Birthday Steaks and Mock Apple Pie
When it was J1’s family birthday dinner recently, I was surprized when he asked for a steak supper. After all, he works part time as a dining room server at The Keg Steakhouse and Bar, wouldn’t he have had his fill of red meat? Apparently not.
D went to great lengths to select the chicest of cuts. Nothing was too good for our son on his 25th birthday. The selection of Angus Beef meant that the steaks were beautifully marbled and oh so tender. Since I am the daughter of a meat man, I know that marbling contributes to taste and aging enhances tenderness.
The Cutco steak knives that I took out of their wrappings for the evening certainly impressed. J1 demonstrated just placing the knife on top of his steak and the utensil sliding through (with no effort on his part) to produce a perfect forkful.
Also on the menu were all of J1’s favourites: baked potatoes topped with real bacon, green bean casserole and herb pull apart loaf. The heart image below is a random piece of the loaf-I kid you not! For dessert though I was stumped as J1 is not a cake guy but I remembered chatting with a friend about a Mock Apple Pie recipe and had to give it a try.
Would you know that it was filled with zucchini from this photo?
- 6-8 c zucchini, peeled and cut into "apple-sized" pieces
- ¾ c sugar
- ½ c brown sugar
- 2 t cinnamon
- ¼ t nutmeg
- ¼ t cardamom
- 1½ t cream of tartar
- 2 T corn starch
- ½ t salt
- 1 t vinegar
- 1 T butter
- 2 pie crusts (I cheat and purchase frozen Tenderflake)
- ½ t sugar, topping for crust
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Follow package directions t defrost pie shell.
- Cook zucchini in boiling water until barely tender (about 2 minutes).
- Cool and drain. Squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible with paper towels.
- In a bowl, well toss zucchini with sugars and all other ingredients from list stopping with the salt.
- Fill the pie shell with mixture.
- Dot with butter, drizzle with vinegar.
- Top with second crust.
- Create steam cuts in the crust.
- Dust with sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 425.
- Reduce heat to 350 and continue baking about 45 minutes.Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.
D said with amazement at a taste of the pie: “Well this proves that you can put sugar and cinnamon on anything and it will taste good!”
Kath’s quote: “Every year the number of new cookbooks increases, but in spite of them the progress made in this most useful of the arts is not ever overpowering. On the contrary, we must regretfully admit that nowadays people no longer prepare the fine and nourishing dishes that our mothers used to make.”-Anna Dorn, Cookbook Author (1834)
Love-that is all.
