When I try new foods, I'm often surprised at how fantastic they are. Gigante beans are definitely one of those foods! The first time I tried them, they were cooked Greek style. I was thoroughly impressed!
A few months ago, one of my friends asked me if I was familiar with them and if I knew where to find some in bulk. I was familiar with them, but I had no idea where to find them. After at quick Google search, I figured out I could find them here in Seattle at Big John's PFI near the International District. If you are a foodie in the Seattle area, you simply must go visit this store!
Low and behold, there they were - $4.99/lb for gigante beans. Score! The cheapest I could find them online was for $5.99 per pound plus shipping fees through Amazon . Alternatively, I just purchased several pounds of them from Big John's and went home. Now what?
After doing some searching for similar recipes to the one I had previously eaten, I pieced this recipe together. I have to say it was superb! It is definitely being added to our "cycle" of foods we make every so often. Though it does take a bit of time, it can be broken up easily by soaking overnight, cooking them in the pressure cooker the next evening, and baking them the next day. Or it can all be done one weekend afternoon.
This recipe can be easily doubled. It yielded about 6 servings. Alternatively, you could probably easily double all of the other ingredients in the recipe (except for gigante beans) and it would still be quite tasty.
1 lb dried gigante beans (soaked overnight, or at least 4
hours)
Water to soak the beans
Water to cook the beans in a pressure cooker
½ large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
½ orange bell pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
½ red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 – 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably Italian
seasoning
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large carrot, sliced
into 1/2 inch discs, big disc pieces cut in half or quarters
1 stalk celery & leaves, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/3 cup coconut oil (or olive oil)
1/3 lb bacon, chopped (or 6 oz. bacon and 6 oz good quality
pork sausage, cut up) (optional)
Ground pepper, to taste
Hot water to cook the beans in the baking dish
1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
¼ cup (approx.) of crumbled Feta cheese
Directions:
Cook the pre-soaked beans in a
pressure cooker, with enough water to cover by one inch, for 20 minutes. Depending on the style of pressure cooker you
have, only count the 20 minutes once the pressure cooker has begun to whistle
at regular intervals (for mine, this is about 3x a minute using a 5 lb weight). Once the 20 minutes are up, turn the heat off
the beans and leave them in the pressure cooker, undisturbed, for 2-3 hours
before proceeding with recipe. (Note: if you do not have a pressure cooker,
cook the beans with 3 cups of water for every 1 cup of beans in a heavy
saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil, reduce
to a simmer and then cook them for 45 minutes to an 1 hr 30 minutes, depending on how fresh your beans are. You might have to add cooking liquid if cooking for a long period of time. I would suggest letting them sit in the water, covered, for at least 1 more hour after they are done cooking.)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
farenheit.
Strain the beans and pour them into
a large glass baking pan. Note: it is okay if the beans are still a
little firm at this point, but they should be plumped up quite nicely.
Combine all of the remaining
ingredients, except the dill, and mix well.
Pour in enough hot water to cover
beans by 1" in the baking dish. Note: If the baking dish is not deep enough
to cover the beans, pour enough water until it reaches 1“ from the top. You only want to cover the beans 1” above where
they originally came to in the pan before you added the other ingredients.
Place the baking dish in oven and
bake for 1 hour 45 minutes. If you
prefer to have your beans more tender, check the beans for the consistency
after the 1 hour 45 minutes time is up. If
you want them to have a more tender texture, cook them for an additional 30 minutes.
Stir the dill in, and bake for an
additional 15 minutes.
Remove the baking dish from the
oven, and serve in bowls.
Top with a few crumbles of Feta
cheese in each bowl, and enjoy!
For the nutritional values of this recipe, you can log it through the My Fitness Pal application. Just search for "Larena's Gigante Beans." Disclaimer: this nutritional value calculation is just an estimation, and it is based off 6 servings. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/view/44023960
I know, I know. This is a food blog. You don't come here to read about dogs. The thing is, this post isn't about just any old dog. This is about a foodie dog and one of the best dogs who has ever graced this planet with his presence - and my oh my, did he have a presence!
Rest in peace, baby dog.
Those 16 & 1/2 years between those 2 dates were a great
"dash" of a life. Thanks for
living up to your name and making that dash between your date of birth and the
day you had to go so "zippy" and wonderful. You didn't just dash through it - you always
“Zipped” right through! 16 & 1/2
years is an incredibly great, long run, especially for a miniature Yorkshire
Terrier. You were simply the best there
ever was, and that doesn't even begin to capture who you were to everyone. You made every day around you a pleasure for
everyone you ever met, and I am incredibly grateful for your existence in my
world for just over half my lifetime. We
have all been incredibly lucky to have you in our lives, and I'm very thankful
my parents took such good care of you. The fact that you were super sweet in giving kisses from the moment I met you until your last waking moment speaks volumes about who you were.
You were a fighter through and through, my little mighty
dog, and so much more.
A best little buddy.
An always-available petting recipient.
A consistently cheerful, playful, and loyal companion.
A believer in living life to the fullest.
A fierce and fearless six-pound home defender.
An always-ready, champion fetcher.
A unabashed smiler, miraculously managed even without
lips.
An intuitive therapist.
A bedside nurse.
A masterfully active and animated dreamer.
An overflowing container of so much personality.
A genetic hybrid comprised of an unexplained concoction
between pure cane sugar and dog DNA that managed to melt even the coldest of
hearts.
