More Pyrex Cinderella

        

        Pyrex Cinderella casserole dishes were introduced by the Corning Glass Works in the 1950’s, not long after Cinderella mixing bowls.  Like the bowls of the same name the casseroles had two pouring spouts/handles, and they were available in many of the same snappy colors and patterns.  Cinderella casseroles came in nesting sets of three: 1 quart, 1 1/2 quart, and 2 1/2 quart, all with glass lids.   

        I bought my first set, Homestead, in the late 70’s, and it lasted for many years.  While my kids were growing up these casseroles were almost always in use.  They were great for baked macaroni & cheese, rice pudding and other custard desserts, and for storing leftovers.  I can’t imagine a kitchen without them.  Unfortunately I misplaced my Homestead casseroles in a move several years ago.   But I have replaced them with the lovely Pink Gooseberry set, pictured above, which I bought at a flea market in upstate New York.  

        When we were purchasing the beautiful Pyrex kitchenware in the seventies and eighties we thought it would be around for ever.  I guess every generation makes the same assumption.  But then one day you turn around and discover that whatever you thought would always be there - is gone.  Maybe it’s no longer in fashion, or it is too expensive to produce, or it doesn’t fit in with “today’s life style”.  Alas, painted Pyrex has succumbed to the usual pressures of time; it has not been made since the 1980’s.  Happily, although it is not available at Macy’s or Bed Bath & Beyond, it is still available and affordable.  Just go to eBay or Etsy and type in Pyrex Cinderella Casserole.    

Fresh Spinach Souffle

I love spinach souffle, and have adapted this recipe from one that calls for cooked spinach.  It can be either a side dish or a main, so it is perfect if one of your dinner guests is a vegetarian.  

This is not a quick recipe, but if you love spinach souffle it is worth the effort!   And it is really not difficult.  Since quite a few utensils, pots & pans, bowls etc. are used, I recommend cleaning up as you go.  Otherwise your kitchen will be a disaster by the time you are finished.  When you are cooking for company there are almost always those who ask “Is there anything I can do to help?”  Obviously you are not going to reply, “Sure.  Would you mind making the souffle?”  But you could ask your guests to wash the dishes, if you like to have people in the kitchen while you cook.  It will make them feel useful.

Recipe- (will serve 6)

Equipment:

Food Processor (or you can chop by hand)

3 mixing bowls- small, medium & large

small saucepan

small frying pan

hand mixer

measuring cups and spoons

whisk, mixing spoons, sharp knife

1 1/2 quart baking dish + a larger baking dish to set it in (See separate post about Pyrex Cinderella Casseroles)

Ingredients-

9 oz. (or so) bag of fresh spinach

Small onion

3 eggs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup milk

2 Tbs. flour

2 Tbs. butter, + a little extra 

1/2 tsp. salt (or less)

1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions-

Preheat the oven to 350.

1. Chop the spinach, either in a food processor or by hand.  I use a food processor, and I chop in in 3 batches since it will not all fit in at once.  Place the finely chopped spinach in the large bowl; cover it and set it aside.

2. Chop the onion and saute it with a little butter in the small frying pan.

3. Separate the three eggs, with the whites in the medium bowl & yolks in the small bowl.

4. Measure 1/2 cup grated parmesan.  Set this aside, with the bowls of egg.

5. Now make the white sauce, as follows- 

    Over low heat, melt the 2 Tbs. butter in a small sauce pan.  Add the salt and pepper.  Then whisk in the 2 Tbs. flour.  Continue to cook for about half a minute, whisking continuously.  Slowly add the milk, still whisking, until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps.  Cook over low heat until the sauce thickens, whisking frequently.  

6. Add the sauteed onions to the white sauce.  Set this aside.

7. With your hand mixer, beat the egg yolks for a few minutes, until light colored.  Remove the beaters; wash them thoroughly and replace them in the mixer.

8. Combine the beaten egg yolks and hot white sauce as follows- Add a little of the white sauce to the egg yolks and stir.  Do this several times until the egg yolk mixture is warm.  Then stir the yolks into the white sauce.

9. Stir the combined sauce and the parmesan cheese into the chopped spinach.

10. With the hand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks will form, but not so much that it starts to break apart and float around.  

11. Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the spinach mixture. 

