classic peach pie

the first pie i made by myself - no help from mom or grandma - was almost exactly ten years ago. it was my second year of college and my friends and i had moved from the dorms into our on campus apartment. we, as i'm sure most college kids do, became our own mini family unit. we grocery shopped together. ate dinners together. bet quarters playing cards all night together and then went out for breakfast in the morning. and that year, before we went home to our own families, we had our own thanksgiving.

we were adults, planning our first real dinner party,  excited to share our mish mash of family traditions from across the country. it still amazes me how four people so completely different can be alike in so many ways. we ate turkey from michigan, sides from western new york, and apple pie from my mother and grandfather. we cooked all day. cutting, chopping, measuring, baking. i remember it so vividly. we sat at a makeshift table set up in our living room, since we didn't have real dining furniture. and ate and drank and laughed. we stretched it out as long as we could.

we celebrated our thanksgiving when september 11th was fresh and raw. none of us had seen our parents, family, or really anyone at home waiting for us since it happened. without each other, we were alone. a bunch of alone and scared nineteen year olds. yet none of us talked about it. not a single person uttered a word about something so intense. no, our conversation focused on laughter and stories from home.

i don't remember much immediately after that. i know i went to my grandparents and ate a huge family dinner just like we still do and have done ever since i can remember. i just don't remember much about that particular thanksgiving at home. but each and every year, at some point in the few weeks between halloween and thanksgiving i always think of the one and only thanksgiving i shared with people other than my family. i don't know what it was about that year, but i haven't made a pie since.

until last sunday - september 11th to be exact - when i rolled out the dough and sliced peaches. i waited patiently while it baked - it's been so long, do i even know what i'm doing? what if my crust is tough? what if the peaches ooze out? - and even longer while it cooled. i don't know what i was so afraid of, my crust came out perfectly light and flaky and the peach filling has just enough ooze so the filling is juicy but the peaches don't fall all over your plate.

and while this pie is delicious and really doesn't take much time at all to make, i don't know when i'll be making my next. it seems like pie is something best shared with a large group of people you love. and honestly, my mother and grandfather haven't given up their top spots as thanksgiving pie bakers. i wouldn't have it any other way.

classic peach pie
adapted from martha stewart's cooking school

for the crust
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, ice cold
ice water

for the peach filling
2 3/4 pounds peaches, pitted, pealed, and sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. make the crust by combining the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. pulse to combine. add all of the butter, and pulse until the butter breaks down into pea shaped pieces, about ten pulses. add the water, a tablespoon at a time and pulsing after each addition just until the dough starts to come together. remove the dough from the food processor, divide in half, and form each half into a round disc. wrap each dough disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour and up to overnight.
2. when you're ready to make the pie, take the dough discs out of the fridge to warm up just a tad while preparing the peaches. toss the peaches, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and salt together. set aside.
3. unwrap one dough disc and flour your board or counter where you will roll it out. roll the dough into a circle large enough to line your pie plate. carefully transfer the dough from your board or counter to the pie plate. carefully push the dough into the plate to line it.
4. fill the lined pie plate with the peach mixture and dot the top of the peach mixture with the butter. roll out the second dough disc in the same way as the first. carefully transfer the dough to cover the top of your pie. cut the excess dough hanging over the edge of the pie and crimp the edges. cut a few slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape while baking. chill the filled - and unbaked - pie for twenty minutes.
5. preheat your oven to 400F. place a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil in the bottom shelf of your oven (to catch any drips from the pie while it's baking). bake the pie for ten minutes, turn the oven temperature down to 375F and bake for another 70 to 80 minutes. check on the pie after about thirty minutes and if the crust is already nicely browned, drape a piece of aluminum foil over the top to prevent it from burning.
6. let pie cool completely - at least four hours - before cutting and serving. if the pie is cut before it's cool, the filling will ooze out when you try to serve it.

check out other sweet treats at sweet tooth friday! 

First Post!

Hello! I'm S and I've wanted to start my own little cooking blog for months, so here we are. Picking a blog name sure was hard, it seems like all the great ones have been taken already! For a while I sat around trying to think of a clever name, but my desire to have a blog with an awesome name was preventing me from actually starting a blog so I just ran with Cheese with Noodles. They're two of my favorite foods (especially when made into macaroni and cheese- yum) so why not?

