Fare Exchange: A double blessing of amaretto pies, Paula Deen's coleslaw

bakery background
bakery background

Good morning, readers. We stirred up a batch of requests among friends, and here they are. Those friends wanted pecan pie, ribs on a Big Green Egg and homemade hash browns with additions.

Today we bring you two amaretto pies.

photo Jane Henegar

T. Carroll found the missing page from "the mid-'90s Ronald McDonald cookbook. I have that cookbook, so I tried to find Mount Vernon's Amaretto Pie. I can't say for sure that this is the Mount Vernon recipe, but, back in the '90s, I did know the person who submitted this recipe, Janice Hinkle, and she was a most excellent cook."

Amaretto Custard Pie

1 stick margarine, melted

1 cup flour

3/4 cup chopped pecans

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

5 tablespoons amaretto liqueur, divided

16-ounce tub La Créme whipped topping, divided

1 cup powdered sugar

2 (3.4-ounce) packages instant toasted coconut pie filling

3 cups milk

Slivered or sliced almonds, toasted

Combine margarine, flour and pecans. Spread in a 10-inch pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool.

Mix together cream cheese, 4 tablespoons liqueur, 1 cup whipped topping and powdered sugar. Spread over cooled crust, and refrigerate.

Prepare pudding with milk according to package directions. Spread over cream cheese mixture. Blend remaining liqueur and whipped topping. Spread over pie, and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Karen R. found the next one, her discovery. It appeared years ago in Fare Exchange and calls for a homemade custard as the base.

Amaretto Pie

1 pie crust, homemade or store-bought

Pecan halves

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

3 slightly beaten egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur

Meringue or Cool Whip, optional

Prepare the pie crust for baking; press pecan halves into crust. Bake as directed until light brown. Cool.

Mix in double boiler the sugar, flour and salt. Add milk. Cook 10 minutes over hot water until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.

Have the slightly beaten egg yolks ready in a large bowl. Pour half the hot mixture into the bowl, and stir. When mixture is smooth, return it to the other unmixed half, and cook over hot water until thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and amaretto. Cool slightly, pour into pie crust, and chill. If desired, top with a meringue or Cool Whip. Pie may be served as is.

FANCY COLESLAW

Janice Hixson found an authoritative version of coleslaw with a secret or two attached. She wrote, "This recipe is from 'The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook' by Paula Deen."

The Lady's Coleslaw

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 large carrot, chopped

1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/2 cabbage head

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Requests

* Pecan pie* Big Green Egg ribs* Homemade hash browns

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt (recommended: Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt)

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Using a food processor, gently process the bell pepper, onion, carrot and parsley, being careful not to over process. Cut half of the cabbage into chunks and place in the food processor and process lightly, making sure the cabbage doesn't become mushy. Slice the remaining cabbage thinly. Mix the cabbage together with the processed vegetables. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together and allow to stand for a few minutes. Combine the mayonnaise mixture with the vegetables and toss. Chill for 1 hour.

GRANOLA BROWNIES

From the blog of a busy cook named Eve came this recipe, adapted from a King Arthur flour recipe.

Granola Brownie Bars

3/4 cup butter at room temperature

1 1/2 to 2 cups brown sugar (see note)

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups of mix-ins, in any combination:

Granola

Sunflower seeds

Chocolate chips

Nuts

Dried fruit

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9- by 13-inch pan. Mix all ingredients in order listed. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until top is golden brown and edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Center should be set, not wobbly. Makes 2 dozen bars.

Note: If you use a lot of sweet mix-ins, you'll want to use less sugar; if your mix-ins aren't sweet, use more.

CAKE FILLING

And finally you asked about the syrup necessary for Lava Cakes, citing Park Place Restaurant's version. The Sundays have added some thoughts to the discussion, so hopefully we'll get a start-to-finish Lava Cake recipe next. (Directions for the ganache filling referenced here may be found in last week's Fare Exchange.)

On Lava Cakes: The Sundays advise first to chill some of your ganache, and form into balls.

Pour 1/2 inch or so of lava cake batter into the pan, and cook as directed until it starts to skin over (get a little solid). This is to support the ganache so it doesn't run outside the bottom (the top-to-be) or sides of the cake.

Add ganache ball and top off the pan with batter (yes, leave room for the rise).

Plate by putting some ganache in a squeeze bottle and drawing a fine spiral (or other pattern) of ganache on the plate and placing the cake in the middle. Lightly sift a little confectioners sugar on top of the cake. Organic confectioners sugar is best as it's cut with tapioca flour rather than cornstarch so it isn't as chalky. You can also place a small paper heart (or star or whatever) over the cake before sifting the sugar and then carefully removing the paper, leaving a dark heart on a white background.

When cut, the hot ganache will run out of the cake. This isn't a cake that can be served cold.

EGG SALAD

And finally, Janice Hixson supplied another good sandwich idea, this one an egg salad credited to Jimmie Ruth Wilson of Soddy-Daisy.

Egg Salad on Buns

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

2 tablespoons Miracle Whip

9 hard-boiled eggs

2 tablespoons sweet relish

3/4 of a green pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons onion salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Combine all ingredients; put on hot dog buns and chill before serving.

I was in the supermarket last week and, as often happens, got in a conversation in the produce department. A sprightly woman saw me inspecting cantaloupes. She got up close to comment on price, size and ripeness, and then, "Be careful now. Don't squeeze those cantaloupes too much. They bruise - like peaches." And so I left with unbruised cantaloupes and peaches on the recommendation of my new friend. We were in it together.

I am glad to be in it with you all together, every Wednesday.

To reach us

Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send. Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750 E-mail: chattfare@gmail.com

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