I thought I’d start the New Year off with a super easy, super fast cake recipe that can be made from stuff sitting in your pantry, plus one item from the frigo! Sometimes you’re having someone over and you want a treat, something yummy-smelling baking and bubbling away, to serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. Or sometimes you need to go to a potluck or a dinner and you say to the host or hostess “What can I bring?” and that person says “Dessert!”, but you’re not in the mood to shop. Or you’re not in the mood to be fancy. Or you’re not in the mood to spend money on a million ingredients. Or you’re not in the mood to wash a bunch of dishes. Or you’re not in the mood to use a bunch of kitchen equipment or gadgets. And you need a dessert. Cake. Need it now. Need. Caaaaakkkkke. Or maybe you don’t have to go anywhere but you want dessert. Warm, comforting cake. An easy one that can bake while you’re taking a hot bath. Or taking a walk. Or sitting staring into space on your couch because you need some cake. Caaaaaaakkkkke.

This cake takes about five seconds to assemble and an hour to bake, with no equipment needed or dishes or gadgets to clean. You just need a baking dish and a spoon. That is all. Now this cake is versatile and I’m giving you the tart version. Some of you will like a sweeter cake, so buy your fruit accordingly. I am the sort of person who drinks gin and tonics with bitters and a whole lime juiced inside. I like the tart. Pucker power is what I’m all about. I like sour. Just go with whatever mood you’re in. This cake is versatile. My friend Jaci ate this cake at my house last week, and is making it with peaches, more like the Southern version. You can use canned wild blueberries, cherries, anything you’ve canned yourself. It’s up to you.

So, here’s the recipe. Swap out sweet or tart fruit, bake it up and enjoy!!!

New Year’s Day Dump Cake

1 box White or Yellow Cake cake mix (get them when they’re on sale! I bought four boxes on clearance at Target for 79 cents each)

1 15 oz. can Cranberry Sauce with Whole Cranberries

1 20 oz. can Crushed Pineapple in Natural Juice

1 stick of melted butter

non-stick spray

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13″ baking dish or casserole with non-stick cooking spray. Open the pineapples and dump into the dish with the juice – do not drain. Open the cranberries and dump into the dish. Moosh around with a spoon until the cranberry sauce is broken up and mixed with the pineapples. Open the cake mix and sprinkle over the fruit in an even layer, covering the fruit all the way to the edge. Melt the butter and drizzle as evenly as you can over the cake mix. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean or with small wet crumbs attached. Cool and serve, or eat warm with whipped cream or ice cream. A little powdered sugar makes for a fine topping too. It’s up to you.

KRNV Channel 4 asked me to come see them in the studio with two easy recipes for the holidays, good for giving, eating, and to have around in case company comes over!!! The first recipe for Chocolate Haystacks is an oldie but goodie. I’ve been making these since childhood, and they’re a great “first” recipe to make with a junior baker, since they’re really a no bake cookie. And guess what? They are also gluten-free!!!! Recipe number two is Homemade Applesauce. Easier than apple pie, fast and delicious. SO good for you, nostalgic and old-fashioned. Make it and your house will smell like the holidays should smell. Delicious. Both recipes are gorgeous in a mason jar, tied with a ribbon. Merry Christmas!!!!

Chocolate Haystacks

Boil together:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa

Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add quickly to:

3 cups oats (NOT INSTANT!!! use real oats)

1 cup coconut

Drop by spoonfuls onto sheet pan or countertop. Cool and wrap in airtight container. That is all. Really. That’s it!!!! Enjoy!

Homemade Favourite Applesauce

All you need is some apples, a bit of cinnamon, some vanilla and maybe some sugar. I try to give you recipes that don’t require any special equipment, but this time I make an exception. You need a food mill. You really should have one anyway, since it’s a great tool for soups, gnocchi, and any kind of fruit puree you might make. The beautiful thing about a food mill is it lets you be lazy. No peeling, no coring. And they’re cheap, at times. I got mine for a dollar at a garage sale. Seriously. If you don’t have a food mill, then just peel your apples and cube them before you start. Make this applesauce this weekend, or if you get ants in your pants, tonight.