A seemingly endless, though diminishing with age, ball of
energy.
A bath disloyalist.
A post-bath shampoo-smell remover.
A chewer of hair dryer air.
An electric hair trimmer antagonist.
A shameless ham for attention.
A converter of dog-haters.
A converter of the dog-fearing.
A converter of an "I don't want an indoor dog"
father.
An ever-ready travel companion.
A highly upset announcer when you saw your “mom” bleed.
A dancer in exchange for treats or attention.
A ball-substitute that happily ran between people for
attention when they lost the fetching ball.
A highly successful beggar of food morsels.
A stealthy, compulsive and shameless kisser.
A flawless finder of all the good spots to mark during
walks.
A sniffer of only the good leaves.
A lantana leaf junkie.
An avid fan of the great outdoors.
A one-litter father.
A sneaky chocolate thief and a subsequent
hydrogen-peroxide-induced-chocolate-removal survivor.
A survivor of a Great Dane attack.
A survivor of rat poisoning.
A fearless yard defender from giant, Texas-size opossums and
other non-fluffy tailed creatures.
A vet's office protester.
A hunger protester who only accepted hand-fed morsels from
favorite, worthiness-self-assessed-people when overly excited or upset.
A fierce women-of-the-house defender.
A perverted, non-believer in bathroom privacy and a believer
in a highly probable statistics of getting attention from a captive
throne-sitter.
A connoisseur of sunspots.
A beggar of corncobs.
A mad-dash out of kennel morning-potty runner.
A post-morning potty-run torturer of teenage daughters and
sleepover victims who refused to get out of bed.
A vehicle engine noise-recognizing greeter.
An insistent and incredibly dashing sweater model.
A sniffer of anything butt-like.
An eager-to-please trick show-off.
An equal opportunity game player with cats and dogs alike.
A little dude with a complete inability to hide naughty
ideas with body language.
A greeter and fetch player, even over the phone.
A stunningly comprehensive canine student of the English
language.
An unapologetic food snob who only ate Cheerios soaked with
milk upon gaining the knowledge that they could be soaked in milk.
A cheerful part of returning home each and every day.
A sweet welcomed-guest-greeter and an intimidating
unwelcomed-guest-greeter with the remarkable ability to always know the
difference between the two with absolute, 100% accuracy.
A stunner of veterinarians with your age, personality, and
vigor for life.
The gift that truly kept on giving.
An unrepentant thief of hearts.
A beautiful dog, inside and out.
Thanks for making everyone love you SO much, little dude. You are sorely missed, and will always be remembered for everything you were to all of us. Clearly, it was a LOT.
Hello, readers! I am co-hosting a charity dinner later this month, and thought some of you might be interested in attending. 100% of the proceeds go to a great charity, Food Lifeline. Food Lifeline is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending hunger in Western Washington. Food Lifeline makes every penny count, and 95% of the food they receive from local, state and national contributors is donated. Event details are below.
Who: Hopefully you, along with 249 of your closest friends or soon-to-be friends What: Pre-PAX gaming party. A night of tabletop gaming, drinking, socializing, and general merriment from the absolute most scenic location in the entire West coast and the swankiest spot in Seattle, with 100% of all proceeds going to Food Lifeline. When: Thursday, August 29th, 7:30 pm - 2:00 am Where: Columbia Tower Club, 76th floor, downtown Seattle. Google map directions are available here. Why: Because you're like us - you like to game. Because you want to kick off PAX in style. Because you'd like a tasty alcoholic beverage and a supplied meal whilst you play your games. Because you're bringing an S/O whom you would like to dazzle with the most stunning views imaginable (or to at least distract them long enough for you to play). Because you're traveling and want to go someplace special. And, most importantly, because you'd like to do all of this whilst supporting a fantastic charity - and getting a tax write-off in the process. That's a lot of wins in one package.
What's included in all ticket levels:
Up to 249 other people to game with
A game library that you can borrow from (feel free to BYOG, as well) Dinner Full (cash) bar access Guaranteed seating! We will have more than enough seats for everyone attending, so no waiting to play games.
A pop-up game store to make acquisitions, if you so choose
A ticket-based drawing, with prizes including gift cards to many of Seattle's best restaurants, tabletop games - and, oh yes, PAX badges in case you struck out and want to go.
As all monies spent are going to Food Lifeline, all monies spent are 100% tax deductible
(Pending final acknowledgement) Representation from the Cookie Brigade, who will be giving away their delectable treats to raise funds for Child's Play
VIP ticket levels also get:
A swankier plated dinner
Drink vouchers
Free drawing tickets
Private-access gaming rooms, if you so desire
A bigger tax deduction
For more information, and to link up to buy tickets: www.dawgsledevents.com (big link at the top that reads "tickets on sale now" that will take you to the ticketing agent).
Direct link to ticket site: shindigg.com/Event/PZFMEiVs
Before I get into my next post, I figure I should explain my absence. I have been focusing on school lately, so I have been neglecting my blog. Sorry, folks! Don't worry, I've still been out and about and enjoying food as it should be enjoyed! I just haven't had a whole lot of time to spend on writing things that aren't school assignments. I figure for every hour I spend on my blog, that's one hour I am taking away from school time. I'm allowing myself this one reprieve since this one won't take a whole lot of time to churn out.
Since a certain someone recently had some dental work done, he needs some soft foods for the next few weeks. I offered to make one of my favorite dishes: homemade gnocchi!