12. Spray the 1 1/2 qt. baking dish with Pam.  Then turn the souffle mix into it.

13. Place this baking dish in a larger baking dish or pan, and pour a couple of inches of hot water into the outer dish.

Bake for about 1 hour.  Check after 45 minutes.  The top should be brown, but obviously not burnt.  Test for doneness with a knife or cake tester.  Serve immediately, or at least fairly soon.

Leftover spinach souffle is great for lunch the next day.  Just cover it and put it in the refrigerator.  

If you have baked your souffle in a vintage Pyrex casserole dish, you will find the opalescent glass interior to be a breeze to clean!

Trip to a Quilt Shop & More

Yesterday my friend, Patty, and I drove up to Farmhouse Fabrics in Leechburg, PA.  Located in a circa 1900 farmhouse, this quilt shop is one of our favorite destinations.  Sylvia, the owner, is particularly interested in 19th century reproduction fabrics, and has stocked her shop with a wonderful selection.  Patty and I never have any trouble finding exactly what we are looking for, and then some.  We can spend hours looking at fabric, discussing the colors and patterns with each other and with the shop owner.  Last time we went to Farmhouse we bought different fabrics for the same wall quilt, which we have both finished.  Working on the same project was fun, and a good way to stay motivated.  As we worked we would text each other pictures of our progress.  My quilt is pictured above; here is Patty’s- 

There is something about fabric and sewing that has always been a source of comaraderie for women of all ages.  My sister, Ellen, and I grew up sewing together.  When we were very young we made clothes for our dolls and stuffed animals, and when were were teenagers we started sewing clothes for ourselves.  One summer Mom enrolled us in a sewing class at the local Singer store on Market Street.  There were six girls in the class: my sister & me, Anne & Ellen Woodbury, and Becky & Jane Kellington.   We may have driven the teacher crazy, but we girls had a great time as we worked on our sewing projects together.  

One of the skills we learned was how to alter a pattern.  I had selected a high waisted dress pattern with long, puffed sleeves, which I was making out of a lovely, blue flowered cotton fabric.  It would have been very appropriate for a woman living on the prairie in the 1800‘s to wear while she was milking cows, except that it only came to eight inches above the knee.  But the hemline was not a problem, at least not for this class.  The teacher decided that I had short arms, and showed me how to shorten the pattern for sleeves before cutting them out.  Although I had never thought my arms were especially short I went along with it; after all, she was the expert.  When I got the sleeves sewn onto the bodice- Surprise!- they were too short.  It was no problem though; she just showed me how to make the cuffs longer.  So I had just learned how to solve, and then un-solve, a problem that didn’t actually exist.  This has turned out to be a useful lesson, both in sewing and in life.

I still love sewing, but now I make aprons, tote bags, curtains, pillow shams, and other home accessories, and especially- quilts.  Making quilts appeals to my love of history, design and craftsmanship.  It’s something I can work on by myself, but it can also be a very social activity.  In a few weeks I will be going with some friends to Quilting Around Chautauqua, where we will spend the weekend shopping for fabrics and being inspired by the beautiful quilts on display.  As we walk around Chautauqua Institution we will discuss what we like and dislike about the show quilts, paying particular attention to any bizarre color schemes or seams that don’t quite match.  Then we can show off our fabrics, books, patterns and other fun purchases while we admire those things the others have bought.  If that isn’t female bonding I don’t know what is.  

How to Make a Pie- Part 3- Pie Crust & Assembly

The ingredients needed to make a delicious, flaky pie crust are very simple: flour, shortening, salt and water.  That’s it.

Flour- When I first started making pie crusts I used Gold Medal, or sometimes Pillsbury.  There were never any complaints.  About 15 years ago I attended a King Arthur Flour presentation, and by the time I left I was convinced that King Arthur was the best flour ever.  When I got home I threw out all my old flour, bought a bag of KA, and have been using it ever since.  Baked goods all turn out great with King Arthur flour.  Occasionally my grocery store runs out of it, in which case I buy Robin Hood, which is also pretty good.  Sometimes I also buy Bob’s Red Mill white flour since I like all their other products.  This flour is nice for most baking, but I don’t like it for pie crust because it makes a dough that is too soft and tricky to handle.  

Shortening-  I was raised in upstate New York where we had Fluffo shortening, so that is what I used.  It has not been produced for at least 10 years, so now I make pie crusts with Butter Flavor Crisco, which is great.  It’s not exactly a health food so don’t read the ingredients.  Just serve a quinoa arugula salad before the pie and you’ll be OK.  

