Recipes From The West Park Girls: February 2010

Monday, February 1, 2010

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

In my mind, there is no better combination than peanut butter and chocolate. Mint is a close second, but peanut butter takes the cake, or in this case the pie. If you're really ambitious, you can make your own crust, but why? I normally make this with a chocolate crust, but graham cracker is what was in the cupboard, still good. Enjoy!

8 oz softened cream cheese
½ cup milk
¾ cup extra chunky peanut butter
8 oz whipped topping
1 cup powdered sugar
1 9-inch chocolate or graham cracker crust
Chocolate Syrup

1. Mix cream cheese in medium bowl with electric mixer on low speed until soft and fluffy. Mix in peanut butter and sugar until incorporated.

2. Slowly add milk, beating until well blended. Fold in whipped topping.

3. Spoon into pie crust, mounding the top. Freeze until firm. When solid, cover with foil. (Pie may be frozen for several weeks.) Go ahead and throw the lid away that comes with the store bought crust, it won't fit on.

4. To serve, remove pie from freezer 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Drizzle chocolate syrup over individual pieces.

Tricks of the Trade

This section is dedicated to making life in the kitchen easier. If you have hints, e-mail them to Michelle and she'll put them on.

To chill or not to chill
Why do some cookie recipes direct you to chill the dough, while others don't? For those recipes that contain butter, chilling is usually a good idea. Letting the butter firm up reduces the chance of the cookies spreading to flat, little, crispy disks. Other cookies, especially those with spices need some time for the flavors to develop, so a little time in the fridge is just what the dough needs. I usually chill all of my cookie doughs.
The biggest reason has nothing to do with the dough at all and everything to do with me not having hours to spend in the kitchen. The bonus is the cookies actually do taste better. I haven't met a dough that hasn't benefited from chilling. The other added bonus is that every time you open the fridge, you can sample the dough to check the progress, wait, maybe that's not such a good thing.
How long do you let the dough chill? That's really up to you. The minimum is about an hour, with the maximum being about 2-3 days. Remember, you probably have some eggs in the dough, so if you don't plan on baking within a few days, roll the dough into balls and put in the freezer.

Speaking of eggs...
When do you salt eggs when making scrambled eggs, before or after? Always salt before cooking eggs. Adding salt after the fact draws the moisture out of the eggs causing them to turn rubbery.
Do boiled eggs frustrate you? For most things food, the fresher the better - not so with hard boiled eggs. Try to use eggs that are at least two weeks old. Place eggs in a pot and top with cold water - one inch above eggs and cover the pot. When water begins to boil, remove eggs from heat and let sit in covered pot for 10 minutes. Drain water and plunge eggs into ice water. Let sit until cool. If you get a green ring around the yolk, you've overcooked the egg.

Too Frugal to Buy a Citrus Reamer?
Pull out your trusty hand mixer, just one of the beaters that is.
Use a beater to juice your citrus fruits with the same results as a reamer.

The Trouble with Corn Tortillas
I love the taste and texture of corn tortillas. I'm not in love with how easily they break. Have you ever had a pan of enchiladas turn into a funky looking casserole with bits of corn tortillas here and there? The usual solution is to dip them in hot oil and then get on with rolling. I hate wasting fat on something that doesn't really improve flavor though. New solution: preheat oven to 350, lay six tortillas on a cookie sheet, and spray both sides with nonstick spray. Bake for 3-4 minutes, and viola, soft, pliable tortillas, sans fatty oil. They can also be heated on a skillet on the stove top, turning when the tortilla is warm, and taking it off when it puffs up.

Dry Cake
Have you ever baked a cake, tested it with a toothpick, and found it to be too dry, even though you did everything right? Next time when testing, take the cake out when there are moist crumbs that stick to the toothpick. When you take things off or out of their heat source (oven, grill, etc) there is still residual heat that continues to cook the food.

Slippery Meat
Do you have a hard time cutting meat when it is raw? Put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before cutting, and you'll have a much easier time.

Tasty Pancakes
Are you tired of your muffin mixes? Turn them into pancakes! Thin out the batter with milk or water until the consistency of pancake batter. They won't be light airy pancakes, but more cake-like in texture. Still very yummy! (Any of you guilty of pumpkin bread mix from Costco? Great pumpkin pancakes.)

Salty Soup
Have you ever waited all day for your soup to be ready, only to taste it and realize you went overboard on the salt? Next time, quarter a potato and drop it in the pot. By the time the potato is done cooking, it will have soaked up the extra salt - saving your soup. Be sure to discard the potato; it will be salty.

Jagged Brownies
Do you eat the pan of brownies by yourself because they look so bad after being cut? Save your waistline and fatten up your friends by using a plastic knife when slicing. The brownies don't stick nearly as bad to plastic as they do to metal. Now you'll have to find another excuse for polishing off that pan!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

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