To accompany the baking journey through the recipe book, "Pie", I am attempting to listen to all the recorded Bach Cantatas. It seems to be a perfect artistic bookend to a completist baking activity. Most of my Bach Cantata collection is performed by the Bach-Ensemble conducted by Helmut Rilling with a scattering of recordings with the English Baroque Soloists conducted by John Eliot Gardiner and recordings conducted by Phillipe Herreweghe. As for reviews, I leave that to others far more qualified.
So far have listened to BWV 1,2,3,10, 12, and 13.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Rules of the Road
In baking and blogging through the recipe book, "Pie", by Don Haederich, I decided that it would be unfair to list the specifics of each recipe, in essence publishing the recipe. I think that they call that plagiarism. So I will list out the ingredients, not the measurements, and baking instructions of interest. If you want the recipe, buy the recipe book, you won't regret the investment.
The Journey Begins
In the journey of baking through the recipe book "Pie" by Don Haedrich, I had to make some upfront decisions about where to start in the book. The first chapters deal with pie baking basics and crust recipes. While I have not baked all the crust recipes listed, I opted to delve immediately into the pie recipes.
The first pie chapter focuses on summer fruit pies. Mr. Haederich makes good points about using fresh fruit that is in season whenever possible. Being that we are squarely in the middle of Winter here in New Jersey, I decided to move on to Chapter 2 entitled "Make Mine Apple". I skipped the first recipe "Easiest Apple Pie" and moved on to what I considered to be the first real recipe, "Golden Delicious Apple Pie with Oatmeal Crumb Topping".
This recipe calls for Golden Delicious apples, which, as Mr. Haederich points out, gets a bad wrap mostly because of the quality of apple that you find in the store. For me a really good Golden Delicious has a taste that reminds me of pears yet has a bit of apple bite and tartness. A very interesting combination of taste sensations.
The recipe called for the standard ingredients of sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg, and cornstarch. The topping called for rolled oats, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar all held together with butter. Interestingly, you baked the pie for about 30 minutes before adding the topping. Another 30 minutes or so and the pie was ready to take out of the oven.
Results: The oatmeal topping was excellent. It created the effect of having apple crisp in a pie shell. Unlike many recipes that call for a crumb topping, the measurements created an ample topping that nicely buried the apples underneath.
As for the filling, I was a little disappointed. Granted, the quality of the apples could be called into question. However, the filling seemed to lack a certain depth and snap that an apple pie should render. I use Golden Delicious Apples exclusively in a tart recipe that I found in Mark Bitten's NY Times' column and modified a bit. The tart recipe calls for brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I admit that I am used to a certain taste experience that is a result of that recipe. However, if I were to bake this pie again, I think I would replace the ingredients called for in "Pie" with Mr. Bitten's. My guess is that it would give the pie the needed depth and make it a real winner.
Out of a 5 star rating system, I would have to give this one a 3.
The first pie chapter focuses on summer fruit pies. Mr. Haederich makes good points about using fresh fruit that is in season whenever possible. Being that we are squarely in the middle of Winter here in New Jersey, I decided to move on to Chapter 2 entitled "Make Mine Apple". I skipped the first recipe "Easiest Apple Pie" and moved on to what I considered to be the first real recipe, "Golden Delicious Apple Pie with Oatmeal Crumb Topping".
This recipe calls for Golden Delicious apples, which, as Mr. Haederich points out, gets a bad wrap mostly because of the quality of apple that you find in the store. For me a really good Golden Delicious has a taste that reminds me of pears yet has a bit of apple bite and tartness. A very interesting combination of taste sensations.
The recipe called for the standard ingredients of sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg, and cornstarch. The topping called for rolled oats, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar all held together with butter. Interestingly, you baked the pie for about 30 minutes before adding the topping. Another 30 minutes or so and the pie was ready to take out of the oven.
Results: The oatmeal topping was excellent. It created the effect of having apple crisp in a pie shell. Unlike many recipes that call for a crumb topping, the measurements created an ample topping that nicely buried the apples underneath.
As for the filling, I was a little disappointed. Granted, the quality of the apples could be called into question. However, the filling seemed to lack a certain depth and snap that an apple pie should render. I use Golden Delicious Apples exclusively in a tart recipe that I found in Mark Bitten's NY Times' column and modified a bit. The tart recipe calls for brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I admit that I am used to a certain taste experience that is a result of that recipe. However, if I were to bake this pie again, I think I would replace the ingredients called for in "Pie" with Mr. Bitten's. My guess is that it would give the pie the needed depth and make it a real winner.
Out of a 5 star rating system, I would have to give this one a 3.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
New Year's Resolution for 2010
It's a new year, and already I have broken one of my resolutions. The resolution centered on being far more consistent in adding content to this blog. It's already January 17, 2010 and this is the first entry for the New Year. Well here goes, even if I am a little late in getting started.