Salt - You can use either sea salt or earth salt; it doesn’t matter.  But if you try to leave out the salt entirely the crust won’t taste right.

Water - Some recipes say to use ice water, but I never do.  Cold tap water is fine.

How to Make the Crust-

Pre-heat the oven to 425.  You may need to use an oven thermometer to make sure you  have the right temperature.  My oven is a little hot, so I set it to 400.  

Before you start on the crust it’s a good idea to put on an apron and take off your rings, if you have not done so before making the filling.  Then get out your equipment, as described in a previous post- a large bowl (I use the second largest one in the Pyrex Cinderella set), pastry blender, rolling pin, rolling cloth and rolling pin cover, measuring cups and spoons, table knife and fork. 

Measure about 2 1/4 cups of flour into the bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. salt and mix them together with a fork.  Then add 1 cup of shortening, which is available either in convenient pre-measured sticks or in a can.  If you are using canned shortening, as I am here, rinse both the cup measure and the table knife with cold water.  This makes it much easier to scoop the shortening out of the cup measure.  

Now cut the shortening into the flour with the pastry blender, using the table knife to keep the shortening from getting clumped onto the pastry blender.  Do this until the shortening pieces are about the size of small peas. 

Finally, sprinkle about 1/3 cup cold water into the dough and mix it with a fork.  Use a light touch and do not mash the dough.  

At this point the dough should stick together and there should be no dry flour left in the bowl.  Add a tablespoon or two of water if necessary, to make sure the dough will hold together.  If you are in doubt, it is better to err on the side of too much water rather than too little.  If the dough is a little too sticky because of too much water, this can be easily dealt with by using more flour for the roll out.  On the other hand too little water will yield a pie dough that will not hold together, at which point you will have a real problem on your hands when you go to assemble the pie.  So make sure you have added enough water.  Gather the dough into a ball, then divide this into two balls.  Make one slightly larger than the other.  

Roll Out Crust & Assemble the Pie     

I like to roll out pie crust on the kitchen table rather than a counter top.  Lay the rolling cloth out on the table and put the cover on the rolling pin.  Sprinkle flour on the cloth and rolling pin, and spread it around so both surfaces are coated with flour.  Place the larger ball of dough on the rolling cloth; press 

it down lightly.  

Begin rolling out the crust with light strokes, working from the center of the dough towards the edges.  After about 5 or 6 strokes, stop and neaten up the dough by gathering the edges toward the center a little.  Then continue with the roll out until the crust is at least an inch larger than the pie plate all the way around.  

Check by turning the plate over onto the rolled out crust.  

When you are satisfied that the crust is big enough carefully fold it in half, place it gently in the pie plate, and unfold it. 

Adjust the dough to settle it into the plate.

          Pour the filling into the crust.  You may need to taste the filling again to make sure it is still good.  

Then roll out the top crust.  Check the size by holding the filled pie plate over it.  Do not invert the pie plate this time as the filling will all fall out.  As you did with the bottom crust, fold the crust in half, place it over the filling, and unfold it.  

          And now here is one of my most important tips for making a flaky pie crust- Do not press the edges together!  Do not crimp or flute them.  This may be quite decorative, but it will make the crust tough.  Instead, use your fingers to roll the edges of the top crust gently over the edges of the bottom crust, working around the pie and trimming excess dough as necessary.  Here is another important tip-  Do not give the scraps of excess dough to your dog for a treat.  If you do he will pester you for dough scraps every time you make a pie.  It is already too late for this spoiled dachshund.  

          Once the pie is all assembled, cut a cross on the top with a sharp knife.  And before you put the pie in the oven, take it over to the sink and dab the edges with cold water to prevent them from burning.  

Bake the pie for about 35 minutes, more or less, depending on how well done you like it.  Here is a picture of my blueberry pie just after it came out of the oven, 

and again about 20 minutes later when my husband realized it was ready.  

Pies are rather fragile when they are fresh out of the oven, so unless your husband is more dextrous than mine do not allow him to cut into it, especially if he likes to cut it with a fork.  That can be a mess.  

          Fruit pies can be kept at room temperature for a few days, but I like to keep mine in the refrigerator if there is room.

