Two Brown Girls

Three-P Soup

2009-02-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

No, I didn't use three varieties of peas in this soup. I had some potatoes that were doing their darnedest to reproduce and some onions going a bit soft, so I decided to make a blended potato soup. Then I spied a parsnip tucked in the back of the fridge. And remembered that I had accidentally ordered 3 bags of frozen peas instead of 1 last time I had groceries delivered. Thus was born this Three-P Soup: Potato, Pea, and Parsnip. I tried taking a photo but as my silly little point and shoot couldn't quite capture the depth of green opted to omit one. However I do suggest you try making this -- its lovely and filling without being heavy, perfect on a chilly-but-not-freezing night curled in front of a movie.

Potato, Pea, and Parsnip Soup (Three-P Soup)
2 small/med onions
Olive oil
12 baby potatoes
1 parsnip
1.5 cups of frozen peas
Water or stock (about 3 cups?)
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp roasted cumin seeds (roast in a small frying pan)
Freshly Grated Sharp cheese (I used a nice english cheddar)
Salt to taste
All amounts are, as is so often the case around here, approximate

Peel and cut up onions (any way you like really, I do slices, but this is all going to be blended, so don't worry about it being pretty). Saute onions for a couple of minutes in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add chopped up potatoes and cut up parsnip (all unpeeled, its extra fiber and less work!) and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add frozen peas, nutmeg, and enough water or stock to cover (I think it was about 3 cups but just eyeball it) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, simmering, for about 15-20 minutes, until all the root vegetables have become slightly mushy. Add roasted cumin seeds and blend with an immersion blender (or pour into a food processor and blend). Chuck in grated cheese (about a 1/4 cup, but add more if you'd like!) Add salt to taste and serve.

This soup was surprisingly good given how thrown together it was. The nutmeg and cumin give it depth and its chock-full of delicious veggies without being offensively veggie-like. The cheese makes it a bit creamy and gives yet another flavor note, this time of salt and dairy and tang from being aged. Its all rather lovely. I recommend it.

Delicious Almond-Orange Shortbread

2009-02-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

I am on a big of a baking tear these days and have finally managed to sit down and write a post about it. Having seen this post on smitten kitchen about coconut shortbread and having just received some ground almonds in my latest grocery delivery I decided to make some almond-orange shortbread. And what do you know, it was deliciousness itself!!

Almond-Orange Shortbread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen 10.2.09 who adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2004

1/2 cup (about 1.5 ounces) ground almonds
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1-2 teaspoons of orange zest (you can vary the amount of zest depending on how "orangey" you would like the final biscuit to be. i used closer to 1 tsp than 2.)
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended (I used a spoon and my own steampower -- it took a bit of time, but it worked pretty well!). Mix in salt, almond extract, vanilla, and orange zest. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in ground almonds. Gather dough together, flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured work surface to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutters, cut dough into rounds. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional cookies. Repeat procedure with remaining dough disk until all of dough is used.

Bake cookies until light golden, about 20-25 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week.)

Disaster Cooking

2007-10-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

I've had a series of disastrous cooking attempts. I think I may have kitchen gremlins. One of the few things that seems to be working is my mum's Sardine Salad (stemming from her impoverished college days, as I understand it).

Mum's Sardine Salad
1 tin Sardines in Hot Sauce (tomato sauce if you're a chicken)
1 chopped small onion
1 chopped small tomato
(some chopped celery or chopped carrots are also good in this)
handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
squeeze or two of lemon
Splash of tabasco (if youre using the plainer sardines...because this needs SOME flavour dammit)
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in a bowl, sort of roughly mash, serve over toast (or eat as is).

Egg Woes

2007-09-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

I went through a 8 or 9 year period where I refused to eat eggs. Or rather, anything that tasted of eggs, which basically meant no scrambling, poaching, frying, omeletting, custarding or boiling. The taste seemed wrong in my mouth, and I confess that I started eating them again a few years ago not out of any great desire for eggy-ness but rather because I was told it was either the eggs or a whole range of supplements for all those necessary omega-y bits and pieces the body needs. This recipe from the NYTimes, then, sounds right up my alley -- how to disguise eggs from 1909.

1909: Eggs Eli
This recipe by John W. Keller, a city commissioner, appeared in an article in The Times.

Anchovies were a popular ingredient at the turn of the 20th century. It’s impossible to know what the quality of the average anchovy was then. A good anchovy now is plump and assertive but neither too salty nor too fishy. (And whatever you do, avoid the ones with capers.) Lots of cookbooks call for those packed in salt, but Agostino Recca, a common brand found in supermarkets, makes good-quality ones, already filleted and packed in oil, that are fine substitutes.

1 garlic clove, peeled

2 tablespoons butter

8 eggs, cracked into a bowl

1 tablespoon finely minced anchovy

3 tablespoons finely minced

Virginia ham, or other smoked ham.

Rub the inside of a large skillet with the garlic clove. Place over medium-high heat and add the butter. When it’s nice and foamy, pour in the eggs. Sprinkle the anchovy and ham over the eggs, then begin scrambling them, stopping when they’re done to your liking. Keller, a Yale dropout, adds: “Serve on a Yale blue dish.” But any dish is fine. Serves 4.

Excerpted from an article by Amanda Hesser at the New York Times Food Section 24.9.2007

I think my big change to this would be to DECREASE the amount of egg used and INCREASE the amount of ham + anchovy. Perhaps even add some good black olives chopped roughly and eating the whole lot over toast with a cornichon or two on the side. Yum.

The Minimalist: The Way We Cook

2007-07-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

As Keerthi so eloquently put it, "This is soooo like OUR LIVES." (Glad she's shelling out for that higher education...). All jokes aside, this Minimalist piece from the NYTimes certainly sums up our philosophy on cooking -- keeping it as simple as possible. On this note, a favourite for me is the following recipe:

Pasta with Butter, Cheese, Nutmeg, and Peas
Boil pasta (I prefer a long noodle, like buccatini or spaghetti, but penne is also excellent with this) until al-dente. Drain in sieve and set aside reserving a glass or so of pasta-water.

