It is one of my favorite books. It is sort of a cookbook, but the focus is on the science of cooking. This knowledge arms the reader with the power to understand the reactions that occur during cooking and how to fix what you don't like. I recommend that any serious cook read it. There are two main keys to a great crust namely, keeping everything as cold as possible and speed. The flakiness in a crust is due to the butter solids staying intact until cooking. When they melt they create the lovely layers. Speed is important because the more you work with the flour and any wettish ingredient the gluten in the flour begins to create strands that connect to each other. You want that in bread, but not in pie crust or cookies. A perfectly wonderful pie crust or cookie recipe can be completely different when worked by a quick cook and one who wants to over incorporate everything. Here's the one I used today:
Flaky Butter Crust
1/3 cup Water, very cold (I float ice in mine)
1/2 lb. of Butter (2 sticks, very cold, cut into 1/2 pieces)
2 cups All Purpose Flour
(I use salted butter so I leave salt out of the recipe. If you use unsalted butter be sure to add 1/2 tea. of salt to this recipe)
1. Chill the mixing bowl and beaters in the refrigerator (at least 30 minutes).
2. Dissolve the salt, if using, in the water.
3. Place the butter and the flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it looks like chunks of oatmeal. Be very careful to not overwork it as it will warm up too much. Place this in the bowl of your mixer, cover and chill for at least 20 minutes.
4. Run the mixer and add in the water in little bits at a time. Start with 3 TBL. and add more as needed. Take it out when it looks cohesive. Form into two discs that are about 1" thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees or the temperature for the pie filling.
6. Roll out the dough (see my instructions below), being careful to be fast and not make it too thin.
7. Place in the pie pan. Trim the edges and prick the flour and side of the dough with a fork. This will prevent air bubbles from forming. If you are prebaking the pie shell place about 2 1/2 cups of uncooked rice or beans or pie weights on top of a piece of parchment paper in the pie pan. This helps it keep a nice shape and reduce the effects of shrinkage.
8. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove the rice, beans or weights and paper liner.
* If you are in a rush you could skip some of the chilling.
Here's what the flour butter mixture should look like.
Now, here's one of my tricks. I don't own a silicone mat. I am sure they are great. However, my way works nicely, too. I wipe down the countertop. The moisture causes a piece of waxed paper to stay in place. I top this will a little bit of flour that I spread around with the palm of my hand. This prevents the dough from sticking. I press the dough with my hand to begin the basic shape. Then I roll it out a bit and flip it over. Once it is the right thickness I pick up the wax paper and place it, dough side down, into the pie pan. It works like a charm!
Now the crust gets trimmed.
I've made a fluted edge with my fingers. It turned out that this one was too big. It fell during cooking.
Ready to go.
This year I also made frosted cranberries. I loved the ones at the bridal shower last week and was inspired to make some, too. That cook simply covered them with a small bit of light corn syrup and rolled them in sugar. They are sticky so I came up with another idea. Here's how to do it:
Frosted Cranberries
2 cups Cranberries (clean and ready to go)
1 Egg White
1 TBL Water
1 TBL Light Corn Syrup
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1. Whip the egg white with the water and corn syrup.
2. Place the cranberries in this mix, stirring to be sure that all cranberries get moistened.
3. Place the sugar on a plate. Use a fork to strain a few cranberries at a time, dropping them into the sugar. Use a spoon to roll them around so as to coat them with sugar. Place them on a piece of waxed paper to dry. It takes about 1.5 hours to dry. These can be stored for a few days. I will use them as garnish. My kids like to eat them,too.
I've been hearing buzz about brining the turkey for a few years now. I had always worried that it would make it too salty. However, when Laura and I were talking turkey and recipes she told me about the one she uses. I decided that I would give it a try. Here's recipe from allrecipes.com:
Citrus Turkey Brine
1 cup salt
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3TBL Baking Soda
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 gallons cold water
Directions
1. Rub salt onto your turkey, and place remaining sugar, baking soda, salt, lemons, oranges, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and pepper into a large pot. Place the turkey in the pot, and fill with water. Refrigerate overnight. Discard brine after removing turkey.
Here's to a lovely Thanksgiving for you and your family!
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