Nectarine-Blueberry pie

     I have had the past week off from The Tech Museum as they are closed September 2nd through September 5th for their annual cleaning.  I finagled my schedule so that I would have ten days off in a row.  Scott and I were planning on going on an extended vacation, but Scott had to "ruin" it by GETTING A NEW JOB!!  Woo woo!  For those of you who know me, you know how much this means to us.  So, this means I've been playing little Mrs.Susie Homemaker for the week while he goes to work.  This recipe was on my calendar and it looked so delicious that I just had to try it!

Nectarine-Blueberry pie

Look at all of the delicious filling!

Nectarine-Blueberry Pie from Cooking Club of America's 2014 Calendar

http://cooking.scout.com/story/1439523-nectarine-blueberry-pie

Note: Nectarines are splendid in a pie.  They require no peeling, and their flavor deepens during baking.  Here, they're combined with blueberries and lemon, and unexpected spark that made this pie a favorite with tasters.  If you'd like, offer slices with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Recipe: 

DOUGH

2 1/4 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, chilled, cut up
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
5 to 7 tablespoons ice water
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar

FILLING

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking or minute tapioca
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 lb. nectarines (about 6 large), sliced (1/2 inch) (6 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut up

Process:

1. Process flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in food processor 10 seconds. Add shortening; process until mixture resembles very fine crumbs. Add 1/2 cup butter; pulse 4 times (just to start blending butter into flour). Pour into large bowl. With fingertips, rapidly pinch butter into flour to form large flakes. (Mixture should be cold. If it begins to warm, refrigerate bowl 20 to 30 minutes before continuing.)

2. Combine 5 tablespoons water and vinegar. Add to flour mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring flour mixture with fork and adding additional water just until dough forms. Divide dough into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other; shape each into 5-inch round. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or until chilled. (Dough can be made 1 day ahead.)

3. Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar, brown sugar, tapioca, lemon peel, pumpkin pie spice and 1/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Add nectarines, blueberries and lemon juice; toss to combine. Let stand 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, arrange one oven rack in center and another one in bottom position. Place heavy rimmed baking sheet on lower rack. Heat oven to 450°F.

5. On lightly floured surface, roll larger dough round into 12-inch circle. Line 9-inch pie pan with dough; trim dough. Spoon fruit mixture into pan; dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Brush dough overhang with ice water.

6. Roll second dough round into 10-inch circle; place over fruit. Trim dough to 1/2-inch overhang; fold under edge of bottom crust. Press gently to seal; flute edge. Cut 4 slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust with ice water; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Place on baking sheet on lower oven rack.

7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust begins to brown. Transfer pie with baking sheet to center of oven; reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 1 hour or until crust is browned and juices bubble thickly through slits. Cool completely on wire rack, at least 6 hours.

8 servings

PER SERVING: 565 calories, 28 g total fat (12.5 g saturated fat), 5.5 g protein, 77 g carbohydrate, 40 mg cholesterol, 230 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

     My verdict?  Definitely delicious, although I may never make the pie again!  It was a pain in the patooty (especially cooking in the tiny kitchen we have).  I didn't have quick-cooking tapioca, so after a little Internet research, I used rice flour instead.  It seemed to hold up okay and do the job.  The filling was pretty much liquid when I put it in the pie but it has firmed up quite nicely.  Also, I refuse to bake with vegetable shortening, so I just used my regular pie crust recipe (see this blog http://insearchoftheperfectmacaroniandcheese.blogspot.com/2012/07/macaroni-and-cheese-olallieberry-pie.html for the recipe).  The crust was delicious but I made a mistake and added too much water so it was way stickier than usual.  I should've added more flour, but I wasn't thinking straight today.

     Speaking of not thinking straight, I also didn't notice until *right this moment* that it said you don't have to peel the nectarines!  That would've been so useful to know, as it probably took me at least thirty minutes to peel all of them, despite doing the old boiling trick (that I first mentioned in my peach cobbler post http://insearchoftheperfectmacaroniandcheese.blogspot.com/2013/09/peach-cobbler.html).  I also mixed up the times, so ended up cooking it twice as long on the 450 setting, which means it was cooked by the time I realized my mistake.  Fortunately, it wasn't too burnt!

     All in all, a delicious pie although I think next time (if there is a next time), I would use peaches instead of nectarines.  Although maybe if I used nectarines and didn't peel them...  Either way, enjoy this taste of summer!!!

Chicken and Dumplings soup

     Hello hello out there in internet-land!  I am still very much alive and occasionally cooking.  The good news: I got a full time job at The Tech Museum of Innovation.  The bad news:  With my commute, I now have twelve hour days five days a week which doesn't leave much time for cooking.  Thank goodness for husbands who can cook!  I haven't, however, been completely separated from the cooking world.  I have still been creating delicious culinary delights.  My first is one that would be ideal on a cold, rainy day like today: Chicken and dumplings soup.

     A little background: As I mentioned in my first posts, both my Mother and her mother (my maternal grandmother) were not big cooks.  My mother's grandmother (my great-grandmother) was the cook of the family, so Mom always thought the cooking "gene" skipped two generations and settled on me.  Growing up, I would ask my Mom what her favorite dish was.  She always mentioned how her grandma used to cook chicken and dumplings.  Having never had chicken and dumplings before, this idea always stayed in the back of my mind.  So, when Scott and I went down to Southern California in January for a belated Christmas visit, I knew just what I wanted to make my Mom and Aunt for dinner...

     The problem was, of course, finding a recipe.  My great-grandmother had all her recipes memorized, so didn't write any of them down.  After an online search, I found that most chicken and dumpling recipes called for the use of mixes or artificial stuff that my great-grandma wouldn't have used.  I finally settled on using The Pioneer Woman's recipe.  I have always enjoyed perusing her website and was excited to try one of her recipes.  I was not disappointed!!

Chicken and Dumplings soup... yummy!

Chicken and Dumplings 

From: The Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/chicken-and-dumplings/

Prep Time:

 15 Minutes

 

Cook Time:

 30 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 8

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Butter

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1 whole Chicken, Cut Into Pieces (cut Up Fryer)
•  Salt And Pepper
• 1/2 cup Finely Diced Carrots
• 1/2 cup Finely Diced Celery
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
• 6 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
•  Dumplings:
• 1-1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Yellow Cornmeal
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1-1/2 cup Half-and-half
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley (optional)
•  Salt As Needed

Preparation Instructions

Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides in flour.

Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat. In two batches, brown chicken on both sides and remove to a clean plate.

In the same pot, add diced onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes over medium-low heat. Stir in ground thyme and turmeric, then pour in chicken broth and apple cider. Stir to combine, then add browned chicken. Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

While chicken is simmering, make the dough for the dumplings: sift together all dry ingredients, then add half-and-half, stirring gently to combine. Set aside.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate. Use two forks to remove chicken from the bone. Shred, then add chicken to the pot. Pour heavy cream into the pot and stir to combine.

Drop tablespoons of dumpling dough into the simmering pot. Add minced parsley if using. Cover pot halfway and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Check seasonings; add salt if needed. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

*Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

 Katie's edit: So I made this post quite a while ago (in February), so unfortunately I don't have any additional comments to make as I don't remember anything specific about the recipe.  I do, however, remember that it was delicious and I've made it more than once.