Apple Pandowdy

Pandowdy, pandwody, pandowdy. Just saying this word brings a smile to my face. But what exactly is it? Think cobbler meets pie; fruit on the bottom with a pastry on top. It's a traditional dish found mostly in New England. A pandowdy is like having the deliciousness of pie, but with only half the work (you only have to roll ONE pie crust that doesn't even have to be circular. Plus you get to cut it to fit the pan). And this pandowdy has a sour cream sauce mixed with in with the apples. Yum.


Here's an interesting tidbit about pandowdy: Nancy Baggett, author of The All-American Dessert Book says "despite the rather plain look of the [pan]dowdy, many culinary historians...believe that the odd name does not refer to the appearance of the dish, but to the fact that it is covered with a 'dow,' a varation on the word 'dough.'" Though if you prefer, you can continue to extol its dowdy virtues.

Apple Pandowdy
Recipe from The All-American Dessert Book
Pictures by Caroline

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, divided
5 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
9 cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced tart apples
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Single crust pastry dough

1. *Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. In a small bowl, stir together the 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of the flour, the cinnamon, and cloves.
   
2. In a large bowl, stir together the apples and lemon juice. Add the sugar mixture to the apples and stir until the are coated. Spread the aple mixture evenly in the baking dish.
   
3. In the bowl used for the apples, thoroughly stir together the sour cream, remaining two tablespoons sugar, remaining 3 tablespoons flour, and baking soda. Spread the mixture evenly over the apples.
4. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, big enough to cover the 9 x 13 pan (this is much easier if you roll onto a piece of wax paper, then flip the dough over onto the apple mixture and peel the paper off). Trim the edges of the dough to make it even. Place the dough over the top of the apples. With a sharp knife, cut several steam vents in the top.
   
5. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until the pastry is browned all over and the filling is bubbly. Let cool about 30 minutes.
   

*Directions paraphrased from original

Rhubarb Galette

A galette is a type of French pastry which may be served sweet or savory. Don't be intimidated by the "fancy" name; it's really just a pie without the pie tin. Think of it as a rustic option for those of you who may not be as confident with your pie crust rolling/pinching/trimming abilities.

This dessert features rhubarb, a vegetable that too often gets a bad rap. But I think it's probably because most people have never had a really tasty rhubarb treat, aside from, perhaps, strawberry rhubarb pie (which doesn't really count as being a rhubarb dessert since the strawberries usually outnumber and overpower the rhubarbs). It's true that rhubarb does not usually result in the sweetest of desserts. It leans towards tart and tangy rather than sweet. But with the proper combination of ingredients, you'll get a dessert even the sweetest tastebuds will love.

This galette is an excellent introduction to rhubarb. This filling is tart but tempered bythe hint of orange, and the crust is sweet. And if you want an extra kick of sweetness, make the orange glaze to drizzle over the top.

Rhubarb Galette
Recipe by Kelly
Pictures by Caroline

Orange Pastry Dough:
1 2/3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled
1 extra large egg
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon orange peel

1. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.*
2. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Pulse until the butter is cut into very tiny pieces, about 30 seconds.
3. With the food processor running, pour the egg, orange juice and orange peel into the dough. Process the dough until the mixture wraps itself around the blade, about 1 minute.
4. Turn the pastry dough onto a large pieces of plastic wrap. Shape into a flat disk and wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator until firm before using, about 2 hours.
   
5. Roll dough into a large circle, about 1/4 inch thick.
   

*If you have a food processor, I'm sure it will work quite well to blend these ingredients. If you don't have one, use Kitchen Aid or Bosch type mixer or your fingers.

Filling:
1 lb rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange peel
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons flour

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, sugar, orange and lime juice. Let stand about 15 minutes. Drain rhubarb, reserving juice in a separate bowl. Set aside to use for orange glaze, if desired.
   
3. Add orange peel and flour to rhubarb and stir until lightly rhubarb is lightly coated.
4. Pour rhubarb onto the center of pastry crust, leaving a 2 inch border. Gently fold edges onto rhubarb, pleating as you go.
   
5. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender when pierces with a fork. Serve with optional orange glaze and vanilla ice cream.
   

Orange Glaze (optional)

1. Boil reserved rhubarb liquid in a small saucepan, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 15 to 18 minutes.*
2. Drizzle over top of galette.

*Be careful not to boil too long or your glaze will turn into a tasty, but very firm, candied orange caramel.

Perfect Lemon Tart

"This is what I dream about when I think of lemon. It has just the right balance of textures, with a silky smooth and very tart lemon filling enclosed in a delicate cookie crust. A light dusting of confectioner's sugar is all the decoration it needs. Serve this to your lemon loving friends and watch their eyes light up."
-Carole Bloom


Perfect Lemon Tart
from The Essential Baker
Pictures by Caroline

Pastry Dough

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1 extra large egg yolk, at room temperature
2-3 tablespoons water*

1. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.**
2. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Pulse until the butter is cut into very tiny pieces, about 30 seconds.
3. With the food processor running, pour the egg yolk into the dough. Process the dough until the mixture wraps itself aroudn the blade, about 1 minute.
4. Turn the pastry dough onto a large pieces of plastic wrap. Shape into a flat disk and wrap tightly ina double layer of plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator until firm before using, at least 2 hours. (Let stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling to become more pliable).
5. Preheat the oven to 375°.
6. Roll out the dough in a large circle until about 11 inches in diameter.
7. Gently lift up the pastry and place over a tart pan. Pat the dough lightly into the bottom and sides of the pan.
8. Trim off the excess pastry dough at the top of the pan. Transfer the pan to a baking sheet and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
9. Line the pastry dough with foil. Fill the pan with pie weights, uncooked rice, or beans to prevent the pastry shell from puffing up.
10. Bake the pastry for 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden and set.

