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Recipe Megapost: Joe’s Birthday Party

19 Mar

Yesterday was a perfectly beautiful spring day, the first we’ve had here in DC thus far. How appropriate that the warm weather decided to show up on Joe’s birthday! We had some friends over for a celebration and spent the evening enjoying wonderful company and (if I don’t say so myself) some pretty tasty food.

Since this bash fell on a Friday, I did a lot of prep in advance so that I wouldn’t have much to do when I got home from work (and so I could enjoy the party). On to the deliciousness…

Amuse-bouche: Caramelized Pearl Onions with Queso Blanco

  • 32 pearl onions, blanched and peeled
  • 1 dried cayenne pepper
  • ½ cup dry sherry
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • A few spoonfuls of liquid from canned beets
  • Sprig of fresh thyme

*Okay, here’s the thing. The recipes I referenced for this all called for red pearl onions. I can’t find them anywhere. I don’t know why. So, I cheated and dyed them red with some of the liquid from my home-canned beets. It added bonus flavor and made them an awesome color.

Put all of the ingredients into a pot and add water just to cover the onions. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, swirling the pan every so often to keep the onions from scorching.

Reduce until there is about ¼ cup of syrupy liquid left in the pan. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and reserve syrup.

Queso Blanco

  • 1 gallon whole milk
  • ¼ cup white vinegar

Heat the milk, stirring frequently to keep from scorching. When it reaches 185 degrees, add the vinegar in 3 separate additions, stirring between each one. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for five minutes, then stir for another five or until the curds have firmed up a little bit. Strain into a colander lined with cheesecloth and then hang the curds to drain for an hour.

You can salt to taste and use this as is, but I really wanted it to be firm so that I could cut it into cubes. So, if you have a cheese press, line a mold with cheesecloth and press the curds at 10 lbs. for 10 minutes, redress the cheese and then press at 25 lbs. for 3 hours.

Put it all together: Thread one onion and one cube of queso blanco onto a skewer and drizzle with the reserved syrup.

Appetizer: Crostini Duo

  • 2 baguettes, bias sliced and toasted

For Spinach, Artichoke and Caramelized Onion Crostini

  • 1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
  • 1/3 cup low-fat sour cream
  • 3 oz. Neufchatel cheese or cream cheese
  • 1 can of artichoke hearts, drained
  • 10 oz. fresh spinach
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • ½ tsp. dried cayenne pepper
  • Salt and pepper to taste

In a wide pan, sweat the diced onions in olive oil until soft, translucent and sweet. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the spinach and cook just until it has wilted. Set the pan aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the yogurt, cheese, sour cream, artichoke hearts, thyme, mustard, pepper, and a few pinches of salt. Pulse to combine. Add the spinach, onion and garlic to the food processor and pulse until it has a spreadable consistency.

Top each toasted baguette slice with the spread and serve at room temperature.

For Fromage Blanc, Basil and Roasted Red Pepper Crostini:

  • Roasted red peppers
  • Fromage blanc
  • Basil, chiffonade cut

To make the fromage blanc, heat 1 gallon of milk to 85 degrees and add a packet of fromage blanc starter. Stir vigorously for a minute or two and then cover the pot and allow the milk to ripen at room temperature for 12 hours. Scoop the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth, and then hang them to drain for 6 hours. It should have the consistency of cream cheese. Salt to taste.

Top each toasted baguette slice with a layer of fromage blanc, diced roasted red peppers, and chiffonade basil.

Appetizer: Mushroom Strudel (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

I am sorry that I didn’t get more pictures of this process, but my hands were covered with butter most of the time and photography got the shaft. These are so good and you can make them in advance, freeze, and then bake as needed. Handy.

  • 1 package phyllo dough (40 sheets)
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 pound cremini mushrooms
  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cook the onion in the butter until translucent and then add the mushrooms and nutmeg. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until liquid has been released and has partially evaporated. Add the sherry and evaporate the alcohol by cooking over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the flour, herbs, and some salt and pepper, and let cool. The mixture will be moist.

Take one sheet of phyllo at a time from their package; cover the remaining sheets with plastic and then a damp towel to keep them from drying out. Brush one half of the sheet lengthwise with butter. Fold the unbuttered side over the buttered side, carefully, smoothing out as best you can. Again, brush one half of this lengthwise with butter, and fold the unbuttered side over it again. You’ll end up with one long column.

