Easy, frozen, Peanut Butter Pie - Gourmet 1995

 

 

My grandson took this picture with my Galaxy Tablet.  Didn't he do a phenomenal job?  Kids today are just so tech savy....

I was looking for a peanut butter pie for a recent family get together.  And this one from Gourmet jumped out at me.

It doesn't have the heavy cream cheese base that a lot of the recipes I found do.  It's light, airy and delicious too.  It's also so easy to make and freeze ahead, just pull it out of your freezer 1/2 hour before you serve it.

There were a few reviews of this dessert, all excellent by the way.  And one gal said she used oreo cookies (about 3 sleeves), instead of the chocolate graham crackers.  That's what I used.  I also spread the cookie crumb mixtue up the sides of my springform pan.  I think it makes a nicer presentation.

Here is the recipe:

• 40 thin chocolate wafers, ground fine in a blender or food processor (about 2 1/4 cups crumbs)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (I added 1&1/4 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cups well-chilled whipping cream
• 1/3 cup salted, roasted peanuts, chopped fine
• Garnish: lightly sweetened whipped cream and whole salted roasted peanuts

 

Preparation:

Reserve 1/4 cup cookie crumbs. In a bowl combine remaining cookie crumbs and butter and press into bottom and side of a 10-inch (1 1/2 quart) pie plate. Chill shell.

In a heavy saucepan dissolve sugar in milk over moderate heat, stirring, and remove pan from heat. Whisk in peanut butter and vanilla until combined well and cool in a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally.

In another bowl beat cream until it just holds stiff peaks and fold into peanut-butter mixture with chopped peanuts. Turn mixture into shell, smoothing top. Sprinkle reserved cookie crumbs around edge of pie.

Pipe rosettes of whipped cream decoratively onto crumbs and top rosettes with whole peanuts. Freeze pie, uncovered, until frozen hard, about 5 hours. Pie may be made 2 days ahead and frozen, covered with plastic wrap and foil after 5 hours.

Let pie stand in refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy ~

 

 

Cauliflower and Potato Gratin ~

We got a lot of snow in Boston last weekend.  Over two feet of the white stuff!  Drifting and piling everywhere.  As you can imagine, we have hardly any space for all of that snow.  So, we actually had mountains of snow in our lots and street corners.  It's a good thing that it's February, because it will melt fast.    So, being snowbound for the weekend, meant I got to stay home and play in the kitchen.

I decided to adapt Martha Stewart's potato gratin into one that I could serve as a vegetable side as well.  This dish works well, ptoatoes and cauliflower are a delicious match.  Just add grilled meat or fish and you have a complete meal.   I didn't have any breadcrumbs, so I elimated it.  No one noticed, because I believe the cheese is the star of this dish. 

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 medium yukon gold potatoes, sliced thin
3 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp bread crumbs
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated (3 Tblsp)
1/4 tsp dried oregano (didn't use)
1/2 tsp parsley flakes (didn't use)
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut up the cauliflower into small florets and set aside.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and add butter. When butter has melted whisk in the flour and then slowly add the milk.
Add the cauliflower,potatoes, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated gruyere cheese.
Once the cheese has melted pour everything into a 2 quart baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano and parsley flakes. Stir the mixture and sprinkle it over the top of the cauliflower. (You may not use all the mixture just enough to coat the top)
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, or until it's golden and bubbly on top.  (I turned the broiler on for 5 minutes) 

Enjoy ~

 

Cauliflower and Potato Gratin ~

We got a lot of snow in Boston last weekend.  Over two feet of the white stuff!  Drifting and piling everywhere.  As you can imagine, we have hardly any space for all of that snow.  So, we actually had mountains of snow in our lots and street corners.  It's a good thing that it's February, because it will melt fast.    So, being snowbound for the weekend, meant I got to stay home and play in the kitchen.

I decided to adapt Martha Stewart's potato gratin into one that I could serve as a vegetable side as well.  This dish works well.  Just add grilled meat or fish and you have a complete meal.  By the way, it's a delicious combination.  I didn't have any breadcrumbs, so I elimated it.  No one noticed, because I believe the cheese is the star.  I added a little extra parmesan to the top of the gratin before it went in the oven.