12 or more apples, all different varieties, or use the kind you like (I used Johnny Golds and a few red ones)

1 cup water or organic apple juice

ground cinnamon

freshly ground nutmeg

vanilla extract

pinch of salt

maybe some brown sugar

If you are using a food mill, simply wash the apples, then quarter them and throw them into a large pot, like a dutch oven or stock pot. If you’re not using a food mill, peel the apples, then quarter them and cut out the cores. Chop into cubes and add them to the pot. Add the water or the apple juice and start the heat on high. I like to fill the pot to the brim with apples. They will soften and reduce, don’t worry about having too much. Put the lid on and wait for the boil. Then take the lid off and start smooshing the apples down with a big spoon while they soften. Give a smoosh and a stir every so often, until all of the pieces are soft and smooshy. Remove from heat.

Set up a large glass bowl and hook the food mill onto the side. Fill the mill with several spoonfuls of apple slush. Crank and refill until all of the apples are processed. Taste the sauce and add a pinch of salt, a touch of vanilla, some fresh nutmeg and cinnamon to taste. If the sauce is sweet enough, skip the sugar. I did not add any this time. If you’re using tart apples you may need to add up to a half a cup of brown sugar. Serve warm or cold. Store in the fridge or freeze in ziplocks. Yum!

I was on KRNV Channel 4, early in the morning before Thanksgiving. The station asked me to come up with some easy, inexpensive, last minute recipes, so here they are. Enjoy and have a blessed Thanksgiving!!!!!

Baked Apples

watch the live video here!!!!!

6 apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons Skor bits
Pinch of kosher salt
6 cinnamon sticks
6 teaspoons butter
1/2 cup apple juice

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a small baking dish. Core the apples 2/3 of the way using an apple corer or small paring knife, leaving some core behind so the filling stays inside. Make the hole larger if you’d like more filling. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, Skor bits and salt in a small bowl. Fill the apples with the mixture, top with a teaspoon of butter and insert a cinnamon stick. Place in buttered dish and pour apple juice into the bottom of the dish. Bake about 30 minutes until apple is soft. Cool slightly before eating. Serve with cream, whipped cream or ice cream.

Lemon Butter Green Beans

watch the live video here!!!!!

1/2 cup raw sliced almonds
2 pounds Haricots vert
4 tablespoons, butter
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Wash and trim the beans. In a large saute pan toast the nuts a few minutes until brown. Add the butter, green beans, zest, juice, salt and pepper. Sauté until beans are just tender. Serve right away!!!!

Buttermilk Mashers

watch the live video here!!!!

3 pounds red potatoes, washed and cut into 1 inch cubes (hold in cold water till you’re ready)
6 tablespoons butter
Shaken buttermilk
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Heat on high until the water starts to boil, then add a handful of kosher salt. Turn heat to medium high and cook potatoes until tender. Drain and add to mixer bowl or back into pot. Add butter and buttermilk (eyeball it) and smash. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve right away or keep warm.

Whipped Butternut Squash

watch the live video here!!!!
Butternut Squash (local if you can!!)
Butter
Half and half
Nutmeg
Red pepper flakes
kosher salt
Black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Place cut side down, and place in the oven. Add hot water until the squash is submerged in water half way up. Bake about an hour or until a sharp knife comes clean. Remove from pan and cool. Remove seeds and remove flesh from peel. Add butter, salt, pepper, a bit of nutmeg, pinch of pepper flakes and a bit of half and half to taste. Stir with a large spoon, potato masher or mixer. When squash is the consistency you like pour into serving dish and serve right away or keep warm.

Thanksgiving Leftover ideas!!!

Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

shredded turkey
Mashed potatoes or squash
Cooked Veggies
gravy

Mix turkey, gravy, veggies together, place in baking dish or individual dishes, topped with mashed potatoes or squash. Heat to 160. Eat!!!!

Turkey Tacos

Shredded turkey
Cilantro
Cooked black beans
Lime
Jicama
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Tomatoes
Corn tortillas

Assemble!!!!!

