Monday, June 30, 2008

conquering the cheese



There are few cooking accomplishments that have given me a greater sense of pride than the one I conquered last night: making my own cheese. The ironic thing is that it was actually one of the easiest things I have ever done in the kitchen, yet it carries some indefinable mystique, as if it is some special type of culinary alchemy. I imagined a scenario where it would all go wrong, the milk wouldn't curdle, it would horribly scorch, it would transform into a pile of poisonous goo. But none of those things happened, and in the end I was jumping with joy at the perfectly shaped ball of curds that actually looked like real cheese.

I realized as I prepped for my experiment that I had never actually used cheesecloth to make cheese. Why, after years of using it for various other culinary applications, did it only now occur to me that it was called cheesecloth for a reason? I was especially pleased at the pattern the cloth left on the underside, which I felt was the one detail that truly stamped it as actual cheese.



At every step of the process, I was filled with glee when something went right. It was the joy of chemistry class, getting a reaction to work just as it's supposed to.



And of course, a cheese such as this, a great culinary accomplishment, should be enjoyed in as pure a form as possible, and in great quantities.



Excuse my gushing, good cheese really inspires hyperbole. Recipe after the jump:

HOMEMADE RICOTTA CHEESE

2 quarts (1/2 gallon) whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp white vinegar

In a heavy 6-qt stockpot, combine the milk, cream, and salt and slowly bring to a low boil over moderate heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Line a sieve with fine mesh cheesecloth and place in the sink or a large bowl. When the milk reaches a low boil, lower the heat to a simmer and add the vinegar. Stir constantly as the curds form. After about 2 minutes, the milk should be completely curdled. Pour out the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow to drain for 1 hour. Transfer the cheese and chill. Cheese will keep in the refridgerator, covered, for about 3 days.

To serve, I simple broke up some cheese in a small bowl, poured over some extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled with salt and fresh pepper, and topped with fresh thyme leaves. Scoop the cheese onto crostini rubbed with garlic for a perfect starter.

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

in season: white peach gelato



I am obsessed with white peaches. When the season comes around, I pretty much eat one every day. But I'm a strange fruit eater, I like most fruit a little underripe. So if I somehow neglect a peach or two and they get quite ripe, I'm not that into it anymore. Enter white peach gelato.



I found this recipe in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I was a little confused by the proportions, though. It called for so little cream - only half a cup - and so much water - 1 cup. Considering how much water content your typical ripe peach has, I wondered how this gelato could turn out creamy.



It turns out that I was actually right, for a change, and this turned out quite icy. It was still delicious, as the peach flavor really came through and was so fresh and light. The addition of the lemon zest set off the sweetness well. But the texture really fell more in the sherbet range. I may try this again replacing the water with whole milk. Recipe after the jump:

WHITE PEACH GELATO WITH LEMON ZEST
From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

1 1/4 pounds ripe white peaches
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup water
zest of 1/2 large lemon or 1 small lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream

Peel and pit the peaches, then cut into chunks and place in a food processor with the sugar, water, and lemon zest. Puree until there are no large chunks of fruit left. Whip the cream with a whisk or electric beater until the consistency of buttermilk. Add the peach puree to the cream and mix well to combine. Churn in the ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Remove to a pre-chilled container and freeze for about 3 hours before serving.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

in season: pure springtime



This may make me a little unusual, but when Beth handed me a bag full of fresh mint from her garden, the first thing I thought of was not sweet, it was peas. Mint and peas, a match made in heaven. I think that fresh mint in a savory setting does much more to bring out the fresh and springy flavor of the herb than a sweet setting. I get excited by savory recipes featuring mint.



Fresh peas are a natural companion to mint and make an incredibly simple side dish with some lemon juice and olive oil. It takes all of 4 minutes to blanch the peas and you're pretty much done. I decided to punch up the combo by adding a nice cheese into the mix, and settled on a relatively mild Rossellino cheese, a middle-aged pecorino romano that is meant for eating as opposed to grating. It is like a more subtle, smoother version of the aged pecorino. Because of its touch of sweetness, Rossellino pairs wonderfully with the bright fresh peas and mint. It is the epitome of springtime flavor. Recipe after the jump:



SPRING PEAS WITH LEMON, MINT, AND ROSSELLINO CHEESE

1 pounds fresh peas, shelled
3 tbsp fresh mint, cut in a chiffonade
juice of half a large lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 pound Rossellino cheese, cut into small cubes

Bring a 2-quart pot of salted water to boil. Blanch the peas for 4 minutes, then remove to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Combine the peas, mint and cheese in a medium bowl, dress with the lemon and oil, toss well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.

