In Ireland hosts offer their guests tea, whiskey….or buttermilk! In India, buttermilk is drunk to counter fiery curries. Moroccans pour buttermilk over pancakes. Swedes pour it over cereal. Americans seem to think buttermilk is, well, butter milk. Oh no! Cultured buttermilk is made much like yogurt; bacterial culture is added to nonfat or lowfat milk and then fermented. It’s the lactic acid in buttermilk that makes it an ideal tenderizer for baked goods and marinades. I always have it in my fridge.

Buttermilk Coconut Pie
Makes One 8 – 9 inch pie

Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 1 hour
Make ahead: Can be made 1 day in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Crust:
One unbaked 8 or 9-inch pie crust (use your favorite pastry recipe or a ready-made crust)

Filling:
3 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
¾ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, flour, sugar, melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Stir in the shredded coconut. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Bake 1 hour or until the center is set.

Here’s a recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. Enjoy!

Cinnamon rolls
Makes 40 to 50 cinnamon rolls

This is without a doubt one of my most treasured recipes—something I’ve been enjoying my entire life, thanks to my mom, who became legendary in our hometown for delivering these disturbingly delicious cinnamon rolls to folks at Christmastime. I became spoiled on these heavenly treats at a very early age, and as a result, no cinnamon roll anywhere has ever measured up. I find that, generally speaking, cinnamon rolls—especially those bought in bakeries or stores—are way too bready, with way too little gooey topping. These rolls of my mother’s are the perfect antidote: they’re almost equal parts bread and icing, which is poured liberally over the warm, just-baked rolls. [Read more →]

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 →]