Tag: Libeco

Posted on

pie time

I made a pie.

IMG_8675

I started with Dorie Greenspan’s apple pie recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours, which uses tapioca as a thickener, and added a bit of cornstarch as I did not intend to use only apples. No no no.

I made a peach apple raspberry pie.

I think the best shot is on instagram. [Oh, I am on instagram now.]

IMG_8651

First a layer of Jonamac apples (similar to McIntosh, they baked very nicely) and raspberries, then a picturesque layer of fanned peaches, which took ages and which of course I forgot to document, and which really ought to have been the top of a tart, which is the new species of baked thing I want now.

IMG_8640

Then a tartan latticework crust, because I never can do things the easy way.

Brushed with milk and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

IMG_8652

So pleased with my pie, which turned out beautifully. I should really make more pie. I don’t have any rabid love for pie (excepting pecan pie, in which case it may be love), but I enjoy it. I think it’s one of those things I like making even more than I like eating, a satisfyingly involved, crafty process. It’s one of those things I am happy to give away.

IMG_8666

 The pie bird isn’t strictly necessary when the crust is open, but it’s just so cute. And, for what it is worth (this was my first time using it), the juices did not run over, and the crust was not a soggy disintegrated mess. 

IMG_5927

x

Posted on

on the menu: eggs en cocotte

Here is another extremely flexible way to prepare eggs. Cocotte means small casserole or baking dish, here a ramekin (both cocotte and ramekin such cute little words). You butter the ramekin, load the base with whatever savory debris you like (fresh herbs, vegetables, bacon), crack an egg in, top with crème fraîche or some substitute (a little cream or yogurt will do), season, and bake (375°) in a water bath.

IMG_8342

You can add the cream element to the base as well as the top, can add cheese (could broil the cheese a bit at the end), can garnish liberally…as with omelettes, add whatever you like and cook the egg to the desired consistency. Not exactly foolproof as you can overcook the egg, but even this is quite edible. A simple formula that yields consistently tasty results.

IMG_8347

Recommended.