Spice Up Your Life

You can’t just wing crispy chicken

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date February 7, 2019

Cooking nice, crispy chicken wings in the oven takes some time but is well worth the wait.

Although we had big crowds of folks in our house for the NFL playoff games this season, Super Bowl Sunday was a calm evening without company—something Joey and I were both very much in the mood for after a few busy weeks in a row.

Despite the lack of a table full of food, I still decided to make a traditional football snack for the big game: buffalo wings.

Buffalo wings are one of Joey’s favorite foods, and we’ve spent a lot of time over the years trying to figure out how to make some at home that are crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and aren’t the product of lots of deep frying.

In all our attempts, we generally only attained one or two of those criteria, but I finally figured it out this past weekend, thanks to a blog post by “The Cookful.” You can find it at https://thecookful.com/bake-chicken-wings-crispy/. I will warn you that it takes a good amount of time in the oven to accomplish this, but it is mostly hands-off time, and it’s well worth the wait.

Crispy Chicken Wings

Cooking nice, crispy chicken wings in the oven takes some time but is well worth the wait.

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snacks

Keyword chicken wings

Ingredients

20 wing pieces
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
sauce or dry rub

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil and place a rack onto the sheet (I just used my cooling racks).
Place the wing pieces into a bowl and dump in the baking powder and salt. Mix them with your hands to distribute the powder and salt. (Don’t expect them to look like they’ve been dipped in flour; you won’t be able to see the coating on the wings when you’re done.)
Place the wing pieces in a single layer on the rack, spacing them just slightly. Cook them for 30 minutes.
Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees, and cook for another 45 to 50 minutes or until the wings are brown and crispy.
Let them rest for a couple minutes, and then toss them in your favorite wing sauce or dry rub and serve immediately.

My favorite way to coat wings is to put them in a bowl with a lid along with the sauce and then just shake them until they’re coated. I’m not coordinated enough to do it without a lid—unless I want to clean sauce off every inch of my kitchen.

These wings were awesome—exactly what we’d been looking for. It was also nice that any fat dripped down onto the foil, and the wings weren’t swimming in it while they cooked.

I’m not sure what the secret of the baking powder is that makes the wings cook so well, but it was just what I was missing in previous attempts.

They also received the Joey stamp of approval, which is a pretty big deal. He has pretty high standards for what makes for a good wing.

Our Super Bowl snack was awesome. The game, on the other hand, well…maybe it could have used some baking powder.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 7, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Tags buffalo, chicken, wings

Main Dish Pressure Cooker

‘Loin’ing to use pressure cooker no easy feat

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date January 24, 2019

A tender pork loin, along with tasty stuffing and gravy, can all be made in under an hour with a pressure cooker.

Over the past year or so, I’ve noticed quite a number of people jump on the electric pressure cooker bandwagon.

I have a traditional pressure cooker I inherited from my grandmother, but to be honest, I’ve always been a bit scared to actually try it, so it’s stayed packed away on a high shelf in my kitchen.

On Christmas, though, my parents gifted my sister and I each an electric pressure cooker, which somehow seems less terrifying than the stovetop variety.

So, since Christmas, I’ve been playing with recipes, trying to figure out how pressure cooking works, and I finally have a recipe I’m excited to share.

This recipe comes from the blog “The Creative Bite” by Danielle Green. One thing I really liked about this recipe is that it’s all made completely in the pressure cooker pot, so there’s only one dish to dirty. You can find her post at https://www.thecreativebite.com/pressure-cooker-pork-loin-stuffing-gravy/. I subbed in cornbread stuffing and added rosemary for seasoning.

Pressure Cooker Pork Loin, Stuffing and Gravy

A tender pork loin, along with tasty stuffing and gravy, can all be made in under an hour with a pressure cooker.