Okay people here’s a quickie! I had some leftover sliced strawberries and bought some rhubarb I’d intended for a pie. Buuuuuut, I made a sauce instead! And it’s so dee-lish-ious! It’s kind of a compote, but I’m calling it a sauce. Here’s what I did:

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

1 1/2 lbs rhubarb, rinsed and chopped

2 qts. sliced strawberries, hulled and sliced in half (or smaller if you like)

1 cup powdered sugar

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cups water

pinch of kosher salt

2 tablespoons butter

In a non-reactive pan, pour the water, sugar and rhubarb. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 15 minutes, smashing the rhubarb up with a wooden spoon. Add the berries, lemon juice, spices and vanilla. Simmer about 10 minutes, smashing up the rhubarb and berries. Taste. Add some more sugar if you think it’s not sweet enough. Add the butter and salt. Taste again. If you’re happy with it, let it cool then freeze or refrigerate. That is it!!!!!

Serve over ice cream, cake, bread pudding or use in savory dishes like alongside  pork loin or chops! Makes about 8 cups!

I listened to this record (and yes, I said record) probably a million times when I was an angsty teenager, sprawled across my double bed, knees bent, feet flying around in mid-air, flipping through the pages of Seventeen magazine, dreaming of the day when….oh, lots of fantastic and magical things would happen. I thought I would be making food for a living, or writing a column for a magazine, definitely married with kids, driving a station wagon or 4-wheel-drive around town while I shopped at produce markets, listening to Psychedelic Furs on the cassette deck, planning dinner parties with friends, all of whom bought their clothes at the Gap, United Colors of Benetton and L.L. Bean.

This piece was my favorite, when Roseanne Roseannadanna spoke at the Columbia School of Journalism. I would pretend she was talking to me.

So, some of this musing has indeed happened. I do indeed make food for a living, I write for different publications on occasion and in this space here, I’m married with one child of my own who turned 20 yesterday (what?), I drive a Subaru Outback (kind of a station wagon, no?) around town while I shop at farmer’s markets, I listen to the Furs on Pandora, I have friends over occasionally for dinner, and yes, most of them dress like those preppy outdoorsy models I’d see sitting on a plaid picnic blanket or leaning against a worn fencepost, laughing and drinking hot coffee from a thermos. I don’t read Seventeen any more, now it’s more like Bon Appetit or Sunset.

And although most of what I thought would magically happen to me has indeed happened, it hasn’t happened magically. It’s taken blood, sweat and yes, tears. And years. All told I wouldn’t trade a thing. Nope. None of the suffering, none of the tears, none of the blood and none of the years. This life was never guaranteed to be pain-free. That’s what Jesus said in John 16 verse 33: “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world”. So what I love to do is this: put it all in perspective with the Lord, put on my “Gilda: Live from New York”  record, make some food that makes the house smell delicious, and call a friend  or one of my sisters to say hello.

In the meantime, I did indeed audition for Food Network Star, but it was really more of an intake interview than an audition. I waited about an hour and a half with my sister, who tried to soothe my nerves by talking to me like the mom in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. I was number 39 and the casting team kept calling names three at a time. Sister kept tally marks on the back of a pink envelope while I looked over my 11-page application for the millionth time.

I was totally prepared. I had the application, my resume, two headshots, a picture of me at two holding batter-covered beaters, copies of my clips of articles written about me and DISH, clips of pieces I’d written for magazines, papers, and online sites, food columns from college, a box of fresh scones, a bag of DISH Blend coffee, DISH granola, cookies, tri tip rub, a DISH ball cap, menus, logos, etc. I WAS PREPARED PEOPLE!

So I kept having to use the restroom as the time got closer, until finally there were just four people ahead of me, when I said I had to pee again. My sister looked at me, and in her best Greek mom voice, said “You no have no pee. You just nervous.” I totally cracked up, then my name was called.

There were three little seating areas in the lobby of the hotel, and we were told to keep moving forward in the chairs as people came out of the conference room, which was happening every minute it seemed. So I moved  up a chair at a time until it was my turn. Then I went in, the young lady (like 25ish?) told me to have a seat at a small folding table and asked me these three questions: “How did you get started in food? Why do you want a Food Network Show? What is your Food Point of View?” Three seconds later, we were done. So short! Such a buildup, then just waiting. More waiting. Still waiting! The deadline for applying to Season 8 passed today, so I sent a follow- up email with the link to this interview taped right before I left for the Burbank Airport.

http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/Nancy-Horn-hopes-to-dish-up-treats-on-a-national/KPKylqKqMUehG7hdNPKe2g.cspx

While I wait, I meditate on this piece of Scripture, Jeremiah 29:11: ”‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.’” 

