Aunt Emma's Never Fail Pie Crust

3 c sifted flour
1 1/4 c Shortening
1 tsp salt
1 egg, well beaten
5 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp vinegar

Cut shortening into flour and salt.
Combine egg, water, and vinegar in a separate bowl.
Pour liquid into flour mixture all at once. Blend with spoon until flour is all moistened.
It can be re-rolled without toughening. Will keep in refrigerator for two weeks or divide into balls enough for one pie and wrap in Saran wrap and freeze indefinitely.

Makes 2 crusts

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Home Made Boursin Cheese


On this day I'm trying Dorie's recipe for cheese spread that she nicknamed "Boursin's mama".  If you're familiar- Boursin is a soft, flavored cheese you can purchase to spread on crackers. Dorie says it's as popular in the stores in France as it is here.

Lyonnaise Garlic and Herb Cheese sounds a whole lot more tasty and interesting to me. I decided to take this recipe to a baby shower. One of my coworkers was bringing crackers.

The ingredients list looks wonderful: ricotta cheese, minced and rinsed shallot, garlic, snipped fresh chives (from my garden), minced fresh parsley (also from my garden!), minced fresh taragon (too hot here to grow this one), red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and freshly ground white pepper. Actually, the ricotta is a replacement for fromage blanc. I didn't have time to go in search of that one.



The ricotta is drained in a fine mesh strainer for a few hours to thicken its texture. After straining, mix the other ingredients into the cheese. Dorie advises to taste and adjust seasonings as you wish. I always struggle with this kind of instruction. How do I know what I wish if I've never had this before?  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.



At the 3 hour mark it was time to take off for the baby shower. Off we went.  Much to our dismay, coworker and I, the kitchen was packed with food. Seems party hostess took it upon herself to make TONS of food on her own, so that each guest arriving, carrying additional dishes, was just so much more. The kitchen counters were overflowing. Talk about a miscommunication.  I don't think anyone tried my dip except me and I have to say it was pretty bland.  Perhaps trying so many other dishes with it overwhelmed the dip's subtle flavors? I don't know.

Mother-to-be is a real fan of giraffes.
Thank goodness the quilt I made was a hit!

I took my dip home and hubby and I tried it again later. Still not impressed.  To me it was ricotta cheese with barely any other flavor, shallot maybe, perceptible. Seems like a time-consuming process to arrive at something so plain.

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