Course Main Course

Keyword cornbread, gravy, pork loin, stuffing

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter divided
1 medium yellow onion diced
24 ounce pork loin
4 to 5 teaspoons rosemary
3 to 4 teaspoons garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
6 ounce box cornbread stuffing mix
2 tablespoon flour

Instructions

Season the pork loin with rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Add two tablespoons of butter to the pressure cooker and turn to saute. Add the pork loin and sear for about four minutes.
Add the onions and flip the pork loin over and sear for another four minutes.
Add the chicken broth and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, and then allow the pressure to release naturally.
Remove the pork loin and set aside to rest on a cutting board.
Scoop out about two cups of liquid, leaving the onions behind, and reserve it for gravy.
Dump in the stuffing and stir to moisten. (If it’s still a bit dry, pour a little of your reserve liquid back in. Look at the directions on the box if you’re unsure how much liquid the stuffing mix needs.)
Place the lid on the pot and let it sit for five minutes.
Pour the stuffing into a serving dish and cover it.
Add the rest of the butter to the pot and turn back to saute. When it melts, whisk in the flour. Stir it for a couple minutes and then whisk in the reserved liquid. Cook for about two minutes or until it thickens. Season with more salt and pepper.
Slice the pork loin and serve with stuffing and gravy.

This was such a nice, hearty meal, and it came together really easily, which I appreciated. Also, having this recipe turn out so well gave me a lot of confidence moving forward with learning to use my new kitchen toy.

My sister has also been playing with her pressure cooker, and we were discussing how the electric version seems less terrifying than the traditional variety.

“What is it about the Baby Boomers that they’re brave enough to use those things all the time,” I asked her.

“Well, they did grow up without seat belts,” she said. “Now they’re not afraid of anything.”

Good point, Sis. Good point.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 24, 2019.

Tags cornbread, gravy, pork, stuffing

Dessert Snack

Don’t be a goober; make candied peanuts

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date January 17, 2019

Candied peanuts are a bit addictive, make the kitchen smell heavenly and are quick to make.

We have a tradition of hosting a number of our friends on the first weekend of the NFL playoffs. We yell at the TV together, share snacks and always have a great time.

This past weekend was especially fun as we watched the Chiefs advance to the next round, and we’re planning on repeating the festivities this weekend for their next game.

No one in our friend group knows how to skimp on the snack table, and I have to admit that I’m as guilty as everyone else of bringing way too much food.

One snack that I tried recently that goes over well is also super easy to accomplish, which is nice for a quick treat.

The recipe author calls these toffee peanuts, but I decided to just refer to them as candied peanuts, since we all agreed that the flavor profile didn’t seem to be what we’d expect in something with “toffee” in the title.

I found this on the blog “Genius Kitchen.” You can find the post at https://www.geniuskitchen.com/amp/recipe/toffee-coated-peanuts-269296. I doubled the spices in my version.

Candied Peanuts

Candied peanuts are a bit addictive, make the kitchen smell heavenly and are quick to make.

Course Dessert, Snacks

Keyword peanuts, toffee

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup I used dark
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
In a bowl, stir together all the ingredients except the peanuts. Add the peanuts and toss to coat.
Dump the mixture out onto the baking sheet and spread it into a single layer as much as possible.
Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Once the peanuts are golden brown and the mixture is bubbling, remove them from the oven.
Allow the peanuts to cool completely and then transfer them to an airtight container, breaking the larger clumps into smaller pieces if you desire.

After these were finished, Joey and I both taste tested them and declared them a moderate success. But then we kept going back to the container over and over.

I suddenly realized I should probably upgrade their success level, and they didn’t last very long after several of us got our hands on them.

I have another jar of peanuts sitting in my pantry right now, and I’m thinking they may need to get a nice coating of sugar and spices before Sunday’s game.

There’s no guarantee the game will be a good one, but I know for certain the snack table will be on point.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 17, 2019.

Tags peanuts, snacks, toffee

Dessert

For weight-loss resolvers, approach these bars gingerly

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date January 10, 2019

While gingerbread bars sound like a holiday treat, they are a perfect quick dessert for any time of the year.

If you’re weak-willed and trying to avoid sweets now that 2019 is in full swing, I highly recommend that you skip over my column this week.

Of course, if you know you’re going to be tasked with making or taking treats for any event this year, I also highly recommend saving this for later on.

For a recent family get together, I decided to whip these up, since I already had all the ingredients in my pantry and had enough shopping trips during the holidays to last me quite awhile.

They were snapped up pretty quickly, and even my one-year-old niece gave them her stamp of approval.

I found this recipe on the blog “Upstate Ramblings.” You can find it at https://www.upstateramblings.com/holiday-gingerbread-bars-popcorn/. I doubled the vanilla and spices in my version and used chocolate chips instead of M&Ms.

