Banana Dream Pie

Banana Dream Pie

Prepare a 9 - 10 inch piecrust.  (See recipe below)  

Prepare Filling:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups milk or half & half

4 eggs

3 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract      

       -In a medium saucepan, combine flour, salt and sugar.  Gradually stir in milk.  Cook and stir frequently over medium heat till thickened and bubbly.  Reduce heat, and cook and stir 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat.

       -Separate egg yolks from whites; discard whites.  Beat egg yolks slightly.  Gradually whisk 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into yolks.  Return egg mixture to saucepan, bring to a gentle boil.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more

       -Remove from heat.  Stir in butter and vanilla. Allow to cool 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

       -Whip 1 1/2 cups of cream until thick, adding 3 tablespoons sugar and vanilla extract.

       -Cut 2 - 3 perfectly ripe banans into slices and place over cooled crust and up the sides so that they completely cover crust.  Spoon in the cooled filling, smoothing the top.  Spread whipped cream over filling, being careful to cover any exposed banana.  Place a few dried banana slices in the center of the pie and sprinkle with gold sugar, if desired.  Chill at least 2 hours before serving.  Makes 8 servings.

Aunt Nell's Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, shortening or lard (or combo of)

5 tablespoons ice water (approx.)

       -Cut in fat with fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles peas.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cold water.  Gently toss mixture, then push and mold together into a shaggy ball, handling as little as possible.  (Do not need or over mix - press together)

       -Press into disc shape and cover with plastic wrap.  Chill for 30 minutes.

       -Place dough on well-floured counter or wax paper or pastry pad.  Lightly flour top of dough and rolling pin and beginning in the center lightly roll dough out into a circular shape about 13 inches in diameter.  Lay your 10-inch pie plate on top of the rolled-out dough and make sure it extends 1 1/2 to 2 inches beyond the edge of the pie plate.  Flip the dough into the pie plate and press into the bottom corners and up the sides of the plate.  Press any cracks together or repair with extra pieces of dough.  Pierce the bottom and the sides of the crust at frequent intervals with a fork.

       -Turn the top edges under and press gently then crimp the edges of the dough in desired fashion.  Place the formed crust into the fridge for another 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake pie crust for about 20 minutes, until golden.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Fill with desired filling.

 Although I'm sure most o fus have forgotten baby foood

Don't you just want to put your face in it - like in Chocolat.

Stuffed Peppers - Hungarian Style

     

        One of my favorite experiences of living around the world has been to meet people from other countries, who love to cook. Yes, it was fun to talk to them of their different cultures, world-views, their families and interests but honestly, I was out for one thing.....their recipes!!  And if they loved to cook, I suspect their motives were the same in getting to know us, either that or they were ordered by their governments to do so!

       But truly we met so many delightful people from all over, some from places where you wouldn't expect them to be delightful but most often at least something from their country's cuisine was delightful to eat!  There was our Turkish friend and her incredible boreka, Italian friend with her Tuscan bean soup and her chicken roulade, our Israeli friend with her matzo ball soup, our Tunisian friend with her tajin malsouka, our Jordanian friend with everything Jordanian and our Hungarian friend with her stuffed peppers!   

       I'm sure we've all sampled stuffed peppers on some occasion in our eating careers, but these have been  my favorite with the high doses of paprika and served over mashed potatoes with a buttery chicken sauce (starch on starch - a winner from the get go).  I learned just this week that a green pepper has more Vitamin C than an orange - so there you go.  A truly delicious, flavorful power meal in one dish! If Reka were here now, I'm sure she'd be pleased that I shared her recipe....but she would expect one of my American ones back as payment!  Only fair.

Hungarian Stuffed Peppers

1 cup white rice                                                                           

6 bell peppers, any color

1 tablespoon oil

1 pound ground beef

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 cup diced, canned tomatoes with 1/2 cup juice

1/2 cup minced parsley

3 tablespoons sweet paprika 

          (or some hot paprika if you prefer)

3 cups fluffy mashed potatoes (recipe below)

1 shallot, peeled and finely minced

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

     -Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Par cook rice by covering with 1 1/2 cups water, bring to boil and cover.  Continue to cook over low heat for 8 minutes.  Drain rice and set aside.

