Tag: #ilovecooking

Paige’s No Fail Pie Crust

Paige’s NO Fail Pie Crust

Paige’s No Fail Pie Crust came about after watching my daughter-in-law Paige make pies on Thanksgiving. While visiting with her, I watched her struggle with a pie crust and I could feel her anguish.  We have all been there creating the pie crust that won’t come together and falls apart. We have all done the patch-work on the plate. Paige, this one is for you.  I came home and with a vengeance created this recipe for you.

I share with you all Paige’s Pie crust that is No-fuss and works. It took me some trial and error, but this crust stands up to a lot. My one dilemma was the question of whether to pre-bake the crust. The experts agree that if you are looking for colour, texture and flavour the answer is yes.  I leave this one to the experts until my experiments continue.  

This Italian did a lot of research on pies and this is the best article I found: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/dining/pie-debates-the-experts-weigh-in.html

I did experiment with sugars; if you like replace the white sugar with coconut sugar for a different taste and more colour.  You can also leave the sugar out.

I gather the ingredients.

Pulse the flour, sugar and baking powder first.

Pulse until it looks like little peas and then add egg yolk and 2 tbsps cold water.

Keep adding cold water until the dough pulls away from the blades and forms a ball.

The dough hits the counter.

Turn it out onto the counter and knead until it comes together.

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  It is better if it sits overnight.

This is such a smooth dough.  Here it is  ready for the oven.

Today Paige’s Pie Crust made a Holiday Chocolate Pecan Pie which will be on the website soon.

Holiday Pecan Chocolate Pie: recipes at my table

We also made a lemon custard pie.  Look at the flakiness of this dough.

I also made a pumpkin pie with this crust.

Holiday Pecan Chocolate Pie: recipes at my table
Print

Paige's Pie Crust

Paige's Pie Crust cuts out the anguish in baking. 

Course Dessert
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Keyword Paige's Pie Crust
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup shortening I used Crisco
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2-8 tbsp cold water

Instructions

  1. Sift the flour and and the baking powder.

    Put into a food processor and pulse.

    Add the sugar and pulse.

    Cut the shortening into cubes and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times.  

    Add the egg yolk and 2 tbsp of water.

    Pulse again.  Keep adding water 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough comes away from the blades and forms a ball.

    Turn the dough out onto your counter and knead briefly.

    Wrap the dough in plastic and place in refrigerator for at least two hours.  Overnight is best. 

    When ready roll out the pie dough by lightly flouring your counter and rolling pin.

    Begin by flattening the round and then rolling out from the centre.  Flip the dough, lightly flour and continue.

    If your pie will spend minimal time in the oven, then pre-bake it before filling.

    To pre-bake the shell, preheat oven to 375 F.  

    Pierce the pie shell with a fork and put a piece of parchment paper over it.

    Fill with dried beans and set in the oven for 15 minutes.

    Reduce heat to 350 after filling the pie.  

Recipe Notes

This recipe may be doubled without changing the consistency.

The dough may stay in the refrigerator overnight. 

Pre-baking creates a flakier pie crust. 

 

Leave a comment

Tempting Italian Pizza Buns

Tempting Italian Pizza Buns

One of my favourite panini in Italy is a soft roll stuffed with meats, cheese and other goodies.  I like it because you can buy it and carry it down the street; I guess they would be the equivalent of a pizza pocket.  These Tempting Italian Pizza Buns can be stuffed with anything you like.  Whatever you do, don’t put any tomato sauce inside; I use marinara as a side for dipping.  In the video I stuff them with capicollo (pork cold cut) and cheese. My favourite are stuffed with rapini, sausage and onions.  Everything is pre-fried and then it becomes the little treasure inside. Try to use two items or at the most 3 inside these buns.  You can put them in the refrigerator, and they can be frozen.  They make the perfect all-in-one sandwich.

The Inspiration behind this bun

My nonno Salvatore loved fried rapini with sausage; in fact, most Italians love this dish and it is on many lunch menus.  The buns stuffed with rapini, sausage and onions that I make are a tribute to nonno Salvatore. When I am in Italy, I enjoy the buns stuffed with ham and cheese; and so, the idea for this recipe came about.  Sometimes I would stop by my favourite bakery in Cefalù and pick the stuffed buns up on the way to the beach and they became a mid-morning snack. Today, I am stuffing these pockets with capicollo and cheese because not everyone in my family likes rapini as it is an acquired taste.  You can also substitute other vegetables.  I like fried peppers, onions and mushrooms in this pocket. Remember not to use anything to soggy in the filling, or the bun won’t retain its shape.

Making your own bread dough is easy. Don’t be intimidated. It is simply a combination of flour, water, yeast, sugar and it’s done. I love this dough because it doesn’t need to rise. If you don’t like to make your own dough get some frozen pizza or bread dough at your local bakery.  It’s all good!!