In the same pan heat butter. Add some garlic (out of the jar works just fine), a pinch or two of nutmeg, and a shake of chili flakes. Dump pasta back in. Add pasta water after a minute of tossing the pasta in the butter+flavouring combination. Add frozen peas with the pasta water. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the peas are cooked. Garnish with loads of pecorino romano+parmesan+any hard grated cheese. Add black pepper if desired.

Simple, easy, and utterly delicious (also amazing with the addition of bits of leftover roast chicken).

As for the Minimalist? I admit I am intrigued by both #3 and #4:

"3. Cut eight sea scallops into four horizontal slices each. Arrange on plates. Sprinkle with lime juice, salt and crushed chilies; serve after five minutes

4. Open a can of white beans and combine with olive oil, salt, small or chopped shrimp, minced garlic and thyme leaves in a pan. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp are done; garnish with more olive oil."*

Pseudo-med food is always fun...

*Extracted from Source:Mark Bittman, The New York Times, July 18 2007

Where to Eat: London

2007-03-05T06:38:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine at NYU in New York asked me to write a quick food-related london-focused piece for one of NYU's myriad student publications, and I thought I'd post it here too to make up for the lack of recent posting.

Where to Eat, London: The London Markets

Contrary to popular belief, London is actually considered one of the best cities for food in the world. Though “typically English” foods like fish and chips can definitely be found easily, equally prominent are curry takeaways (that’s takeout in American) and kebab shops aplenty. Perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the London food scene, however, is the prevalence of farmer’s markets all over the city. Some follow the classic New York City Greenmarket formula (which will be familiar to those who shop in the Union Square Market in New York) – the stalls contain largely produce, with a few meat and cheese stalls and perhaps one or two stalls selling hot meals or cooked products.

In London, interestingly, many of the Markets are more or less a hodgepodge of clothing stores, record shops, handbag vendors, and tiny food stalls. That said, the Markets do have their individual personalities and reputations. Portobello Road Market (in Notting Hill) is known chiefly for its antiques and vintage goods, Spitalfields and Camden Markets (in the East End and Camden Town respectively) are known for their mix of eclectic small-scale goodsmakers and certain Markets (like Borough Market in South London) are more or less devoted to food (often artisan and gourmet foods in particular). However, one can be guaranteed a good, cheap meal at any of these Markets. Camden Market has some excellent ethnic offerings including Burmese and Indian for about £3 (or roughly $6.00) a meal, while Spitalfields not only has great specialty groceries offered at food stalls inside the actual market but is also adjacent to Brick Lane (the famous heart of Bangladeshi-London and filled with good, cheap restaurants). And though these are the major London Markets, be sure to look around for smaller local markets in whichever neighborhood you find yourself in. Around the corner from several of the NYU in London dorms, for instance, is the tiny Exmouth Market in which several of the vendors found at Spitalfields have smaller stalls with a range of products such as tarts, quiches, Spanish chorizo, coffee beans, and flowers. The Markets are truly a great way to taste London. And the best part? You can shop and eat at the same time!

How to Get There?

Borough Market
London Bridge Tube Station
Open:
Thursdays: 11am to 5pm
Fridays: 12pm to 6pm
Saturdays 9am - 4pm
http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

Spitalfields Market
Liverpool Street Tube Station
Open:
Market Stalls:
Monday to Friday, 10am - 4pm and Sundays, 9am - 5pm
Restaurants:
Monday to Friday, 11am - 11pm and Sundays 9am - 5pm
Retail Shops:
Monday to Sunday 11am-7pm
http://www.spitalfields.co.uk/

Camden Market
Camden Town Tube Station
Open:
Hours vary depending on portion of market (some stalls, but not all, are open 7 days a week). Check website for details.
http://www.camdenlock.net/

Portobello Road Market
Notting Hill Gate Tube Station
Open:
Every Saturday
http://www.portobelloroad.co.uk/

London Dinner Parties: Take Two

2007-02-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to do an open weekly dinner party here in London -- my three flatmates and various assorted friends are all informed of date and time and are expected to bring the cook a bottle of wine. My plan is to cook for however many people as come, and so last week I made beef stew for ten, which went over quite well (then again, college students rarely turn down free food).

This week, considerably enboldened by my previous success, I decided to extend the invitation even further around, and thus this Saturday was consumed with making: Shepard's Pie for Twenty! No recipe (largely because it was really just a very basic pie in very large quantities and I'm simply too tired after all that cooking). However, here we see the lovely C enjoying her food thoroughly!

Stay tuned for the next edition of the London Chronicles!

Version 2.0

2007-02-04T17:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, its a new format. Sort of. Kind of.

We're still playing around with it, so be patient, but twobrowngirls will (soon) be better than ever, we promise!

xxx.

Bad, bad, very bad eating indeed

2006-12-21T20:38:00.000-08:00

Early this morning at JFK, waiting for my flight to SFO to board , I gave in and had a rare McDonald's experience. Now, its not that I (and Keerthi!) do not indulge in things fried in transfats, dipped in greasse, or covered in sugar. However, we generally go for the cheap chinatown dumplings or the indian cabdriver curries or the south american donuts. Ethnic junk food, if you will.

McDonald's is something I give in and eat every few months, but it will never be my preferred junk food. This morning, up in time for breakfast for once, I grabbed two hashbrowns, a sausage muffin, and a cup of coffee to sustain me before the flight.

The sandwich was, well, okay -- a piece of 'sausage' in the middle of curiously greasy biscuits. Lots and lots of ketchup made it (barely) palatable. But those hash browns oh god those hash browns. I want to marrry them. Have children with them. Make crispy, golden-y, greasy, delicious children.

I love those hash browns.

Last Hurrah!