And I remember this quote from Gilda:

So Food Network, please give me a call. On my cell phone. I am ready.

It’s been a long while since I posted in this space, due to extreme busyness at the restaurant, which I am most decidedly grateful for, especially in these precarious financial times. We are truly blessed with wonderful customers, fantastic press and a very supportive circle of friends and family. Since I last wrote, lots of cool and exciting things have happened. Here are some highlights:

DISH was again featured in Food Network Magazine, this time in a behind the scenes feature about Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. And an amazing phenomenon has happened since our time on Triple D aired.

People have started visiting the restaurant from far-flung locations such as Hungary, Canada, Texas and even Washington, DC! They come with their kids, cameras and extended family to belly up to the counter and ask what Guy had. Most everyone takes pictures of their meal, some ask to pose with me for a photo “before I get more famous” and all snap a few shots of the outside of the building before hopping in their car (or rental) to speed off to yet another Triple D location. All in all it’s awesome to meet these folks, hear their stories, and say hi to their children on cell phones held up to my ear (no kidding)!!!

I’ve done lots of demos and teaching, at Whole Foods Market, Williams-Sonoma and Nothing To It! both alone and with other chefs. We’re almost at our tenth year of business, my husband and business partner and I are looking at food trucks (watch for the launch of DishTruck soon!) and are looking forward to a great feature this fall in edible Reno-Tahoe, a magazine published by our friends.

We’ve also been asked to cater for some top-secret peeps, and now that the event has come and gone, we can spill the beans! WE CATERED FOR THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF, PRESS CORPS and AIR FORCE ONE!!!! How random it that? Seems some Secret Service Agent saw our episode of Triple D and sent their Logistics Team to find us! President Obama was in Reno for a Town Meeting on alternative energy, and we had the privilege of catering for them all day!

My baker Joannie was posted at the food table in what looked like a mobile news room, with a million cords, televisions and black cases carrying everything you’d need to cover the President’s movements. We served them our famous scones, fruit, locally roasted coffee, vegetarian chili, corn muffins, salade nicoise with local produce, cupcakes, cookies, crudite and hummus, our famous tri tip and mediterranean chicken, and all sorts of other goodies. What they didn’t eat made in onto air Force One!

Then we got an email from a staffer at POLITICO who asked if we had any photos we might want to send him? He was working on a story about Food from the Campaign Trial. Right? Of COURSE we had some pictures! The piece turned out great, and our now famous Cowgirl Tri Tip Panini had its day in the sun. You can check out the story here!  Thank you Lord!

Let’s see, what else? Oh yes. I’m flying to Burbank, CA in six days to apply for Food Network Star, a reality show on Food Network  where they put stars-in-training through crazy challenges, eliminate them one by one, and in the end crown a star who gets their own cooking show on Food Network. Am I ready for this? Yes!!!!

People, this is my lifelong dream, and I feel it’s time to find out if I’ve got what it takes. So. I’m cramming this weekend, reading this book, polishing my resume, posing for some head shots where I hope I don’t look too goofy, filling out my best responses on the 11-page application and trying NOT to freak out completely. I’m drinking lots or water and eating lots of protein, fruits and veggies to keep my strength up, since I think this week I’ll be running on adrenalin.

Last week the FNS Season 8 Casting Team sent me an email responding to some of my questions, and asked me to invite y’all to try out too (also they said they were excited to meet me in Burbank. Squeal!). So. Here’s the link for that. But you’ll have to arm wrestle me for a spot on the cast!

I would love your prayers through this coming week, especially on Friday, August 26th, AUDITION DAY!!! 

Talk to you soon and much love!!!!

Here’s our segment so you can check it out for yourself. Since the show aired we’ve had many out of town guests from all over the United States and Canada. So many lovely people trekking across the country on business, just passing through, visiting family, competing in volleyball or bowling tournaments or just curious to see what all the fuss is about. Cars have slowly driven by with their drivers snapping pictures, and folks have even asked to have their photo taken with me. What? Seriously!

The show featured our Homemade DISH Granola (sorry the recipe is under wraps) and The Cowgirl Tri Tip Panini (this recipe is also a secret). Here’s where you can find our recipe for Caramelized Onions and Thyme which are on this panini and make it taste so awesome!

