< Previous50 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2022 GAME ON SOUTHERN AND SIMPLE These fried dove nuggets make a perfect appetizer or entree story, recipe and photo by CAPT. NATE SKINNER Y ou’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who will turn their nose up at a plate full of chicken nuggets, and that’s what makes this dove breast recipe so great. It puts a wild game twist on a classic dish that just about anyone will enjoy, and it’s just in time for dove hunting seasons opening across Texas this month. Just debone a pile of dove breasts, roll them in flour and season them generously. Then, drop them into a pot of sizzling oil and deep fry them to a golden brown crisp. The key is to not overcook the dove breast meat. Once the fried morsels float in the oil and have that perfect shade of golden brown goodness, they’re done. Overcooking them will make the meat chewy and tough. After they have been fried to perfection, pile them onto a plate or serving platter. Serve them as an appetizer or as the main entree. FRIED DOVE NUGGETS 1 pound dove breasts, deboned Peanut or vegetable oil Salt Pepper Ranch dressing or your favorite dipping sauce roll the dove breasts in flour until they’re completely covered. Season them with salt and pepper to taste. Drop them into a pot of peanut or vegetable oil that has been heated to about 320 F. Let them fry in the oil until they begin to float and have a crispy golden brown appearance. remove the nuggets from the pot of oil. Serve with ranch dressing or your favorite dipping sauce. DULCE DE LECHE ALFAJORES 1¼ cup corn starch 1 cup all-purpose flour 10 tablespoons butter, room temperature 2 egg yolks ½ cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 1 tablespoon cognac or brandy 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Zest of one lemon 1 jar or can dulce de leche (There are recipes on the internet for making your own by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk, if you want to try it.) Finely ground unsweetened coconut for coating Combine cognac, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Whisk together flour, corn- starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating until incorporat- ed. Add cognac mixture. Divide dough in half and role into cylinders about 1½ to 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic and chill for a minimum of 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice chilled dough into ¼-inch thick rounds. Place on parch- ment-lined baking sheets and bake until edges are browned. About 7-8 minutes. Cool completely. After cooling, turn half of the cookies over and spoon enough dulce de leche to cov- er. Top with other half. Press until dulce de leche is all the way to the edge and then roll edge in coconut so it adheres to the filling. 52 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SePTeMber 2022 DESSERT ISLAND SWEET SANDWICHES Alfajores are Argentina’s most consumed confections story by PHIL NEWTON | photo by JENNIFER REYNOLDS A lfajores are confections typically made from flour, honey and nuts in their European form. Originally from the Andalusian region of Spain, alfajores made their way to South America, where they evolved into confections made up of two cookies sandwiching a filling. Fillings vary, but usually feature dulce de leche, although marmalade, jelly or jam also are popular. Bakers then would fully or partially coat the cookies with powdered sugar, sugar glaze, chocolate ganache or grated coconut. So popular are these treats, that in one year alone, inhabitants of Argentina consumed 6 million a day, ac- cording to reports. This recipe is for a traditional Argentinian alfajor. PHIL NEWTON is a Galveston baker/cook. He’s the owner/operator of Stiglich Corner with partner Cindy Roberts.Taking care of your vacation home like it’s our own. Vacasa’s modern vacation home management makes the experience life-changing for your home and your pocket. Partnering with our local team in the Smokies means giving yourself and your guests the ultimate peace of mind under one personalized management fee: Discover what our local teams can do for your vacation home Vacasa.com/galveston | 409-572-8261 Jenifer Vance Sr. Sales Executive jenifer.vance@vacasa.com Andretta Richo Sales Executive andretta.richo@vacasa.com Localized in person care More than 50 local team members that will attend to your property with care and professionalism Sophisticated digital marketing Marketing and pricing tech that help keep your vacation home booked High-standards of home care Proactive inspections, plus fully-managed professional cleanings and turnovers Our homeowner app Easy-to-use tools to check your earnings, reserve personal trips, and beyond54 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2022 DOWN HOME PRECISE PIE Islander uses Hill Country peaches and chemistry to make perfect dessert story by SHANNON CALDWELL | photos by STUART VILLANUEVA I slander Jake Heller has found the perfect use for late harvest Texas Hill Country peaches: A luscious peach pie with warm spices baked in buttery and flaky shortcrust. Peach season normally ends in Au- gust, but drought conditions mean this year the season is extending into fall. Heller’s recipe celebrates the intense flavor of local peaches while cutting the sweetness with a little spice and lemon juice. The result is an irresistible pie that’s the perfect ending to a meal or a lovely gift for someone special. “Like many people, I started baking during COVID, inspired by watching ‘The Great British Baking Show’ on Netflix,” Heller said. “I would bake with a friend of mine who was gluten-free and changing recipes with her made me think I could