Gingerbread Bars

While gingerbread bars sound like a holiday treat, they are a perfect quick dessert for any time of the year.

Course Dessert

Keyword bars, chocolate, Christmas, gingerbread, molasses

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter melted
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, molasses and egg together.
Add in the flour, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and beat until the mixture is combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips by hand.
Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. It will be very thick. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top if you want them to really show up in the final product.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the bars cool before cutting them and store in an airtight container.

I honestly think these were even better after sitting overnight. They were soft and chewy, and the chocolate was a perfect pairing for the spices.

This is a recipe that will make its way into my recipe box for future use when I need to make something quick and delicious to share.

Or I won’t share them. Maybe I’ll start my resolutions in February.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 10, 2019.

Tags bars, chocolate, Christmas, gingerbread, molasses

Bread Main Dish

Get ready to bowl your guests over on soup night

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date January 3, 2019

Homemade bread bowls take some time to make, with waiting for dough to rise, but they come together easily.

When I was younger, our family frequented a local restaurant that served soup in bread bowls year round.

Even in the heart of summer, I would often order a big bread bowl of broccoli soup for lunch or dinner, while the rest of my family opted for their awesome sandwiches. There’s just something slightly irresistible about a bread bowl.

As we prepared for a potluck of soups with some friends a few weekends ago, I suddenly had a craving to eat whatever delicious concoctions ended up gracing our table in a bread bowl, so I turned to the Internet for help.

I discovered that they aren’t too difficult to make, although I continue to maintain that I don’t have the patience to wait on yeast to rise on a regular basis. Watching dough swell on the counter just makes me hungrier and hungrier for the finished product.

But the recipe I tried, which I found on the blog “I Heart Naptime,” promised to be easy, and the recipe’s author didn’t disappoint. You can find her post at https://www.iheartnaptime.net/bread-bowl/.

Homemade Bread Bowls

Homemade bread bowls take some time to make, with waiting for dough to rise, but they come together easily.

Course Main Course

Keyword bread, bread bowl, soup

Ingredients

2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast that’s three packets
1 tablespoon sugar
5 to 6 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions

Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water and stir to dissolve. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. It’s ready when the plastic wrap puffs up.
In a large mixing bowl, combine four cups of flour, 1 teaspoon olive oil and the sugar-yeast mixture. Beat on medium speed with a dough hook, if possible. Add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is smooth and not sticky. (Don’t feel like you need to add all of it if you don’t need to, or add a bit more if it’s not coming together.)
Knead the dough with a stand mixture with a dough hook for three minutes on high, or knead on a floured counter by hand for about five minutes.
Coat the dough in about 1 teaspoon of oil and place in a large bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the dough doubles in size.
While the dough rises, prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
When the dough is ready, punch it down and divide it into six even balls. Place three on each baking sheet and cut an X in the top of each with a sharp knife.
Let the dough rise for another 30 minutes or until they double.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the bread is golden brown.
To serve, cut a circle out of the top of the bread bowl and then hollow out the center. (To leave more bread in the middle and make more room for soup, press the insides down a bit with your fingers.)
Keep the bread bowls in an airtight container if not serving immediately.

These bread bowls were a huge hit for our get together, as was the pile of bread scraps sitting in the kitchen. I think everyone nibbled on those at some point during the evening.

They were the perfect size for a small bowl of soup to go with the other goodies on our table. Also, for a recipe that was only difficult because I spent a lot of time waiting, the pay off was huge. There are few things people get more excited about than fresh-baked bread.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 31, 2019.

Tags bread bowl, soup

Main Dish Soup

Let’s ‘brocc’ and roll with soup this summer

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 5, 2018

Cream of broccoli soup uses fresh broccoli and carrots, along with some great melty cheese.

A few years ago, we met a young newspaper editor from Kentucky while we were at a conference. She’s one of those “do it all” folks and in addition to being a managing editor, she runs a small farm.

I’m friends with her on Facebook, and now that summer is in full swing, I enjoy seeing the photos of her fresh vegetables when she sets up at her local farmer’s market.

Recently, she posted a photo of some gorgeous stalks of broccoli, and it gave me a major craving. Joey isn’t much of a broccoli fan, so I waited for an evening when he wouldn’t be home and made myself a big batch of soup.

