Feeling Fall

I am officially ready for fall.  Truth be told, I'm sort of always ready for fall.  Today, however, I'm feeling it keenly.

The students have returned to campus, so there is no more clinging to the quiet of campus in the summer.  I've grilled and grilled and grilled some more.  I'm ready to wear tights.  I'm ready to break out the crockpot.  As I wait for power and phone service to be resumed for my mom (and I watch with sadness the destruction left behind my Isaac), I'm ready for hurricane season to end. 

I suppose I'm feeling reflective, wistful even.  When that happens, I look to the kitchen--to sugar and flour and the scent of things in the oven--to find my center.  Fall baking is best for that.  It's hard to feel morose over an apple crisp or a pumpkin bread.  At least it is for me. 

Everything is warm and comforting.  Even the clothes are better.  I love puttering around the kitchen in sweatpants and slippers, a football game on in the other room.  Kicking leaves.  Picking apples.

I'm ready.  Are you?

Keep it sweet.




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The Lemon Icebox Pie Mystery

Lemon icebox pie was one of my favorite childhood sweets.  Like key lime pie but with lemons, it's cool and refreshing, tart with just the right amount of sweet.  While perusing one of my new favorite websites, Garden & Gun (think Southern Living, but younger and hipper), I happened upon a feature on the summer treat and knew I just had to make one.

Upon further inspection, however, I realized that the recipe called for baking the pie.  I am certain that my Mamaw did not bake her lemon icebox pie.  Hmm.  Turns out quite a few recipes out there call for baking the whole pie or cooking the filling like custard.  Well, not only did this seem wrong, I wanted the pie that night, so a filling that was at any point in time hot would simply not do.

Then I found Emeril's recipe.  No bake.  Super simple.  The problem?  Cream cheese felt just as inauthentic as baking.  Sigh.

Eventually, I decided Emeril's was the better option, at least for that moment in time.  The result: not exactly how I remember it, but still pretty darn tasty. 

Emeril's Lemon Ice Box Pie

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 prepared graham cracker crust

Combine the cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Pour into the pie crust. Refrigerate overnight.

Literate Baker notes: I creamed the cream cheese first so I would have to worry about lumps. Also, it was set enough to slice and enjoy within about two hours.

A measuring cup is good for shaping the crust.

 

So, I did have a tasty pie.  I still have a bit of a mystery, though.  What's the recipe I remember from my childhood?  I know sweetened condensed milk is the key, along with fresh lemon juice, but I'm not sure what I'm missing.  Do you know?

Keep it sweet.


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Everyone's a Winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Literate Bakes Giveaway.  As promised, everyone is a winner!  To claim your prize, please send an email to theliteratebaker  (at) gmail.com with the following information:

Name
Address
Title(s) you'd like on your books
How you follow The Literate Baker

I look forward to making these sweet reads for you!

Keep it sweet.


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Not My Mama's Biscuits

As you know, I'm Southern.  I grew up on jambalaya and fried chicken, sweet tea and pecan pie.  I also grew up on biscuits.  No surprise, right?
Well, there's something you need to know.  The biscuits of my youth were not made from scratch.  There, I said it.  I feel better.

When I was a kid, we typically had one of two types of biscuits: the "flaky" ones out of the can or "homemade" ones whipped up from Pioneer baking mix (the Southern version if Bisquick) and milk.  It's just what we did.

Perhaps not ironically, it's living in New York that has stirred my passion for real homemade biscuits.  Or, maybe, it's just getting older.  It's like a vicarious nostalgia that makes me think fondly of a time and a place that isn't quite my past.  I could explore the psycho-emotional meaning of that.  Or I could make biscuits.

Let's make biscuits.

Since I don't have my grandmother's recipe, I use Alton's (I do want him to be my wacky uncle at least).  From it's home on the Food Network website:

2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 T shortening
2 T cold butter, diced
1 c. cold buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
3. Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)
4. Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Literate Baker notes:  Although real buttermilk is best, you can fake it with a scant cup of milk and a tablespoon of vinegar.  That said, buttermilk freezes well.  I buy a quart and freeze it in 1-cup containers or baggies.

These are a little big; my favorite biscuit cutter has gone missing.

I firmly believe biscuits are best with a good dose of butter and your choice of honey, jam, or spicy breakfast sausage.  Or fried chicken.  If it's a good cause (or a good friend), I'll consider sausage gravy.  If possible, consume in bed or on the back porch with coffee and the Sunday paper.  Nary a grain of sugar, yet one of my all-time favorite ways to...

Keep it sweet.


