Lemon Chess Pie and Brown Bread Muffins and a Prize!

We are STILL hauling stuff out of our apartment, but at last are getting near the end!

I finally had time to run out and get some groceries today so we could eat at home tonight. I've been wanting to try Donna's Kielbasa and Tortellini Soup from My Tasty Treasures and today seemed like the perfect opportunity. Excellent choice: It was DELICIOUS! Here is the recipe.



Here is my kielbasa sauteeing with red pepper flakes, garlic and onions.

Adding tomatoes and broth:

Here are my tortellini cooking!


MMMMMMMM!


To go with our soup, I made some Brown Bread Muffins from Marion Cunningham's The Supper Book. Brown Bread is also known as "thirded" bread, as it is includes 1/3 white flour, 1/3 whole wheat flour and 1/3 cornmeal. It has a nice affinity for bean soups, and is particularly good in muffin form! This is the same kind of bread that is normally baked in a coffee can and served with Boston Baked Beans. It's nice with the hearty flavors of Donna's delectable soup as well!

Marion Cunningham's Brown Bread Muffins -- makes 8-9 muffins

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. yellow cornmeal
1/3 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
6 T. molasses
1 T. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 c. milk
2 T cider vinegar
1/2 c. raisins (I used golden ones, but regular raisins or even dried currants work fine too)
Spray a regular size muffin tin with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together: flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt.

Add the milk, melted butter, molasses and cider vinegar and stir to combine.

Stir in the raisins.

Fill muffin tins to top with batter and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve warm.

But the real thing I've been looking forward longingly to making for at least a couple of weeks is Lemon Chess Pie. It's a delicious pie anytime of year, but is especially nice in the springtime, with its simple, bright lemon flavor. Even better, hardly anything could be simpler to make!

It's an old dish, whose name, Chess, derives from the old English word for cheese. Essentially it's a simple baked lemon custard in a pie shell, and the filling includes a little cornmeal, which gives a nice bite to the texture. Food Librarian, this is for you!

Lemon Chess Pie

1 unbaked 9" pie shell (use your favorite pie crust, or cheat, like I do, with a Pillsbury refrigerated crust.)
2 eggs and 4 egg yolks
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon zest
1 T. all-purpose flour 1 T. yellow cornmeal



Pre-heat oven to 350F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together on high speed until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes.

Gradually beat in the melted butter and the heavy cream and beat for about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice, zest, flour and cornmeal and beat until well-blended.


Adding cornmeal to the batter:


Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell,

and bake 40-45 min. until the top is nicely browned and the center is mostly set (it should barely jiggle when you shake the pie plate gently).

I love the way this pie looks when it comes out of the oven!

Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool on a rack to room temperature before serving. Serve with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, if desired. (The strawberries at the Teeter looked terrible today, so I didn't bother getting any.)

This is one of our favorite pies-- gooey, lemony, and satisfying.


Finally, I would like to thank my dear friend and blogger par excellence, Marilyn, of My Cuban Traumas, for sharing the Premio Meme with me! Muchismas gracias, Marilyn!! Abrazos!
This prize was given to Marilyn by Jocelin at Cocinando con Sencillez.


The rules for this prize ask us to share 7 of our personality traits, and also to pass this award to 7 other blogs.

Marilyn says that she is
Logical
Organized
Analytical
Practical
Independent
Conservative
and
Loyal.

OK, I'm going to let you all in on a big secret about me:

like my DS, I have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)
which shapes many of my personality traits, including:
1. Creative
2. Spontaneous
3. Intuitive
4. Thoughtful
5. Loyal
6. Thorough (some would say "intense" :D)
7. Feisty
8. Love to make up the rules as I go along

There are so many wonderful bloggers who are deserving of recognition, it's so hard to choose... but since I've wriggled out of this most recently, I would like to share this fun award with

1. Donna of My Tasty Treasures
2. Gloria of Foods and Flavors of San Antonio
3. Heather of GirliChef
4. Natasha of 5 Star Foodie
5. Elyse of Elyse's Culinary Confections
6. Reeni of Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice
7. Kendra of Homegrown Housewife
8. Chef T of ChefBliss
9. Chef E of Cook Appeal
and of course, also right back to
Marilyn, of My Cuban Traumas

Happy Easter to all of you-- and thanks for your support!

