I will buy your love with butter.

It isn’t that we haven’t been baking.  We just haven’t been blogging.  And while our blog stats show that for the most part we are blogging out in to the great silent interwebs abyss, I still feel guilty.  So I blog.

The baking the past few months has not been particularly inventive or exciting, but it has been delicious.  And in my young life, I have learned that often the most delicious things are not the most inventive.  Something simple with a few good ingredients can go the mile.

So for your baking and viewing pleasure, some of our recent baking ventures:

Hubbard Squash Pie (from the Joy of Cooking)

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Building up a high fluted rim, line in a 9-inch pie pan with half a recipe of your favorite pastry dough.  Glaze the crust with 1 large egg yolk.
2. Bake as directed and decrease the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Whisk thoroughly in a large bowl: 2 to 3 large eggs.  (3 eggs gives you a softer filling.)
4. Whisk in thoroughly 2 cups cooked squash puree, 1.5 cups heavy cream or evaporated milk, .5 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup packed brownsugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, .5 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
5. Warm the pie crust in the oven until it is hot to the touch leaving the filling at room temperature.  Pour the squash mixture into the crust and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until firm.  Cool completely on the rack.

The sacrificial squash

Asparagus and Potato Tart (from Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients:

1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Sea salt
1 pound asparagus spears, woody ends removed
8 ounces filo pastry
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup freshly grated Lancashire Cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Cheddar
3 large organic or free-range eggs
1 (8-ounce) container heavy cream
1/4 whole fresh nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Put your potatoes into a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile blanch your asparagus in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 4 minutes, and drain in a colander.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Get an ovenproof dish – I’ve used many different shapes and sizes. Layer the sheets of filo pastry in the dish, brushing them with melted butter as you go and letting about 1-inch hang over the edge. You want to get the pastry about 5 layers thick. Put a clean, damp kitchen towel over the top and put aside.
4. When the potatoes are done, mash them with the cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs and cream and stir into your cheesy mashed potato. Grate in the nutmeg, season well with pepper and mix together. Spread the mashed potato over the filo pastry, then bring up the sides of the filo and scrunch them together to form a rim. Take your blanched asparagus and line them up across the filling, making sure you cover it all. Brush all over with the remaining melted butter and pop into the preheated oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Vegetarian Pasties with Gravy (of Young E. William’s own invention)

For the Pasties

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup cold water
½ c. green peas
½ c. cooked lentils
1 onion, chopped
½ c. rutabaga, cubed
1 carrot, diced
salt and pepper to taste
6 tablespoons margarine

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until
   mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a
   ball. Shape into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
2. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.
   Divide dough into six pieces, and shape into balls. On a lightly floured
   surface, roll each ball into a 6 inch round. Place approximately 1 cup
   filling on one half of each. Dot each with 1 tablespoon margarine. Draw
   the other half of the pastry over the filling. Crimp edges to seal in
   filling. Prick with a fork and place on prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

For the Gravy

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until
soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, nutritional
yeast, and soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the
broth. Season with sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat,
and simmer, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until
thickened. Serve the pasties hot with gravy over the top.

Dems some good eats.

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