THE REAL COOKS ILLUSTRATED BLUEBERRY PIE,

After making an adapted version of Cooks Illustrated blueberry pie, I was anxious to make the real thing. But when I read through the recipe instructions, I almost got dizzy. It was overly complicated, and there didn't seem to be a good reason for some of the complexity. I was surprised that the cinnamon and cardamom in the adapted version were not in the CI original. IMHO, there was not enough lemon juice or tapioca either. (CI felt that the grated apple would produce enough pectin to thicken the blueberry filling.) I added the cinnamon and cardamom and increased the tapioca by 1 Tbsp. and the lemon juice by 1 Tbsp, and this pie was wonderful. Nice thick slices, full of blueberry flavor, a definite winner. The lemon, cinnamon and cardamom worked in the background to make the blueberries the star. CI, take note: I've improved your recipe!

One other change I made was to eliminate the top crust. Who needs the calories? And from readers' comments, the top crust was cumbersome anyway. Everyone had trouble with it, because CI designed a top crust that had circles cut out all around, making the dough hard to handle and hard to place over the filling. Instead, I cut out stars of the leftover dough, and baked them after the pie came out of the oven.

And, oh, yes, another change -- I decided not to grate the apple. I did that with the adapted version and wasn't happy with the way it baked. Instead, I chopped the apple and cooked it with the first half of the berries. This worked much better. The apples are "invisible" in the pie -- you can't taste them or see them. I still think this recipe is overly complicated, even for a masochist like me. A jar of blueberry preserves would work just as well as cooking the blueberries on the stove. But here it is, if you are a glutton for punishment:

The Real Cooks Illustrated Blueberry Pie, Adapted

Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: Cook's Illustrated Vodka Pie Crust (Make it with Limoncello for an even better crust)

6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, chopped

2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1-1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar, divided use (I used 1/2 cup sugar + 1-1/2 tsp. Stevia)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

3 Tbsp. instant tapioca, ground (I used my coffee grinder)

pinch of sea salt

2 Tbsp. butter, cut into 1/4" pieces (I used Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend)

Prepare pie crust and refrigerate. When ready to make pie, roll out dough on well-floured surface, fit into 9" pie plate that's been lightly sprayed with cooking spray, trim the overhang, crimp edges and refrigerate. Roll remaining dough out and cut with star-shaped cookie cutters, or other favorite designs. Place "cookies" on a pie plate and refrigerate.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack and heat oven to 400F.

Place 3 cups berries, 1/2 cup sugar, zest, juice, tapioca, salt, cinnamon and cardamom in medium bowl. Toss to combine; let stand 1/2 hour.

Place 3 cups berries, chopped apple, and 1/4 cup sugar in saucepan and heat till thickened.

Combine berries; fill chilled pie crust. Dot with butter, pushing the pieces into the filling. Bake on preheated baking sheet for 30 minutes. Cover edges and top of pie with loose tinfoil. Reduce oven temperature to 350F and bake an additional 45 minutes, or till juices bubble. Transfer to wire rack to cool at least two hours before cutting.

While pie is cooling, brush raw pastry "cookies" with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 10 minutes, or till nicely golden and cooked through. Place decoratively on cooled pie before serving.

COOKS ILLUSTRATED BLUEBERRY PIE, ADAPTED VERSION

There is no doubt in my mind which magazine is going to be next on my subscription list: Cook's Illustrated. The people in America's Test Kitchen continually beat the crowd for innovative ideas and recipes. Their vodka pie crust is just one example of their ingenuity at work. I've already made it several times, and honestly, it is just the best darned crust ever -- so flaky and tender. Of course, I took it to another whole level this time by making it with Limoncello (lemon-infused sweetened vodka).

Currently, I don't subscribe to CI; so, when I saw this recipe in our local paper I decided to try it. The article stated it was an adaptation of CI's blueberry pie. The recipe for their vodka pie crust, and the recipe for the pie were both printed. I had no earthly idea what it was they adapted, left out or added. So I just went with it.

