Maple Walnut Pie

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 1/2 T butter, melted
• 10 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups light corn syrup
• 1T vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Approximately 3 cups of walnuts, halves or pieces
• 3, 9" pie crusts, unbaked
• 325F Oven

Preparation

• Combine sugar, maple syrup, butter, eggs, corn syrup, vanilla and cream; mix well.
• Divide mixture between three 9" pie crusts.
• Add enough walnuts to cover top of pie, approximately one cup per pie.
• Bake in 325F oven for 20 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 300F and continue baking for 30 minutes or until pie is just set
• Allow to cool and enjoy!

Comments

• Makes 3 pies.
• May use other nuts if desired.
• Prep time: about 10 minutes.
• Cooking time, almost 1 hour.
• Goes great with a little chocolate sauce, caramel, or whipped cream...or all three!

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Bread & Butter Pickles (with video)

Ingredients

• 9 lb cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 3 medium onions, halved, thinly sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup salt
• 3 cups apple cider vinegar
• 5 cups sugar
• 2T mustard seed
• 1 1/2 t celery seed
• 1/2 t whole cloves
• 1T ground turmeric
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 t fresh cracked black pepper

Preparation

• Combine cucumbers, onion, peppers, garlic and salt in large container and allow to set for three hours.
• After cucumbers have set, they will begin to release some of their moisture. Drain the cucumber mixture well.
• Combine vinegar, sugar, and remaining spices in large stock pot and bring to a rolling boil.
• Add drained cucumber mixture to boiling vinegar mixture.
• Stirring occasionally, on high heat, bring cucumbers back to almost the boiling point, then remove from the heat.
• Pickles are now ready for canning in jars if you like, or should be refrigerated otherwise.
• They are ready to eat, but will improve in flavor if allowed to set for a few days.

Comments

• Try finding cucumbers with fewer seeds if possible, smaller the better usually.
• I have started mixing in some banana peppers in place of some of the bell peppers, you can get creative here and use any kind of peppers.
• Amount of pickles produced will vary some, but you should end up with 4-6 quarts

Video Tutorial

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Apple, Dried Fruit Chutney

Ingredients

• 4 Large Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2" wedges
• 1 medium red onion, halved, cut into 1/4" slices
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup each of raisins, dried cranberries, and chopped, dried apricots
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• Combine all ingredients in 2qt sauce pan.
• Bring to a low simmer and continue to cook for approximately one hour.
• Stir occasionally.
• Mixture should become thicker and fruit cooked through.
• Allow to cool off the heat for 30 minutes to continue thickening.
• Reheat when ready to serve.

Comments

• Other fruits like peaches or mangos can be used in place of, or in combination with, the apples or dried fruits.
• We serve this on pork tenderloin, grilled fish, and chicken satay.
• Makes approximately one quart.

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Lentil Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, small dice
• 3 medium carrots, small dice
• 3 ribs celery, small dice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1T curry powder
• 1T chopped garlic
• 1T ground cumin
• 1T ground ginger
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3 lb 3oz tomatoes, canned, diced in juice, about 6 cups
• 1 cup dried brown lentils, washed
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• In a large soup pot, saute onion, carrots and celery with olive oil on medium high heat until onion is translucent.
• Add all spices and garlic, and cook for 1 minute.
• Add chicken stock, tomatoes and lentils and bring soup to a slow simmer.
• Adjust heat to maintain a slow simmer - do not boil!
• Allow soup to cook for approximately one hour or until lentils are fully cooked.
• Season with salt and pepper and you are ready to eat!
• Makes approximately 1 gallon.

Comments

• Other vegetables may be added or substituted as you see fit, but keep the volume of vegetables relatively the same. We often use roasted red peppers, corn, eggplant, arugula and/or mushrooms. This soup is almost always a little different each time we make it, but always good.
• If you boil lentils, they will disintegrate and be mush.
• You may substitute different types of lentils, but verify how long they take to cook and then add at the appropriate time so they are done with the soup but not mush.
• This soup is also delicious finished with a small amount of cream. This can be a nice touch if you want to mellow out some of those harsh spices.

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Berry Cobbler

Ingredients

Filling

• 1qt berries, fresh or frozen/thawed
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5T cornstarch
• 1 small lemon, zest and juice
• 1medium orange, zest and juice

Streusel Topping

• 1 stick butter, cold, cubed, 4oz
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon

Preparation

• Combine all ingredients for filling in large mixing bowl, set aside for 30 minutes.
• Combine all ingredients for topping in a separate mixing bowl by cutting the butter into the sugar, flour, and cinnamon until a crumbly mixture is formed.
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Stir filling again and transfer to desired baking dish.
• Cover filling with streusel topping.
• Bake at 350F for approximately 30-45 minutes or until cobbler is browned and bubbling.
• Remove and enjoy with vanilla ice cream!

Comments

• We have used all berries and combination of berries for this and is always great, be creative.
• We bake these in individual dishes for our guests; makes a nice personal dessert.
• We have also substituted peaches or rhubarb for some of the berries.
• I like to let the filling mixture set for 30 minutes to allow the sugar and cornstarch to dissolve well. Stirring before pouring it into the baking dish also helps to keep the cornstarch from settling, giving you a gummy bottom (on your cobbler). Enjoy!

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Red Wine Butter Sauce

Ingredients

• 2/3 bottle red wine (the better the wine, the better the sauce)
• 8oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes and keep cold
• salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Preparation

• Bring wine to a boil in medium sauce pan.
• Reduce heat to simmer and continue cooking until wine is reduced 80%-90%.
• Once wine is reduced, turn heat off.
• Begin adding one cube of butter, whisking continuously until butter is melted/incorporated into the sauce.
• Continue this process until all the butter has been added.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve at once or keep in a warm spot near the stove until ready to use.

Comments

• This sauce is something we serve with our coffee seared beef tenderloin but goes great with lots of beef items.
• This process also works with white wine.
• You may choose to reduce more wine than 2/3 of a bottle as this will create a more concentrated flavor, but this is a pretty good ratio to get started.
• Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of sauce, 12 one ounce servings.
• This can be a tricky sauce to make and can "brake" if it becomes too hot or cold or if you add the butter too quickly or slowly. If it brakes, start over and just keep practicing. I still brake one every once in a while when I get in a hurry.
• Start out with a cheaper wine to learn on, then move on to something nicer. It is fun to taste the differences between wines!
• Enjoy!

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Key Lime Tarts

Ingredients

• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• 6-3" graham cracker tart shells

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Bake empty tart shells for 10-15 minutes until toasted brown.
• While tart shells are baking, whisk together egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice.
• Fill toasted tart shells with egg mixture.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until filling is just set.
• Chill completely and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Comments

• We typically garnish with a slice of lime but raspberry sauce also works.
• This is a traditional style key lime, no green food coloring here.
• This recipe could also be used for a full size pie. It will take about 2 1/2 recipes to fill a 9" pie shell. You will still want to pre-bake the crust.
• When filling the tart shells, it is a good idea to fill them all the way. If not, the top of the crust will break off where filling is not touching.

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