THE FEEDBAG

God Bless the Navy!  When I was a kid, my Dad would make the pies for Thanksgiving.  He would make a big show out of taking out his old Navy cookbook (since he was a cook in the Navy in the late 50’s) and we would hear all the old Navy stories and he would make the BEST PIE CRUST ever!  Then he got lazy I guess, or just too darn busy and he stopped making them.  Dad’s gone but we still have his cookbook, so I took it home and did a TEST RUN of Homemade Apple Pie last weekend and it was FAB!  I also googled a bunch of tips since Dad’s not around anymore to ask, and the results were great.  So here’s the recipe for the CRUST and the Apple Pie Filling:

This makes 4 pie crusts (enough for 2 pies - top and bottom crusts)

7 cups of flour - sifted

2 1/2 cups of shortening (I used butter flavor crisco)  - SHOULD BE  VERY COLD

2 TB salt and 2 TB Sugar

1 1/2 CUPS of ICE COLD WATER

APPLE PIE FILLING

this is filling for one pie - DOUBLE IT for 2 pies!

6 cups of sliced apples (not too thin, not too thick!)

1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar. 

1 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp salt, 2 tsp lemon juice

2 TB instant tapioca (my dad used cornstarch but I found this tapioca tip and trust me on it - it worked INSANELY GOOD!)

Mix all ingredients above into a large cooking pot. Turn on the heat, bring to a boil (yes, you will see juices forming) and once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and let cool a bit.  Don’t put it into the pie shell hot!

TO MAKE THE DOUGH:

Put sifted flour, shortening, salt and sugar in mixing bowl and mix until it resembles coarse cornmeal (if you have a pastry attachment to your blender USE IT!)

Add the cold water gradually to the flour mixture.  Mix JUST ENOUGH to form a dough.  DO NOT OVERMIX! If you do this right, the dough should come together very fast, and should be soft and very pliable.  If it’s too sticky, just add a touch more of flour and knead it in just a bit.

Let the dough stand for at least 10 - 20 minutes in the refridgerator. 

TO ASSEMBLE THE PIES:

Cut into 4 pieces.  Roll out into 1/8 inch thickness.  Place in bottom of pie pan.  Prick lightly with a fork all over.

Fill with apple mixture.  Then put the top crust on.  Press together around edges of pie pan.  Cut a small round hole in the center, and make several slits around the top of the crust with a knife.  Brush with eggwash (1 beaten egg with about 2 TB milk added as well). 

BAKE about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Then lower temperature to 325 and bake about 30 to 40 minutes - top will be golden brown and you will see apples bubbling inside. 

TIPS:  Do not let the dough warm up!  The colder the better on the shortening, water, and then dough when rolling - this guarantees a crust that will hold together and be flaky and tender!  Also, don’t be afraid to use Crisco.  It’s pie crust and there’s just no “low calorie” version of this!  Crisco is a million times better than butter - your crust will NOT be GREASY if you use cold crisco!   SO …make your pie filling first, so it can be cooling off while you are doing the dough!

Also - if you don’t want the edges burned, one of those silicone pie protector thingies works awesomely!  Golden crust without burning!  GET ONE!

ENJOY YOUR PIE!  And please send comments once you make your pie to let me know how it turned out!

I don’t understand why so many people are afraid to roast a whole chicken OR a whole turkey even!  It’s one of the EASIEST things to cook, but it makes such a great presentation on the dinner table.  Great “first home cooked meal Date” dinner, great special occasion dinner, great Sunday dinner, great comfort food dinner.  So what’s MY SECRET?  IT’S ALL IN THE BASTING!!!  Your bird needs some TLC! Don’t throw it in the oven and ignore it for 2 hours-  TAKE ARE OF YOUR BIRD!  Here’s my recipe:

1 whole chicken. - 4 to 5 pounds1 package of Italian Dressing Mix2TB olive oil1/4 cup Apple Cider vinegar - OR Lemon Juice1 medium onion - quarteredMix the italian dressing mix with the apple cider vinegar, or if you want Lemon Chicken -mix it with Lemon Juice.Put your bird in a roasting pan.  Stab it all over with a fork.  Now rub in your dressing mix very nicely all over.  Stick your quartered onion inside the cavityAdd about 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the pan.Roast your bird, uncovered, for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  Baste it liberally and generously, squirting some of the liquid into the cavity as well - EVERY 30 MINUTES.  Add a bit more water to the bottom if needed.  You don’t want your bird taking a bath, but you do need some liquid on the bottom to baste with, and to have juices for gravy.  When Mr. Chicken is done (as I said 2 to 2 1/2 hours for a 5 lb bird) - take him out and let him rest about 30 minutes before serving.  Do NOT cut into the bird immediately - all the juices will run out and he will be DRY!

Our usuall side dishes are mashed sweet potatoes (very plain -a bit of butter and some salt/pepper), and corn, or sometimes I roast some carrots in with the bird.  And maybe a tossed salad. 

This recipe is very simple - keeps the chicken very moist and flavorful, but not overpoweringly spicy.  You can vary up the herbs if you want - sometimes I add a sprig of rosemary in the cavity as well, or sprinkle on some extra basil.  You can use bottled dressing as a marinade if you want - GET CREATIVE WITH FLAVORS! THE MAIN IDEA HERE IS FOR A MOIST BIRD - SO BASTE, BASTE, BASTE!

And……the same rules apply for TURKEY…I guarantee you will NOT have a DRY TURKEY if you just pay attention to your BIRD and……BASTE FREQUENTLY!!!