The finished product
Some of my readers might remember me posting a link to Salumi's gnocchi recipe. The original recipe can be found here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/549147 Salumi's also has printed copies of their gnocchi recipe available near the cash register in their store (you can just nicely ask for a copy). The previous recipe was posted in honor of their famous gnocchi maker, Aunt Izzy, who passed away in 2008. These days, Mario Batali's mother makes it almost every Tuesday. She's a really sweet lady. You should stop and say hello sometime! If you are more of a "visual learner" (like I am) and you have trouble following the recipe below, you could always stop by Salumi's on gnocchi day, and watch Mario's mother roll, cut, and strike the gnocchi from the storefront window!
Do you know the great thing about gnocchi? It's very simple to make, and it's super cheap to make! All you need is potatoes, eggs, flour, salt, cornmeal, your favorite sauce, and some of your favorite cheese (bread is optional). That's it! All together, this recipe takes ~1.5 hours to make, and about half of that time is spent waiting for the potatoes to boil. All in all, it's very easy to make, and it's delicious! It does not keep very well in leftovers since the gnocchi will just turn into mush. So if you were planning to make the whole recipe and only cook half of it, I have to strongly advise against that. The dough will turn grey, and the gnocchi will be very mushy. When you strike it the next day, the ridges will not hold very well. If you decide to make all of it and eat the leftovers the next day, I don't recommend that either. Let's put it this way: Salumi's will not serve their gnocchi even to go, let alone leftover from the day before! The texture gets mushy, and they simply will not compromise the quality of their gnocchi!
Special notes: This recipe can be halved, and I listed the halved ingredients below. When halved, it will serve a generous portion for 2 or a regular sized portion for 3. The instructions are mostly the same for doing a full batch vs. a half batch. The only real difference is it takes less time with the halved recipe since you are cutting less gnocchi pieces! I also strongly recommend using a kitchen scale that can measure in grams. I also recommend purchasing a gnocchi board (they're ~$5), a pastry scraper or cutter, and a potato ricer. If using the ricer I recommend, I suggest using the "fine" setting. Through the Amazon link below, there's a very helpful instructional video for the ricer in the Amazon reviews. If you do not have a ricer, you can use a large-hole cheese grater to break down the cooked potato into tiny bits. Remember, you don't want big chunks in your gnocchi dough, so it does need to be broken down as best as it can be. Kneading the dough also helps break down the potato chunks. I have included a link for all of the recommended tools through the Amazon widget at the bottom of this post.
Homemade Gnocchi
Ingredients - full size / half size
500 grams potatoes (approximately 1 lb) / 250 grams potatoes (approximately 1/2 lb) (Yukon Gold is recommended, though Russets or most other types of "starchy" potato can work too) 300 grams flour / 150 grams flour 2 eggs / 1 egg 2 tsp salt / 1 tsp salt
Salt for gnocchi boiling pot ~3 tbsp + ~3 tbsp cornmeal / ~2 tbsp + ~1.5 tbsp cornmeal Your favorite sauce (some form of marinara, spaghetti sauce, or meat sauce is recommended) Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (or any other favorite cheese), grated Optional: Small loaf of Italian bread or French baguette (for dipping and soaking up the leftover sauce) -
Directions:
Scrub but do not peel the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a large pot of unsalted water, and bring it to a boil. Cook until they are tender - approximately 30-40 minutes. Cool and peel the potatoes while they are still warm. Be sure to cut off any dark spots from the potatoes as well. If you are short on time, you can peel the potatoes, cut them into large chunks, and then boil them for about 10-15 minutes. However, I recommend boiling the potatoes whole since they will stay together easier, and you will "lose" less potato!
Put a separate large pot of salted water onto boil while you prepare the gnocchi dough. Alternatively, you can use the water from the potatoes you previously cooked, and you can just add salt to it. If you are going to use the potato water, it is recommended to thoroughly scrub and then boil the potatoes whole, otherwise you will have too many little chunks of potato and dirt floating in your water. Personally, I recommend just using a new pot of salted water.
Put some flour down on your kneading surface, and press the potatoes through a ricer onto your floured surface. Add the measured flour and salt so it makes a nice round mound, and make a hole in the middle of the mound - kind of like a small bird's next. Crack the eggs into the hole.
With your fingers, break apart the egg yolk and mix it a little bit with the egg white. Start to stir the dough mixture with your fingers, mixing the potatoes, salt, flour, and eggs together. Once you have mixed everything together and it's soft, knead the dough until it is smooth. Set it aside for 5-15 minutes to let the gluten expand.
These are all 4 stages of gnocchi dough. Starting from the upper left corner, going clockwise: the unformed dough, the dough after it's been formed and cut, the gnocchi after it has been "struck", and the dough after it is rolled out but before it is cut. My gnocchi board and pastry cutter are also pictured.
Flatten the ball to about a 1/2 inch thick rectangle shape, and cut the flattened side into 6 strips or so strips.
Add more flour to your kneading surface if needed. Roll one of the strips like a snake until it gets about as big around as your thumb. You might have to break the piece in half or in three pieces as it gets longer.
Take a butter knife or a pastry cutter and cut the "snakes" into pieces about as big as the length of the last knuckle of your index finger - a little more than half an inch. The flour on the table should help keep the gnocchi from sticking together, but do not use too much. Once you have cut all the gnocchi pieces, you can lightly roll them in the leftover flour. This can also help prevent them from sticking to each other. Remember, you want to keep the gnocchi relatively the same size since bigger gnocchi will have a longer cooking time.