I know it’s July and it’s hot, but I will eat soup any time of the year—especially if it has some fresh veggies in it. Plus, the recipe’s author says it freezes well, so I was able to fill up some freezer containers for later, too.

The recipe I used is from the website “Happy Money Saver.” You can find it at https://happymoneysaver.com/homemade-creamy-cheesy-broccoli-soup/. I used more garlic and also swapped skim milk into the recipe instead of half and half. The original also used gouda in addition to cheddar.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of broccoli soup uses fresh broccoli and carrots, along with some great melty cheese.

Course Main Course, Soup

Keyword broccoli, carrots, garlic, sharp cheddar cheese

Ingredients

5 cups chicken broth
1 small onion minced
4 cups fresh broccoli chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup carrots grated
4-6 cloves garlic minced
1 bay leaf
garlic salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk I used skim
1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar shredded

Instructions

In a pot with a lid, combine the broth, onion, broccoli, carrots, garlic, bay leaf and some garlic salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and place the lid on the pot. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the broccoli is nearly cooked through.
When the veggies are nearly done, melt the butter over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Whisk in the flour and let it cook for a couple minutes. Once the broccoli mixture is cooked, begin adding the liquid you cooked the vegetables in to the Dutch oven with a ladle, whisking as you do to incorporate the flour roux.
Once the liquid thickens a bit, toss in the vegetables (remove the bay leaf), milk and more garlic salt and pepper, if desired.
After the mixture is heated through, remove it from the stove and stir in the cheese until it’s melted.
Serve with some crusty bread and a fresh salad to really bring in the garden-fresh deliciousness.

I was really excited about this soup, and I liked that it wasn’t made with heavy cream, too, so I didn’t feel quite as badly about enjoying a big bowl of it.

Plus, I’m pumped to have several containers of this waiting in my freezer to go to work with me for lunch in the coming weeks.

I won’t be making it to Kentucky for my friend’s fresh broccoli any time soon, but I think it’s time to do some visiting to our local farmer’s markets. It looks like the gardens are starting to overflow with some amazing veggies, so it’s time for my table to overflow with them, too.

This piece first appeared in print on July 5, 2018.

Tags broccoli, carrots, garlic, sharp cheddar cheese

Cookies Dessert

Baking Mom’s cookies makes me a chip off the old block

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 28, 2018

Sometimes all you want is a classic, delicious chocolate chip cookie, just like Mom used to make.

Every time it was our family’s turn to bring snacks for any event—youth group, school functions, you name it—my friends would immediately ask, “Is your mom going to make cookies?”

When my sister or I would announce that we needed to bring something yummy to share, Mom didn’t need to ask us what we wanted her to whip up. The default was her chocolate chip cookies, and we rarely brought any home at the end of the evening.

She would sometimes shake her head in disbelief when people would ask for her secret recipe, saying she just got it off the back of a bag of chocolate chips at some point, but though she’ll probably still deny it, there was always something special about those cookies.

Last week, I needed to make cookies for an event, and rather than do my normal thing and try out a new recipe, I pulled out my recipe box and decided to make Mom’s chocolate chip cookies.

As in the days of my childhood, they were the first cookies to disappear from the snack table.

I don’t have an official source for you for these cookies other than to say that the recipe once appeared on a chocolate chip bag somewhere, but if I know my mother as well as I think I do, I’m guessing the vanilla was doubled at some point in its history.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes all you want is a classic, delicious chocolate chip cookie, just like Mom used to make.

Course Dessert

Keyword chocolate chips, cookies

Ingredients

1 cup shortening
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon water
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375.
Beat together the shortening, sugars, vanilla, water and eggs until well combined. Beat the flour, baking soda and salt into the mix, and then mix in the chocolate chips.
Drop by the spoonful about two inches apart on a baking sheet.
Bake for eight to 10 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned. Let them cool for a bit and then transfer them to a sealed container while still a little warm to keep them a little chewier.

There’s nothing Earth-shattering about these cookies, but they are definitely one of the tastes of my childhood. It’s funny that those cookies were the background for so many of my favorite memories growing up—spending time with friends in the church fellowship hall, dipping them in milk with my sister, sharing them with classmates between taking final exams in high school.

