Tag Archives: Recipes

The First Day of Fall – Time to Bake an Apple Pie

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In Kansas City, Petticoat Pies has become known as an uncommonly good purveyor of pies to customers looking for high quality, organic desserts. If you’re in the Kansas City area, you can find Petticoat Pies at www.petticoatpies.com.

Here is Petticoat Pies recipe for Apple Pie.

First step: taste one of your apples before you bake. The amount of sugar and cinnamon varies on how sweet or tart your apples already are. The purpose of this pie is to let the flavor of the fruit shine through.

Double Crust Pie crust (I use an all-butter, combination whole wheat pastry flour / unenriched and unbleached white flour crust recipe)
6 – 9 crisp baking apples (Jonathans, Granny Smiths)
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
sugar
cinnamon
butter

Peel, core, and slice your apples. Add flour, sugar, and cinnamon and toss well – leave to soak in juices while you prepare the crust. Note: the taste test key is to try an apple slice after adding all ingredients and catching the sweetness and cinnamon at first bite, and then the tart apple flavor after.

Roll out your crust and place in 9″ pie pan, leaving about a 1/4 inch overhang; brush bottom and sides of crust with egg white before filling. Cover with top crust; pinch crusts together, trimming off any excess dough, before folding under and crimping decoratively. Brush top crust generously with egg white wash and cut 6 steam vents in top.

Bake at 375 for approximately 1 hour, or until golden brown.

Optional: serve warm and a la mode (caramel ice cream, perhaps?)

Seersucker & Tweeds blog by American Suit Store

Best Schools to Tailgate on any given Saturday

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It’s almost here, our favorite time of the year – College Football. Fall camps have begun on campus’ across the nation…… and every fan believes this is the year! Optimism is rampant, always will be when your team is undefeated.

The Grove

But Saturday’s aren’t just for football. Tailgating, that great social gathering enjoyed by all, is as much about a day on campus as scoring the winning touchdown. Like the sport of football, some schools just do it better.

Here are the Hall of Fame Tailgating Schools

# 10 Colorado

It’s all about location, and few can match what Colorado has. And it doesn’t hurt that Boulder is the best college town in America. Throw it all together, mountain scenery, cool town, crisp fall days, a partying fan base….. and its easy to see why Colorado makes the Hall of Fame

# 9 UCLA

The Beach Boys said it best, “I wish they all could be California Girls”. Start there, throw in stunning scenery and the California sun, the legendary Rose Bowl, a burger and beer…. and you have the makings of an epic tailgate.

# 8 Wisconsin

Beer, cheese curds, bratwurst and hardcore fans make Camp Randle Stadium the best place in the Midwest on any Saturday. Of course, that culinary combination might explain why Badger games are some of the loudest.

#7 Texas A&M

Texas A & M is all about tradition….. from the 12th Man to Midnight Yell to Yell Leaders – Aggies are proud of their history and traditions. One more tradition they should be proud  of can be found at any Aggie tailgate…… Texas barbecue.

# 6 Penn State

They call it Happy Valley for a reason….. Nittany Lion fans come to party. The tailgate is so much of Penn State football that many come to tailgate only….. forget about the game.

#5 Washington

They come by land, sea and air for the Husky games. But the ultimate Husky tailgate is by sea. It’s called stern-gating, and there’s something very civilized about partying on a yacht before a Husky game. Beautiful setting!

# 4 West Point

A setting and history that is unmatched in all of college football, a tailgate and game at West Point is required on any college football fans bucket list. The fans realize that the players on the field are preparing for far more important things than football….. and so they socialize and soak in the setting while keeping it all in perspective. Nothing can match the fall leaves along the Hudson, stunning!

#3 Tennessee

It’s called the Vol Navy – a flotilla of boats of various sizes and makes that sail the Tennessee River on Fall Saturdays. At historic Neyland Stadium they are joined by thousands of Volunteers, 102,000+ to be exact – to make one of the more unique tailgate in college football.Throw in great barbecue and a little moonshine and it’s no wonder Neyland Stadium is known as one of the loudest in college football.