Roll the gnocchi on a fork or on a gnocchi board to "strike" the gnocchi and make ridges. The ridges on the gnocchi helps the sauce stick to the gnocchi better. Basically you roll it with the side of your thumb to make the impression on one side of the dough. It will look a little bit like a bigger version of "Velveeta shells and cheese." It can take some practice.
Take first measurement of cornmeal and spread it on a cookie sheet. Place the "struck" pieces of gnocchi on the cookie sheet. Since you don't want the gnocchi to stick to each other, try not to place the gnocchi on top of each other as best as you can. Once the cookie sheet is full, spread the remaining cornmeal on top of the gnocchi and gently shake the cookie sheet to help roll the gnocchi in the cornmeal. This will also help prevent the gnocchi from sticking together.
This is the result from the half-recipe
When the water is boiling, gently place half the gnocchi in the pot. I typically use a fine mesh strainer spoon to place the gnocchi in the pot. A "spider" wok tool will work too, as will a large slotted spoon. I just like using as wide of a tool as possible so I can get as much gnocchi into the pot as possible at the same time, and I prefer to not just toss all the cornmeal into the pot and I don't want to run the risk of having "gnocchi mush" if the gnocchi gets stuck to each other while sliding off the cookie sheet.
At first, the gnocchi will sink to the bottom. After a minute or two, the gnocchi will float to the top. Once it has floated to the top, cook it for one more minute. (Hint: this is why you want to try to get all the gnocchi to be the same size and put it in the boiling water at the same time). Once it has been cooking at the top of the water for one minute, scoop the gnocchi out and put it in a colander to drain. Repeat for the remaining gnocchi.
Serve the gnocchi in warm bowls with a couple spoonfuls of sauce, and grate some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on top. I typically serve it with some meat sauce, and I use some of my meatball meat I always keep in the freezer. I will post another post with my meatball meat recipe in the near future!
Enjoy!
For the nutritional values of this recipe, you can log it through the My Fitness Pal application. Just search for "Salumi's Gnocchi (without sauce)" Disclaimer: this nutritional value calculation is just an estimation, and it is based off 6 servings. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/view/44057413
In light of the recent random shootings here in the United States of America, I’d like to say a
few words.Feel free to share them if
you’d like.
First of all, my heart goes out to the victims, their
families, their friends, their colleagues, and their classmates.This sort of senseless violence should have
never happened in your lives, and I am truly sorry it ever did.I hope you will all find the necessary peace
and acceptance to get through this tragedy. I can't even count how many times I have broken down in tears over these last few days. I don't personally know any of the victims of these tragedies, but it's still heart-breaking to only *begin* to *imagine* the pain that you all must be going through.
Second, I’d just like to put a word out there in case anyone
out there is suffering from depression or thoughts of harming themselves or others.
If you’re mad at the world, try focusing on the good that
happens in the world.Yes, we live in a
truly screwed up world, but there are still good people out there.Why contribute to the negative or mar the
innocent?Is that the type of reputation
you want for yourself when you depart from this world?Find someone you can confide in – a family
member, a counselor, a church leader, a best friend, or even just a random
stranger with a listening ear.
If you don’t have anyone you believe you can trust in, go to
a church or call a suicide hotline. 800-SUICIDE is a toll-free number for one here in the US.You can also find help at www.crisischat.org. It is also available 24/7, and all online. You
might be able to find compassion and understanding in places you never thought
of before.
If you’re mad at God, try atheism or agnosticism.If that won’t work for you, try searching for
*something* within your belief system that would explain your concerns or try
searching outside of your religion.Maybe you were misled by religion.Many have been over the years, and they went on to find peace and
contentment in a new belief system.Just remember that sometimes
bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.Time and unforeseen occurrences happen to us
all.It’s just the nature of the random
acts of life.
If you’re mad at someone in particular, talk to them using calmly
articulated words.If that isn’t an
option, try the serenity prayer.Try writing
them a letter that will never be sent to them.Move on with your life.Talk to a
counselor to try to get past your anger.Having a “sounding board” to talk to can help you to gain a healthy
perspective of the past, present, and future.A counselor can also guide you through the decision making process of
dealing with removing an unhealthy relationship from your life or how to work through your issues
together.
If you feel like you just can’t go on with your life, again,
try calling a suicide hotline.If you
don’t want to go on with your life, don’t take it out on those who still have
so much to live for.Think of all those
things they would want to live for.Couldn’t you picture yourself doing some of those things in the future?
If you feel unloved and like there isn’t anyone out there in
the world who cares for you, get a dog or a cat.You will have instant unconditional love from
someone who thinks you are the single most awesome person there ever was!If that dog or cat passes away, there isn’t a
better way to get over the death of a pet than to get a new one.Though it might seem impossible at the time,
you will fall in love with a new puppy or kitten.You will grow to love them just as much (if
not more) than you loved your previous beloved pet.They won’t be the same as your previous pet,
but you will grow to love them and the personality traits that make them
unique. Pets can be incredibly therapeutic.
If you feel as though life will not get any better, you’re
simply wrong.Unless you have a terminal
illness, life will get better if you let it.Life is what you choose to make out of it.Even if you have a terminal illness, you can
still make the best of your last few moments on this earth.Tell someone you love them.Tell someone how much they meant to your
life.Make someone smile.Put forth some good deeds into the world, and
watch it multiply.
