Friday, June 5, 2009

Art in the Vines is one week from today! Please join us for a day of Art, Wine, Music and Fun in the beautiful Somerset Ridge Vineyard! The date is Saturday, June 13th, hours are 1:00 to 6:00pm. The artists are some of Kansas City's finest, the wine of Somerset Ridge is award winning, the music is by Kathryn Lorenzen. Come and enjoy the afternoon! Visit the Somerset Ridge Tasting Room, stroll through the vineyard with a glass of wine while visiting with the artists.
For directions to the vineyard and winery, please go to www.somersetridge.com




Tried and True


With the Art in the Vines only a week away and the Wyandotte ’59 cookbook due to the printer very soon, I’ve been remiss in my blogging! I thought once my new laptop arrived I’d have time to write…funny how just going upstairs to the office makes it seem like a much bigger job!
Today while I was out running errands, my mind was busy plotting and planning my next few blogs. Too bad my memory is shot, can’t remember a thing except they were great ideas! Oh well, I’ve been thinking about baking, which is nothing new for me….it is my first love in the kitchen.
I think I covered biscuits pretty well last week! This week I want to talk about pie crusts.

Grandmother Ogg’s was made with lard, Grandmother Johnston’s was made with shortening…..mine? I’m afraid more often as not, I use Jiffy Pie Crust Mix! SHAME!
But honestly….they are good! Now I must admit, when I am baking for company, yes,
I make a homemade crust. I make mine with butter!

Butter Pie Crust
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup ice water
Combine flour and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Cut butter or margarine or butter and shortening into tablespoon pieces; add it to the flour and butter. Use the paddle beater to cut the butter and flour together. Alternatively, this can be done by hand with a pastry blender. With the mixer on low speed , or while stirring the mixture with a fork, pour in the cold water. When the dough starts to clump, and before it turns into a ball, stop stirring.
Lightly knead dough in the bowl until it forms a ball. Divide dough into two parts. Flatten each part into a disk, and chill for about 30 minutes before rolling.

If I am making a pastry dough for a savory tart I use the following recipe with no sugar.

Basic Tart Pastry - Savory
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 1/2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter,
cut into pieces
2 1/2 tablespoons ice water

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or the tips of your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Using a fork, stir in the ice water just until dough comes together nicely. Form pastry into a ball and chill for 1 hour.
Roll pastry out on a lightly floured work surface into a circle slightly larger than the tart pan, place in pan and press onto bottom and edge of pan, then firmly roll the rolling pin across the top of the tart pan to trim away the excess pastry. (Or a quick and easy method is to simply omit chilling the dough first and firmly press dough evenly against the bottom and side of an ungreased tart pan with your fingertips).
Fill and bake the pastry according to directions of the recipe you are using, or if a pre-baked pastry is required, bake at 400*F (205*C) for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. (You can help prevent the pastry from becoming too puffy and bubbling by cutting out a circle of parchment or waxed paper and placing it on the tart pastry, then filling it with pastry weights, beans or rice. Remove the paper and weights a few minutes before the end of the baking time.
Makes enough pastry for one (10-inch) round tart or 6 individual tart shells.

One of my son’s favorite treats as a teenager was Fried Apple Pies. For that I used the following recipe.
Fried Pie Pastry
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup ice water
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine egg and water; sprinkle lightly over flour mixture. Add vinegar and stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into a ball. Wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for at least one hour. Use as directed in any fried pie .

One last crust recipe…maybe my favorite. Why? Fill it with sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries and see if you don’t love it!
Meringue Pie Crust
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar

In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form. Add vanilla; beat in sugar until very stiff and glossy. Spread mixture into a 9-inch pie plate to form a shell. Bake at 300*F (150*C) for 50 minutes. Turn oven off without opening oven door and leave crust in for 1 hour. Cool before filling. Makes one 9-inch pie crust.

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Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy
oil painting by Kay Tucker

Somerset Autumn on Wea Creek

Somerset Autumn on Wea Creek
Oil Painting by Kay Tucker, Private Collection

Floral

Floral
oil painting by Kay Tucker

Kansas Storm

Kansas Storm
oil painting by Kay Tucker, Private Collection

Watercolor Collage

Watercolor Collage

Tempo al Tempo....All in Good Time

Tempo al Tempo....All in Good Time
48"x36" sculptural painting by Kay Tucker