Classic Apple PIe

Ingredients


Crust

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons (about) ice water

Filling

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 3/4 pounds sweet apples, such as Spartan or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, thinly sliced (about 5 1/2 cups)
• 1 3/4 pounds tart apples, such as Granny Smith or Pippin, peeled, cored, thinly sliced (about 5 1/2 cups)
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon plus large pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• 1 tablespoon whole milk

Corn Pudding

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup chopped yellow onions
1/4 cup chopped, seeded poblano pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 cups fresh white corn kernels
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup grated Havarti cheese
4 strips bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped green onions


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and poblano peppers and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the corn, thyme, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the cayenne, and cook, stirring, until just tender and starting to turn golden, 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Put half of the corn mixture in a food processor with a little of the custard and blend until smooth.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, sugar, thyme, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper until frothy. Add the pureed corn and whole corn mixtures and the cheese, crumbled bacon, and green onions and whisk to combine. Pour into the prepared dish and bake until set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces

• 8 bacon slices, thinly sliced crosswise
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup finely chopped shallots (about 4 large)

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Preparation

Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water. Drain well. Pat dry with paper towels. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Wrap in paper towels; enclose in resealable plastic bag and refrigerate.)

Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels and drain. Discard all but 3 tablespoons bacon fat in skillet. Add butter to skillet and melt over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender and golden, about 4 minutes. Add beans and sauté until heated through, about 6 minutes. Add bacon to skillet and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

GARLIC MASHED POTATOES WITH CHIVES

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head of garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

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Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut top 1/4 inch off head of garlic to expose tops of cloves. Place in small baking dish. Spoon oil over; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until garlic cloves are tender, about 45 minutes. Squeeze garlic cloves from skins and mash in small bowl.

Cook potatoes in heavy large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 18 minutes. Drain; return to pot. Stir over low heat to allow excess water to evaporate. Add whipping cream, butter, sour cream, and roasted garlic and mash together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in chives and serve.

Thanksgiving meal

My Thanksgiving meal was one of the best meals of the year. It had tons of nice fresh food with tons of flavor. We got the Turkey & the Cranberry Sauce at Clancey's meat & fish deli.
It is in Linden Hills Minneapolis, Minnesota. They sell the best meat you could imagine. We get all of our meat at Clancey's. It is local. They have duck, fish, meat, sandwiches, prepared foods, and cheese. They even sell homemade dog bones.

On Thanksgiving Day, it took all day for my mom & dad to cook all the food. It was so much fun. My dad's parents come out from Michigan along with my cousin and his mom. She is my dad's sister. We played games with my cousin outside and inside, while my mom and dad cooked the food. The meal was amazing I will post some of my favorite the recipes.

Walley Strips

Walleye Strips
This is one of the first recipes I ever prepared by myself. It is a favorite of both my brother and myself.

You need one large filet of walleye depending on how many people you have in your house.
The filet of walleye fish it needs to be really fresh out of the cooler from the store.

Follow those steps:
1. Cut the strips in strips.
2.Fill separate shallow bowls with each of the following:
- flour
- lightly beaten egg(s)
3. melt about 2 tbs. of butter in a non-stick pan
4. while the butter is melting take your first strip of fish and coat it with flour, then dip it in egg, then cover with bread crumbs. Place it in the pan to fry.
5. follow these steps until all of the strips are in the pan.
6. cook each side of the strips until the breading is golden brown (about 3-4 minutes) a side.
7. remove from and plate.

You may want to serve with a dipping sauce such as tartar. We mix ketchup and mayonnaise to make our very own delicious tartar sauce.

We also use fish filets to make very good sandwiches.

Erika's Beef Chili

This chili is actually my friend Ben and Billy's mother Erika's speciality and this is the recipe she bases it on. But she does some things differently. She uses ground turkey instead of ground beef. And before she browns the meat she fries some cut up bacon in the pot (which makes it very yummy). She also adds frozen roasted corn towards the end. She served it on Halloween night and the kids and adults just loved it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

1. Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Cook beef in pan until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in onions, bell pepper and garlic and cook 5 minutes more.
2. Stir in kidney beans, pinto beans and tomatoes. Season with brown sugar, cocoa powder, chili powder and cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes. (To make in a slow cooker, simply transfer beef mixture to a slow cooker, stir in remaining ingredients, cover and cook on low 5 to 6 hours.)

Milk Chocolate Pudding

Milk Chocolate Pudding
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces fine-quality milk chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Accompaniment:
lightly sweetened whipped cream

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk and cream. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes. (Mixture will be thick.) Remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl and chill pudding, its surface covered with wax paper (to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least 2 hours.


Cooks' note:
Pudding can be chilled, covered with plastic wrap after 2 hours, up to 3 days.