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Best Blueberry Pie – Mary’s Version

June 27, 2021 by Mary Leave a Comment

It’s blueberry season and I had been having a craving for this Best Blueberry Pie– it’s the pie by Rose Levy Beranbaum from Food 52 . Only now I have remade the recipe – Best Blueberry Pie – Mary’s Version!

The weekend before last, I was invited to my new friend Maria’s house in Bayville, NY. Her home is smack dab right on the water, the beautiful Long Island Sound. It is just gorgeous! Maria is also a recent widow like me, and has a terrific group of great friends who get together on a regular basis. They are all foodies and wine snobs, so I fit right in.

For a dinner party at her friends’ house we were tasked with bringing dessert. Maria suggested to go buy something but since it was cloudy, non-beach weather on Saturday, I suggested I make something. And I must say, this new version of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Blueberry Pie was spectacular! Everyone LOVED it – calling it the perfect dessert, not too sweet, the crust was so flakey, so many positive comments, even on the next day. I always think that if people are still remembering and talking about your food the next day, then you’ve made a real hit!

This is a masterpiece pie to look at and eat. In reality, the berries glisten like jewels and I just love the fresh pop of taste with the uncooked berries.

Truth be told, this pie was made under distressed conditions in that Maria is not a baker. She did not have a pastry cutter or cloth or rolling pin cover and her pie plate was particularly deep.

This pie crust is a pretty big deviation from my normal, Mom’s pie crust recipe. But this is the ONE to keep! And I made my recipe so much easier than Rose Levy Beranbaum’s.

YOUR LOVE AS ONE OF YOUR INGREDIENTS

Remember it is always about the quality of the ingredients you use, along with the amount of LOVE you put in.

Here, I used Plugra unsalted butter, the best blueberries you can find, freshest lemons and even homemade vanilla that her friend, Glenn, had made.

For the crust, the two phases of refrigeration in the recipe are very important. These cold portions will help to produce a very flakey crust so please do not skip them.

The gorgeous fried chicken and celeriac salad.

The fried chicken dinner with broccoli rabe and a celeriac salad was all too delicious. Not only was I over-served on great Nebbiolo wines but I over-served myself on the chicken too! So good.

It was super fun to be in a different area – Long Island – to me is like another state. On Friday night we met up with the mutual friend who had introduced Maria and me, for a long dinner at a local restaurant. On Saturday morning, we met up with that same friend and her group of friends for a hike through this beautiful wooded area that used to hold all of the Gold Coast mansions with everyone’s dogs (Maria has two). One of the friends is Italian so Maria and I got to practice our ISL – Italian as a second language. So fun!

SUCH HAPPY MEMORIES

Saturday night was the fabulous dinner party. Her friends were so warm and welcoming. Most of them came over to Maria’s house on Sunday, bringing a beautiful brunch. It was a glorious beach day on Sunday, all of us full and happy, sipping on beers, tequila or Bloody Mary’s, lying in front of the LI Sound just enjoying each other and the beauty. This reminded me of my younger days, pre-children, when Steve and I would visit friends in the Hamptons, enjoying a hungover Sunday sweating it out in the sun. So now I am creating new memories.

Best blueberry pie with blackberries, two pieces with vanilla ice cream. — Here is a pic from the first time I made this – with ice cream and some added blackberries.

The recipe:

BEST BLUEBERRY PIE – MARY’S VERSION – serves 8

PIE CRUST – for a 9” pie

8 TBS. unsalted very cold Plugra butter
1 1/3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
3 TBS. ice water
1½ tsp. cider vinegar
1 TBS. egg white, lightly beaten

Toss the flour and salt together with a fork in a medium sized bowl.

Cut the cold butter into very small chunks by cutting the stick lengthwise into 4 quarters and then slice those quarters into ¼” pieces.

Put all of the butter into the flour mixture and using your fingers on both hands, mix and mash the butter and flour together until no chunks of butter are visible. It all has to be incorporated together otherwise you will get butter holes in your crust.

Then sprinkle on the vinegar and toss together with a fork. Sprinkle on a tablespoon of ice water, (one tablespoon at a time), toss with a fork, and repeat with the remaining two tablespoons. Your dough will now hold together and may seem a bit too wet but trust me, it is ok.