# 2 LSU

Ahhh, those fun loving Cajuns. If there is one thing they might love more than their Tigers – its partying before and after a game. Drink is enjoyed….. but the food is unsurpassed. Jambalaya and gumbo, stuffed quail, deer sauce picante, cochon de lait, Cajun sausage, crawfish etouffee….. the smells are intoxicating enough without the drink. And the Tiger fans are very hospitable….. you will be subjected to a few “Tiger Bait” but they love to share their nourishment.

#1 Ole Miss

In Oxford Saturday is all about winning the tailgate…… which must drive Ole Miss Rebel coaches crazy. The Rebels are not the power they were under Johnny Vaught in the early 60′s, but they do know how to socialize. The beautiful coeds and their mothers dress as if they’re going to a wedding and as many men can be found in blazers and bow ties as not… the tables under the individual tents are groaning with food and drink….. this is how to prepare for a big SEC battle.

Seersucker & Tweeds blog by American Suit Store

Time to extend a warm welcome to summer

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Today is the first day of summer! What are your favorites of summer? Here are a few of mine.

Favorite summertime outfit; nothing a man wears can say summer more than a cool, crisp Seersucker Suit

Favorite summer activity; no outdoor activity gives me more pleasure than flyfishing…. my Dad was right, trout don’t live in ugly places

Favorite place; our national parks; I once read that 95% of visitors to Yellowstone see less than 5% of the park. Yellowstone and our other parks are national treasures, I strongly urge everybody to visit….. and while there leave the car, put on your hiking shoes and grab a hiking stick….. and enjoy what Mother Nature has given us and some visionaries helped keep.

Favorite family activity; the beach….. probably the favorite of most Americans, especially the kids. Summer is the beach!

Favorite Summertime food; Fried Chicken! No dish takes me back to my childhood… Sunday lunches after church and before a visit to my Grandfather’s farm and his smallmouth bass stream, than fried chicken. The best place to get fried chicken in the summer….. Strouds in Kansas City

Favorite light show; fireworks is a close second but lightning bugs are #1. And no place puts on a better lightning bug show than the Elkmont section of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the bugs put on a synchronized show beginning usually around the third week of June and lasting for about 3 weeks.

Please reply and give us some of your favorite summer activities.

A Fathers Day Pie from my daughter

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This is a serious blueberry pie, baked by my daughter ( Petticoat Pies ) for her Dad. Highly recommend!

  • Basic Flaky Pie Crust for a 9-inch pie
  • 1 tablespoon egg white, lightly beaten
  • 4 cups blueberries, rinsed and dried
  • 1/2 liquid cup and two tablespoons water, divided
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups whipped cream (optional)

Make the crust:
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If necessary, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes or until it is soft enough to roll.

Using a pastry cloth and sleeve rubbed with flour or two sheets of plastic wrap lightly sprinkled with flour, roll the dough 1/8 inch thick or less and large enough to cut a 13-inch circle. Use an expandable flan ring or a cardboard template and a sharp knife as a guide to cut out the circle. Transfer the dough to the pie pan, fold under the excess, and crimp the border using a fork or your fingers. Cover it loosely and refrigerate it for a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425°F at least 20 minutes before baking.

Line the pastry with parchment, pleating it as necessary so it fits into the pan, and fill it with rice or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully lift out the rice or beans with the parchment. With a fork, prick the bottom and sides, and bake 5-10 minutes, or until the crust is pale golden. Check after 3 minutes and prick any bubbles that may have formed.

Cool the crust on a rack for 3 minutes, so it is no longer piping hot, then brush the bottom and sides with the egg white.

Make the filling:
Measure out 1 cup of the blueberries, choosing he softest ones. Place them in a medium saucepan together with the 1/2 cup water. Cover and bring them to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Set it aside.

When the water and blueberries have come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes or until the blueberries start to burst and the juices begin to thicken. Stirring constantly, add the cornstarch mixture, the sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Simmer for a minute or until the mixture becomes translucent. Immediately remove it from the heat and quickly fold in the remaining 3 cups of blueberries.

Spoon the mixture into the baked pie shell and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving. When set, the berries will remain very juicy but will not flow out of the crust.

Just before serving, if desired, pipe or spread the whipped cream around the sides of the pie, leaving the center unadorned and brilliantly glistening.

Store:
Room temperature, up to 2 days (without the whipped cream).

Thank you Rachel!