To keep myself on track with my resolution I decided I needed to give myself a focus. I thought through several options that were inspired by books that I received for Christmas from my brother and from my daughter.
Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Cake Bible" is a wonderful book that takes a very interesting approach to learning how to bake cakes. I have found it difficult to consistently bake a good cake. I have one recipe that's off the back of the Hershey's cocoa box that I think is a winner, but that is about it. So I thought maybe I should try to get my cake baking skills up to par with my pie baking skills. Maybe blogging about the cake baking learning curve was the way to go.
"Whole Grain Breads" by Peter Reinhart is an exhaustive book about bread baking. I love homemade bread, my kids love homemade bread. I have a few tried and true recipes that I can knock out on demand, but my repertoire is extremely limited. Maybe it was time to get serious and learn some new tricks and blog about the experience.
But up on the shelf is a recipe book that I have turned to many times. The book is entitled "Pie", and is written by Don Haedrich. In a straightforward and relaxed style he focuses on what I agree are the essentials for making consistently great pies.
There are 300 pie recipes in the book, written with great instructions, interesting antidotes, and wonderful musings. If I were going to make all the recipes in a recipe book, this is the one for me. So Mr. Haedrich's recipe book will be my guide for blogged thoughts and reflections for some time to come as I bake my way through the book. Now I know this is not an original idea, but nonetheless, it seems to be an adventure worth taking if not imitating.
So we begin.
To keep myself on track with my resolution I decided I needed to give myself a focus. I thought through several options that were inspired by books that I received for Christmas from my brother and from my daughter.
Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Cake Bible" is a wonderful book that takes a very interesting approach to learning how to bake cakes. I have found it difficult to consistently bake a good cake. I have one recipe that's off the back of the Hershey's cocoa box that I think is a winner, but that is about it. So I thought maybe I should try to get my cake baking skills up to par with my pie baking skills. Maybe blogging about the cake baking learning curve was the way to go.
"Whole Grain Breads" by Peter Reinhart is an exhaustive book about bread baking. I love homemade bread, my kids love homemade bread. I have a few tried and true recipes that I can knock out on demand, but my repertoire is extremely limited. Maybe it was time to get serious and learn some new tricks and blog about the experience.
But up on the shelf is a recipe book that I have turned to many times. The book is entitled "Pie", and is written by Don Haedrich. In a straightforward and relaxed style he focuses on what I agree are the essentials for making consistently great pies.
There are 300 pie recipes in the book, written with great instructions, interesting antidotes, and wonderful musings. If I were going to make all the recipes in a recipe book, this is the one for me. So Mr. Haedrich's recipe book will be my guide for blogged thoughts and reflections for some time to come as I bake my way through the book. Now I know this is not an original idea, but nonetheless, it seems to be an adventure worth taking if not imitating.
So we begin.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Crimp My Pie
I have never really gotten the point of the whole food presentation thing. I refuse to subscribe to Gourmet, can't afford it anyway. In my humble opinion food is to be eaten not looked at. Sure there are reasonable limits to how you put something on the table to eat. I would agree that it should not look like something that cat just dragged in. However, when it looks that good I am not convinced that it is going to taste that good.
You can gussy up a pie with a fussy upper crust, you know, a crust that has also sorts of designs cut out. I guess that is cool, but not sure that I get the point. Are you going to eat it or look at it.
There is one one design aspect, however, that may be worth paying attention to and does make some sense. I am speaking to the edge or the crimp on the crust. I have used the technique that my mother showed me (click here to examine and learn the technique) for years. While effective, it does not always add to the overall visual impact of the pie.
Recently, I have been using a slightly different approach that you see in many cookbooks, magazines, and blogs. You take the crust that is hanging over the edge of the plate (you need at least 1/2 inch), bring it up, fold it, pinch it, and tuck it back down into the pie plate. There are many examples of this technique on the web.
So, even though I am not convinced that fancy makes anything better, I will have to admit that taking some time and care in crimping your pie crust does add a certain something to your pie.
You can gussy up a pie with a fussy upper crust, you know, a crust that has also sorts of designs cut out. I guess that is cool, but not sure that I get the point. Are you going to eat it or look at it.
There is one one design aspect, however, that may be worth paying attention to and does make some sense. I am speaking to the edge or the crimp on the crust. I have used the technique that my mother showed me (click here to examine and learn the technique) for years. While effective, it does not always add to the overall visual impact of the pie.
Recently, I have been using a slightly different approach that you see in many cookbooks, magazines, and blogs. You take the crust that is hanging over the edge of the plate (you need at least 1/2 inch), bring it up, fold it, pinch it, and tuck it back down into the pie plate. There are many examples of this technique on the web.
