Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Pie

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This very old-fashioned pie is as delicious as it is rich. Back in the day, not much in the kitchen was wasted, and if egg yolks were used, frugal housewives found someway to use the whites as well. Refrigerator space was limited, and if you were making a custard-base dessert, meringue was the easiest and most logical way to use them up. This pie is simple to make, but it can be made easier still by substituting whipped topping for the meringue, and while this is a near effortless dessert, there are time constraints that you have to keep in mind should you decide to make it. It needs to chill for at least 6 hours before it can be neatly sliced. I suggest you keep the slices smaller than usual, because this is a very rich pie and one that can give credence to the old saw, "too much of a good thing". If you like peanut butter desserts, I suspect you will love this one. Here is how it is made.

Snackin' Good Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...What do a flower and a cookie have in common?  The blossom you see comes from a Datura plant that the Silver Fox has grown on our deck.  It doesn't flower readily and when it's not in bloom, its foliage looks suspiciously like that of a marijuana plant. However, if you can coax it into blooming it affirms that ducklings, even ugly ones, can become swans. While the ingredients used to make the cookie will never produce a feast for the eyes, the homely combination of chocolate, oatmeal and peanut butter will produce a culinary swan that's guaranteed to please the palate of snackers regardless of their ages. These cookies are extremely easy to make and they are great to serve to children following school or practice. They happen to be a favorite of mine because they are without pretense. What you see is what you get and what you get is old-fashioned goodness that I think you will love. Here is how these simple cookies are made. 

Menu for the Week of September 7, 2014

Weekly Menu at One Perfect Bite... 

Frugal Foodie Friday - Curried Tomato and Peanut Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Summer refuses to let go. The Silver Fox and I are in a 10,000 step program and we were out the door shortly after first light this morning. The thermometer outside the door read 47 degrees F, and I mean to tell you it was chilly. The Fox is not a morning talker, so as we walk I usually ward off boredom with thoughts of meal planning or the mental creation of recipes that I hope will wow my immediate world. Under the circumstances, soup seemed like a pretty good bet for lunch or dinner today. I'm still no where near ready for the heavy soups and stews of winter, but I am entertaining thoughts about their lighter cousins and decided to make a pantry soup for our lunch. The original version of this soup comes from Epicurious.com, and while I've made changes to it over the years, it still remains their soup and it's one worth sharing. While it is inexpensive to make and easy to prepare, the best thing about the recipe is that it makes a delicious soup in a quantity that's perfect for a small family. One spoonful of this lovely curried soup will forever spoil you and you'll never look at canned soup in the same way again. I've cut back on the amount of liquid used in its preparation, so it is thicker than the original version. If you prefer a thinner broth use more chicken or vegetable stock to get the consistency you want. The recipe calls for Madras curry powder which usually is quite hot and spicy. If the curry powder you use is a milder variety, you might want to add a pinch of cayenne pepper or some pepper flakes to pep up the flavor of your soup. If you want to use the soup as a main course, add a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas to the pot and just heat them through. I do hope you'll give this Frugal Friday feature a try. It takes 15 minutes to prepare and costs less than $5 to make. Chances are you have all the ingredients you need to make the soup in your pantry and that saves you a trip to the store. It is perfect for these cusp days of early fall. By the time we were ready for lunch, the thermostat had climbed to 88 degrees and I was really grateful for the satisfying lightness of this very special tomato soup. Here is how it is made.

Apple, Cranberry and Walnut Bread + Mimolette (Cantalope Cheese)

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a wonderful bread, but it may not be to everyone's liking. I make and serve it with fruit and cheese, but only to close friends and family whose tastes I know. Despite the apples, this is not a sweet bread and I use it in place of crackers to serve with sharp Cheddar or the Edam-like, Mimolette, which, because of its shape and color, is also known as cantalope cheese. There is more about Minolette following the recipe below. The bread is simple to make, and, if you have a stand mixer, it will do most of the work for you. The loaves are well-flavored and have a crust that offers only slight resistance to the tooth. The bread is a moderately good keeper, and while it makes excellent toast, I do have a caution to share with you. Use your broiler or a toaster oven if you decide to use the bread for toast. Pieces of fruit tend to slough off the bread slices and they will burn in a standard toaster. The aroma of your morning coffee can't fight with that of burnt fruit.The bread is also wonderful with goat or cream cheese. I do hope the adventurers among you will try this bread. I think you'll really enjoy it. Here is how it's made.

Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Can there be too much of a good thing? Each of you, I'm sure, has an answer that depends on your personal experience and disposition, but one thing is for sure, at least when it comes to the kitchen and its happenings, someone out there is shooting for the moon. I have thirteen recipes for chocolate chip cookies, at least that many for meatloaf, and we won't speak of the contents of my bean soup collection. Why, when I already have recipes that are perfect, do I continue to try and best them? I view it as my contribution to the economy. Somewhere, in some test kitchen, there is a recipe developer or cook who owes their job to me. I had that thought when I made these lovely cookies. Sugar cookies are a favorite of mine, and despite the fact that I already have a recipe that would make the gods swear off ambrosia, I couldn't resist the temptation to try just one more version. The recipe that was my undoing was developed in the Cook's Illustrated test kitchen, and it used a technique that was so new to me that I simply had to give it a try. Did and done. Now, I must tell you that while my personal favorite cookie, which you can find here, has not been displaced, this is a wonderful sugar cookie and I know you will love it. The only suggestion I would make is to cut back on the amount of lemon extract that is used in the recipe. The next time I make these, I plan to use only a quarter of the extract called for in the ingredient list. Lemon extract is very strong and when combined with the amount of zest produced by a large lemon, the combination borders on overkill and I think it produces a slightly metallic taste. Others may not have the same reaction. The recipe is sound and the cookie is delicious. Do give the recipe a try. Here is how these chewy cookies are made.

Table for Two - Pork Cube Steaks with Peppers and Tomatoes

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple and delicious main course, which can be on the table in about 30 minutes, is perfect for two people. Most large grocery chains now carry pork cube steaks and they make a wonderful addition to the shopping carts of those who cook for small families. The steaks cook quickly, and because they are usually sold in quantities limited to two or three steaks per package, there is no need to be concerned with over-buying. Tonight's recipe is simple and easy to follow. I think those of you who are looking for recipes scaled to feed two or three people will love pork prepared in this manner. It makes a great and satisfying dinner entree that is perfect for the cooler days ahead. I like to serve the steaks with a brown rice pilaf and steamed green beans or carrots. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. I think you'll be pleased with the results. Here is how the steaks are made.

My collection of Table for Two Recipes will be moved to a tab beneath the blog header this afternoon.

Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have apple fever, and today, following a visit to a local orchard, I officially opened my fall kitchen. Jars of cinnamon and nutmeg moved to the front of the spice cabinet where they now share space with the other pumpkin spices, ginger, clove and allspice. I have some new apple recipes that I want to test this fall, and I can't wait for their familiar aromas to perfume my kitchen. Time prevented me from trying any of the more complicated recipes today, but this easy one, from Nina Simonds, was perfect to get me started. It is a coffee cake that can be served for breakfast or dessert. It is a moist sweet cake that I think is best when served warm, but warm or cold, it is delicious. It is simple to make and I know you will enjoy it, and should you decide to make it, I suspect its aroma will drive you wild. This is a great season-starter recipe. Keep your apple slices thin to insure they cook through and make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin to make the cake. I used a one piece tube pan to bake mine. To insure easy release, I lined the bottom of the pan with parchment paper that I also greased and floured. If you are ready for the heady aromas of the fall kitchen, this cake is a perfect way to start. Here is how the cake is made.