Food, Glorious Food

Sometimes I run across something and don't have the time to put it in a blog here, so I save it.

Then I forget about it. Then something reminds me and I find it again.

Today, I ran across a blog called The Pioneer Woman. She's a Los Angeles native who married a rancher, loves the life and loves to chronicle her life in words and pictures.

More to the point of this blog, she also has a blog called The Pioneer Woman Cooks, plenty of recipes with step by step pictures of the food being prepared. If you aren't hungry after scrolling through a page or two, you aren't human!

This blog reminded me of a book review from USA Today online. It's about a book called America's Best Lost Recipes: 121 Kitchen-Tested Heirloom Recipes Too Good to Forget. And since they put several of the recipes in the review, I guess I can include a few of them here:

GRANDMA SYLVIA'S SALT BUTTER COOKIES
Cookies

•2 large egg yolks

•1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•1 teaspoon whiskey

•16 tablespoons (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

•2/3 cup granulated sugar

•21/4 cups all-purpose flour

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the yolks, vanilla and whiskey together in a measuring cup.

2. With an electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat the butter and granulated sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, add the yolk mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour and beat until incorporated. Shape the dough into 3/4-inch balls and space half the balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

Filling

•1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

•1/4 cup water

•2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Combine the chocolate and water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until smooth, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the confectioners' sugar until smooth.

2. Turn half of the cookies over (flat-side up) and spread with about 1 teaspoon of the filling. Top with another cookie. Let the filling set until hardened, about 20 minutes. (The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

Makes 36 cookies

Notes from the Test Kitchen:

These cookies have a wonderful sandy texture and rich butter flavor. The chocolate filling is a sweet complement to the simple cookie. Be sure to use a fresh or cooled baking sheet for each batch.

CORN OYSTERS

Serves 6

4 medium ears corn, husks and silk removed

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 quarts vegetable oil

1. Grate the kernels from the corn into a medium bowl using the large holes of a box grater. Using the back of a knife, scrape any pulp remaining on the cobs into the bowl with the grated corn. Stir in the flour, cornstarch, eggs, salt, and baking powder until well blended.

2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until it registers 350 degrees. Carefully drop 13 to 15 heaping tablespoons of batter into the hot oil and fry, turning once, until the corn oysters puff and are golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Add more oil to the pot if necessary and heat to 350 degrees. Repeat with the remaining batter. Sprinkle the corn oysters with salt. Serve immediately.

Notes from the Test Kitchen: Use only fresh corn for this recipe — frozen corn is too dry to produce a creamy batter. The key to this recipe is getting the oil temperature just right. Above 360 degrees and the exterior of the "oysters" will darken quickly before the interior is cooked through. Too low a temperature (starting under 340 degrees) and they will be sodden with oil. Avoid guesswork by using a deep-fat thermometer. These corn oysters are great with fried fish or any barbecue — serve with tartar sauce, hot sauce, or maple syrup.

Oh, heck. One more:
VIDALIA ONION PIE

Serves 6 to 8

6 slices bacon, chopped

2 medium Vidalia onions, sliced thin (about 3 cups)

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

Use favorite pie crust, the single crust one listed here, fully baked and cooled, or as a shortcut option, use Pillsbury Just Unroll Pie Crust. If using Pillsbury dough, follow package instructions to prebake pie shell at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure to prick dough with a fork before it goes into the oven.

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside. Cook the onions in the bacon fat until browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs, sour cream, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon chives in a large bowl, then add the reserved bacon and onions.

2. Pour into the prepared pie shell and bake until the filling is puffed and cracked around the edges and the center barely jiggles when the pie is shaken, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon chives. Serve. (The pie can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Single-Crust Pie Dough

Makes enough for one 9-inch pie

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled

4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

1. Process the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Scatter the shortening over the top and continue to process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the top and, using short pulses, process the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. Stir and press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatula, until the dough sticks together. If the dough does not come together, stir in the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does. Form the dough into a 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

3. Let the chilled dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling it into a 12-inch circle and fitting it into a pie plate. Trim, fold, and crimp the edges and freeze the unbaked pie crust until firm, about 30 minutes, before filling or baking.

4. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the chilled crust with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or pennies. Bake until the pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25 to 30 minutes. For a partially baked crust, transfer the crust to a wire rack and remove the weights and foil. For a fully baked crust, remove the pie weights and foil and continue to bake until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 12 minutes longer. The pie crust may be cooled completely or used warm, according to the particular pie recipe.

To Make Ahead: The dough can be refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Let the frozen dough thaw on the countertop until malleable before rolling. A fully baked pie crust can be stored at room temperature, wrapped tightly in foil, for up to 2 days.

Happy reading!