Eggnog Pie

Years ago, my parents used to own a cabin in the local mountains. We would go up to spend the weekend and on the way home stop for dinner at Tom's Chicken Shack. If you are a native San Diegan, this restaurant should ring a few bells. They used to have the best fried chicken! A popular dessert was the Eggnog Pie. This was my mom's favorite but the restaurant's owners would never give up the recipe. So a few years ago, I set out to find a recipe. A quick Google search netted me a few promising candidates. Apparently, this pie originated in Texas(who knew???0). So with recipes in hand, I set out to recreate this very different dessert and my mom was in hog heaven.

Cook's Notes- Blind baking a pie crust is required for all no bake pie fillings, like this one. Putting dried beans on the bottom of the crust will keep it from bubbling up during the baking process. You can either store the beans to use for this purpose again or toss. You will not be able to cook them after this. You can also buy pie weights from a cooking store to use instead of the beans. Not shown in the above picture, I had forgotten to place a piece of parchment paper inside the crust before placing the beans on the bottom. This will make it much easier to remove the beans after the shell has baked. Otherwise you will have to carefully pick the beans out, like I did.

This will make one deep-dish 9 inch pie
1 pre-baked pie shell.
1 quart good quality eggnog
2 pkgs of Knox unflavored gelatin
2 tbsp cold water
4 beaten egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cups sugar

Roll out your pie dough and place into the pie plate. Using the tines of a fork, gently pierce the pie shell on the bottom and sides. Pour a bag of dried beans into the bottom of the pie shell and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. If you are using a pre-made pie dough or frozen pie crust. You must blind bake it, as this method is called, before pouring the filling in.
Pour the gelatin into the 2 tablespoons of water, stir and set aside to let the gelatin bloom. Over medium/low heat, heat the eggnog and the sugar together until it just comes to a simmer. Don't leave the eggnog unattended while doing this or it will boil over. Remove from the heat and add a cup of the hot liquid to the beaten egg yolks. Whisk to combine. Pour the egg mixture immediately back into the hot eggnog. Add the gelatin(it will have congealed)and whisk it into the hot mixture followed by the vanilla. Pour it into a clean bowl and place in the frig until it begins to firm up. It should be the consistency of pudding. Using an electric mixer, beat the chilled pudding until smooth(no lumps) and the consistency of soft pudding. In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff and fold it into the chilled eggnog pudding. Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust, spread out with a spatula and sprinkle ground nutmeg over the top if desired. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the frig before serving. You can pipe on whipped cream along the edge of the pie before serving if so inclined.

Tex Mex Skillet Supper

This quick supper is a crowd pleaser. A cross between chili and tamale pie. The majority of the meal is made in a skillet and then topped with a cornbread batter. The whole thing finishes in the oven. Start to finish you can get this on the table in thirty minutes. Serve with a salad and you're set.

Serves 6

1 pound lean ground turkey or beef
1 large onion, diced
2 large red bell pepppers, seeded and diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 20 oz cans chili beans(I used Bush's Texas Ranchero)
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, egg, baking soda, sour cream, buttermilk, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt and set aside. Preheat the oven to 425. In a large oven proof skillet, heat the oil over medium/ high heat. Add the ground meat, season well with salt and pepper, and brown. To the skillet add the onion, garlic, and red bell peppers. Raise the heat to hight and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the onions have become translucent. Add the beans and tomato sauce and cook another 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop the corn bread mixture onto the top of the meat mixture about 1 inch apart. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cornbread comes out clean. Scoop into bowl, topping each serving with a cornbread top. Garnish with shredded cheese or sour cream if desired.

Brussel Sprouts with Garlic and Bacon

Don't dismiss these until you try them. Veggies just might never be the same.

Serves 5-6

1 1/2 - 2 pounds of brussel sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
4 slices of bacon, cut into chunks
3 cloves of garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to boil in a 5 quart pot. Add enough salt to make it taste like sea water. Add the brussle sprouts and cook for about 4 minutes or until they are tender/crisp. Drain from the water and set aside. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until it begins to brown. Drain off all of the fat and return the bacon to the pan. Do not clean out the pan. Return the pan to the heat and continue to cook the bacon for another minute or two. Add the sprouts,garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to coat and cook for 3 more minutes until the brussel sprouts are heated through. Serve.