Berry Pie with Vodka Crust

Vodka crust? Yes, it's true. Vodka in the pie crust makes it extra flaky and amazingly light. It sounded weird to me too, but I was intrigued and had to try it.

And what better day to try than on Thanksgiving?!  Happy Thanksgiving, by the way!

First, we'll start with the crust. I made it this morning, and let it get cold in the fridge while we got ready and enjoyed some appetizers (and wine) with friends.

Vodka Crust
From Food.com

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup cold vodka
• 1/4 cup cold water

Place 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor. Pulse a couple times. Add butter and shortening. Pulse again a few times until mixture becomes clumpy, and no more un-coated flour remains. It should look like cottage cheese curds. Use rubber spatula and rearrange dough so it's not stuck on the sides. Add the remaining 1 cup of flour and pulse again 4 to 6 times. Move dough to bowl.

Sprinkle cold vodka and water over dough. Fold in with spatula until dough becomes sticky. Split into two even balls. Flatten to 4-inch diameter discs and wrap in plastic. Place in the fridge for at least 45 minutes, and up to 24 hours. 

Now it's time for the berry-liscious filling. You can use any mix of frozen or fresh berries you like. For this pie, I got a bag of mixed berries, a bag of raspberries, and a bag of blackberries. 

Berry Pie

• about 6 or 7 cups of berries
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• zest from one orange
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

If berries are frozen, take out a few hours ahead of time and let them thaw in a colander.  Once they are no longer frozen, add about 1/8 cup of white sugar and stir around. Let them sit again for 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400. When you're ready to bake the pie, roll out the cold dough discs to pie pan size. I grease the pie pan with shortening, and dust it with a mixture of corn starch and sugar. Lay the first crust in pan. Mix all filling ingredients and place in pie crust. Top with second crust and use a fork to seal and trim edges. Cut a few slits on top to allow for steam to escape.  

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes longer. Let cool for a few minutes, then dig in!

Unfortunately, I have taken up all the free space for pictures allowed on this free blog...I don't know how great my posts will be without pictures! 

Seared Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Slaw

After our going-away party this weekend, it's been nice to have a couple days off to just relax with my guys (husband and dog). It feels like this week might be the calm before the storm of moving madness. Good thing Thanksgiving is this Thursday, and we get to eat like pigs and fuel up for our drive across the country!

Since we'll be pigging out in a few days on turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, I wanted to make something completely different tonight. Opting for an Asian theme, I made seared ahi tuna marinated in a sesame sauce served over wasabi mashed potatoes, along with a wasabi-ginger slaw. I made the slaw and marinated the tuna earlier in the day, so that when it came time for dinner I didn't have much to do.

 Asian Slaw with Wasabi-Ginger Dressing

• 3 cups shredded cabbage (I just use the bagged stuff)
• 2 green onion, sliced
• 1/2 or more red bell pepper, sliced thin

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 2-4 teaspoons wasabi powder
• 2 teaspoons minced green onion
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger root
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Whisk together dressing and add veggies. Toss to coat. 

Seared Ahi Tuna in Sesame Sauce

• 2 4-ounce tuna steaks
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger (I used the tube stuff)
• 1/2 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon lime juice

Marinate tuna steaks in sauce for at least one hour.

Heat skillet to medium-high. Pour in a little olive oil, and swirl around. Test to make sure skillet is hot by dropping some water into pan. If it bubbles and pops, it's ready! Place the tuna steaks in skillet; cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip. Depending on how thick the steaks are, and how well done you like your tuna it should take between 5-6 minutes total.

Once the tuna is done, slice and serve over potatoes or rice. Enjoy!

Skinny Molten Lava Cake

Is it possible for his decadent looking molten lava cake to be skinny, you ask? Why yes! Yes, it is. Read on to discover how...

 But first, say hello to Charlie. He needs a hair cut in a bad way. 

Skinny Molten Lava Cake

From a Couple Cooks

• 2 8-ounce ramekins
• 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup honey or pure maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 425. Grease ramekins and set aside. 

Whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Add in milk, honey (or syrup), egg, vanilla, and oil. Whisk until completely smooth. 

Split evenly into two ramekins. Place on baking sheet and bake for 12-13 minutes. If you're using smaller ramekins, reduce the baking time, and cook until top is solid and inside is still gooey. 

