Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies

I made these delicious strawberry rhubarb mini pies a couple of weeks ago, just in the height of late spring strawberry and rhubarb season.  They're really a cross between a pie and a cupcake, and they were made in cupcake molds.  These were a delicious recipe from Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts cookbook, which adds some orange zing to a traditional spring strawberry rhubarb pie.  They're just perfect in this bite size manifestation - just enough pie to savor the flavors of fresh strawberry season.  I love the combination of strawberry and rhubarb and I haven't been able to get enough of the two this spring, after making six jars of strawberry rhubarb jam.

Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies
(adapted from Martha Stewart)
Crust
3 cups all purpose flour
3 T granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
1 1/2 sticks of cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 T ice water
2 large eggs for egg wash
fine sanding sugar for sprinkling

Filling
12 oz (about two cups) fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into a tiny dice
5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into a tiny dice
1 T finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp orange extract (instead of grand marnier, which the original recipe called for 1/4 cup)
1 cup granulated sugar (original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups)

First, make the crust.  Pulse the flour, sugar, salt, vegetable shortening and butter to a coarse meal in your stand mixer.  Add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time and pulse until dough just comes together.  Flatten into two discs and chill for one hour.

Combine the ingredients for the filling and allow to sit.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Take out two silicone muffin tin trays and line with paper muffin liners.  Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut out 24 rounds using a 3 1/2 inch round cutter or the top of a glass.  Press the circles into the cups.  Reroll scraps and cut out four small straps for the top of each mini pie using a knife or pastry wheel cutter.  Refrigerate shells and straps until firm, about 30 minutes.

Strain the liquid from the fruit mixture and place about 2 T in each cup.  Top with woven lattice using the straps and pinch to seal.  Use the eggs to coat with an egg wash using a pastry brush and sprinkle on the sanding sugar.  Trim away any excess dough.  Chill for another 30 minutes or until firm.  Bake until golden brown at 350 for about 60-70 minutes.

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies

Sasha's Kitchen: Banana Cream Pie

I've been itching to make a strawberry rhubarb pie, just as soon as they both come into season at the local farmer's market, or at least a rhubarb tart and some strawberry-rhubarb jam too, using my canning supplies.  But neither is ready just yet (rhubarb will precede strawberries) so in the meantime, I made a non-seaosnal pie that works just as well any time of year, a banana cream pie.  This was really delicious, and light and fluffy.  I followed Martha Stewart's recipe from her pie book, and the result was quite enjoyable.


Crust (from Pies and Tarts by Martha Stewart)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 stick of butter, cold cut into pieces
1/8 plus 1 T ice cold water

Banana Cream Pie (from Pies and Tarts by Martha Stewart)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
2 T cold, unsalted butter
3 large bananas, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly crosswise
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
shaved chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder for topping

To make the crust, follow Martha's half recipe for pate brisee.  Pulse the flour, salt and sugar in a stand mixer.  Add the chunks of butter and pulse until mixture resembles a course meal.  Drizzle 1/8 cup of water over the mixture and pulse until it just holds together.  If needed you can add another T or two of water - I added one more tablespoon myself.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for about 45 minutes.

Roll out the dough and line a circular 8 inch pie plate.  Trim the edges and crimp to form a nice pie shell.  Use pie weights on top of the crust to bake, since you are doing a "blind bake" without any fruit and don't want the shell to puff up.  Chill the pie for twenty minutes though before baking.  Preheat the oven to 425 and bake until the pie begins to turn gold, 15-18 minutes.  Then, reduce the heat to 350  and bake another twenty minutes.  Allow to cool completely, and remove the pie weights.

Make the filling.  Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk in the milk over medium high heat, stirring constantly until bubbling and thick, about seven minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, and add the milk mixture.  Whisk until combined.  return to saucepan and cook over medium heat for another two minutes until it returns to a boil, stirring constantly.  Pour through a sieve to strain.  Add butter and stir until melted.  Fold in bananas and pour into crust.  Then allow to chill for four hours.  In a chilled bowl, beat together the cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form, using the whisk attachment of your mixer.  Shape topping on top of pie using a spatula.  Top with chocolate shavings of powdered cocoa.

Sasha's Kitchen: Banana Cream Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Lamb Chops with Mustard-Herb Crust and Purple Potatoes

I came across this great lamb recipe recently for simple, flavorful lamb chops. I served this with some creamed mashed potatoes that I made using mini purple potatoes, which resulted in - you guessed it - purple mashed potatoes - because everything is better in purple! I used lamb shoulder chops to make this dish, because they are less expensive than rib chops - but you can use either, depending on what you can afford and have in your freezer. The result was quite delicious and an enjoyable friday night dinner.

