Beerific Apple Pie With Rustic Cheddar Beer Crust

This ain't your gramma's apple pie!

The apples are marinated in beer so when they get put into the crust their pretty well sauced.  

As for the crust, I would almost rather chew glass than make pie crust from scratch. I literally want to chuck the dough across the room when it comes time to roll it out.  But this crust is a must-do!  Beer and sharp cheddar cheese mixed into the dough make this crust amazing!

Beerific Apple Pie With Rustic Cheddar Beer Crust

Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6-8 tbs pale ale or wheat beer
2 tbs melted butter

Filling:
7 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced 
16 oz pale ale or wheat beer
1 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 tbs flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp corn starch

Note:  I used Samuel Adams Summer Ale in the crust and a combination of the Summer Ale and Boston Lager for the apples.  Delish! (I drank what was left in the bottles  :D)

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix until well combined.  Add the remaining flour and continue mixing for about a minute.

Move to a bowl and add the cheese and 6 tbs beer, mix until just incorporated. Don't over mix. If the dough is too dry, add more beer until the right consistency is reached.

Split into two equal sized portions and form into disks. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and chill until very firm, about two hours. Because this dough is so soft, it is very important for the pie dough to be very cold and very firm.

Place the apples, lemon juice and 16 ounces of beer in a bowl and allow to soak at room temperature for 2 hours. If the apples are not fully submerged, toss every half hour to redistribute. Remove the apples from the beer and allow to drain and dry for about 30 minutes, or until fully dry.

Preheat oven to 350.







Add the apples and the remaining filling ingredients to a bowl and toss to coat.

On a well floured surface, place one of the disks, add flour to the top of the disk as well. Roll out into an even thickness.

Add you pie dough to a pie pan and press into shape, removing any excess. Add the filling.
Roll out the second disk of pie dough and add to the top of your pie. Press the top crust and the bottom crust together at the edges, cut holes to vent steam.

Brush with 2 tbs melted butter.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cover the edges with foil of the edge starts to brown too quickly.

Salted Maple Pecan Pie

This pie is fancy shmancy, rich and amazing.  The additional sea salt sprinkled on top give it a wonderful salty sweet aspect.  And as if all that wasn't good enough it's easy as pie to make . . . get it?  Pie?  

Salted Maple Pecan Pie

1 Pie Crust

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Pure Maple Syrup

1/4 Cup Butter

8 Oz Extra Firm Silken Tofu 

1/4 Cup Cold Milk

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Cups Pecan Halves

1 Teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Press pie crust into pie plate and set aside.

In a 2 quart sauce pan, mix together sugars and maple syrup. Heat over medium heat, stirring often with a whisk. Once small bubbles start rapidly forming, keep stirring for about 10 minutes. The mixture should become thick and syrupy. If the mixture starts climbing the walls of the pan in big bubbles then lower the heat a little.

Add the butter, and stir to melt. Turn the heat off, transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. 

In the meantime, prepare the rest of the filling.  Make sure to work quickly so that the caramel doesn't completely set.


Crumble the tofu into a blender or food processor, along with the milk, cornstarch and salt. Puree until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender to make sure you get everything.

With the caramel still warm in the mixing bowl, add in the tofu mixture and the vanilla, and mix well. Fold in the pecans to incorporate.

Transfer to the prepared pie crust.  Cover edge of pie crust with foil to prevent over browning.  

Bake pie for 40 minutes. Don't worry if the pie is jiggly, it will set.

Let cool for a few hours, then sprinkle the top with 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt.

Slice and serve!

Maple, Apple, and Cheddar Pie

I love cheddar cheese on my apple pie . . . it's a salty/sweet kind of thing.  This recipe bakes the cheddar right into the pie with a touch of maple syrup . . . served with a scoop of ice cream and you'll have it all goin' on!

Maple, Apple, and Cheddar Pie


1 Pie Crust
1 Tube Crescent Rolls
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
4 Medium Cortland Apples
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup 


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Place the pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan or plate and set aside.

Peel and thinly slice the apples; set aside..






In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add apples; toss gently to coat. Add cheese and the 1/4 cup maple syrup; toss gently to combine. Transfer filling to pastry-lined pie pan.  

Trim pastry even with edge of pie pan. Place crescent roll triangle on the top leaving slit-sized gaps between triangles, you will have to trim them a bit so that they don't overlap to much.  

Fold crescent roll edge under bottom pastry. Crimp edge as desired.  Use crescent roll scraps to make a design on the top, if desired.

