Pie Crust

As promised, here is an easy, step-by-step, pie crust that never fails me. The recipe is from the inside cover of an old 1960's version of a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.



First, mix the flour and salt together and add the shortening. See that fork? That will be your BFF for the rest of the recipe. In fact, you should have used it to mix up the flour. (A note about shortening. Most cookbooks now say to use butter or Crisco. I perfer to use lard. Please...use the lard too.)



Start "cutting" in the flour with the fork. "Cutting" really is just mashing the shortening/lard into the flour and the side of the bowl.



This is what "shortening the size of peas" looks like. I'm so sorry that our ancestral grandmothers couldn't come up with a description a bit more...well...descriptive.



Add the ice water. Now here is the tricky part because the recipe says "3-4 tbsps." I always start out at 3 tbsps. and work my way up. The recipe says that because the humidity level in your kitchen will directly effect how much water you put in.



Here is the dough at 3 tbsps. The AC was on today so I already knew it was dry in the house. Even if you know that it is dry in your house, always, always, always use the least amount of liquid first. You can always add more, but you can't take any out.



Here is 4 tbsps. This is what the dough should look like. It should be just enough water to hold the flour together. I know that is a little vague, but once you get it...you should always get it.



Shape the dough into a disk.



Wrap it up in saran wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.



Un-wrap and flatten out a bit with your hand.



Then start rolling from the center out.



Give the dough a quarter turn thus ensuring that it doesn't stick and that the dough stays in somewhat circular shape.



Roll it out to an eighth of an inch thick and fold it in half.



Fold in half again and place in the pan.



Situate the dough in the pan, trim and flute according to taste. Put the dough in the fridge and make your filling. Bake as directed. Hope that helped. Sorry if it didn't. Let me know if there is anything else that is scary in the cooking world that you would like to know how to do and I will do my best to show you. I will put the recipe up later today.

Hamburger Buns

These buns are The Chef's favorite buns/rolls of all time. They are slightly sweet and as airy as all get out.


Mix the water and butter,



egg,



flour,



salt,



yeast,



onion powder, (optional but this dough is great for onion buns)



and dried minced onion (again optional and again great)



with your stand mixer for 10 minutes to develop the gluten in the flour.



Make sure that if the day you make this it is humid out, that you add more flour while it is mixing till it isn't sticky...or you might end up with Club Hand like The Chef...just sayin'



Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and let rest in a warm spot for one hour till doubled.



Cut into 8 pieces...weigh out the whole lump of dough and divide that number by 8.




Form dough into tightly rounded balls (called boulles) and put on a parchment lined baking sheet (or greased if you don't have parchment paper).

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.

Hamburger Buns

• 1 c. water
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 egg
• 3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. yeast
• 1 tsp. onion powder (optional)
• 1 tsp. dried minced onion (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or your stand mixer for 10 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape into a ball. Place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover and let ride for 35-40 minutes, until they're quite puffy. Preheat the oven to 375º. Bake the buns for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Split and use for burgers or sandwiches.

sorry about the wait...The Chef's photographer took awhile getting the pics back the The Chef...

May 26

I am of the school of mind that cooking can be simple, but fancy at the same time. Some of the best scrambled eggs I've ever had only had S&P in them and a little bit of cheese. This is what this blog is about. Having food taste and look fancy...but be simple.