Sour Cream Apple Pie

This recipe will become a modified version from user 'vanillacustard' on BigOven.com.  A delicious upgrade on a classic, this is the best apple pie we've ever had.

3 tablespoons Unsalted butter softened
1/4 c + 2 tb Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 tablespoons All purpose flour
1 1/3 cups Sour cream
2/3 cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 large Eggs
3 tablespoons All purpose flour
5 large Granny Smith apples
1 packaged Pie crust

Instructions for Sour Cream Apple Pie
Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface, fit it into a 10-inch (6-cup capacity) pie plate, and flute the edge decoratively. Chill the shell while making the topping and the filling.

Make the topping:
In a small bowl blend together the butter, the sugar, the cinnamon, and the flour until the mixture is combined well and chill the topping, covered, while making the filling.  THIS TOPPING COULD USE SOME OATS LIKE APPLE CRISP

Make the filling:
In a large bowl whisk together the sour cream, the sugar, the salt, the vanilla, the eggs, and the flour until the mixture is smooth, add the apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin, and stir the filling until it is combined well.

Spoon the filling into the chilled shell, smoothing the top, and crumble the topping evenly over it. Bake the pie in the middle of a preheated 350F oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until it is golden and the apples are tender, transfer it to a rack, and let it cool completely.

Banana Bran Muffins

This is from the box of Quaker natural wheat bran. They're wholesome, not too sweet, and very satisfying. We substituted raisins for banana: roommate Clay agrees that the "bananas are key."

Makes 12 muffins

1/4 c shortening
1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 c molasses
2 eggs, beaten
1 c milk
1 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c wheat bran
1/2 c chopped banana (or raisins, or a combo)

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add molasses and eggs and beat together well. Add milk, and then bran. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt together. Add to liquid ingredients. Add raisins, if desired. Place in greased muffin pans. Bake in 400 F oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

Ginger Rice Condiment

I thank Lynne Semple for this nugget. It has essentially no nutritional value, but it turns plain California rose rice into a magical ginger-enhanced dream. It was also excellent with unseasoned chicken thighs which Lynne served boiled, or broth soups. I make this stuff in huge batches, so scale this recipe as your heart desires -- you only need a teaspoon for a bowl of rice.

Makes 1/4 cup

3 tbsp peanut oil
1/2 c green onion, chopped fine
1/4 c fresh ginger, chopped fine
2 tsp salt

Add the oil, onion, and ginger to a small pot and cook on medium-low for 15 minutes. Add the salt once the mixture has reduced, lowering the heat and simmering for another 15 minutes. It should taste really salty, but the ginger flavour will have noticeably mellowed.

Char Sushi Nigiri

The price of fish on the Pacific coast reminds the East-coaster that he should be eating lobster every day. But, no matter how expensive the fish is, quality cannot be sacrificed for good sushi.

Makes 2 rolls.

1/2 c california rose rice (sushi rice)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
2 sheets nori (seaweed paper)
1/2 ripe avacado, sliced finely
1 small filet fresh arctic char

Cook the sushi rice and spread it out onto a cookie sheet to cool. Mix together the salt, sugar, and vinegar and drip it onto the sushi rice, mixing only slightly. Once the rice is cooled, apply a thin layer of the rice to the nori and lay down long, thin slices of the avacado and char. Roll the sushi and refrigerate until cool. Serve with wasabi and some Japanese soy sauce. I love this stuff.

Shitake Meatballs

Meatballs are incredibly versatile. Every time I roll into a Chinese grocery, I buy some of the old favourites. The most recent trip ended with eight kilos of jasmine rice, a couple cans of unidentifiable fruit, and a bag of dried shitake mushrooms. This recipe is better with fresh mushrooms, but the dried did the trick on a whim.

Makes about 24 small meatballs

10 small/medium shitake mushrooms (or 6 large) hydrated and chopped fine
1 1/2 lbs ground meat (pork and beef are best)
2 eggs
3 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped fine
2 tsp salt

1/4 c soy sauce
2 tbsp flour
1/2 - 1 c water
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix the mushrooms, meat, eggs, ginger, and salt into a large bowl, combining the ingredients with your hands. Form them into small balls (3/4 inch diameter). Bring a large, heavy skillet to maximum heat (the surface of the pan should just begin to smoke) then instantly reduce the heat to medium, add 2 tbsp of oil (preferably peanut) and add enough balls to fill the pan without having them all touch (we need some space to flip each one). You want to sear one side of the ball with the intensely hot pan, then let the medium heat take over and cook it half through. Flip the balls once, increasing the heat if it seems that the ball is cooking through before the outside is dark brown. Remove the balls before they are cooked through and add the next batch until all of the balls are finished. If you're busy, just drizzle some soy sauce over them (about half of the 1/4 cup prescribed) and let them sit for a few minutes before serving with rice. Otherwise, I recommend making the sauce...

In a small bowl, combine the flour with a tsp of the soy, mixing until thick. Add a little more liquid, keep mixing. Repeat, ensuring that no lumps exist, until all of the soy is added. Increase the heat in the meatball skillet to maximum just until before the drippings from the balls begin to smoke: immediately add the soy and flour mixture, stirring vigorously and adding water as the sauce thickens. Reduce heat, add the crushed garlic and simmer. Serve over the balls on rice.

Lemon Garlic Hummus

Sara Lawlor never disappoints when entertaining, and this gem is no exception. This simple recipe gives those without a lot of creative drive a chance to experiment, since the quantities are not well defined. I've also left the recipe in the same form in which she first described it to me.

1 can chick peas
garlic, crushed
lemon juice (about a whole lemon)
tahini (or sesame oil)
olive oil

I just mash up a can of chickpeas, and then add crushed garlic to taste, lemon juice, and if you have seseme seed paste use a bit of that (it's called tahini, I think). I don't use tahini because it is expensive and I can't use the whole jar. Then add some olive oil, and if it is too thick add a bit of water, or more lemon juice. I have never actually used a recipe, but that's what I put in.