Cover the pie loosely with foil to prevent over browning.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack. Brush with the 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Cool for 1 hour. Serve slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Easy Peasy Sweet and Creamy Strawberry Banana Pie

Easy Peasy Sweet and Creamy Strawberry Banana Pie

1 Container Vanilla Yogurt 
1 Container Cool Whip
1 Packet Banana Pudding
1 Pint Fresh Strawberries 
1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Wash, stem and slice strawberries.  Place in a large bowl

Add yogurt, Cool Whip and banana pudding and mix well.

Pour into pie crusts.

Place in the refrigerator and chill at least one hour to set.

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Hot Dog Casserole

I like to cook but there are days when I don't really want to be bothered  . . . and other days when I'm not feeling particularly fancy or inspired . . . sometimes I just want to throw a bunch of ingredients that I have on hand together and call it dinner . . . this is one of those recipes that covers all those bases and it's pretty darned good, too!

Hot Dog Casserole


1/2 Pound Ground Beef
4 Hot Dogs, Cut In Half Lengthwise And Sliced
1 Can (16 Ounces) Baked Beans
1/2 Cup Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Prepared Mustard
4 Slices American Cheese Chopped
4 Slices American Cheese, Cut Into Strips
1 Pillsbury Pizza Crust

In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain off fat.


Add the hot dogs, beans, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and
chopped cheese. 

Cook and stir until cheese is melted.

Roll out the pizza crust and press into a casserole dish.  Prick all over with a fork. 

Bake at 400 for 5 minutes. Fill with hot beef mixture. 

Cut each cheese slice into strips; make a lattice topping over pie. 

Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. 

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Mint Chocolate Chip Pie

Mint Chocolate Chip Pie

This recipe calls for a regular pastry crust.  I think a graham cracker crust would really good or even better!

2 Cups Whipping Cream

2 Tablespoons Confectioners' Sugar

2 Cups Cold Milk

1 1/2 Teaspoons Peppermint Extract

5 - 6 Drops Green Food Coloring, Optional

2 (3 1/2 Ounce) Packages Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

1 Cup Miniature Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1 9 Inch Pie Shell, Baked

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream and sugar until soft peaks form.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, extract and food coloring if desired.

Add pudding mixes; beat on low speed for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Fold in cream mixture and chocolate chips.

Pour into pastry shell.

Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.

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Sometimes you have to do what you have to do

I'm a horrible person and I'm probably going to Hell but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.  


There's this person in the office where I work who apparently doesn't have enough to do. He flits from door to door and desk to desk talking to anyone who happens to make random eye contact.  Not necessarily full eye contact either . . . once could be looking in his general direction and that would be enough to invite conversation.  I'm not talking once in a while that he does this . . . but every day several times a day.




Sometimes I get tangled in his talkative web and it might not be that bad if the conversations contained even the slenderest thread of coherent of thought process.  But it's usually random weirdness that doesn't have much to do with much of anything that is relevant.


And sometimes it seems as though he's speaking some Khoisan language as he walks by and starts making a weird clicking sound with his mouth and punctuates this with knuckle tapping on the partition of my cubicle.


Today he stopped at my cubicle with a couple clicks and knocks and with a great intake of breath began babbling a stream of nonsense.  I listened politely for as long as I could tolerate it without blood leaking out of my ears or my head exploding.  


Then as if my telephone suddenly began to ring (which it didn't) I lifted one finger in a hold-on-a-sec gesture, picked up the handset of my phone and began a non-existent conversation with no one.  He walked away and instant relief ensued.


You might say to yourself . . . how would I get away with such a ruse?  The man is clueless . . . what can I say.


I'm totally going to Hell.

Breakfast Galette

Crust:

1 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, Cubed and Cold

1/4 Cup Water, Ice Cold

Toppings:

3 Tablespoons Ricotta Cheese

1/4 Cup Mozzarella, Shredded

2 Slices Bacon, Cooked and Cubed

1 Slice Ham, Cubed

3 Large Egg Yolks

Salt And Pepper

In a medium bowl, mix together all-purpose flour and salt. Place flour and unsalted butter in freezer for 5 minutes to chill.

Combine flour mixture and butter. Mix until you’re left with what resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing until it just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it’s ready. If the dough doesn’t hold together, add a little more water and mix again.

Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into a discs, being sure to not over-knead. Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a floured surface, roll dough to a 10-inch circle with a 1/4-inch thickness. It’s okay if the edges are shaggy and it’s not a perfect circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Scoop ricotta onto the center of the dough, spreading out to make a large circle, stopping 1-inch from the edge of the dough. Sprinkle on grated mozzarella cheese. Fold edges of dough over the cheese. Transfer baking sheet to the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Whisk together yolk and water. Brush dough with the egg wash. Bake until crust is lightly golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Take galette out of the oven and gently place yolks atop cheese. Arrange bacon bits and ham to your liking and place back in oven for 2-3 minutes, or until yolks set.

Garnish with salt and pepper.