By Bbq Dude
Indirect Heat
24 August 2011
18 August 2011
Blueberry pie
Blueberry bonanza! We got a little out of hand the other day picking blueberries. Nine pounds of blueberries. So we had to find a home for a few of them.
Classic summer bbq fare is blueberry pie (or pah as they say in Texas).
In our home, pie is the domain of Mrs. Dude. She makes a pretty amazing crust. I copy this one from her delightful description of rhubarb pie:
For this pie, form an extra high ridge around the edge of the pastry. And chill the crust while you're making the filling. We take a slight twist on the classic blueberry pie as detailed on Epicurious:
You want largely whole blueberries, so be gentle. No one wants blueberry-paste pie.
Chill the pie filling for an hour.
Meanwhile, make the topping:
Ok, chill that, too. Now you've got crust, filling and topping in the fridge. After everything is cold (about an hour), fire up the oven at 400°F. Now you're gonna need to move fast, because you don't want the filling to soak into the crust. As soon as the pie gets assembled, you want it heading straight into the oven. Only a fool would pause to take the semi-assembled pie outside into sufficient light to get a good picture...
Ahem.
If you must, be quick about it.
Crumble the topping over the blueberries.
Put the pie on a cookie sheet. Yeah, it's going to bubble and splatter, especially if you put in a few too many blueberries. Bake until the topping browns, around 70 minutes (but start checking it at 45 - your mileage may vary).
Remove from the oven, and if you can possibly stand it, let the pie cool so the filling can gel. Serve with ice cream.
It's pie, dammit. It's good.
By Bbq Dude
Classic summer bbq fare is blueberry pie (or pah as they say in Texas).
In our home, pie is the domain of Mrs. Dude. She makes a pretty amazing crust. I copy this one from her delightful description of rhubarb pie:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
⅔ cup Crisco (Bbq Dude is always trying to make me use use leaf lard, but I just can’t do it. I like Crisco)
⅓ cup very cold water (mix 1 cup water with some ice cubes and let sit, pour off the 1/3 cup when you need it)
Add the salt to the flour and mix. Add the 2/3 cup Crisco and mash into the flour with your fingers until you’ve made something that looks like the photo. Don’t handle it too much, it should only take about 2 min. This will make mess out of rings on your fingers or bells on your toes, so put them someplace safe. Add the 1/3 cup very cold water and mix with fingers till it all starts sticking together. Don’t handle it too much. Have 4 sheets of wax paper or parchment paper ready to roll the pie crusts out in. Place about 1/4th of the dough in between 2 sheets of paper and “roll like mad” as my Mom says. Move the rolling pin around to generate an at least somewhat circular shape. You want the dough to be about 2-3mm (1/10th inch) thick.
For this pie, form an extra high ridge around the edge of the pastry. And chill the crust while you're making the filling. We take a slight twist on the classic blueberry pie as detailed on Epicurious:
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (or more) sugarMix the all the filling components in a heavy pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring gently frequently until the blueberries liquify (a tiny bit) and make a thick, hot, bubbling mess.
¼ cup cornstarch
7 cups fresh blueberries
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
You want largely whole blueberries, so be gentle. No one wants blueberry-paste pie.
Chill the pie filling for an hour.
Meanwhile, make the topping:
⅔ cup unbleached all purpose flourCombine all the topping ingredients in a food processor, pulse only until combined into a wet, chunky mess.
4 ounces marzipan or almond paste
¼ cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
½ tsp salt
Ok, chill that, too. Now you've got crust, filling and topping in the fridge. After everything is cold (about an hour), fire up the oven at 400°F. Now you're gonna need to move fast, because you don't want the filling to soak into the crust. As soon as the pie gets assembled, you want it heading straight into the oven. Only a fool would pause to take the semi-assembled pie outside into sufficient light to get a good picture...
Ahem.
If you must, be quick about it.
Crumble the topping over the blueberries.
Put the pie on a cookie sheet. Yeah, it's going to bubble and splatter, especially if you put in a few too many blueberries. Bake until the topping browns, around 70 minutes (but start checking it at 45 - your mileage may vary).
Remove from the oven, and if you can possibly stand it, let the pie cool so the filling can gel. Serve with ice cream.
It's pie, dammit. It's good.
By Bbq Dude
16 August 2011
Tougas Farm
We're still living like tourists in Somerville, Mass. We cook in someone else's kitchen, with their kitchen implements (and my knives). All of our stuff is still in storage in San Diego (and will be until we move into our new home on Sep 24th). But living like tourists has an advantage. We're still very much in the "exploring Boston" mode.