Lamb Chops with Mustard-Herb Crust (based on this recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food)

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1 T minced garlic

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 T grated parmesan

1 T minced fresh rosemary

1 tsp minced thyme

1 tsp minced oregano

8 lamb chops

Combine the mustard and garlic in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the panko, herbs and cheese. Pat the lamb chops dry and season with salt and pepper. Then cover with the mustard-garlic mixture, and follow by coating in the panko breadcrumb mixture. Heat a couple tablespoons of canola oil in a nonstick saucepan and cook the lamb chops over medium high heat until browned on both sides and cooked as desired internally (I prefer medium well). Let rest for five minutes before serving. I served the chops with a bit of parmesan, balsamic and parsley. 

Sasha's Kitchen: Lamb Chops with Mustard-Herb Crust and Purple Potatoes

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I made these chocolate chunk cookies about a week ago, and they were delicious. The recipe is loosely based on a Martha Stewart recipe. The cookies are soft and chewy, which is quite delicious. If you bake the cookies for longer (as my husband requested for some of them) they will be harder and crunchier, but still delicious. I prefer somewhere in between Martha's recommendation and my husband's preference, so I am suggesting about 15 minutes so they are chewy but don't taste undercooked. I used chopped up chocolate chunk for the cookies, rather than chocolate chips, and it gave them a nice texture. This recipe makes quite a few cookies - about 36 in total, which was perfect for the occasion that I was making them for.  Another important note - using the mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar is important for getting the texture and chewiness of the cookies just right, so don't substitute here. I also found that using an extra egg helped me get the cookies just right.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
2 cups of chocolate chunk (chopped)

Preheat the oven to 350. In a small bow, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add the salt, vanilla and eggs. Beat until mixed well, about one minute. Add the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks.

Drop tablespoon heaps of balls of cookie dough about two inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies until golden around the edges only but still soft in the center. For me this took about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool. They will firm up a bit as they cool, so never fear if they seem to soft initially.

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Sasha's Kitchen: Coconut Curry Chicken

This is a simple, heathy chicken recipe that is delicious and easy to make. I cam across this on Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, and thought it was worth giving a try. I made some minor modifications and it worked out just beautifully. This is another great dinner dish to make for a nice family dinner, or dinner for two with leftovers. The original recipe can be found here, and is called a spicy coconut chicken. Mine wasn't spicy (which was fine with me) because I used a different type of curry (powder and chile paste combo rather than curry paste), while I used a whole cut up Empire chicken rather than just the legs. Also, I added a yellow zucchini to the mix. It worked out just perfectly! This is definitely a thai inspired fusion dish, which is a favorite ethnic cuisine for me to experiment with.

Coconut Curry Chicken
1 T olive oil
whole chicken, cut up (about 3-4 pounds)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (14.5 oz) light coconut milk
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup water
1 tsp curry
1 tsp chile paste
1 cup jasmine rice
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 oz green beans
1 yellow zucchini, cut up

Using a five quart Dutch Oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper, and cook the chicken until browned (about 6-8 minutes). Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, curry and chile paste to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the curry and chile paste. Stir in the jasmine rice and add the chicken back in. Cover the Dutch Oven and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes.

Put in the green beans, zucchini and bell peppers in the pot on top of the chicken and cover the pot again. Cook until the veggies are crisp-tender, which took me about 15 minutes.

Sasha's Kitchen: Coconut Curry Chicken

Sasha's Kitchen: Summer Peach Cobbler

Peaches are my absolute favorite summer fruit.  In fact, a fresh, sweet, succulent peach is just about one of the best part of summer.  As the peach comes into season in June, I thought it would be time to start cooking with some fresh peaches from the local farmer's market here in Brooklyn.

There's quite a few summer recipes that incorporate peaches, and I plan on sharing my quintessential summer peach salad soon. But there's nothing that says classic summer peach better than a peach cobbler or a peach crisp.  For this recipe, I started with Martha Stewart, but adapted and adjusted to get thing exactly to my liking.  This is the second peach cobbler I've made (the first was last summer) and this one was perfect. Then I baked it in my lovely Mackenzie Childs pie dish (one of my favorite items from our wedding registry).

Peach Cobbler (adapted from this recipe)
8 large ripe peaches, pitted and sliced (Martha calls for 10, but I used pretty large peaches)
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 T dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
2/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Slice the peaches and combine with the cornstarch, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Pour mixture into an 8 inch circular pie dish that has been sprayed with Pam.

In the basin of your mixer (or a large bowl, using a fork if you do not have a stand mixer) combine the 1/4 cup of granulated sugar with the flour, salt and butter.  Beat for several minutes to cut in the butter, until the mixture looks like a coarse meal.

Whisk together the heavy cream and egg and combine in the mixer until it comes together into a dough with the dry ingredients.  Cut dough into circular shaped portions (about 12 or so) and use to cover the top of the peach mixture.  Top with the remaining two tablespoons of granulated sugar. Bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown and until the inside bubbles.  Allow to cool a bit before serving warm.

Sasha's Kitchen: Summer Peach Cobbler