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On Sunday, I made sausage and peppers to be eaten on rolls today with a salad on the side.  I do not eat pork sausage because it’s too fatty and greasy and gives me agita.  I also don’t really like the taste of it too much because of the greasiness/fattiness.  Anyway….I usually use Shadybrook Farms or Jennie-O turkey sausage - you get the sausage flavor, but it’s a much cleaner, meatier flavor without the nasty fatty taste. 

Well, on sale 2 weeks ago at Stop and Shop was Johnsonville Chicken Sausage, plus I had a $1.00 off coupon.  SO of course, I just HAD to try it.  I bought the Italian cheese flavor. 

It’s pre-cooked, but I prepped it by cutting it in 1/4 inch circles and browning it off.  And then of course, added my sliced onions, and peppers, lots of garlic, fresh basil, and a bit of tomato paste and some water and red wine to thin the tomato paste and create just enough of a sauce.  

Ok, so tonite was the TASTE TEST.  And my verdict is…….IT WAS JUST OK - BUT I PROBABLY WOULDN’T BUY IT AGAIN!!!  Of course the actual sausage and pepper recipe was great - it’s simple - you can’t go wrong with something easy like this!  But there was something about the texture of the Johnsonville Chicken Sausage that just was not 100% right for me!  I think it was too “processed” tasting, as opposed to the Jenni-O or Shady brook turkey sausage that tastes like real fresh sausage. 

SO MY FRIENDS, TRY IT IF YOU WANT - who knows, it may be just a matter of personal taste - BUT….IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, JOHNSONVILLE CHICKEN SAUSAGE IS NOTHING TO WRITE HOME TO MOTHER ABOUT!!!

Last nite’s Feedbag Menu was the Homemade “Almost Mom’s Split Pea Soup” that I prepped on Sunday - it had 2 whole days in the fridge for the flavors to ferment and come together nicely.  And some garlic bread.  The husband enjoyed it, and I sent a bowl around to my youngest brother who is also a pea soup lover.  (my 3 other siblings and my daughter do NOT appreciate pea soup - ahhh, THEIR LOSS!)

I love to have chunks of carrot and potato in my Pea Soup.  I don’t like it too smooth.  Here’s my recipe:

1 bag of dried green split peas,    Water - 8 to 10 cups
1 medium onion, chopped (fine or not depending how you like it.)
2 stalks of celery chopped (same as onion)
2-4 cloves of garlic - chopped fine (i add garlic to everything - you can leave it out if you don’t, or add more or less)
4 small or 2 medium potatoes - peeled and cubed
3-4 carrots, peeled and cubed (again, to your taste)
1/2 pound of smoked pork neck bones, or 1 small pork butt, or even leftover cubed ham, kielbasa, or whatever you have.
Seasonings: Bay leaf, salt, pepper

In your favorite large soup pot, saute onion, celery in a bit of oil, until soft but not too brown, add garlic and saute a bit more.  Add about 8 cups of water, the bag of peas, and if you are using a ham hock or neck bones add those (if leftover ham - wait til later.)  Add 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper (to taste - you can add as you go along).  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for about an hour to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  Peas will soften and start absorbing water - the mixture should be slightly thickened at this point.  Now add potatoes and carrots,  and another 2 to 4 cups of water, depending on consistency,  and cook on low again about another hour.  If you are doing leftover ham, or kielbasa, add now!  The peas sort of “melt” and the mixture gets thickened.   When you are at the point where you don’t see individual peas floating in water, it’s about ready!  Take out the ham hock or neck bones - dice the meat small (but leave out any fat!)  Now take an immersion blender and give your mix a whirl!  I like to leave lots of carrots and potatoes chunky for texture.  DO NOT OVER-PUREE (unless you like your soup looking like baby’s first pea soup, LOL!)  Add your meat back in, stir well, and GET READY TO EAT! 

Of course, this can be MEATLESS!  This would be a great vegetarian dish without the ham.  You can pump up the spices with any blend that you like - maybe some thyme, a sprig of rosemary (I never used rosemary but hey, why not try) - some adobo seasoning for extra flavor, some liquid smoke for that extra smokey flavyor -  EXPERIMENT!!! 

IF YOU’VE NEVER COOKED HOMEMADE SOUP - DON’T BE AFRAID TO TRY IT! - EASY, INEXPENSIVE, DELICIOUS COMFORT FOOD!!!   (MUCH BETTER THAN ANY CAN YOU WILL FIND IN THE STORE!)  

Just a quick apple blog.  At this week’s grocery shopping I decided to try some new apples.  My inspiration was last week’s google adventure to get the best apple pie baking tips for my upcoming apple pie baking session.  In some supermarkets, all you see is golden delicious, red delicious and macintosh.  I REFUSE TO EAT MACINTOSH APPLES! Why? Because growing up, thats all my Mom bought because they were small and cheap (lots of kids to feed).  When I went away to college & started buying my own apples - Golden Delicious became my standard.  I don’t like Red Delicious - I think the skin is too hard and cardboard-ey, and the apple itself is too dry. 

Anyway, recently I’ve also been reading that “an apple a day” REALLY DOES keep the doctor away.  But I am so bored with Golden Delicious. 

So…when I went to Stop and Shop on Saturday, they had a gorgeous ARRAY of APPLE CHOICES.  I read about Honeycrisps in a few places.  Well, of course they were more expensive than the standard apples, but I said “what the heck, I’m WORTH IT!” and splurged on a few honeycrisp.  Ate one today at break - OMG I AM IN APPLE LOVE!   So light and juicy, and they kind of melt in your mouth in a crispy way.  Some apples taste dense and kind of “mealy” (for want of a better word) but NOT these babies - Tender And Pleasant!  THEIR NAME DESCRIBES THEM PERFECTLY!!!

TRY A HONEYCRISP TODAY - YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!  YUM!