Honey Pie

No, this isn't about my wonderful husband.  And I won't dare call him "Honey Pie."  I am lucky if I can call him "Hon."

I found this recipe in the book, United States of Pie by Adrienne Kane.  And, once again, the Baking Gods were in my favor because I had all the ingredients - honey and sour cream.  So this was obviously meant to be.  It is a real easy pie to make!    Takes only a few minutes to whip it up - love these kind of recipes!!!

From the description it is basically a custard pie with honey as the main ingredient.  The favor of the pie depends largely on what sort of honey you use.  As I work at Farmer's Markets, I have access to tons of local products and the vendor next to me sells honey - now isn't that convenient!!  Also I have a hive but my honey from last year is LONG gone!  Anyway, onto the recipe . . .

Ingredients

1 standard pie dough - either store bought or your favorite recipe
3/4 cup honey
1/4 coup sour cream
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger

Directions

Roll out the dough until it is big enough to fit a 9 inch pie plate.  Trim the edges, fold the edges under and then decoratively crimp the dough around the rim of the pie plate.

Put the pie plate in the refrigerator until you have finished making the filling.

In a small sauce pan, warm the honey over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, nutmeg and ginger.  Add the warm honey and whisk together until thoroughly blended.

Remove the pie plate from the refrigerator and pour the filling into pie shell.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the filling is set.  If the crust browns too quickly, tent the pie with aluminium foil.

The filling will puff up quite a bit during baking, but will settle down once you remove the pie from the oven.

Let the pie cool (if you can wait that long!!) on a cake rake.

VERDICT:

It was good, but you definitely need to serve it with something else like whipped cream or ice cream.  It does not do well alone.  You can taste the honey. My husband liked it.  I was a little disappointed by it.  Will I make it again - maybe.

The Recipe
Honey Pie

Ingredients

1 standard pie dough - either store bought or your favorite recipe

3/4 cup honey

1/4 coup sour cream

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

Directions

Roll out the dough until it is big enough to fit a 9 inch pie plate.  Trim the edges, fold the edges under and then decoratively crimp the dough around the rim of the pie plate.

Put the pie plate in the refrigerator until you have finished making the filling.

In a small sauce pan, warm the honey over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, nutmeg and ginger.  Add the warm honey and whisk together until thoroughly blended.

Remove the pie plate from the refrigerator and pour the filling into pie shell.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the filling is set.  If the crust browns too quickly, tent the pie with aluminium foil.

The filling will puff up quite a bit during baking, but will settle down once you remove the pie from the oven.

Let the pie cool (if you can wait that long!!) on a cake rake.

Enjoy!!

The BEST Homemade Whole Wheat Buns!!

OH MY!!  Did I ever find the best recipe EVER!  And it is so simple!!  This recipe comes from the Prairie Homested blog website.  I had tried hamburger buns in the past with mixed results.  They were good but my husband wasn't a big fan.  So, if he isn't happy . . . chances are, they won't get eaten and either the dogs or the chickens will be eating them . . .

Trust me, these buns won't end up in the chicken house!!  They are so GOOD!!

Honey Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Ingredients

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter (I always use unsalted)

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (or one packet)

2 to 3.5 cups of whole wheat flour 

Sesame seeds or rolled oats (optional--for garnish)

Instructions

In a small saucepan, add the honey, butter and milk and heat until the butter is slightly melting. (Do not boil or simmer this mixture - you want it barely warm)

Add the yeast into your mixing bowl..

Pour the lukewarm honey/milk mixture into the bowl with the yeast and stir well. Add the egg.  Slowly add the flour, mixing as you go.

Once the dough gets to the point where it is forming a ball, let it  rest for 2-3 minutes. The whole wheat flour tends to soak up liquid over time, so giving it a few minutes allows the flour to soak up liquid and helps to prevent you from adding too much.

After this resting period is complete, add more flour if needed.

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and onto a floured counter top. Knead for 6-7 minutes, adding flour as needed. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover the with saran wrap and place in a warm place to rise for about an hour.  My oven with the oven light on works wonders!

Punch down the risen dough and divide it into 8 portions (12 if you like smaller buns). Roll each portion into a ball, then flatten the ball with the palm of your hand.

You want to flatten them close to the size that you want your finished buns to be -- during the rising process, the buns will mostly rise up, not out.

Cover the buns and allow them to rise 30 minutes in a warm place (again the oven with the oven light on)
Bake at 375 degrees in a preheated oven for 12-18 minutes.

A minute or two before the buns are done, you can remove them from the oven, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle on sesame seeds or rolled oats. Then return the buns to the oven for the additional one or two minutes.

These buns are best if served on the same day they are made.


