Black Raspberry Mini Pies

Berries are on the list of foods that no matter how much you try to convince me of it, I will never believe that they have real nutritional value because they just taste too good to! I love berries of every kind and I get so excited when they start appearing at my local farmer's markets. I also love picking my own berries and am trying my hand at growing a few this summer.

Yesterday on a trip to visit my parents in Virginia, my mom and I found ourselves with a little time on our hands and since neither of us sit at home readily, we set off on a drive in the country with my littlest daughter. There was a beautiful road I remembered driving on many, many years ago and I still treasure the memory of that autumn day so we headed there again. I am so glad we did because we found ourselves at a farm where we thought we could pick blueberries. It turns out the blueberries weren't ready yet but the black raspberries were! Black raspberries! We felt like we had stumbled on a magnificent treasure. The woman who runs the farm said we made it at the perfect time because apparently the harvest is quite short for the berries and only lasts about 15 days. We arrived on day 6 which is peak picking time.

 The berries were not my only treasure, though. The time I spent with Mom and Emory was so special and Mom and I talked about how much we both adore little adventures. We are both always eager to head out on paths we have never been on which is likely due to my dad's military career; it made us wanderlust!

The briars and slightly steep hills did not deter us and we picked until we both had about a pound and a half. Our fingers were stained a gorgeous shade of purple by the time we left which didn't bother either of us a bit. As we pulled off the farm, we were both trying to figure out exactly what we wanted to do with our beautiful berries and agreed that whatever it was, it needed to be special. No quick cobblers for these babies!

On our drive home to Tennessee today, Mom texted me the recipe she had decided on: black raspberry ice cream. I think I knew all along that mine were destined for pies.

I recently bought a pack of mini pie tins from Amazon and have loved using them this summer for my tomato pies. Here is a link to the tins. They come in a pack of 50 disposable tins and are a great value for around $10. The main thing I love about them is that the pies cook so much faster, not to mention they are super adorable. I knew that my raspberry pies would be perfect in these.

I started with my basic pie crust recipe for two pies and used one to cut the crusts out in round pieces to fit in the bottom. You could also roll them out individually but I feel like that might take a little longer. You could also use roll out store bought crusts, of course, but for something as special as black raspberries, I just couldn't do it. With the second half of my double crust recipe I just cut out the tops and then crimped them before cutting slits in the top. You could easily make one big pie with this recipe but would need to double the berry filling and definitely increase the baking time.

If you find yourself lucky enough to have stumbled upon a black raspberry patch, I really think this is the best use of your berries!

Black Raspberry Mini Pies (click for printable recipe)

1 double pie crust recipe (here is my favorite)
4 cups of berries, rinsed, drained, and dried on towels
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/8 cup flour
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
1 egg white
1 tablespoon of water
sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a heavy baking sheet with foil (I use Reynolds release foil)

Mix together sugars, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Add berries and stir very, very gently so as to not squish the berries. Set aside.

Cut half of a chilled pie crust recipe into four circles slightly larger than than the pie tins. Press into pie tins. Place in freezer. Cut other half of pie crust recipe into circles.

Divide filling between the four pie crusts. Cover with second set of crusts and crimp the edges of the pies. Cut four small slits in the tops of each pie. Sparkling sugar or sugar in the raw works best for sprinkling on the top of the pies but regular white sugar can be used. Sprinkle before baking.

Whisk egg white with water and brush on tops of pies. Sprinkle with sugar. Sparkling sugar or sugar in the raw works best for sprinkling on the top of the pies but regular white sugar can be used.

Place pies on prepared baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until the pies are brown and bubbling.

Steak Veggies

Is there a more perfect night to grill than the longest day of year? I am always hard pressed to nail down my very favorite season (although deep down I think it really is fall) but I never find it a challenge to list hundreds of things I love about each season. Grilling out and eating on the deck are high on my count of what I adore about summer!