      -Slice the stem end off of each pepper and remove the stems, ribs and seeds.  Fill a baking dish with 1/2 inch of water and place peppers upside down in pan.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and remove foil.

       -Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and saute onion, 3 -4 minutes until soft.  Add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper and 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika.  Break down beef and continue to cook with onion until beef is cooked through and browned.  Add garlic and continue to cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and drain off fat.  Return skillet to heat and stir in tomatoes and juice, par-cooked rice, 1/4 cup parsley and check for salt and pepper.  Heat through for 1 minute as you combine the ingredients.

       -Turn oven down to 350 degrees.  Place the peppers upright in the baking dish and sprinkle inside of peppers lightly with salt and pepper.  Fill each pepper with beef filling to within about 1/2 inch of top pressing lightly.  Cover with foil and continue to bake 30 minutes.  Remove foil and cook another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cover again with foil to keep warm.  Set aside.

       -While peppers are cooking, prepare sauce by melting butter in a medium saucepan.  Add shallot and saute about 5 minutes, over medium heat, until shallots are soft.  Stir in flour and cook over medium-high heat for a minute or two.  Slowly whisk in the 2 cups of chicken stock and cook over medium heat until sauce comes to a boil and thickens.  Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika, lemon juice and taste for salt and pepper.  Add the rest of the parsley.

       -To serve, spread hot mashed potatoes over the bottom of a serving platter that has curved edges.  Nestle the stuffed peppers in among the potatoes and then drizzle with the sauce.  Serve extra sauce alongside in a gravy boat.  Serve warm.

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Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

6 potatoes (Yukon gold or russet)

1 cup milk, half and half, cream or buttermilk (depending on taste and calorie count desired)

1/2 cup butter

Salt and pepper to taste

     -Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters.  (For very large potatoes,

       cut into 6 pieces.)

     -Place in a large pot. Cover the potatoes with warm water.  Add 1

       tablespoon salt.  Cover the pot with a lid and bring the water to a

       boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium low.

     -Simmer until potatoes are tender - about 30 minutes.  Insert a fork 

       into a potato to test doneness.  The fork should meet no resistance.

       Give the potatoes more time to cook if they aren't done.  Once 

       potatoes are done, remove from heat and drain immediately.

     -Return the potatoes to the pot and heat over medium-high heat for

       about a minute to cook off any excess water.  This will ensure that

       your mash won't be too watery.  Stir gently until until potatoes are

       dry, and edges look white and flaky.  Remove from heat.

     -Meanwhile, heat the butter and cream (milk, half & half, etc) in a

       small saucepan at a low temp.  Mash the potatoes with a potato

       masher or potato ricer and ensure that all lumps are broken up

       and the potatoes are completely broken apart.  Drizzle half of the

       hot butter mixture and stir in gently.  Add the remaining butter

       mixture and whip with a wooden spoon or whisk vigorously just 

       until the mash is smooth and fluffy. Be careful not to overbeat as

       potatoes may become gluey.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

       (If potatoes are too thick, add a bit more milk.)

      -Serve warm with extra butter on top and sprinkled with chopped

       parsley and/or paprika. (Other herbs and spices can be added 

       while whipping, such as chopped chives, Parmesan cheese, 

       crumbled bacon, roasted garlic, chopped scallions or creamed 

       leeks, shredded cheese or whatever sounds delicious to 

       you!)

    

Peppercorn Crusted Salmon with Wine & Butter Sauce

 

       Now, this is a special one - my favorite salmon recipe of all time!  I am a salmon-lover.  In fact, I get frustrated with myself while eating out, I always gravitate to the salmon offering and almost have to be ripped away from that section of the menu to try new things!  But it wasn't always so.....I was a sworn fish-hater growing up.  The only thing I knew about fish in landlocked Utah was frozen fish sticks and an occasional rainbow trout - the trout was okay but gagging on tiny fishbones was not and I declared I did not like fish.  Yes, we had the Great Salt Lake nearby but the only thing fished from that lake is salt,

       Fast forward to years lived on Puget Sound in Washington State.  Still not convinced, I was horrified when friends brought 2 large freshly caught salmon to our door.  They were quickly dispatched to the bathtub and I told my husband he would have to deal with them.  I don't think they were ever cooked and I still regret that oversight.

