and is of the insanely practical frame of mind that breakfast should consist of proteins and whole grains, like scrambled eggs and oatmeal. My dad wasn’t a big breakfast eater either as a regular rule, but on weekends we used to hit the best breakfast places in town – the restaurantswith the best steak and eggs, or the really good blueberry pancakes, or the giant, gooey cinnamon rolls. When I spent the night at my friend Stacey’s house, her dad would make all the girls coffee ice cream milkshakes for breakfast. Lisa’s dad was always good for Belgian waffles with whipped cream and strawberries.

The point is, mother’s day may be the traditional day for breakfast in bed, but in my experience, when it comes to indulgent breakfasts, it’s all about Dad. So why not indulge your dad this father’s day with a sugary, gooey breakfast of his own?

When I saw this maple syrup dumpling recipe in Saveur, I was instantly intrigued. We always keep a bottle of maple syrup on hand (Grade B, natch, for maximum flavor) but we usually pour it over the french toast, waffles or pancakes. These dumplings are cooked in the maple syrup, which gives them an intense maple flavor and gooey texture that’s perfect for a sweet and not at all sensible weekend breakfast.

For me, there’s the added bonus that these, like my father, are French Canadian, and the French name for them is Grands-Peres, or “Grandfathers.” I couldn’t resist offering them up for Father’s Day, since I won’t be able to share breakfast with my dad this year.
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Provencal Grilled Chicken Breasts and Fennel

Kate — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:47:35 +0000

I have a confession to make: I don’t grill.

I plan grilled meals. I prepare foods for grilling. I even bought the grills (we have both charcoal and gas). But I have no idea how to use the damn things. Every time I want dinner on the barbecue I have to bat my eyes and ask Ken to fire it up. (Southerners, do not freak out. Californians call grills barbecues. So do Australians, I think. We know it is not the same thing.) I would say this is a problem that should be fixed, except it IS kind of nice to say, “Here honey. You’re cooking tonight.”

Then I get hooked on recipes like this one. Meat and vegetables plus a few herbs and spices plus fire equals a super flavorful (and totally healthy!) meal. So I start to want to grill every night. And of course, Ken often works late, leaving my grilling urges unsatisfied. Maybe I should figure this out after all.

I threw this together one night and based it on the flavors from a summer in the South of France — saffron and garlic and fennel from Bouillabaisse, garlic and wine and oranges and herbs de provence from everything else. It takes no time to put together, and I wasn’t even planning to share it (hence the lack of carefully styled photography) but it was too good not to. This is going on the menu again and again this summer (and maybe into fall and winter too — there are advantages to living in Los Angeles.)

Now, if only I knew how to grill….

Recipe:
Provencal Grilled Chicken Breasts and Fennel

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T Herbes de Provence
1 T Maldon salt or another flaky sea salt
1/2 tsp. saffron
3 cloves garlic
3 T olive oil
1/2 c. dry vermouth
zest from 1 orange
2 bulbs fennel
additional olive oil, salt, and herbes de provence

Cut the chicken in half lengthwise to make thin pieces of chicken — this helps them grill more evenly.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, herbes de provence and saffron. Rub the mixture all over both sides of the chicken breast.

In a dish, arrange the chicken breasts, then pour in wine and olive oil. Mince the garlic and scatter over the top, sprinkle on the orange zest. Let sit at least 30 minutes, but up to a day (in the refrigerator, natch.)

Remove the green parts from the fennel. Thickly slice the bulbs lengthwise, brush each piece with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and herbes de provence.

Grill the chicken and the fennel over medium heat (the fennel takes longer than the chicken and retains some crunch).

Serve with sliced fennel, brushed with evoo and grilled.

Japanese Ramen Salad

Kate — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:46:37 +0000

It’s far too cold in Los Angeles this week to even think of having a picnic, or eating a salad. We’ve had rain and fog and nighttime temperatures in the 40′s. I’ve been digging out my thick sweaters and my boots and thinking of building a fire in the fireplace. It’s MAY, people! I live in Los Angeles! Apparently Mother Nature didn’t get the message.

Regardless of the weather, Memorial Day is around the corner! Which means PICNICS! And POTLUCKS! Or mayonnaise slowly congealing in the hot sun until it becomes liquid death, and “I’m a vegetarian/lactose intolerant/in a neurotic relationship with pasta.” Well, given these parameters, have I got the dish for you. I got it from my friend Corrine (of the apparently departed casavillecooking) who deals with dairy and egg allergies in her family, and is therefore a great source of vegan and dairy-free recipes. This dish is a perfect potluck dish — it’s vegan (or not, depending on your additions), dairy-free, egg-free, and not too starchy. You can make it gluten-free by replacing the ramen noodles with rice noodles fried in a little oil. It’s also easy and quick to make, can be scaled up or down, and can be adapted to suit your tastes and your audience. With no mayonnaise, it will hold for a few hours without refrigeration (it also makes a great brown bag lunch dish). And did I mention it’s delicious? Flavorful, kid friendly — it even features healthy vegetables!

