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On the spot questions answered

Posted Friday, October 24, 2008, at 4:25 PM

In the past few weeks, several people have stopped me to say they enjoy my column and the cooking blogs.

"Thanks," I always reply. "But I wouldn't be able to do it without my Grandma Iva's tutelage when I was a child."

Sometimes there's an awkward pause before the conversation continues and the person asks a question. Here are two of the questions I've recently been asked:

* "Do you know how to make a flaky piecrust that tastes good?"

Most piecrust recipes concentrate only on flakiness, recommending cooks use shortening, which has very little to no flavor, but will make a crust flaky and tender.

Although they used lard for savory piecrusts, my grandmother and great aunts substituted salted butter when making sweet piecrusts. While it makes the piecrust tender, it also gives it really good flavor.

They would use a combination of half shortening and half butter for the best piecrust and also substituted a tablespoon of vinegar as part of the liquid used in the recipe to help further improve the flakiness.

And they always wrapped the edges of a pie in aluminum foil before baking to ensure it didn't overcook.

If making sweet dessert pies, or even cheesecake with a piecrust, try substituting half of the butter with cream cheese for a rich flavor. (You can also sprinkle a touch of sugar around the edges of the lightly buttered crust.)

* "I know it's affordable and better for my family's health, but I don't seem to be able to get ground turkey to brown like hamburger when cooking," a friend of mine asked recently after eating a pasta dish I made. "How do you get it to crisp up like this?"

Turkey does not have a very high fat content so you have to add it when cooking.

When cooking ground turkey, I add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the frying pan at the beginning. As it begins to turn from pink to a light brown, I also add two tablespoons of butter to the remaining olive oil (and maybe another splash) to add flavor while constantly stirring so the meat remains moist.

It's been a busy week, and there are more questions for me to answer. Hopefully, I have a few moments over the weekend to look through Grandma Iva's cookbooks for the answers.

If you have a question about cooking and think I might be able to help, please leave them here. As soon as I find them, I'll post them here.

More from this blogger · Ivy Jacobs

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Hi Ivy:

I too have enjoyed your recipes and memories. It brings back my own at times.

My grandmother made the best pie crust from chicken/goose fat [they raised poultry so had a lot of it]! She would melt it down and pour it through a cheesecloth to filter out impurities. I however am not that patient nor frugal...

Sometimes I use the butter flavored shortening to get a little better flavor without sacrificing flakiness. It is also yellow in color [artificial most likely] so makes the crust appear a little "richer" as well. I may try your half butter half shortening at Thanksgiving for my pies and see if it is noticed.

Since I use a lot of ground chevon [goat meat] or veal [calf meat] in place of ground beef and it is less fatty as a rule, I too use olive oil to brown it. When applicable I also add some chopped onion as the sugar content in the onion caramelizes causing a nice brown color as well.

Gives all your gravies a darker richer color as well.

-- Posted by Jenny Moore on Fri, Oct 24, 2008, at 5:16 PM
Ivy,

Did your grandmother's piecrust recipe include an egg? I recently found a recipe exactly like you're describing, but included an egg.

-- Posted by Ssteppe on Sat, Oct 25, 2008, at 8:35 AM
LOL..........I like to use butter crust for pies, but I never thought of using creamed cheese. I'm going to have to try that. And, yes, I do cook....lol.

I'll bet you have never made yeast bread in a steel helmet baked in an oven dug in the ground....lol.

Thanks for the ideas, Ivy, keep them coming.

-- Posted by FlyinLion on Sat, Oct 25, 2008, at 11:27 PM
Jenny Moore ... thanks for the kind remarks. My grandmother wasn't above adding a drip or two of yellow food coloring to her crusts either!

Ssteppe ... I didn't read in the cookbook I had about an egg. My great aunt had one that she used for meat pies. If I find it, would you like it posted here?

FlyinLion ... Steel helmets?? Nope never had that experience. But I have cooked "under combat conditions" with the hungry eyes of about 15 starving teenagers watching my every move before!! Does that count?

Also, one of my great aunts used a crock pot to bake cakes in while she was out working. Are you interested in that recipe?

If anyone has any questions, requests or are interested in sharing your recipes and stories, please post them here. I love reading them!

Thanks,

Ivy

-- Posted by MissIvy on Mon, Oct 27, 2008, at 10:56 AM
Recipes: I like it when you surprise us. (I think I enjoy the stories that accompany the recipes even more...)

-- Posted by Ssteppe on Mon, Oct 27, 2008, at 11:33 PM
i use shortening for pie crusts but i also add stuff to it for flavor, if its apple i add cinn and sugar to the crust for example, it makes it have a wonderful sweet flavor and really adds to the pie (cobbler)

-- Posted by Ninesy on Tue, Oct 28, 2008, at 9:56 PM

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