Saturday Morning Muffins!

First a quick reminder: don't forget my vintage recipe contest and vintage-style apron giveaway: Everything Old is New Again! Click on the link to see the entry guidelines. The deadline is April 1. I will also be giving away a copy of Gloria Chadwick's new cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio, so you definitely do not want to miss this! Get out those old recipe cards and start cooking! :) It's gonna be a blast!

DS has band rehearsal today. Teenage boys are always ravenous, and I had been wanting to try my hand at some kind of apple-y muffin. Here's what I came up with: Carolina Cheese Straw Apple Pie Muffins. This muffin combines the flavors of a good old fashioned cheese straw with a nice cheddary and cayenne bite with the taste of Mom's apple pie. In case you are wondering what a cheese straw is, check it out here and here.To top it all off, I made a brown sugar-cinnamon streusel topping. This muffin is really for DC, who loves apple pie and especially apple pie with cheese. The streusel adds a very nice crunch to the top! I adapted this from a recipe at Bunny's Warm Oven.

Carolina Cheese Straw Apple Pie Muffins
by Karen, the DomesticMuse

Ingredients:

Brown sugar streusel:
1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
3 T unsalted butter, melted

Batter:
2 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flo1ur
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 t. mace
1/4-1/2 t. cayenne (depending on how spicy you like it)
4 oz. extra-sharp cheddar, shredded
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. melted butter
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
2 c. apples, peeled and finely diced

First, preheat the oven to 425F. Combine your streusel ingredients in a small bowl, letting small clumps form.


Next, mix the dry ingredient in the good old Kitchen Aid bowl: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cayenne, and cheese. Use a whisk to get all the cheese coated with flour and blend everything.


Next, mix up your wet ingredients in a 4-cup glass measure: the egg, buttermilk, vanilla, butter, and light brown sugar.


Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment. Then, add the apples to the batter.


Next, fill your prepared muffin tins. This recipe makes about 18 muffins.

For nice peaks, fill the cups to the top with batter. Then sprinkle on your streusel topping, squeezing it between your fingers to make little clumps.

Pop the tins in the oven and bake at 425 for 7 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350F, and bake for 17 minutes. Check with a toothpick at 17 minutes. The muffins are done when the toothpick comes out clean.


Let the muffins cool in the pan on a rack for 1o minutes or so, then carefully remove them from the pan.


Y'all enjoy! :)

The Wonderful Thing about Tea

Is that Tea is a wonderful thing!

I'm not just talking about the beverage tea, though heaven knows we drink gallonsful of sweet iced tea down here in NC. We are practically the iced tea capitol of the world! And I certainly do love a properly brewed cup of hot tea-- from high-quality loose tea leaves. More about that in a moment. I'm really talking about Tea, as in Afternoon Tea, the small meal that the British (and others) have between lunch and dinner, around 4ish or 5ish.

"Tea" can be a confusing thing, as there are so many different practices in the world, from "tea breaks" which are the equivalent to our "coffee breaks" to High Teas to Cream or Devonshire teas. In some locales, the evening meal itself is known as tea, as the main meal is eaten in the middle of the day. I did used to chuckle when my friend Charley would mention the "Turkey Teas" held as fundraisers by area churches in his small Newfoundland town. (Much like the Shrove Tuesday pancake suppers some of you may be familiar with.)

High tea vs. afternoon tea. What's the difference? According to one source, afternoon tea, in which tea is served around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, with dainty foods and pastries, was also known as low tea, as it was taken in parlors and afternoon rooms with low tables. This is contrary to practices in the U.S. where tea rooms call tea served with scones and "the works" "high tea." High tea refers to tea served as an informal evening meal, usually later than afternoon tea, at a regular dining, or high, table. High tea served as the evening meal for the common classes.

The fancy, shmancy 'high tea" served in tea rooms and elegant hotels would probably more accurately be called a "cream tea." A cream tea or Devonshire tea generally includes, besides tea, scones, clotted or Devonshire cream, and traditionally, strawberry jam.

Why do I love tea?? At what other meal can you consume petit fours, finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, and various and sundry pastries without feeling a single pang of conscience?

I think tea is a wonderful custom that should be more widely practiced, especially in our hectic lives here in the U.S. There is hardly anything cozier and more relaxing than sitting down to tea with DC when he gets home. I'm not talking about anything elaborate-- I just brew a pot of tea and get out some Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookies, and instant comfort and tranquility!