The Recipe:

Honey Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter (I always use unsalted)
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (or one packet)
2 to 3.5 cups of whole wheat flour (see note below)
Sesame seeds or rolled oats (optional--for garnish)

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, add the honey, butter and milk and heat until the butter is slightly melting. (Do not boil or simmer this mixture - you want it barely warm)
2. Add the yeast into your mixing bowl..
3. Pour the lukewarm honey/milk mixture into the bowl with the yeast and stir well. Add the egg.  Slowly add the flour, mixing as you go. 
4. Once the dough gets to the point where it is forming a ball, let rest for 2-3 minutes. The whole wheat flour tends to soak up liquid over time, so giving it a few minutes allows the flour to soak up liquid and helps to prevent you from adding too much. After this resting period is complete, add more flour if needed.
5. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and onto a floured counter top. Knead 6-7 minutes, adding flour as needed. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover the with saran wrap and place in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
6. Punch down the risen dough and divide it into 8 portions (12 if you like smaller buns). Roll each portion into a ball, then flatten the ball with the palm of your hand.
7. You want to flatten them close to the size that you want your finished buns to be-- during the rising process, they will mostly rise up, not out.
8. Cover the dough circles and allow them to rise 30 minutes in a warm place.
9. Bake at 375 degrees in a preheated oven for 12-18 minutes.
10. A minute or two before the buns are done, you can remove them from the oven, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle on sesame seeds or rolled oats. Then return the buns to the oven for the additional one or two minutes.
11. These buns are best if served on the same day they are made.

VERDICT:

We have a winner here!!  My husband loved these.  Definitely a keeper recipe.  As I said before, they are so easy to make - you can whip them up in matter of minutes. 

ENJOY!!!

Sour Cream Bread with Raisins

I was feeling really down today so what better thing to do to get your mind off of what is bothering you than to bake up something delicious PLUS it makes the house smell WONDERFUL.  So I stood staring at all my cookbooks trying to decide which one would be the lucky one.

AHA!!  I saw The Bread Bible  by Beth Hensperger.. Hmm . . . raisin bread sounds good today!!  A search of the index revealed this recipe and, as luck would have it, I did have most of the ingredients.  I did have to compromise a tad.  It calls for golden raisins.  I didn't have golden raisins, I just had the plain, old brown ones.  And she also wants dried lemon peel - nope, don't have that either.  So I just pour two tablespoons of lemon juice over my raisins and let me soak for about a half hour.  Best I could do for the time being.  Compromise - folks, that is what it is all about!!

Ingredients
DOUGH
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 T sugar
1/2 cup cold milk
1/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 T)

SUGAR CRUST
1 T sugar
1/4 tsp ground cardamon

Directions

In a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, pour in the warm water.  Sprinkle the yeast and mix.  Set aside for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and almond extract.  Add the yeast mixture and stir to combine.

Now it gets interesting!  Instead of using a mixer, get out your food processor!  In the bowl of your food processor, add all of the flour, 2 T of sugar and dot with the 4 T of butter.  Process for about 10 seconds just enough to combine everything.

With the motor running, pour in the yeast mixture through the feed tube.  Process for about 1 minute until the dough forms a soft ball,

Using a plastic dough scraper, transfer the dough ball to a lightly floured counter top.  Knead it briefly to even the dough out.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in bulk - about one and a half hours.

Turn the dough out on your counter top and roll out roughly into a rectangle.  Sprinkle with your raisins (and lemon peel if you have it).  Roll the dough up and knead to incorporate the raisins and peel into the dough.

Cut the dough into 3 pieces and roll each piece into a 12 inch rope.  Place the 3 ropes parallel to each other and begin braiding.  Tuck the ends under and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rise again for another 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Prior to baking, sprinkle the sugar/cardamon mix over the bread.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Your house will smell WONDERFUL!!!

Entire Recipe:

Ingredients

DOUGH

1/4 cup lukewarm water

2 1/4 tsp yeast

2 T sugar

1/2 cup cold milk

1/3 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 T)

SUGAR CRUST

1 T sugar

1/4 tsp ground cardamon

Directions

In a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, pour in the warm water.  Sprinkle the yeast and mix.  Set aside for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and almond extract.  Add the yeast mixture and stir to combine.

Now it gets interesting!  Instead of using a mixer, get out your food processor!  In the bowl of your food processor, add all of the flour, 2 T of sugar and dot with the 4 T of butter.  Process for about 10 seconds just enough to combine everything.

With the motor running, pour in the yeast mixture through the feed tube.  Process for about 1 minute until the dough forms a soft ball,

Using a plastic dough scraper, transfer the dough ball to a lightly floured counter top.  Knead it briefly to even the dough out.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in bulk - about one and a half hours.

