Solving the Mystery of Duros

For years, I would see these in the produce section of our grocery stores...in a big bin. i never knew what they were! I thought they were flavored bullion things to make soup with.

Well...here is what I learned by asking the guy at the store who stocks these things: Duros!
You fry them or microwave them..they puff up and you put tapatio sauce on them and eat them...I microwaved these 4 for half a minute....

Crack Pie

C R A C K P I E ....so called because it is addictive, pleasurable and very expensive.

John found this in Thursday's LA Times Food section and alerted me to it...so I will put the article and recipe here and someday I will make it....

latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-crackpie11-2010feb11,0,3355019.story
latimes.com
Crack Pie: It's love at first bite

She thought she didn't even like sweets. But one spoonful of this rich, silky delight, and she was smitten.
By Rene Lynch

February 11, 2010
As a woman, I know I'm supposed to swoon at the sight of chocolate and lower my voice when I rhapsodize about chocolate truffles, souffles and bouchons, as if I were talking about an illicit love affair.

So the first time my then-boyfriend, now-husband brought me a box of exquisite chocolates for St. Valentine's Day, I squealed with delight like I knew I should -- and then promptly stowed the box in the back of the fridge. He found them a few months later -- the cold and the cocoa butter had already rendered them dusty, and it was clear that I hadn't eaten a single one.

He looked at me, he looked down at the box he held in his hand, he looked back at me -- a look of utter shock on his face. I was caught. I had no choice but to confess:

I don't like chocolate.

I'm actually not much for sugar at all. Now, don't get me wrong. I have yet to turn down a dessert that is offered to me. But when it comes to cravings, I tend toward the salty and crunchy. Say, a plate piled high with twice-fried French fries. Or salty potato chips. Or salty pretzels. Or salty . . . well, you get the idea.

But then I met Crack Pie.

Sold at Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar in Manhattan, this pie has taken New York City by storm, partly because of the audacious name, partly because of the jaw-dropping price tag -- $44 a pie, yes, $44 a pie -- and partly because anyone who has tried it, including myself, CNN bigwig Anderson Cooper and the people who are buying the 60 to 90 Crack Pies sold each day or two, can't stop raving about it.

Still not convinced? Out-of-town demand is so high that the bakery just started shipping the pie by FedEx. They've even sought trademark protection for the name.

Crack Pie is a twist on Chess Pie -- an old-school dessert found in the "Joy of Cooking," popular because it can be made with common pantry ingredients such as butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla.

But Milk Bar pastry chef Christina Tosi's reimagining makes Crack Pie an original. Instead of just a humdrum pie shell that serves as a container for the filling, Tosi dreamed up a shell that begins with a homemade oat cookie blended with a bit more butter, sugar and a healthy dash of salt.

The result is a crust that is divinely rustic and unrefined -- don't bother trying to get a perfect edge as you press it into the pie plate. It just won't happen.

Under Tosi's reconsidering, the interior of this pie takes a glug of heavy cream, a bit of milk powder to help give the mixture body and egg yolks instead of whole eggs.

It's baked at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and then 325 degrees for about 10 minutes, just until the top is golden brown. The interior will jiggle when you remove it from the oven.

You will fear that the pie is undercooked.

But you must have faith.

It's not an understatement to say that this pie defies description. But I'll try. It's ooey-gooey. Buttery and rich. Silky. Pillowy. I'll wager that it's not like any pie you've ever had before because that salty-sweet-crunchy-oaty crust is as much a part of the pie as the filling itself. In a weird way, it remind me of kettle corn, with that one-two, salty-sweet hit that keeps you coming back for more. And more. And more.

Now, Tosi says Crack Pie must be served cold. And this is where she and I disagree. Take it out of the oven and let it cool just a bit -- otherwise, it's like pouring molten lava on your tongue, and I tell you this from personal experience -- but you want it to be warm when served.

Tosi and I agree, however, on how it should be eaten.

With a spoon.

While it's still in the pie plate.

With your favorite someone.

It's clear that I'm in love. I'm prepared to forsake all others. In my mind, I might as well be on a Crack Pie diet -- reaching this level of dessert nirvana means I can happily pass up all other desserts forevermore. (This must be what other women mean when they say they will do anything for chocolate.)

As for my husband, he's given up trying to guess what I want for Valentine's Day. We're at that "Here's the credit card, just tell me what I bought you" stage. But that doesn't mean romance is dead. I know exactly what I am buying for this holiday of love, and with whom I'm going to eat it.

