Fall=Pie Baking Time!!

Last Sunday was a beautiful fall day here in Michigan. My daughter and I decided to spend the afternoon baking pie. We started with a tart cherry pie. My daughter thought it would be fun to paint on the crust with food coloring. I think it turned out really nice. It was delicious. The recipe follows at the end of the pictures. Next we decided on a fresh peach pie. I was at the farmers market to get ready for Judy's Farmers Market Challenge http://squirrelqueen2.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-farmers-market-challenge.html#comments this weekend and I picked up some fresh peaches there. We made a fresh raspberry sauce to go on it. My daughter did the crust and again I think she made it look pretty.

Cherry Pie:

2 (16-ounce) cans tart cherries

1 cup sugar, divided use

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Pie crust for double

Line a pie plate with 1/2 crust rolled out or use already made pie crust.

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Drain cherries, reserving 3/4 cup of liquid; set cherries aside.
In a saucepan combine reserved cherry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cook until glossy.
Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and almond extract. Gently fold in cherries; allow to cool.
Spoon mixture into unbaked pie crust. Cut remaining pie crust into strips and form a lattice on top of pie. Seal and flute edges; cover edges with aluminum foil. Brush lattice top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. You can also just leave a full top as above and decorate it.
Bake 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350°F. Remove aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes or until golden brown and cherries are nice and bubbly. Cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy with ice cream or just by itself.

Peach Pie:

7 cups peaches, peeled, cored and sliced( I mixed white peaches and nectarines with regular peaches for variety)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 large egg, beaten
Crust for a double pie

Line pie plate with 1/2 rolled out crust.

Mix peaches, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt together until well combined. Pour into pie shell and dot with butter.
Make a lattice top or full crust whichever you prefer. Brush with beaten egg and if you use the full crust be sure to make some slits in center for venting.
Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until crust is golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack before.
Enjoy.

Have a nice week everyone and bake some pie!! Anne

Grilled Potatoes Greek Style

This is a great recipe to go with the Pork Souvlaki recipe I recently posted. I know that there are many versions of grilled potato packets for the grill. My daughter and I love greek food and love feta cheese. If you do also, please give this a try.
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Serves 4
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8 or 10 small red skinned potatoes, washed and cut into thick slices, leaving the skin on
1 small onion, sliced thin
3 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
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Mix together all the ingredients and set aside. Take a large piece of foil and put the mixture right down the middle. Carefully seal all sides and then I take another sheet of foil and wrap it again, so that nothing leaks out to flare up the grill. You can place the packet on the grates or right into a campfire or charcoal grill. It takes about 30-45 minutes, you can, with an oven mitt on, pinch the potato and tell if it is soft. Be sure to turn the packet over about every 10 minutes while its cooking so that it cooks evenly. It is very hot and steamed when you open it, be careful.

Grilled Pork Souvlaki

My kitchen is torn up right now and it is a mess. Everything is in boxes as we are getting some needed repairs done. I am so excited for a new kitchen and will be so glad when it is all done. We have been eating out a lot. It is really hot here, but I wanted to try grilling despite the heat. I don't have any photos, sorry, my camera is somewhere in the mess and my daughter is away this weekend with hers(the above photo I found on the web, cheating, sorry). I hope you enjoy the recipe.

Grilled Pork Souvlaki

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried whole oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound pork tenderloin or pork loin chops, cut in 2” cubes for grilling
1 large green pepper, cut into 2” cubes( I like to use the yellow ones also)
1 medium onion, cut into 2” cubes

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Combine, oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, pepper, salt together in a zip lock bag. Put the pork in the bag and seal, give it a shake and refrigerate for an hour. Using skewers, alternate peppers, onion and pork leaving room at each end of the skewer so the food doesn't slip off into the grill.

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Grill for 10-15 minutes on medium heat, turning often and using the marinade in the bag brush them often while cooking.
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This is easy and delicious, served with a nice fresh salad and fruit.
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Enjoy.
Anne