2006-12-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hurrah! Hurrah! We had a Last Hurrah for a few of our friends last night. In an effort to combat the cold that seeps into my building at night, I wanted to make something stick-to-your-bones-ish. I also needed to use up the groceries I have left before I move yet again next week. Settling on Shepard's Pie but lacking a functioning oven, I improvised!

The menu was "Deconstructed Shepard's Pie" and "Homemade Minestrone."

The Shepard's pie was by far the favourite, so here's a rough outline of the recipe.

Deconstructed Shepard's Pie (a recipe on the fly!)
Mincemeat "filling"
4 parts Minced beef/lamb/other red meat
1 part Chopped Onions
1 part Chopped Celery
1 part Frozen Peas
1 part Sliced Carrots
2 parts Diced Mushrooms
Half a standard tin diced tomatoes (w/ juice)
Olive oil
Garlic
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Fresh Thyme
Cinnamon
Sea Salt
Tater "topping"
4 Large Potatoes
Unsalted Butter
Whole Milk
Sea Salt
Pecorino Romano (grated)
Parmesan (grated)
For the mince:
Heat oil (about 3 tblspoons?) in a large sauté pan. Add chopped garlic. Add onions. When slightly cooked add mincemeat. Fry briefly (about 2-3 mins). Add all veggies. Add generous amounts of fresh thyme, about a pinch of cinnamon (I just gave the bottle a quick shake -- not too much!), paprika (I used quite a lot, maybe 1.5 tsps?), and a bit of cayenne to give it some kick. When it seems like the meat has cooked mostly/the veggies start to soften a bit, add the tomatoes including juice. Let it continue cooking until the juice pretty much is gone and all the meat is cooked. Add a bit of salt at the end, but not a lot, as the potatoes will have most of the salty-flavoring.
For the potatoes:
Boil water in a pot big enough to hold the potatoes. Add potatoes in their skins. Cover and cook til the skins start to come off. Remove from pot. Run under cold water to cool a bit. Remove skins (should be easy if they've been cooked enough). Put potatoes (sans skins) into a large bowl. Begin to mash vigorously with a fork. Add a knob of butter, some whole milk, some pecorino romano, some Parmesan, and (lastly, because the cheese has a fair bit of salt) taste and then add salt as necessary.

Serve together with brown sauce, ketchup, sriracha hot sauce, etc.

Mmmmm. Deconstructed Pie.

Two Brown Girls Turn Twenty!

2006-11-21T16:57:00.000-08:00

Keerthi and I decided this year to celebrate our respective twenty years of brown with each other (and a few friends!).

There was much dancing wildly...

Dumplings from our favorite Chinatown spot "Tasty Dumpling"...

And, of course, CAKE!

And so 'twas a very Happy Birthday for both of us brown girls.

Tasty Dumpling
54 Mulberry Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 349-0070
Open 9:00am – 9:00pm (though sometimes before 9pm if they feel like it)
Take the N, R, Q, W, J, M, Z, and 6 trains to Canal Street
Note: Like most of Chinatown, Tasty is cash only!

Kiran is the Pimp of Pie

2006-09-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

Kiran Malladi wrote at 3:12pm:
I made two more pies yesterday. This time, I followed the amount of water instead of getting angry and adding 4x as much, like last time. It was fantastically easier. I made one lattice crust and one non-lattice crust, and I fucking forgot to take photographs. My mother, driving by Safeway, ended up purchasing limes instead of lemons. Since limes don't have that much juice, the blend I used for the pie was (the juice of the following) two limes, one orange, and two droopy lemons from our dying tree. I also made a clove-cinnamon-allspice blend and also kneaded cinnamon into the crust itself. I used apples from our tree, which, while smallish, were deliciously tart but sweet. I just wanted to let you know that the pie is loved by all, a sign that your recipe was fabtastic.

Brown Returns!

2006-09-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

Just came back from the land of brown, and possibly the best food photography ever follows...

Fish with a Smoke

Brunching

2006-07-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

We like brunch. There's the savory and the sweet and the highly alcoholic all on the table at once. Its a good excuse to wear sunglasses while eating, to drink before noon, and to take a nap afterwards.

So for Kevin's (our favourite Vietnamese packmual/orphan child) birthday Keerthi decided that a brunch would be the perfect celebration.
Kevin!
The Menu
Pain Perdu with Macerated Berries, Homemade Chocolate Sauce, and/or Maple Syrup
Scrambled Eggs with Capers, Kalamata Olives, and Goat Cheese
Hickory-smoked Bacon (Panfried to crispy goodness)
Pork Breakfast Sausage
ChickenAppleSpice Breakfast Sausage
Mixed Green Salad with Sliced Fennel, Green Apple Slices, Slivered Parmesan and Olive-Oil/Lemon/Fennel/Pepper Dressing
Cold Roast Chicken Drumsticks with Greek Yogurt to Dip
Homemade Flan
Flan!
Fairycakes with Bittersweet Ganache and Candles
White Wine
Bloody Marys

And how was it?

Delish of course.

And Now Presenting... CCR: The Cracker Cookbook Review!

2006-06-18T00:38:00.000-07:00

Long in planning and production, TwoBrownGirls is pleased to announce the advent of the much-anticipated Cracker Cookbook Review. Concieved, we believe, over several glasses of wine and/or loaves of LaBrea Bakery bread, the CCR is the lovechild of our favourite Cracker-in-chief, Katie.

Now, I personally like to think of Katie as our Cracked-out-Martha-stewart-wannabe-of-joy but that gets a little long, and so in the grand spirit of political correctness that embodies TwoBrownGirls we often refer to her simply as our Resident Cracker. In any case, CrackerKatie has decided to honor us with some words of wisdom on food and fabulousness. What follows is entirely her own creation, for which the TwoBrownGirls (sadly) take no (or very little) credit.

