Blueberry Pie - Pie Plate with Blackbird

My friend Lynne gave me this great pie plate
for Christmas because she knows that I
enjoying cooking and baking.

This beautiful pie plate comes with
a blackbird. The blackbird goes inside
the pie to disperse excess steam keeeping
the filling fresh and stopping it from
spilling over in your oven - so cool!

Blueberry Pie Recipe
adapted from Simply recipes

2 pie crusts

Filling ingredients:

6 cups of fresh (or frozen) blueberries, rinsed and stems removed (if using frozen, defrost and drain first)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (for thickening)
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter (unsalted), cut into small pieces

Egg wash ingredients:

1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Method
1 Prepare the crust. Roll out half of the dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle on a lightly floured work surface, about 13 inches in diameter. Fit the dough over a 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges to a 1/2 inch over the edge all around the pan. Put into the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.

2 Gently mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Transfer them to the chilled bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot with butter pieces. Roll out remaining dough to the same size and thickness as the first. Place on top of the berry filling. Tuck the top dough over and under the edge of the bottom dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator to chill until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425°F.

3 Whisk egg and milk together to make an egg wash.

4 Remove the unbaked pie from refrigerator. Brush the top with egg wash. Score the pie on the top with 4 cuts (so steam can escape while cooking - but if you have a "blackbird" you don't have to do this part). Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven with a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking pan positioned on the lower rack to catch any filling that may bubble over. Bake for 25 minutes at 400°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for about 5 -10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

Blueberry Pie - yum!

Valentine's Day Cookies

I decided to give roll out sugar cookies a try
for Valentine's Day. I made a sugar cookie dough
and a chocolate brownie roll out dough. I
really don't have many of the ingredients or
tools to make icing and decorate but I used what
I had. I was able to come up with a pink, purple
and white icing. Here is how my cookies turned out.



It was fun but as you can see I am not very good at cookie decorating. :)

Chicken Scaloppine

I have made so many pasta dishes in the past few years
that I was surprised to come across this one which is
new for me. Chicken Scaloppine over Angel Hair Pasta.

It is a delicious dish full of wonderful flavors.

Chicken Scaloppine over Angel Hair Pasta

Lemon Butter Sauce
3-4 ounces lemon juice
4 ounces white wine
4 ounces heavy cream
2 sticks of butter
2tbs of cream cheese
pinch of oregano

To make the sauce:
Heat the lemon juice and white wine in a saucepan over medium heat.
Bring to a boil and let the mixture reduce.
Add cream and cream cheese cooking on low and allowing the sauce to
thicken. Next,add butter stiring until completely incorporated.
Season with a pinch or two of oregano, salt and pepper. Set the
sauce aside.


Chicken and Pasta
4-6 chicken breasts
2 cups flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging
6 ounces pancetta, cooked
12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
12 ounces artichoke hearts, sliced
1 tablespoon capers
1 lb angel hair pasta, cooked
2 tbs butter
2 - 3 tbs oil


Heat a little oile and butter in a pan. Dredge chicken in the
flour, salt and pepper mixture. Cook in pan on high
browning each side (you don't have to cook the chicken all the
way through b/c it is going to have time to cook again later).
Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and more butter if needed.
Cook 2- 3 minutes. Add the artichokes and pancetta
cooking a few more minutes. Then place the chicken back
into the pan and add the capers. Pour the lemon, butter sauce
back into the pan and allow all the flavors to combine.

While give the ingredients time to combine. Cook the
angel hair pasta. Then drain. Put pasta on the
bottom of bowls. The top the pasta with a piece of
chiken and sauce. Be sure to scoop a spoon full
of all the good stuff and pour that over the pasta
as well. Top with parmesan cheese.

Doesn't this look wonderful?

Creamy Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Creamy Hungarian Mushroom Soup
adapted from Eating Well

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons paprika, preferably Hungarian (see Note)
2 tablespoons dried dill
4 cups mushroom broth
2 cups low-fat milk
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
*1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
*1 tsp lemon juice



Preparation
1.Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes.

2.Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are very soft, about 3 minutes more. Add flour, paprika and dill and cook, stirring, for 15 seconds. Add broth, milk and potatoes; cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in sour cream, lemon juice, parsley and salt.




I really enjoyed this soup. It is light and has an earthy flavor.

Spaghetti and Meatballs - Kitchen of Love

It is time for Cucina D’amore ~ Kitchen of Love
hosted by C from Mele Cotte since 2008.
This event allows everyone to share recipes
that contain aphrodisiac foods right in time
for Valentine's Day.



Here is my idea for a Romantic Dinner:
Spaghetti and Meatballs with a nice glass of red wine.

Turkey Meatballs:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 slice stale bread, chopped
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
pinch of salt and pepper



Mix the ground turkey, parsley, basil, bread, ricotta, parmesan, egg white, minced garlic, teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl using your hands. Form into medium size meatballs. Cook in saute pan with oil browning lightly on each side. The add the meatballs to your sauce and simmer for 10 -12 minutes until they are
completely cooked.





This is what I am talking about ~ Spaghetti and Meatballs ~ makes a great, romantic dinner.