CANON CITY — Linda Ballard of the Canon City Queen Anne Tea House, 813 Macon Ave., will give a demonstration on pie baking, both sweet and savory pies, at 2 p.m. Nov. 15. She’ll show how to make pie crust from scratch and talk about the variety of pies that can be baked for the season, from double-crust apple to chicken pot pie.
Recipes, tips, take-home samples and refreshments of hot tea and scones are included in the $30 fee. Reservations are required; call 275-5354 or send an email to reservations@atthecanoncityqueenanne.com.
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Benefit wines
Two new private-label wines that benefit Pueblo causes now are available at 80/Twenty Wines, 415 N. Greenwood St.
The YWCA’s 100th Anniversary Red Wine, a blend of California grapes, sells for $11.80. Its label reproduces a 1950s-era postcard photo of the YWCA’s historic building.
Thunderwolf Red, a wine benefiting the Colorado State University-Pueblo Foundation, is a chianti from the Tuscany region of Italy. The university’s mascot, Tundra, is shown howling on the label, which was designed by Sarah Nako, a senior at CSU-Pueblo. Thunderwolf Red sells for $12.80 a bottle and is available through the end of the year.
The wines are sold only at 80/Twenty, and owner John Myers donates a portion of the proceeds from sales of the wines to the two organizations.
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help!
Holiday baked goods, in addition to pies and a Spanish version of recorded hotline messages, will be featured at the Crisco Pie and Baking Hotline this year. Extended holiday-season hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (MST) Monday through Nov. 26; 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 15-23; and 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 24.
The hotline number is 877-367-7438. Baking experts answer hotline calls.
This year, recorded tips from baking bloggers Kristen Doyle (Dine & Dish), Yvette Marquez (“Muy Bueno” cookbook) and Vianney Rodriguez (Sweet Life Bake) can be heard on the hotline.
Additional tips, recipes and how-to videos are at crisco.com.
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Counting Sheep
Can’t sleep? Maybe it’s the caffeine in your coffee.
Counting Sheep Coffee, a new self-described “jitter-free java,” is 99 percent caffeine-free and contains organic Valerian root, an herbal sedative.
The coffee comes in two blends: 40 Winks (for relaxation) and Lights Out! (to encourage sleep).
Lots more info, including where the coffee can be purchased, is at countingsheepcoffee.com.
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Today’s recipe
Pear-Goat Cheese Tarts
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2-3 pears, preferably Bartlett, peeled (if desired), cored and roughly chopped or sliced
2 ounces fresh goat cheese
Whole wheat pastry, enough for double-crust pie
Flour, for rolling out pie crust
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. with a rack in the middle position. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil
Stir together the sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch in a small bowl until combined.
Place the pears in a large bowl and pour the sugar mixture over them. Gently toss fruit to coat evenly. Set aside.
Divide pastry in half and roll one piece of dough into a rough 12-inch circle about 1⁄8 inch thick. Transfer the dough circle to the baking sheet.
Stir pears again and arrange 1 cup of fruit in the center of the dough circle, leaving 1-inch edge all around. (If pears are very juicy, drain off half of the liquid first.) Crumble half of the goat cheese evenly over the fruit.
Fold the edge of the crust up and over the filling, pleating it as you go around the pie. The dough shouldn’t meet in the center.
Repeat with second half of the pastry, filling and goat cheese.
Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese has lightly browned on top, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm.
Makes 2 tarts, serving 4 to 6 each.
— Adapted from “Teeny’s Tour of Pies,” by Teeny Lamothe, published by Workman
— Compiled by Mary Jean Porter
– See more at: http://www.chieftain.com/life/food/3020620-120/pie-baking-crust-wines#sthash.hvE3wuDZ.dpuf