If you feel as though your past keeps haunting you, just
know that you are not defined by your past.Even if other people choose to judge you by your past mistakes, don’t
judge yourself the same way.Prove who
you are to yourself and others by doing things that would make someone
important in your life – dead or alive, a relative, a friend, a teacher, or
even just yourself – proud of what you’ve
accomplished and how much you’ve grown as a person.
Seek help when you need it.If you have a loved one who suffers from these things, please do not ever give up trying to find them the help they need, and do not ever underestimate the troubles they are going through. It is not likely to be an easy thing to deal with. In fact, I could imagine it will be the hardest thing you've ever dealt with. Just remember this is one of those situations where you will always need to err on the side of caution. Be safe.
Remember that life always has and always will go on.This world won’t necessarily be a better
place without you.Make a positive
difference in someone’s life, and you just might find a sort of peace and
fulfillment you believed was non-existent.Do you want to know the secret to live a happy life?It’s living a life without regrets.Regrets can mean a myriad of different things
to different people – i.e. “I regret having kids when I was so young” “I regret
not having kids when I was so young” or “I regret never telling them I loved
them” or “I regret falling in love with them” – so figure out what you want out
of your own life, and stop at nothing to make it happen. Sometimes it is impossible to avoid regrets, and that where the peace and acceptance have to fill those voids.
Live to fulfill these sagely wise words from one of the most
unexpected sources of such wisdom: “Be excellent to each other.” – Bill,
from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
It is officially the fall season, folks! You know what that means. Pumpkin galore!
When I was a kid, I wasn't very big on pumpkin. There were plenty of opportunities for pumpkin pie, but I could never tolerate much of it without whipped cream. I am of the belief that is sacrilege to serve pumpkin pie without whipped cream. You've been warned!
We had the pleasure of meeting Bradley Ogden at his namesake Las Vegas restaurant before it closed. We decided to have a nice dinner at his restaurant on our last day in Vegas, and we were drawn in by his cookbook. No, we are still not ready to admit we have a cookbook addiction. When we ordered the book through our waiter, we asked if Bradley was available to sign it. It just so happened that he was in the kitchen that day, and he graciously agreed to sign our book! He was a very nice man, and we thoroughly enjoyed our wonderful dinner.
Triple Layer Pumpkin Pie
Imagine my delight when I was thumbing through our newly purchased Holiday Dinners with Bradley Ogden cookbook, and I found a recipe for a triple layer pumpkin pie. At that very moment, I knew it was ON!
I prefer not to serve any dishes to my guests if I haven't made the dish before. Since we are hosting a big dinner next month, I knew it would be important to try this recipe out before the big dinner. I am very glad I did. This is a masterful recipe, and I feel that there were some very important steps and tips left out of the recipe. Also, I tweaked it here and there.
If you're up for a challenge and want to see just how much of your hair you can pull out in one day, by all means, check out the unaltered recipe at this link. Knock yourself out!
If you'd rather have someone vet the recipe and give you tips on making it absolutely perfect, keep on reading. If you haven't gathered by now, I am very detail oriented. I frequently add my own variations to the recipes I find. I try to explain why each step is very important, and I try to let you know what will happen if you don't follow the instructions.
I know some people might find this more annoying than helpful, but I hope the majority of my readers find the details to be helpful! I would also really appreciate it if people would share this recipe, and post in the comments when you have tried it out! If you run across any recipes that make you want to pull your hair out, send them to me. I might see if I can figure out how to "fix" them for you.
There is a discrepancy in the cookbook that is sort of not listed on the above website. In the book, it lists 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin spice in the custard layer ingredients list, but in the instructions it says to add 2 teaspoons. If you look closely enough, you will notice the pumpkin spice ingredients create 4 teaspoons of the spice blend. If you go off the instructions in the website above, you would only use 3 of the teaspoons. It doesn't tell you what to do with the extra teaspoon. Tsk on the editors who missed that! It kind of drives me batty when recipes are not properly tested and written out.
Before you decide to take on this daunting task of a pie, there are some important things to note:
You will need to set aside a lot of time to make this pie. I'm talking all day long! If you follow my instructions and stay on top of things fairly quickly, you can make this pie in about 7 1/2 hours. Fortunately it's not 7 1/2 hours of "active" time. Even so, your pie will not be ready to eat in 7 1/2 hours since it needs to chill before serving! It requires a lot of waiting time for things to get to the right temperature. If you get the crust dough ready in advance, you can shave off about 1 1/2 - 2 hours off that big chunk of time. The recipe below is for a double pie crust, so at least you will have a back up if something goes wrong with the first crust! You can also make the pumpkin spice mixture ahead of time. I also highly recommend reading this entire recipe before getting started. It will help you prepare if you are able to imagine the process ahead of time.
You will need a large food processor for this recipe. Since the butter
will be frozen, it will need something strong to help cut and break it
down. I also suggest cutting the butter into the 1/4 pieces well in
advance. You can put separate the pieces and place them on some wax
paper on a cookie sheet, cover them, and freeze them. I suggest giving
them at least 45 minutes to freeze. It will make it easier to break
them apart and sprinkle them into the food processor. If you work too much to break them apart, it will warm them up.