In that vein, we decided to explore what delicious things could be grown locally. In southern California, citrus and avocados were the specialty. Here, it's blueberries.
We spent the morning at Tougas Family Farm, west of the city. They have a broad variety of things they grow, but this time of year, it's the blueberries that are available for picking.
Their business model is a clever one. Get people out. Charge them to walk in the field ($3/person). Then credit that towards however many pounds of blueberries you rake in.
Very soon, they'll be selling blackberries.
http://www.tougasfarm.com/
Apples.
Pumpkins.
U-pick locations have an inherent conflict built into them. Pickers want to only pick from the easiest to reach branches with the largest clusters of fruit. Farmers want the highest percentage of their berries to end up being sold, which means the high branches, low branches and less dense clusters end up getting picked. I watched with dismay as pickers spent two minutes per bush, blowing past me to pick only the easiest-to-reach bunches.
After an hour of picking over a few half-picked bushes, we went home with nine pounds of blueberries for about $30, less than half of what you'd pay in a grocery store.
There are muffins and pancakes in our future...
Tougas Family Farm
234 Ball St
Northborough, MA
Hours vary
View Larger Map
By Bbq Dude
In that vein, we decided to explore what delicious things could be grown locally. In southern California, citrus and avocados were the specialty. Here, it's blueberries.
We spent the morning at Tougas Family Farm, west of the city. They have a broad variety of things they grow, but this time of year, it's the blueberries that are available for picking.
Their business model is a clever one. Get people out. Charge them to walk in the field ($3/person). Then credit that towards however many pounds of blueberries you rake in.
Very soon, they'll be selling blackberries.
http://www.tougasfarm.com/
Apples.
Pumpkins.
U-pick locations have an inherent conflict built into them. Pickers want to only pick from the easiest to reach branches with the largest clusters of fruit. Farmers want the highest percentage of their berries to end up being sold, which means the high branches, low branches and less dense clusters end up getting picked. I watched with dismay as pickers spent two minutes per bush, blowing past me to pick only the easiest-to-reach bunches.
After an hour of picking over a few half-picked bushes, we went home with nine pounds of blueberries for about $30, less than half of what you'd pay in a grocery store.
There are muffins and pancakes in our future...
Tougas Family Farm
234 Ball St
Northborough, MA
Hours vary
View Larger Map
By Bbq Dude
09 August 2011
Asparagus mimosa
As we settle into Boston, I'm cooking a lot of old standbys. Not worth posting on them. But this book Plenty
that I've gotten my hands on... It's providing tons of side-dishes. Yes, it's a vegetarian book. But as the author says, "I suggested serving a salad with some barbecued lamb chops."
Yes. This is an excellent side-dish book (and occasional main dish book). Tonight, I bring you a quick-and-easy way to dial up asparagus.
When cool, peel the eggs.
Chop off the white ends of the asparagus. Add the asparagus to boiling water. Boil for three minutes, or until tender.
Remove from the water. Dress the asparagus with the oil, capers, pepper and salt. Grate the eggs over the asparagus.
Serve.
I served this next to a lovely fried hake fillet. As soon as I figure out how to make fish beautiful, I'll show you a photo. Until then, you'll have to imagine the perfect white flesh of the hake. With butter. And a spot of lemon and salt. Delicious.
And with a sip or two of a nice Riesling.
Provided as a going-away present before we left California. Not a bad 30 minute meal.
By Bbq Dude
that I've gotten my hands on... It's providing tons of side-dishes. Yes, it's a vegetarian book. But as the author says, "I suggested serving a salad with some barbecued lamb chops."Yes. This is an excellent side-dish book (and occasional main dish book). Tonight, I bring you a quick-and-easy way to dial up asparagus.
2 eggsPlace the eggs in boiling water. Boil 9 minutes exactly, then transfer to cold water to stop to cooking.
½ lb asparagus
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp capers, drained
2 tsp large crystal salt
black pepper
When cool, peel the eggs.
Chop off the white ends of the asparagus. Add the asparagus to boiling water. Boil for three minutes, or until tender.
Remove from the water. Dress the asparagus with the oil, capers, pepper and salt. Grate the eggs over the asparagus.
Serve.
I served this next to a lovely fried hake fillet. As soon as I figure out how to make fish beautiful, I'll show you a photo. Until then, you'll have to imagine the perfect white flesh of the hake. With butter. And a spot of lemon and salt. Delicious.
And with a sip or two of a nice Riesling.
Provided as a going-away present before we left California. Not a bad 30 minute meal.
By Bbq Dude
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)