Favorite food tricks

[Mad Howler]

Easy on the salt, there, cowgirl. I was off the grid for a bit.

I get that.

Thank you so much! Your mom's recipe - that's awesome!
"Giddy up" - I've got some pies to make.

p.s. - One question about salt - how far do you think you can back off in that recipe before texture/flavor suffers?

[Ducatista]

Good question... I'm not the baker who could predict exactly what would happen, but I think you could halve it at least, and maybe leave it out entirely, especially if your filling is savory. My only concern would be that reducing the salt might reduce the nuttiness, which is one of the things I love about this crust.

The good thing is, the crust is so easy you can test it without much loss in time/ingreds.

Makes me happy to have Mom's recipe out in the world. We had homemade dessert with homemade dinner nearly every night when I was growing up. I didn't realize at the time what a throwback that was.

[Mad Howler]

"Throwback" shouldn't be seen as bad - IMHO.
You speak of a "nutty" flavor that you are after. What oils do you employ? There are some reasonably priced nut oils (walnut, hazelnut, pumpkin seed, etc.) at Woodman's to try.
I think you said the oil doesn't matter much, but I am curious about your preference.

[Ducatista]

"Throwback" shouldn't be seen as bad - IMHO.
You speak of a "nutty" flavor that you are after. What oils do you employ? There are some reasonably priced nut oils (walnut, hazelnut, pumpkin seed, etc.) at Woodman's to try.
I think you said the oil doesn't matter much, but I am curious about your preference.

Mom used corn oil (Mazola... The goodness of maize™) back in the day, switched to canola when that became common. I've used canola, peanut, and olive oil. Canola and peanut are equally nutty under pumpkin pie. The version I made most recently was my least favorite, but I can't blame the oil (olive was all I had in the cupboard) or the flour (white whole wheat) until I fix the under-baking.

[Mad Howler]

Okay! I am planning to use your mother's recipe tomorrow for two rhubarb pies with crumble top. I plan to split the recipe you shared between two nine inch crusts. My thinking is that the 1.5 cups of flour is typical of double crust recipes, am I missing some nuance?
Thnx

[Ducatista]

Lucky you! The rhubarb at the Farmers' Market was CRAZY on Saturday.

The recipe makes a single crust. You'll see what I mean once you start pressing the dough into the pie plate... you'd be hard pressed (ha) to spread half a recipe into an even crust with no too-thin spots. If you can make it happen, let me know! Maybe it's possible with more patience than mine.

Good luck, hope you like it! The crust is not for everyone. My sister the pie baker has no time for it, but that's probably because she makes her killer traditional crust as quickly and easily as I make a pot of coffee. I should film it next time I visit (EVERY visit involves at least one pie) and put it on youtube. It's almost meditative watching her.

[fennel]

Lucky you! The rhubarb at the Farmers' Market was CRAZY on Saturday.

It really has been a crazy year for rhubarb. Apparently, it likes this cool weather following the warm bubble last month. It has doubled its size in our side yard, and we're pawning off fresh stalks to our neighbors. I'm pretty sure this has to be the easiest food to grow — next to dandelions.

[Prof. Wagstaff]

I'm pretty sure this has to be the easiest food to grow — next to dandelions.

I've had rhubarb growing out of what used to be the old homeowner's compost heap since I bought my house a decade ago. It comes in strong every year and I never do a thing except let a friend come over and harvest it (I'm not a rhubarb fan.) This year it exploded early and fast. The only other thing which has survived from the old owners (with zero help from me) are chives.

[fennel]

I had an epiphany with rhubarb, as with cilantro. I never really cared for it until, one day, it rocked my world. A good rhubarb pie, not too sweet, is an exuberantly mind-altering experience.

[Mad Howler]

The recipe makes a single crust. You'll see what I mean once you start pressing the dough into the pie plate... you'd be hard pressed (ha) to spread half a recipe into an even crust with no too-thin spots. If you can make it happen, let me know! Maybe it's possible with more patience than mine.

Good luck, hope you like it! The crust is not for everyone. My sister the pie baker has no time for it, but that's probably because she makes her killer traditional crust as quickly and easily as I make a pot of coffee. I should film it next time I visit (EVERY visit involves at least one pie) and put it on youtube. It's almost meditative watching her.

I didn't get to that crust yet, got too busy today.
When I do - I'm going to test it side by side with rhubarb (with crumble) & pumpkin (butternut squash) pie. Thank you for the advice, I promise that when I take the dive I'll report results.
This oil crust thing grabs at me. It's funny what you said about your sister - as I was flat out of time today. I could have quickly cut a couple of pie crusts (I've gotten OK at that) but I wanted to go for this other technique. I did not have time today - fortunately someone in my life took the time today to craft a couple of rhubarb pies that used neither of the above techniques.
There is something about ground grain & how we fold it into our lives.

p.s. - when you've got a patch of rhubarb growing in your yard,
You get to thinking you should be doing something with it - when you look at the price of it at the farmers market!

[fennel]

If you want the essential experience of ginger, get a big fresh root, peel it, and grate it into a quart of water. Bring to a boil, then drop the heat to a very low simmer, and leave for a few hours. Strain into a cup and sip.

I've refined this a little since it's been a regular feature during cold season:

1+ cup of coarsely chopped ginger
6 cups of water
Bring to a full boil, then drop the heat and allow to simmer a minimum of 30 minutes

Strain into a mug with a teaspoon of honey and a splash of fresh lemon juice.
Barley malt syrup is an interesting alternative to honey.

[stream26]

my favorite food is sacchetti prosciutto. (Sacchetti "beggars purse"
Filled with prosciutto ham and fontina cheese seasoned with garlic and basil then tossed in alfredo sauce)

[john_titor]

I serve the gravy in an insulated coffee carafe (bought solely for that purpose) so it stays hot through the whole meal.

I have read your posts over the years. There are a million cool things about you. This is number one.

[fennel]

Wasn't sure what to title this thread... will edit if somebody comes up with a better label than "tricks."

You could change it to Favorite food trucks now — just to mess with people.

[Ducatista]

This is number one.

I love that! It's one of my favorite things I've ever done. Ducatista, gravy whisperer.