Place spoonful of the mushroom filling near the end and sprinkle a teaspoon of parmesan over it. Begin folding one bottom corner of the phyllo strip over the filling until it meets the opposite edge, forming a triangle, as if you were folding a flag. Place the triangle seam side down on the baking sheet, brush lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for 15 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Main Course: Porchetta

Normally, this is seared and roasted, but oven-space was at a premium and so I went the crock pot route.

  • 2 tbsp. canola oil
  • 4 lb pork loin roast
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth

Herb rub:

  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp. fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 tbsp. lemon pepper
  • 1 tbsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp. dried fennel seed
  • 1/2 tbsp. onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients for the rub in a food processor and pulse until they form a paste.

Cut several inch-deep slits in the roast and stuff some of the rub inside of them. Slather the roast with the remaining rub.

At this point, I vacuum sealed mine to let it marinate for a few days.

In a large pan, sear the roast on all sides and then move it to the crock pot. Dioji was hypnotized by the smell of meaty goodness:

Add the broth to the pan to deglaze (scrape the bottom to get all of the bits of herby piggy goodness) and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and then pour the liquid onto the roast in the crock pot.

Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. The roast ended up so tender that I shredded it and served it with the reduced cooking liquid.

Main Course: Cheese Manicotti with Zucchini Cayenne Marinara Sauce

I made the ricotta and mozzarella for these and you can find photo tutorials for them here.

Manicotti:

  • 3 eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 6 tbsp. olive oil
  • 5 tbsp. water

Filling:

  • 1 lb. ricotta cheese
  • ½ lb. mozzarella cheese, grated
  • A handful of grated parmesan
  • 1 egg
  • Fresh thyme and parsley to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

  • 2 zucchini, ¼ in. dice
  • 4 cans crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 4 dried cayenne peppers, diced
  • Dried thyme
  • Fresh parsley

To make the pasta dough, beat together the eggs, oil and water and then stir them into the flour. Get your hand in the bowl and begin to knead the dough together.Knead until it is smooth and then flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 min.

Roll the pasta into sheets, and then cut into 5 in. squares.

Boil the squares in salted water for 1-2 minutes. Drain and leave these to rest on damp towels.

Combine all of the ingredients for the filling and taste for seasoning.

Spoon a row of filling along one end of a pasta square and then carefully roll up into a tube shape. Place this, seam side down on a baking sheet while you prepare the others. If you are freezing them as I did, freeze them individually on a baking sheet before moving to a bag.

To make the sauce, sweat the onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil until translucent. Add the zucchini and garlic and sauté until everything is soft and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, peppers and spices and simmer for a few hours or until the consistency is to your liking. Add seasonings as needed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spoon a thin layer of sauce onto the bottom of a 9×13 in. baking dish. Arrange the manicotti in rows and then top with the remaining sauce (and some extra cheese if you like).

Bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through. Cover with foil and rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Bread: No-Knead Bread (from Splendid Table)

I like this because you can make the dough, throw it in a bucket in the fridge and forget about it for several days before baking.

  • 1-1/2 tbsp. granulated yeast
  • 1 tbsp. kosher salt
  • 6-1/2 cups unbleached flour, plus extra for dusting dough
  • Cornmeal

In a large plastic resealable container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water. Using a large spoon, stir in flour, mixing until mixture is uniformly moist with no dry patches. Do not knead. Dough will be wet and loose enough to conform to shape of plastic container. Cover, but not with an airtight lid.

Let dough rise at room temperature, until dough begins to flatten on top or collapse, at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours. (At this point, dough can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks; refrigerated dough is easier to work with than room-temperature dough, so the authors recommend that first-time bakers refrigerate dough overnight or at least 3 hours.)

Place a broiler pan on bottom rack of oven. Place baking pan on middle rack and preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sprinkle a little flour on dough and on your hands. Pull dough up and, using a serrated knife, cut off a grapefruit-size piece (about 1 pound). Working for 30 to 60 seconds (and adding flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking to hands; most dusting flour will fall off, it’s not intended to be incorporated into dough), turn dough in hands, gently stretching surface of dough, rotating ball a quarter-turn as you go, creating a rounded top and a bunched bottom.