       My conversion took place on Blake Island, off of Seattle, at TillicumVillage.  I went with a group of Mexican foreign exchange students that I was in charge of and the menu had one main dish - salmon.  It was grilled over alder wood and served on wooden planks and it only took one bite to convert me. I was in love!  Oh, what I had been missing all my life.  

       From there I went out of my way to find salmon recipes and am still trying to perfect cooking it to the perfect degree of doneness that many restaurants are able to achieve.  But this recipe, which wandered into my home in the pages of a cooking magazine (I've now forgotten which) caught my attention by the addition of the crushed peppercorns and the brine marinade.

       It became a staple on my entertainment table and received raves from those that weren't as suspicious of salmon as I had been.  I have probably prepared it 50 times and find it to be predictably delicious every time.  Over the years I made a few changes to the recipe but found that it was best left pretty much alone.  The salty brine with the liquid smoke, tenderize the salmon, and the honey and crushed peppercorn spread on top create a contrast and depth of flavors - smoky, salty, peppery are intriguing by themselves but the addition of the wine, shallot, butter sauce raise it to pure indulgence.

       This is one to add to your elegant recipes and to the fish section of your recipe files......which section I didn't have until age 32!  If you need to convert anyone to fish, this recipe might be just the missionary you need!

Peppercorn-Crusted Salmon

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons coarse salt

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

4 1/2 tablespoons mixed peppercorns

1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring

1 teaspoon whole allspice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground

2 pounds whole salmon fillet

3 tablespoons honey

chopped fresh dill for garnish

Sauce:

     1 cup dry white wine

     1 shallot, finely minced

     2 tablespoon wine vinegar

     1/2 cup whipping cream

     6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

     1/2 tablespoon flour

     salt & pepper to taste

     For Salmon: Mix water, brown sugar, salt, ginger,

          allspice, peppercorns and liquid smoke in  

          medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until 

          sugar dissolves. Simmer 10 minutes.  Cool 

          completely.

    Place salmon in large glass baking dish.  Pour

          brine over.  Cover and refrigerate 6 - 8 hours,

          turning occasionally.

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove salmon 

          from brine and pat dry.  Arrange salmon on

         large, well-greased or oiled baking sheet. Strain

         brine into heavy medium saucepan.  Place all

         peppercorns in plastic bag.  Using rolling pin

         or bottom of heavy saucepan, coarsely crush

         peppercorns.  Add back to brine and simmer

         over medium heat for 15 minutes.  Strain, 

         reserving peppercorns.  Discard brine.

    Spread top of salmon fillet with honey.  Divide

          peppercorn mixture over honey, pressing

          gently to adhere.  Bake salmon until cooked

          through, about 20 minutes.

    Meanwhile prepare sauce:  Combine wine, shallot

         and vinegar in heavy smalls saucepan.  Boil 

         until liquid is reduced to half, about 10 minutes            Add cream and boil until liquid is reduced to

         1/4 cup, about 8 minutes.  Remove from heat.

         Place 1 tablespoon butter in a small bowl and

         smash flour into it with a fork until it makes a 

         paste.  Add to sauce then gradually add rest of 

         the butter, whisking just until melted and sauce

         has thickened.  Season sauce to taste with salt &

         pepper.

   Transfer salmon to large serving platter. Pour 

         sauce around salmon or serve on the side in a

         small pitcher.  Garnish with dill sprigs, cherry 

         tomatoes and lemon slices.   Serves 10 - 12.  

Soak salmon fillet in brine solution

 for several hours.

Wine, butter sauce adds a delectable richness.

PERSNICKETY  NOTES:

**I like to use Costco's skinned salmon fillets for this dish.  Skinned fish

    allows the brine marinade to permeate both sides and makes it easier

    for guests to eat.

**If you like the look of a very smooth sauce, food process the shallots 

    into the mixture before adding the cream.

**I usually add a bed of a few long tapered greens like Romaine to the

    platter and place the salmon on it.

**Let the salmon rest 5 - 6 minutes before removing from the baking 

    sheet.  Then use 2 wide spatulas to carefully move the fish to the

    serving tray, making it less likely that it will break.  If it does break

    garnish away!