The Old Farmer's Almanac 2015 (5 page)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

For filling:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 cup of the chocolate chips and heat for a few seconds more, then remove from the heat. Tilt the pan to make the butter run over the chips. Set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk to smooth the chips.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugars, and vanilla and whisk until evenly blended. Add the melted chocolate and whisk to blend. Add the flour and salt and stir until combined. Add the nuts and the remaining ⅓ cup of chocolate chips. Scrape the filling into the piecrust and smooth the top.

Bake on the center oven rack for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a crust develops and the pie rises slightly. (A toothpick inserted into the center will not come out clean.)

Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm.
Makes 8 to 10 servings
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Winners in the 2014 Carrot Recipe Contest

Thanks to the hundreds of entrants who made choosing the prize recipients another delicious dilemma. Try these recipes and tell us at
Almanac.com/Feedback
if you think that they’re winners!

FIRST PRIZE: $250

Carrot Ginger Soup

In a large soup pot, melt the butter. Add the leeks and sauté until they are soft. Add the carrot, potato, zest and juice of the orange, ginger, and brown sugar. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until softened.

Add the broth and milk and simmer for 20 minutes.

Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and purée in batches. Return to the soup pot.

Season with salt, sherry, and nutmeg, to taste. Serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
.

–
Ann Fine, Kansas City, Missouri

SECOND PRIZE: $150

Apple Cider Risotto With Carrot Confetti

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spread the carrot pieces and coins on a baking sheet in a single layer, drizzle with the olive oil, and toss to coat. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned but not crisp. Set aside, reserving the coins in a separate bowl.

Put the apple pieces into a bowl.

In a pan, bring the apple cider just to a boil, then pour it over the apple pieces and set aside for 3 minutes. Strain the apple pieces, reserve the cider, and add the apple pieces to the carrot pieces.

Add the wine to the reserved cider.

In a large pan, bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.

Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the rice and stir to coat each grain with butter. Add the cider-wine mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until all of the liquid is absorbed. Add the warm stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until the rice absorbs most of the liquid before adding more. Allow 25 to 30 minutes. Add the sage, carrot and apple pieces, cheese, and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir until the cheese melts.

Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with carrot coins and sage leaves.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
.

–
Mona Grandbois, Biddeford, Maine

THIRD PRIZE: $100

Spiced Carrot Biscuits With Salted Caramel Butter

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, ½ teaspoon of salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or pastry tool until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the carrots and ⅔ cup of buttermilk and stir just until combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle the dough with the raisins. Knead 10 times. Roll the dough to approximately a 1-inch thickness. Using a 2½-inch round cutter, press out biscuits, rerolling the dough as necessary.

Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush the tops with the remaining buttermilk. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat together the softened butter, caramel sauce, and remaining salt until combined. Serve with the biscuits.
Makes 12 biscuits.

–
Crystal Schlueter, Northglenn, Colorado

Enter the 2015 Recipe Contest: Dips & Spreads

Got a great dip or spread recipe? It could win!
See contest rules
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Everyone loves these five vegetables. Compiled by Almanac editors

I never yet ate any [vegetables] that so well suited my palate, as those taken immediately from my own garden.

–
Robert B. Thomas, founder and editor, The Old Farmer’s
Almanac (1766–1846)

According to a variety of sources, one or more of these vegetables appears on everyone’s “favorite vegetable” list. Whether you are a beginning gardener or a seasoned master, apply this time-tested advice for a tasty bounty.

Show Tomatoes Love

Ask neighbors and your local nursery for recommendations, especially for disease-resistant strains, or try heirlooms such as ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Green Zebra’, hybrids ‘Early Girl’ and All-America winner ‘Celebrity’, and quick-maturing cherries such as ‘Super Sweet 100’, ‘Sweet Million’, ‘Yellow Pear’, and ‘Jasper’ F1.

Start tomato seeds indoors about 6 weeks before planting time. Fill the containers just half full of soil. Once the seedlings emerge, fill in around the stems to encourage good roots.

Plant seedlings outside when evening temperatures are above 55°F. Tomatoes like warm weather.

If you purchase lanky seedlings, bury the stems horizontally up to the first two leaves when you plant them. Set the seedlings in a circle (like a wagon wheel). Then you can water and fertilize them through the center.

Water tomatoes at least once a week; keep the supply of moisture even. Just before harvesttime, reduce watering to boost the flavor intensity.

Tomatoes are heavy feeders and like rich soil, but too much fertilizer results in lots of leaves and no fruit. Fertilize with liquid seaweed or fish emulsion during the growing season.

Heirloom tomatoes need less fertilizer than hybrids. Instead, use a slow-release fertilizer or cottonseed meal.

Several weeks into the growing season, mulch the area around tomatoes with a thick layer of well-rotted hay, black plastic, or mulch. Thoroughly cover all of the soil between the plants to prevent soilborne diseases from splashing up onto the leaves during rainstorms.