Place shaped dough on a piece of parchment and let rest, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Dust dough with flour.

Using a serrated knife, slash top of dough in three parallel, 1/4-inch deep cuts. Slide dough onto preheated baking sheet. Pour 1 cup hot tap water into broiler pan and quickly close oven door to trap steam. Bake until crust is well-browned and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack and cool completely.

Dessert: Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Layer Cake

The guest of honor requested an ice cream cake with vanilla cake layers and Oreo ice cream.

  • Two layers of vanilla cake, cooled completely, wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen. I used this recipe.
  • Two layers of ice cream
  • Whipped cream

To make the ice cream layers, line two 9 in. pans with plastic wrap and scoop softened ice cream into each. Flatten out the ice cream by pressing another pan on top of it. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer to harden.

Stack the layers as such (from bottom to top): Cake, ice cream, cake, ice cream. Again, cover this in plastic wrap tightly and freeze. Before icing your cake, trim the sides as needed to make them even and neat. Frost the cake with whipped cream and return to the freezer. I decorated this one by piping tempered chocolate designs onto wax paper, letting them cool, and then applying them to the cake.

Dessert: Strawberry Jam Tart

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup dry cornmeal / polenta
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp.
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg, separated
  • ½ tsp. vanilla bean paste
  • 1 1/3 cup jam (I used strawberry, but anything will do)
  • 2 tbsp. coarse sugar

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

In a stand mixer, mix the butter and 1/2 cup sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla bean paste and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until the dough just comes together.

Transfer about one-third of the dough to a lightly floured counter and shape it into a log about 2 in. diameter. Wrap it in plastic wrap freeze for an hour.

Transfer the remaining dough to a buttered 9-inch spring form pan. Press the dough evenly into the bottom, going about 3/4-inch (2-cm) up the sides of the pan. Freeze the dough-lined pan until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the jam or marmalade evenly over the dough in the pan. Cut the chilled dough log into very thin discs with a sharp paring knife. Arrange them in overlapping concentric circles over the jam to form a top crust.

Whisk the remaining egg white with a teaspoon of water until frothy; brush evenly over the tart lid and then sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Bake until the top crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely before unmolding.

This holds up well and can be made up to 3 days in advance. Keep wrapped in plastic at room temperature.

The Final Treat: Pecan-Walnut Caramels

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 12 tbsp. butter
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, or one vanilla bean, split and scraped
  • 12 oz. nuts (I used half pecans and half walnuts), toasted and chopped

Generously butter a 9×13 in. pan.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter, sweetened condensed milk, water, and vanilla bean paste. Stirring often, cook this mixture until it reaches 245 degrees F.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt and chopped nuts. Pour the caramel into the buttered pan and cool completely (about 2 hours).

Turn the slab of caramel out onto a cutting board and use a pizza wheel to cut into squares. I usually get 128 pieces of candy from this recipe. Wrap the candies in pieces of wax paper and store in a cool, dark place.

Hope you enjoyed checking out the menu. Thank you to everyone who joined us and made the party so much fun.

Ciao for now,

Neen

Free Time for Croissants

8 Nov

I found out on Friday that I passed my graduate portfolio. I turned in the last several documents for it earlier in the week, and expected to receive revision recommendations from my advisor soon. I thought I’d likely spend this weekend tidying everything up. Instead, I opened my e-mail inbox to see the message subject line:  LIBR 289 CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTINA CERTO. I’d completed the requirements for the course.

I spent the next day in shock and then decided that a long set-aside culinary project was in order. I’d put off doing it due to time restraints–but this weekend presented the perfect conditions.

Anyway, time for Croissants!

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup barely warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter (3 1/2 sticks)

Method
-Mix 1 cup of the flour, the water, and the yeast together and then set aside to rest for one hour.
The mixture will become very foamy.

-Add the remaining flour, cream, and salt, then knead the mixture for one minute. Let the dough rest in a bowl covered in plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

-At this point you can either knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes or in a mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment for 15 minutes on a low speed. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a half hour.

-Place the sticks of butter in between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound / roll them out into an 8 inch square.

-On a lightly-floured surface, roll out the dough to a 9 x 17 inch rectangle and place the square of butter on half of it:

-Fold the top of the rectangle over the square of dough and pinch the edges with your fingers to seal.