And if you ask me for details, I'll look around to make sure no one else is listening in, drop my voice to a throaty whisper -- and tell you all about it.

rene.lynch@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

Momofuku's Crack Pie

Total time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling and chilling times

Servings: Makes 2 pies (6 to 8 servings each)
Note: Adapted from Momofuku. This pie calls for 2 (10-inch) pie tins. You can substitute 9-inch pie tins, but note that the pies will require additional baking time, about 5 minutes, due to the increased thickness of the filling.

Cookie for crust

2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (3 ounces) flour

Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar

3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar

1 egg

Scant 1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) rolled oats

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.

5. With the mixer running, beat in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until fully combined. Stir in the oats until incorporated.

6. Spread the mixture onto a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking sheet and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.


Crust

Crumbled cookie for crust

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended (a little of the mixture clumped between your fingers should hold together). Divide the crust between 2 (10-inch) pie tins. Press the crust into each shell to form a thin, even layer along the bottom and sides of the tins. Set the prepared crusts aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar

3/4 cup plus a scant 3 tablespoons (7 ounces) light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon (3/4 ounce) milk powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

3/4 cup plus a scant 2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 egg yolks

2 prepared crusts

Powdered sugar, garnish

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.

3. Gently whisk in the egg yolks, being careful not to add too much air.

4. Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells.

5. Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown (similar to a pecan pie), about 10 minutes. Remove the pies and cool on a rack.

6. Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. The pies are meant to be served cold, and the filling will be gooey. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Each of 16 servings: 432 calories; 4 grams protein; 45 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 27 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 187 mg.

Nuts to Chew Cookie

This is Molly as she is driving her and me back to Missouri in October after being in Point for Sandy's funeral. She is nibbling on the wonderful, unbeatable "Nuts To Chew" cookie!

I put my cookie on the dashboard and took a picture of it

This cookie costs $1.49 and is worth every penny! It is called Nuts To Chew and one of my quests in life is to learn how to duplicate this...to learn how to make them myself...to figure out the recipe. It has milk chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans,

and just the best feel and texture ever! They are made at the Stevens Point Area CoOp and get sold out quickly on the days they are baked!

Mom's Thanksgiving Day Jello

These are the ingredients. I use low fat cream cheese. Of Course. I buy pecans at Costco.
You can make this without nuts if you desire.

After you set the first layer, which is strawberry, you pour on the second layer...which is the blended cream cheese and yellow jello (that has had the boiling water then cold water added to it as described on box.) Then the nuts. I chopped them first, then threw them in the blender for a few seconds after the other 2 ingredients were well mixed.

A square of the final product. I got 15 squares from the 9" by 13" pan. You could get 20 pieces if you cut them a bit smaller and that is still a good portion.

RECIPE FOR THANKSGIVING DAY JELLO

(Inspired by Bernice Hulihan Farley)

And as per requested by Megan and Amy....

I first had this jello at a Thanksgiving Day meal at John's Aunt Bernice and Uncle Lee's place in Manti, Utah back in 1979. It was so nice to see this colorful jello on everyone's plate (or was it on a separate dish?) that I decided I would make it every Thanksgiving...and I pretty much did.

1 6 oz. box strawberry jello

1 6 oz. box orange jello

1 3 oz. box lemon jello

1 small can mandarin oranges

1 10 oz. carton of frozen sliced strawberries (in syrup), thawed.

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened at room temperature.

1 cup pecans, chopped (Optional but it adds a great texture to that middle layer!)

(I just realized that some years, I put a little crushed pineapple into the white layer.)

Get out your 9" by 13" cake pan.

First layer: The red layer. Make the jello, but when it is time to put the 2 cups of cold water in, use the container of strawberries as part of your cold liquid and add more water or ice to total about 2 cups of stuff. (I dump it allinto my 2 cup liquid measuring cup to make sure I have it right. Pour into pan and put in fridge.

When red layer is set, after a few hours, make the lemon jello up as directed on package. Then put this liquid mass into the blender with the softened cream cheese. Add chopped nuts after the first 2 ingredients are well blended. At this point, if you do not have nuts, it is OK . You can blend up some drained crushed pineapple into this if you want. (like 1/2 or 3/4 cup).

Pour this layer over the red layer and refridgerate until set.(few hours).

Make orange layer. Open can of manadarin oranges and drain water out into cup. Follow direction on package. Use the canned mandarin orange water for part of the water. After you have made the jello, add the drained mandarin oranges. Pour this over the cream cheese lemon jello layer and put back in fridge until set.