Cracker Cookbook Review
The Last Course: Desserts of Gramercy Tavern, Claudia Fleming

I live obscenely close to Campanile and La Brea Bakery, and eat at both frequently, so I am naturally a little biased towards Nancy Silverton when it comes to the Pastry Chef Death Match. Both have been going downhill since Nancy left them (Campanile in particular is really suffering) but I still have very fond memories of one particular lunch when everything on the dessert menu was so appealing that we ordered it all.

However, I think she may have been unseated (although I will reserve final judgment until I eat at the restaurant she is opening with Mario Batali) by the author of this book, Claudia Fleming. Reading The Last Course made me want to fly to New York and eat at Gramercy Tavern so badly that I was twitching. The beautiful pictures featured throughout the book definitely helped, but her recipes had a good dose of imagination that I have found lacking in many others. She is also not afraid to share (which is one complaint I have about Nancy Silverton, who has yet to publish anything that even hints at the recipes behind her brilliant composed desserts – Desserts by Nancy Silverton was one of the most disappointing books I’ve ever purchased).

I happen to love the organization and format of the book – it is ordered by ingredient under sections like berries, stone fruits, and spices. Each recipe also includes suggestions of other recipes in the book to serve it with for a more complex or composed dessert. For example, with Banana Sorbet she recommends Pecan Sandies to serve; Caramel Blood Oranges for a complex dessert, or Extra Bittersweet Chocolate Sorbet and Milk Chocolate Malted ice cream for a composed dessert.

While many of the recipes are not for a beginning cook, they are for the most part clear and not overly complex. The most forbidding thing to a home pastry chef would probably be time – the Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Strawberry Rose Gelee (which I then served with her strawberry sorbet) required several hours of resting and chilling as well as a full hour spent over the stove watching the wine and strawberries reduce for the gelee. While this may not be an issue for a restaurant cook (who is simply glancing at it while preparing other desserts) it is mildly annoying for the home cook.

Gelee and panna cottas before unmolding (in the final presentation, which I don't have a picture of because we scarfed them
down, the panna cotta is unmolded on top of the gelee with a scoop of
strawberry sorbet to top it off)

Despite the small difficulties, I still recommend The Last Course as one of the most outstanding dessert cookbooks I have ever used, owned, or looked at (and I have a ton. No, really). Looking at pictures of Orange Cardamom Shakes, Blackberry Napoleons with Orange Shortbread Wafers, Passion Fruit-Pineapple Sorbet, Sugar and Spice Doughnuts, and Gingersnap Ice Cream made me get off my butt and get on the treadmill so I could start making and eating them.

Strawberry Sorbet from Desserts of Gramercy Tavern
As Ms. Fleming points out, this is absolutely not worth your time unless you have flavorful, ripe, juicy strawberries from your farmer’s market. If you do have them, however, the result is sublime. I recommend Gaviota strawberries, as they are sweet, juicy, and make delicious sorbet.

Gaviota strawberries

1 quart hulled fresh strawberries
_ cup sugar
1 _ cups simple syrup
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. In a large bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar. Let the mixture rest for 2 hours.

2. Transfer the berries to a food processor or blender and puree with _ cup water until very smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to extract all their juice, then discard the solids.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the strawberry puree, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Cover and chill until cold, at least three hours, or overnight. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Yield: 1 quart

Simple Syrup: in a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine 2 cups sugar and 1 _ cups water. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let the syrup simmer for 1 minute, then turn off the heat and allow to cool. Simple syrup will keep almost indefinitely in a tightly sealed bottle in the refrigerator.

Pie Redux

2006-06-11T22:41:00.000-07:00

A while back we made apple pie. In fact, it was our very first twobrowngirls entry. We've learned a lot about cooking since then, and about blogging (though you wouldn't know it from the frequency of our postings), and it seems that we've been teaching a bit too. What follows is an Apple Pie Redux -- a series of conversations between myself and Keerthi's little brother detailing the many vagaries of apple pie baking. Enjoy!

Kiran wrote
at 8:47pm May 31st, 2006
Poonam, my sister said you had a really great apple pie recipe. She's totally shafting me on it and not helping me out. Do you have some magical recipe you could share?

Poonam wrote
at 11:53pm May 31st, 2006
see: twobrowngirls.blogspot.com for apple pie joy (enjoy!)

Editor's Note: The Apple Pie Recipe can be found in the September 2005 Archives

Kiran wrote
at 12:16am June 2nd, 2006
Thanks very much - I'll be making it very soon. How many did you guys make for Piefest '05? Or was it early '06?

Poonam wrote
at 5:15am June 2nd, 2006
it was '05... tips: 1. the apples from your backyard are totally fab for this, just make sure to weigh them out after you peel/core them not before. 2. the recipe really gives a lot more filling/crust than necc. we made (i believe) 2 large pies (one with a proper closed bottom and top crust and another with a bottom crust and a crunchy topping -- the closed one tasted better) and then a series of smaller "apple pot pies" in ramekins (which were basically surplus filling topped with a bit of dough). Everyone liked the potpies a lot, if i did this again i might just make like a dozen of those. If you want whole pies though, I'm pretty sure the recipe will give you enough crust for 2 bottom and top pies.

Kiran wrote
at 10:37am June 2nd, 2006
Sweet. I recall that the pie you all made was delish. Then again, I don't know if i ended up having any. Maybe I'm hallucinating again.

Kiran wrote
at 11:22pm June 4th, 2006
Yo, sorry I'm bombarding you with pie questions, but you're basically my only resource. First, I need to store the dough for more than 2 days, so I should freeze it, yeah? Then what thawing shit do I do? Also, if I'm only baking one of the 2 large pies at a time, what settings do I do differently?