So really, what are you waiting for?

Oh yeah, the recipe.

Recipe
Japanese Ramen Salad
Adapted from Casaville Cooking
Salad:
8 green onions, finely sliced
1 lb shredded green cabbage
two 3 oz packages of ramen noodles, broken
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
6-8 oz. firm seasoned tofu, cut into cubes OR 6-8 oz. cooked chicken, cut into cubes (optional)

Dressing:

Place chopped cabbage, green onions, sesame seeds and almonds in a large bowl. Toss with dressing and cover overnight. Toss before serving

Dressing

3 T sugar
1/3 cup olive oil or peanut oil
6 T rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine scallions, cabbage, ramen noodles, almonds, sesame seeds, and tofu or chicken. Toss lightly to combine. Combine all ingredients for dressing, toss with salad. This can be made in advance.

French Onion Dip — Homemade in the Crockpot

Kate — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:21:18 +0000

Sometimes, I want to spend time in the kitchen. I want to smell and chop and stir and taste and really EXPERIENCE cooking. Sometimes, I want to go about my life. I want to watch the Superbowl, go to work, read to my daughter, talk with my husband, play with the new puppy. But just because I don’t want to spend time cooking doesn’t mean I want to eat bad food. I still want to eat good, homemade food, made from scratch.

If I want onion dip for a Superbowl party, I could use the classic recipe: open a packet of Lipton’s soup mix and a container of sour cream, mix them together and have a fat bowl of MSG, corn syrup and unpronounceable things with a side of my entire RDA of sodium. Or I could make onion dip from scratch, controlling the ingredients myself, adding the right amount of salt, and slowly caramelizing the onions to add depth of flavor. Of course, caramelized onions require a long period of cooking them in a skillet, stirring frequently to make sure they don’t scorch, waiting for those Maillard reactions to hurry up and happen. Or you could just use a crockpot.

A crockpot is the perfect vessel for caramelizing onions — it cooks long and slow and consistently, and it retains liquid so the onions don’t scorch. Best of all, you don’t have to babysit it — you just add the onions, turn it on, and walk away. It’s really only one step removed from opening a packet, and it tastes better and is better for you. A super bowl of dip for the Superbowl (OK, I couldn’t resist the pun.)

Recipe: Crockpot French Onion Dip

Summary: The easy way to make french onion dip from scratch is to caramelize your onions in the slow cooker.

Ingredients

2 large onions, finely chopped (about 3 cups chopped onions)
2 T olive oil
1 T butter
large pinch salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 small pinch cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Instructions

Place onions, oil, butter and pinch of salt into a slow cooker, and stir to coat. Cook on high for 8 hours, or until onions are deep caramel brown.
Drain any liquid off the onions. Combine half the onions with remaining ingredients in a small bowl, salt to taste. Serve with potato chips and enjoy the Superbowl.

Quick Notes

My slow cooker works best if I cook larger amounts, so I make a lot of onions and use only half for the dip. The rest can go in the refrigerator and be used in pizzas, sandwiches, or to make an instant french onion soup.

Cooking time (duration): 8 hours

Meal type: snack

Prosciutto Gruyere Pinwheel Hors D’Oeuvres

Kate — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:33:55 +0000

I hope you had a good holiday if you celebrate, and if you don’t, I hope you had a good day off with no traffic. And if you happen to live in a place where Christmas isn’t a holiday, I hope you had a good Saturday.

In our family, Christmas food is serious business. We don’t faff around with the latest trends or even potluck. Christmas day we eat the same thing, prepared by my mother, and have for my entire life – breakfast is pancakes and turkey gravy (think of them as flat biscuits), dinner is prime rib roast, creamed spinach, garlic scalloped potatoes, and figgy pudding (OK, persimmon pudding) with hard sauce. We even flame the pudding in brandy and stand around singing “We all like figgy pudding.” No joke. I told you, we are NOT messing around.

Christmas eve is less set in stone. This year, I hosted, and got a little carried away. Hors D’oeuvres, Salad with poached pears and gorgonzola, roast turkey breast with sausage and chestnut stuffing, bread sauce, creamed kale, butternut squash orzotto, and cookies, including peppermint pretzel bark, brandy snaps, cardamom palmiers, and panforte. I think I cooked nine dishes.

In other words, I’m wiped. I bet you are too.

But it’s time to rally the troops because this weekend is New Year’s Eve. Which means one more night of excess before we launch into the winter of austerity and discipline.