Form the dough into a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 – 2 hours or overnight. This dough can also be frozen for 3 months for future use if you want to make a double recipe.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and if necessary, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes until soft enough to roll out. On a floured surface – pastry cloth or parchment paper – with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to ⅛” thick and fit into your 9” pie pan, crimping the edges as shown in the photo.

Refrigerate the pie crust shell for at least one hour, with a maximum of 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Line the pie crust shell with parchment paper and weigh it down with dried beans or rice, trimming the corners of the extra parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes, checking at 10 minutes to rotate the pan so one side does not get too brown (as mine did). At the 20 minute mark, lift up and remove the parchment and beans or rice. Then with a fork, lightly prick the crust all over the sides and bottom to prevent it from bubbling up. Do not prick hard and all the way through as you do not want to create holes.

Place the crust back into the oven to lightly brown completely, baking for 5 – 10 minutes more. Check it at the 3 minute mark. It should be a pale golden brown all over.

Remove the crust and cool on a rack for 3 minutes.

Separate the egg yolk from the egg white and lightly whisk the white with a fork. Brush the inside of the pie crust with the egg white. This will keep it from getting soggy with the blueberries.

FOR THE BLUEBERRY FILLING

4 – 5 cups blueberries, rinsed and dried. Save a handful for garnish.
2 TBS. cornstarch
2 TBS. water
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
1 TBS. lemon juice
Good pinch of salt
2 cups whipped heavy cream, lightly sweetened with 1 TBS. powdered sugar and 1 TBS. vanilla extract

Combine 1 cup of blueberries with ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water in a medium sized pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 – 6 minutes until the berries pop and it becomes nice and liquidy and starts to thicken, stirring constantly.

Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch and water.

Have your fresh lemon juice ready.

Whisk in the cornstarch and water mixture, the lemon juice and salt. Simmer for a minute until the mixture becomes translucent. Immediately off heat, fold in the remaining blueberries, being sure to cover all berries with the jammy mixture.

Spoon into the pie crust, gently spreading the mixture all over.

Let the pie set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Just before serving whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla and gently spread in a small circle on top, in the center of the pie. Garnish with the saved handful of berries as shown in the picture.

Enjoy!!

What a difference a pie makes…

December 4, 2011 by Mary Frances 4 Comments

So we had our friends Wayne and Margaret over for dinner last night and I decided to make a pecan pie (Mrs. Fowler’s recipe, of course – in an earlier post) for dessert, since I didn’t make one for Thanksgiving.

Margaret is a terrific, accomplished baker – she makes the greatest sticky buns and coconut cakes. But I’m telling you, make a pie from scratch and everyone loves you. First thing they said when they walked in the kitchen – “oh you made a pie!!”

As I was cutting the pie into eighths, after I had served the guys, Margaret puts her hand on mine (I didn’t know if this was going to be sexy or not – just kidding) and says, “Now cut this half in thirds.” I was floored and delighted that tiny Margaret wanted a bigger piece! While eating, she then proceeded to give me her mother’s secret for her pie crust and then asked to take another piece home! I loved it!

I used the recipe from my mother for my crust. Everyone thinks making a pie crust is a super big deal. It isn’t. You need to practice a little, follow instructions closely – this is baking – so it’s different from cooking as it’s much more exacting. But boy, do it, and everyone loves you!

We brought the two pieces home tonight (Steve had another piece before breakfast) and Zach was like, “Oh you made a pie!!!”

Here’s the recipe and hopefully some helpful photos.

BASIC PIE CRUST for Two 9” Single Crusts (cut in half for one bottom crust)
2 cups flour
1 scant tsp. salt
2/3 cup of Crisco or unsalted butter, cut into very small chunks
6 or less Tbs. ice water

Whisk together flour and salt. Cut in Crisco or butter until it forms “peas, “ using a fork or two knives or a pastry thingy. Sprinkle on ice water a tablespoon at a time, tossing lightly with a fork, or even better, with your hands, combining everything well after each addition. Press dough together and form 2 flattened rounds. Wrap each round in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour or two. Roll out quickly and lightly on a floured pastry cloth or floured board and then fold into thirds and place and shape into pie pan, fluting the edges as shown. Refrigerate overnight for a flakier crust, if you have time, or even for a couple of hours.

Line crust with parchment paper and fill with dried peas or beans. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

Carefully remove parchment filled with peas. Let cool for 15 minutes before filling. You’re a hero – you just made a crust from scratch!