Poonam wrote
at 5:41am June 5th, 2006
yes, wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm and freeze it. to defrost, just bring it out onto the counter an hour or so before youre planning to use it (more, if the kitchen is air conditioned/cold). theres all that fat (i.e. butter, shortening) in it, so it'll defrost pretty quickly. and don't put it in the microwave! the dough will seize and taste icky and just be kind of ew. here's a tip, though, i'd say divide it into 4 portions even if you're planning on making 2 double crusts -- the dough will defrost more quickly in the smaller portion size, and its easier to work with. once your dough is defrosted, put it into the fridge to keep it chilled. if you leave it out for too long its going to get all mushy and thats bad. once you've defrosted dough it (in theory) acts just like fresh dough, so from defrosting you have at least 2 days of fridge-time. as to baking one pie at a time, i wouldn't worry about that affecting baking times and things.

Poonam wrote
at 5:44am June 5th, 2006
oops. maxed out the character limit. anyways, we baked 1 pie first as a "test subject" and then baked the rest together, and the temps/times seemed to hold true regardless. don't just leave the pie though, check on it when you reduce the temp (after 20 mins) and then again about 15 mins later, and then again about 15 mins after that. you'd be suprised a) what 5 or 10 mins of overbaking can do and b) how many ovens don't actually heat up to the temps that they say they are (they get hotter or cooler). so check on the pie. ummm. yeah. i think thats about it.

Kiran wrote
at 9:11am June 5th, 2006
Awesome, muchisimas gracias. I'll photodocument.

Poonam wrote
at 5:51am June 7th, 2006
photo-documentation would be greatly appreciated, as your sister and i are both far too lazy to come up with new foodblog material.

Kiran wrote
at 1:30pm June 7th, 2006
For sure. I'm trying to figure out if I can make 'rum apple' pie.

Kiran wrote
at 1:30pm June 7th, 2006
Which basically means rum with a pie chaser.

Kiran wrote
at 11:32pm June 8th, 2006
There is pieful glory updated.

Editor's Note: What follows is Kiran's pictures and commentary on his Adventures in Pie

I make decent pie, even when janked thanks to lack of rolling pinnage. Imagine what I could do with proper tools.What I mean to say is - I didn't have a rolling pin to roll out the crust. I used a metal lid and lots (and I mean lots) of flour. Those and my hands.Yeah, my hands were useful in making this pie.

I realized it looks un poco sketch. It tastes better than it looks.
Location: My Kitchen Table

And here, it must be mentioned, the ever elusive Keerthi appears to make a comment...

Keerthi wrote
at 11:40pm June 8th, 2006
ur pie es més que un poc sketch, és MOLT sketch. encara t'estimo xoxoxoxoxo

I concur. Then again, I don't speak/read/write Spanish; I base my concurment on the appearance of the words "pie" and "sketch" in that sentence. This is a pie and it is sketch. But I have a strong feeling that it was delish, especially with the addition of ice cream!

So YAY KIRAN for being brave enough to try one of our recipes! Post-pie discussion follows...

Poonam wrote
at 6:03am June 9th, 2006
hint --
lacking rolling pin?
use wine bottle. or vodka bottle. or random whole foods brand sparkling water bottle. basically use a glass bottle. it works well.

Kiran wrote
at 10:13am June 9th, 2006
Another problem was that I added too much water in the beginning, since I was impatient with the stirrage. I ended up compensating witih flour. I'm making a second pie today; I'll be rolling pinning it and adding more flour beforehand.

Hopefully we'll have some more photos and/or words of baking wisdom from Kiran in the near future re: PIE.

And keep watching this space kids -- there will be further guest posts in the near future.

I See, You See, We All See Sushi

2006-04-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to find the best Japanese food on the East Coast. Living on the West, I was spoilt for choice (both in terms of quality and price). One decent venue, Sushi Lounge, is really a decent choice for sushi in Manhattan. On Saturday night, my little brother Kiran, my friend Troy, and myself decided that sushi sounded just the thing for dinner. This was, in part, prompted by a large and greasy breakfast/lunch in Harlem that afternoon (I had Chicken and Waffles... mmm chicken + waffle = love).

Anyways, after all that grease, raw fish and rice seemed like a good/healthy choice. So off we went to Sushi Lounge in the East Village. The real trick at Sushi Lounge is to order more than 8 dollars per person (and more than 18 dollars total) worth of sushi. At this point, the price of every order of sushi is halved. Thus, 18 dollars of sushi becomes 9 dollars! Thats fantastic! Amazing! Mindblowing! Now, Sushi Lounge really doesn't do Nigiri, and their speciality rolls are around 7 bucks each (reg. price). But still, really, half price sushi. And drinks are half price after 10 pm. Arrive late, order a lot, eat with a friend, its worth it.

See? See how much we enjoyed it? We couldn't restrain ourselves for long enough to take a pre-demolishment photo. Sad, but you can alleviate this sadness by visiting Sushi Lounge.

The Sushi Lounge
132 Saint Marks Place (St. Mark's and Ave A)
(212) 598-1188
New York, NY

Easter means Cadbury Creme Eggs

2006-04-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

Easter clearly means Cadbury Creme Eggs. What else could Easter mean? Peeps you say? NO! Creme Eggs! Preferably popped into the freezer, until their outer chocolate is hard, even brittle, and the gooey fondant white/yolk has solidified into an egg-shaped fondant treat. And Peeps? Peeps are the love child of the Michelin Man and the El Pollo Loco Chicken -- the acidly marshmallow children unwanted by either parent, they find their way to the unassuming shelves of your local shop and from there to the Easter baskets of poor, innocent, and unsuspecting children. Its all quite sad, really. I propose that this year every American parent does their child a favor and buys them Creme Eggs instead.
But back to the central point. The joys of the Creme Egg are unbounded. First, you bite off the top and there is chocolate and a little bit of fondant...you think hmmm, interesting. The next bite is almost entirely fondant, with just a hint of yolk and then the final joyous bite, the base, is a chocolate-fondant amalgamation of such unbearable perfection that I cannot even describe it. The only thing that might possibly be better than a frozen Cadbury Creme Egg is a Cadbury Creme Egg Car...

Redesign News

2006-03-26T11:58:00.000-08:00

Two Brown Girls has undergone a minor cosmetic procedure. However, while our colour scheme may have changed, our layout remains essentially the same. One fun new addition is an RSS feed, available from the sidebar. Other changes (improvements, really) are coming up so stay tuned!