Our girls have been gone for close to two weeks as they have each spent time with their two sets of grandparents. My husband and I have missed them deeply but also know that we need to take full advantage of the opportunity for extended date nights and to relish cooking whatever we want to.

Tonight was our last date night and the summer solstice night so we opted for grilling steaks and opening a bottle of red wine we have been saving for a while. It was most definitely the right choice!

I knew I wanted grilled veggies with our steaks and kabobs came to mind right away while I was shopping this morning. I have to admit, though, that while I love the idea of kabobs, they just never really turn out right for us. Somehow the vegetables never end up being done at the same time and I am always left disappointed. Add to that the fact that they are a little more troublesome and I was going for easy breezy tonight. So I went back to the drawing board.

The other night I made Italian sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions from a recipe I just saw in Cook's Country. The sandwiches were delicious and the method for cooking the onions and peppers was perfect so I used this as the inspiration for our veggies tonight. Starting the peppers, onions, and mushrooms in the microwave cuts down on the cooking time outside and it also helps to ensure that they are cooked evenly. It was definitely the right choice and both my husband and I agreed that we would return to this plan next time we grill steaks. These veggies would also be great with chicken. We had a few left so I stuck them in the fridge with the plan to add them to a pasta dish. I also am going to try adding some fresh chopped rosemary to the recipe next time.

These veggies take very little prep time and for the most part the grilling is hands off with no worries of overcooking them. Be sure to purchase a disposable foil pan ahead of time if you decide to try these although I didn't dispose of mine at all. I just washed it and will use it again really soon for this recipe!

Steak Veggies (click for printable recipe)

2 onions (I prefer sweet ones like Vidalias), cut in half and then sliced in slices about 1/4" thick
1 red bell pepper, cut in half, seeds removed and then sliced about 1/4" thick
1 8 oz. package button mushrooms, wiped clean with a wet paper towel (I like the teeniest, tiniest ones I can find)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
9X13 disposable aluminum pan

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Transfer to a glass dish and cover. Microwave for six minutes. Transfer mixture to disposable aluminum pan.

Preheat grill on medium high. Place pan on top of the hottest part of the grill.

Cook for 25 -30 minutes stirring a few times. Remove from grill and serve with steak.

Deconstructed Corned Beef Dinner

Yay! It's St. Patrick's Day! Yay! Yay! You know, that holiday where every single year I get so excited about preparing a traditional Irish boiled dinner with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and onions? Except that every year when I look at all of those various foods that have been swimming all day in brisket grease, I just feel sad and disappointed and let me be really honest, a bit empty inside.

Well, this year I solved the problem and now I would be thrilled to fix (and eat!) this dinner again tomorrow night! The answer? Deconstructing the whole meal while preparing it and then serving it all together.

This year I served our St. Patrick's dinner a night early and had two of my dearest friends and their families over to celebrate with us. My friend Janet made the kids really happy by bringing a traditional Irish Chick-fil-a nugget tray and Angela brought homemade kid friendly cupcakes with green sprinkles that did not have the Bailey's Irish Cream in them that our grown-up dessert did. The night was a success and we all agreed that the new dinner method was far superior to my old efforts.

I started my prep early in the day by putting the corned beef brisket in the slow cooker, fat side up, with traditional corned beef spices and enough water to cover it. I figured the slow cooker was a great way to ensure that the meat did not overcook. I started it on high for 2 hours and then turned it to low for about 5 more which made the meat really tender.