-Roll the dough into  9 x 18 inch rectangle…

and then letter-fold into thirds. Turn the dough so that the single-folded side is on the left:

-Roll the dough out to a 9 x 18 inch rectangle again and complete another letter-fold. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour. (I docked the top with two dots to note that I had completed two “roll-fold” cycles.

-Remove from the fridge, roll the dough out to a 9 x 18 inch square and letter-fold two more times. (A total of four). Cut the final letter-folded dough in half and wrap each in plastic wrap. Now the dough is ready for use, although aging it for a few hours or overnight will develop more flavor.

-Roll the dough out into two 6.5 inch by 20 inch rectangles. Place on two parchment-lined baking sheets and return to the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

-Dock the edges on each side of the rectangle to mark off triangles. Cut them out with a pizza cutter or small, sharp knife.

-Make a slit at the base of each triangle and roll slightly outward as you tightly roll up the croissants. Roll the triangle up so that the final tip is underneath and then bend the two ends toward one another to form the classic croissant shape.

-Arrange the rolled croissants on parchment-lined baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap and proof overnight in the refrigerator.
-When it is time to bake, remove the croissants from the refrigerator and leave them at room temperature for an hour.

Beat one egg and a splash of cream together and brush the mixture on top of the proofed croissants.

-Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees F and then bake croissants for 35 minutes or until puffed and deeply golden-brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy the buttery flaky goodness.

Ciao for now,

Neen

Catch a Falling Star (Cookie)

24 Sep



I’ve been thinking a lot about a concept called “clean eating” lately. Clean eating simply means consuming food in its most whole or natural state, or as close to that as you can get. It dedicates itself to the idea of mindfully planning healthy meals that satiate the body with nutrients, rejecting over-processed and refined foods. The result is a nourished body that maintains the glycemic balance I mentioned in my earlier post, “Are You Addicted?”

Some simple ways to head in the right direction:

-Replace refined white sugar or artificial sweeteners (Splenda, this means you!) with natural sweeteners like agave nectar, raw honey, grade-b maple syrup, 100% fruit juice, fruit pulp, stevia, or sucanat.

-Replace white flour with whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour for more tender baked goods), or other milled whole grains. This not only benefits you nutrition-wise, but there are so many flavors to discover! Try nut flours, buckwheat, brown rice flour, spelt..etc..etc. The list goes on and on. Many of these are available in local organic markets, but if you can’t find them locally try Amazon or www.bobsredmill.com.

-Replace soda and sugar-laden juices with 100% fruit juices and (more importantly) water. Not a fan of plain water? Try sparkling water with a dash of fruit juice for a fizzy drink fix.

-Enjoy the whole produce section. Seriously, how many times have you passed up some different leafy greens in the produce section because you didn’t know what they were or how to cook them? I know I’ve done it. Visit a website like www.cleaneatingmag.com for some unique recipes on how to incorporate a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits into your diet. (I particularly like the format of their magazine because they denote which recipes freeze well—great for those of us with limited time during the week!)

I’ve come to a point in my journey where I’d like to try not to focus on numbers so much and instead listen more to my body. Do I feel full? If I feel hungry, is it head hunger or real hunger in my stomach? I’m still logging my food because I need to keep tabs on protein/vitamins. Also, reaching that kind of intuitive state is going to be difficult for me, and frankly I have a lot on my plate right now with school and work. It’s a goal I’ll reach someday, but I think it will be a slow transition. Who knows, though? Maybe meditating on it and learning to center myself will benefit me all around.

Now, you can’t possibly think that I would dare show you a picture of delicious star cookies without sharing the recipe! (I’d never be so cruel.) Those tasty morsels are my new treat. I’d advise freezing them in bags of 4-5 cookies each for easier portion control. I call them Whole Wheat Pie Crust Stars because they taste more like a lightly sweetened buttery pie crust than a sugar cookie. All I know is that they go great with cup of hot chocolate almond milk.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust Stars

1/2 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tbsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

3 tbsp. blue agave nectar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 tbsp. fructose

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Mix the fructose and teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine the flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Using a pastry cutter or the tines of 2 forks, cut in the butter until the mixture reaches the consistency of coarse cornmeal. Some pea-sized pieces are fine. Add the agave nectar, extracts, and buttermilk and mix until a stiff dough forms. If it’s too sticky, add a small amount of flour. Roll the dough into a ball and chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick on a lightly-floured board and cut into desired shapes with cookie or biscuit cutters. Lay the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle the fructose/cinnamon mixture over them. NOTE: Fructose is nearly twice as sweet as sugar, so use it very lightly. A tablespoon was enough for 40 star cookies.

Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are just golden. Move immediately to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Variation: Instead of cinnamon/fructose, try heating some all-fruit preserves until somewhat liquefied and drizzling them over the baked cookies. This works really well with spiced-apple preserves. It becomes an apple pie cookie!

The yield depends on the size of your cookie cutters. My small star cutter made about 40 cookies at 28 calories a piece. Not bad for a little treat! I bet crumbling 3-4 of them and adding them during the last 2-3 minutes of churning some protein ice cream would make a killer cookie ice cream.

Well that’s all from me today. I’ve got a lot of schoolwork, but I’m really glad I had some time to share my thoughts here. I really enjoy writing and hearing from all of you who try the recipes. Thanks for continuing to inspire me. Ciao for now, friends!

The Promised Pies

9 Sep

After living in England for a summer, I had a new found love for a particular portable food: the Cornish pasty. Whoever devised such a great way to use leftovers was certainly a savvy housewife. Tradition claims that the pasty was created as a way for tin miners to eat their lunch without having to return to the surface. A simple device, the pasty is nothing more than dough with a filling inside that’s then folded over, sealed, and baked. The traditional filling includes diced steak, onion, and potatoes, but today’s modern pasties are filled with a variety of sweet and savory options.

In an attempt to be a responsible WLS patient abroad, I limited my pasty eating to a bite here and there to try the various types. After watching a Good Eats episode titled “A Pie in Every Pocket,” and having a craving for a Pop-Tart the other night, I decided it was time to create a WLS-friendly pasty. I modified Alton Brown’s dough to get rid of the simple carbohydrates and add some much needed protein. Here’s what I came up with…

Apple Protein Pasties

Cast of Characters

3.5 oz. whole wheat pastry flour
1.25 oz. soy flour
2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
1.25 oz. vegetable shortening
1/3 cup milk (I used skim)
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
1.2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Add the milk and mix until everything comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead 10-20 times. If it is too sticky to knead, add a small amount of pastry flour.

Roll the dough out to about ½ inch thickness and cut out rounds using a 2 inch biscuit cutter. The dough should yield about ten of them. Roll each round out to about 5-6 inches in diameter and stack them (with wax paper in between) in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I just used some that I made last night, so it does keep overnight as long as it’s covered and cool.

Now it’s time to contemplate filling. I was really hankering for apple-cinnamon so I used some apple pie filling that I canned last fall. I’d recommend using homemade or all-fruit preserves and fillings as often as possible simply because it helps control the sugar content better. You could even use unsweetened applesauce and add some spices for a similar flavor. The possibilities are endless. Replace the vanilla protein powdered with unflavored for savory pies. Try a spoonful of leftover chili or some pizza sauce, cheese and finely diced pepperoni.

Once the dough rounds have chilled, mix together one egg and 2 tsp. of water. This egg wash will help seal the pies and keep them from coming apart in the oven.

Place one heaping spoonful of filling on one half of the round. Do not overfill—it will make a mess in the oven. With your fingertip, paint egg wash around the edges of the same side. Fold over the other half of the dough, pressing gently to remove any excess air. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Using a paring knife or kitchen shears, pierce 3 small vent holes in the top of each pie.

Bake the pies in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on them after about 20 because soy flour browns very quickly.


Yum! Each dough round is 125 calories, 5 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbohydrates, and 7.5 grams of protein. The final product will depend on the filling you choose. With my apple pie filling, the total was about 150 calories. I had one at tea today and warmed it up for a minute in our toaster—it was heavenly. Wrapped in plastic wrap, fruit pies will keep for about a week. Meat pies should be refrigerated. For long-term storage, place the unbaked pies on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once they’re frozen, put them in Ziploc bags and store. They can go straight from the freezer to the oven, but will take slightly longer to cook, maybe about 30 minutes.

So there are the pies, as promised. I hope you have a chance to enjoy making them, because they make a great quick lunch or snack. As for me it’s back to reading for school, so ciao for now friends!

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