Dulce de Leche Madelines and Desperate Housewives

2006-03-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned my deep and intense love for Desperate Housewives?

No?

Well since the advent of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy my Sunday nights have officially become sacred, off-limits to other plans, completely devoted to slavish adoration of the miracle that is prime-time programming.

This particular Sunday I happened to be back at home for Spring Break, and with a dire craving for something sweet coupled with a complete unwillingness to leave the house in search of Ben and Jerrys, I decided to do a little experimenting. After all, its not that often that I have the wonders of their kitchen to exploit. And thus, Dulce de Leche Madelines were created. (Ignore the giant pot of curry my dad decided to make in a classic incidence of brown welcome-home cooking).

Really, they're quite amazing -- slightly sticky little bites with just the right of carmelization on the exterior and an oh-so-tender cake-y interior. I kept it light on vanilla, because I really wanted the dulce de leche taste to come through, and I think throwing in the brandy really worked (although I always think throwing in a little booze works).

Dulce de Leche Madelines (All amounts are approximate!)
1 Can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1/2-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of coarse salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
Slug of brandy
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
scant 1/4 cup white sugar (I may have used even less than this, the condensed milk really is SWEET)
Madeline Pans (2)
Nonstick spray

Preheat oven to 375F.

Combine the softened butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add the vanilla and the condensed milk. In a seperate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (You can sift them together, but I find sifters a pain to clean, so my quick and dirty trick is to dump them all in a bowl and aggravate the mixture with a whisk).

Using a spoon (nothing dinky, I grabbed a big basic serving spoon from the cutlery drawer and it was perfect) add the flour mixture into the liquid mixture. Continue adding until you have something that looks like pancake batter (it'll be a little stickier/heavier/gooier feeling than pancake batter when you stir due to the condensed milk). Add that slug of brandy. Let the batter sit for a minute while you prep the pans.

Spray the madeline pans with nonstick spray. This was pure laziness on my part (I usually grease and flour pans properly, but it was 825 dammit and I wanted these done before the show!), feel free to grease your pans however you please.

However, I made an interesting discovery (Que sidenote music here). I grabbed the first cooking spray I found in the pantry, Crisco all purpose, sprayed the first pan with it, filled it and stuck it in the oven. Then I put my head back into the pantry and discovered Pam with Flour (For Baking! as the label informs me), treated the second pan with it, filled it, and baked that.

Guess what? Crisco all-purpose pretty much sucks for baking delicious and slightly sticky treats in madeline pans. Witness my pain!

Pam with flour? A joy! A revelation! Clearly, those people at Pam know whats up.

Anyways, let the pans sit for a minute, then slide the madelines out while theyre a bit warm (using a dull implement to assist should they prove slightly stubborn) and enjoy!

Oh, and if you make the mistake of using Crisco on your pans then forget the knife. Just bring them to the couch with you and eat the sweet carmelized cakey goodness right out of the tins with your hands. After all, its just you and the ladies of Wisteria Lane, right?

Ikea! Trip!

2006-02-11T21:35:00.000-08:00

Oh no! I've been caught.

So we went to Ikea with our favourite adopted orphan child/general pack mule, Kevin. In addition to the random non-food related things that are inevitably acquired on such a trip, I bought frozen Swedish Meatballs and Salmon Pate in a Tube. And we ate hot dogs. In the plural. As in, we ate three apiece. Except for Keerthi, who opted for two hot dogs and the hugest cinnamon bun ever. Here you see her attempting to juggle her omnipresent gold clutch with the remnants of said cinnamon bun and the two hot dogs which she proceeded to DROWN in condiments. But those hot dogs were good. So good. I want one now. But instead all I have in my kitchen is:
-a lot of 50 cent dinnerware
-inexplicably unsealable ikea tupperware
-frozen Swedish Meatballs
-Salmon Pate in a Tube
I think Kevin summed the Ikea Experience up the best when he said:
"how could i say no to the walk of hell to port authority, a smelly mass of new jersians, awful cafeteria food, and hauling around keerthi's shelves? i'm there!"

Ikea
www.ikea.com
1000 Ikea Dr
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
(908) 629-0318
(Free bus service available to and from Manhattan Port Authority on weekends)

A look back at Hearth (Manhattan Dining)

2006-02-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

When my parents came to New York (ostensibly to help me move in), they fulfilled all parental culinary obligations by taking me out to a series of restaurants far out of my student budget limits. And I'm FINALLY blogging a few of them.

First off, Hearth.
Hearth is a place I've wanted to try for awhile. I've walked by, admired the menu online, and drooled over the Amateur Gourmet's reviews.
So off we went to Hearth for dinner.
The bar and main dining room were filled with the usual twenty-something with martinis in hand, but we were thankfully led to the narrow back room where the kitchen is located -- much better.

To start, we all shared an really yum appetizer of fresh sardines. Yes, sardines. I LIKE sardines. And these were really good, fresh, with a citrusy-vinegary dressing/sauce on them.

We all also had our own individual appetizers (Soup and Salad for the parents and I believe i had a Rabbit Rillette but I'm not entirely sure). These were decent, but not earth shattering.

For my plat principle i had the duck pappardelle. It was good, a stick-to-your bones type of pasta, but a little salty. I'd order it again, but the crappy cameraphone photos of it were, unfortunately, a little TOO bad, even for me to post. Instead, I give you my Dad, suspiciously examining his food.

And then we met the Chef. Who I, sadly, didn't take a picture of. But he was very charming and he knew about food blogs! So points to Hearth for that.

Dessert was good, and they were very sweet about making a few changes for me (I subbed out my peanut butter ice cream because, well, I didn't want to die)

But then, disaster. The coatcheck somehow managed to lose my favourite black sweater. Really sad, but they DID send me a check for it last week, so I suppose everything worked out in the end.