The crust was, of course, fantastic -- made with limoncello, remember? The pie filling was good but not great. It was kind of on the thin side, with only 3-1/2 cups of blueberries. Of course, everyone else loved it. Am I the only persnickety pie eater out there? I knew I was right. So I researched on the internet and found the original CI blueberry pie recipe, which I promptly made and will be posting next. In the meantime, here is the adaptation which is also on the internet somewhere. If you're in a hurry, you can make this version because the original is a bit more work, but vastly superior to the adaptation.

Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated by ?
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: Cook's Illustrated Vodka Pie Crust or your favorite crust
3-1/2 cups blueberries, washed and dried
3/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 small green apple (about 1 cup) peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2-1/2 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca

In a medium bowl, combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, zest, cinnamon, cardamom, grated apple and tapioca. Toss lightly and let stand about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly coat a 9" pie pan with cooking spray. Prepare crust; chill; roll out on well-floured counter to 12" circle. Transfer to prepared pie pan. Trim edges. Transfer blueberry filling and any juices to the pie shell, smoothing the filling into an even layer. Bake 20-25 minutes; reduce temperature to 350F and bake for another 35 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool at least 2 hours before cutting.

Roll scraps of dough out on floured surface and cut with your favorite cookie cutter. Place these on the pie, or better, on an ungreased cookie sheet to bake alongside the pie. Then you can put the pie crust "cookies" on top of the pie as a decoration. Brush them with some milk, cream or H&H and sprinkle with sugar before you bake them. As you can see, I put mine on top of the pie and they kind of curled up when they baked. They'll look nicer if you bake them separately.

COCONUT-BLUEBERRY MUFFINS WITH COCONUT STREUSEL TOPPING

I'm celebrating blueberries this week. Eastern North Carolina is flooded with blueberries. They're good and they're cheap. And they're good for you. Blueberries are loaded with antioxidants that protect your eyes, colon, urinary tract and brain from degenerative disease. Blueberries are easy to freeze. Just rinse them well, drain in a colander, pat dry on paper towels, remove any stems and pack in plastic bags containing 1 cup each, inside freezer bags. Then, when you need some, you can just remove a bag. And you don't have to use a whole cup. If you just want a handful, take that out -- the blueberries will not be stuck together, so you can easily remove what you want and leave the rest in the freezer. In the winter, you can easily remove some blueberries, mix with yogurt, and top with toasted sliced almonds for a delicious mid-day treat; or sprinkle some on your morning cereal. You can enjoy blueberries all year long if you pack them now in your freezer.

This recipe for blueberry muffins was an experiment, again with coconut flour, coconut oil, and coconut-flavored rum. It turned out even better than expected. I used fresh berries (always the best in muffins) but frozen will work. I highly recommend baking with coconut flour and coconut oil because of the numerous health benefits, especially if you are pre-diabetic or diabetic. Coconut flour will add fiber and protein both of which will slow the carbohydrates down in your system; and the coconut oil contains good heart-healthy saturated fat. The coconut-flavored rum speaks for itself -- remember that the alcohol burns off and you are left with the fantastic flavor. Coconut and blueberries are meant to be partners, and in this muffin they will stay wedded for life because they are completely synergistic. This muffin is tender, flavorful and moist, full of blueberry goodness with a nicely sweet crunchy topping. You'll get 6 standard muffins and 12 minis from this recipe, and they freeze beautifully.

Coconut-Blueberry Muffins with Coconut Streusel Topping

Source: Judy's Kitchen

Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin coconut oil

2 Tbsp. Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend, melted and partially cooled

2/3 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup sugar + 1-1/2 tsp. Stevia)

1 large egg

6 Tbsp. low-fat buttermilk

4 Tbsp. lite sour cream

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. coconut-flavored rum (or plain rum if preferred)

1 cup + 3 Tbsp. Ultra-grain flour (30% whole wheat) (You can sub all-purpose or white whole wheat flour)