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Monday, June 23, 2008

lasagna, a lesson in poor planning



I'll just say it right upfront - lasagna is a pain in the ass. I'm not saying that it's a pain in the ass that isn't worth it in the end, but it does need to be said that lasagna is labor intensive. It also needs to be said that you need a lasagna pan to make a giant lasagna, and a regular baking dish is probably not a good idea unless you like a huge mess.

But anyway, I'll get to the mess later. The point is, lasagna has several components, all of which require separate preparation. First, the bechamel:



Easy to make, but when you don't have a dishwasher, it means another pot, another spoon. I highly recommend making the tomato sauce component of this element on another day to save yourself using every single one of your burners at the same time.

Second, the ricotta mixture:



Thankfully, no need for a burner here, but still another big bowl to wash.

Third, the meat:



The second burner in use. The third, of course, is the pasta itself. I could not have fit another pot on my stove. And here is where I give you an important tip:



Don't build a lasagna to heights greater than the sides of your pan:



It will be a mess. A delicious mess, sure, but I don't have a dishwasher. This was a bit of a disaster. However, there were a couple of big positives that came out of this lasagna, mostly the revelation that I actually prefer using lower fat versions of some of the elements - namely the cheeses and the beef - because I don't like really greasy lasagna. Recipe after the jump:

CLASSIC ITALIAN LASAGNA
Adapted from a recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis

Bechamel Sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk at room temperature
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
Salt and white pepper

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds part-skim ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente (approx. 4-5 minutes)
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 cups shredded past-skim mozzarella
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bechamel sauce:

In a 2-quart pot, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch deep lasagna dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

how NOT to seal your pie crust



Oops. I was just so anxious to have pie...looks like a giant clam spewing blood.

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

buttermilk comes in one size only



I don't know why they don't sell buttermilk in smaller sized containers. Any recipe I use it in maybe takes about 1 cup or so, but the only size carton I can ever find is 1 quart. So it's a common conundrum - what should I do with the leftover buttermilk?

My typical solutions are biscuits or pancakes, but I was in the mood for something a little bit different, something a little more surprising. And it couldn't be easier than that same buttermilk biscuit, but sweeter, and with the added tang of cranberries.



It's the perfect breakfast food for me - really carby, tangy, simple, and with just a touch of sweetness. Plus, if you're not really lazy like me, you could brush the top with cream and sprinkle with a touch of sugar and make them look like they took a lot more effort than they actually did. Recipe after the jump:



CRANBERRY BUTTERMILK SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole grain pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or fruit of your choice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Add butter and mix with your fingertips to a coarse meal. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. Add currants, if desired.
Transfer dough to a floured board and divide into 2 parts. Roll each to 1-inch thick rounds. Cut each round into 8 wedges and place slightly separated on a greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with the cream, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm, split in half with butter and marmalade.

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Monday, June 16, 2008

sunday supper: pasta a la norma



If you're lucky enough to have a garden, or even a window box with kitchen herbs, this is a delicious pasta sauce to celebrate them. Although the main focus of the dish is eggplant and ricotta salata, a surprising mixture of fresh herbs is what gives the sauce its vibrancy and freshness.



Some herbs - basil and thyme - go in at the start of cooking. But the real gems are simply chopped and tossed on top of the finished pasta - mint, parsley, and more basil. Recipe after the jump:

PASTA A LA NORMA
Recipe by Mario Batali at foodnetwork.com

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1/2 medium red onion, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
2 medium eggplants, cut into medium dice
1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes
2 sprigs fresh basil, plus leaves for garnish
1 sprig fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound rigatoni
1/2 pound ricotta salata, coarsely grated
1/4 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
1/4 bunch mint, leaves chopped
Chili flakes, to taste

Bring 6 quarts water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.

In a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil until smoking. Add the onion and the garlic and cook until soft but not yet browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring regularly until softened and lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, and thyme, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, until al dente. Drain well and pour the hot pasta into the pan with the eggplant mixture. Add ricotta salata and heat through.

Garnish with parsley, mint, chili flakes and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

deadliest catch



Opaw's favorite show. Desperate to stay awake and not miss a second.

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

sunday supper: it's baking



It was a dumb idea to make anything involving a hot oven this Sunday. It's been about 95 degrees out for the last 4 days, and while we have a reasonably powerful air conditioner, the kitchen is just far enough away that it gets rather uncomfortable in there. But I guess the upside to choosing this recipe on a hot day is that I wasn't standing over a stove. I braved the heat to put the potatoes in the oven, a second time to add the fish, a third time to take it out, done.