So all in all? Hearth may not have been the most orgasmic meal ever, but it was comfy, well-prepared food and I'd proabably visit again.

Hearth
403 East 12th Street
New York, NY 10009
(646) 602-1300
Sun-Thurs 6-10pm
Fri-Sat 6-11pm
Reservations accepted.

A Non-Food Note:

2006-01-27T08:33:00.000-08:00

Pete Doherty really needs to stop getting arrested. Seriously.

Tartine

2006-01-08T15:52:00.000-08:00

San Francisco, with heaps of artisanal bakeries + artisanal cheesemakers + organic produce, is a great place to have brunch. To be fair, it's a great place to have any meal, but there's just something really great about lazy city brunches. So last Wednesday, sunglasses on and eyeliner applied, Keerthi, Katie (our resident Cracker!) and I tottered down to one of my favourite brunch spots.

Tartine is ostensibly a bakery, and certainly their bread and pastries are AMAZING, but to only label it as such fails to encompass the JOYS of their selection. Also on offer are more substantial selections including Croque Monsieurs, Pain de Jambon, and House-blend Muesli. The space itself is cozy, filled with large, wooden communal tables and smaller bistro tables-for-two. Looking around at the lack of seating (a common problem at Tartine, even on a weekday), we spied an opening at one of the handful of tables that line the sidewalk outside the restaurant, and chose to brave the slightly chilly San Francisco weather rather than wait for a table inside. I chose the Pain de Jambon, essentially a croissant filled with ham and Gruyere cheese.

Keerthi and Katie both opted for the Croque Monsieur, a hearty slice of dense artisanal bread topped with gruyere cheese and bechamel sauce. Katie chose the plain version while Keerthi opted to add thick slices of ham and spinach to hers. I took a picture of Keerthi's because it was prettier, but then I'm fickle like that.

And it was, really a very satisfying, if chilly, lunchtime.

Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana

2005-11-18T17:53:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try to make up for being a bad, bad, bad brown food blogger by posting about several different restaurants over the next few days -- complete with requisite crappy camera phone pictures. Again, bad food blogger, what can I say? So yeah, I'm Keerthi, and I'm the New York half of Two Brown Girls, woooooo.

TAQUERIA Y FONDA LA MEXICANA

As a native Californian now living in New York City, one of the things I miss most about home is the easy access to plentiful, cheap, authentic Mexican food. In general, I've found that New York kind of sucks for that. That's why I was so happy to hear my ex-roommate, Lindsey, rave about this restaurant, and to finally get a chance to try it with my friend Lauren.

And now, after only a handful of visits, I'm offically obsessed with this place. Whenever my friends and I start walking downtown in search of food, we can barely make it five blocks before I burst out with an exuberant "Ooooh, TAQUERIA?!?!?" (It's always either that or "....OMG SAJI'S!!!!! LET'S GO TO SAJI'S!!!!" But discussing my undying, bordering-on-obscene love for Saji's is going to require a whole post of its own.)

Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana claims to serve authentic cuisine from Southewestern Mexico, and while I don't know enough about that region to tell how accurate that claim is, I do know enough about food to tell you that what they serve here is great. On our first visit there, Lauren and I shared the Chicken Pipian ("Pumpkin-seed sauce with a touch of cilantro & herbs... served with rice, beans, salad & freshly made tortillas") and the Chicken Torta ("Made on a roll of Bolillo bread, and prepared Mexican-style with refried beans, tomatoes, fresh avocado, onions, jalapenos, lettuce, cheese & the ingredient of your choice"). Both were absolutely great. I was a bit surprised by the pumpkin-seed sauce on the Chicken Pipian; I'd expected it to taste like pumpkin, even though I know that doesn't make any sense... but instead, it tasted like a really flavorful, but normal, green sauce. The chicken in that dish was surprisingly tender and juicy, and Lauren and I scraped our plates clean.

I enjoyed the Chicken Torta so much that I've ordered it like, three times since then, and it's never disappointed me. The bread is soft and the chicken flavorful, and the assortment of condiments and other toppings make for a much more interesting sandwich than any boring PBJ you might oridinarily throw together at home. Wait, that's a lie, I'm actually kind of obsessed with creating glorious, unusual sandwiches at home... but that, too, is a whole other post.

The restaurant is small and always crowded with university students on the lookout for a filling, tasty meal on the cheap, so be prepared to wait outside for a bit. Once you get inside, though, the delicious food is always, always worth the wait.

My half of our delicious chicken torta sandwich (click for full-size).

Another view.

Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana (Menupages link)
968 Amsterdam Ave. (Between 107th and 108th St.)
New York, NY 10025
(212) 531-0383

I Finally Did IT

2005-10-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

I had dinner at Manresa. It was glorious. I took one look at the menu and said "Tasting Menu!" and from there it was a crazy food adventure. Oh, and I had "The Egg" (i.e. the Soft Egg with Maple Syrup and Sherry Vinegar) which was JOY. No pictures, I was too busy enjoying the party in my mouth. But it was a lovely and amazing dinner. (And thanks to my dad, who was nice enough to join me in my fun!)

Manresa
320 Village Lane
Los Gatos, CA
408.354.4330

Cupcaking JOY

2005-10-17T00:23:00.000-07:00

Proving that we are in fact connected on so many levels, Keerful and I both have had incidences of Cupcake Joy lately.

While she enjoyed a TOWER of cupcakiness, I encountered a cupcake of amazing quality at Joan's on Third in L.A. Chocolately goodness covered with coconutty creamy topping. mmmmm.

Keerful, I hope your Cupcake Experience of Joy was equally as astounding as mine.

Joan's on Third
350 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Cross Streets: Between Orlando Avenue and Sweetzer Avenue

Brown Food

2005-10-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

Given our status as Brown Girls, I felt that it was about time we had a post about Brown Food. So when I went home to SF this weekend, I made sure to hit up Shalimar (otherwise known as The Best North Indian/Punjabi Food Dive In The Greater Bay Area).