Makes 15-20 serving. Cool, sweet, colorful and refreshing.

As you can see..this should be made the day before Thanksgiving and get started early in the day.

My First "Baked Ziti"

I was going through my cupboard and found a (Safeway Brand)box of ziti. This is a tube pasta without the ridges (Penne has ridges, ziti is smooth.)
I decided to make Baked Ziti using the recipe on the box. The recipe, it stated on the box, was developed by cookbook author marlene Sorosky-Gray.

Here is the exact recipe, which is followed exactly, only I halved it and used a 9" x 9" glass baking dish. I used 8 oz. of ground turkey. I also sprinkled some shredded mozarella on the top along with the shredded Parmesan cheese before I baked it.
This was so good. John and I both enjoyed it quite well.
Here is the full recipe. Remember: I halved it.

Baked Ziti

1 16 oz. package Ziti
16 oz. lean ground beef.
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jars (25 oz.) pasta sauce, any variety
(I used Classico Mushroom and Ripe Olives)
6 oz. Provolone cheese slices
6 oz. shredded mozarella
1 & 1/2 cups sour cream
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
non-stick cooking spray
(I just used olive oil from a bottle and slathered it onto the bottom of the baking dish.)


In a large skillet, brown the meat, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add pasta sauce and simmer for about
15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook ziti according to package directions and drain. Grease a 9 x 12 inch baking dish. Layer half each of the ziti, hamburger mixture, provolone cheese, mozzarella and sour cream. Repeat the layers. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake 5 more minutes. Serves 8. (Note: I used up all the sour cream in the first set of layers.

I served this meal with salad, and corn and garlic bread. MMMMmmm. I will always love gooey hot cheese dishes like this!!!!!

Revisiting Norwegian Pancakes

So John's first words as we woke up Monday morning (yesterday) was: "I dreamt of having a baggie of Norwegian pancakes." I recalled how I used to make "Norwegian Pancakes" all the time for breakfast for the kids and John and then if there were leftovers, I would cut them in half and put them in baggies for a snack. Sometimes Kelsy's school lunch would just be a baggie full of Norwegian pancake halves.

So, feeling ambitious, that morning (5 am) I whipped up a half batch of ...

NORWEGIAN PANCAKES

In blender... put...
1 cup milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
dash salt
a squirt of honey
2 teaspoons melted butter

Blend well. Pour straight from blender into hot skillet that has been greased. ( These are like making crepes...pour enough to coat the bottom of the skillet as you tip the skillet around.) If you melted the butter in the skillet, you can use that, or use some canola oil.
THE TRICKY PART IS HAVING THE SKILLET HOT ENOUGH. I got 5 Norwegian pancakes from this recipe...just enough for 2 people. You serve lemon wedges on the side, and soft brown sugar. Sprinkle the pancake with the lemon juice, then brown sugar..you can swish the brown sugar around with a spoon to cover the surface of the pancake. Roll up and eat...or cut in half and put in baggies for a snack later. Because they are egg-y...you may want to refrigerate them if you do not eat them up in 4 hours. ENJOY! Brings back memories, huh, kids???

Healthy Snack!

I have been wanting to make these for a loooooong time and I finally did this week!

I melted a bunch of 63 % dark chocolate chips (Thanks to Molly, who bought them at Sam's club in St. Louis and brought them up to Stevens Point to give to me and then I packed them in my suitcase and brought them back to California on the airplane).

I melted the chocolate chips in a stainless steel bowl over simmering water, and then I stuffed each prune with a pecan and drenched it in the chocolate, lifting it out with a fork and letting the excess chcolate drip off back into the bowl. Then I set each one on wax paper covered tray and refrigerated them. After they hardenend, I put them in a tupperware. Now, John and I just grab one from the fridge when we want them. What a life.

Here is also a picture a Kalea, age 4, enjoying one.

The prune has been studied and found to contain the highest amount of antioxidants of any fruit. The pecan also has the highest amounts of anti-oxidants of any nut. Amd we all know dark chcolate is very good for you. So...I ask you...is there any better treat you can have on this earth?????

Anyone out there have a cute name for this treat? "Chocolate covered prunes stuffed with pecan" is too long and unappealing. We need a cute name, and then I can package them and sell them...maybe???? Hmmm...after writing this, I want to go eat one...but it is Fast Sunday...quick...run away from that thought!
OK...names...how about....Proofles????(Cross between "truffles" and "prune")