Turn the dough out on your counter top and roll out roughly into a rectangle.  Sprinkle with your raisins (and lemon peel if you have it).  Roll the dough up and knead to incorporate the raisins and peel into the dough.  

Cut the dough into 3 pieces and roll each piece into a 12 inch rope.  Place the 3 ropes parallel to each other and begin braiding.  Tuck the ends under and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rise again for another 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Prior to baking, sprinkle the sugar/cardamon mix over the bread.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

VERDICT:

I couldn't wait for my husband to come home, so I had a slice.  It is good, but it wasn't what I was looking for.  You know the iced cinnamon bread which is swirled.  This will probably make really good french toast.  I was a little disappointed in the rise, it didn't rise as much as I thought it would.  Will I make this again - maybe - depends on what my husband thinks.

UPDATE:
This makes really GREAT french toast.  I made it for my husband this morning and he loved it.  He loved the bread anyway.  It is good toasted with butter - YUM!!

Whole Wheat Bread!!

FINALLY!!!  I found a recipe that makes a really good loaf of whole wheat bread that doesn't end up being a doorstop!!  Life on this planet has changed forever and the Bread Angels are singing!!  Another item on my bucket list has been checked off!!  I have been looking so long for a really good whole wheat bread recipe but they all turn out so heavy that you need a chainsaw to cut a slice - no joke!!!

I, somehow, stumbled upon this recipe on the Internet - probably on a boring, dreary, rainy, gray Ohio day. Anyway, I found it on the Everything Home with Carol website (I think she is changing the name to something like The Total Granola).   You will need to order some of the ingredients or go to a specialty bake store (we don't have those out in my neck of the woods!!) So off I went to the King Arthur website, where I found the Soy Lecithin and Ground Flax Meal.

Also, it will make your life a whole lot easier if you have a stand mixer to do the kneading, but if not, just knead by hand (helps get rid of a lot of tension - don't ask me how I know!)

Whole Wheat Bread


Makes two regular-sized loaves of bread or 2 dozen rolls.

2 cups of warm water (between 105 to 110 degrees)
1 T yeast

Mix gently then add:

4 cups Whole Wheat flour
1 T salt (I ALWAYS omit the salt because it slows down the rising)
3 T lecithin
2 T ground golden flax seed
1 egg
2 T honey
2 T olive oil

Combine all of  above in a mixer, adding up to 2 more cups of flour while mixing for 6 minutes.

I would stop the mixer every couple of seconds to scrape the dough down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. You can tell if the dough is ready by doing what they call the "window pane test."  Tear off a small portion of the dough, flatten it with your hands and stretch it out slowly until you have a thin membrane that doesn't break.  If it breaks, you still need to knead it more (try to say that fast three times!!)

After kneading, remove the dough from the mixer bowl and put in a large greased bowl to rise. I cover the bowl with saran wrap and drape a dish towel over that.  My oven with the light on makes a perfect place to the let the bread rise.  I simply set it in my oven with the light on. That bulb seems to give out the perfect amount of warmth. Set your timer for one hour.

After the initial rise, divide the dough into two equal balls and roll them into "loaf" shapes.  Place into two greased loaf pans (she recommends glass pans, but since I don't have any and don't really find like running to the store now, my aluminum pans will have to do).

Place them back in the oven (with the light on), cover them with the dish towel and let them rise another 30 to 40 minutes.

This is how the loaves looked after rising 40 minutes!

REMEMBER to remove your dish towel!!!! Leaving your bread in the oven, turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Set your timer for 35 minutes. When the timer goes off, I checked the temperature of the inner core of the bread, if it is above 195 or 200 degrees - the bread is done.

When done, remove the loaves to a wire rack to cool. Rub a hard stick of butter on the top while still warm for a beautiful loaf.

Aren't they beautiful!!!


VERDICT:

As I said above FINALLY a good whole wheat bread recipe!!  It slices like butter - the taste is excellent.  My "resident" expert judge (i.e., my husband) loved it.  Definitely a keeper recipe!!  Now if I can find a good raisin bread!!

The Entire Recipe

Whole Wheat Bread

Makes two regular-sized loaves of bread or 2 dozen rolls.

2 cups of warm water (between 105 to 110 degrees)

1 T yeast 

Mix gently then add:

4 cups Whole Wheat flour

1 T salt (I ALWAYS omit the salt because it slows down the rising)

3 T lecithin

2 T ground golden flax seed

1 egg

2 T honey

2 T olive oil

Combine all of  above in a mixer, adding up to 2 more cups of flour while mixing for 6 minutes.  I would stop the mixer every couple of seconds to scrape the dough down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. You  can tell if the dough is ready doing what they call the "window pane test."  Tear off a small portion of the dough, flatten it with your hands and stretch it out slowly until you have a thin membrane that doesn't break.  If it breaks, you still need to knead it more (try to say that fast three times!!)