3 Tbsp. coconut flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, divided use

Coconut streusel topping (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 425F. Spray a 6-cup standard muffin tin and a 12-cup mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk coconut oil, SB and sugar together till smooth. Whisk in egg, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla and rum, beating till thick and smooth. In a small bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Toss 3/4 cup blueberries in the flour mixture. Add dry ingredients with blueberries all at once to wet ingredients and stir lightly with a spoon or spatula till barely mixed. It's ok if some flour is showing; and it's ok if batter is lumpy. Don't overmix. Using an ice-cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, fill standard muffin tins with batter, almost to top. Press remaining blueberries into tops of muffins and press on some streusel topping. Repeat with mini muffin tins, dividing remaining batter equally among 12 cups. Place tins in oven and immediately reduce heat to 375. Bake minis about 13 minutes; standards about 18 minutes. Test muffins with toothpick -- when it returns almost clean muffins should be removed from oven to cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transferred to wire rack to finish cooling.

Coconut Streusel Topping

Source: Judy's Kitchen

Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup toasted pecans (or other favorite nut), chopped or crushed

1/2 cup dried sweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar (I used 2 Tbsp. sugar + 3/4 tsp. Stevia)

1/4 tsp. baking powder

pinch of sea salt

2-1/2 tsp. melted Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend (or butter)

Combine all ingredients in small bowl. Freeze leftover topping to use later.

SOUTHERN LIVING'S VANILLA CUPCAKES

If you are looking for a great recipe for cupcakes, look no further. Southern Living did it again! The recipe for Basic Vanilla Cake Batter in their March 2009 magazine has it all. Moist, tender, and delicious, these cupcakes will have you coming back for more. I frosted most of mine with Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate Frosting” flavored with vanilla and peppermint – yummm! A few were frosted with SL’s Mint Chocolate Chip Buttercream Frosting (also yummm.)


One of the keys to success in this recipe is using a low-protein flour. Regular all-purpose flour will work, but you’ll need to slightly reduce the amount, and the crumb won’t be as tender and light. If you read the reviews for this recipe online, you'll note that quite a few readers had poor results. I'd like to bet they used all-purpose flour, and they scooped it rather than lightly spooning it. In the southeast US, where I live, White Lily all-purpose flour is readily available. While it’s not a cake flour, it is lower in protein than all-purpose and works very well with this recipe. The bad news is you'll be eating bleached flour. If that bothers you, use unbleached all-purpose with the changes noted above. Be sure to whisk or sift, then lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup. The way you measure flour will determine how good your cake is. You can actually get almost 1/4 cup more flour in some recipes if you "scoop" the flour instead of lightly spooning it. I always whisk my flour well before spooning it, because it packs down in the container during storage.

The other ingredient making these cupcakes tender and moist is buttermilk. If you don't have any, not to worry. Just add 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of sweet milk, and let stand for 5-10 minutes before using.

Nielsen-Massey Vanilla bean paste can be purchased at Williams Sonoma or online. It has real vanilla bean seeds in it, and is the closest jarred vanilla product to actually scraping the pod yourself.

Vanilla Cupcakes
Adapted ½ recipe from Southern Living
Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 large eggs (or use 2 medium)
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or 1-1/4 tsp. vanilla)
1-1/2 cups cake flour (I used White Lily all-purpose.)
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. sea salt
½ cup low-fat buttermilk

Heat oven to 350F.  Place baking cups in 12 muffin tin wells; spray with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

In medium bowl, beat sugar and butter with electric mixer using medium speed, until creamy and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add whole egg and beat till yellow disappears; repeat with ½ egg (or 2nd egg if using). Beat in flavoring.

In small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to wet mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at medium-low speed just until blended after each addition. Batter will be thick. Spoon batter into cups, filling ¾ full. Bake 18-22 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted in center of cupcake returns with just a few crumbs. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack and cool completely (about 1 hour). Spread with desired frosting. Yield: 12 cupcakes

HERSHEY'S PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE FROSTING

This is a simple, quick and delicious chocolate frosting. You can change it up by adding mint, almond or other flavorings.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Hershey Chocolate Company
Rating: 8 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted in medium microwaveable bowl
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa
1-1/2 cups 10X sugar
2-3 Tbsp. fat-free half and half or milk
1 tsp. vanilla (or 1/2 tsp. vanilla + 1/2 tsp. peppermint or other flavoring of choice)

Stir cocoa into melted butter. Alternately add 10X sugar and milk and beat on medium speed of electric mixer till desired consistency is reached. Add more milk if necessary. (It's also nice if you use some liqueur in place of the milk.)