My plan for this blog is pretty straightforward: share recipes, post a few pictures of what I make, maybe write a little bit about my life. Mostly I hope to share my favorite recipes but I'll also probably post recipes I'm trying for the first time. Just a warning: I am not a fancy cook. Most people like what I cook, but the things that I do best are not dishes you'd find at a snazzy dinner party. If you came for dinner at my house you'd probably be fed chili, fruit salad, cornbread and peanut butter pie. The recipes in my blog will definitely reflect this! Also, I'm no photographer so my pictures unfortunately are not going to look like they came out of a food magazine but I'm more concerned with taste than looks anyway :o)

I really hope you enjoy looking at all the recipes to come and will find something you'd like to cook yourself. Cooking is such a happy past time for me and it is my hope that the recipes I post will bring happiness to you, too. Please leave me a comment if you like my blog or have something to share!

browned butter blondies

i've been gone for a while. well, longer than a while. i've missed baking and i've missed my readers and today i decided to take a few hours, un-busy myself, and make something spectacular to get myself back in to the blogging groove. that treat, ladies and gentleman, is browned butter blondies. they actually double as the best air fresheners money can buy - and these are actually edible!

it all starts with butter. five totally magical words. i chopped my butter into rough tablespoons and let them melt over medium heat, swirling every thirty seconds or so. once it all melted i grabbed a spoon and stirred constantly, fearing that i would end up with hardened caramel fused permanently to the bottom of my pan.

the end result is a bowl of pure heaven. liquidy caramel perfection that will take the every day blondie, which i normally don't care very much for, over the top.

with very little effort (seriously, no mixer needed!) after the butter-melting, you have yourself a pan of blondies ready for the oven. i added walnuts to half of mine, due to a request from the peanut gallery/baking assistants, but you can add or not add any toppings you'd like. oh, and good luck trying keep yourself from eating all this raw.

then you have to wait the thirty grueling minutes until those bad boys can come out of the oven. to pass the time i laid on the floor, supported by my new and on sale target pillows, and kept an eye on my cat. she decided the best place for a nap was directly under my tripod, which i thought would end in disaster. she's more responsible than i give her credit for.

then, the moment of truth. these blondies have a soft, melt-in-your-mouth center and a delicious and crispy edge - my personal favorite part. the walnuts added a really nice nutty flavor and crunch that complimented the browned well. we also tossed around the idea of incorporating bananas somehow, an idea that might be featured on a post in the near future.

oh, and this recipe was adapted from cooking light, so it is surprisingly not too terrible for you. i ended up halving the recipe, what i usually do when i try anything for the first time, but i would definitely recommend making an entire batch. these will go fast. 

browned butter blondies

adapted from cooking light

yields 24 servings

ingredients:

9 ounces (about 2 cups) all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 egg whites

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. weigh or measure flour, sugar, baking power, and salt in a large bowl. whisk to combine.

3. slice butter into rough tablespoons and cook in a small skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently once butter melts. pour into bowl and let cool, about ten minutes.

4. once cooled, combine eggs and butter with a whisk. 

5. pour butter mixture over flour mixture and fold together until just combined. 

6. pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan coated with cooking spray and smooth top with spatula.

7. bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

8. cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

nutritional information:

calories: 170, fat: 4.8g, protein: 1.9g, carbs: 30.5g, fiber: 0.3g, cholesterol: 13mg, sodium: 108mg

as always, thanks for reading & happy baking!

amanda

ps: my sister & i are starting a small baking company in the dc area, so there's a good chance i may be testing out new recipes here. stay tuned for more!

secret recipe club: butterscotch peach cake

this month, when selecting my secret recipe club recipe, i used the same method i always do - i start by going back as far as i can in the history. and then i look through the posts in the same month i am cooking from them. that way, i get the best of both worlds - reinvent an old recipe and cook something that fits in with the time of year. this month, i adapted katrina's banana caramel cake from baking and boys!

when i try a recipe and like it, it usually takes a good six months - if not longer - for me to make it again. even some of my favorites - chocolate chip cookies, soft pretzels, white layer cake with blackberry buttercream - i have yet to make again since the day they first appeared here. so it's really rare for me to make the same cake twice. but this cake? i made it twice in three days, a different way each time.

the first time, i made the cake exactly how it's written below - make the cake batter and swirl the butterscotch into the batter before baking. the result was a nice light cake, similar to a layer cake. the second time - this is the version i brought into work - i made one and a half times the recipe and baked it in a ten inch springform pan. but the key difference is that i mixed the butterscotch into the batter before pouring it into the pan. the result was a dense, almost fudgy cake that could have just as easily been served for breakfast rather than dessert. while i prefer the lighter version in the recipe below, my coworkers spoke loud and clear their love for the dense version. to each his own.

if you haven't made butterscotch before, it is ridiculously easy, not at all like it's fickle cousin caramel. mix some sugar, butter, cream, pinch of salt, and dash of vanilla together and heat until boiling. that's pretty much it. no fancy temperatures to worry about or caramelizing sugar. ridiculously easy, just as deb said.