How to Make a Pie - Part 2 - Filling

          When I am making a fruit pie I almost always make the filling first, then set it aside while I make the crust.  The procedure is pretty much the same for any kind of fruit pie.  You will need a large bowl, a small bowl, measuring cups and spoons, a fork and a large mixing spoon.  (I use the largest and smallest bowls from my Pyrex Cinderella set, as described in a previous post.)  Rinse the fruit, peel and cut it up if necessary, and put it in a large bowl.  I like to use plenty of fruit, and I often check to make sure there is enough by putting the cut up fruit into the pie plate without any crust. 

Once I am satisfied that I have enough fruit I pour it back into the large bowl and wipe out the pie plate. If I am making a blueberry pie I do this check before rinsing the fruit.  And I don't do this with a pie made from canned cherries as it would be too messy.  You are going to use the cherries you have in the three cans, no more & no less.   But getting back to my blueberry pie-

Next, mix together sugar, flour or corn starch, and spices in a small bowl.

Pour this over the fruit and stir them together. 

Finally, if I am making a cherry or strawberry pie, I add flavoring.  Occasionally I will add lemon juice to a blueberry pie filling.  Sample the filling to make sure it tastes good, and then set it aside.  

Below are my filling recipes for a standard nine inch pie.  If you are using a deep pie plate you will obviously have to increase the amounts.

Blueberry-

4 - 5 cups of fresh blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbs. corn starch or 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp mace 

Apple-     I use Macintosh when they are season, Granny Smith the rest of the year.

6 - 8 apples, or enough to fill the pie generously.  

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

 pinch of cloves

Strawberry- 

4 - 5 cups or more cut up strawberries

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbs corn starch or 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

Cherry- (It’s almost impossible to find good fresh pie cherries, so I use canned.)

3 cans tart cherries, drained

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbs cornstarch

1/2 tsp almond extract

Peach - 

6 - 8 peaches cut up

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour or 3 Tbs. cornstarch

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

How To Make a Pie- Part 1- Equipment

Pie making can be a difficult and frustrating endeavor if you don’t have the right tools.  Most of the basics are readily available at your local Bed Bath & Beyond; others can be ordered from Amazon.  It’s fun to buy fancy or vintage items at specialty shops and flea markets, or to order them from Etsy and eBay.  The photo above shows all the equipment you need to make a two crust, 9 inch fruit pie.  

Rolling Pin-  If you are going to the trouble of making a pie crust “from scratch”, do yourself a big favor and get the right rolling pin.  It need not be expensive.  You should find one that is made of smooth wood, is not too heavy, and spins easily.  I use a medium size J.K. Adams maple rolling pin from Vermont, but there are others on the market that are also very good.  Some have ball bearings, which can be nice.  A light touch is required for rolling out pie crust, so I don’t like rolling pins that are too heavy.  And you should always use a cloth rolling pin cover, so don’t waste your money on rolling pins made of marble or other heavy material unless you just like to collect rolling pins.  Oversized wooden rolling pins can be beautiful and are also great for your collection, but they are unwieldy to use and difficult to store.  As for the trendy “French rolling pins”, those may be wonderful for cookies, breads and other pastries, but not so great for pie crust.  

Rolling Cloth and Pin Cover- I’ve been making pies for over 40 years, and I have always  used a rolling cloth and rolling pin cover.  These sets used to be widely available, but now many stores seem to have replaced them with rolling mats made of plastic or silicone.  I bought one of those mats several years ago, used it once, and then threw it out.  Some people apparently love them.  I don’t get it.  All I can think of is that they may be using them for something other than pies.  There is one for sale at BB&B that recommends using it either for rolling out dough or for children’s crafts.  It would be much more suitable for the latter.

OK, so let’s assume you have purchased a rolling cloth and pin cover set.  Before using it for the first time you should put it through the washer and dryer.  They are cotton so they will shrink, and the rolling cloth will most likely need ironing.  (If this is too much trouble you probably should not be making pies from scratch.)  After the rolling pin cover has been washed and dried you can trim it to fit your rolling pin if necessary.

Pastry Blender-  I suppose if I were stranded on a desert island with no pastry blender I could make a pie without one, but I am not so I don’t have to.  This handy device enables you to cut the shortening into the flour without mashing the dough.  It costs about $5.00.  Of course if you live in a remote wilderness area without even a Walmart and you can’t wait for an Amazon Prime delivery, you can always improvise with two regular table knives.  

Mixing Bowls-  For a two crust fruit pie you will need two large bowls and one small one, preferably made of glass.  I like to use vintage Pyrex Cinderella bowls, described in the previous post, but new Pyrex clear glass bowls are fine.  