This has all been such a girlhood dream come true, to have a successful restaurant, fabulous customers, writing about food and teaching on my own show (still praying for this to happen), to be featured on a national food show and have a recipe in a national food magazine! I’ve had this in my sights since I was six, and I started writing a food column in college. My good friend Paul Horn (no relation) took some time to reflect and write his own version of the truth here. So much fun to read his perspective, and hilarious to remember the mayhem that ensued those late production nights at the Sagebrush offices. To think, we are both still doing what we love to this day!

The other cool thing that happened last month is DISH was featured in Food Network Magazine Summer Issue in an article called “50 States, 50 Breakfasts”. Our signature quiche was featured in the story on page 165, the Cowpoke version, with tri tip, goat cheese and herbs. It’s delicious, and sorry, that recipe is also a secret.

Here’s the link so you can check it out yourself. The magazine version is really cool, with a map of the country made from a pancake, so I think you should run out right now and grab one. The Reno Gazette Journal wrote a story about the story, and we gave them a quiche recipe you can make at home. Check out the article and recipe here. Anyway, there are lots of projects in the works at DISH this summer. Some stuff I can tell you about, some stuff I can’t. I promise to keep in touch better than I have this year. Have a great week and remember to wear your sunscreen.

If you’re not already a friend/fan of DISH on Facebook, click here so you can become one. Here I post the menus each morning and all the news that’s fit to print. This year there will be some good news I think. Stay tuned. In the meantime, stop on by for a strong cup of Locally Roasted Coffee, a piece of Cowpoke Quiche, a Cowgirl Tri Tip Panini and a hug. Take some DISH Granola with you, and some for a friend. And Triple D crew, we love you, and we miss you.

SO much has happened since we last spoke. The first thing that happened is we ate the peach pie I showed you how to make in those three short videos last summer. Since then, we’ve catered many weddings, baby showers, graduation parties, Christmas parties, cocktail parties and baked many dozens of holiday pies, cookies and desserts. The restaurant’s been busy busy busy. And I really am not kidding about the busy part. We’ve lost a few more beloved customers to cancer and other illnesses, we’ve seen a few brand new baby faces, my sister is moving back from a year in the mid West, I’ve written lots of articles and taught some cooking classes. We founded a local chapter of Slow Food, and won Best Catering Company in Northern Nevada for the second year in a row. One of my staff of five years moved on to other adventures. The holidays and New Year have come and gone, with this year of 2010 shaping up to be the most adventerous and promising of all since I opened the doors of DISH Cafe more than seven years ago.

After dreaming of opening a restaurant since the age of six, writing a weekly food column teaching starving students to entertain on a shoestring budget, surviving the first year of business, writing consistently for several local publications, being written about in several local publications and a few appearances on the local news, I finally got the call that might change my life, made my heart skip a beat and shot me up with enough adrenalin to jump start my Subaru. The. Food. Network. Called. Yes! True story.

They called the restaurant during one of the busiest lunches ever, with one staff sent home sick, a few other staff out delivering caterings, no seats left and a line out the door. They called me. At first I thought it was a joke. My staff is known for doing such things to lighten the tense, efficient, and slightly crabby mood that falls over the kitchen when every order is for the menu item that takes the longest, the special is sold out with everyone in a hurry and staring at you while you work as fast as you can. But it was not a joke.

So, after I recovered from the discovery that this was a real phone call FROM THE FOOD NETWORK, I did the only sensible thing I could think of. I took the message, the phone, a notepad and a Diet Coke into the storage room, prayed to God that I would not sound like a babbling idiot, and dialed the number for the production company across the country. And we talked. And talked. And talked. And made another date for another longer, more detailed chat. Then one of my staff happened to be flying to the Northern state they were calling from that week, boarded the plane with frozen samples, which she baked off fresh the day after she arrived. One of the production staff met her at her hotel, where she greeted him with a plate of hot scones, cookies, granola and of course a DISH ballcap. Then a flurry of emails. Then waiting. More waiting. More emails. Then the news came. DISH will be featured on a Food Network show. It’s true! So thank you God, thank you staff, thank you beloved customers and regulars, and thank you who are on the other side of this life. We love you, we miss you, and we think of you every day. Stay tuned for more details.

