Listening To: Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
Word of the Day: Pie!
That's right, Pie is the word of the day, not for some lame reason like it's March 14. And for the record, a lot of the world writes dates with the day first, so that really doesn't work noobs. LOL
I'm mean, and happy all at the same time.
We chopped down the Rhubarb from the first growth about a month ago. Someone in the house believes that the first crop is always too bitter. I acquiesced and have been patiently waiting for it all to regrow. I pulled out my mom's old very worn down cookbook, and found her pastry recipe, which I'll admit, I had to modify a bit, I think because of the climate...not sure. It brought back so many good memories looking through that book, reading her familiar handwriting. Apparently 4 1/2 years is the time that was needed for me to be able to do that. LOL First memories of my paternal Grandma making pies (it was originally her pastry recipe), then my mom making lasagna, because of course her recipe for that was in there too. And then the accursed Sweet and Sour Meatball recipe. It was a running joke for a number of years, that she made them at least once a week, and I was all Sweet and Sour Meatballed out. She was pretty close to making them once a week, and I did eventually get kinda sick of them, but maybe someday I'll be able to break down, and try that recipe again.
I am going to have sit down very soon, and transcribe all her recipes. The pages are fading, and she wrote a lot of them in pencil. I'm sad I didn't find my grandmother's Mince Meat recipe, but I did find her Fruitcake and Shortbread recipes, and of course, my beloved Oatmeal Chocolate Chip recipe. Those must be saved for future generations at all cost, just as this simple pastry recipe needed to be saved.
Speaking of this recipe, lets get down to it, it really is easy. The Pie Filling will follow in a subsequent post.
Ingredients:
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Cup Shortening
10-13 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 T-Cup Coffee
Start by combing your Flour and Salt in the mixing bowl. Stir these together with a fork, to get it good and blended.
Cube the shortening, and add it to the bowl.
Using 2 knives, cut the pastry, until it becomes "crumb like"
Add water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until it's moist enough to stick together.
Once you've achieved the right consistency, form the pastry into a ball, and roll it out. Don't stress if it breaks apart a bit on you, you're going to be pressing it into place in a moment. It also doesn't have to be perfectly round before you put it in the pie plate. This is a Virgo talking...it does NOT have to be perfectly round. LOL
Press the down into the bottom and sides of the pie plate, trim off all the excess. Reform the extra and roll it back into a ball, wrap both the pie plate and the ball in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
In conclusion, if you were wondering why I put coffee in the ingredients list, it's because while you're waiting for your crust to chill, you deserve a cuppa. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment