Sweet Mary

Raspberry Hand Pies

Part of my July 4th weekend included visiting my longtime friend Pam and her husband Stephen. I gave her a hands-on pie making lesson and, let me tell you, she was a natural. We did everything by hand (meaning no mixers or even pastry cutters) and the crusts came out extraordinarily flaky. They were also super delicious because we got to use more of those freshly picked raspberries! I sure do love my summer desserts!

I used my tried and true crust recipe (that hails from an old Williams & Sonoma book).  Click here for the recipe.  

Double the recipe.  Cut the dough in half.  Wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes or so. Then, roll one dough out to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 4 or 5 inch cookie cutter, cut out as many rounds as you can. Place them on a baking sheet and place in fridge. Then, repeat with the rest of the dough.  While the dough is in the fridge mix up the filling.

Filling

5 cups berries

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (if you want)

Mix all of this up in a bowl. Heat oven to 375 F.

Then, get one sheet of rolled rounds out. Place a few tablespoons of fruit on the center of each leaving about 2 inches to the edge.  Brush the edges of the bottom rounds with water. Then, get the remaining rounds out and place them on top of the bottom rounds. Press a fork around the edges of the pies. Brush the tops of the rounds with water and sprinkle with water. Make a few vents by poking tops with a fork.

Place in oven and bake until golden brown, roughly 45-55 minutes.  Cool before serving or serve warm.

*adapted from Blackberry Pocket recipe in Williams & Sonoma Pie & Tart

Nectarine Sorbet with Raspberries

Oh, it's that time of year again when my brother's back yard is filled with ripe berries. He went on vacation with his family and my Mom, sister, and I got to go pick a bunch and enjoy them on some nectarine sorbet I made for July 4th. Delicious is a serious understatement in this case!

If you're looking for another summery recipe, click here for Plum Raspberry Sorbet.

This recipe is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.

6 ripe nectarines (2 lbs.)

2/3 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Take the pits out of the nectarines. No need to peel them. Cut them into small chunks. Cook them with the water over medium heat. Make sure you cover them and stir once in a while until they are soft and cooked through, roughly 10 minutes. You can add a little more water if you need to. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Cool to room temperature. Then, puree the mix in a blender till smooth. Stir in the lemon juice. Chill the mixture thoroughly and freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions. Top with berries.

Blackberry Blueberry Nectarine Crisp

Here is a quick post about a dessert I threw together yesterday for a lunch with a friend. One of the perks of not working is having such a flexible schedule. I've taken the opportunity to take a break from sending out resumes and networking on several occasions to meet up with a few lovely folks in the area. 

My intention was to make Blackberry Crumb Cake; however, I forgot sour cream at the supermarket and was too lazy to go get it! So, since I am going away this weekend, I took whatever fruit I had left in my fridge, threw it together, and made a simple crisp. Crisps are one of my all time favorite desserts. Always easy to make and delicious when the fruit is in season. I wasn't measuring all that accurately, so feel free to adjust as needed. Also, I made a bit too much topping, so I'd cut it back a bit next time.

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Topping

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

12 oz blackberries (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups)

4 oz blueberries (about 1/2 cup)

2 nectarines, diced

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons corn starch

Heat oven to 325 F. 

For the topping, mix all ingredients in a bowl except for the butter. Melt the butter and then drizzle it over the filling mixture. Using a spatula, fork, or your hands, mix together until the mixture forms course crumbs.  Set aside.

For the filling, mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into an 8x8 baking dish or pan. Then, sprinkle the topping evenly over top of the filling.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, until fruit is bubbling, and topping is golden brown. Cool on a rack and serve warm if you can.

Crab Cake Excursion

With my internet down last week, there wasn't a whole heck of a lot I could do on the job search front, so I decided to hop in my car on a beautiful day and drive over to the Eastern Shore to the town of St. Michael's with the specific goal of eating a Maryland crab cake. Since returning to Baltimore, I realized there are a few traditional Maryland specialties I had never tried...one of which was the crab cake. 

Mind you, I wasn't seeking out the all time best Maryland crab cake. I just enjoyed the drive, walking around town, and, then, sitting down at The Crab Claw on the water to drink some pink lemonade and try a crab cake. I opted for no bun on this outing and thought it was delicious. Of course, I have nothing to compare it to yet, but who cares because I really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed hanging out on the water, talking to a very friendly waitress, and chilling out instead of worrying about finding a job. 

If you're looking for a good crab cake in the Baltimore area, check out Elizabeth Large's list.  She writes for the Baltimore Sun.  This month's issue of Baltimore Magazine also has a feature on crab cakes; however, it's not up on the website yet. And, if you are interested in learning more about the history of the crab cake, here is a link to a food timeline.

