Wednesday, August 27, 2014

PEANUT BUTTER PIE

I went to my works Holiday party last year & my friend 
Kathleen made this incredible peanut butter pie.
I begged her for the recipe & thankfully she obliged.

PEANUT BUTTER PIE



Ingredients:

The Crust
1 1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs 
5 tablespoons of melted butter
2 tablespoons of sugar

The Filling
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of sugar
8 oz of softened cream cheese
1 cup of creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1 cup of powdered sugar


Directions:

PART 1: THE CRUST

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Crush your graham crackers into crumbs
until you get 1 1/4 cups.





 Mix the melted butter & 2 tablespoons of sugar 
with the graham cracker crumbs.



After mixing the ingredients together, press them into a pie pan.


Bake for 15-20 minutes.


While the crust is baking, make your filling.
Whip your cream with 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl & set aside.


In another bowl mix together the other ingredients with an 
electric mixer.



Fold in the cream/sugar mixture into the mixture.


 Once completely mixed pour it on to the graham cracker crust.



Place in the fridge & chill for a few hours.
ENJOY!!

Friday, August 1, 2014

CHILES RELLENOS

I have two favorite things to order any time I go 
to a Mexican restaurant, Tamales & Chiles Rellenos.
Ordering these two things is how I judge a place & determine how good
they really are. 
I decided that I am going to attempt to make my favorites, starting
with the Chiles Rellenos.
Hopefully this time I can follow directions. 





Ingredients:

Part 1:
SALSA
1 pound of Roma tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into slices
4/5 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of lim juice
1 teaspoon of salt

Part 2:
CHILES
4 medium poblano chiles
1 package of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 eggs, separated (eggs & yolks)
1 cup of vegetable oil
salt & pepper to taste


Directions:

For the Salsa:

Turn on the broiler.

Take your tomatoes, quarter & core them.


Slice the onion & peel your garlic.
Take the tomatoes, garlic and onions and scatter them on a covered baking sheet.
Broil until the tomato skins are blistered and start to blacken.



(Leave the broiler on)

Let the veggies cool off , then put them in a food processor along 
with the lime juice & salt. Blend until smooth.
Transfer to a saucepan and keep warm.

CHILES:

Lay one pepper at a time on a cutting board in a position where
the pepper will not roll. 



Take a knife and make 2 cuts forming a "T" 
shape, one in the middle and one across the top about a 1/2 inch from the stem. Do
not cut all the way through, and do not cut off the stem.



Open the flaps & cut out the core.
Remove all the seeds.
(DO  NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE)



Repeat with all the peppers.

Place all of the peppers in the oven, I used the same baking
sheet I used for the tomatoes. 
Leave in the oven until the peppers start to blacken, turn them over
so both sides get charred.


After you take them out, put them in a bowl & cover
so they steam while they cool. 
Leave them in for about 15 minutes.

Once they are cool enough to handle, its time to remove
the skin. Just the top layer that looks like sunburnt skin that you can't help but peel off. (gross but rewarding)


Season the outside of the peppers with salt & pepper.
Stuff them with the shredded cheese, be careful not to tear them.
Stuff all four & set aside.



Take your egg yolks and whisk until frothy, then set aside.




Now take the egg whites & a small amount of salt and
beat them using a electric mixer until peaks form.



Fold the egg yolks into the foamy egg whites.



Now, heat the oil in a frying pan.
Working with 1 pepper at a time, drop about 1/2 a cup of the egg batter into the
oil & spread it with a spatula to the size of the pepper.



 Place the pepper on top of the batter and add more to the top of the chili.



Cook for about 2/3 minutes on each side until golden brown.



Once you are finished cooking all the peppers, put the salsa
on top of the chilies & enjoy.