Now Margaret says to take out 1/4 cup of the flour-salt mixture and mix it with 1/4 cup of ice water to make a slurry and then add that back in gradually to everything. I will try this the next time and see. Margaret has this German heritage and you know they know everything about making great pastries!

Unbaked pie crust

Pie crust with dried peas

Partially baked pie crust on a white table.

Partially baked crust

Finished pecan pie

Pie Crusts with Lard and Other Thanksgiving Meal Questions

November 29, 2014 by Mary 17 Comments

I trust that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! It is such a wonderful holiday – all about being together, with great food. What could be better? No worrying about presents or decorations, the focus is on food. With the major snowstorm we had all day on Wednesday, our electricity kept blinking, but still going, so the bread got baked without a hitch. I make my grandmother’s recipe for Polish bread every holiday. This year, unfortunately I forgot to bring the recipe, but Zach’s girlfriend is from Poland and her family makes a similar bread recipe! Together, from our collective memories, we pieced together the ingredients and process and it turned out great! (Lucky!!!) Our other son, his girlfriend and her father all arrived safely early afternoon on Thanksgiving, and Agata made us another guest outside!

So I have a question for all of you. Knowing that hydrogenated vegetable oil is not good for you, as it essentially never leaves your body, this year I decided to use lard in my pie crust recipe. I had to special order it from our little local grocery store. I made the dough the day before so it was fully chilled. It handled absolutely beautifully in rolling it out. I then even had time to chill the formed crust again before baking. However, my beautiful crimped sides all fell during baking.

You can see that here. What did I do wrong? Should I have used half lard and half butter?

But here you can see how flakey it was on the pecan pie. Yum!

Meanwhile, the fresh pumpkin extracted with the hammer and screwdriver produced the BEST pumpkin pie – epic – as our oldest said!

Then the next thing I want to ask you is what do you do for your green vegetable at the big meal? In my book and at our last two Thanksgiving celebrations, I did this Brussels sprouts recipe with a fish sauce – from Momofuku and published at Food 52. My husband and I liked this but as my friend Judy said, it’s an acquired taste. So my boys vetoed that recipe out of the meal this year. I replaced it with sugar snap peas (blanched for one minute) with red pepper strips tossed with a sherry vinaigrette and topped with nitrate-free, all natural bacon bits.

My theory was that this would be a great refreshing dish, a counterpoint to the richness of the dressing, turkey and gravy with the crunch of the just blanched snap peas, and the sherry vinaigrette would be a nice contrast to the maple glazed sweet potatoes. A cool, salad-like dish to be clean and different on the plate, right?

Wrong. I hated it. To me, it broke up the whole warmth of the entire meal. So what do you do? Please share!

Easy Ice Cream Pie with Power O’s Crust

July 21, 2015 by Mary 18 Comments

A pie crust that is actually good for you?

Impossible?!

Well, no.

Not if it’s made with Power O’s this super unusual, delicious cereal that’s made with beans!

This is the fifth item in our MARY’s secret ingredients summer box and really so unique, so smart and so delicious! I was told by a doctor years ago that the first thing I should put into my body in the morning was protein. So I usually eat meat but cereal is really a more normal breakfast food. So here, with Power O’s you can have both!

Beans are comparable to meat when it comes to calories, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, a registered dietitian at Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Wellness Institute in Chicago and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. But they really shine in terms of fiber and water content, two ingredients that make you feel fuller, faster. Adding beans to your diet helps cut calories without feeling deprived.

Our diets tend to be seriously skimpy when it comes to fiber (the average American consumes just 15 grams daily), to the detriment of both our hearts and our waistlines. The recommended amount for a daily dose of fiber is 21 to 25 grams per day for adult women (30 to 38 grams for adult men). Meat, on the other hand, contains no fiber at all.

This difference in fiber content means that meat is digested fairly quickly, whereas beans are digested slowly, keeping you satisfied longer. Plus, beans are low in sugar, which prevents insulin in the bloodstream from spiking and causing hunger. When you substitute beans for meat in your diet, you get the added bonus of a decrease in saturated fat, says Blatner.

So maybe with this recipe I negated part of the goodness by adding ice cream, OR you could say that this is my attempt to make an ice cream dessert healthy!