And these hors d’oeuvres might be my new favorite form of excess. They are fabulous – buttery and crisp and cheesy. I’ve made them for no fewer than four parties this December. And the best part? They are dead easy to make. You will literally be able to make these in the same amount of time it takes you to read this blog post — chilling and baking time not included. I’m not THAT verbose. Easy and fabulous is my favorite kind of food.

I got the recipe, if you can even call it that, from my genius friend Christine. It goes like this.

Take a sheet of frozen puff pastry (I use Trader Joe’s, which is made with butter. Pepperidge Farm is vegan.), let it thaw on the counter for about 10 minutes, then spread it with about 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard.

Then take about 2 ounces prosciutto (don’t bust out the La Quercia for this one, the kind from the deli case will do) and arrange it in one layer on the mustard.

Then you take about 1 cup of grated gruyere cheese (the ones in the photo are actually made with a bizarre cheddar gruyere blend from Trader Joe’s, but plain gruyere is my favorite), and sprinkle it over the prosciutto.

Roll up tightly, then wrap in plastic wrap and pop in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, or until you’re ready to bake them (If the roll is well wrapped, you can make it a day or two in advance).

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice the roll into slices about 1/2 inch thick, arrange on a cookie sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm.

See? Wasn’t that a breeze? A good resolution for 2011 – make more food that is easy AND fabulous.

Recipe
Prosciutto Gruyere Pinwheel Appetizers
Adapted from Christine Rink

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed at room temperature for 10 minutes
2 teaspoons dijon mustard, more to taste
2 oz. prosciutto (about 5 slices)
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

Spread mustard on puff pastry, followed by 1 layer prosciutto, then cheese sprinkled over it all.

Roll tightly, wrap in saran wrap, and chill for 15 minutes or until firm, up to a day.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the roll into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange on a cookie sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm.

Christmas Cheer – Peppermint Pretzel Bark

Kate — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 02:42:09 +0000

The Christmas season is an exciting time for mail. Instead of the usual bills and solicitations (though there are plenty of those), each day’s post brings cards from friends, and my guilty pleasure — Christmas catalogs. I love poring over each one, looking at the Christmas decorations and the Christmas food. Oh the food. I imagine a life where I’m ordering a $200 beef roast and $40 biscuits for Christmas dinner. And then I laugh and recycle the catalogs because WHO BUYS THIS STUFF? When you can make it yourself (and make it better) for less money?

Take peppermint bark. I don’t know who invented it, but for a mere $27 (plus shipping) you can buy it for a loved one for Christmas. Or, for the price of a few ingredients and literally two minutes of your time, you can make it yourself. And you can add pretzels, which elevate your standard, run of the mill pepppermint bark to a whole new level of salty sweet goodness.

You can’t believe how easy this is. Microwave a package of chocolate chips for about a minute, stirring every 15-20 seconds. Mix in a handful of pretzels, spread onto a baking sheet, and pop in the freezer. About 15 minutes later, microwave a package of white chocolate chips, same method. Spread it on top of the hardened pretzel chocolate mixture. Stick a few candy canes in a ziploc bag, whack them a few times with a rolling pin to break them up, sprinkle over the white chocolate, and let the whole thing harden. THAT’S IT. No baking, no candy thermometers. You saved $27 and added some pretzel goodness to boot.

Merry Christmas, says I. Go forth and cook.

Recipe
Peppermint Pretzel Bark

1 12 oz. package chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract (optional)
1.5 cups small salted pretzels
1 12 oz. package white chocolate chips (make sure they have cocoa butter in the ingredients)
1.5 oz. candy canes, broken into small pieces

In a microwave proof bowl, microwave the chocolate chips for 30 seconds, stir, and then microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring between each bout, until the chips are melted. Mix in pretzels, spread as thinly as possible onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and pop in the freezer for 15-30 minutes or until firm.

Repeat the microwaving process with the white chocolate chips. Quickly spread the white chocolate on top of the hardened chocolate pretzel mixture, and sprinkle candy canes on top. Let cool until firm, and using a sharp knife, break into pieces.

Easy Pie Crust and Maple Walnut Pie

Kate — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:26:33 +0000

Fall themed desserts are all over these days – pumpkin bread puddings, cranberry panna cotta, pecan trifle. And those of us with a confirmed fear of rolling pins grasp at these desperately. But now it’s time to get real. You and I both know that Thanksgiving is about pie. Preferably multiple types of pie. The table should be GROANING with pie. Pumpkin pie, mincemeat pie, apple pie … Panna cotta, while a very lovely dessert, just doesn’t cut it.