make my own pastry from scratch rather than buying it.” The turning point was a recipe for pastry made in a food processor that seemed so easy, Heller just had to try it. It didn’t hurt that the recipe was created by Nancy Birtwhistle, who won season five of the popular baking show. “I have a biomedical engineering degree, which is basically a chemistry degree, so baking appeals to the chemist in me,” Heller said. “It is fun, I like that you have to be precise and I can understand why certain things do what they do in a recipe. It is very satisfying to make something delicious and baking makes for a great gift.” Although COVID baking was a passing fad for many, Heller continued baking and taught himself more advanced techniques. He loves making pies, cakes and other treats for friends and family and even made a friend’s wedding cake, he said. Heller is new to the island, having moved to Galveston in December 2021 from Austin, where he had lived since 2015. The move was instigated by his partner Brian Schwenk, who moved to the island to work for the real estate firm owned by his uncle Tom Schwenk. The couple thought it would be nice to get away from the high cost of living and hectic lifestyle of Austin. Heller kept his Austin-based job as a senior manager for technology company National Instruments. He manages a team of recruiters and leadership and development professionals who are responsible for help- ing new graduates find their way in the in- ternational company. Working remotely from Galveston makes sense because his team is based in Europe, Asia and South America. “As someone who grew up landlocked in the middle of the country and never saw the ocean, it is still a novelty to be able to see the sea every day,” Heller said. “I also love the pace of life here in Galveston and how people from different generations interact and help each other.” COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2022 55 Jake Heller began baking during the COVID-19 pandemic. His recipe for peach pie has become a favorite.56 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2022 DOWN HOME Baking also was a memorable feature of Heller’s childhood. He had a sweet tooth, but his family often didn’t have money for store-bought treats, so he made his own cookies and brownies, he said. “My grandmother taught me how to bake,” he said. “She was a home economics teacher who had wanted to be a chemist, but that wasn’t available to her since she grew up in the 1930s.” Baking peach pie always makes him think of his grand- mother and the skills she taught him as well as how much she loved peaches. Heller went to college in Michigan, where Red- haven peaches are as sought- after as Hill Country peaches in Texas. When he went home for the holidays, he would always take a bag of Redhaven peaches for his grandmother. JAKE HELLER’S PEACH PIE For the filling: 1 ⁄ 2 cup sugar 1 ⁄ 4 cup packed brown sugar 4 1 ⁄ 2 cups sliced, peeled peaches 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1 ⁄ 4 teaspoon ground mace 1 ⁄ 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 ⁄ 8 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon butter For the pastry: 16 ounces plain flour 8 ounces salted butter, chilled and cut into cubes 2 egg yolks 6 tablespoons cold water Pinch of salt For the whipped cream: 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon powdered sugar 1 teaspoon cornstarch For the pastry: place flour and salt into a food processor with blade attachment. Add chilled, salted butter cubes. run for a few seconds until crumbly. Avoid touching the mixture. Mix egg yolks into cold water. run the food processor and slowly add liquid until dough comes together in a ball. Take the dough from the machine. Cut the dough in half and wrap in either greaseproof paper, cling film or beeswax wrap. place in refriger- ator to cool for 30-45 minutes. Take half the dough and roll it out between two sheets of plastic large enough to cover a 9-inch pie dish. You can refrigerate the rolled dough if need be. repeat the process with the second dough ball used for the top. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use. For the filling: peel peaches by cutting small X in bottom of the skin. Drop in boiling water for 30 sec- onds and then place in a bowl of cold water. This will cause the skin to pull back from the flesh of the peach and make it easy to remove with knife or your fingers. In a large bowl, combine sugars; add peaches and toss gently. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Assemble the pie: Line a 9-inch pie plate with bottom pastry. Leave the layer of plastic on top to make it easier to push the dough into the dish. Chill for another 10 minutes then remove the second piece of plastic. Trim dough even with edg- es. Set aside. Drain peaches, reserving juice. In a small saucepan, combine the corn- starch, mace, cinnamon and salt. Gradually stir in reserved peach juice. bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and butter. Arrange peaches in the pie crust and pour in thickened peach juice liquid over the peaches. remove the second chilled dough sheet from the refrigerator for the top crust. Cut the dough into strips and layer them over and under one another to create a basket weave. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cover edges loosely with foil. bake at 400 F for 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. remove foil. Cool on a wire rack. For the whipped cream: Whip heavy cream with sugar, vanilla and cornstarch until stiff peaks form. Slice pie and top with whipped cream. Visit coastmonthly.com for steps on creating a lattice-top crust. 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