Blanche some rapini and fry it.

Fry up some onions to golden brown.

Take two Italian sausages and remove from casings and fry up with the onions.

Rapini, onions and sausage ready for the buns.

Print

Tempting Italian Pizza Buns

Pockets of flavour!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The Filling

  • 1 bunch rapini blanched and fried
  • 2 Italian sausage links removed from casings
  • 2 large onions thinly chopped fried

The Buns

  • 1 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1 tbsp quick rise yeast
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil for brushing buns
  • grated parmesan cheese sprinkle on buns

Dipping sauce

  • Marinara Sauce

Instructions

The filling

  1. Clean and wash the rapini.  Cut and discard all the hard long stems. Place the rapini in a pot of boiling salted water for 5 minutes.  Remove to a cold bath.

    Take the sausage out of the casings and break it up.  Fry until golden brown. Remove from the pan.

    In the same pan add 2 tbsp of canola oil and fry onions. Remove and mix into sausage.

    Drain the rapini well. Cut up into small pieces.  Add 2 tbsp olive oil to frying pan and fry the rapini.  

    Add the rapini to the onions and sausage and mix well.  Set aside


The Buns

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

    Combine the warm water with the yeast and sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

    Put the flour and salt in a mixer.

    Pour the liquid into the mixer at low speed.

    The dough will form a ball. 

    Put it onto a floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes.

    Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. 

    Cut dough into two parts and each part into six.

    Form circles.  I use the bottom of a glass to press down the dough.  (see video)

    Fill each circle with your choice of ingredients.  Don't put too much in the centre.

    Pinch the dough together, shaping each piece into a ball by pulling the edges under.

    ( see video)

    Put on a large pan lined with parchment paper.  

    Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. 

    Let the buns sit on the pan for 5 minutes.  

    Cook for 25 minutes.  





Recipe Notes

Keep the stuffing ingredients simple.  You can use pepperoni, peppers,mushrooms,etc.  Try to keep it to a maximum of 3 ingredients per bun.

 

 

 

Rapini and sausage Pizza Bun.

Leave a comment

Lauren’s Chocolate Espresso Cannoli Cupcakes

Lauren’s Chocolate Espresso cannoli Cupcakes

My daughter Lauren is the inspiration for these cannoli cupcakes.  The truth is that she loves everything about cannoli.  She loves Sicily and the first thing she eats when we land is of course cannoli. Lauren’s Chocolate Espresso Cannoli Cupcakes are light, tasty and creamy.  Lauren is with us visiting and the cannoli critic gives it a thumbs up.

The ingredients to any cupcake should be simple.

Chocolate Espresso Cannoli Cupcake ingredients

Sicilian make a variety of cannoli and I love every kind. Every Sicilian has a recipe, and I like to take shortcuts if it will give me flavour.  I like adding the cinnamon because it adds sweetness and depth.  Sometime, I add orange peel or candied fruit, but today I want the creaminess of the ricotta.  You can also use mascerpone and it adds another layer of flavour.  Mascarpone is a thickened cream whereas ricotta is a byproduct of cheesemaking.  I tend to use more ricotta in my recipes because my Calabrese nonna made cheese and ricotta was more accessible than mascarpone.

Chocolate and coffee

“Chocolate is the first luxury. It has so many things wrapped up in it: Deliciousness in the moment, childhood memories, and that grin-inducing feeling of getting a reward for being good. “ (Mariska Hargitay) I love the combination of these two; I often add some chocolate chips to the bottom of my coffee cup.  Now my secret is out.  There is something about the taste and the aroma of these cupcakes.  It is the perfect marriage to combine them with a cannoli stuffing. My nonna Emilia loved this combination; she would often have a cup of espresso and a piece of chocolate.

Print

Lauren's Chocolate Espresso Cannoli Cupcakes

Shot of coffee in your cannoli.  

Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

Cupcake

  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 2 tbsp espresso

Filling

  • 1/2 cup cream cheese soften
  • 3/4 cup ricotta
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

For the cupcakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

    Line muffin pan. 

    Combine, butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs and cocoa.  Beat until smooth.

    Pour the hot espresso into the chocolate chips to melt them.  

    Drizzle the melted chocolate into the batter.

    Spoon by tablespoon full into prepared muffin pan. 

    Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

    Put on a wire rack to cook.  

For the Filling

  1. Put ricotta, cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

    Beat until smooth.

    Add chocolate chips and stir.

    Chill in refrigerator.


To assemble

  1. When cupcakes are cool, scoop out the centre and gently lift out.

    Fill centre with a generous teaspoon or more of filling.

    Replace cap by pressing it down gently.

    Sprinkle with icing sugar.  

Recipe Notes

You can make double the amount of filling if you like and add more to cupcakes.  

 

 

 

Leave a comment