"nicoleweston" news and stories

Since we were talking about the best apples to use in making pies last week, it put me in the mood to make one myself. I love making pies because, even though there is some prep work involved, the procedure is very straightforward. Also, I really enjoy making homemade pie crust. It's fun to get your fingers dirty and a flaky, homemade crust is better than one you can buy at the store - especially because you can taste the work that went into making it.

If you've never made a homemade pie before, winter is the perfect time to start and apple is the best kind to start with. Not only are the apples easy to work with, but the fact that the weather is colder makes it easier to handle the dough for the crust. In summer, you need to work faster to keep the butter from melting as you work it in to the flour. After the jump, you'll find a photo-heavy, step-by-step guide to making both the crust and the whole pie. I make my crusts with a combination of shortening (non-hydrogenated, for those who are concerned) and butter. The combination of butter, which adds flavor and some leavening, and shortening, which adds tenderness and flakiness will produce the best crusts. I use a 3-1 ratio, so not much shortening is needed.

Raw nuts make a tasty and satisfying snack. They are a little on the bland side, so it is not hard to stick with the recommended daily serving of a dozen or so nuts. Roasting and salting the nuts really increases their appeal, and you'll probably find yourself eating at least a handful or two before trying to find something to wash them down with. Adding sugar to the roasted, salted nuts makes them dangerously addictive.

Fortunately, candied nuts are also very easy to make. All you need to do is toss the nuts in some egg white and coat with a generous amount of sugar and spices. For this recipe, I used cinnamon and allspice, which combine with the flavor of the pecan to produce a result that tastes exactly of fall and the holiday season. In fact, a batch of these nuts would make a wonderful gift for family or friends, though you'll want to make two so you can keep some for yourself.

Read on for the recipe:

According to Yorkshire Post, baking at home is on the rise in the UK, and according to the UK Guardian, it's no coincidence that baking blogs are are on the rise as well. Baking bloggers run the gamut, from amateur bakers to professional pastry chefs, posting about their latest and greatest (and sometimes not-so-greatest) creations out of the oven. The Guardian highlighted a few, like The Pastry Department, written and baked by a former Phat Duck pastry chef, but the one that's important to us is Bakingsheet (now Baking Bites), the personal baking blog of our very own Nicole Weston!

A cold morning and a ripe pear were the inspiration for this breakfast. In summer, I'm likely just to opt for the fruit on its own, since hot cereal doesn't hold that much appeal when it is muggy outside, but when the weather turns colder, I like to start my day off with hot food. Pear and Maple Oatmeal takes advantage of seasonal flavors, since maple syrup is often included in fall recipes, and is so delicious that it almost tastes like dessert. On top of that, it's incredibly easy to make in the microwave, which makes it an easy breakfast to whip up on a busy weekday morning.

The trick to this recipe, which is after the jump, is to add in half of the pear before cooking and half after. The pear that is cooked will become very tender and almost melt into the oatmeal. The rest of the pear will soften only slightly from the heat when it is added just before serving, adding a lovely texture to the cereal.

I learned long ago that, unless I wanted to be eating zucchini at ever meal for three months, it is best not to plant it at home. Besides, when they are in season they are so inexpensive that you can buy as many as you want for very little money - and if your neighbors decide to plant them, you'll probably have plenty of free ones anyway. But just because I don't plant zucchini doesn't mean that I don't have vegetable problems. While some people have problems with zucchini overrunning their gardens during the summer, I have a problem with cucumbers.

Over the past two days, I have accumulated roughly 30 pounds of cucumbers, both English and Japanese. Though I didn't try to pile them all into one photo, for reference, the cucumber in the center of this picture measures 11"x4" and weighs just over 2.5-pounds. And it's not the biggest that I have at the moment. The one in the fridge looks remarkably similar to a baseball bat.