Cooking week 1! Potato soup and Coconut Cream Pie!

The first day I made supper, I chose to do a simple potato soup, bread, and salad. For dessert I made a coconut cream pie, which was my favorite of the night. Here are the recipes:

Pennsylvania Dutch Potato Soup

2 cups diced potatoes
2 tablespoons onion
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes in 1 cup water for 15 minutes or until tender. Brown onion on margarine; blend in flour. Add 1/2 cup milk. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add flour mixture, seasonings and remaining milk to potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Note from Rachel: this recipe is easy to make for a larger amount of people, this recipe feeds about two to three people, and I double it to feed six.

Italian Bread

1 package yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon salt
6 cups flour

Soften yeast in lukewarm water in large bowl; stir in salt. Add flour gradually, mixing well. Turn dough onto floured surface; knead for 15 minutes. Place in greased bowl; cover. Let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Turn onto floured surface; knead for 5 minutes. Divide dough into 2 parts; cover. Let rest for 10 minutes. Shape dough into long tapering loaves; place on baking sheet. Let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; bake for 20 minutes longer.

These recipes are from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking.



Coconut Cream Pie

10-inch pie crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
3 tablespoons cold water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift flour ans salt together into a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender, or your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Sprinkle with water and gather dough together. Press firmly into a ball. Roll out into a circle 1 inch larger then the pie pan you will be using. Fit dough into pie pan and prick bottom and sides with a fork. Leave a generous amount of crust around pan and pinch to form a high, scalloped edge. Bake until crust is golden.

Pie Filling:

5 eggs
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup coconut flakes, or canned coconut
4 cups mild
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup cornstarch

Separate eggs, putting whites in a bowl big enough for them to be whipped. Put 3 cups mild into a saucepan over low heat but do not allow it to boil. Put sugar, salad, and cornstarch in a bowl. Stir in remaining milk, 1/4 at a time. Beat egg yolks with fork and stir them into sugar-milk mixture. Pour this mixture slowly into heating milk. Raise flame to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Add vanilla and coconut and mix well. Whip egg whites with 2 tablespoons sugar until stuff but not dry. Pour filling into baked pie shell. Spread meringue over filling. Bake meringue at 350 degrees until meringue turns golden. Be sure to watch your pie while baking the meringue because it will go from golden brown to burnt fast!

Note from Rachel: I loved this pie, and found it was pretty easy to make, just watch that meringue!

I found this recipe in Great Cooking Ideas.


Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you'll try one of the recipes! If you have any recipes for me to try, or tried one of mine, please comment and tell me about it!

~Rachel~
Kid Chef