It was nice to share a batch with some of my adult friends, too. It’s amazing how relationships can form around something as simple as a chocolate chip cookie.

This piece first appeared in print on June 28, 2018.

Tags chocolate chips, cookies

Main Dish

Verenike casserole will make you feel like a ham

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 21, 2018

Verenike casserole has the flavors of traditional verenike without all the effort to make it.

In a little less than a month, I’ll be heading off to one of my favorite places on Earth: Camp Mennoscah.

I love it for many reasons—the beauty, the people, the connection with God through nature—but one thing I always look forward to is the food.

While my co-director and I get to run around with a bunch of 8 year olds, there will be a group of wonderful volunteers in the kitchen, churning out tons of delicious meals for us to enjoy each day.

While the camp menu varies from week to week, there are a few staples that always seem to make it onto the list that I can’t get enough of.

One of those is verenike casserole.

If you’re not familiar, verenike is a dough pocket with cheese inside that is traditionally served with ham gravy. It’s an indulgence I adore, but it’s time consuming to make. Verenike casserole takes all the flavors of verenike and simplifies them into an amazing noodle dish.

The recipe I used comes from the cookbook “50 Years of Good Cooking and Camping at Camp Mennoscah,” which was edited by Nancy Becker. The recipe, which is called “Fettucini Casserole” in the book and was penned by Ruth Entz, is colloquially called “Verenike Casserole” by campers and camp staff. I’m leaving out the 1/4 cup of chopped onion.

Verenike Casserole

Verenike casserole has the flavors of traditional verenike without all the effort to make it.

Course Main Course

Keyword casserole, ham, noodles, verenike

Ingredients

8 ounces fettuccine noodles cooked according to package
2 cups cubed ham
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
12 ounces dry curd cottage cheese
Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a 9-by-13-inch pan, combine the noodles, ham, 1-1/4 cups milk, sour cream and cottage cheese and some salt and pepper.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper. Cook until the mixture begins to bubble. Add the 2 cups of milk slowly while continuing to stir. Bring the mixture up to a slow boil and then reduce heat back to medium to let the mixture thicken a little. You want it to coat the back of a spoon. If it’s too thick, add a touch more milk. If it’s too thin, add a touch more flour.
Pour the sauce over the mixture in the baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

If you can’t find dry curd cottage cheese, I buy normal cottage cheese and then rinse and drain it extremely well before adding it to my mixture.

Every time I make this, it’s always much better the day after, because the sauce really thickens up into something amazing, but it’s delicious straight out of the oven, too.

At camp, my favorite way to eat this is paired with some green beans and fresh bread. At home, I just load up a bowl and dig in.

There’s nothing better than food made with love, and after many trips out to Camp Mennoscah, I have never had a meal that didn’t contain a whole lot of love from volunteer cooks. I’m sure my trip in July will be no different.

This piece first appeared in print on June 21, 2018.

Tags casserole, ham, noodles, verenike

Salad Side Dish

Make garlic pasta salad to be the ‘roast’ of the town

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 14, 2018

Roasted garlic pasta salad has some amazing flavors that meld into the perfect summer side dish.

A few weekends ago, Joey and his best friend decided to fire up our smoker in the backyard and fill it with everything from several racks of ribs to a pork loin.

They tended the fire all day, hanging out in the garage with a set of washer boards to get out of the sun.

Parts of the house still smell a little smoky, and I can definitely tell which clothes I had up to dry while the smoking was going on when I pull them out of the dresser in the morning, but it was very much worth it.

As they wound down their cooking and we prepared to feast for dinner, I decided to whip up a side dish to complement smoked meats and found a delicious one that was even better the next day out of the fridge.

The recipe I made comes from the blog “Budget Bytes.” You can find the post at https://www.budgetbytes.com/roasted-garlic-pasta-salad/. I didn’t feel the need to add anything to this recipe other than suggesting getting a large head of garlic.

Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad

Roasted garlic pasta salad has some amazing flavors that meld into the perfect summer side dish.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Keyword garlic, parmesan, pasta, ricotta, spinach, tomatoes

Ingredients

1 large head of garlic
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound small pasta I used tri-color spirals
15 ounces ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes sliced in half
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions

Chop the top half inch off the head of garlic and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Drizzle the top with olive oil and cover the bowl. Microwave on high, one minute at a time, until the garlic cloves are soft (poke them with a fork to save burning yourself).
Remove the garlic from the microwave and set aside to cool.
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, but save 1/2 cup of the cooking water and put the pasta back into the pot with the burner now off.
While cooking the pasta, squeeze the garlic cloves, and they’ll pop easily out of the skin. Mince the garlic and place it into a mixing bowl.
Add the ricotta, salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup pasta water to the mixing bowl and stir until smooth.
In the warm pot you cooked the pasta in, add the spinach, ricotta sauce and cherry tomato halves to the pasta and stir so that everything is coated well and the spinach starts to wilt.
Add the parmesan cheese and more salt and pepper if needed.
You can serve this warm or cold.

This was a great pairing with the guys’ smoked smorgasbord, and I liked that it was a salad that didn’t use eggs or mayonnaise, so it would be perfect to take to an outdoor party where you may not have refrigeration readily available.

When I make this again, I’ll roast two heads of garlic instead of just one to really amp up the flavor, but it had all the stuff I really like—cheese, garlic, fresh veggies and pasta.

And I was thankful for the guys taking their Saturday to prepare lots of food to fill the refrigerator for awhile. Barbecue leftovers are some of the best kind.

This piece first appeared in print on June 14, 2018.

Tags garlic, parmesan, pasta, ricotta, spinach, tomatoes

Dessert

It’s time to revisit your ‘pie’orities

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 7, 2018

This cherry pie uses tart cherries packed in water, so it has a fuller flavor than traditional cherry pie filling does.

There were quite a number of years when I was younger that I wouldn’t eat cherry pie, despite always having loved it.

My last piece before my break with the dessert was while sitting at my grandparents’ dining room table.

“You know,” my cousins told me. “Those aren’t cherries. Those are baby animal hearts.”

I immediately dismissed them as liars, and they argued with me a bit before running off to whatever little boys do, and I stared at my half-eaten piece of pie, knowing they were lying but also not being 100 percent sure I should keep eating.

I love my cousins dearly, but I feel like I should get some kind of restitution for avoiding Grandma’s cherry pies for a few years. I suppose the restitution can come now that I’m tattling in newsprint almost 30 years after the fact. (You are reading this, right Grandma?)

Despite my early run in with cherry pie, I’m now back on the wagon and tried a new recipe for a family get together—no baby animal hearts included.

I liked this recipe, because it uses cherries packed in water instead of corn syrup, so they don’t taste quite as candied as they sometimes do. (Although it was still plenty sweet.)

I found this on the blog “Artful Parent” by Jean Van’t Hul. Jean claims this is the best cherry pie ever. I can’t vouch for this statement, but I did really like it. You can find the original at https://artfulparent.com/best-cherry-pie-recipe-ever/. I doubled the almond extract in mine.

Cherry Pie

This cherry pie uses tart cherries packed in water, so it has a fuller flavor than traditional cherry pie filling does.

Course Dessert

Keyword cherry pie

Ingredients

3 14.5- ounce cans pitted dark cherries in water
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 9- inch pie crusts refrigerated

Instructions

Combine the undrained cans of cherries along with the cornstarch, sugar, salt and almond extract in a large saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a slow simmer over medium-low heat and stir regularly for about 10 minutes until the liquid is thick.
Set aside.
Once the mixture is cooled down, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Roll out the bottom crust and place into a pie pan, making sure it hangs over the sides a bit for crimping.
Pour in the cherry mixture and roll out your top crust. Place it on top and either cut some vent holes or weave a lattice.
Trim and fold under the edges of the crust and crimp to seal them.
Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat in the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the crust is browned and the cherries are bubbling. (The author suggests putting a foil-lined baking sheet underneath in case it drips into your oven, which is a great idea.)
Let the pie cool for a few hours so the cherries can thicken up before you cut into it.
Store in an airtight container.

We cleaned up this pie pretty quickly, and I noticed my cousins didn’t shy away from grabbing a piece, too, so maybe they got over their fears of what’s actually in cherry pie.

Of course, my abilities will never compare to my grandma’s pie baking skills. There’s always something better about hers. It’s definitely not some sort of animal parts, but I do think she puts a lot of heart—and love—into each one she makes.

This piece first appeared in print on June 7, 2018.

Tags cherry, pie