Here’s one of the pictures we sent them, making our famous quiche. We love you and will talk soon!

Hey friends! I know you can tell when the restaurant is on overdrive. There is a lack of blog posts. But it’s not that I don’t love you. I just literally have been slammered. We’ve been running around catering weddings, lunches, breakfasts, showers, and we’ve been really busy in the shop too. All this with our baker gone for a month in the San Juan Islands, relaxing and reading books and magazines, casually flipping pages and sipping coffee while we bake her stuff. La di dah. Just kidding Joannie, we still love you. Get your ass back here now!

So it’s summer here in Reno, and with the hotness comes the sweetness. In the form of tomatoes, basil, corn and of course, peaches. Here’s a shot of the local deliciousness we get to feast on. These lovely little orbs of flavor come from Watanabe Farms (just over the hill in Sacramento Valley), delivered directly by farmer Heidi herself. Speaking of Heidi’s produce, she grows a mighty fine peach, both white and yellow, as well as nectarines. I spied some mighty fine white peaches on Heidi’s truck and bought three cases. Some made their way into salads with local greens, feta cheese, toasted almonds, and cilantro jalapeno dressing. Some found themselves surrounded by yogurt and house-made granola. Some jumped into a crisp with crunchy oatmeal brown sugar topping. Still others were eaten in the kitchen by me and my staff, standing over the sink. juices running down our arms. But what I really had in mind was a pie. I love to make pie, and I wish more people would make them too. A pie is a fine thing to behold, and done well can seal a friendship, heal a relationship or simply convey love on a plate.

So. I decided to make a pie for the restaurant. I was going to do the usual, take a cool picture and give you the recipe, but I’d just gotten my new iPhone and decided to have some fun with my staff and VIDEO the pie making! What? Yes!

Well, it was fun, but I did learn that if you get a text or a call while you’re taping the taping stops. Which only makes sense, since it is a phone after all. So I’ll be working on fixing that for the next time. This explains why there are three segments. Anyhow, here’s the recipe. Watch these little videos in order, and let me know how your pie turns out!!

Nancy’s Deep DISH White Peach Pie

 8-12 ripe white peaches, washed, split, pits removed and wedged into 8ths (leave peels on!)

 1 cup vanilla sugar (I use two or three vanilla beans, split and scraped, submerged in 5 lbs. sugar) or just sugar

1 lemon, cut in half

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons corn starch, tapioca flour or flour

pinch of kosher salt

butter

Grab a big bowl and go to town on the peaches. Wash them gently, cut in half and take out the pits. Use a paring knife. Then cut each half into eight wedges. Use a big spoon to gently mix with remaining ingredients and squeeze lemon juice over everything. Set aside while you make the dough.

Nancy’s Best Pie Dough

Here’s what you need to know about pie dough. There are those who use shortening, and those who use butter. By now you should now I am the butter kind. So. Just use it.  At the restaurant, we make about 20 balls of pie dough at a time. This is the scaled back version.

2 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour

2 sticks COLD sweet salted butter, chopped up into little bits

ice water

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or just a mixing bowl if you’re working by hand) add the flour. Add the chopped up COLD butter. Quickly mix on medium low speed so the butter is in little bits. With the motor running on low dribble in a bit of ice water. Keep dribbling until the mixture comes together, but isn’t too dry or too wet. Just watch. It will happen. Stop the motor…..if you are working by hand, dribble the water and work the dough until it comes together. At this point, you can make two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. If you want to make this for the freezer, wrap in plastic wrap, then store in a freezer bag. Defrost on the counter or in the fridge.

To roll out: flour a board or counter with a little flour, and start rolling with a pin from the middle out.  Roll north, south, east, west. Then flip the dough, adding more flour if you need to. Roll again, north, south, east, west, until it’s bigger than a pie plate, about 12 inches across. Spray a glass deep dish pie plate with cooking spray. Lay the crust inside, giving a little room for shrinkage. Roll out the second crust.

Fill ‘Er Up!

Fill the first crust with fruit and dot with about two tablespoons of butter. Lay the top crust over the fruit, sealing and crimping the edges. Score the top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake on a sheet pan lined with parchment or foil for 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees until the center filling reads 180 on an instant read thermometer and is bubbling.  Cool on a wire rack and eat warm or room temperature. Enjoy!!