This company, Love Grown Foods, was started by a husband and wife team, Alex and Maddy. I met them last year at the Fancy Foods Show and their philosophy completely matches mine. They said, “We started Love Grown Foods to put healthier foods on the shelves, because we are passionate about making delicious and nutritious foods available to everyone. We are also committed to educating kids, parents, and teachers about the importance of eating healthy. We are here to change the way people think about food, eat food, and ultimately buy food. Join us on our journey as we SPREAD the LOVE!”

This is exactly what I’m hoping to do with this blog and with MARY’s secret ingredients.

“Nuff said.” Eat your beans this way!

EASY ICE CREAM PIE WITH POWER O’s CRUST – serves 8

4.4 oz. Power O’s, honey or chocolate, crushed
Pinch of French Grey or Kosher salt
7 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbs. all natural chocolate sauce
2 pints of all natural vanilla ice cream
Strawberries
Blueberries
Aged pomegranate balsamic vinegar, (optional), for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Crush the cereal into fine crumbs with a rolling pin. Place in a bowl. Melt the butter and pour over the crushed Power O’s. When the warm butter hit the chocolate Power O’s, the chocolate smell was intoxicating – proof that they’re using real, high quality ingredients – as opposed to making this crust with processed food graham crackers – YUK!

Mix the cereal crumbs and butter well. Pour into a 9″ pie plate and distribute and press in evenly all around forming the crust, being careful not to make any area too thick, particularly where the sides meet the bottom of the pan.

Bake the crust on the middle rack in the oven for about 8 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Drizzle the chocolate sauce on the bottom of the crust.

Spoon the 2 pints of ice cream evenly all around in the crust. Do this quickly so you don’t have melting along the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to serve.

Just before serving decorate the top with blueberries and strawberries as shown. I did this for July 4^th – very patriotic!

Cut with a knife dipped in hot tap water, drizzle each piece with aged pomegranate balsamic vinegar (optional) and serve. This vinegar was a very nice, surprising touch!

And as a little reminder, our fall box ships on September 25th and it’s going to be also full of great unusual products! The supply is limited so best to order now before we run out.

Mixed Fruit Galette

September 2, 2021 by Mary Leave a Comment

Before the luscious summer fruit season ends, you must make a Mixed Fruit Galette and wow everyone who sees it!!

Begin with the pie crust

You see, it’s really very simple. Make a buttery pie crust – why everyone is so afraid of pie crust when they’re really very easy, I don’t know. Someone must have given them a bad rap some years ago! Don’t let them daunt you.

It’s flour, a little salt, butter and ice water. Four basic ingredients, of course mixed with LOVE. Sure, you can add some vodka or cider vinegar so maybe it’s 6 ingredients, but don’t forget the LOVE.

Mixed fruits are the best!

Roll that baby out and fill that crust with a variety of mixed fruits, a little lemon, vanilla and cornstarch and you’ve got yourself a beautiful, simple, even healthy dessert as there’s not much sugar.

Dot it with fresh blueberries and some thyme leaves when finished baking and you’ll present a real showstopper. I prefer the pop of the fresh blueberries added afterwards because when cooked, they just collapse and spread the messy dark blue juice everywhere.

And the thyme leaves create a different floral component to the dessert that’s unexpected and delicious, while the sprinkle of sugar on top gives it that extra special glisten.

Serve your Mixed Fruit Galette with crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream, sit back, relax, and enjoy all the compliments!

Make this for one of your Labor Day weekend parties and create a loving memory for all there.

Ok, so I used too much butter in this crust dough and it cracked and leaked, but no matter, it still tasted amazing!

MIXED FRUIT GALETTE – serves 6 – 8

One pie crust – use the recipe here or here
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 Tbs.
1/4 tsp. salt
1.5 lbs. of mixed peaches, peeled and cut into 1-inch-thick wedges, tiny apricots cut in half or red plums cut in quarters or fresh figs, stems removed and cut in half, or blackberries
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten
4 thyme sprigs, leaves removed
A handful of blueberries
Crème Fraiche or vanilla ice cream for serving

Directions

Unwrap chilled pie crust dough, and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out about 1/8 inch thick. Place dough circle on a parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet, and chill, uncovered, until firm, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together cornstarch, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add peaches, apricots, plums, figs and blackberries, melted butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla, and toss to combine.