*Technically, this pastry dough doesn't have any water in it. But when I attempted to make it without any water, it was completely and utterly unblendable. The addition of a few tablespoons of water allowed the ingredients to mix together.
**Since I don't have a food processor, I used my Bosch mixer. It didn't blend the butter into quite as small pieces as desired, but it worked pretty well.

Filling
4 large lemons
4 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 extra large egg, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1. Zest the lemons, taking care not to grate the inner white pith of the lemon, which is very bitter.
2. Squeeze juice and strain to remove any seeds. You should have 2/3 cup lemon juice.
3. Place the egg yolks, egg, and sugar in the top pan of a double broiler over simmering water. Stir together to dissolve the sugar, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the lemon zest, juice, and butter. Stir the mixture constantly until it thickens, about 12 minutes. (You'll know it's done if you can draw a line across the middle of a spoonful of filling and the mixture does not run over).
5. Strain the filling mixture into a medium bowl.
6. Add the cream and stir.
7. Pour the filling into the tart shell. Bake 12-14 minutes, until the filling is set, but jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a rack. Serve at room temperature.*

*You may want to dust the the top of the tart with powdered sugar, berries, or a berry syrup.

Cinnamon Buns

Truly, one of my very favorite treats in this world is a soft, warm cinnamon bun. The first time I made these buns was for my family on New Year's Eve, and let's just say they didn't last until New Year's Day.

The recipe makes 12 buns, but as a word of warning, you should never make just one batch. In my mind, it is imperative that you always double this recipe. That way you can make one classic batch, with just cinnamon-sugar, and one with additions like rasins and nuts.

I should mention too that my finished product picture is slightly deceiving. No doubt the buns look delicious (at least I think so) but this batch didn't rise in the oven as it should have. So, I would say that unless you are cursed with a tempramental oven like mine, your buns will rise to be even more puffy and beautiful then these.

Enjoy, and if you make a batch, be sure to bring one or two by my place, because these never last long at my house and I am always in the mood for a cinnamon bun!

Cinnamon Buns
Recipe from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
Pictures by Caroline
Yields 12 buns

Dough Recipe
3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp sugar
1tbsp granular lecithin (optional)
2 tbsp nonfat dry milk
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 large egg plus enough water to make 1 cup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp soft butter

Filling Recipe
¼ cup soft butter
¾ cup sugar mixed with 1 tbsp cinnamon
½ cup nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips

Icing Recipe
3 tbsp heavy cream or 2 tbsp water (I just used milk)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the Dough:
1. Mix and knead together all the dough ingredients- by hand or mixer- to form a soft, smooth dough. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 ½ hours; it should almost double in size.
*Note: I don’t use instant yeast, so I warm up the milk, add some of the sugar, the yeast and let it set for 10 minutes of so. Basically, I just get my yeast started the old fashion way.

To Assemble:
1. Turn out the dough onto a lightly greased work surface and roll into a rectangle measuring about 11x20 inches.
2. Spread a thin layer of soft butter over the dough, leaving about 1 inch uncovered on the short side nearest you (the side that will be the outermost roll). Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and nuts, raisins, or chips of your choice.
3. Starting with the short end covered with filling (not the one you left without butter and other goodness), roll the dough into a log. Use a serrated knife to gently was the log in half, and then cut each side of the log into six equal pieces.
4. Place the buns in a lightly greased 9x13-inch pan, pressing down slightly. Cover the buns and let them rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 ¼ hours, until they are quite puffy.
5. Preheat the over to 350°F. bake the buns for 20-25 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Pull them out of the pan and let them cool to just slightly warm before frosting.
*Note: I just frost them while they are in the pan- makes less mess, plus I usually can’t wait to eat one, so I have to hurry.

To Make the Icing
1. Mix the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar to make a creamy glaze; use water for a thinner glaze. Spread the icing on the buns.

9-pie Pie crust

My grandma is famous for her fantastic pie crust. Honestly, I've tried dozens of different recipes, but this one beats them all every time. Every major holiday my Grandma brings 6 or 7 pies of every imaginable flavor out to feed the pie-loving family of about 40 (including children, grandchildren, and a few great-grandchildren), rendering it extremely necessary to have a recipe that makes 9 pies.

However, if you, unlike my grandma, may not have such a pressing need for mass quantities of pie dough, you're in luck; this dough will keep well in the freezer for up to a year. I've actually found that it is much easier to handle after it has been frozen for a few days, so if you're planning on trying this recipe for any Thanksgiving pies, you should freeze it the day before you plan to use it.

9-pie Pie Crust
by Grandma K
Pictures by Caroline

5 lbs white flour
5 tsp salt
3 lbs shortening
5 tbsp white vinegar
1 3/4 cups water
4 eggs

1. Mix the flour, salt and shortening together until it looks like putty.
2. In a blender, mix the vinegar, water and eggs.
3. Slowly add the water mixture to the flour putty and mix until smooth, being careful not to over mix.
4. Divide the dough into 9 balls and place individually into air tight bags.
   
5. Freeze for up to 1 year.

*To thaw, remove the dough from the freezer a few hours before use, or defrost in the
microwave on a very low heat setting.

-Kelly