I recently had the chance to stop into an old time diner for lunch. They had a case filled with cream pies. I give up- I can’t resist a gorgeous slice of banana cream pie. You don’t have to find a diner to have a slice of pie. If you’ve never made piecrust, all it takes is a little practice and following some simple steps to turn out a tender, flaky crust every time.
Cold ingredients are key. If you want a flaky crust, use ice water and and cold (even frozen) Crisco® Shortening . And then chill the dough before rolling to help prevent sticking. Here’s the science- when the pie crust goes in the oven, the cold shortening will stay solid long enough for the crust to set, creating small “pockets” in between the layers of dough as it melts. There you have it – a flaky pie crust.
Don’t over handle the dough, either. Think of a nice, crusty, chewy piece of bread… it got that way by lots of kneading to develop the gluten in the flour. This is exactly what you are trying not to do when making a piecrust. Handle the dough just enough to mix it and roll it—no more.
Here’s a tip for rolling the dough. Roll the dough from the center out, lifting the pin after each roll. In addition to keeping the dough tender, this method will help you get a nice, round shape.
For wonderful pie recipes,  visit Crisco.com. You’ll find lots more pie baking tips, there, too.

Coconut Almond Cream Pie

Chocolate Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie

Maple Walnut Cream Pie

Here’s the choice of the group for favorite recipe from last night’s wine dinner at EQ. I have to admit, it was my favorite, too. Enjoy!

Frangelico Bread Pudding with Shaved Chocolate and Toasted Hazelnuts
Serves 6-8

Prep/stand time: 1 hour
Bake time: 45-50 minutes

1/2 cup raisins
¼ cup Frangelico
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder [Read more →]

I’m having so much fun with the wine dinners at EQ that are leading up to my California Wine Country trip! Tonight I’m preparing a menu that is being  paired  with MacMurray Ranch wines (one of the premier Pinot Noir producers in the Middle Reach of the Russian River Valley) by wine expert Matt Preston. Here’s the menu:

Tapas Trio
Spinach and Orange Salad with Pine Nuts
Oven Roasted Honey Mustard Salmon
Wild Mushroom and Potato Gratin
Frangelico Bread Pudding with Shaved Chocolate and Toasted Hazelnuts

The dinner is sold out, but you can still come on the trip. For more information, click here.

Orange Scented Chocolate Fondue
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3 tablespoons butter
8 ounces best quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
Pound cake or angel food cake, cut into bite-sized pieces
Assorted fruit such as strawberries, kiwi, pears, bananas, orange segments

Bring cream and grated orange peel to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Add butter, chopped chocolate and orange liqueur; whisk until mixture is smooth. Transfer to fondue pot. Place over candle or canned heat burner; keep heat low. Serve with cake pieces and fruit for dipping.

You’ve probably heard that walnuts are one of the super foods. They’re not just good for you, they’re  also terrific in muffins, breads, cookies and other baked goods.

When you’re adding any kind of nuts to batter, add them at the very last moment so they’ll have a crispier texture.

If you’re chopping them in a food processor, add a portion of the sugar or flour specified in the recipe.  It will keep them from sticking together when they release their oils. And don’t over process them or you’ll make nut butter.You can toss nuts with a little flour or sugar to prevent them from sinking in baked goods too.

All nuts taste better if they are roasted in an oven set at 350º F for 5 to 7 minutes to crisp them up and intensify their flavor.

Why not enjoy walnuts in Mascarpone-filled Cranberry-Walnut Rolls, or  Walnut Blue Cheese Biscuit Bites, Pumpkin Walnut Waffles or Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies  You can get these recipes plus plus plenty more delivered right to your inbox each week. Sign up for the newsletter at Crisco.com

Mascarpone-filled Cranberry-Walnut Rolls

Walnut Blue Cheese Biscuit Bites

Pumpkin Walnut Waffles

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Listen to the interview.

Canadian and has lived in Cincinnati since 1998. Her love of chocolate was nurtured while living in Brussels as a teenager. She been a pastry chef and chocolate artisan for over 15 years, and she has worked in New York State and at the Bonbonnerie in Cincinnati. In 2004, she published her own book, ”The Icing on the Cake”. Shalini now creates unique truffles, molded and hand dipped chocolates with classic and modern flavor combinations like Chai Spice, Lime Thyme, or Dark Chocolate Sage. Shalini uses fairtrade chocolate, local ingredients, and earth friendly packaging,

For information on where to buy, visit Shalini’s website

To find out about Shalini’s chocolate dinner at Nectar, visit their website

Cream Cheese Brownie Pie

Mexican Chocolate Ganache Brownies

Double Chocolate Diamonds

Chocolate Lovers Pie

With Valentines Day just around the corner we’re all thinking about chocolate. The word chocolate comes from the Aztec work meaning “bitter water” and the bitter  drink the ancient Aztecs made from crushed cocoa beans and spices wouldn’t fly with chocolate lovers today. But even the ancients new a good thing and chocolate comes from a cocoa bean whose name means “food of the gods”. Based on our love for chocolate, I believe chocolate really was heaven sent.

There are so many kinds of chocolate available, but for baking the most common types are   [Read more →]

Pam Walling created the most adorable Cheesecake-filled Strawberries in her tea class at EQ on Friday. Read the recipe to discover how really easy they are to make, but they sure don’t look it, do they?

Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake Filled Strawberries
about 24 peices

2 quarts fresh strawberries
½ pound chocolate, semi-sweet, milk, or white
½ of a cheesecake

Dip strawberries by their stems 2/3 of the way in the chocolate [Read more →]

Thanks for all your emails! I fell down on the job (can I blame the weather?)  Here are the recipes I  did on Fox 19 and Q102 yesterday. Better late than never!

Cranberry Kiss
Makes 4 cocktails

1 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup amaretto (I used Cointreau in the cocktail yesterday, but it’s equally delicious with Amaretto)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice [Read more →]

Wouldn’t you like to be that Mom that bakes fresh cookies for her kids all the time? Serves them up with a big glass of milk and a hug? We all want to be her but frankly our lives are so busy it’s hard to add cookie baking to our already never ending to -do lists.

Here’s a tip: When you do get that moment to bake, make extra batches of dough. Shape the cookies but don’t bake them. Freeze them, well wrapped and labeled with the name of the cookie and the bake time. That way, when you want to be that cookie baking Mom it’ll be that much easier. Just pull them from the freezer, pop them in the oven and -voila! Fresh baked cookies.

You’ll be glad you’ve stashed the cookie dough for the inevitable time your child let’s you know -at bedtime- that cookies are needed at school the next day. I find making and freezing cookie dough helps keep cookies a special treat instead of an over-indulgence. You can package them into just the right number to bake and enjoy- no need to bake off several dozen when all you really want is 6 or 8 cookies.

This week I’ve got recipes for cookie jar favorites like classic molasses cookies, brown sugar snickerdoodles, oatmeal honey cookies and chewy fudge cookies. You can find these recipes plus all kinds of baking tips at Crisco.com

Classic Molasses Cookies

Oatmeal Honey Cookies

Chewy Fudge Cookies

Brown Sugar Snickerdoodles