If you do not have a KitchenAid stand mixer, be very careful with the speed settings on your hand mixer. You will be whisking a lot of ingredients together for this recipe. At the very minimum, you will need an electric hand mixer. If you're feeling up for torturing yourself, by all means, whisk by hand! Just remember that the medium setting speed on a hand mixer is much faster than medium speed on a KitchenAid stand mixer. With the hand mixers, you have to watch the blade speed vs going by the marked speed settings. If you have both a KitchenAid stand mixer and a hand mixer, I still recommend using only the Kitchenaid stand mixer just to make life a little simpler. For this recipe, I have noted in my instructions when you should clean up your bowl and whisk for the stand mixer. I also highly recommend using a spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl. I included an Amazon link below for the best shape spatula for scraping the bottom of the KitchenAid bowls. Yes, it does make quite a difference. Every KitchenAid stand mixer owner should have one!
You will need a very deep dish glass or ceramic pie pan for this recipe. The recipe suggested using a 9-inch pie dish. This pie will overflow even if you use a 9.5 inch pie dish! If that is the only size you have, then you will need to set aside some of the pumpkin chiffon. I am trying to find one that has a wavy edge. I think a wavy edge will help give it a little extra room for the filling. I think I need to see them in person before making a selection. Once I find one, I'll come back and add it to the Amazon link below!
Plunger measuring cup
In order to make your life easier, I strongly recommend getting some of the pie crust bags. The 14" would be good, though the 11" one will work out as well. They cost less than $10 on Amazon (link is below), and they are wonderful! Even though you are using a 10" pie plate, using the 14" pie bag would be good so you can trim off some of the crust. If you only have the 11" pie bag, then you can take out a nice golf ball size chunk out of the crust before rolling it out. Since most people don't have pie crust bags, Bradley Ogden's recipe doesn't call for the pie bags. So this recipe does create a bit of extra crust. If you don't take some of the crust out before using the 11" pie bag, it will end up a little too thick.
I also recommend getting a squeegee measuring cup (pictured on the right, and link is in the Amazon list below). These are really good for thick liquid measurements such as creams, honey, condiments, balsamic vinegars, syrups, thick oils, etc. Basically you move the plunger to the required measuring line, and you pour your ingredient into the cup. There are two sets of lines and measurements marked on the cups. One is for "liquid fill" and the other is for filling to the rim. With the latter, you can level the measurements from the top of the container. They come in different sizes. I have a small one for measurements up to 2 tablespoons, and it comes in very handy. I genuinely love these tools!
You will need an instant read probe thermometer. Any type will do. You absolutely should have at least one in your kitchen!
Make lots of room in your fridge! You will have two medium size bowls in your fridge at least for 20 minutes, and this pie does need to be chilled.
On the brandy, unless it is an absolutely hard and fast "no no" for your personal beliefs, do not skip this ingredient. It does make a huge amount of difference in terms of flavor. If you are worried about alcohol content goes, there isn't a whole lot that will be left in the finished product. For more details on alcohol content after cooking, visit this link. First of all, the brandy portion of this recipe is baked for 30 minutes, so approximately only 35% of the alcohol will remain. Mind you, that is 35% of the approximately 35-60% alcohol contained in 1 tablespoon of brandy - for the entire pie. To start off, 1 tablespoon isn't even a shot, and it's not a lot of alcohol! After it's all cooked, there would be 2.1 milliliters (approximately .42 of a teaspoon) of alcohol left in the pie, divided over 8-10 slices! There is more alcohol in a single can of O'Doul's non-alcoholic beer than there would be in this entire pie! Even the biggest lightweight on the planet isn't going to get any alcohol effects from this recipe! The first time I made this recipe, I only had cognac on hand, and I didn't have access to my car at the moment. So instead of using regular brandy, I used 1 tablespoon of Remy Martin XO Cognac. Hey, it was all I had in the liquor cabinet! That was a very expensive pie, but it was a fine tasting pie! Since the Remy is a very strong cognac, the cognac flavor sort of overpowered the pie. In my most recent attempt, I used a mid-range price bottle of brandy - E&J XO Extra Smooth limited release brandy. This brandy in particular has 40% alcohol by volume, as did the Remy Martin XO Cognac. For those of you who are wondering "So which should I use? Brandy or Cognac?" The only real difference between cognac and brandy is the region they are crafted. All cognacs are brandies. Much like champagne is only called champagne if it is crafted in the Champagne region of France, true cognacs are crafted in the Cognac region of France. There, you even had an alcohol lesson today!
I substituted turbinado sugar instead of granulated sugar in the pumpkin custard layer. It is in fact true that turbinado sugar is better for us. I won't go into a diatribe about this, but I do suggest doing your own research about all of the ingredients and processes it takes to make granulated sugar. My friends who know me well enough know that I am not one of those
who gets blindly caught up in the "food should be healthy and organic"
mindset. Even with that in mind, I strongly suggest not substituting turbinado sugar for the egg whites and whipped cream portion of this recipe. Turbinado sugar doesn't break down like granulated sugar does in cold ingredients such as heavy cream and egg whites. You don't want a gritty chiffon or whipped cream. If you are taken back by the high cost of turbinado sugar (you should be!), I suggest purchasing a large 6 lb bag of it at Costco. Just the other day, I saw it there for just over $7. It costs more than double that at the regular grocery stores! If you don't have a Costco membership, you can purchase it for approximately the same price with the super-save shipping program at Amazon (when it is on sale). If you really want to be cheap about it (Hi, mom!), you can pick up a couple of packets of it at your local coffee shop ;-) You only need 1 1/2 tablespoons of it anyway!
