Blue moon recipes and revelations

Recently one of the Andrew Zimmerman’s programs featured a stop in a diner in a cold mid-Western state. One of the reasons he stopped was to have a piece of Sauerkraut Pie. I remembered that a friend had sent me some reproductions of ‘old’ recipes and this recipe was included in them. To all you that emailed to request the recipe…here it is. Remember…I’ll be seeing you around…Agnes

Sauerkraut Pie by Sue Lau

Ingredients: Servings: 6-7

1 single pie crust, prepared

Pie weights and parchment paper (optional)

1-1/2 cups drained sauerkraut

3 cups water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Custard:

3 large eggs

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon coconut essence

1/2 cup cooled melted butter

Pinch salt

1 cup heavy cream

Method: Measure out drained kraut. Heat water in a saucepan with sugar, stirring to dissolve; bring mixture to a boil.  DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP OR CHANGE IT. Thank you. Add kraut to water and blanch for two minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze kraut dry with your fists and then chop finely. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place pie crust in a deep dish glass pie plate and crimp edges the way you like. Cut a parchment circle to fit the bottom of the crust and top with pie weights. Par-bake crust at 350ºF for ten minutes, then allow to cool; remove weights and paper. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, coconut extract, cooled melted butter, heavy cream and salt. Stir in dry chopped sauerkraut. Pour mix into the crust. Top crust edges with a crust guard or crimp foil around it. Bake pie at 350ºF. for 60-70 minutes or until a knife slipped into the pie is removed clean. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Palatable Pastime by Sue Lau

…every blue moon when trying new foods, there comes a new taste that is a revelation to you. Or would be if you actually knew there was kraut in the pie, because if you were to eat it unbeknownst, you might pause and wonder if that was coconut you just ate. Of course, you can’t just cook any old sauerkraut dessert recipe you come across on the internet…There are ways of coaxing the dessert-ness out of a piece of fermented cabbage, and I haven’t seen it in recipe online. So yes, I really am giving up one of my secrets here. And if ten years from now all the sauerkraut pie recipes include that secret instead of the oncoming train-wrecks that I come across now, that is the elevation of cuisine. I’d much rather you figure out how to prep sauerkraut for a recipe and maybe come up with a different thing I want to try as well. It’s called “no secret recipes”…you may want to skip a step or do something differently, but you’re not going to do that, because you need to trust me and besides. You don’t want to file your pie in the trash as a fail, do you? O.k. So now that we have that cleared up, you can feel comfortable trusting me about the pie and enjoy it as one of your Oktoberfest dessert recipes. Then come back and tell me if you liked it. So until tomorrow- ~Sue

Recipe for Laughter:

Health Care Creation Explain as Never Before!

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so man and woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God’s great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and Krispy Crème Donuts and Satan said, “You want chocolate with that?” And man said, “Yes!” And woman said, “And as long as you’re at it, add some sprinkles.” They gained 10 pounds and Satan smiled.

So God said, “Try my fresh green salad.” And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And man and woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, “I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them.” And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter and Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof. God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it “Angel Food Cake,” and said, “It is good.” Satan then created chocolate cake and named it “Devil’s Food.”

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. The TV was created and man and woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition and Satan peeled off the healthy skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. Man gained pounds.

God gave lean beef so that man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite and Satan created the 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, “You want fries with that?” and man replied, “Yes! And supersize them!” and Satan said, “It is good.” And man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created the quadruple bypass surgery and Satan, not to be outdone, created the Health Care System as we know it today. Amen