Firesidefruitpie Recipes

FIRESIDE FRUIT PIE

Steps:

• Prepare pastry for a two crust pie or use store bought rollout pie pastry.
• Heat your oven to 425*F. In a large saucepan, combine reserved apricot liquid, sugar, cornstarch, apples, dates and lemon juice. You may sprinkle the nutmeg over the top now, if desired. Cover; cook gently until apples are soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from hea and fold in apricot halves. Spoon this mixture into pastry lined pie pan.
• To make a decorative top crust, use canape(or small cookie) cutter(1") to cut out center of dough. Repeat cutouts in an evenly spaced pattern, working from center to within 1 1/2" of edge. Arrange pastry over filling. Fold the edge of the top pastry under bottom pastry. Press together to seal; flute edge.
• Bake at 425*F. for 25 to 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles. Enjoy!

FRIED PIES

Steps:

• To make the pastry, mix together the flour, granulated sugar and salt. Cut in 1 cup of the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 of the eggs and the buttermilk and stir until it just comes together. Add a little more buttermilk if needed. Form it into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• To make the pies, roll the pastry out into a large square. Trim the edges to make a rectangle. Cut into 8 to 10 long rectangles, using a butter knife.
• Spoon a tablespoon or so of filling into the top half of one of the rectangles.
• Use the remaining beaten eggs to seal the edges by folding the bottom half of the rectangle over the top. Then crimp the edges shut with a fork. Repeat with the other pies, filling half with apple pie filling and half with cherry pie filling.
• Heat shortening in a medium, deep saucepan over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F. Fry the pies until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and immediately drain on paper towels.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

FRIED FRUIT PIES

Steps:

• Mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender, fork, your hands, or whatever method works best for you, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Stir together the beaten egg with the water and sprinkle over flour mixture. Sprinkle in the vinegar, mixing lightly, until ingredients are well combined.
• Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
• In a nonreactive pan on very low heat, simmer the dried fruit in the water for 30 to 45 minutes, or until very tender. Add water if necessary to prevent scorching. Allow to cool; mash fruit slightly.
• Stir in the sugar and spices. This step of the preparation may be done in advance and refrigerated; however, warm up the fruit (microwave is fine) enough to take the chill off and make it workable before filling your pies.
• Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and cut it into four equal pieces. You can then cut each of the four pieces into three equal pieces, leaving you with 12 golf-ball-size dough balls.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 5- to 6-inch circle. Your circles don't have to be perfect, and ragged edges are okay.
• Put about 2 generous tablespoons of filling onto one side of the circle of dough. Seal the pie by wetting the inside edge of the dough with water (use your finger) and then fold over the dough, making the familiar half-moon shaped pie. Make sure the edges of the dough are even, and press and crimp to insure a good seal. You can use a fork to give you a bit of a decorative edge if you like. You can also correct the more ragged edges during this step because the dough is pliable. Just make sure the filling is sealed in and that any holes in the dough are crimped.
• Using a deep fryer set at 350, carefully lower the pies into the oil, one at a time. Cook until they turn a nice even golden brown in 3 or 4 minutes. You don't have to worry about cooking the filling -- it's already cooked. The frying process is merely cooking the dough.
• Drain on paper towels.

OLD TIMEY APRICOT FRIED PIE

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Place flour, sugar, salt, vinegar, and egg yolk in the bowl of a food processor and pulse lightly 1 time. While pulsing, add butter gradually; dough should be the consistency of cornmeal. Do not over-mix or dough will become tough and hard to roll out. While pulsing, add ice water slowly until dough forms a ball (again being careful to not over-mix). Turn off processor as soon as dough forms a ball and refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.
• Make filling:
• Combine apricots, jam, nectar, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 10 to 15 minutes. Add cornstarch slurry and continue simmering for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add almond and vanilla extracts. Let cool to room temperature; mixture should thicken to the consistency of a jam.
• Meanwhile, pour several inches of oil into a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven; oil should not come more than halfway up the sides of the pan. Heat oil to 360 degrees F.
• On a floured board, roll out dough to 1/8-inch or less thickness. Cut or stamp dough into 15 (6-inch) round circles, or as many that size as possible. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of each circle of dough and brush edges with egg wash. Fold in half and press edges together with a fork dipped in flour. Poke the top of the crust twice with fork.
• Carefully add pie pockets, in batches, to the hot oil and deep fry until golden brown, turning as needed. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve; be careful as filling is hot.

QUICK & CRISPY HOME FRIES

Steps:

• Arrange potato pieces evenly on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high until just tender, about 4 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Cut potatoes into bite-size chunks.
• Heat butter and olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When butter melts and starts to turn brown, swirl the pan and add the potatoes. Shake pan to arrange in an even layer. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
• As potatoes brown, toss them and keep turning them every few minutes until they are crusty and crispy-edged and a rich reddish-brown color, 10 to 12 minutes. If potatoes seem to be cooking too quickly, reduce heat to medium. Serve topped with chopped chives.

FIRESIDE COFFEE

Steps:

• Mix non-dairy creamer, instant coffee, sugar, hot chocolate mix, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Store in an airtight container.

FIRESIDE CHEESE SPREAD

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine cheese spread, cream cheese, butter, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Blend thoroughly. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley. Serve with crackers.