 

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Well, I've had internet challenges all week; however, am back on line. It's crazy how cut off from the world you can feel when you lose your connection!. It set me back a few days in the whole blogging and job searching thing. But, I used the opportunity to hop in my car and take a little road trip and socialize a whole bunch. So, I had some fun and now it's back to work.

These cookies come right from the Martha site. They were delicious. Like mini-shortcakes minus the whipped cream. My only comment here is to make sure you chop the strawberries smaller than 1/4-inch other wise the batter is a bit too chunky and they can burn or brown too much while baking. Oh wait, one more thing. I think adding a little vanilla into the batter would have been nice, too.

*makes 2-3 dozen

12 ounces of strawberries, hulled and diced into small pieces (about 2 cups)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

2/3 cup heavy cream

Sanding sugar to sprinkle on top

Heat oven to 375 F. Combine berries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or rub it in with your fingers until the mixture looks like course crumbs. Stir in the cream just until the dough starts to come together. Then, stir the berry mix.

Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sanding sugar and bake until golden brown, roughly 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.  These are best served immediately.

Apricot-Glazed Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad

Yes, I know. This is a FOOD recipe and not a dessert. Contrary to popular belief, my diet includes more than cookies, cakes, and pies. And, I sure hope yours does, too!

I have decided to make a few changes to Sweet Mary because I am currently finding it very difficult to bake on a weekly basis. No, I haven't lost my love for baking and tasting sweet things. Not at all. However, because I currently do not have a day job, not only can baking get expensive, but also I have a lack of eaters/tasters/testers in Baltimore. While in Providence at my last job, there were roughly 1200 employees and I was friendly with many folks who looked forward to trying my baked goods. It was great! My pool of eaters here is much smaller; consequently, we all feel like we've gained a few pounds since I arrived in late April and I've been driving around all over creation to deliver my goods. I'd like to avoid both of those scenarios for a while.

So, from time to time, I thought I'd share some other things I like to eat or try making in the kitchen. I tend to eat healthy when I actually cook! If not, I can easily gravitate towards carbs like toast and cereal. Certainly not the healthiest of habits. Consequently, I hope that adding some food recipes up here will push me to make more healthy food each week and continue to improve my cooking skills as well. I also do believe in eating a well-balanced diet and sometimes feel guilty about having an all baking blog. I definitely believe in fat, flour, and sugar in moderation only.

I am also excited because I realized my friends and family are very good cooks and healthy eaters. Some of them will be sharing recipes, photos, and stories, too. It will be great to hear from them and see what they are up to in the kitchen.

Now, on to the recipe. When I cook, I do tend to follow recipes or parts of recipes. I often like to make some protein and then create a salad around it based on what I've bought for the week and what I already have in the pantry, like this recipe for Apricot-Glazed Chicken Spinach Salad. The Apricot Glazed Grilled Chicken came directly from Cooking Light, the only food magazine I subscribe to, and was also inspired by/adapted from this Asian Salad Recipe. I think Cooking Light runs a tight test kitchen and I have a lot of respect for them. Their magazine is filled with healthy and relatively easy recipes. I really liked the chicken, as it was tasty and great on top of a spinach salad. 

This was a good food for fuel kind of dish. It was actually hard for me to stop and measure things. When I bake, I measure everything exactly; however, when I cook, I definitely eyeball!

This should make 4 generous servings.

Apricot-Glazed Indoor Chicken from Cooking Light

3 tablespoons apricot preserves

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

2 to 4 boneless chicken breasts

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and set aside. You can prepare an outdoor grill for indirect grilling or use an indoor grill pan. I did this on a rainy day so used a cast-iron indoor grill pan.

Let the chicken stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat pan to medium and spray with a little canola oil. Place chicken in pan meaty side down. Grill for roughly minutes or until browned. Flip chicken over and brush with apricot glaze. Grill another 10 minutes. Brush more glaze on as you go along. Turn chicken over again and brush with glaze. My chicken took 25 minutes total to be cooked all the way through over medium heat.

Cool chicken on a cutting board. When cool, slice diagonally.

Salad

4 cups of spinach

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 cup snow pea pods

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

2 apricots, sliced thinly

Dressing

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or rice vinegar if you have it)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

pinch of sugar or squeeze of honey to sweeten it a little

Arrange salad ingredients in bowl. Top with apricot and chicken slices. 

Combine dressing ingredients and mix well. Drizzle over salad and toss.

Divide into four bowls. Serve.