This is one of those brilliant recipes from my cooking bible, Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Not only has baking become my favorite way to prepare fish, but this recipe kills two birds with one stone and bakes the potatoes at the same time in the same dish. It could not be easier and tastier.



Bluefish is the star of this recipe, a juicy fish with purple flesh and a fresh, light flavor. The last time I was in Brazil - in Buzios - it seemed the Bluefish were plentiful and I pretty much ate one at the beach every day. There they simply salted and peppered it and grilled it. It was fish perfection. This comes close, topped with only parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Bluefish is the perfect fish for these simple, subtle preparations because it has a great flavor of its own.



If the potatoes aren't carb enough for you, I'm sure it would be highly enjoyable to soak up the garlicky oil with a good crusty bread. How can you argue with that? Recipe after the jump:

BAKED BLUEFISH FILLETS WITH POTATO, GARLIC, AND OIL, GENOESE STYLE
Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

2 fillets bluefish, approx. 1 pound each
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Peel potatoes (if desired, I didn't), then use a mandoline or adjustable blade slicer to slice into thin disks, about the thickness of a chip. Rinse potatoes in cold water then pat dry with cloth kitchen towels or paper towels. Place the potatoes in a 9x13 baking dish. Add half of the olive oil, garlic, and parsley, salt and pepper liberally, then toss to coat the potato slices well. Spread the slices evenly on the bottom of the dish and bake for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove from oven but do not turn off the heat. Place the fish fillets on top of the potatoes skin side down. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the remaining olive oil, parsley, and garlic in a small bowl and pour evenly over the fish. Return to the oven to bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, spoon some of the oil and juices over the fish and bake for an additional 5 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.

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Monday, June 09, 2008

skinny panna cotta



When I lived in the East Village, one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants was an Italian place on E. 5th called Lavagna. And one of my favorite menu items was their Vanilla Panna Cotta. To this day, it's probably one of best panna cottas I've had. This version, which I found on Serious Eats, reimagines that classic Italian dessert for the health-minded by replacing the cream with nonfat Greek-style yogurt.



As I've said many times in the past, I'm not a big fan of messing with classic recipes to make them low-fat, but a big exception to that rule is when you can use Greek yogurt as a substitute. Because Greek yogurt is awesome and should be featured in its own right.



The happy surprise about this dessert is that the yogurt's tanginess brings a whole extra dimension to the flavor, a nice contrast to the sweetness of the drizzled honey and the fresh strawberries. The texture was more gelatin-y than I generally prefer, but that is to be expected with the absence of majority of the fat. If you like yogurt but you're looking for something a little different, this is an easy way to mix things up. It's also a perfect dessert recipe for a 95 degree day because it requires practically no heat. Recipe after the jump:

VANILLA YOGURT PANNA COTTA
Adapted from Serious Eats

1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon water
1 cup 2% milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons honey
Strawberries, for serving

1. In a small bowl, mix the gelatin with the water and let stand about 5 minutes, until softened. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer with the sugar and cook until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the yogurt until smooth. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean and mix into the buttermilk-yogurt mixture. Whisk in the warm milk mixture. Pour the panna cotta mixture into six 4-ounce ramekins and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.

3. To serve, unmold the panna cottas onto dessert plates, drizzle with honey and garnish with sliced strawberries.

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Friday, June 06, 2008

five ingredients or less: bucatini with fava beans



It's a recurring theme on this blog that pasta is at its best when it's simple simple simple. I don't like it drowned in sauce, in fact, I often don't want a sauce at all. Fresh ingredients, subtle flavors, and your pasta is as far away from the spaghetti and jarred sauce of your youth as you can get.



Although this sauce is as minimalist as you can get, it's not without some light labor. Fresh fava beans do require a bit more work than your average five-ingredient-or-less recipe. Step one is not unlike shelling fresh peas, but for some reason it is a little more annoying. Those pods just don't want to give their beans up so readily.



Step two is the hot tub - blanching the freshly shelled favas in lightly salted water. This recipe only required a couple of minutes of blanching, since they would see more cooking in the saute pan later. But step three is really the annoying part, because once you plunge the blanched beans into their icy bath, you have to individually de-skin them to reveal the bright green, tender bean. This took longer than I expected. I was distracted. By the time the pasta was done, I wasn't quite ready for it, but I just had to forge ahead. The good news is that it didn't seem to mess anything up. The beans went into the saute pan just seconds before the pasta, but everything cooked up just perfectly. Simple, fresh, utterly delicious, and exactly the kind of pasta I want on a warm almost-summer day. Recipe afer the jump:



BUCATINI WITH FAVA BEANS
Adapted from Serious Eats

1 pound bucatini
1 pound fava beans (weight including pods—about 15-20)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Freshly grated Pecorino
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. In the meantime, split the fava bean pods and remove the beans within. Prepare a bowl filled with ice water, then blanch the beans for about 2 minutes in the boiling water. Remove to the ice bath, then slip off the skins to reveal the bright green bean within.