Arrange fruit mixture in center of chilled dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold dough edges up and over filling (dough will only partially cover filling), pleating every 3 inches. Lightly brush folded dough edges with beaten egg. Sprinkle dough edges and filling with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (without opening oven door), and bake until crust is golden brown and fruit mixture bubbles in the middle, 40 to 45 minutes.

Transfer baking sheet with the mixed fruit galette to a wire rack, and let cool 30 minutes. Dot the galette with the fresh blueberries and thyme leaves. Serve galette warm, or let cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour. Serve with crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream and LOVE.

Tarte Tatin

November 25, 2019 by Mary 4 Comments

Most of you know me as not such a sweet person. I mean, I am nice, I think, but I do prefer savory over sweet any day of the week. So over the past 6 months, I have made this Tarte Tatin recipe about 8 times, trying to perfect it in order to make it worthy enough to share it with you!

Great for Thanksgiving!

I think this could be a terrific alternative to the pumpkin and/or pecan pie for Thanksgiving this Thursday. It is a little healthier approach, but only if you decide, because holidays are always a special time, and should be kept so, with traditions in your family.

If you do decide to make this on Thursday, you can easily start it while the turkey is still in the oven, then bake it while the turkey is resting, if you only have one oven.

Easy as pie!

I initially learned about Tarte Tatin about 35 years ago. I had one of my first big projects with American Express and I was art directing a large photo shoot for a series of billing enclosures – remember those lovely little 4-color ad inserts you got with your bill every month in those days? Well the photo stylist I had hired to find all the props and to be on the set to style, suddenly started talking about this Tarte Tatin she had made the night before at her boyfriend’s apartment. They had had a bunch of people over, drinking and partying and she just went into the kitchen to make this, easily, and of course, everyone loved it!

So, man, I was in. But her recipe had you make a Pâte Brisée as the crust, which is really just a French version of a pie crust with a lot more butter and here, I just used my pie crust recipe made with all butter, and added an extra tablespoon. I had an already-made crust in the freezer, which then makes this recipe super easy.

What struck me about her story is that, A.) this had to be super easy to make if she just went in and whipped it up, probably even after having a few drinks at that – similar to Louise Fowler making me a Pecan Pie and B.) what a great way to wow people and make them happy, similar to “Oh you made a pie!”

I have had her recipe all this time, but now, I created this even easier recipe with what I have here.

My Tarte Tatin recipe is super quick, just as long as you can peel apples fast, but do take the time to make sure the sugar caramelizes completely and if you have a pie crust already made, it’s money!!

Here you go!!

TARTE TATIN – serves 6 – 8

4 Tbs. butter
¾ – 1 cup of white sugar, depending on the sweetness of your apples
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8^th’s
Cinnamon – overall sprinkle
Nutmeg – overall grating of whole nutmeg
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 9” unbaked pie crust made with all butter plus an added 1 Tbs. of butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Coat a 10-inch cast iron skillet with the butter, melted. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the top of the butter.

Place apple pieces on top of the butter and sugar, rounded sides down, in a circular pattern. Do cram them all in the skillet!

Turn heat to medium-high and cook until sugar dissolves and begins to caramelize. Continue to cook until apples soften and caramel begins to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Watch carefully and then remove from heat.

While the apples are caramelizing, sprinkle a work surface (preferably use a pastry cloth with a rolling pin cover) with 1 Tbs. flour and roll pie dough into an 11-inch circle.

Place crust on top of apples in the skillet and roll a rolling pin over the top to cut off the excess crust.

Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden brown, about 20 – 23 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Do not allow it to cool any longer. Place a flat plate over the top of the pan and carefully invert to release the Tarte Tatin from the pan. Scrape any remaining apples stuck to the pan back on top of crust.

Serve with a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream and LOVE. Enjoy!!

English Provender Caramelized Red Onion Chutney Pork Chops with Apples and Sweet Peppers & Luxury Lemon Curd Chiffon Pie with Strawberries

July 19, 2016 by Mary 8 Comments

Across the pond, the English Provender Company makes excellent chutneys, jams and spreads. They use only the finest premium ingredients to make each one of the products in their line. That’s why when they approached MARY’s secret ingredients to be in the box, after our testing and trial, we said a resounding “YES!” We’ve got two of their products in the box, which makes it twice as nice!

