Here are our current favorite books and pie recipes to inspire during this Holiday Season!
Books we’re reading:
About the five women painters that dared to enter the male-dominated world of 20th century abstract painting.
A look into Bisa’s mesmerizing quilted portraits.
Illustration 2020 – Works of 150 Japanese Illustrators
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
An all time classic!
We ❤️ Pies:
Seema’s Favorite: Cranberry Curd Tart (From NYT Cooking)
1. Make the crust: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Put hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until skins darken and crack. Put roasted nuts in a clean towel and rub off skins. Discard skins and let nuts cool.
2. In a food processor, grind nuts with half the rice flour until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining rice flour and salt and pulse briefly.
3. Cream sugar and butter in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon for a minute or two until pale and thick. Add nut mixture and combine until dough comes together. If it seems crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter or a little cold water.
4. Press dough evenly into a 10-inch tart pan; use half the dough for the sides and half for the bottom. Prick bottom with a fork and freeze for 30 minutes (or several days if desired).
5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake chilled tart shell about 15 minutes until lightly brown. Cool.
6. While the crust bakes and cools, make the cranberry curd: Put cranberries, sugar and orange juice and peel in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until cranberries have popped and softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food mill or medium mesh sieve and press cooking liquid and solids into a bowl. (Alternatively, for the most vibrant color, purée the cooked cranberry and orange mixture with an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender. Press through a fine-mesh sieve.) Whisk the butter into the warm liquid.
7. Put eggs and egg yolks into a bowl and beat lightly. Slowly whisk a cup of warm cranberry liquid into the eggs to temper, then combine both and whisk together. Wipe out pot if necessary, return liquid to pot and cook over low heat until nearly bubbling and thickened, about 10 minutes. If using immediately, let cool to room temperature. If working ahead, cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap (press wrap against curd) and refrigerate. (Curd may be cooked up to 1 day ahead.)
8. Pour cooled cranberry curd into the cooled prebaked tart shell and smooth top with a spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes to set curd. Cool on a rack. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Hannah’s Favorite: Sylvia’s Pecan Pie
1. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix with a fork until combined. Pour into the pie crust.
2. Bake at 375˚F, rack in the middle position, for 40 – 45 minutes. The top of the pie should be golden, crunchy, and firm while the inside of the pie is still jiggly.
3. Cool on a rack. Cover tightly and store in the fridge.
Alex’s Favorite: Chocolate Cream Pie with Oreo Crust (From NYT Cooking)
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Add Oreos to the bowl of a food processor and process until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter and salt, and process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Tip mixture out into a 9-inch pie plate, and press crumbs evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Bake until crust is fragrant and set, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
2. Set a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, whisk together granulated sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt. Pouring just a little at first, whisk the milk into the sugar mixture until you have a smooth paste. Gradually add remaining milk, whisking constantly. Whisk in egg yolks. Cook mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it has thickened and just come up to a low boil, about 8 to 9 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
3. Pour custard through sieve, pushing it through with a rubber spatula. Discard any solids. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla, and let it stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Let cool slightly, then cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 6 hours.
4. To serve, whip cream and confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed Oreos, if using.
Masaki’s Favorite: Warm Apple Crumble with a scoop of Vanilla (Preppy Kitchen)
Ingredients – (Serves 8 to 10)
Preparation
1. Roll out your chilled pie dough into a disk about 1/4 inch thick and an inch or so larger than your pie dish. Transfer the dough into the pie dish leaving half an inch of overhang. Trim the edge as needed then fold under and crimp the edge. Transfer to the freezer to chill while you make the filling.
2. Add the flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon to a bowl then mix until combined. Pour in the melted and cooled butter then mix once more. If the butter is too warm the mixture will form a glob instead of crumbles.Just pop in the fridge to chill a few minutes and break up with your hands if that happens.
3. Peel, core and slice your apples, then toss with the lemon juice. Cut your apples into similar sized pieces so they cook at the same rate.
4. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg then toss to combine evenly.
5. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the apples, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer, about 2 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the apples soften and release most of their juices, about 7 minutes. While the apples are cooking down you can mix in the corn starch.
6. Pour the apples into a strainer set over a large bowl. Set the apples aside and pour juice back into the pan. Cook at medium-high heat stirring frequently until the liquid bubbles vigorously and thickens. The liquid will be thickened to the consistency of caramel when It’s ready.
7. In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the reduced juice. Set aside to cool completely.
8. Heat oven to 400F. Mix the egg and cream, or milk in a small bowl then Brush the edge of the pie with it. This is optional but gives your crust a golden finish.
9. Add your filling to the dish and smooth out surface with a spatula.
10. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the pie covering the surface completely. Transfer the pie dish to a baking sheet then loosely wrap the edge with foil. This will prevent the pie from burning while you wait for the center to bake through.
11. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350F and bak an additional 50 minutes or until golden brown in the center. You can remove the tenting in the last 20 minutes If the edge needs some color.
