Sour cream pie crust

The idea behind this recipe came from the fact that I needed to make pie crust for my apple-cheddar pie and I had leftover sour cream I needed to use.

After doing research on google, I found a recipe on Serena Bakes Simply from Scratch and decided to use her recipe as a base for mine. Check out her wonderful blog for the original recipe and other delicious treats!

Here's how I made mine.


INGREDIENTS (for a double crust):
- 2 1/2 cups of AP flour
- 1 stick of butter, very (very!) cold, diced
- 1/2 cup of sour cream, cold
- 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup ice-cold water
- a large pinch of salt


RECIPE:
- in a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, the butter and incorporate the butter quickly with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the flour looks like fresh bread crumbs and the butter is the size of a green pea

Note: you want to work really quickly here, with very cold butter. The butter should stay solid as much as possible so that those little nuggets can melt when the crust bakes. That will ensure a flaky crust!
- add the cold sour cream and mix with a spatula

- add ice-cold water by the spoonful (not all at once!) until the dough can hold when pressed together
Note: the dough should not be sticky here. You just want enough water so you can form a ball.

- shape the dough into two discs, wrap them in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour or until ready to use

Note: you can absolutely freeze the dough at this point
Note 2: if you will use this batch for a double-crusted pie, make one of the two discs slightly larger than the other one (the top disc should be a bit bigger)
- after the dough has rested, roll out on a floured surface and make your favorite pie!

Paupiettes de veau (stuffed veal cutlets)

Another day, another French classic recipe.

Today, I present you with Paupiettes de veau. They are little parcels made of veal cutlets, stuffed with ground pork, veal and herbs. Paupiettes are one of my absolute favorite dishes, and I have such fond memories of my grandmother cooking them for us during our vacations. In France, they can be found ready made at the butcher's, however you really cannot find them outside of France. So I decided to make my own. They are very easy to prepare and delicious!

Try them! They will satisfy your taste buds and impress your guests ;)


INGREDIENTS (makes about 8 Paupiettes):
for the stuffing:
- 1lb boneless pork shoulder
- 1lb cubed veal shoulder
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)
- 1 large onion and 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme (dried is fine too)
- 2 tbsp butter
other ingredients:
- 8 large thinly sliced veal cutlets (if they are small, buy more and you can piece them up to make them larger)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
- 1x 8oz cremini mushrooms


RECIPE:
- working in batches, grind the pork and veal shoulder meat with a food processor (or if you're lucky enough to have one, a meat grinder). DO NOT GRIND THE CUTLETS.

- reserve 1/4 of raw onion/garlic for later use. In a small skillet, melt half of the butter and saute about 3/4 of the onion/garlic mix until soft -not brown- over medium heat,.eserve for later.

- in a large bowl, combine the ground meat and the rest of the stuffing ingredients and mix well

- lay the cutlets flat on a clean surface and put a small handful of stuffing inside. Roll the cutlet around the stuffing and secure the parcels with cooking twine

- in a dutch oven, melt the remaining butter over medium-high heat, brown the Paupiettes on all sides and reserve in a plate

- saute the remaining onion/garlic mix in the same pan until soft, over medium heat. They will release moisture and that will deglaze the drippings from the pan. After 2 minutes, add teh sliced mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until golden

- place the Paupiettes back on top of the mushrooms, add the wine and cook covered over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes

- after 20 minutes, remove the lid add the sour cream and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened

- serve with white rice, a lot of sauce and a nice glass of white wine. You can also serve them with peas or green beans.

- Bon appetit!

Sage, sour cream and cremini mushrooms country-style pork ribs (Slow cooker recipe)

I was doubly excited yesterday to try this new recipe.

First, I was recently gifted a slow cooker by my friend F. who wasn't using it at all, and I was just dying to use it for a comforting stew.
Second, my other friend R. (who is friends with F. coincidentally) had been raving about the French dish "Porc au lait et a la sauge" (pork with milk and sage) for weeks, and since we are indeed in the midst of Autumn, crisper weather, leaves yellowing and all, I figured it would be the absolute perfect time to do this!