Shalimar is located in the heart of the Tenderloin, in an area I like to call "The Curry Triangle." There are at least 6 different Indian restuarants and 2 halal butchers within this 3 block radius. However, Shalimar is considered by many to be the most tasty, and certainly the line during weekend dinners attests to this. The key is to ignore the restaurant's lack of frills -- it's an old joke that the authenticity is so great that when a major appliance is turned on the lights all flicker, just like in the old country (this is, unfortunately, true -- just remember, pre-war buildings are never known for the quality of their wiring, regardless of the type of cuisine served within them).

Now, this food, as a cuisine, is not known for its subtlety. These flavours hit you in the mouth with all the force of Mike Tyson (I assume. I've never been hit in the mouth by Mike Tyson. But after the job he did on that guy's ear, I'm sure that being hit in the face by him would be an intense experience). Shalimar is also not noted for their vegetable dishes -- in a land of many different groups, religions, and cultures, Punjabis have always stood out for the amount of meat and dairy they consume. This affinity with animal product shows itself in the sheer size of most Punjabis. However, this is an incidental fact that really has no point besides the recommendation of the author to order meat at Shalimar. A lot of meat. Not to say that the vegtable dishes on offer aren't outstanding in their own right -- my particular favorites include the Bhindi, an okra dish that is often a daily special, and the spicy chickpeas, known variously as Cholay or Channa. But the meat dishes are truly what Shalimar prides itself on.

On this visit, we (my brother, my Dad, and myself) ordered:
1. Chickpeas
2. Chicken Koftas (Chicken meatballs in a thin sauce)
3. Tandoori Lamb Chops (Lamb chops cooked slowly in a tandoor oven)
4. Seekh Kebabs (A spicy kebab made out of ground lamb and beef)
5. Beef Nihari (A slow cooked curry of beef, with a rich dark sauce)
6. Haleem
7. Rice
8. Naan (Bread cooked in a tandoor oven)

Instead of providing comprehensive reviews of all the dishes (they were ALL excellent by the way) I'm going to focus on describing #6. Haleem. Possibly my favourite food in the entire world. It's creamy and meaty and spicy all at once. It's great with rice. It's great with bread. It tastes good hot or cold and has so much protein that Dr. Atkins would proabably propose to it on the spot. It's the perfect food for when you're hungover and really don't feel like chewing much and it's an even better food when you're drunk and just want to put as much food into your mouth as quickly as possible. Essentially, to me Haleem is life.

All meals come with an Indian "salad" of chopped onions and chilis. While you must order at the counter, your dishes are brought to you as they are prepared, as are utensils and plates. Water is available free of charge from the large fridge against the side wall, and the masala tea (known also as chai) is always fresh and hot.

So go to Shalimar. And order the haleem.

Shalimar
532 Jones St (cross street O'Farrell)
San Francisco, CA
(415)928-0333

Adventures in Dim Sum: Manhattan Chinatown

2005-09-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Currently, I am visiting Keerthi in New York, and it is joyous.

On Saturday we went to Dim Sum. We searched and searched through Chinatown until we came across a place that looked promising. That is to say, it looked both a) Cheap and b) Unlikely to give us salmonella/E.coli/trichinosis. The restaurant did, in fact, greatly resemble a diner that had seen better days, but we had great faith in it, based mainly on the fact that they were still serving dim sum when we wanted it in the late afternoon. And it was REALLY cheap. Here's the menu --

Unfortunately, by the time we remembered our cameras....

Quality greasy Saturday afternoon dim sum on the cheap.

Sun Hop Shing Tea House
21 Mott Street
New York, New York
212-267-2729
Subway Stop: Canal St.

Apple Pie

2005-09-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

We made pie and it was glorious. The apples came from a tree in Keerthi's backyard, the kitchen + oven + previous pie-making prowess from yours truly. Not finding a recipe that sounded both edible and achievable, we researched, fiddled, and came up with the following.

Fantabulous Apple Pie
Pie Crust adapted from BetterBaking.com
4 cups all purpose flour
6 ounces (3/4 cup) butter or shortening
6 ounces (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 egg, optional
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 3/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup ice water
+1 egg for brushing pie crust

Filling from 101 Cookbooks
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and each cut into 10 wedges
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

To make the crust:
Place flour in a large mixing bowl. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture is crumbly - a not so even mixture of little and larger lumps of flour covered fat. Stir together egg, sugar, and salt, and lemon juice. Make a well in center of flour and fat. Stir in egg mixture and drizzle in most of ice water. Using a fork or fingers, toss mixture together to moisten flour. Stir to make a soft mass and pat into a dough. Add remaining (or additional) ice water as required to make sure dough sticks together.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead very briefly into a smooth dough. Divide dough in 2 portions (for two double crusts) or 4-5 portions (for 4-5 single crusts) [we made one double crust pie and two single crust pies, and decided the double crusts looked and tasted a lot better] and wrap each section well by wrapping first in plastic wrap and then insert into a ziplock bag. Refrigerate the dough at least one hour or up to two days (or freeze).

To assemble the pie:
Put a large baking sheet on middle oven rack and preheat oven to 425F.
Whisk together flour, zest, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl. Gently toss with apples and lemon juice.

Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Refrigerate while you roll out dough for top crust.

Roll out remaining piece of dough on lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round.

Spoon filling into shell. Cover pie with pastry round. Press edges together, then crimp decoratively. [Basically, we just draped the second piece of crust over the top of the pie, cut off the overhang, and then kind of squished the edge of the dough to the edge of the pie tin. It seemed to work pretty well.] Lightly brush top of pie with beaten egg. With a small sharp knife, cut 3 vents in top crust.

Bake pie on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes [IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL! Remember, this pie is filled with apple-y goodness just waiting to bubble over and create a sticky gooey mess in your oven]. Reduce oven temperature to 375F and continue to bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes more. Cool pie on a rack to warm or room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.