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 medium yukon gold potatoes, sliced thin
3 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp bread crumbs
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated (3 Tblsp)
1/4 tsp dried oregano (didn't use)
1/2 tsp parsley flakes (didn't use)
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut up the cauliflower into small florets and set aside.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and add butter. When butter has melted whisk in the flour and then slowly add the milk.
Add the cauliflower,potatoes, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated gruyere cheese.
Once the cheese has melted pour everything into a 2 quart baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano and parsley flakes. Stir the mixture and sprinkle it over the top of the cauliflower. (You may not use all the mixture just enough to coat the top)
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, or until it's golden and bubbly on top.  (I turned the broiler on for 5 minutes) 

Enjoy ~

 

Mexican Rice Casserole ~

 

 

 

There aren't many casserole dishes I love.  This is the exception.  It's fabulous tasting and easy.  I found it on tastespotting and revamped it to make it even easier.

 

 

And I made it with chicken, so it's lighter while still having all the flavor. Here's what I did.  In a large casserole dish place two halves of chicken breasts with the onion, spices and tomato sauce in the oven covered with foil and bake for an hour and a half at 325 degrees.   Remove dish from the oven and let it cool a bit. Dice chicken and mix back in with the sauce.  Layer it on the bottom of an 11 x 11 casserole dish.  Top chicken with a sprinkle of cheese (out of the 2 cups you have set aside).  Next, mix together cooked rice, beans and cilantro. Add that on top of the chicken and top with a sprinkle of cheese.  Add sliced tomatoes and top with the rest of the cheese.  Place in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes, remove foil.  Let cook for 5 minutes longer.  Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes longer, sprinkle with cilantro.  Serve with toppings of guacomole, salsa, chopped cilantro and sour cream.  Simply delicious.  The tastespotting recipe follows below.

 



 

 



Mexican Rice Casserole


1 1/2 cups of white rice, prepared per instructions
1 tsp of olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef (I used 96/4)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
3-4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (divided)
1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
3-4 tomatoes, sliced thickly
Sour cream (topping)
Salsa (topping)
Guacamole (topping)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare rice per instructions. While the rice is cooking heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the ground beef, making sure to break it up into crumbles. Cook the beef for 3-4 minutes then add the diced onion and all of the seasonings. Stir until well combined and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the beef is cooked through and the onion is tender. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for an additional 60 seconds. Add the cooked rice, drained and rinsed black beans, tomato sauce and a bit of cilantro (reserving some for garnishing) to the beef and onion mixture. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, taste and re-season if needed.

Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray and pour the rice mixture into the dish, spreading it evenly. Place the tomato slices on top of the rice mixture then top with cheddar cheese.
Spray a piece of tin foil with cooking spray (so the cheese won't stick) and cover the baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the tin foil. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Top with a dollop of sour cream and the remaining chopped cilantro. Enjoy.

Pad Thai from my Thai Cooking class... excellent ~

I took a Thai cooking class in Boston over a year ago, and have been wanting to make this dish ever since, it's delicious.

However, I have been unable to find perserved turnip anywhere.  Even though I have one of the largest Asian stores and Chinatown is ten minutes away, still no luck.  Of course, my not being able to read Chinese, put a damper on most of the products I looked at.  I do think  though after my long search that Thai products aren't as available in Boston as Asian products.
 
So I decided to just skip it and am happy to report back, that it's still a wonderful dish without it.  I made it for a few friends and they loved it.

And easy too.  To me, that's the important part.  This dish comes together in about five minutes, so have everything ready ahead of time.  I also made a simple stir fry of pea pods to serve with it and it was a nice addition.

Ingredients:

Pad Thai Sauce:

2 cups of sugar
1 cups of fish sauce
1 cup of vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan, bring to a boil and lower to simmer for 10 minutes.  Set aside.

Rice Noodles:

Soak rice noodles in a big bowl of warm water on counter for about 1 hour ahead of time.  Don't worry if the noodles don't appear soft enough to add, they soften up when you are cooking the Pad Thai.


Each serving below, is really enough for small plates.

1 T. vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup pad thai sauce
1 egg, whisked
Cooked medium to large shrimp (6-8 large)*
chopped green onion (green parts only)
Handful of bean sprouts
Handful of roasted peanuts, crushed a bit in a food processor

In a large non stick skillet or wok, add and heat oil.  Add egg and stir gently.  Add shrimp, stir together.  Add a handful of drained noodles, stir until combined well.  Add bean sprouts, scallion and peanut.  Add pad thai sauce and stir well.

Divide onto two plates, sprinkle with scallion, more peanuts and a wedge of lime.

*If you are not a shrimp lover, then you can do a cubed breast of chicken.  Our instructor put a pot of simmering (not rapid boil), of water and put the chicken in the water for about 30 seconds to cook, then drained them to put in the the Pad Thai.

Enjoy ~