Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

When this weeks Tuesday’s with Dorie pick from Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes was Florida Pie, I was happy yet sad at the same time. See Florida Pie is pretty much Key Lime Pie…and we all know I love that. The only thing is, if you read this blog you know that I just made Key Lime Pie. And I don’t really like repeaters.
I thought of different ways to make the pie and it just wasn’t doing it for me. I knew that I wanted to make the key lime filling. I knew I wanted some sort of graham cracker element. I needed coconut since that is what helps make this different from regular key lime. And I knew I needed meringue but that I wanted it in cookie form.
I originally thought of a deconstruct(like the photo below). But I am just not really a fan of those desserts for some reason. They seem cold to me…and not like ice cream cold, more like mean boy that tells you that you DO look fat in those jeans cold.
So back to thinking I went. I decided to see if I could make a genoise using graham flour. I was afraid it would be a little to heavy but it turned out beautifully(yay!). I then decided instead of filling the cake I would thin out the filling and make it more of a glaze. I didn’t really need to do anything to the filling except give it a whirl in the Kitchen Aid once it had been baked, frozen and then refrigerated. Top it with some crushed up meringues and some shredded coconut and I had myself a tasty little dessert.
Sherry Yard and Nick Malgieri also spent their Tuesday with Dorie as they were the other “contributers” to my dessert.
I am sure lots of other TWD participants actually made the PIE. So if you are interested in that check out the Tuesday’s with Dorie website.

P.S. Don’t they look like the ghosts(Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde) from Pac Man days?

Graham Cake with Florida Key Lime Pie Glaze

Graham Genoise:

6 large eggs
1 cup sugar
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
½ cup cake flour, sifted
½ cup graham flour

Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease and flour two 8-x-8-inch pans.

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl of our standing mixer and place it over the simmering water, creating a double boiler, being careful that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Insert  a thermometer. Whisk continuously until the temperature reaches 110F, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and transfer the bowl to a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer. Whip on high speed for  5 to 8 minutes, or until the eggs are three times their original volume, are thick and pale yellow in color. Turn down the mixer and whip for 2 minutes to help stabilize the foam. On low speed, stream the warm melted butter into the batter and mix for 15 seconds until incorporated.
Add the flours to the foam all at once and fold it in carefully with a balloon whisk just until incorporated, maintaining as mush of the foam as possible.
Pour the batter evenly among the two prepared pans. Tap each pan lightly on the table three times to eliminate air bubbles. Then, using the same jerking wrist action you would use to throw a Frisbee, swing each pan around on the table so that the batter is forced up the sides of the pan. This will prevent a dome from forming in the middle of the cake.
Bake for 15 minutes. Switch the pans front to back and rotate them, then bake another 10-12 minutes more. Test the cake for doneness by lightly touching the top of it with a finger. The finger indention should spring right back into place. If it doesn’t, bake for another 5-10 minutes more. The cake is also done when it begins to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.
Let cool on rack for 15 minutes, then invert onto the rack, remove pans and cool for at least 2 hours before using. Once cooled, cut out rounds using a cookie cutter.

Source: Adapted From The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard

Key Lime Pie Filling:

4 large eggs yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk.  Still on low, add half of the lime juice.  When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended.
Bake the pie for 12 minutes.  Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour. Then place in fridge until needed.

Source: Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

The merignues were made using the recipe from the mushrooms for the Yule Log. I didn’t make them into mushrooms though and they were not dipped in chocolate. For the recipe go here.

To assemble:
Scoop pie filling out and place in the bowl of a standing mixer. Using a paddle attachment, beat until smooth. It will seem liquid like. That is okay, you want it to form more of a glaze then a filling.
Place Graham Genoise round on plate. Spoon or pipe filling over cake.
Garnish with crushed meringues and sweetened shredded coconut.

I bet you have been saying to yourself, isn’t it playoff hockey? Why haven’t we heard Peabody talk about it then? Why it is your lucky day!
First an update on my own teams. Calgary…out. Sigh. Flyers…surprisingly in and up 3-1 in the series so things are looking good to make it to the Eastern Conference finals.
Sadly I predict that the Penguins and the Red Wings will make it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, with, and I hate to even type it…the Red Wings winning. Ugh. I could be wrong. I have only been wrong once in the last 8 years now…and that is when Calgary lost to Tampa Bay.
Anyway, I will now go on my rant. Other than food blogs, I read hockey blogs. There is nothing I hate more than when I read people saying that their team DESERVES to win the cup this year. No one deserves to win the cup except the team that actually does. It does not matter if you had the best season in franchise history…if you did, that is why they give out the President’s Trophy…to say good job. But when playoffs roll around, it’s anyone’s game…and that is what makes it special.
Your team has 7 games to get it done. If they don’t get it done in that time they don’t deserve to move on. Don’t bitch about the call the referee made in the 3rd period that made you lose the game. Your team lost the game. They get paid to win games, no matter what the circumstance. That is their job….their million(s) dollar job.
I was crushed beyond all belief when Tampa Bay won game 7 against Calgary. You can ask my husband, I cried for hours and moped for days. I really thought it was their year. But they didn’t get it done, and they had more than ample opportunity to do so. And so, sadly, they did not deserve to win that year….Tampa Bay did.
So the nice girl you know here in food blogging world is actually less than nice in the hockey world to those stupid enough to write on their blog that their team deserved to win.
And speaking of deserving things. After a long day of super Spring cleaning the house I decided I deserved a little treat of my own. Not a giant silver cup to hoist over my head, but a key lime mousse parfait. I still had leftover key limes from my pie making day and so decided to do something with that. Combine that with my giant flat of strawberries that needed to be dealt with. What you get is a tart, silky mousse that meets a sweet ribbon of fresh strawberries that took a little bath in some sugar and lime juice. Followed by the tart and silky mousse again….and so on.
I’ll be sure and keep you posted about the Flyers as I know you will be on the edge of your seat waiting to hear all about it.