...and get ready! this post kicks off a week of my all time favorite fruit: peaches!

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the all new secret recipe club website!

check out my previous src posts belowwhole wheat honey pancakesminted pineapple lime agua frescabreakfast tacos
simple almond sandwich cookies
roasted banana rum cake

butterscotch peach cake
butterscotch adapted from smitten kitchen, cake adapted from baking & boys
1hour, makes one nine inch cake

the butterscotch can be made up to a week or two in advance of making the cake, simply cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator. i made a double batch of the sauce and used the remainder to drizzle over the cake, eat with apples, etc. not feeling like peaches? try bananas (the original recipe) or apples. i bet both would be amazing.

for the butterscotch:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup  heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (or 1/4 teaspoon regular salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

for the peaches:
3 large peaches, pitted and quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar

for the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. make the butterscotch sauce. melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. add the sugar, cream, and salt and mix until blended. bring to a boil and cook for about five minutes, whisking frequently. remove from heat and add the vanilla extract. cool to room temperature.
2. saute the peaches. melt the butter in a large sautepan over medium low heat. add the peach slices and toss with the sugar. cook until the peaches are soft, about five minutes. remove from heat and let cool while putting together the rest of the cake.
3. heat your oven to 325F. grease one nine inch cake pan. if you want the cake to turn out of the pan, line the bottom with parchment paper. trust me, it will stick otherwise.
4. make the cake. cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the eggs one at a time until well blended. in a separate bowl, mash the sauteed peaches with a fork and add the milk. 
5. add a half cup of flour to the batter, then a third of the peaches. repeat. add the baking soda and salt with the last addition of flour. mix until blended.
6. pour the batter into the prepared pan. pour the butterscotch sauce evenly over the top of the cake. use a skewer or a knife to swirl the butterscotch into the cake. bake for about 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

check out other sweet treats at sweet tooth friday!

amaretti

i almost always have egg whites left over when i make ice cream. and since i'm not a fan of meringue and a girl can only eat so many scrambled egg whites, i've been on a mission this summer to find uses for whites. and these amaretti are perfect light clouds of almond goodness. yes, i was slightly afraid they would be more like meringues, but good news (for me, anyway) is that the almonds add just enough texture. and the crackly tops are the best part. be sure to eat a few right after they come out of the oven, when the bottom is perfectly chewy and hasn't had a time to cool and get crunchy. perfect.

what else can i do with my whites? yes, i know i can freeze them. every time i do, i forget they're in the freezer, only to find them a few months later when i'm cleaning out the freezer. not a pretty sight, and completely ruined.

amaretti
adapted from ready for dessert
30 minutes, makes 36 two inch cookies

1 1/2 cups almonds, toasted
1 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
3 egg whites, room temperature
9 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract

1. preheat your oven to 300F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. don't skip this as the cookies will stick like glue to your baking sheets. position the racks in the upper and bottom thirds of your oven.
2. pulse the almonds, flour, and confectioners sugar in a food processor until the almonds are finely ground, about ten times.
3. in a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. while whisking, add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, until combined. continue whisking until shiny, stiff peaks are formed.
4. using a spatula, fold one third of the almond mixture into the eggs, being careful not to deflate the whites. repeat with the other two thirds of the almond mixture. fold in the almond extract last. 
5. use a pastry bag to pipe mounds of batter onto the baking sheets in whatever size you like, spacing them about three quarters of an inch apart. if you don't have a pastry bag, transfer the mixture to a quart size zip top bag. zip the top and snip one corner to pipe the batter onto the baking sheets.
6. bake the cookies for ten minutes, rotate and move to the other rack, and bake an additional ten minutes or until lightly browned. turn off the oven and leave the cookies in for another twenty minutes.
7. transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. store in an airtight container.

quick chunky pasta sauce

below is the third fourth installment from jason, my taste tester, who has decided cooking isn't really too hard. he has occasional food projects, just like me, that he wants to share too. (check out his stovetop mac & cheese and egg sandwich experiment too.) this time it's today's lunch - a quick pasta sauce full of fresh vegetables.

