Blackberry Peach Pie

As has now become tradition, David & I made our orange-glazed ham for Easter dinner this year. During our first attempt at cooking a rather large piece of meat, we had only been dating a few weeks, & now here we are making ham again & about ready to get married. Little did we know...

Of course, we couldn't invite people over for dinner without having dessert, & that's where the pie comes in. Making pie crust, while usually frustrating & quite crumbly, is always worth the mess (haha...couldn't resist). But no judgment from me if you use the pre-made kind. And no need to slice peaches here; the canned kind work just fine. You might notice in the photo (which I should have taken before we started eating) that I baked the pie in a skillet instead of a pie pan. Nothing special about that; I just didn't have a pie pan. I have since added 2 to our wedding registry. Happy Easter!

Blackberry Peach Pie

Crust recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen & filling adapted from All Recipes.

5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons sugar

4 sticks butter (2 cups), cut into 1/4in cubes

1/2 cup ice water

2 large cans of peaches, drained

2 cartons of blackberries, rinsed

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Combine flour, salt, & sugar in large bowl. Add butter, & blend with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse corn meal.

2. Sprinkle water over flour mixture, & knead until dough just sticks together. (Be careful not to add too much water.) Divide dough into 4 balls. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, & refrigerate at least 45 minutes (& up to 2 days).

3. Roll out 2 balls of dough, each to a size that will fit your pie pan, adding another teaspoon of water if necessary to make dough stick together. Press dough into pie pans, & refrigerate until ready to add filling.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F.

5. Combine peaches, blackberries, cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, & nutmeg in large bowl.

6. Add filling to pie pans. Roll out last 2 balls of dough, & cover tops of pies.

7. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Makes 2 9in pies.

Chicken & Fennel Tostadas

First of all, happy Easter!
And second of all, apologies for the lack of blog posting over the past couple of months.  There's been somewhat of a lack of cooking (or more accurately, a lack of interesting cooking...quesadillas, anyone?).  I blame it on the wedding planning which is fun but time-consuming.  Check out www.weddingwire.com/DavidandAlana to see how that's coming.

Anyway, we made today's recipe a while ago, but it's definitely a good one.  There's a lot of steps, but it actually doesn't take too long.  If you keep the leftovers separate & assemble them right before you want to eat them, they taste almost as good as the first day.  And you feel like you have an extra special lunch.

If you're lucky, tomorrow I'll post the recipe for the blackberry peach pie that's currently in the works for Easter dinner.


Chicken & Fennel Tostadas
Adapted from the January 2011 issue of Bon Appetit.

2 15oz cans of pinto beans, liquid drained but reserved
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt

1 large fennel bulb
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup coriander seeds

6 tostada shells
bunch of romaine lettuce
shredded cheese 
lime wedges


1.  Blend beans, onion, oregano, garlic, chiles, & cumin in food processor until mixed but still chunky.

2.  Heat oil over medium heat in saucepan.  Add bean mixture & 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid.  Heat about 5 minutes until warm; then season with salt & pepper, & remove from heat.

3.  Trim leaves & end of fennel bulb.  Cut bulb through the center into 1/3in thick slices.  Brush the slices with oil, & sprinkle with salt & pepper.  

4.  Coarsely crush fennel seeds.  (Pound them in a plastic bag, or use a mortar & pestle.) 

5.  Flatten chicken until it's about 1/3 in thick.  Season with salt & pepper, & coat with crushed coriander.

6.  Heat skillet over medium high heat, & when hot, sear fennel slices until lightly browned about 2-3 minutes.  Transfer slices to plate.

7.  Heat remaining oil in same skillet over medium high heat.  Saute chicken about 3 minutes per side until cooked through.  Cool 5 minutes then cut into long slices.

8.  Now you're ready to assemble.  Top tostada shells with beans, chicken, fennel, lettuce, & shredded cheese.  Top with freshly squeezed lime.

Makes 6 servings.