Key Lime Mousse and Fresh Strawberries Parfait

Key Lime Mousse:
2 TBSP water
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
½ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
3 TBSP grated key lime zest
½ cup fresh key lime juice
pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
¾ cup heavy whipping cream

Pour water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let stand for about 10 minutes, until softened. Place bowl in a large bowl of hot water, and stir until gelatin has dissolved and the liquid is clear.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the sugar, zest, lime juice, and salt. Whisk in the yolks until smooth. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it thickens and leaves a path on th back of a wooden spoon when a finger is drawn across it, don not allow this mixture to boil.
Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the gelatin mixture, and immediately pour through a strainer into a bowl. Let cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally.
Beat the cream with an electric mixer on high speed in a large bowl just until the cream forms stiff peaks. Add the cream to the lime mixture in 3 batches, gently folding it in with a whisk or rubber spatula.

Macerated Strawberries

2 cups sliced strawberries
¼ cup sugar
1 TBSP key lime juice

Throw all the ingredients into a bowl. With a fork lightly mash strawberries to bruise them and release their juices. Let sit in fridge for 2 hours.

To make parfaits:
Place in alternating layers, mousse then strawberries, mousse than strawberries and then mousse. Or really however you would like to layer them.
Makes about 3 servings in stemmed glasses.
Refrigerate, loosely covered, for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days, until set and thoroughly chilled.

Source: Adapted from Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbotham

I often pick on my husband because he has a “texture” thing. As in he doesn’t eat certain foods because he doesn’t like the texture…ie, he doesn’t eat soup or beans of any kind. I used to think it was odd(I still do a little) until I made this weeks Tuesday’s With Dorie pick….Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake. And I realized, I don’t like the texture of polenta in cake. Cornmeal doesn’t bother me in cornbread, so I find it weird that I don’t like it in cake. But I don’t…it’s a texture thing.
Since I am not a fan of polenta cakes I knew I would be giving it away, I decided to use dried blueberries instead of figs, as the person they were going to is not a fig fan. It didn’t call for it, but I made a lemon glaze to go over the top of it. I made 4 mini ones that were well received by people who did not have texture issues.
Make sure to go and see Caitlin of Engineer Baker, for she picked this recipe so I bet she has a good one. And if you have even more time you can see all of the different ones through the Tuesday’s With Dorie website.
So is there anything you have a texture issue with?

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

 
1/2 cup dried blueberries

1 c. medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal

½ c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 c. ricotta

1/3 c. tepid water

¾ c. sugar

¾ c. honey (if you’re a real honey lover, use a full-flavored honey such as chestnut, pine, or buckwheat)

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs

 
Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 ½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Toss blueberries into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry.

Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and beat until light. Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.

Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the blueberries. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top. Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely.

Source: Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

So on our “camping” trip to Portland we ate a place that I found on Chowhound. It had lots of positive comments and it was only about 3 blocks from our hotel, um I mean campsite. I wont go into a review of the restaurant as I will have that up on my other blog in about a month. Other blog? Yep, crazy Peabody will have yet another food blog starting June 1st. Now I will give you many more details in an upcoming post(I’m having a giveaway) but it is called Northwest Noshings. It is all things Northwest food. From restaurant reviews to Northwest cooking…and there will be no baking on it. Enough of that for now.
So the restaurant specializes in comfort food and the minute I saw the menu I spied the word Key Lime Pie and was a happy girl. For key lime(as long time readers know) is one of my all time favorites. It was completely old school, graham cracker crust with tangy key lime filling and whipped cream pilled sky high. It was heavenly. I craved it the rest of the weekend. That craving never went away and so I decided the best thing to do would be to make it. I needed to see if the bad ju-ju was gone anyway.
For my version though I did not go old school. My crust has coconut and pecans in it and my key lime filling has mascarpone cheese in it which produces a lighter texture. It has made for a wonderful breakfast, lunch and mid-afternoon snack so far today.
You will all be happy to know that my ju-ju has swung back towards the good end. I had no problems with this concoction as it did cooperate all around.

Peabody’s Camping Key Lime Pie with Coconut-Pecan Graham Cracker Crust

1/2 cup key lime juice, fresh if possible
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 to 2 teaspoons finely grated lime or key lime zest, divided
5 egg yolks
whipped cream, for garnish
1 coconut-pecan graham cracker pie shell(recipe follows)

Whisk sweetened condensed milk with the egg yolks. Whisk in Mascarpone cheese. Stir in whipping cream and lime juice. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest. Pour into a prepared graham cracker crust and bake at 325° for 15 to 20 minutes.

Coconut-Pecan Graham Cracker Crust

1 ¾ cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup pecans
7-8 TBSP melted butter

In a food processor, blend together graham cracker crumbs, coconut, sugar and pecans. You want to make sure that none of the coconut is visible. Add about 7 TBSP melted butter. Pulse a few times. If it seems like it needs more butter add the remaining TBSP. Pour contents into a pie pan and press to form a shell. I used 4 mini pie shells.
Bake crust for 10 minutes at 400F. If you are using the mini pie pans, prebaking is not necessary.

I served my pie with whipped cream, a little leftover lime zest and plated with some of Fran’s Raspberry Sauce.