Triple Layer Pumpkin Pie
Grocery list:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup sour cream (remember, 8 fluid oz = 1 cup)
~2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar (2 tablespoons sugar + 1/3 teaspoon of cinnamon, mix)
Allspice
Cinnamon
Ginger
Salt
Cloves
2 1/4 cup of heavy cream
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon brandy or cognac
2 cups of pureed pumpkin
1/3 & 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon of turbinado (sugar in the raw) sugar - though this can be substituted for regular sugar
1 envelope (1 tablespoon) of unflavored granulated gelatin
Ingredient list:
Pie crust
3 cups all-purpose flower
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon cinnamon sugar
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and frozen
1 1/4 cups sour cream
Pumpkin Spice Mixture (yields 4 teaspoons, more info on pie dusting later)
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pumpkin Custard
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon brandy or cognac
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice Mixture (above)
1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons turbinado sugar (granulated sugar can be substituted)
Pumpkin Chiffon
1 envelope (1 tablespoon) unflavored granulated gelatin
1 1/2 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice Mixture (above)
3 large egg whites
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the pie crust:
1. Pulse the flour, salt, and cinnamon sugar together in the food processor until combined.
2. Scatter the pieces of frozen butter over the top of the flour mixture (see image to the left).
3. Pulse until the butter is the size of large peas, approximately 20 pulses (see image to the left). Remember, a "pulse" is about 1 second on, and 1 second off.
4. Add the sour cream and pulse until the dough forms one large ball.
5. Divide the dough into two pieces. If you want, you can use a kitchen scale to try to even the two sides out.
6. Put the two mounds of dough on top of sheets of plastic wrap (I recommend the Glad Press & Seal wrap), and flatten each into 4 inch wide disks.
7. Wrap up the dough disks, and refrigerate one of the doughs for 1 hour. (Tip: you can put the other one in the freezer for up to a month. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to two days. When using the frozen dough, let it thaw completely on the counter before rolling it out). This is the 1st part where you get to take a 1 hour break!
8. When you are ready to bake your crust, take it out of the fridge and set it on the counter for 10 minutes.
9. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
10. If using a pie crust bag:
Pie crust rolled out in the pie crust bag
If using the 11" pie bag, take out about a golf ball size amount of dough from the mound of dough. If using the 14" pie bag, skip this first step. I do recommend using the 14" pie bag instead.
Lightly flour the inside of the bag - top and bottom.
Put the dough inside the bag and zip it up.
Roll out the dough, and be sure to spread the dough all the way to the edges of the bag (see image to the right).
Unzip the bag, and carefully loosen the edges of the dough from the bag, and peel off one side of the pie bag from the dough.
Place your pie pan centered and upside down on the rolled out dough.
Flip the pie pan and dough over.
Remove the pie crust bag from the dough.
Spread out the pie crust in the pie pan, and make sure the dough is evenly placed around the edges of the pan.
Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, spread out the dough where it is about 1/2 an inch larger than the edge of the plate.
11. If not using a pie crust bag:
Lay the prepared dough on a lightly floured work surface.
Roll out the dough outward from the center into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick.
Loosely fold the dough into quarters, and gently transfer it to the 10 inch pie plate.
Unfold the crust and gently press it into the pie plate, letting the excess hang over the pie plate.
Using a sharp instrument, trim off the excess dough to about 1/2 inch larger than the edge of the plate.
12. Tuck the excess 1/2 inch of dough underneath itself to form a neat, even edge that sits on top of the pie plate.
13. Press a decorative trim into the edge of the pie. You can use a fork to make some impressions, or you can use the back of a butter knife to make a rope-like impression.
Pie beads in the pie, ready to be baked.
14. Line the pie shell with a double layer of aluminum foil and fill with pie weights, old (uncooked) beans, or (washed) pennies (see image to the right). You will find a link for pie beads in the Amazon list below.
15. Bake the pie crust for 15 minutes. Hint: you will want to get started on the custard right after you put the pie in the oven.
16. Once the 15 minutes are up, remove the crust from the oven and remove the weights and foil. Since the pie beads will be hot, be sure to pour them into a temperature safe bowl or colander so they can cool off.
17. Continue to bake the crust until light golden brown and crisp, approximately 5 minutes longer. Fair warning: the crust will likely bubble up in the last 5 minutes of baking time. You can use a fork to stab some steam holes into the crust before or after it is done baking, and be careful to encourage it to settle down to an even layer. Don't put your hand right over the steam holes! For the most part, it will settle down fairly nicely on its own - after the steam holes have been vented.
18. Place the pie plate on a cooling rack while assembling the custard. Keep the oven on.
Before mixing the spices
For the pumpkin spice mixture: (you can also do this step in advance)
1. In a small bowl or ramekin, combine all of the ingredients for the spice mixture.
2. Set aside.
After mixing the spices
For the pumpkin custard:
1. While the pie shell is baking, put the eggs into your mixing bowl and lightly beat them with a fork (if you haven't beaten them yet).
2. Add the cream, brandy, and 2 teaspoons of the spice mixture to the eggs.
3. Whisk until combined.
4. Using a spatula, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all of the ingredients are incorporated (pictured on the left).
5. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar, and turbinado sugar to the mixture.
6. Whisk until combined.
7. Using a spatula, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all of the ingredients are incorporated (pictured on the right). Notice it is a little darker and more "pumpkin" colored now.
