More peaches.........

Hello all, just wanted to show you what I made yesterday, used up almost all of the peaches I had left...never thought I would get tired of them, but I am close :)

Anyway I made a peach custard pie.  I ended up using a graham cracker crust cause I was out of flour for a regular one, and it turned out pretty good if I say so myself.  The rich creaminess of the custard, along with the fresh taste of peaches along with the cinnamony goodness of the crust all blended together in a nice summery taste.  With left-over meringue I made meringue cookies, which my kids loved better then the pie :)

Here is the recipe for the pie, enjoy!


Peach Custard Pie

Ingredients:
• **Crust**
• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup of margarine or butter
• **Filling**
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Dash salt
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tsp rum extract
• 1 cup of fresh chopped peaches (with skin)
• **Meringue Topping**
• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:
Heat oven to 350° F.
In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar and cinnamon; mix to blend. Pat the graham cracker mixture into a pie pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 325° F.

Filling:

In a heavy, medium saucepan, combine the 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and dash salt. Whisk in the milk and egg yolks, then place the pan over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and gently boil, about 5 to 6 minutes. Continue cooking, whisking, until very thick, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, a little at a time. Stir in the 2 teaspoons of extract. Add peaches last and stir in. Pour the hot filling into the cooled graham cracker pie crust; set aside. (any leftover makes great dessert with a little cool whip topping)

Meringue:

While the filling is still hot, make the meringue. In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat the egg whites at high speed until foamy; add the cream of tartar and gradually add the 6 tablespoons of sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla into the egg whites. Gently spread the egg-white mixture about 2-3 inches thick over the top of the custard and place in the 325° F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the meringue is browned. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

PS  I use the leftover meringue and make meringue cookies, adding chocolate chip or such for something a little different.

Tuesday 26th July

Hello all, been busy all last week and weekend.  Daycare of course and then last weekend we went peach picking at Knotts Island, NC at Martins Vineyard.

It was beautiful there, but hot, so glad we got there early.  Now I have to figure out what to do with 30lbs of peaches :)  I will jam some, and I wanna try to pickle some this year, yum!  Here is the first dessert I made with them, a peach cobbler.  It was gooey, sweet, crispy and buttery all in one!

Here is the recipe link http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/view2/peach_cobbler , straight from Paula Deen!  This is the only cobbler recipe I use now!

Also last week I got in the mood for some good ol' southern fried chicken livers.  So Wednesday nite I cooked some and then made some gravy and mashed pototatos to go with them.  OMG they were so good they made me wanna slap someone!

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Today is the first day of my blog.  I wanted and needed a place to talk about my love of food, preparing it, eating it, reading about it, researching it.  My hubby said I needed a blog, it was the easiest way to connect to foodies like me :0)  So here I am.  I plan on talking and blogging about everything from how to cook my favorite foods, the best places to shop for foods, to the best places I have found to eat in whatever city I am in.

At the moment I am trying to make and sell some jellies and jams.  I love to make jam, its amazing how it goes from various ingredients to a thick, sweet, melt in your mouth spread for everything from toast to meat to crackers.  So far the favorite jelly I have mastered is Hot Pepper Jelly.  Its a burst of sweetness and hotness that together is just a firework of flavors on your tongue.  I also like the wine jelly I make, using whatever cheap wine you have on hand.  Its something different that most people love and makes interesting Christmas presents.  And yes, it tastes like wine, but better....I am trying to sell a couple of jars here and there to support my habit of making them, who knows, I might just make enough money to buy some real canning equipment and stop using my pots and pans.

Though some of you might like the recipe for Pepper Jelly, like I said, its the best!

Jalapeno Jelly
About 20 jalapenos (3/4 lbs) cleaned and seeded (if you want it hotter, leave some seeds in)
1/2 bell pepper 

2 cups of cider vinegar
6 cups of sugar
2 pouches of liquid pectin

In a blender, puree jalapenos, bell pepper and one cup of cider vinegar,and I put a little green food coloring to make it pretty. Put in cooking pot and add the last cup of cider vinegar and six cups of sugar. Stir continuous and boil for 10 min. Finally add the two pouches of liquid pectin and boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Add to hot jelly jars (about 8 jars.) Leave ¼ inch at top. (If you’re canning….make sure there are no chips or residue on the top of jar and put a wet jar seal. Then put all jars into a boiling pot with water at least an inch or two about the jars. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water and allow jars to sit and eventually you should hear the jar seals start to pop, meaning they are seals. If they do not seal then those jars will need to be eaten first and stored in refrigerator.) Total directions to how I made it because it’s a recipe for canning.




What is your favorite jam or jelly and how do you like to eat it?