Scratch-Made Meals ... With Help

It's been a slow week for me, creatively. My allergies (tree pollen, thanks) have been absolutely crazy, and I've been dealing with a bit of a sinus infection on top of that.

But, we had steak, chicken, and a small ham to make before they went bad.

So, on Monday, we had "Island Soyaki" marinated grilled strip steak with wok-steamed vegetables and rice noodles. (The "help" was the linked sauce ... and the pre-cut stir-fry vegetables.)

Yesterday, for Cinco de Mayo, we had tequila-lime cilantro marinated chicken fajitas. 

I made the marinade myself on Monday with about a cup of fresh cilantro, the juice of 3 limes, a smashed garlic clove, salt, pepper, and some olive oil. (Toss everything except the oil in the blender & blend; while blending, drizzle about 1/4-cup of olive oil into the mixture, 'til everything is smooth. Place chicken in a zip-top baggie & empty blender into the bag. Massage to coat & marinate 12-24 hours.)

Today, we had baked glazed ham with box mac & cheese and steamed broccoli. 

Tomorrow, we'll probably have leftover ham & cheese pocket pies. (I'll likely use refrigerated biscuit dough for the pie crusts.)

Happy Pi(e) Day!

To those of us who (a) are mathematically inclined and (b) write our dates in MM/DD/YY format, today, March 14th, is "Pi Day."

For double the geek-cred, it's also Princeton's celebration of Albert Einstein's birthday. 

At any rate, in case you didn't know, pi (or π, if you prefer) is an irrational number that represents the ratio between the diameter of a circle and its circumference. Expressed as a fraction, it's ²²⁄₇  which is 3.1415926 ... in decimal. Short-handed, it's 3.14.

So, this unofficial celebration of geekery leads to a lot of people making (and eating) pies and a lot more making (bad) puns.

I'm less inclined to do the math and more inclined to make bad puns.

And make pie.

Since we celebrated the munchkin's birthday today with her cousins from my side of the family, it seemed a great way to dish up some quiche ... er, refrigerator pie.

By request, I've also got some blueberry pie in the works.

Shopping List

• frozen pie crusts (4)
• refrigerated pie crusts (2)
• asparagus
• leeks
• bacon
• ham
• spinach
• Gruyere-Cheddar Melange cheese
• half-and-half
• lemons (yes, I realize the recipe called for orange, but I wanted lemon)
• frozen blueberries
• tapioca flour

Recipe Review - Good Eats Refrigerator Pie 

Ease of Preparation

Couldn't be easier, though I did make things a wee bit more complicated for myself by making all the fillings on the same day as I assembled each quiche.

AB calls this recipe (and a few like it) "refrigerator Velcro," meaning it can be a great way to use up random leftovers in the fridge.

I opted to make 3 - bacon-leek-Gruyere; spinach-ham-cheddar; and asparagus-smoked salmon. 

Assembly couldn't be simpler - follow the package instructions for your frozen pie crust to put them into the pan, evenly distribute your fillings of choice, being careful not to overfill, mix up the royale (custard), pour, and bake.

My 5-year-old helped me make the royale. She could probably help fill each pie shell if I'd let her!

My sister could totally do this. 

Specialty Equipment Required?

Nope.

I bought disposable pie tins to make cleanup and leftover distribution easier, but there's really no need to do that. Most people will be fine with their own pans.

Did my husband and daughter enjoy it? 

My husband tried the bacon-leek-Gruyere and didn't hate it, but I was also providing other food to make things work out - 7 adults with varying palates plus 5 children with varying degrees of pickiness means I also provided fruit and mini pastries.

My daughter wouldn't try it, but it's only because it's eggs, cheese, and whatever in an unfamiliar presentation.

Regular rotation-worthy?

Yes.

I'll keep this in my back pocket to make again for brunch.

RECIPE WIN.

Recipe Review - Good Eats Frozen Blueberry Pie

Ease of Preparation

It's rated "intermediate" at Food Network for a couple of reasons, mostly because it involves a lot of patience (you assemble the filling & then freeze it) and more than a little work (weaving a lattice from a pie crust, a step which I skipped in order to carve a π into the top crust. 

But, I think my sister would be fine with the steps.

Specialty Equipment Required?

Yes - you'll need something to mash half your blueberries with (I used a potato masher) and you'll need a 9" pie tin that can be put in the freezer. 

Did my husband and daughter enjoy it? 

I'll answer that question after dinner! The pie is currently cooling in the kitchen. 

Regular rotation-worthy?

Yes, but seasonal - while the thawed berries seemed to work out OK, I think it would be better with fresh.

And I'm waiting for June/July to pick some Jersey Fresh blueberries!!

WIN