8. Using the spatula to stir while scraping the bowl, pour the pumpkin custard into the warm pre-baked crust (pictured to the left).
9. Bake until the edges of the pie are set, and the center of the pie registers at 175°F on an instant read-thermometer. This should take about 30 minutes. If you do not like dark golden crusts (I don't!), you can use a pie shield (pictured to the right, listed in the Amazon link below). Hint: While the pie is baking, this is the 1st part where you will want to wash your mixing bowl and whisk. You don't want that pumpkin custard mixture to get caked on.
10. Remove the pie from the oven, and set it on a cooling rack to cool it to room temperature. This should take approximately 1 hours (pictured to the right). It will be a bit darker than before, and it will largely resemble the pumpkin pies you are familiar with. This is the part where you can take a break!
11. Refrigerate while you are preparing the chiffon layer.
For the pumpkin chiffon layer:
1. In a small sauce pan, combine the gelatin and 1/4 cup cold water.
2. Let it soak (without heat) for 5 minutes.
3. While the gelatin is soaking, put a separate medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, and whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, egg yolks, and 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin spice mixture.
4. While stirring constantly, bring it to a simmer.
5. Once it has started to simmer, remove it from the heat, and transfer to a medium sized mixing bowl. You are going to be adding 3 whipped egg whites to it, so make sure you use a large enough bowl for this task.
6. Place the gelatin sauce pan over low heat until the gelatin is completely melted. After about half a minute or so, you can stir it gently to encourage the gelatin to melt. This will take approximately 1-2 minutes.
7. Remove the gelatin from the heat.
8. Add the gelatin to the chiffon mixture, and stir until thoroughly combined.
9. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator until the mixture is just slightly set, and the center jiggles just slightly when shaken. This will take 15-20 minutes. You do not want to let it sit too long, otherwise it will become too firm. It will be relatively forgiving in this regard. You just don't want to let it sit in the fridge for hours on end.
Note: You are going to come back to complete the chiffon layer. For now, there are a few more steps that need to be done quickly while the chiffon layer is firming up.
For the whipped cream layer:
1. Pour the whipped cream into your mixing bowl, and whisk it on medium speed until small (not medium or large) bubbles form. This will take approximately 30 seconds.
2. Increase the speed to medium-high speed, and sprinkle in the granulated sugar. Continue to whip until the cream thickens and forms stiff peaks. This will take approximately 2 minutes.
3. Set aside 1/4 cup of the whipped cream, cover it, and refrigerate it.
4. Transfer the remaining whipped cream to a separate bowl, cover it, and refrigerate. Hint: you will need to quickly wash your mixing bowl and whisk again.
For the remaining portion of the chiffon layer: (see the section below titled "If you prefer to cook your egg white meringue")
10. Pour your egg whites into your mixing bowl, and whisk the egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy. This will take approximately 1-2 minutes.
11. While the mixer is running, sprinkle in the granulated sugar, and increase the speed to medium-high. Keep whisking until stiff peaks form. This will take approximately 1-2 more minutes.
chiffon layer, before egg whites and whipped cream are added
12. Hopefully your chiffon will be done gelling up by this time (see image on the right). Remove the chiffon layer and the baked pumpkin pie from the refrigerator.
**12. Using the whisk, stir about 1/4 of the whipped egg whites into the chiffon mixture to lighten it.
13. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the remaining egg whites and reserved 1/4 cup of whipped cream until no white streaks remain.
After the chiffon layer has been added to the pie
14. Spread the chiffon mixture onto the prepared pumpkin pie, mounding it slightly in the middle. Depending on the size of your pie pan, you may have some overflow. Considering there is one more layer to this pie, you might need to set some of the chiffon mixture aside (see image to the left). Another option is to chill the pie very well before you add the whipped cream layer. I highly recommend doing this since it helps "set" the layer in order to prevent it from overflowing when you add the whipped cream on top.
15. Gently spread the whipped cream attractively over the top of the pie.
16. You can either lightly dust the pie with some cinnamon or you can create another 1/2 batch of the pumpkin spice mixture. Since it is going on top of whipped cream, you can probably skip the salt.
17. Cover with a dome cover or cake cover, and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. You can serve it immediately, but the chiffon layer will run all over the place. It is much more attractive if you serve it cold. It must be refrigerated at all times since it has uncooked egg whites in the chiffon layer. This brings me to the final hint.
If you prefer to cook your egg white meringue:
1. Place a thick glass, medium size bowl over a sauce pan of barely simmering water, and add the egg whites and sugar. (See Further explanation below*)
2. Lightly whisk until the egg whites register 140°F on an instant-read thermometer or they are hot to the touch.
3. Pour the hot egg white into your room temperature mixing bowl.
4. Whisk on medium-high speed until doubled in volume and stiff peaks form. This will take approximately 1-2 minutes.
5. Add to the chiffon layer per the instructions above.**
*Further explanation:
This process creates a double boiler, and it is used for putting indirect
heat on ingredients that need to be cooked with a hot steam. It helps
ensure the ingredients will not scorch or burn. Since you want the
steam to heat the bowl, do not let the water touch the bottom of the
glass bowl. You will want to use a glass bowl that can fit inside the pan and form a seal over the top of the pan. Holding the bowl over the heat would be a very bad idea! Using a metal bowl would require a lot more stirring since metal doesn't conduct heat as evenly as glass does.
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I hope you enjoy the recipe! I promise you, it is an absolutely divine pie! It really is worth all the effort.
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