So, even though I am not convinced that fancy makes anything better, I will have to admit that taking some time and care in crimping your pie crust does add a certain something to your pie.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Rhubarb, going, going, ...
For the past weeks, I have been trying to make all things rhubarb. But because work always seems to get in the way of what is really important, I have only been able to make cobbler and pie.
Rhubarb seems to be one of those things that people either love or hate with nobody really on the fence. Growing up, I was introduced to rhubarb by way of pie and thought that was the way it was to be eaten. Later in life I was shocked to learn that you could have rhubarb jam, compote, cake, ...
The pie I grew up with was rhubarb and nothing but rhubarb. No rhubarb strawberry, rhubarb raspberry, rhubarb whatever. The pie was a simple pie that consisted solely of sour cream, sugar, flour, eggs, and of course rhubarb. You can check the recipe out on The Upper Krust web site. Simple as it is, the ingredient combination creates a pie of complex taste. The eggy custard filling creates just the right foil for the outrageous tartness of the rhubarb, creating a silky taste sensation with zing.
This year I thought I would branch out and try some variations on the recipe I grew up with. However, when combining rhubarb with strawberries or raspberries it seemed that there was a major war going on in your mouth, with each fruit vying for center stage. So back to the tried and true.
Rhubarb pie is the perfect "breakfast pie". Breakfast pie, for the uninitiated, is pie that begs to be eaten in place of the Danish or coffee cake that you would have with your morning cup of coffee. I am not sure what makes a breakfast pie a breakfast pie. Maybe it's entirely in the taste of the beholder. Maybe in this case you could say it's the eggs, but don't really think so.
As rhubarb season draws to a close, run to the nearest supply and make your favorite rhubarb pie and be sure to save some for breakfast.
Rhubarb seems to be one of those things that people either love or hate with nobody really on the fence. Growing up, I was introduced to rhubarb by way of pie and thought that was the way it was to be eaten. Later in life I was shocked to learn that you could have rhubarb jam, compote, cake, ...
The pie I grew up with was rhubarb and nothing but rhubarb. No rhubarb strawberry, rhubarb raspberry, rhubarb whatever. The pie was a simple pie that consisted solely of sour cream, sugar, flour, eggs, and of course rhubarb. You can check the recipe out on The Upper Krust web site. Simple as it is, the ingredient combination creates a pie of complex taste. The eggy custard filling creates just the right foil for the outrageous tartness of the rhubarb, creating a silky taste sensation with zing.
This year I thought I would branch out and try some variations on the recipe I grew up with. However, when combining rhubarb with strawberries or raspberries it seemed that there was a major war going on in your mouth, with each fruit vying for center stage. So back to the tried and true.
Rhubarb pie is the perfect "breakfast pie". Breakfast pie, for the uninitiated, is pie that begs to be eaten in place of the Danish or coffee cake that you would have with your morning cup of coffee. I am not sure what makes a breakfast pie a breakfast pie. Maybe it's entirely in the taste of the beholder. Maybe in this case you could say it's the eggs, but don't really think so.
As rhubarb season draws to a close, run to the nearest supply and make your favorite rhubarb pie and be sure to save some for breakfast.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
In Praise of the Spatula
Several months ago I was visiting my brother who, like me, has some strong opinions about how things should be done in the kitchen. As I was scraping pie filling out of a bowl and into a pie plate with a wooden spoon, he pointedly remarked on how inefficiently I was carrying out the task at hand and shoved a rubber spatula my way.
A month or so after that incident, I still had not learned the lesson. We were at our mother's house this time, and once again I was pouring pie filling from a bowl into a pie plate, using a spoon to assist in the process. After emptying the bowl, my brother took a rubber spatula salvaged another 1/2 cup of filling from what I thought was a pretty clean bowl.
So what's the point. I now use a rubber spatula for everything from mixing ingredients to folding in ingredients to releasing a Bundt cake from the pan. The rubber spatula is an extremely simple but versatile tool that can bring simplicity and elegance to the most mundane and trivial of tasks. Sometimes we get caught up in thinking that the high tech cooking gadgets and toys are what are essential in creating the masterpiece when really all we need is a good spatula.
A month or so after that incident, I still had not learned the lesson. We were at our mother's house this time, and once again I was pouring pie filling from a bowl into a pie plate, using a spoon to assist in the process. After emptying the bowl, my brother took a rubber spatula salvaged another 1/2 cup of filling from what I thought was a pretty clean bowl.
So what's the point. I now use a rubber spatula for everything from mixing ingredients to folding in ingredients to releasing a Bundt cake from the pan. The rubber spatula is an extremely simple but versatile tool that can bring simplicity and elegance to the most mundane and trivial of tasks. Sometimes we get caught up in thinking that the high tech cooking gadgets and toys are what are essential in creating the masterpiece when really all we need is a good spatula.
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