grundyscribbling

Stumbled across this recipe for baked feta pasta and gave it a try - after a fashion.

What I actually did:

1.5 lbs cherry tomatoes (mixed varieties)
7 oz feta*
1/2 c ish olive oil
pepper - dunno, just kept twisting the grinder until it looked sufficient
salt - probably more than the recipe said
chopped garlic from the bottle
basil - lots, shredded

16 oz pasta

The recipe said she used a 13x9 pan so I did the same. I could have done with more tomatoes. Could likewise have done with more basil.

It's decent, and for how easy it is, I have no complaints. Pretty sure it's also going to be good cold, which is nice, because with the amount of pasta I did, it was enough to serve 5 - I have leftovers.

I'm tempted to try some variations. Maybe actual sauce tomatoes. Roast the garlic. (You're roasting stuff anyway, why not?) A few peppers might not be a bad addition. And feta is good, but not necessarily my favorite cheese... Fontina? Provolone? Gorgonzola? (Latter probably would need to be added later in the roasting, pretty sure it melts a lot faster/easier.)

*There were no 8oz blocks at my grocery store, and the point of this recipe is it's easy. I wasn't tripping around multiple grocery stores. Particularly when I figured the one I was at, the Italian Shop Rite, was the best bet in the first place.

I've seen some folks deploring how complicated it is to make sourdough bread.

It's really not. At least, it's not once you have your starter, and even that is not as complex as some would have it. I've been making sourdough bread in my hotel room regularly the past couple weeks, and it's pretty easy. There's a few short bursts of Doing Things (mixing up the dough in the first place, shaping it) but you don't actually have to do that much to get yummy bread. I'd put it at maybe half an hour of work total.

I should mention before I go any further that I am very relaxed about recipes - there is no fussing about 'all measurements level' or tolerances here. There is also an implicit understanding that salt and spices are always 'to taste', so you'll adjust them as you see fit. (If you prefer a more careful, step by step and real measurements approach, I found The Clever Carrot's Beginnners Guide helpful when I first tried sourdough.)

( Regarding starter )

( Skip straight to the making bread part )

As seen at La Cucina Italiana

( Recipe is in Italian - if you don't read Italian, paste the link above into Google Translate. )

Posting here mostly for my own reference, because inability to find this recipe at the beginning of pie season is one of the few causes of panic in my kitchen. But anyone else who wants to try it, feel free.

Apple Pie of Awesomeness
-------------------------
This is my favorite apple pie recipe, and I’ve yet to have one last 24 hours. You can use store-bought crusts, but I’ve been making my own and it’s really much easier than you might think as long as you can use a food processor.

For the crust (~5 minutes to make, chill ~10mins before you roll it out)
2 c flour
2/3 c butter CHILLED – take it straight out of the fridge
cold water
vanilla powder (optional)
Dump the flour and butter in a food processor (if you have a mini, do it in two batches.) Pulse until it looks like a bunch of little crumbs. Add just enough water to form dough. Divide in half, chill. When you roll the dough out, make sure to have a well-floured surface. Makes 2 9″ crusts.

For the filling:
Apples – enough to fill your 9″ pie. I’ve been using 3-4 good size apples, but YMMV depending on what apples you use and how you chop them.
1/2 c butter
3 T flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c water
cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F.

Peel and cut up the apples. (I’ve found smaller chunks work better.) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir the flour into the melted butter. Add the sugars, stir well. Add the water. Heat for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is evenly colored. Make sure there are no undissolved lumps of brown sugar lurking on the bottom.

Assemble the pie- fill the bottom crust with apples, sprinkle with cinnamon if so desired. Pour the sauce over the apples. Cover with top crust, seal the crusts. Make sure there are vents!

WARNING: If you are not 100% sure you have your crusts sealed well, put a cookie sheet below the pie pan in the oven. If the sauce bubbles over, it will smoke up the oven and you’ll need to run the self-clean once you take the pie out. (Yes, I learned this the hard way.)

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350. Bake for 40-50 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. (This is the hardest part- you need it to cool so you keep the yummy sauce inside the pie instead of running all over the pie plate once you slice it.)

Best while still warm, delightful with ice cream.