Apple pie

Another day, another visit to Tougas' Farm. It's apple season in Massachusetts, and we're taking advantage of that, so off to Tougas Farm.



What fun, then, to arrive and discover that they are growing at least three dozen different varieties of apple. After reading their apple literature (yes, they have apple literature), we zoomed in on a few snacking apples (Fuji, among them) and three pie apples.

Idared:



Cameo:



And Spencer:



We picked enough for one pie each (6-8 apples of each variety) and wandered through the snacking apple sections, nibbling our way through. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon, really. But we had to know which was the superior pie apple. So we did an experiment. For science.

One pie each. Same recipe. Same crust. Baked at the same time for the same amount of time. Sampled by several members of the Dude family. Again, for science. We were brave. Somebody has to do it.

We used a family recipe. For one 8 ½ inch pie pan, use one crust, as described in Mrs Dude's rhubarb pie:

6-8 apples, depending on apple size
2 tbsp butter

Start peeling the apples.



Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Shave the apples into small fragments.



Mix:

½ cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
pinch salt

Place a layer of apples in the crust. Layer about one third of the sugar mix over the apples, add a second layer of apples, layer another third of sugar mix on top, then a final layer of apples and the rest of the sugar on top. Lay the butter on top.



Cover the apples with a final layer of pastry crust.



Pinch it closed, and poke some holes in the crust to let steam vent out.

We baked three pies like this. Fifteen minutes at 375°F, then another hour at 350°F.



Upon removal, it was clear the Idared pie had a more aromatic scent. It was like smelling perfume pie, really quite striking.

Upon cooling, we discovered that the Spencer pie had become silky smooth, almost too smooth for pie (more an applesauce texture). The Cameo pie was rich in flavor and perfect in texture. The Idared was probably the most interesting flavour, bright and unique, but perhaps too bitter for pie. The hands-down favourite of all was the Cameo pie. Though if we were to do it again, I'd want a pie that was 75% Cameo apple, 25% Idared.



But really, what an experiment. For science!


By Bbq Dude

Settling in

So, about a year ago, we started making a too-stupid-to-cook-chicken every Friday night. It's our little Friday night ritual. I fire up the oven as soon as we walk in the door, I get the chicken ready, and 15 minutes later it's in the oven.

Well, we're finally settling in our home in Arlington. Our boxes arrived on Monday, and we unpacked sufficiently this week that we could find a frying pan and some nice salt. I present to you, our first Friday chicken in the new home.

Cooking (and blogging) will return to it's regular frequency shortly...

By Bbq Dude

Speed demon

I cannot yet confirm this works, but... damn!


How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.

Edit to update: @drricky forwards this post that describes how this technique may work. More as soon as I have a chance to attempt this technique.
By Bbq Dude

Lavender rice pudding with blueberries

Holy moley, with Labour Day come and gone, the summer's over. And I didn't smoke any meat. The combination of moving cross-country and changing jobs means that I've eaten a lot of PBJ sandwiches this summer, and done precious little cooking (and even less blogging). But we have taken a little of the local delicousness into our (sub-let) kitchen. Fresh-picked blueberries. Lobster.

And as we frantically pack our things to move to our fourth temporary home in Boston, we empty out the remaining frozen blueberries from our picking trip. I modified a rice pudding with blueberry sauce recipe. For the pudding:

2 ½ cups leftover cooked short-grain rice
½ tsp salt
2 cups milk milk
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
½ tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp culinary lavender, in a tea strainer

Mix the rice with all the other ingredients except the vanilla. Bring to a simmer.



Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. It'll still be pretty soupy. That's okay, it will solidify considerably when you chill it. If you overcook it, it'll solidify into cement. Stir in the vanilla and remove from heat.



Pour into individual servings, and chill in the fridge, at least 2 hours.

Shortly before serving, make the blueberry sauce:

2 cups frozen blueberries
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp cold water

Mix the blueberries, sugar and lemon zest. Heat over low heat until they simmer gently.



Add the corn starch slurry, and continue to stir over low heat until you get the desired level of thickness. Serve hot over the rice pudding.



Delicious.

By Bbq Dude