Yield: enough to frost 16 cupcakes

COCONUT-PECAN SHORTBREAD HEARTS

The nice people at the Pecan Store, 1625 E. Sahuarita Road, Sahuarita, Arizona, sent me a half-pound bag of their halved pecans to sample. This was like sending an egg to a chicken, because North Carolina has lots of pecan trees, and delicious pecans abound in our stores. In fact, there's a nice gentleman at our local farmer's market that sells young pecans from his trees that are unbelievably delicious. I also buy young pecans from Sam's Club that are very high quality and low in price. But, always up for something new, I decided to try the Pecan Store's pecans to see if they were better. I tasted them plain, toasted and in baked goods. While I can't say that they were any better than what I can get here, I will say their brochure is interesting. The Pecan Store sells all kinds of pecan goodies, and they ship. They have bread mixes, BBQ sauce, honey butters, hot sauce, salsas, relishes, jams, jellies and mustards. Check out the Pecan Store's website for a complete list of sale items.

In the meantime, here's an experimental dessert I made with their pecans. These coconut-pecan shortbread hearts are delicious. Not overly sweet, they have a delightful coconut taste which complements the toasted pecans. The chocolate drizzle takes them over the top. Bake them till golden brown for a nice crispness. (Coconut flour is available in most grocery stores, in the health food section. Bob's Red Mill produces a nice small bag which stores in the freezer quite well. Extra virgin unrefined coconut oil is also available at many grocery stores and there are several brands to choose from. Spectrum is one. The brand I use is Garden of Life, available from their website or through health food stores. )

(Coconut meat and flour add fiber and protein to baked goods; coconut milk and oil have numerous benefits and are considered to be stable, healthy saturated fats.) However, all desserts, even those that have been "dressed up" with healthful ingredients, should be consumed in moderation.

Coconut-Pecan Shortbread Hearts
Source: Judy's Kitchen
Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup toasted pecans
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend (or butter, if preferred)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. coconut-flavored rum (or plain rum)



Place nuts in work bowl of food processor and pulse several times to chop them. Add flour, coconut meal and brown sugar and pulse again till nuts are more finely ground. Add remaining ingredients and pulse till mixture comes together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.


Preheat oven to 350F. Place the chilled dough onto a floured surface and roll the dough 1/4" thick; cut into desired shapes; place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes, or till golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.



Make a double boiler by placing a glass or metal bowl over a pot of hot, not boiling, water. Put about 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks in the double boiler till they melt. You can spoon this into a plastic bag and snip the end off to drizzle over the cookies, or you can just drizzle from a spoon -- your call. I did the former. It's a thick drizzle, but it's delicious. I used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips. This recipe yielded 15
cookies for me, but yield will vary according to the cookie cutter you use and thickness of dough.

SIMPLE & DELICIOUS PORK SATAY, ADAPTED

I love peanut sauce. Can't get enough of it. This recipe, from Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious magazine, March/April 2009 issue, is pretty good, with some changes I've made, but my favorite peanut sauce recipe is my friend Sara's. Her recipe is really simple and delicious, and since she is Thai, I trust that it's pretty authentic.

Pork Satay
Adapted half recipe from Taste of Home Simple & Delicious
Rating: 7 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 2 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
1 green onion, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp. honey
1-1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. Thai sweet chili sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. minced or grated garlic
1/2 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into chunks
3 Tbsp. smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
1 tsp. lime juice

In a small resealable plastic bag, combine first seven ingredients. Transfer 2 Tbsp. to small cup for dipping sauce. Add pork to remaining mixture in bag; seal; refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Combine peanut butter, broth and reserved dipping sauce mixture in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in lime juice; set aside.

Heat grill to medium-hot (400-425F). Drain and discard marinade. Thread pork onto metal or soaked wooden skewers. Place on grill, about 4-5 minutes each side, or till meat is thoroughly cooked.

Serve with dipping sauce.
Cucumber salad and coconut rice make nice accompaniments. (Yield: 2 servings)