pecans

Savory Pies- Prosciutto Wrapped Fig Hand Pies with Pecans & Gorgonzola Cheese

05 Nov 2011
Prosciutto Wrapped Fig Hand Pies with Pecans and Gorgonzola Cheese

Hand pies are the new cupcake, says the Washington Post. Hand pies seem to be like regular pies, only smaller and more portable, call them palm-sized pastries.

I admit I never fully embraced the cupcake movement so I am not too sad to see them displaced. Which is why in 3 years of blogging I have never presented a single cupcake recipe. Not that I don't eat cupcakes (everyone eats cupcakes). I just don't celebrate them the way so many of my blogging brethren do. But hand pies are different. I can embrace something like that. After all they are designed to fit in my hand. The very definition of embraceable. So it's not really that hypocritical of me to post about hand pies with in 30 days of their coronation by The Washington Post as the next big little thing.

My version is Prosciutto-Wrapped Fig and Pecan Hand Pies with Gorgonzola. It's just one of the savory pies I am presenting in this week long tribute to all sorts of pies served before the coffee and dinner mints. This may not be a dessert pie, but it does have some sweet elements to it as well. It's a fig pie, with honey. But there is more to it than that so it is swimming in enough umami that I see this as a first course, possibly a brunch or even a not to sweet but highly decadent snack on the go.

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How To Make an Apple Tart Tatin in a Calphalon Waffle Maker

01 Nov 2011
waffle apple tatin

I am playing along with Kitchen Play this month in a Calphalon sponsored Progressive Dinner party.

I was sent a Calphalon No Peek Round Waffle Maker and assigned dessert. Now I could have made a dessert waffle. But I got to thinking how is a dessert waffle any different than a breakfast waffle? Well, I wanted to do something different.

Fall is in the air where I live. Apples are on my mind. So I decided quite easily to use apples in my dessert. Like I said, I could have made a nice waffle, maybe something all cinnamon spiced with an apple topping. But again. How is that different than a breakfast waffle?

No whatever I did would not entail anything close to standard waffle batter.

So all I really had in mind was "no waffle waffles" and "apples". Where could that lead?

Well, when someone says "apple" to me, it doesn't take my mind long to get to Tart Tatin. Which is a French pastry of caramelized apples sitting on top a flaky puff pastry shell made sweet and sticky with caramelized sugar. Could I make a Tart Tatin on a waffle iron? Well I just had to find out!

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Waffle Maker Apple Tart Tatin

waffle apple tatin tart
By jgreghenry Published October 24, 2011
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 1 puff pastry sheet
  • 1 apple
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1 t ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 c pecan halves
  • 4 scoops pecan praline ice cream

Directions

Cut the puff pastry sheet to fit your waffle iron. I used the Calphalon No Peek 7-inch round iron. Peel, core and slice the apple into 1/4" thick wedges. Add the sugar and cinnamon to a medium-sized bowl, mix well. Toss in the apple wedges to coat them in the sugar mixture. Starting with a cool waffle iron lay the puff pastry onto the bottom surface, lining up the edges so there is no overhang. Line the top of the puff pastry with a single layer of apple wedges. You may not use them all. Turn the machine to the highest setting and close the top over the apples. It probably won't close all the way, which is fine because that way the steam can escape as the tart cooks. It will take about 6 to 8 minutes to caramelize the apple slices and get the puff pastry crispy. Fragrance and a happy sizzling sound will be the best guides in knowing when the tart is done, but you may also peek to check. When it is done to your liking, unplug the iron and use a fork to gently lift the waffle-ized puff pastry off the iron and onto a plate. Garnish with pecan halves, cut into 4 pieces and serve each with a dollop of ice cream. Serve warm.

Prosciutto Wrapped Fig and Pecan Hand Pies with Gorgonzola

Prosciutto Wrapped Fig and Pecan Hand Pies with Gorgonzola
By jgreghenry Published October 24, 2011
Prep time: 60
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 c all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling surface
  • 1 t kosher salt
  • 8 oz (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 0.25 c ice water
  • 5 oz pecan pieces, shelled
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 0.5 t lemon zest
  • 0.5 t thyme leaves, minced
  • 1 pn each salt and pepper
  • 8 sli prosciutto
  • 8 whole figs, stem end trimmed
  • 4 oz gorgonzola, crumbled
  • 0 honey, as needed
  • 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Make the crust: Pulse flour and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream until dough just comes together (no longer than 30 seconds). Divide dough in half, shape each into a square, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days), or freeze for up to 1 month.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out cold dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a paring knife, cut out eight 5-inch squares, and fit into cups of standard sized muffin tin, leaving an overhang all around. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Save the leftover dough for another use.

Make the nut filling: Put nuts in a food processor. With processor running, slowly add oil until mixture is finely chopped. Add lemon zest and thyme leaves; season with salt and pepper. Scrape mixture into a small bowl and stir until combined. Set aside.

Make the hand pies: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide the nut filling evenly in the bottoms of chilled dough-lined muffin tins. Warp each trimmed, whole fig with one slice of prosciutto, placing each into a nut filled dough-lined muffin tin hole. Sprinkle the tops with gorgonzola, adding a small drizzle of honey. Brush with egg wash.

Place the muffin tin in the pre-heated oven and reduce heat to 375. Bake pies until top crusts are golden brown and the figs are quite soft and the prosciutto is crisp, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in the tin on a wire rack. Remove hand pies from tins and serve with a drizzle of honey.

Savoring Summer- Guest Post from Lentil Breakdown

19 Jun 2011
Plantain Banana Split

"I been workin' here at The DQ for about, um... eight months? Seven? I don't know, somethin' like that, it's fun. Just do the cones... make sundaes, make Blizzards, 'n... put stuff on 'em, 'n... see a lot of people come in, a lot of people come to The DQ... burgers... ice cream... anything, you know? Cokes... just drive in and get a Coke, if you're thirsty". In WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, the smartest movie ever made, Libbie Mae Brown comes to grips with the disappointments of her life, when she says: "I'll always have a place at the Dairy Queen". Here Adair Seldon from Lentil Breakdown tries in her own savvy way to get back to The DQ with The Lick-Your-Bowl-Clean Plantain Banana Split. GREG


Don’t hate me because I’m white trash. Just ‘cause a young Texas girl liked Dairy Queen banana splits, that doesn’t make her a hick. I don’t even have an accent, y’all. Some people just have humble beginnings.


Back when gas was cheap and skies were blue, my parents would take us three kids on summer vacations in our gold Oldsmobile Delta 88. From Dallas, we’d drive somewhere every year—west to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone or the Rocky Mountains; east to New Orleans or the Smoky Mountains; or maybe north to Lake of the Ozarks. The USA was our playground, and we valiantly marked our turf. En route, we’d stop at some oases along the highway like Stuckey’s—you know, the place with the big yellow sign with red type that said, Home of the World Famous Pecan Log Roll. I wondered just how world famous it really was. Would a Zulu tribesman know of this cylindrical, nut-encrusted treat? Once in a while we’d venture into a Howard Johnson’s restaurant for some ice cream. My favorite flavor was the apple strudel with pie crust in it. That was a novelty, before the advent of the mix-in. I should have seen it coming. But more often we’d stop at that southern fixture known as Dairy Queen.


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