I received an email feed from Smitten Kitchen the other day with something utterly delectable… a photo of food that instantaneously caused your mouth to salivate in anticipation of taking a bite of something that is on the other side of the country. Cruelty, plain and simple.

What was this photograph? Bourbon Peach Hand Pies. Oh. Yes.

Here is my take on the hunger inducing recipe…

For the pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cream top vanilla yogurt – mixed
1/3 cup ice water

For the filling:
4 cups blackberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. sugar

The rest of this recipe is basically taken from the Smitten Kitchen blog… and I hate stealing someone else’s words!

The 2 differences I made are as follows:

I was a little short on the sour cream, so I substituted some yogurt and cut back on the water. It still worked out to be very tasty!

I was short on peaches… but the blackberry thicket on the hill is full – FULL – of sweet, ripe berries. So, we used those instead. And since they were berries, I cooked them down a bit before putting together the pies.

Other than that, it’s pretty much the same deal. Oh, except for one little thing..

…the glaze

For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup milk

Whisk powdered sugar and tablespoons milk to blend. Make this up to 3 hours ahead.

Set up the cooling racks on top of some aluminum foil to catch the drips. Yes, there will be yummy drips.

When the pies come out of the oven, move them to the cooling racks and drizzle the glaze over them immediately. Cover them well.

Once they have had about 20 minutes to cool, you can enjoy them! Yes, you do need to wait a few minutes so you don’t burn your mouth!

Another great thing – if you just can’t wait – is to eat them with a scoop of ice cream… after all, it is pie!

Enjoy!

I made this for the group on our recent camping trip, and it was a HUGE hit!  It is basically my great-grandmother’s cobbler recipe, but modified for cooking in a dutch oven.  Because of the nature of a dutch oven, you don’t need to prepare the fruit to be like pie filling – saving a pretty large step when using berries!  The heat naturally breaks them down and makes them delicious!

This recipe assumes a few things:

a – you are going to have a campfire, or at least a fire with hot coals
b – you have a 12″ dutch oven

Outside of that, if you have the ingredients, you are all set!

6+ cups fresh blueberries (or fruit of your choice)
2 cups self-rising flour (bisquick works well)
1 cup evaporated cane sugar
2 eggs
1 stick butter, very soft – melted even

Begin heating your dutch oven by setting it near the fire (I just set it inside of the fire ring, but away from the flames).  If it’s not well seasoned, toss 1 Tbsp of butter in to melt in the bottom.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, eggs and butter.  Stir until moist.

Dump the fruit into the bottom of the seasoned dutch oven.  Using your fingers or 2 forks, spread out the batter on top of the berries.

Put on the lid, and cook at approx. 350F for about 30-40 minutes.  I use 7-8 coals underneath & 12 coals on the lid.

MAKE SURE you are rotating the oven every 10-15 minutes – the pot clockwise & the lid counter-clockwise.

It’s done when the crust is an even brown.  Scoop out into bowls and enjoy!  If you happen to have ice cream, that truly makes it!

Yes, it really is as good as it sounds!

1 angel food cake
1 pint strawberries

1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
3 eggs
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
nutmeg
cardamom

preheat oven to 350F

In a saucepan, heat the milk & cream until it just gets a film on top. Add the butter and allow the milk to melt it.

In a medium size casserole, tear the angel food cake into bite-size pieces. Wash & cut up the strawberries and mix them into the cake pieces, reserving some for garnish.

Whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla and spices (to taste) together until smooth. Slowly pour the milk, cream & butter into the eggs, whisking to mix.

Pour the eggs over the cake and strawberries, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is not runny.

Serve with fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries!

My honey was making us a tasty treat for dinner tonight – pork carnitas – and I was looking for a tasty little something to put alongside them.

I came across a fabulous food blog called Homesick Texan, which offered up an amazing sopapilla recipe…

http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2007/01/sopapillas-with-side-of-honey.html

the picture just doesn’t do it justice… they are yummy!
Oh, and don’t let the sweet sopa corral you – they are also wonderful filled with savory goodies like beans and shredded pork, with a good green or red chili of course!

Of course, if you are craving sweet, try stuffing them with a good vanilla ice cream! Add in some fresh sliced strawberries and you’ll have a different take on the old strawberry shortcake.

Enjoy… I know I will!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup raspberry liqueur
1 (8oz) container of mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a bowl mix the strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and liqueur together. Refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes.

In another bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese, cream, sugar and vanilla. Beat, using an electric mixer, at high speed. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Then layer 6 parfait glasses, alternative the berries and cheese mixture (ending with the cheese mixture). Top with grated or shaved chocolate pieces.

1 bag fresh cranberries
2 granny smith apples
2 Gala apples
2 pints raspberries
1 large can mandarin oranges – drained
1 pomegranate
1/2 cup sugar

Wash and sort the cranberries to remove all bad ones. Put them in a food processor and pulse until they are chopped finely. Pour them into a large bowl.

Peel the apples and finely chop them. Add them to the cranberries. Wash and sort the raspberries and add them to the bowl along with the oranges.

Remove all of the seeds from the pomegranate and add them to the bowl.

Stir the fruit together and sprinkle the sugar over it. Stir the sugar in.

This is best made a couple of days before you plan to eat it – this gives the flavors time to meld together. We like it a little more tart, so you will need to add some more sugar if you want it sweeter.

This also makes a very tasty pie if you cook it down with 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp. brown sugar. Then use it as you would berry pie filling!