Lactose Free Bechamel Sauce

We found out last year that our son is lactose intolerant. When we first found out, I had absolutely no idea just how much stuff has milk in it. There's the usual stuff, like ice cream and pizza, but tons of other stuff has it too. Since I cook a lot of pasta and love a good bechamel sauce, I wanted to figure out how to make one that my son could eat as well. This recipe uses both coconut milk and lactose free milk because I feel like if you use all coconut milk, it makes it taste too coconutty. On the other hand, lactose free milk is expensive and I loathe using up four cups of it in one meal.

Lactose Free Bechamel Sauce

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons oil, preferably olive oil or avacado oil (I also use the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes)

1 can coconut milk

2 cups lactose free milk

salt

pepper

1. Make a roux by cooking the oil and flour together over medium heat until lightly browned.

2. Add coconut milk and lactose free milk. Whisk until combined.

3. Heat until the sauce boils, then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Lactose-free Creamy Squash Soup

Ingredients

1 can coconut milk

1 can  or 2 cups pumpkin or butternut squash puree

Chipotle chili powder

Toasted pumpkin seeds

Procedure

1. Combine coconut milk and squash over medium heat and mix while heating.

2. In a dry pan, toast pumpkin seeds until lightly browned on both sides.

3. When the soup is warm, ladle it into bowls and garnish with a dash of chipotle powder and a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds.

Happy Patrick's Day! Irish Boxty

In honor of my Irish heritage and about a thousand years of family tradition, we are celebrating the lovely holiday of St. Patrick's Day! Scott, Anya, and I are all wearing green and for dinner we are having a traditional Irish-American dinner, corned beef and cabbage (one of my favorite meals), and some genuinely Irish boxty (bacstaí or arán bocht tí in Irish meaning "poor house bread"). I spruced up the corned beef and cabbage with some other Irish staples: potatoes, carrots, and onions.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, used to be honored by people wearing blue instead of green. That has changed, obviously. He preached Catholicism to the native pagan Irish and used the three-leafed clover to depict how the Holy Trinity is. Pretty clever, I think. While I believe that the godhead is made up of three distinct personages, they all do have one purpose, and I think that the clover depicts an LDS view of the Godhead just fine too.

Irish Boxty Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups grated raw potatoes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup leftover mashed potatoes

1 egg

1 tablespoon skim milk

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

Procedure

1. Toss the grated potatoes with flour in a large bowl. Stir in mashed potatoes until combined.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and skim milk; mix into the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop in the potato mixture, forming patties about 2 inches in diameter. Fry on both sides until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve warm.

I have also read that there are zillions of different ways to prepare these, from using different sorts of potatoes (garlic mashed potatoes, cheese mashed potatoes, etc.) to making them flatter like crepes and filling them with stuff (like beef and onions, lemon shrimp with a sauce) or just like this recipe except with stuff on top (one lady said that she always served them with ground beef and onions on top with chicken gravy). The main point is that there are tons of different ways to make this dish, but as far as I can tell, it's the Irish people themselves offering the recipes for the variations.

This particular recipe has been vouched for by MANY Irish people as "just like my mother/grandmother used to make" so I figure it's about as close as any to the real thing. It was found in a 1937 Irish textbook along with the poem:

"Boxty on the griddle,
boxty on the pan,
If you can't bake boxty
sure you'll never get a man."

Pretty fun, eh?

Beignets Recipe by Our Best Bites

Happy Mardi Gras! While Scott probably wouldn't ever let me cook up some crawdads (he's not a seafood sort of person), I would love to try these Mardi Gras pastries! Ever since seeing The Princess and the Frog, I have been on the hunt for some indication that these things are real. Last year, I stumbled upon more than just proof--I found the recipe! Thanks to Our Best Bites blog, I now have the recipe for these insanely simple and delicious puffs!

Beignets Recipe by Our Best Bites 
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/03/beignets-happy-mardi-gras/

Ingredients
 
1 c. whole milk
1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. table salt
3 1/2-4 c. all-purpose flour
1 scant tablespoon dry active yeast
1/2 c. warm (about 105 degrees) water
1 egg
Peanut oil for frying

Procedure 

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, 1/4 c. sugar, vegetable oil, and salt.  Heat over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan.  Remove from heat.

2. While the milk is heating, combine the yeast and 1 Tbsp. of sugar with 1/2 c. water.  Allow to stand for 10 minutes or until it’s very bubbly.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the heated milk and 2 c. flour.  Mix, scraping the bowl occasionally, until smooth (about 2-3 minutes).  Add the egg and mix until well-combined.  Add the yeast mixture.  Add enough flour to make a soft dough that slightly sticks to your finger.

 
4. At this point, you can either place the dough in a bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and cover with a piece of sprayed plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough up to 1 day or you can roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface.  Either way, when you roll it out, roll it into a large rectangle about 1/4″ thick.  Using a pizza wheel, cut the dough into about 3″x4″ rectangles.  Slightly separate the dough pieces and cover with a clean cloth.  Allow to rise for 30 minutes.

5. When the dough has about 15 minutes left to go, heat 2-3 inches of peanut oil in a large skillet or saucepan to 325 degrees (just use a candy thermometer).  When the oil is heated, fry the dough pieces for about 90 seconds-2 minutes per side or until they are golden.  Carefully remove from the oil and allow to drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

6. Place some powdered sugar in a fine-mesh strainer and sprinkle the powdered sugar generously over the beignets.  Serve immediately.  Makes about 24-30 beignets.

Mamma Rosie's Apple Pie

"Okay so you finally harassed me and made me feel guilty....haha...just kidding!  Love you."

--Mom, in her email containing this recipe

I give you Rosie's Apple Pie! It is a bit different than your traditional apple pie, as it calls for golden delicious apples and cranraisins. Start out by preparing the pastry crust, and then move on to the filling.