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Hubig's: How a Pie Can Tell the Story of a Place and More

If you grew up in New Orleans, or within a hundred mile radius of it, you know Hubig's Pies.  From gas stations to supermarkets to po-boy shops, these little fried pies have been a staple in Southern Louisiana since 1922.  My favorite was always lemon, though people swear by the sweet potato variety that only came out during the holidays.

After Hurricane Katrina, Hubig's closed for about two months.  When the bakery reopened and deliveries to local retailers resumed, the pies were a sign of the determination and resiliency of New Orleans and its people.

This July, Hubig's was destroyed in a fire.  I remember that the entire week following the fire, my Facebook feed was filled with headlines, memories, and hopes for rebuilding.  The story even made the New York Times. 

I find myself thinking of Hubig's this week.  I think I might be feeling a little homesick.  It's also the busiest time of year at my day job, so my snack radar is on in a serious way.  Both of those are telling--the way a food can be a simple pleasure and yet so much more.  It can conjure up a place or a time, a person or a whole community.

Despite the total loss, Hubig's has every intention of reopening.  They're using proceeds from their online store to help in the process.  If you love being part of a comeback story, or if you're just a serious "Pielover," you should check it out.  Support your local bakers and always...

Keep it sweet.


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Tangy Treats: Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Do you ever try a recipe based on a hodgepodge of leftover ingredients?  Well, the Literate Baker certainly does.  Remember Last Hurrah Bars?  Exactly.  Sometimes the results are surprisingly delightful.  Such was the case with a recent surplus of ricotta cheese.

First, I had a surplus of ricotta cheese.  Second, I was in charge of making desserts for a 3-in-1 (housewarming plus some other exciting things) party.  Enter Google search for "ricotta cookies."  The very first search result was Giada De Laurentiis's Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze.  Wouldn't you know, I had a sack of lemons to use up as well.  With five stars and 700 reviews, I figured I had a winner.  Here's the recipe from the Food Network website:

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
5. Glaze: Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. 

Literate Baker notes: I put the glaze in a zip-top bag/pastry bag and drizzled.  I think the result was both easier and prettier.

Here's the visual:

A most unusual batter.

I'm a fan of a mini ice cream scoop measure.

Moderate spread.

Definitely let the glaze dry!

These cookies were the hit of the party.  Even more than my brownies.  And my brownies are good.  Really good.  The cookies themselves were very soft and cakey.  The glaze was really tart, which was the perfect foil.  It sort of makes me want to buy some ingredients at random and then find/build recipes around them.  It's a great way to try something new and to...

Keep it sweet.


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The Promise of Pastry Cream

I have alluded, on multiple occasions, to the versatility and general awesomeness that is pastry cream.  I've also promised to share the recipe.  For anyone actually waiting for said recipe, your wait is over.  For the rest of you, read this anyway because, as I said, pastry cream is versatile and generally awesome.

First, we tackle what pastry cream is.  According to The Food Timeline, custards have been around since the Ancient Romans began playing around with the coagulating powers of eggs.  The English confectioner's custard and corresponding French creme patissiere came about several centuries later, and serve as the basis of what is now known as pastry cream.  Essentially, pastry cream is a sweet custard made from eggs, sugar, milk, and some form of starch.  Flavorings, most typically vanilla, are usually added.

The recipe I use for pastry cream comes from the Professional Baking textbook I purchased for the pastry class I took at Syracuse University.  Unfortunately, everything is measured by weight.  This is wonderfully accurate, but a bit of a pain for the average home cook.  So here's my adaptation, complete with volumetric goodness:

Classic Pastry Cream

2 c. milk (preferably whole)
1/2 c. sugar, divided
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 egg yolks
5 T corn starch
2 T butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Bring the milk, 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt just to a boil in a small saucepan.  Meanwhile, whisk the egg, egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl until light and frothy.  Slowly add hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly.  Return to saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture boils.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.  Refrigerate until ready to use, placing plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent a film from forming.

Literate Baker notes:  I really do advise whole milk here.  Although I drink skim exclusively, I pick up a quart to make this (or when I bake cakes).  It makes a huge difference, I promise.

Not only is pastry cream delicious, you can use it in lots of stuff.  It's a great filling for cakes and makes the perfect base in a fruit tart.  Use it as a dip for graham crackers or fruit.  Make a pudding pie.  It's also pretty damn awesome right out of the bowl.  You can also change up the flavor with different extracts.  My favorite is almond (shocker).

Sure, making pastry cream from scratch is a little bit of work.  You'll be rewarded, though, by both the taste and how impressed your friends are.  You should do it.  Do it.  Oh, and...

Keep it sweet.



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