Pie Plate-  Use a glass, ceramic or stoneware pie plate.  The one in the picture above  is an old  Pyroceram 9 inch pie plate with the signature Corning cornflower.  I’ve had it forever.  These are not made anymore, but they are easy to find on Etsy and eBay.  I also have some clear Pyrex pie plates, but the Pyroceram one is much easier to keep looking nice.

Measuring Cups & Spoons-  Use metal measuring cups, not glass.

Other Utensils- large mixing spoon, paring knife, fork & knife from you flatware set 

Welcome

          Welcome to my blog!  My name is Moira, and I have been “home-making” since 1976.  Of course I have been doing other things also, but working on my home skills has been a constant in my life.  My three children, a son and two daughters, are grown up and have left the nest.  The daughters are both recently married; needless to say I have tons of advice to pass along to them as they set up housekeeping.  And last fall my son called me for my quiche recipe.  Apparently he had a new girlfriend whom he wanted to impress.  They are still together so the quiche must have been a success.

          I recently started to explain to one of my daughters how to make a delicious, Irish style fish chowder, and she said, “Mom, you should start a blog!”  Perhaps she wasn’t in the mood to hear about fish chowder right at that moment, or maybe she thought that all my words of wisdom should be preserved for posterity.  Either way, the idea of a blog appealed to me.  Now my kids, and anyone who wants to, can read my recipes, ideas, tips and advice any time they want to.    

          

Pyrex Cinderella Bowls

          In 1957 my family moved to Corning, N.Y. when Dad got a job at the Corning Glass Works. The baby boom was at its peak: I was 3, my sister was 2, and a new brother was born in April. That spring Disney re-released its block-buster hit from 1950- the animated feature film, Cinderella.  Also in 1957 a Rogers & Hammerstein musical called Cinderella, starring Julie Andrews, was written for and aired by CBS.  A few weeks later NBC broadcast the ballet, Cinderella, starring Margot Fonteyn.  Apparently we were all crazy about Cinderella back then.

          That same year, Corning Glass introduced a new style of painted Pyrex glass mixing bowl with a pouring spout on one side & a handle on the other.  Can you guess what they called this new style?  Cinderella, of course.  It’s a good thing Corning introduced its new product in 1957 and not 1959; Sleeping Beauty would have been a silly name for mixing bowls.  Lady and the Tramp (1955) wouldn’t have been that great either.  But getting back to Cinderella- the bowls came in sets of four; each set contained a small, medium, large and extra-large bowl.  And they were produced in a variety of fashionable colors and patterns. My mother has always used Cinderella mixing bowls in her kitchen, and when I set up house-keeping in 1976 these were the bowls I started with.  I still love them.

          Suppose you want to make your favorite quick bread or muffins.  Get out your beautiful Cinderella bowls!  You can whisk eggs in the small bowl, mix them into the liquids which you have combined in the medium bowl, then pour that mixture into the dry ingredients in the extra large bowl.  The opalescent white glass interiors are easy to keep sparkling clean, perfect for food preparation.  And there are lots of pretty exteriors from which to choose- including pinks & aquas from the 50’s, harvest golds & avocado greens from the 60’s, and earth tones from the 70’s.  In the 80‘s I bought a set of Homestead bowls, which looked great in my blue & white kitchen.  

          Painted Pyrex was not produced after the 1980’s, but the Cinderella bowls and other great vintage Pyrex pieces, many in very good or new condition, are easy to find on Etsy and eBay.  There really are tons of wonderful patterns available, and the prices are quite reasonable.  Once you start looking at them you won’t be able to resist ordering at least one set for your kitchen.  I recently bought a set of Butterfly Gold 2 pictured above, but you might prefer green Verde (my daughter has these), pink Gooseberry, or yellow/orange Daisy.  Then you will want to pack up your non-Pyrex mixing bowls and put them in the attic, or better yet- take them to Good Will.

          Like all vintage Pyrex glass, these mixing bowls should not be put in the dishwasher as this can cause the paint to wear off over time, but they are so nice you will not mind hand-washing them.  With proper care your set of Cinderella bowls should last forever, and if you do break or lose one of them you can probably find a replacement on eBay.    

For more fun facts about vintage Pyrex and other Corning Glass products, check out these excellent websites- Pyrex Love. and Corelle Corner.