Summer is great for food because you can always find fresh ingredients at the local farmers' market or your own garden. Sometimes you bought (or harvested) a lot of great vegtables and don't know what to do with them. With no meal planned on a lazy Saturday afternoon, we were getting very hungry and needed something fast. I made a fresh pasta sauce from the tons of fresh vegtables in the house.

I've watched Kate make sauce before many times. I was in a hurry and didn't want to spend forever searching the Internet for a recipe. So I just totally winged it. And you know what? It turned out better than I thought it would!

I was afraid that I would guess wrong at the times and order of cooking the vegetables, but I think it came out quite good -- Kate seemed to think it was pretty much perfect. What I write here is exactly how I did it; I didn't use a timer, just my intuition, but below I note what cues I use. Another note is that the sauce is chunky because I didn't try to blend it. If you like a smooth sauce, this would probably blend well. I've also heard that sugar is a popular sauce addition to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes, but I've never felt the need to do that; feel free to experiment. Kate also suggested adding butter at the end of the recipe to the sauce to make it thicker and richer.

Don't be afraid of a fresh sauce! Anyone can make this recipe and "skip the jar" of sauce with who-knows-what fillers in it.

quick chunky pasta sauce
30 minutes, serves 2

small warning: while the flavors of this sauce are amazing, it is just wet enough to coat your noodles. don't expect them to be drowning like they are with jarred tomato sauce.

2 large, fresh and ripe garden tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 handfuls of fresh market mushrooms, diced
0.5 lbs pasta
tablespoon of butter or margarine
Salt

1. Get your ingredients ready beforehand: dice the tomatoes, carrots and onion. The tomatoes and mushrooms can be diced large (about 0.5 inch or 1.5cm cubes), because they will break down. The onions and carrots should be diced much smaller than that, about half the size, so that they get soft. Mince the garlic.
2. Start heating a pot of salted water to boil. I saw on Anne Burrell's show on Food Network that properly salted water for cooking pasta should taste "like the ocean."
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat, enough to get a good coating and flavor your sauce. If the oil starts to smoke, it's too hot!
4. Add the minced garlic in the pan. If your pan is hot enough it will sizzle right away. Cook until you can smell the garlic, it may be only 30-60 seconds. Don't let it brown; overcooked garlic tastes very bitter.
5. Add the carrots and onion and cook until they are getting soft. The onion will start to turn translucent. If you see the onions start to get brown and carmelize, it's too long.
6. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms. Keep a vigorous simmer going at medium to medium-low heat. The tomatoes and mushrooms will start to breakdown and give off their water, which will reduce as you cook. Cook for about 10 minutes. When the liquid has mostly disappeared, turn off the heat. Don't let the sauce go dry, which will start to burn it.
7. Cook the pasta while the sauce is simmering and reducing.
8. When the sauce has reduced, add heavy pinch of salt and taste. Don't skip tasting! Add more or less salt to taste, keeping in mind you can add salt but not remove it.
9. When the pasta is done, I love to add about a tablespoon of butter or margarine to keep it from sticking but also giving it great flavor.
10. Serve the sauce over the pasta and enjoy!

caprese eggs on toast

one food jason and i don't agree on are eggs. his are always cooked to death - not even a hint that the yolk might run or be the slight bit soft - mine are cooked just enough so the whites are set. which could be a pain in the you-know-what, forcing us to retire eggs from the dinner and breakfast rotation. luckily it hasn't happened yet.

this time eggs are paired perfectly with fresh garlicky tomatoes, melty mozzarella, a gooey poached egg (for me and a hard poached egg for jason) and fresh pesto. topped above a piece of italian bread, it's the perfect bite. and even though these made a weeknight dinner appearance for us, this would be an amazing weekend breakfast or lunch.

 

caprese eggs on toast

30 minutes, makes 4 eggs on toast, which served two of us

4 slices italian bread
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
4 eggs
2 tablespoons pesto (or more, depending on how much you love the stuff)

1. coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil and heat over medium-low. halve the tomatoes and add them to the pan along with the garlic. saute slowly just until the tomatoes start to break down, about 10 minutes.
2. while the tomatoes are cooking, toast your bread and cook the eggs to your liking. if the tomatoes are finished before your eggs, turn off the heat and cover them to keep warm.
3. layer the cheese, tomatoes, and eggs on the toast. top each egg with pesto.