Good Eats

High on Pie

claudiaFriends, Good Eats

Few desserts make people as happy as a homemade pie. And in our opinion, this one takes the prize. Perfect for summer. Perfect for hungry guests…and kids. And we know for a fact it makes neighbors smile when you deliver one to their front door. (Right, Megan and Robin?)

So here’s our contribution to National Blueberry Month — a deliciously wicked Lemon Icebox Blueberry Pie.

Trust us, you need this. 🙂

Lemon Blueberry Icebox Pie

Gather:

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 tblsp freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup buttermilk

Store-bought graham cracker crust (we like Keebler)

Make:

Preheat oven to 325°.

Whisk first 3 ingredients together in bowl. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks with a mixer at high speed for 4-5 minutes or until yolks become pale.

Slowly pour in condensed milk mixture and stir until well combined; whisk in buttermilk.

Pour mixture into graham cracker crust.

Bake at 325° for 20-25 minutes, until pie is set around edges (it’ll be slightly jiggly in center).

Cool pie on wire rack for 1 hour. Cover with plastic wrap (spray wrap slightly with cooking oil to avoid sticking).

Freeze 4-6 hours.

Top:

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/3 cup sugar

3 tblsp water

2 tblsp fresh lemon juice

1 tblsp lemon zest

Combine 1 cup of the blueberries with the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer 8-10 minutes or until thickened and berries start to break down.

Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 1 cup blueberries. Cool for about 1 hour.

Keep topping chilled until ready to use. Pour over pie, then serve!

Lemon Blueberry Icebox Pie

 

Recipe adapted from Southern Living.

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Under the Stars…with S’mores

claudiaGood Eats, Inspiration, Stuff We Like

IMG_9809

I remember it like it was yesterday. An overnight campout during my little sister’s and my first summer at Camp Skyline Ranch in Mentone, Alabama…and my first bite into a S’more. How was it that our parents somehow failed to expose their 6 kids to America’s easiest and absolute best-tasting dessert? What is it about this 3-ingredient campfire treat that makes even the most erudite adults wax nostalgic about childhood summers? In Dan White’s new camping and travel memoir, Under the Stars, the author, who lives in Santa Cruz, California, devotes pages to the S’more and deservedly so. It’s the object of every camper’s affection and out here at our place we serve them up regularly. In fact, one cold evening last winter, Arielle and I got a craving so strong we made some indoors in front of the Buck Stove in the living room. White gives us the origins of the dessert (tracing it back to a 1927 camping manual called Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts) plus much, errr, s’more on his adventures in nature all across America’s great woods and wilderness. Share your own camping memories and photos now on White’s new Facebook fan page, and you can listen to a special July 4th interview — “How America Fell in Love with Camping” — on Wisconsin Public Radio.

July got here just a little too quickly, don’t you think? So damn the calories — let’s celebrate Summer with gobs of gooey S’mores!

Under the Stars

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Lessons in Beekeeping

claudiaFriends, Good Eats, In the Garden, On the Farm

Well, we’ve gone and done it. Just added about 10,000 honeybees to our place — they’re out back in the orchard. Thankfully, we’ve got good neighbors who know a thing or two about creating a healthy apiary, so we’re really just apprentices at this point. But our best-laid plans did soon go awry when our one little beehive (Mike was adamant: we could only have ONE) decided it was doing so well that it would do this thing called “swarm” and subdivide. So now, after our friend Charlie rushed over to help capture the wayward bees that thankfully chose to hang out in a low branch, we have TWO hives. If these little drones divvy up again, I may have to start looking for a new husband because the current one might just quit. But let’s hope not. 🙂

Here are shots from our adventures so far, including installing the first hive (which came from a beekeeper on Lookout Mountain), capturing the swarm, and later helping Charlie rob one of his own hives and make a delicious 2-gallon batch of honey.

No stings to report yet — well, except for Lola, who just had to go and poke her nose into one of the boxes.

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We love to surprise friends and neighbors with fresh eggs from all the girls. With spring now on its way, egg production here is heading into high gear, so place your orders soon! 😉

EggsforTess

 

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Lazy Day Brunch

claudiaGood Eats

Here’s a dish we made on Christmas morning. It was so good we might just make it again on New Year’s Day! From our breakfast table to yours…

Turkey Sausage & Grits Casserole (3)Turkey Sausage & Grits Casserole

1 lb. crumbled turkey sausage

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup uncooked grits (quick cooking)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (mild or sharp)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup milk

1 tsp white or black pepper

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

4 large eggs, beaten lightly

Vegetable or olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly brown sausage in a big skillet, stirring often. Set aside. Add salt to 4 1/2 cups water and boil in large pan. Stir in grits until gently boiling again. Cover grits and lower heat. Simmer 2-3 minutes, continue stirring.

Remove grits from heat, add cheeses and combine until melted. Stir in milk, thyme, pepper and eggs. Add sausage. Spoon contents into a 13×9 inch glass baking dish (lightly greased) and bake at 350° for about 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Once the casserole is done, let stand for 5-10 minutes then “gobble” it down! Serves 10-12.

 

Cooking Notes: 1. You can make this dish 1-2 days ahead. Follow recipe to assemble casserole, then place in fridge. When ready, bring to room temp (about 30-45 minutes) then bake. 2. After baking, if casserole doesn’t brown on top, place under a broiler for just a little bit but watch carefully!

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