Spiced Apple & Pear Pie

makes one 9" pie

recipe adapted from Food Network

filling prep time: 45 min / cook time: 1 hr 5 min

PIE CRUST INGREDIENTS

1 box store bought pie crust

* I used Trader Joe's brand

OR

ingredients from the original recipe here

FILLING INGREDIENTS

1/2 lemon

3 lbs. baking apples, such as Golden Delicious, Cortland or Mutsu (about 6 apples)

* I used 2 apples

1 1/2 lbs. baking pears, such as Bosc or firm Bartletts (about 3 pears)

* I used 6 pears

2/3 c sugar, plus more for sprinkling on the pie

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp fine salt

* I omitted the salt since I used salted butter

Generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 c unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

* I used salted butter

1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 large egg, beaten

PIE CRUST INSTRUCTIONS

If making your own pie crust, following the instructions from the original recipe here.

FILLING INSTRUCTIONS

• Finely grate the lemon zest and set aside.

• Peel, core and slice both the apple and pear into 1/2" slices.

• Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit, then toss fruit with the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg.

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

• Add fruit and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves and juices simmer, about 2 minutes.

• REduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until the fruit softens and the juices evaporate some,a bout 10 minutes.

• Evenly mix the flour into the fruit; then cook about a minute more to thicken the juices slightly.

• Stir in the vanilla and lemon zest; and remove from the heat.

* The filling should resemble a tight compote.

• Cool completely.

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

• If making your own pie crust, follow the instructions under "form the pie" here.

• Transfer the dough to a 9" glass pan, trimming the hangs about 1/2" over the edge of the pan.

• Fill the crust with the prepared fruit so it mounds slightly in the center.

• Brush the rim of the crust with some of the egg.

• Roll the remaining dough into a 12" circle OR cut into long strips if doing a lattice pattern.

• Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

• Meanwhile, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 425˚ F.

• Brush pie with egg and sprinkle with sugar.

• If you are laying a full pie sheet on top of the pie, cut 6-9 small steam vents into the top of the dough.

• Place pie on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375˚ F.

• Bake until the crust (both top and bottom) is golden brown, about 50 minutes more.

* If the edges brown too quickly, make a pie shield out of a piece of aluminum foil and cover the edges.

• Cool on a rack.

** ADDIECAKES' NOTES **

• I ended up receiving a fruit basket and wanted to use the fruit. Unfortunately, the fruit was a bit too ripe. To keep the fruit from breaking down too much, cut the fruit into larger pieces.

• I found the filling to be a bit too sweet, so add less than what is asked for and add more sugar for taste.

• The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.

• The pie can be fully formed, except for the brushing with egg and dusting with sugar, and frozen. Place the pie in the freezer for 30 minutes, to harden it slightly, and then double wrap it with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, unwrap the pie and brush it with egg and sprinkle with sugar. If baking from the frozen state, following baking temperatures above, the pie may need to bake slightly longer at 375˚ F, about 1 hour 25 minutes.

ADDIECAKES' DIFFICULTY RATING

ADDIECAKES' TASTE RATING

Straw

Usually, I’m not one for theme restaurants. Most of the time they feel gimmicky, forced and destined for failure (in fact, a recent brainstorming exercise at work was inventing the most doomed theme restaurant concept ever, and my co-worker and I came up with an animal trotters-themed establishment called: Sole Food. Ha!).

But carnival themed Straw made me reconsider. Everything – from the Step Right Up welcome mat to the booth made from an old Tilt-A-Whirl car to the funhouse-style mirrors in the bathroom was thoughtful, deliberate and whimsically executed. This is a place that really works.

This Hayes Valley spot is small, but cozy. Dark, but intimate. Expected, but with a few surprises thrown in. Yes, there’s items on the menu like funnel cakes and tater tots, but the former is served with three decidedly un-lowbrow dipping sauces (chocolate, strawberry and a crème anglaise-like vanilla) and the latter is made from sweet potatoes and served with a tangy blackberry bbq sauce on the side.

There's a nice variety on the menu (including salads) but if you’re like me, you’ll want to try all the fun, familiar, and deep-fried fare like a fried chicken & waffle Monte Cristo, or mini corn dogs made from Niman Ranch pork. Even their root beer float has been re-invented – a root beer-flavored gelato is paired with cream soda for an “inverted” treat (the end result is still yummy), while the cotton candy was familiar but with an exotic, tropical flair (I think it was passionfruit?)

One thing you won’t find on the menu? Simply-named food. Instead of a cheeseburger, you’ll find The Ringmaster (served on a housemade glazed donut), and my pork belly sandwich with peanut sauce was called Boxcar Children (completely bewildered, I later looked it up and discovered it’s a children’s book about orphans that sounds absolutely fascinating). And both my sister and Pat-strami ordered the Bearded Lady - a pulled pork sandwich with blackberry coulis.

Thinking back, I can’t say it’s the best-tasting food I’ve had. But I still left this restaurant smiling. It was everything going to a carnival as an adult should be - happy, a tad nostalgic, and most of all, fun.

SAMIWICH'S TASTE RATING

Red Velvet Cake Balls

makes 3 dozen cake balls

recipe adapted from Domino Sugar

prep time: 35 min / cook time: 12-15 min

CAKE INGREDIENTS

4 eggs, room temperature

3/4 c sugar

1 tbsp oil

* I used vegetable oil

2 tbsp butermilk

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 oz. red food coloring

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 c cake flour

FILLING INGREDIENTS

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 c unsalted butter, room temperature

3 c confectioners' sugar

* I used 2 cups

1 tsp vanilla extract

CAKE INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350˚ F.

• Coat jelly roll pan with cooking spray or line with waxed paper and coat with cooking spray.

• Beat the eggs for 5 minutes.

• Slowly add sugar and oil. Beat well.

• Add buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and red food coloring.

• Sift together dry ingredients. Add slowly to liquid ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes, until well combined.

• Pour batter into pan.

• Bake on middle rack for 12-15 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched in center.

• Let cake cool.

FILLING INSTRUCTION

• Combine filling ingredients. Beat well.

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

• Line a cookie pan with wax paper; set aside.

• In a large bowl, crumble the red velvet cake.

• Add the filling to the crumbled cake.

• Using your hands, mix the cake and filling until well combined.

• Roll 1 inch balls and place on the prepared cookie pan.

• When all the red velvet balls have been rolled, place cookie pan in the freezer for about half an hour to set or chill in the refrigerator for a few hours.

• When the cake balls are set, melt chocolate bark or temper some chopped chocolate.

* I tempered bittersweet chocolate.

• Roll the cake balls in the melted chocolate and place back on the cookie sheet until firm.

** ADDIECAKES' NOTES **

• I did not intend on making cake balls when I used this recipe. The original recipe was for a red velvet roll and it was a TERRIBLE recipe, but came out great when everything was mashed together.

• You can use a boxed cake mix and a can of frosting for this if you don't want to make this from scratch.

• If you want to temper the chocolate, be sure to read the link and temper your chocolate properly. There have been many occasions where I have improperly melted chocolate and the end result wasn't pretty. The consistency was thick and when refrigerated it didn't have a nice shine to it.

ADDIECAKES' DIFFICULTY RATING

ADDIECAKES' TASTE RATING