KitchenKatalog: Blog 162

Meredith and I made Lemon Garlic Shrimp (LOCAL) basically following the recipe (except the garnish and with just ~1.5 lbs shrimp). It worked out really well, though I think it would have been just fine with 1/2 the butter. Meredith also made broccolini with tahini sauce (as done originally on 2017-02-26)

Texas Style Pecan Pie

I made Texas-Style Pecan Pie from the Taste of Texas recipe. I followed the recipe except I also added 1 tsp of salt at the end (some other recipes called for it, not all)

For the crust, I used a full batch (2 pies worth) of Pie Crust. I oiled the spring-form pan and rolled out the bottom. I cut it large and placed it in. I then rolled out the sides and formed them. Following the recipe, I baked it for about 15 minutes.

When I took it out, it had shrunken and pulled away a bit. Not sure if that will matter or not

I then made the filling. That seemed to go well, except when I poured it in (and not all fit), there was some stickier syrup and sugar on the bottom of the bowl. It may not have mixed very well. I am not sure.

I also ended up doing just ~8 oz (instead of 1 lbs) of pecans¹. They super filled the pan. I wonder if the recipe uses a larger spring-form pan than mine. It also overflowed a bit (it was really wet on top; maybe because it wasn't well mixed?) so I put another pan under it.

It was pretty cooked after the initial 1.5 hours at 300°F, but I let the main one go (at 275°F) for another 15 min or so. I scrapped off the drippings. They tasted oddly like slightly burnt brownie brittle.

It came out ok. Still no idea if the remaining syrup affected anything, but it was still super sweet. The texture was a bit lumpy (egg?) but Meredith said that is how she always remembered it.

I actually called Meredith's Mom and asked her opinion since she has been making pecan pie for years. She said to err on the side of less pecans. ↩

Buttermilk Pie

Meredith made Buttermilk Pie (LOCAL). She used our crust but otherwise, the only change to the recipe was a tsp of vanilla.

Future Note: support the crust with a pan underneath. This bent a bit after blind-baking the crust.

Hand Pies

Meredith filled them with Mustard-Shallot Bechemel (LOCAL) plus ham, cheddar, and lightly steamed broccoli. She just used that recipe for the sauce. The crust was our pie crust but she was really struggling and ended up using some store bought puff pastry

She liked it a lot; especially the pie crust ones (though it didn't work as well).

Carne Adovada

I made carne adovada. After last time, I decided I wanted to (a) make it myself and (b) use lean pork (pork loin). I based it on the recipe from [Rancho De Chimayo's][r] but really did my own thing below. I made it on Sunday morning and (had Meredith) put it in the oven around 4:00pm on Monday

I baked it for about 3.5 hours covered and 1/2 hour uncovered to thicken. It could have used a bit more thickening but was pretty good. The flavor wasn't as good as some restaurants but I liked it a lot still. I think it could use a bit more thickness. And maybe a bit smoother??? (not sure). But it was fun to make. I wonder where the texture in the sauce comes from.

Recipe

Pie Crust

Meredith and I made pie crust from The Kitchn (LOCAL). There isn't too much to say about it other than we had mixed results. We made three batches for

Meredith made two of the batches and I made one. It took a lot more water than expected. I added a total of 11 Tbsp while Meredith did about 8 or 9.

The first usage of them for the hand pies was a bust but we were more successful the next day. See those posts for more.

It was flaky and pretty good. I had extra from the pecan pie and toasted strips of it. It tasted like the top of chicken pot pie (as one would expect)

Roasted Gnocchi

Meredith and I made roasted gnocchi from The Kitchn (LOCAL). We followed the recipe but went heavy on the peppers (and maybe tomatoes) and added a package of Trader Joes' Spicy Jalapeno sausage. We used roasted garlic powder in place of the garlic. And we used dried rosemary

We also ended up cooking it for closer to 30 minutes to get it to crisp. We also served it with some ricotta.

We both really liked it. The roasted gnocchi had a great texture with a chewy outside and soft inside. The tomatoes gave everything a sauciness. We really enjoyed it!

Broccoli Tofu

I made Broccoli Tofu. Nothing too special. Two 12oz bags of broccoli (from Trader Joes) and about 4/5 of Trader Joes Super Firm Tofu (for dinner and lunch)