This caramelized red onion chutney is insanely good and you’ll want to put it on everything as I have been! I have used the chutney to finish off a fresh Bing cherry sauce for duck, it’s terrific as is served on the side of a broiled or grilled steak and it even goes great with scrambled eggs! You can tell I really love this stuff! But then I buckled down and made these Caramelized Red Onion Chutney Pork Chops with Apples and Sweet Peppers that you will LOVE. They are super easy to make, gorgeous to look at and taste out of this world. All good things.

Finishing the chops with a squeeze of lime and the sprinkling of chopped parsley adds the right amount of acid and really wakes up everything. I’ve been playing with limes a lot lately. A squeeze of lime is softer than lemon and not so distinct on a dish. It’s nice. Try it!

And then you can serve this super easy dessert to finish your meal that is light, delicious, refreshing, pretty and screams summer. Lemons and strawberries are a wonderful combination. A perfect way to end a meal is with this Luxury Lemon Curd Chiffon Pie with Strawberries. Enjoy!!

ENGLISH PROVENDER CARAMELIZED RED ONION CHUTNEY PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES AND SWEET PEPPERS – serves 2

2 ½” thick heritage pork chops
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
Salt
Pepper, fresh ground
1 Fuji apple, cored and cut into 16 slices
5 small red, yellow or orange small sweet peppers
2 heaping Tbs. of English Provender Caramelized Red Onion Chutney
3 springs of Italian parsley, chopped for garnish
1/4 of a lime in a wedge

Wash and dry your pork chops with paper toweling. Season the top side with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet on medium high heat until foaming mostly subsides. Lay pork chops in, seasoned side down. Add in apples and peppers around the chops and salt and pepper the top side of the chops and sauté for 4 – 5 minutes.

Turn chops and put on 1 heaping Tbs. of English Provender Caramelized Red Onion Chutney on each chop and spread around on the top of the chop. Turn apples and peppers and place them on top of the chops. Sauté for 5 – 6 minutes on this side.

Remove chops carefully to a platter, keeping all the toppings in place. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Squeeze on the lime wedge all over and sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

ENGLISH PROVENDER LUXURY LEMON CURD CHIFFON PIE WITH STRAWBERRIES – serves 6 – 8

10 – 12 oz. heavy cream
4 oz. English Provender Luxury Lemon Curd
1 qt. strawberries, washed, air dried, stems removed and sliced in half
1 9” baked pie shell

Make the pie crust from the recipe here, (or buy a ready made one). Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake the pie shell for 8 minutes with parchment paper and dried peas, beans or pie weights in the center to weigh it down. Remove the parchment paper and weights at the 8-minute mark and return the crust to the oven for 4 – 8 minutes more until pastry is light brown, crisp and dry. Let the crust cool completely on a rack before filling.

Whip the heavy cream until nearly stiff peaks form. Gently fold in all of the lemon curd evenly throughout.

Spread the filling in the pie shell and chill for at least 4 hours.

Right before serving, place all the halved strawberries on top of the filling evenly. Cut in wedges to serve. Enjoy!!

My Birthday

December 5, 2014 by Mary 13 Comments

I have to share with you the best card that I received from my friend Sheila in Texas for my birthday this year. First of all, you must know, Sheila and I have been friends for like, 37 years. And she always sends me a card, NEVER forgets. But this card, isn’t it the greatest? And it is fitting for me – don’t you think? (I certainly hope no one is offended.)

My real birthday was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. My younger son and his girlfriend made me a beautiful dinner that evening – exactly what I wanted, fulfilling my request superbly – sautéed boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a red sauce with capers over pasta, topped with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, with some green beans and pancetta on the side. It was a simple, robust and perfect meal for a snowy evening in front of the fire after a long day of cooking for Thanksgiving. The only thing is that I forgot to take pictures.

My older son declared my birthday was Saturday as he and his girlfriend did not arrive until Thanksgiving day, so they just moved my day. He recently made Pot au Feu for a Sunday evening dinner for my husband and me and he wanted to revisit that dish, only this time, he started making the broth on Thursday evening with the turkey carcass along with a chicken carcass I had saved for him. He cooked that broth in my giant soup pot for 3 days, as it very slowly simmered, totally permeating the house with luscious stock smells. His meat was pork shoulder and a whole breast of veal. This meal was to die for.