2. Cook the bucatini in the same boiling water until 1-2 minutes before al dente.

3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute the garlic until fragrant and soft. Add the fava beans and a splash of water and cook gently until the beans are tender, about 4-5 minutes depending on the size of the beans. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add the drained pasta to the skillet along with the butter and a ladle or two of pasta water. Toss to combine, then swirl the pasta around the skillet for a few minutes until the pasta finishes cooking and a sauce has formed.

5. Remove the pasta to bowls, top with grated cheese and serve immediately. Finish with olive oil or pasta water if too dry.

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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

in season: soft-shell serendipity



Fresh Direct had a special on soft-shell crab, which would be perfect for my sunday supper celebrating this late spring season. But what to do with it? There's no question that a good pan-fried soft-shell crab sandwich with a lemony aioli is about as good as it gets, but I did that last season. So how happy was I when I then opened up The New York Times and found Mark Bittman's newest recipe for Pasta with Soft-Shell Crabs. It was like he read my mind.



As is Bittman's thing, this recipe was super simple, especially since the crabs were already cleaned.



Unlike every other soft-shell crab recipe I've done, the crabs cooked at low heat for a longer time, yet still retained the crispiness of the shells.



The bite of the hot pepper and the mellowness of the slowly cooked garlic gave it plenty of flavor, but didn't overwhelm the subtlety of the crab. This was a surprising and delicious dish, and a great alternative to your typical soft-shell crab recipes. Recipe after the jump:

PASTA WITH SOFT-SHELL CRAB
From Mark Bittman for The New York Times

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, or a little more
3 or 4 cloves garlic, slivered
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes, or to taste
4 soft-shell crabs, cleaned (at fish market if you like)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound long pasta, like spaghetti or linguine
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves.

1. In a very deep skillet or broad saucepan, warm oil, garlic and chili flakes over low heat; do not let garlic brown. When garlic is soft — at least 5 minutes — add crabs (keep heat low to medium low; liquid in pan should barely bubble) and cover. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.

2. Let the crabs cook until they give up all their liquid and become firm, about 15 minutes. When crabs are almost done, begin cooking pasta. When crabs are done, use tongs to remove them and hold them while cutting up with scissors. Return to pan.

3. Drain pasta when it is barely tender, a little short of how you’d want to eat it, reserving some cooking water. Add pasta to crabs and toss together over medium heat with pan juices and black pepper, adding some cooking water and a little more oil if necessary. (The amount of each will depend on how much more cooking the pasta needs, and how much liquid the crabs exuded.) Add parsley, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. When pasta is perfectly cooked, serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

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Monday, June 02, 2008

in season: rhubarb redemption



The last time I made Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, things didn't go so well. It was disappointing enough that I haven't made anything else rhubarb since then. But another spring is upon us, and a chance to finally redeem myself. And boy, did I redeem myself. Because this time, the pie was awesome.



Perhaps it was because this time, I used an actual recipe instead of cobbling together a dozen disparate recipes. This keeper from Epicurious.com was right on, except that it called for a ridiculously long bake time of 1 hour 45 minutes. I'm thinking that might be a typo, because mine was perfect after about 55 minutes, and that's about the same for every fruit pie I make. I did go with slightly less sugar than the recipe called for fear of an overly sweet result, but it is probably fine as is. The sweetness level was great with less sugar, but I don't think the original amount would be too sweet, it just depends on how sweet you like it and what you might serve it with.



This recipe also called for cornstarch as the thickener instead of the tapioca that I've been using for most fruit pies. The filling turned out pretty runny, but not significantly different from tapioca's results. I guess the plus to using tapioca is that you don't need nearly as much. Pretty much any fruit pie of this kind will be runny on the first day anyway, at least in my experience, but it doesn't make it any less delicious. I wouldn't give up eating a warm slice just to have it more set.



Yum, I can't wait to get home tonight to eat the leftovers. Recipe after the jump:

LATTICE-TOPPED STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE
Adapted from Epicurious.com

For crust
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
10 tablespoons (about) ice water

For filling
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Make crust:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. Blend in enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.)

Make filling:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.

Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter flass pie dish. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.

Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.

Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake an additional 25-30 minutes until top crust is golden brown and the filling begins to bubble. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

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