Polka Dot Pie Crust

Want to dress up your pie crust?  Try adding polka dots rather than crimping the edges.  To do:  trim edges of crust evenly, then use the trimmings to cut out small circles of dough.  Attach the circles to the edge of the crust after filling it but before placing in the oven (just use a dab of water or egg wash to attach).  You can eve go a step further and brush the dots with egg then sprinkle with sugar before baking.

Mmm...tasty!

What in the World is Miso?

Miso a fermented soybean paste, often used in Japanese cooking.  It contains probiotics that aid digestive health and help form Vitamin K.  Miso is high in sodium (1 Tbsp has a quarter of the daily recommended allowance), but studies show it may not raise blood pressure like table salt.

Miso is commonly found in plastic or glass tubs in the Asian foods aisle at your grocery store.  It comes in three varieties - white, yellow, and red.  The darker the miso, the longer it's been fermented.  The longer the fermentation the stronger and saltier it will taste.  You can store miso in the fridge for up to 1 year.

Mmm...tasty!

Easier Roasted Peppers

Roasted peppers are a delicious addition to many recipes, but who wants to spend all that time constantly turning a whole pepper to get it charred?  Why not just cut the pepper into panels that can sit flat on the heat? 

To cut the panels, place the pepper stem end up and slice a flat "panel" off one side, being careful to avoid most of the core.  Repeat this cut three more times to give you four flat panels.  Discard the core (stem, seed, and most of the ribs).  Roast away!

Mmm...tasty!

What's the Difference - Cobbler vs Crumble vs Crisp?

'Tis the season for cobblers and crumbles and crisps!  But, what's the difference?

• In cobbler the biscuits atop this fruity fave resemble cobblestones, which is how this dessert is presumed to have gotten it's name.
• In a crumble the fruit filling is topped with a crumbly streusel made from flour, sugar, and butter.
• In a crisp, which is often confused with the crumble, the streusel topping is made crunchy with nuts or oats.

A couple of bonuses:

• A pandowdy is much like a cobbler; it's fruit topping is topped with pie crust or biscuit dough, but the pandowdy's surface is often arranged in a patchwork pattern.
• A grunt (aka slump) is a cobbler that's cooked, covered, on the stovetop instead of in the oven.  The funny name is a reference to the noise that comes out of the pot while it cooks.
• A brown Betty is a dish made of layered buttered breadcrumbs with sliced apples or other fruit that is baked until browned.
• A buckle reverses the order of the fruit and batter - the batter is the base and the fruit is the topping.  When baked, the base bubbles and buckles up around the juicy fruit piled on top.

Mmm...tasty!