The broth was so dark and rich and his vegetables were cooked perfectly – cabbage still a little crisp, turnips and potatoes were dreamy creamy while both meats were fork tender and so flavorful. Agata made a crusty bread for dipping and his girlfriend made a totally yummy, rich chocolate pie with a ginger snap crust. It was EPIC! And, we got to have the exact same meal on Monday night with all the leftovers. I feel so fat and happy and I don’t care, for just this once. Just like a queen! Lucky me!

Sending LOVE to all of you!!

Best Blueberry Pie!

September 17, 2013 by Mary Frances 20 Comments

We are coming on the end of the season but I think there’s still time for you to try this blueberry pie. You must – this is a real keeper. It is the best blueberry pie recipe I’ve ever come across. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to baking the whole thing completely again. This is all freshness and goodness retained in the berries. Deliciousness to the hilt!!

As you’ve probably figured out by now, I’m not the typical dessert lover. I prefer savory things when given the choice, but I do love fresh fruit pies. I didn’t get a chance to make a peach one this year. Maybe this coming weekend.

In this blueberry pie recipe, you cook only some of the blueberries to make a sort of glaze, to bind all the fresh ones together. When you do this, your fresh berries glisten like jewels. So pretty! One addition I may do next time is to add a little fresh grated nutmeg to the glaze.

I found this method at Food 52 and the recipe is here. It is Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Fresh Blueberry Pie. I also added a cup of blackberries for additional interest. It is not necessary but they did add textural delight – a nice little surprise and burst of flavor in your mouth. I did not make Rose’s crust. I opted to make my own and you can find it on this post. My crust is not buttery as hers is. Hers might be better. You decide. I did use my friend Margaret’s method of making the slurry first. It really does turn out a flakier crust. Thank you Margaret!!

I baked my crust a little too long. As you can see, it is a bit brown, but no matter, it was still so very yummy. Definitely brush the egg white on it to keep it crisp. They say to serve with whipped cream but I prefer a little dab of vanilla ice cream.

One note of warning, because this is so very fresh and sweet, the fruit flies LOVE it, so eat it fast! Enjoy! And thanks to Rose Levy Beranbaum!

Parmesan and Simply7 Quinoa Chip Crusted Catfish

July 9, 2014 by Mary 22 Comments

Woah! – that’s a title – but it’s worth it, particularly if you follow a gluten-free diet. The Simply7 Sea Salt Quinoa Chips in the MSI summer box are, of course, delicious on their own. They are super light, tasty and not bad for you, as so many other snack products are. Serve them with the Zukali Cilantro Pineapple Salsa, and pour up your favorite cocktail or glass of wine (I think a Sauvignon Blanc with this) and you are set! But to really make use of the ancient grain in these chips as an ingredient, you have to try this Parmesan and Simply7 Quinoa Chip Crusted Catfish recipe.

To be honest, this is really healthy because it’s baked. But to be honest, it doesn’t really get crusty and crisp, but it is full of flavor. Now I know, with the Italians, cheese on fish is a HUGE no no. But try this, you won’t be sorry. You can buy these chips at most Whole Foods and natural food stores.

PARMESAN AND SIMPLY7 QUINOA CHIP CRUSTED CATFISH – serves 3

1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 small packages (.8 oz.) of Simply7 Sea Salt Quinoa Chips, finely crushed
1/2 tsp. smoked, sweet Spanish paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 egg
2 tbs. real buttermilk or milk
3 catfish fillets (about 5 oz. each)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a 13” x 9” baking pan or rimmed roasting sheet pan with olive oil and set aside.

In a shallow bowl or pie plate, combine the Parmesan, finely crushed quinoa chips, paprika, and pepper. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk or milk together.

Wash and dry the catfish fillets. Dip them into the egg mixture and dredge in the Parmesan and crushed quinoa chip mixture. Place on the prepared pan and bake uncovered for 10 – 14 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately, with LOVE!

Our week upstate

July 7, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

We are rounding home stretch here on our vacation week upstate. We had glorious weather the whole time to be greeted by rain this afternoon. But that’s okay, it feels like a Nantucket day today so I am writing and reading and hopefully napping soon, a true vacation luxury.

I always end up saying to my husband, after my daily bike ride, that there is no prettier place than here. (Well Bali may be prettier but I’ve not been there yet.) It is just so darn pretty here – the sky even competes with a South African one! We often just sit staring out at our backyard, watching the show of animals that randomly appear, which provides a great sense of renewal to us city dwellers during the week.

