Foodie Books, Sunshine Lemon Pie, Potato Gratin, Cranberry Mold, Decker Family Cheesecake

Florida Sunshine Lemon Pie
One of my blog followers turned me on to this recipe, and I just had to give it a try.  This is not yo Momma's Lemon Meringue Pie!

1 large Lemon
1/2 to 1 cup Sugar -- to taste
1/2 cup Butter
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Unbaked pie crust

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Chop the lemon into fingertip-sized pieces -- skin, and pith (but no seeds), and juice.  Put the lemon, butter, egg and vanilla in your food processor and take it for a nice long spin. Stop after a minute or so, taste, and add sugar, spin and taste until you get your personal level of tart vs sweet.  How much sugar depends on your taste buds and the lemon.  I didn't get ours quite sweet enough, but it was still really tasty.  Keep spinning until the mixture is fairly smooth and runny.  

Pour into the crust and bake 30 minutes or until it is slightly brown and doesn't jiggle.  

I baked it my new Ninja AirFry Flip Oven,  from Sally's Mum.  Doesn't heat the whole darn kitchen!!

Serve with whipped cream if you want.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Presidential Potato Gratin
Hail to our new Chief!  Here's a presidential and foodie-book related recipe, from Recipes From The Presidental Ranch by Matthew Wendel, former Personal Chef to President GW Bush, who cooked for the Bush's from the Texas Governor's Mansion to the White House.

1 to 1-1/2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 to 1-1/2 lbs  Sweet Potatoes
1-1/2 cups shredded Gruyere (I used an Italian 5-cheese blend which I had on hand)
1-1/2 Tbsp minced fresh Rosemary or other herbs  I used Basil and Oregano
1-2 cloves Garlic, minced
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
S&PTT

Preheat oven to 450F.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and sweet potatoes.  If you have a mandolin or food processor with a slicing blade that would be perfect.

In a 9x9 baking dish alternate layers of white and sweet potatoes, with sprinkles of cheese, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Combine the cream and minced garlic and pour overall, then top with a last blast of cheese.  Bake. covered, for 45-60  minutes until potatoes are tender.

DIY Cranberry Sauce Mold
In days of yore, I liked, but didn't love cranberry sauce -- you know -- that stuff in a can.  Then a few years back I was introduced to real cranberry sauce!  Black & White.  Night and Day.  This stuff is fabulous!

1 lb fresh Cranberries
1 cup Sugar
Zest of 1-2 Oranges
2 Tbsp OJ Concentrate or 2/3 cup Orange Juice
1-1/4 cup water (or 2/3 cup if using liquid orange juice) 
1 packet of unflavored Gelatin
optional pinch of salt

Prepare your mold with a bit of non-stick spray.

Put everything but the gelatin in a pot and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  In a cup, stir the gelatin in a couple tablespoons of water and reserve.

After 10-15 minutes, the cranberries will have popped.  Take them off the heat.  Take about half a cup of the hot liquid and slowly stir it into the dissolved gelatin.  Then pour that into the cranberry mixture and stir.  Ladle that into your mold and cool at room temp.  Then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving.

To unmold, warm the mold for a minute or two in a bowl of warm-to-hot water that almost reaches the brim of the mold.  Run a thin knife around the edge of the mold, put a plate on top and flip over to release the gelatin from the mold.  

Some folks tart their mold up with bits of fruit, nuts, marshmallows, creamy this-and-that.  I'll take mine plain please.

Decker Family Cheesecake
This recipe comes from Holly's paternal grandma, Bea Decker, who lived to more than 90 years of age.  This has been a feature of family holiday parties for perhaps 50 years.  Not your usual custard with fruit topping cheesecake, but an almost savory dessert.  Makes 2 standard 9" pies.

Pre-heat oven to 375F.

8 oz Evap Milk
1 large carton Cottage Cheese
4 Eggs
4 Tbsp Flour
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 pre-made Graham Cracker Crusts
1-2 cups crushed Graham Crackers
1-2 cups crushed Walnuts

Mix first six ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into crusts.

Spread crushed Graham crackers and walnuts on tops.

Bake at 375F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 345F and bake an additional 35-45 minutes until a knife blade comes out clean.  

Foodie Books
Looking for the perfect Holiday gift?  These two books are absolutely fabulous.  Not cookbooks as such, but great writing and good stories with some pretty perfect recipes.  I highly recommend these if you love both great writing and good food!

The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
As Amazon says "...will forever change the way you look at Chinese cuisine and culinary culture. You may know Chinese food; you may even love it. But The Last Chinese Chef will take you into a world of Chinese food you never even knew existed. Here is the hidden universe of one of the world's great cuisines. Its philosophy, its concepts, and its artistic ambitions are all illuminated in a story that's entertaining, emotionally satisfying, and erudite.

The Debt To Pleasure by John Lanchester
In the body of the text, the author describes his novel perfectly:  "...gastro-historico-psycho-autobiographic-antropico-philospohic-lucybrations"!    As Wikipedia says:  "...a skillful and wickedly funny account of the life of a loquacious Englishman named Tarquin Winot, revealed through his thoughts on cuisine as he undertakes a mysterious journey around France. The revelations become more and more shocking as the truth about the narrator becomes apparent.