Rosie’s Apple Pie

Pastry 9-inch Two-Crust Pie

Ingredients

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening.

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

½ teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons or until pliable, Ice water

Procedure

1. Measure out the flour.  Cut the shortening into the flour and salt mixture.  

2. Add ice water in 1 tablespoon increments tossing after each tablespoon until dough makes a ball. 

3. Split in half.  Place half of the pastry on the board.  Roll out. 

4. Repeat with second crust. Bake as directed below (with filling).

Pie Filling

Ingredients

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

6 cups thinly sliced golden delicious apples (about 6 medium apples)

½ cup cranraisens (optional but for a true Rosie pie they must be added)

2 tablespoons butter

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.   

2. Prepare the pastry as directed above.   

3. Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in the apples.   

4. Place apples into mixture and toss to coat evenly.  Let stand till the juices from the apples forms a sauce for the apples (5 min. approx.).

5. Line pie plate with bottom crust.  Place apples into the plate.  Dot with butter.   

6. Cover with top crust.  Cut slits into to allow steam to escape while baking.   

7. Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble 40 to 50 minutes. 

8. Enjoy!

Two Hour Turkey

Don't have a full four hours to roast your turkey? That's ok. In this recipe, you treat a turkey more like a roasting chicken--don't stuff it, and cook it for a shorter amount of time at a higher temperature.

Two Hour Turkey

Ingredients
1 whole turkey, completely thawed if frozen
olive oil
salt
pepper


Procedure
1. Crop the neck of the bird, the wingtips, the tail, and any other bits of skin or fat that are hanging off the bird.
2. Rub a little olive oil over the bird, then add salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Put your bird on its side in the baking pan on a rack.
4. Roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour, then remove from oven and flip the bird so it is laying on its other side. Return to oven for another hour until bird is done. Turkey is done when the thermometer reads 180 degrees Fahrenheit and legs move easily when lifted and twisted.
5. Remove the turkey, then let the turkey rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. You can put a foil tent over it to keep the juices from evaporating.

Lemon Meringue Pie (with tips)

Probably the most difficult pie to make out of my three family favorites is the lemon meringue pie. If you miss a step, do a step wrong, or fudge it, the whole pie will flop. For instance, trying to skimp on sugar, or using something other than honest-to-goodness sugar (Splenda is a definite no-no), you will end up with soup. If you are not careful when getting the lemon zest and you get some of the pith (the white stuff), even a little bit will make your pie bitter and give you stomach aches. I HIGHLY recommend that you read this recipe thoroughly and be prepared before you begin. On the other hand, if you perfect this pie, you will have a mouth-watering, deliciously tangy pie that beats the pants off of any pathetic lemon-pie-impostor. So here we go!
Lemon Meringue Pie

Pie Shell

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Procedure

1. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl.

2. Gather pastry into a ball and divide into two parts, and shape into two flattened rounds on a lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate or 3 inches larger than a 10- or 11- inch tart pan. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.

4. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute. 5. Bake pie shell at 475 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.

6. Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees and proceed to the filling.

*Crust recipe and directions courtesy of Betty Crocker Cookbook, 10th Edition.

Pie Filling
Ingredients
For two pies, use the doubled measurements in red.
1 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (3 cups)
1/3 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch (2/3 cup plus 2 heaping tablespoons)
     Note: Don't skimp or you will end up with soup.
1/2 cup water (1 cup)
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten (6 egg yolks)
3 tablespoons butter (6 tablespoons)
about 2 tsp grated lemon peel (4 tsp)
     Note: You must have this for the right flavor. Use a microplane zester for best results, and finely zest the lemon before you squeeze it. Will probably take about three (six) lemons, which is about how many you will need for the juice.
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 cup)
     Note: Approx. 3 (6) lemons. Must be fresh.

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, mix--NOT over heat--sugar and cornstarch first, then gradually stir in water.
3. Cook mixture over medium heat (not high), stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils, turning translucent. Takes about a half hour. Be careful, as it will be hot and popping.
4. Boil mixture for 1 minute while stirring.
5. For this next part, you need two people. Stir half of the hot mixture into your lightly beaten egg yolks. Spoon it in SLOWLY while stirring constantly. Keep the pot on the stove and KEEP STIRRING!
6. Take your new egg yolk mixture and spoon it all into the pot, slowly.
7. Boil and stir for 1 minute, then remove from stove.
8. QUICKLY, stir in the butter.
9. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, and keep stirring. Mixture will start to harden if you do this all too slowly and it won't be smooth, so stir, stir, STIR!
10. Pour mixture into prepared pie shells.

Meringue
Your meringue ingredients and tools should be measured out and ready before you even begin the filling.

Ingredients
For a 9-inch meringue. For two pies, use the doubled measurements in red.
4 egg whites (8 egg whites)
     Note: Egg whites must be at room temperature. If you get any yolk in the white at all, it won't work at all.
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (1/2 tsp)
6 tablespoon white sugar (12 tablespoons)
1/2 tsp vanilla (1 tsp)

Procedure
1. Beat egg and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy.
2. Beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time (meringue will be gritty if you don't).
3. Add vanilla, then beat until mixture is thick and glossy. Don't overdo it as it will be dry, but don't underdo it either. Peaks must be stiff, but able to curl over a bit.
4. Spoon meringue onto pie, putting meringue up against the crust to seal the pie so that the meringue doesn't pull away from the crust when it cools.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Cool away from drafts or else the meringue will shrink, pulling away from the crust.

After all this work, enjoy your masterpiece! Or, if you didn't get it right the first time, try, try again. My mom spent an entire summer making pies til they were coming out of her ears so that she could become a master at making this pie.