There is something about a hot cup of tea and a cookie or two that is just so relaxing after a hectic day! When my son was a toddler, we called the period of time from 5-7 p.m., when everyone is tired, hungry and cranky, "The Poison Hour." Tea could be the answer to the Poison Hour! Tea was originally served because people would get hungry during the long hours between the mid-day meal and dinner, traditionally served at 8 p.m. or later. Since hunger, low blood sugar, and exhaustion are great contributors to making the late afternoon hectic and unpleasant, a break for a beverage and a snack, call it what you will, makes sense. I recall only too well those days of frantically trying to whip up dinner with a screaming toddler wrapped around one leg.

Break out some hot vanilla milk or what my friend Charlotte calls "Cambric Tea" (milk and sugar with just a tad of tea in it) for the kids, and some nutritious snack food. You and your Darlin' Companion can have the stimulating beverage of your choice, tea, coffee, etc. along with a few delectable nibbles. Not only is it fun and relaxing, it takes the edge off everyone's hunger. This lets you prepare the evening meal in peace, without everyone around you going mad from hunger.

In fact, if you have little ones, it's a great idea once a week or so to feed them their dinner at tea time, so you and your Darlin' Companion can enjoy a romantic, adults-only dinner after the children are in bed. Hey, cheap date-- and no babysitter needed!

Besides the obvious cookies, cinnamon toast, etc., there are lots of simple things you can enjoy at tea time. Hooray for the whole idea of "tea cakes." Tea cakes are by nature simple, uncomplicated treats that are nonetheless delicious. Things like banana bread, pound cake, and muffins. To my mind, any kind of simple cake that tastes good all on its own is a great candidate for a "tea cake." Pound cakes and muffins freeze well in indivudal portions, allowing you to have a homemade treat ready in a flash. You may not want to serve tea cakes every day, but it is nice knowing you have something on hand for the odd unexpected visitor, or when someone needs cheering up.

Here are some ideas for your "tea break."

Stefan's Favorite Hot Vanilla Milk

Pour whatever kind of milk your child drinks into a small mug. Add a teaspoon or two of honey, a couple sprinkles of cinnamon, and a little vanilla. Heat in the microwave until warmed through. Be sure to stir thoroughly to get rid of any hot spots and get the honey mixed in!

Making a real pot of tea

Buy the best tea leaves you can. The ones I am using here are Mei Lan Chun, a very nice, smooth Chinese green tea. I'm lucky to have one of the world's best tea shops in my area (A Southern Season), so I know the tea is properly stored and fresh when I buy it. Unfortunately, A Southern Season doesn't sell their good teas online. Teavana does, however.


There are many kinds of great teas to try: black teas, like Darjeeling; oolongs (my favorite is Ti Kwan Yin, which means Iron Goddess of Mercy); green teas (Mei Lan Chun is my current favorite); white teas (White Peony is the one I drink most often) and flavored teas, like Earl Grey, which is flavored with bergamot orange oil. Not to mention the many herbal blends on the market. I feel tea bags are fine for herbal teas.

A teapot with an infuser is a must.

That allows you to remove the tea leaves once they have steeped for the proper amount of time. It also lets you re-use the tea leaves! Most tea leaves can be brewed 2 or 3 times before they lose their flavor. I store my infuser with tea leaves in it in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Fill the infuser with leaves and set it aside. The general rule is 1 tsp. of tea per person and 1 tsp. for the pot. If you have "pearled" tea (little balls), you only need 4 or 5 little pearls per pot.

You need to warm your teapot first by filling it with hot water. My tea kettle holds enough boiling water to fill my teapot twice, so I fill it once to warm it, then pour that out.

Then put the infuser with the tea leaves in it and pour in fresh boiling water.

There are actually different temperatures you are supposed to brew the different kinds of tea at, but I just use boiling water for everything. Steep the tea (use a timer) for 3-5 minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea, then remove the infuser promptly.

You can see how much the leaves expand in the hot water!

Your tea is ready to serve!


Here's a wonderful recipe for muffins that you can enjoy with your tea. This recipe make 7 regular size muffins for me. I think these would be especially tasty as miniature muffins and I will use my mini-muffin tin next time.



This recipe is from Bunny's Warm Oven.