Whistle Stop's pineapple pie

The Whistle Stop uses lard as the shortening, which makes for a very flaky crust, very easy to roll out. You can use Crisco, or a mixture of vegetable shortening and butter, or use prepared pie crusts.

Pie crust:

1½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup lard

¼ cup cold water

Pineapple filling:

1 cup sugar

½ heaping cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

5 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon butter

16-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained

Meringue:

8 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ cup water

3 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust: In a bowl, stir flour and salt together, and cut in lard until the mixture is grainy, with pieces the size of a BB to the size of a pea. Stir in water to form a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so.

Roll out to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Trim and crimp edges. Prick bottom all over, line with aluminum foil and weigh down with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until it begins to turn a light golden brown, 20 minutes or more. Remove foil and weights, return to oven, and bake another 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

To make filling: Combine sugar, flour, salt and milk together in the top of a double boiler set over boiling water. Stir frequently so it will not get lumpy. When mixture thickens, add beaten egg yolks slowly and cook 10 to 15 minutes. Add vanilla and butter. Fold in drained pineapple.

Pour pineapple mixture into pie shell. Heat oven to 300 degrees.

To make meringue: Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and water in a microwaveable container or small saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool.

Beat egg whites with salt and vanilla. When stiff but not dry, add 6 tablespoons of sugar gradually, beating consistently. Slowly add cornstarch mixture; beating well as you do. Cover pie, touching all the edges of the crust with meringue.

Bake at 300 degrees until meringue is lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Meringue pies do not keep well; serve soon.

Serves 8.

Nutrition data per serving: 474 calories, 9 grams protein, 69 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 18 grams fat, 323 milligrams sodium.

Nisha, has been making this for years - it's Mandi's favorite, she wants it every year on her birthday. She's eaten it since she was four years old.

Angel Food Cake - deli bought one works fine for this
1 large size box strawberry jello
1 box frozen strawberries in syrup, drain
1 carton Cool Whip

Take a wooden spoon handle and poke holes all over the top of the angel food cake, being careful not to go all the way to the bottom - 2/3 of the way down is what you're aiming for.

Make LARGE Jello,substituting the strawberry liquid for the cold water and only use 1.5 cups of boiling water. You will probably use 2.5-3 cups of liquid all together depending on how much liquid you get from the strawberries.Then put in strawberry to partially jel, then mix in thawed strawberries , and pour it in the holes in the cake. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, covered and then frost with Cool Whip. Store, covered in the fridge.

You want to fill holes all the way to the top, it will look full, but then sink a bit and you refill until they stay at the top. You may not be able to use quite all of the Jello mixture, just refrigerate leftover Jello to eat.

Nish uses food coloring in the Cool Whip to make it whatever colors she wants. She also sometimes puts a glass in the hole in the middle and fills it with fresh flowers, so that it looks like flowers are coming out of the cake.

At Easter she cometimes uses a little coconut nest in the hole, filled with Jelly Beans.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake by Ina Garten - The Barefoot Contessa

Ina’s description of it being the “most fabulous chocolate cake that I’ve ever made” had my interest peaked as well. The unique ingredient was coffee…how intrigued I was!

This cake is everything it promises to be… a unique twist on a standard rich and delicious chocolate cake. The coffee in the batter and in the frosting add just enough twist to the flavor of the cake that you will want to be coming back for more.

Ingredients

Directions

MAKE AHEAD The frosted cake can be refrigerated for 2 days. Let stand for 1 hour before serving.

Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup instant malted milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups ice cold water
4 large egg whites, room temperature
Frosting and Garnish
10 ounces quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
10 ounces quality milk chocolate, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch chunks, softened

malted milk balls, for garnish

1. CAKE: Preheat the oven to 325. Butter and flour three 8 inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk the flours with the malt powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter with the shortening until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the dry ingredients in 3 batches at low speed, alternating with the ice water, occasionally scraping down the side of the bowl.
3. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites at medium high speed until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter. Divide the batter between the pans, spreading it evenly and bake the cakes for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert them onto a rack and let cool completely. Peel off the parchment.
4. FROSTING: Place the chocolate in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil, then remove from the heat. Add the corn syrup; immediately pour the mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 2-3 minutes until the chocolate has melted, then whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.
5. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk. Gradually beat in the butter at medium speed, a few chunks at a time and beat until thoroughly incorporated between additions. The frosting should be smooth and silky. Refrigerate the frosting just until it is thick enough to hold its shape, 10-15 minutes.
6. Place one cake layer on a serving platter and spread 1 1/4 cups of the frosting over the top in an even layer. Repeat to form 2 more layers. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the side of the cake and refrigerate briefly until firm. Frost the side with the remaining frosting. Garnish the cake with malted milk balls and refrigerate briefly to firm up the frosting before serving.
7. The cake and be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature to serve

When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered
which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did
you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week?
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different
color twist tie. They are: Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday =
Red
Friday = White and Saturday = Yellow. So if today was Thursday, you would
want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The
colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow,
Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was
interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have
different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have
different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread
when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (11 ounce) can Mexican-style corn, drained
• 2 (10 ounce) cans Rotel diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 bunches green onions, chopped
• minced garlic
• juice of 1 lime squeezed over salsa
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• cilantro leaves, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix together black beans, Mexican-style corn, diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, tomatoes and green onion stalks. Garnish with desired amount of cilantro leaves. Chill in the refrigerator at least 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips

More tweaks - Ryan said he would add a bit of cumin and some chili powder to this...

Q: What is it about Yukon Golds that makes such wonderful mashed potatoes?

A: It has to do with the potato. There are hundreds of types of potatoes, but each falls into one of three types, classified by their starch content.

Starchy potatoes have high starch and low water. Starchy potatoes are great for baking and French fries, and good as mashed potatoes. When cooked in water, they disintegrate but when cooked by dry heat, they become crumbly and fluffy. Russet Burbanks are a popular type of starchy potato. Often russets are called Idahos or Washingtons (these are not varieties, only the farm location). Starchy potatoes can also be purple, like Purple Peruvians.

All-purpose or chef's potatoes have medium starch and medium water. All-purpose potatoes are great in stews, soups, mashed potatoes or for roasting. When cooked, they are at once moist and fluffy: they keep most of their shape in soups and don't dry out when baked. All-purpose potatoes are white, like White Roses, although they are also yellow (Yukon Golds), red (Red Golds), and blue (All Blue). Some all-purpose potatoes are called Maines, Long Islands, and Delawares (again, not variety names, but only the location of the farm). Fingerling potatoes are long, oval-shaped potatoes that have not grown to full size.

Waxy potatoes have low starch and high water. These potatoes stay firm in liquids and moist when roasted. They are good for stews, roasting and potato salads. Waxy potatoes can have red or tan skin, and white, red or yellow flesh. Different varieties include Irish Cobblers, Red Bliss, All Reds, Ruby Crescents and Butterfingers.

By the way, new potatoes can be any texture or type of potato, as long as the potatoes are harvested when the potato plant is still alive and the potatoes skin is still so thin that it can be rubbed off easily. Nearly all new potatoes behave as if they are waxy; that is, they have a low starch and high water content. New potatoes are good roasted, boiled and steamed. Creamers are potatoes that are no bigger than 1-inch in diameter.

- Food Network Kitchens