bright pies for dark days … Lemon Sour Cream Pie

It’s been a rough, dark week. We were reminded, once again, that we can’t possibly know what’s going on in someone’s head. That we all have to pay more attention to those we love, be kinder, be more understanding. We need to talk less, listen more. To not be afraid to reach out, to say something, say anything. That we shared an uncommon connection to public figures we don’t know and the level of emotion it dredged up surprised us all. It’s sad. So very sad. So we do the best we can, cope in the ways we know and the new ways we learn. For me, I often bake.

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easier than pie … Dairyland Sour Cream Apple Bars

I’m still trying to work my way through a boatload of apples I picked a few weeks ago. Applesauce, cakes, fritters. A pie once or twice. These things are making a dent but I have to keep going. I’m not sure how many times I can google “recipes that use a lot of apples” and expect different results but recently, I had a new idea based on a mediocre slice of pie: apple bars. Something buttery, crumbly and full of apple flavor. Something creamy would be wonderful too. I was thinking cream cheese, much like my German Apple Cheese Torte but in a bar form. That used hard to find quark cheese but honestly, anything in that creamy, dairy family would be good – crème fraiche, sour cream, mascarpone, ricotta. Hmmmmmm.

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pucker up … Double Glazed Key Lime Bundt Cake

After a month of chocolate recipes followed by a bunch of beer recipes and a few Italian dishes for good measure, I was in the mood for something light, bright and tangy. Something citrus, puckery citrus. Something that screamed “Spring!!” at the top of its lungs. A tender, buttery bundt cake sounded pretty good too. Let’s combine the two, shall we?

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before it goes … Brown Butter Blueberry Ricotta Cake

I spend an inordinate amount of my time dealing with leftovers, which is funny because I don’t particularly care for them. Once I eat a meal, I’m done with very few exceptions. If I have people over for dinner, out comes my stash of takeout and deli containers, everything is neatly packed and labeled and goes out the door with my guests. I don’t want to see it again. But the bulk of my leftover issues lately are ingredients; an endless parade of bags, tubs and boxes of stuff. I develop recipes and every project typically involves a few shopping trips and a whole new set of ingredients. Once the project is complete, usually after several weeks, I have a dining room table full of stuff. Stuff I have to deal with quickly because the next project is usually on the horizon. I often joke that I’m going to have a “Kathy’s Pop Up Store of Half Used Bags of Stuff” in my dining room once a month. Come one, come all!

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ruby red beauty … Cranberry Crumble Tart

When it comes to cranberry sauce on my Thanksgiving table, I’m a traditionalist. I make this triple cranberry sauce every year. Made with fresh cranberries, dried cranberries and cranberry juice it is bright, full of flavor and I love it. I might make a second one, spiced with ginger or zapped with horseradish or whatnot to mix it up, but the triple-cranberry version is non-negotiable. I might even make an allowance for a canned jelly, which is as much a tradition in some families as the turkey, but a whole berry, chunky sauce is a must have. Regardless of which direction you go, canned or homemade, we can all agree that cranberry sauce in some manner is required, especially on a leftover turkey sandwich. But what about cranberries in other parts of the meal? Like dessert? This year I decided to try something different and came up with a cranberry tart to cap the meal. I have to say, I’m quite happy with the results.

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making leftover ingredients delicious … German Apple Cheesecake Torte

I’ve been doing quite a bit of recipe development work lately which is great but there is always the same end result: piles of random, leftover ingredients. The bags and boxes are open so I can’t donate them to the food pantry and it’s often too much for me to work through, knowing the next assignment is coming down the pike with even more stuff. In fact today, the FedEx guy delivered a 15 pound box of even more stuff from a client. Of the 9 things in the box, I really only need 2 of them and I’m not really sure why their light brown sugar is better or different than the brown sugar I have. But it is not for me to decide these things; I’ll use it at some point. The 5 pounds of lecithin, I’m not so sure. I’ve joked with my friends that when this round is over I’m going to have a pop-up grocery store in my dining room. Half filled bags of stuff for cheap! Kathy’s Store of Cheap Random Crap. C’mon down!

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at the copa … Fresh Mango Coconut Teacake

I’m feeling rather tropical as of late. Must be the heat or maybe its the 24-hour cycle of Olympic events from Rio that is emanating from every electronic device I own. All this broadcasting from Copacabana Beach is making me crave tropical drinks with long straws and plastic monkey decorations like nobody’s business. A recent stop at the local produce market persuaded me to grab case of ripe mangoes bought on the cheap. I can never resist a deal. I immediately ate one warm out of the case, sticky orange juice running down my arm. The next day, I did the same thing with a cold one. I like them better cold. Two down, six to go. I made some coconut sticky rice and sliced the third one on top. Five left.

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