Which means, fair readers, that if I’m going to do Thanksgiving right by you, I need to get over my fear of rolling. I need to summon the reserves — the wisdom of the elders, nerves of steel, hands of ice, and my own experience of parenting a three year old, and tell that pie dough, “You are NOT the boss of me. I am the boss. And don’t you forget it.” And then I’m going to fill it with something wonderful — in this case, a variation on the Thanksgiving classic pecan pie made with walnuts and maple syrup and no corn syrup in sight. And then I’m going to tell you all about it.

Let’s start with the crust, shall we? I am tired of feeling anxiety about pie crust. I just want to make it and be done. Which means, for me, ignoring the tips and tweaks, and going back to basics. Armed with Michael Ruhlman’s ratio for 3-2-1 pie dough, Julia Child’s food processor method, Amanda Hesser and Dorie Greenspan’s plastic wrap rolling technique (though Amanda might never forgive me for calling her an elder — sorry Amanda!), I made pie crust. And it took about 3 minutes. Freeze a stick of butter, cut it into cubes (I cut it into about 24 cubes (you can reverse these steps), then pulse it in the food processor with flour and some salt until it’s coarse and uneven (about 9 pulses should do it). Add water in one fell swoop, pulse a couple of times more, then dump it all out onto some plastic wrap, pull the wrap around it until it looks like a disc of dough rather than a pile of crumbs, and chill for about 30 minutes. Then roll it out between two sheets of parchment (Amanda and Dorie use plastic wrap, but mine wrinkles like crazy) using your favorite rolling pin (and I will add that the acquisition of a French Rolling Pin has improved my rolling technique immensely). Peel off one piece of parchment, arrange the dough dough side down over the pie dish, peel off the other piece of parchment, press it in, trim the edges, and use the trimmings to replace any holes or divots. Voila. No gimmicks. It might not be perfect, but a) it will taste good (thank you butter, not Crisco), b) it will be tender and flaky and c) it won’t give you a panic attack.

Now the filling. I love a traditional pecan pie, but it is so sweet my teeth ache just thinking about it. I also don’t love all the corn syrup because it’s messy and has a funky flavor and questionable health effects (though frankly, pie isn’t health food.) When I saw the French Canadian maple sugar pie recipe in Richard Sax’s Classic Home Desserts (which is my desert island dessert book (dessert island?) and should be in your library), my interest was piqued. Instead of pecans, it features walnuts, which give it a lovely bitter edge, and instead of corn syrup, the pie gets texture (and a lot of flavor) from maple syrup (use Grade B, which is not only cheaper but more flavorful.) It has a few other additions which cut the sweetness — apple cider vinegar, which adds an acid bite to counter the sweetness, and brewed tea (I used PG Tips), which adds some more bitterness and also flavor. The combination is a little more layered than the traditional pecan, which is just SWEET and nuts. (Not that I don’t love both sweet and nuts.) Plus, my family is French Canadian, so I was just tickled to have a “heritage” pie in my repertoire.

The best thing, too, is that the filling takes no time at all to mix up and dump into your pie crust, which we’ve already established takes no time at all. So this becomes a quick and low stress dessert. And yes, this is pie we’re talking about.

Now for the other six varieties …

Recipe
Easy Maple Walnut Pie
For the Crust:

6 ounces all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces butter, frozen and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 ounces cold cold water

In the food processor, combine the flour and the salt. Throw in the butter, and pulse 9 times — the mixture should look like uneven crumbs. Add the water all at once and pulse a few more times until it’s incorporated. The mixture should resemble dough at this point, but a semi-pebbly dough rather than a homogenous mass.

Dump the entire mixture out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, fold up the sides of the plastic to mush it all together so it is a homogeneous mass. Shape it into a thick disc, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment until it’s about a 12-14 inch circle. Peel off one sheet of parchment and transfer, dough side down, to your 9 inch pie plate. Lay the dough on top. Peel off the second sheet of parchment and press the pastry down into the pie plate. Trim the edges until there’s about a 1/2 inch overhang, then fold that under and pinch it to the pie plate to crimp (the crimping is not just decorative- it helps keep the crust from shrinking down the side of the plate). Use the trimmings to fill in any holes or divots in the dough.

Line the pie crust with foil, then fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake for about 20 minutes. Let cool.

For the filling
(Adapted from Classic Home Desserts)

1 cup walnuts
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
3/4 c plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons molasses
3/4 cup Grade B pure maple syrup
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup brewed black tea
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Toast the walnuts (I use a toaster oven) then roughly roughly chop them.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs, add the sugar, molasses, maple syrup, melted butter, tea, vinegar and salt and whisk until combined. Add the walnuts and stir.

Set the prebaked pie shell onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Pour the walnut mixture into the pie crust.
Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the center has just a slightl slight wobble. (Watch the top in the last 10-15 minutes of baking – if it seems to be getting too browned, cover with foil.)

Let cool to room temperature and add to your groaning pie board.