Top with ice cream or frozen yogurt and a few dark chocolate chips.  

I've trained him so well to sit for pictures!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Over the summer, my husband and I went to San Diego for a wedding. The first morning we were there, we went with some friends to a breakfast spot called Snooze. I still have sweet dreams about that place! The restaurant is very modern and hip inside, with huge open windows (because the weather in southern California is almost always perfect). The pancakes were out of this world, especially the sweet potato cakes and peanut butter chocolate. We went back the very next day. It was that good.

Enjoying the sun at SeaWorld!

I was inspired by the sweet potato pancakes, and was determined to make my own. Knowing full well that my cakes would never live up to Snooze cakes, I decided at least I could make them healthy.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Makes 8-10 medium pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 cup pureed sweet potato (half a large sweet potato)
• 3/4 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1/2 cup almond milk

Boil sweet potato until tender. Drain and puree until very smooth. 

Heat skillet to medium heat. Mix together flour, baking soda. salt and brown sugar. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. 

Spray hot skillet with non-stick spray; pour batter to form cakes and cook 3-5 minutes per side. These pancakes turn out so fluffy, and I really love them because they're not very sweet. Top with pure maple syrup, butter, sliced almonds, bananas, cinnamon...let your creativity go wild! 

Garlic Herb Salad Dressing

I'm definitely a salad kind of girl. Like Elaine from Seinfeld, I love a Big Salad. What's in a big salad, you ask? Like Jerry said, "big lettuce, big carrots, tomatoes like volleyballs." I imagine Elaine would like some big, flavorful dressing to go with it.

Usually I'll dress my salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, but after a while it gets old. So I've decided to bring in some big flavor with an herb vinaigrette. The dried herbs and garlic add a lot of flavor, but it's not too different than my oil and vinegar staple. Perhaps Elaine would like this dressing?

Garlic Herb Salad Dressing

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• pinch salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in jar. Mix well. Add oil and shake shake shake. Drizzle over your Big Salad! 

Chicken Teriyaki Burgers

When the weather is nice (and sometimes, even when it's not), we try to take advantage of the opportunity to be outside and do some grilling! An easy sandwich to prepare on the grill is a chicken teriyaki burger with grilled pineapple. Of course, I'm not the one doing the grilling, but I'll happily prep the food to be grilled!

Chicken Teriyaki Burgers

• one large or two small chicken breasts
• teriyaki marinade
• pineapple slices
• pepper jack cheese
• "special sauce": 1 part light mayo, 1 part sweet relish, 1 part siracha hot sauce
• toppings of choice (tomato, red onion, etc.)
• wheat buns

Thinly slice chicken breasts, lengthwise. I make sure the chicken is about the diameter of a bun, and 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Cover the chicken in teriyaki marinade. Refrigerate for a few hours. 

To prepare the food for the grill, I get out the chicken, cheese and pineapple. Then I chop the tomato and onion, and mix together the sauce.  My husband and I have the timing down, so that he's done grilling at the same time I'm done prepping the sandwich stuff. 

I must warn you, this sandwich is MESSY!! But it tastes so good. I wouldn't eat this in public; I usually end up having pineapple juice and/or "special sauce" dripping down my chin. Not a pretty sight!

Love Toast

I live with two guys who love to sleep. It really makes for a relaxing and quiet environment! They can sleep at any time of the day, any place, in any position. It's especially cute when they happen to fall asleep together!

Don't get the wrong idea: this does not mean they're lazy. My husband works so hard and deserves every second of sleep he can get! Plus, I might be exaggerating a bit.
And Charlie plays a lot. He plays hard and plays until someone else decides they're done.

Anyways, all this sleeping makes it easy for me to make breakfast before anyone has risen. Today I made a simple breakfast in bed -- a thick slice of sourdough toast with a heart-shaped egg inside.

Love Toast

• 1 thick slice sourdough bread 
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper

Cut a heart shape in your thick slice of bread. I don't have a heart-shaped cookie cutter, but it would probably make a nicer looking heart. 

Heat skillet over medium heat. Melt butter, and cook bread for about 2 minutes. Flip over and crack egg into heart. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until egg is cooked to liking. 

Season with salt and pepper. Give to someone you love.