My house smelled so good all day from the spices! It is really important to note that I did not use the tiny spice packet that came with the brisket like I usually do but instead I put the entire contents from a 1/4 cup jar of Penzey's Corned Beef Spices in with the meat. Please, please, please tell me that you have heard of Penzey's Spices??? If you have not, then you need to stop reading right, right now and go to the Penzey's website. Then, if you are anything like me, order enough spices to get free shipping and start planning your trip to the store closest to you. My Aunt Donna introduced this company to me and I will be the first to admit that I have a SERIOUS addiction to Penzey's! Serious as in I had to rearrange my entire lazy Susan and order special containers to contain all of my Penzey's spices. Serious as in I spent close to two hours in the store in Raleigh. All of their spices are so fresh and of the highest quality. They also have incredible blends and multiple salt-free options. I also love that you can purchase small quantities so that you can decide which ones you like. Feel free to contact me for suggestions if you get overwhelmed by the choices and I can share some of my favorites with you. In fact, after dinner tonight, just because I know how to party like a rockstar, I opened all the jars and had Janet and Angela smell all of them. It felt a little like a pyramid scheme or perhaps a cult experience now that I reflect back upon it . . . If you don't have a Penzey's near you, though, just use the spice packet  that comes with the brisket. Next year I suggest you plan ahead so that you have a little jar of Penzey's to use for St. Patrick's Day. Once the brisket finished cooking, I sliced off the fat layer and then seared both sides of the brisket in a hot pan with olive oil. I did salt and pepper my corned beef before searing it because I bought the low-sodium kind and felt like it needed a little more flavor.

In an effort to avoid soggy vegetables, I decided to roast all of them separately and it worked great! I did all of them in an oven heated to 375 degrees. I peeled and cut carrots on a bias so that they were in fairly big pieces of about 1 1/2" and then tossed them in olive oil and salt. I poured those on a rimmed baking sheet. After I cut the bottom of a head of cabbage off, I sliced the cabbage into thick slices and put it in a large glass baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle Penzey's Bavarian Style Seasoning. You could certainly skip the Penzey's spice but I thought it made the cabbage extra special! I also wanted to give brussels sprouts a chance to I roasted a few of those tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper and it turns out I like them!

For the potatoes I used teeny tiny little Melissa's baby dutch yellow potatoes and cooked them on their own baking sheet. I seasoned them with olive oil, salt, Penzey's pepper blend, Penzey's smoked paprika, Penzey's sweet paprika, and Penzey's toasted granulated onion. Again, you can use regular spices from the grocery store if that's what you have on hand, but trust me, you are really going to want the Penzey's kind!

My method for the onions was to slice them in fairly thick slices and to caramelize them by sauteeing them in about 2 tablespoons of butter and a drizzle of olive oil. I cooked them over medium-low heat and added salt and pepper. They took about 20 minutes to become nice and golden brown.

Once everything was cooked, I put the brisket in a serving dish and layered everything around it. It looked so much more appealing than my usual St. Patrick's Day dinner and it tasted much better, too! We topped it with a balsamic reduction which made it even more flavorful. Even though there were more pans to clean, the effort was well worth it!

Deconstructed Corned Beef Dinner (click for printable recipe)

1 corned beef brisket, drained (I prefer a low-sodium one)
whole carrots, peeled and cut on a bias about 11/2" thick
1 head of cabbage
2 onions, cut in half and sliced about 1/2" thick
bag of small, whole golden potatoes
salt
pepper
paprika
onion powder
olive oil
balsamic vinegar, reduced

Drain corned beef brisket and place in slow cooker. Sprinkle spices from spice packet on top. Pour water to cover. Cook on high for 2 hours and low for 5-6 more. Remove brisket from slow cooker and cut off layer of fat. Heat a skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil and quickly sear brisket on both sides just before serving.

About an hour before the brisket finishes, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss peeled, sliced carrots in olive oil and salt. Pour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until carrots are tender. Be sure to shake the pan frequently.

Cut the bottom of the cabbage off and slice cabbage into thick slices. Place in a glass casserole dish and drizzle olive oil on cabbage. Top with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until tender.

Toss potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and onion powder. Pour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Be sure to shake the pan frequently.

Place brisket on a serving dish and pile onions, carrots, and cabbage all around. Serve potatoes on the side.

Serve with balsamic reduction and whole-grain mustard if desired.