The original dish calls for a roast and whole milk, but I adapted to what I had available: country-style ribs and sour cream. I'd seen Chef John at Foodwishes use a mixture of creme fraiche and chicken broth for his version of the similar Italian dish "Maiale al latte", so I figured I could do the same. I also mixed in cremini mushrooms for an added veggie-dimension.

It was a first, like I said, and I will admit that although it was very good, I felt like something was missing. And after a few minutes analyzing my dish, I figured it out: BACON! I missed bacon. Not really surprising, since the original version also contains lardons (diced cured pork belly).

So here it is guys, my recipe for slow-cooked pork ribs, with sage and cream. I will be adding notes in italics with suggestions that I think will improve the final result.


Please excuse the horrid photography, but I started to cook at 8AM with little to no natural day light...

INGREDIENTS:
- 4 lbs bone-in country-style pork ribs
- one 8oz basket of cremini mushrooms
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 large onion, sliced thick
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/4 cup chopped sage (I used flash frozen fresh sage, but would highly recommend using fresh for this dish - mine was a bit old and the flavor was a bit lost in the final dish).
- salt and pepper
- a splash of olive oil
- optional: 4 strips of bacon (thick cut, diced)


RECIPE:
- season the pork really well with salt and pepper to taste and brown in a skillet, with a splash of olive oil. You really want to sear the meat so that it develops a lot of flavor and a golden crust

- place the meat on a bed of sliced onions in your slow cooker, add the garlic cloves and chopped sage

Note: if you decide to go the bacon route, now would be the time to sprinkle the diced bacon on top of the meat
- pour the chicken stock over the meat and start the slow cooker, set on HIGH for 5:30 hours

- when you have about 1:30 hours to go, open the lid of the slow cooker and add the cream and quartered mushrooms

Note 1: you can spoon out some of the rendered fat at this moment, before adding the cream and mushrooms.
Note 2: I noticed at the end of the cooking that the sauce was more watery than I would have liked and I think that precooking the mushrooms in a little butter or olive oil and browning them would be better than adding them raw. That way, they would not release that much moisture in the final dish
- at the end of the cooking time, the meat should slide right off the bone and be the most tender you've ever had. Serve with a spoonful of sauce over a bed of creamy polenta, mashed potatoes, egg pasta or rice (I had polenta, and I think it really was a good choice of starch)

Note: if the sauce is too liquid still, you can transfer it into a pot and thicken it over high heat, using a splash of cornstarch diluted in a little water and stirring until you reach the consistency you want

- Enjoy!

Asparagus and Egg Soup

This post brings me so many childhood memories.

My grandmother used to prepare this soup for us when my sister and I were little and had sleepovers at her place...

For years, I have tried to recreate the exact, delicate and slightly acidic taste I remembered so well. Last year, I finally found a recipe that was close enough that I was sure a little tweaking would allow me to savour it again.

Here's my recreation (switched green asparagus for white just like my grandma did, added a splash of vinegar and changed the egg ratio). Enjoy!


INGREDIENTS (for 2-3 people):
- 6 cups water
- 1 chicken bouillon cube (or veggie broth for a vegetarian option)
- 1 bunch white asparagus
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs (the fresher, the better)
- 1 1/3 cups cut spaghetti (my grandma used vermicelli, which are thinner and shorter angel hair pasta, but my supermarket only carried the cut spaghetti)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (any white vinegar will do - do not use red wine vinegar or balsamic)
- salt and pepper to taste


RECIPE:
- bring the water and bouillon cube to a boil

- in the mean time, separate the egg yolks and whites and mix the yolks with the sour cream

- peel the asparagus, cut them into short segments and reserve the tips

- when the seasoned water boils, add the asparagus cubes, vinegar, salt and cook for 7-8 minutes

- when the asparagus are almost fork tender, add the pasta and asparagus tips. Cook for another 7 minutes (or until the pasta is al dente)

- beat the egg white, add them to the hot soup and stir immediately to separate the whites into strings

- turn off the heat, add the yolk and cream mixture and stir well until the soup thickens

- serve piping hot, sprinkled with pepper to taste

- Bon app'!