After kneading, remove the dough from the mixer bowl and put in a large greased bowl to rise. I cover the bowl with saran wrap and drape a dish towel over that.  My oven with the light on makes a perfect place to the let the bread rise.  I simply set it in my oven with the light on. That bulb seems to give out the perfect amount of warmth. Set your timer for one hour.  

After the initial rise, divide the dough into two equal balls and roll them into "loaf" shapes.  Place into two greased loaf pans (she recommends glass pans, but since I don't have any and don't really find like running to the store now, my aluminum pans will have to do).  Place them back in the oven (with the light on), cover them with the dish towel and let them rise another 30 to 40 minutes.

REMEMBER to remove your dish towel!!!! Leaving your bread in the oven, turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Set your timer for 35 minutes. When the timer goes off, I checked the temperature of the inner core of the bread, if it is above 195 or 200 degrees - the bread is done.

When done, remove the loaves to a wire rack to cool. Rub a hard stick of butter on the top while still warm for a beautiful loaf.

Enjoy!!!

Duck Dynasty's Crawfish Pie

We were at the famous Findlay Market in Cincinnati selling in their "farm shed" this past Saturday.  My husband stumbled upon a seafood booth inside the market that was selling HUGE crawfish at a very reasonable price.  So I told him to go ahead and buy two pounds' worth. Boy, those guys were big!!

I had recently bought Kay Robertson's Duck Commander Kitchen cookbook.  I am NOT going to get into politics here or going to endorse or refute what Phil Robertson said in some magazine article.  We don't have cable TV.  So out of curiosity, I rented the first season of Duck Dynasty and my husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed the show.  I figured that a woman who had to cook for that many hungry men, obviously knew how to cook, so I bought her cookbook.

In the book, she had a recipe for Crawfish pie and as luck would have I now had all the ingredients!!  For those of you who never had crawfish - it tastes like shrimp.  I never had it until about 2 or 3 weeks ago.  And like lobster, you pretty much eat only the tails and the claws (those are pretty tiny!!).

Anyway, on to the recipe . . .

Ingredients

1 stick of butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 T all-purpose flour
1 can cream of mushroom soup
pinch of each (salt, pepper and cajun seasoning)
1 pound of crawfish tail meat - (2 pounds of crawfish didn't get 1 pound of meat!!)
2 pie crusts - either store bought or your favorite recipe

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the onion, bell pepper and celery - stirring occasionally until very soft - about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pull the tails off the crawfish and remove the shells.

Add the flour and stir until all the vegetables are coated.  Add the soup, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning and crawfish.  Stir to combine.

Fill a pie pan with one piece of the pie crust dough.  Randomly pierce the bottom with a fork.  Bake for 5 minutes.

Spoon the crawfish filling into the crust (I didn't have enough crawfish meat, next time I might add some shrimp).

Cover with the remaining pie crust.  Pinch the edges together.  With a knife or fork, make vents for steam to escape.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, approximately 30 to 35 minutes.

The Entire Recipe:

Duck Dynasty's Crawfish Pie

Ingredients

1 stick of butter 

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 bell pepper, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

2 T all-purpose flour

1 can cream of mushroom soup

pinch of each (salt, pepper and cajun seasoning)

1 pound of crawfish tail meat - (2 pounds of crawfish didn't get 1 pound of meat!!)

2 pie crusts - either store bought or your favorite recipe

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the onion, bell pepper and celery - stirring occasionally until very soft - about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pull the tails off the crawfish and remove the shells.  

Add the flour and stir until all the vegetables are coated.  Add the soup, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning and crawfish.  Stir to combine.  

Fill a pie pan with one piece of the pie crust dough.  Randomly pierce the bottom with a fork.  Bake for 5 minutes.

Spoon the crawfish filling into the crust (I didn't have enough crawfish meat, next time I might add some shrimp).  Cover with the remaining pie crust.  Pinch the edges together.  With a knife or fork, make vents for steam to escape.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, approximately 30 to 35 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

VERDICT:

Well, my husband went back for seconds - what does that tell you!!  Yes, Miss Kay, you have a winner on your hands with this recipe!!  I was thinking this could be a very versatile recipe.  You could very easily substitute the crawfish with cooked chicken and make this chicken pot pie.  Just a thought . . .   Anyway, it was good and I will definitely make this again!