Here are some photo highlights of our week. I’ll post some bike riding pictures soon!

Our backyard sunset cocktail lounge

Hudson Valley sunsets can’t be beat!

My 4th of July blueberry pie – served with Blue Marble vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries to make it complete!

I’m very proud of this super flakey crust.

Yogurt Marinated Chicken with Nutraw Pistachio Crust

December 29, 2015 by Mary 6 Comments

This Nutraw Pistachio Bar is made with only 5 ingredients!! It’s got dates, pistachios, almonds, coconut oil and green cardamom, all organic. That’s it! This is a way healthy energy bar that’s gluten-free, wheat-free, soy-free and dairy-free. What more (or less) could you ask for?

It’s, of course, delicious to eat all by itself, so what was I going to do with it in a recipe?

My mind kept on going back to crunchy crusts on things and how much I love them and how frustrating it must be for gluten-sensitive or gluten-intolerant people because crunchy crusts are hard to come by for them.

So I made up this recipe with chicken thighs that is just delicious! It’s a yogurt-based marinade with garam masala, star anise, garlic and honey. So I guess it’s a bit Middle Eastern?

I love garam masala because it’s a ready-made, terrific spice mix.

I used chicken thighs because they are my favorite and very forgiving in cooking, unlike white meat. I bought thighs with the skin and bones, and I just removed all the skin. I couldn’t find thighs with the bone and no skin, can you? Apparently, they don’t make that combination in the stores that I shop at. It’s either bones and skin or no bones and no skin. Anyway, I felt that skinless thighs would absorb more of the luscious flavor from the marinade.

As the Nutraw Pistachio Bars are thick, yet soft, I rolled them out with a rolling pin in thin sheets, cut them into rectangles and placed them on the skinless thighs to make a super healthy crust.

This was DELICIOUS and definitely a recipe I will repeat. The pistachio bar coating got crispy and browned nicely, just as I had imagined. The chicken was super juicy, tender and flavorful, a tiny bit sweet, but not too much. Super yummy.

I love marinades because you do all the work beforehand. Make this with LOVE on a Sunday, marinate overnight and then your dinner on the workday Monday will be a breeze.

Happy cooking!!

YOGURT MARINATED CHICKEN WITH NUTRAW PISTACHIO CRUST – serves 5 – 6

8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs, washed and paper towel dried
¾ cup plain, whole milk, Greek yogurt (unflavored)
2 Tbs. olive oil plus more for slicking the roasting pan
Juice of one lemon
2 tsp. coarse sea salt
20 grinds of black pepper
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs. garam masala
2 star anise
1 Tbs. honey
2 ½ Nutraw Pistachio Bars

MAKE THE MARINADE the day before you want to serve this dish. Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, coarse sea salt, black pepper, minced garlic, garam masala, star anise and honey.

Trim the fat from the chicken as you remove the skin. Wash and pat dry with paper toweling. Place the thighs in a Ziploc bag. Pour the marinade in the bag. Get as much air out of the bag as you can, and zip it closed. Massage the marinade around all the thighs. (sounds sexy, no?)

Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight. Every time you open the fridge, flip the bag over and massage again so all those wonderful flavors can get everywhere.

WHEN YOU’RE READY TO COOK, take the chicken out at least 30 minutes before you plan on putting it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

While the chicken is shaking off its chill, place the Nutraw Pistachio Bars on a wooden cutting board and roll them into thin sheets with a rolling pin. Cut into 8 rectangles.

Slick a rimmed baking sheet with a little olive oil. Remove the thighs from the bag and place them on the pan with what was the skin side, up. Cover each thigh with a rectangle of the pistachio bar.

Roast for 30 – 35 minutes until chicken is tender and done.

Place the chicken on a platter and let rest for 5 minutes and while it’s resting, scrape and pour all the lovely juices and drippings from the roasting pan into a small saucepan, whisk together and boil for 2 – 3 minutes to make a light sauce.

To plate, put a tablespoon or two of the warmed sauce on a plate and place the chicken thigh on top, so your pistachio topping stays crispy. Serve with LOVE!! Enjoy!

Discover more exciting products to inspire your cooking in our next MARY’s secret ingredients box! The spring box mails on March 25^th and they are selling fast. There’s only a limited number of them, so order now and be the cook everyone LOVES!!

As my good friend, Marie said, “Good cooks never lack friends!!”