Category Archives: Chocolate Pie

Dynamic Duos

31 Monday Aug 2020

Posted by in Chess Pie, Chocolate Pie

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Once upon a time, there were two babies named Pippa and Milo. They were the best of friends.

When Milo read books, Pippa read books. When Pippa cuddled her baby, Milo cuddled his baby. When Milo said, “Time to eat!” Pippa said, “I’m all in.”

Pippa and Milo both like sweet treats. Pippa’s mama is a pie baker, and Milo’s parents have an ice cream maker. When their families stay together, decadence ensues.

Here’s Milo blessing the pie pastry for this Fancy Chocolate Chess Pie.

42812643-B925-4983-8991-D8FA4461EBB4_1_201_a.jpeg

Milo’s dad doesn’t bake pies too often, but he has made two kinds of pie, one of which happens to be Chocolate Chess. This isn’t as coincidental as it sounds – Milo’s family lives in Virginia, and Chess Pie was born and bred in the South. The other pie Milo’s dad can make is a PB & J pie. Pippa’s mama thinks it is a very unfortunate omission that there is no recipe for a PB & J pie in her cookbook, and might just have to try making one soon anyway.

Here is a picture of many egg yolks that put the Fancy in this Chocolate Chess Pie.

032E3F4A-C40D-49C1-B000-A29C554D3A07_1_105_c

Pippa’s mama couldn’t remember if she had made this pie before. She thought she hadn’t, until just now, when she was browsing the “Chess” tag on her own website and stumbled upon a post from 2013. Now she remembers that this was Pie #99 in her gallery and she can’t count it again. Too bad, cause this would have been a fiiiine looking image for the pie gallery. But y’know, no real regrets. It was delish again, seven years later, eaten with different folks.

55107F87-DDED-4FA1-A865-C47129E8F6C7_1_105_c.jpeg

Milo’s mama used a Salt and Straw Ice Cream Starter Kit (link here but it looks pretty much unavailable anymore which is sad and disappointing news for all of us) to make absolutely delicious Freckled Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. The two decadent desserts were enjoyed side by side one evening; a slice of pie followed by a bowl of ice cream. Don’t worry, Pippa and Milo got to taste-test the ice cream at lunch the next day.

22C72209-4CFD-4BED-A99B-5D3EFC48DAF4_1_105_c

P.S. Pippa’s mama now owns an ice cream maker also. She’s written about her love for Salt and Straw Ice Cream before. If S&S ever starts selling Honey Lavender Starter Kits, you all know what she wants for her birthday for the rest of her life.

The End.

Nostalgia Pie

19 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by in Chocolate Pie, Ice Cream Pie

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

How are you, my friends? This post is being written during the COVID-19 pandemic, and right about now, it seems like we’re all longing for days in the past…even a few weeks or a few months in the past. I am doing my best (though I’m not always succeeding perfectly) to cast my cares on the Lord, be responsible and thoughtful of others, and focus on the unexpected blessings that come from suddenly having many canceled plans. I recognize that not everyone has extra time on their hands. Many of you are working much longer hours and/or under more stress than usual. So it is only my experience (maybe shared by a few of you) that I am speaking to when I say, I’m getting around to doing some things that I’ve literally been meaning to do for YEARS. Like, for example, updating my Pie Gallery page.

Check it out; there are still 2-3 pies that have been buried in time that I still need to go back and excavate stories for, so the number is for sure actually past 150. A little disappointing that I can’t nail down yet exactly which pie was the HALFWAY PIE, I’ll announce that exciting information when I’ve solved the mystery for myself. But, what I do know for sure is that I’m over HALFWAY DONE with my 300 pie journey. (Cue applause.) If anyone was curious, my current goal is to finish the book by the time I’m 40, and have a birthday party to which you are invited and for this party I will make the final five pies so that none of them gets the honor/disgrace of being chosen last.

Now for the pie at hand; a pie that was actually baked nearly two years ago now. Chocolate-Cherry S’mores Ice Cream Pie.

I thought I’d try something a little different this time, gettin’ fancy here. The slideshow below tells this story in a nice way, a better way than my typical format would tell this particular story (i.e. It’s the 4th of July. Maggie and Wendy make a pie from my cookbook with some orchestration but little help from Jess, José feeds everyone Spanish-cut Sandia/watermelon, Pippa is the star of the show and gives the pie her best side-eye glances, Sara and Levi are not pictured and it’s no wonder because Levi fainted at 3 am that day and long story short everything is okay but he now has many staples in his head and nurse Sara had to calm everyone down.)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Footnotes/Other bits of memory:

  • It was about 110 degrees Fahrenheit every dang day that week. Ice cream pie was so so so needed.
  • José also went running every day that week. Consider in light of above detail. Wild.
  • I think I actually did make the Joe-Joe (Sub for Oreo) Crust myself. But also I gave birth three weeks before this pie was made and do not stand by any of my memories.
  • None of these pictures can be real because Pippa was nevvver that tiny (says the mom of the almost-two-year-old with a wail).
  • To make a vegan version of this pie (which we did), use Trader Joe’s Soy Creamy Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, make sure your marshmallows are vegan, and skip the Warm Mocha Sauce in the topping (it’s optional to the recipe anyway). You can use chocolate covered graham crackers or make your own. Making your own, it’s also easier to ensure that the melted chocolate you use is dairy-free.
  • The topping is supposed to be marshmallow creme. Turns out it’s much harder to find vegan marshmallow creme than vegan marshmallows and hence the creative topping you see in the photos (melted chocolate drizzle and calligraphy, broiled marshmallow hunks, chocolate dipped Joe-Joes).
  • We always have great vegan pies with Wendy. 🙂 Here’s another one. Bonus below, a cute picture of Wendy, Pippa and I much more recently at Magpies Softserve in Silver Lake eating Maple Banana and Peanut Butter Chocolate vegan ice cream pies to end all ice cream pies. If you get on their website and start drooling (and if you’re somewhat local) I’m sure they, like all small businesses, would appreciate it if you impulse bought a pie for pick-up. Just a thought!

IMG_1506

Stay well, stay safe. Angels are real. Talk to you all again soon.

Beet Treats

13 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by in Chocolate Pie, Guest Post

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Happy February! ‘Tis the season to talk about our favorite pink vegetable. An unlikely Valentine is the brilliant beet, but a sweeter treat you’ll never meet. (Rhyming intended.)

Or how about this one…

Roses are red, Violets are blue,

If you cook me some beets,

All my dreams will come true.

My friend Isabella (Find her on Instagram @bellas_tapiokery) actually did cook me some beets this past week. She makes Brazilian-style tapioca crepes – chewy, crispy, and delightful- with the most delicious fillings. The prettiest are those in which the tapioca flour has been rehydrated with beet juice. Check it out! (By the way, the crepes pictured below have savory fillings, but she also makes a beet crepe filled with bananas and homemade brigadeiro – a sauce made from condensed milk and chocolate powder and MAN ALIVE.)

Reasons to love beets: they’re high in vitamins such as iron and Vitamin C, they’re versatile, they have a vibrant, naturally deep pink color (have you ever seen a candy beet? Even prettier, and more delicious than sugary V-Day candy.)

Alright, I’m really done waxing romantic now. Fortunately for you, my part in this post will be short(ish) and (if you’ll forgive my puns) sweet. I have yet to make a beet pie, but my friend Rosemary recently left a comment letting me know that she’d made a “chocolate beetroot* tart with chili maple sauce” and I just immediately felt that it was imperative for all of us to know more. I’m thrilled to introduce Rosemary; she’s here as a special guest to tell us the tale. If you enjoy her writing (which I’m fairly certain you will) you can also dive into her decidedly lovely blog, Cheap and Cheerful Life.

Take it away, Rosemary!

*P.S. Here’s where Beet turns into Beetroot, your first clue that Rosemary is not from the U.S. of A.

Hello readers of Jessica’s blog! Nice to meet you ☺ and a massive thank you to Jessica for inviting me to be a guest writer on her blog. 

I first met Jessica in South Africa in 2008, which is exactly where you’d expect an Australian and an American to meet! If I had known she had a thing about pies I would have talked to her about milk tart, a South African specialty I had tried the week before. As it was, it wasn’t until she posted a link to this blog on Facebook that I found out about her pie fascination.

I had made mention to Jessica about the chocolate beetroot tart in a comment on one of her most recent posts – and as you would expect from a true pie aficionado, she enquiredfurther.

But hang on – we’re talking about pies – and this is a tart – and what’s the difference anyway? Well, I thought about it, and I concluded a pie has a lid and a tart does not. Which seemed to work until I remembered about Banoffee Pie, which has too much cream on it to have a lid – so there went that theory. (Note from Jess: Click here if you aren’t sure what Banoffee Pie is!)

But pies always have a story, and tarts do their best to be even more dramatic, and so it is with the chocolate beetroot tart. So without further ado, for your viewing pleasure, is its story:

“The stolen pie recipe”

IMG_0454

Because, I am actually a recipe thief, as I have confessed in this blog post. 

Here, in Australia, we have the Melbourne Cup – flagged as “The race that stops the nation”. It is akin to the Kentucky Derby (which is the only American horse race I know of) and has a mere $AUD 4 mill prize, so I guess it’s a big deal!

Over time, it has evolved into an event where lots of people go out to lunch, (despite not living in Melbourne), have a little flutter and watch the race. At work, we do too (and who am I to refuse a free lunch?). We venture out to a nearby hotel with our fancy hats, armed with our new vocabulary of ‘trifecta’, ‘lengths’, ‘noses’ and other suitable words for the day.

A few years ago at this particular luncheon, I had a delicious tart for dessert – chocolate beetroot tart with chili maple sauce, Chantilly cream and fresh raspberries. Are you drooling yet? I sure was!! It was so delicious.

And then in a fit of madness I thought, “Hey, I wonder if I could make this tart.” 

So I contacted the hotel to ask if it was possible to have the recipe … pretty please with raspberries cherries on top.

A few days later a scanned copy of the handwritten recipe came my way. Because believe it or not, chefs are chuffed when someone loves their recipe so much that they ask for a copy. I’ve asked a few times for a recipe and it’s always been a yes. Champions!

It took a little while for an appropriate occasion to arise that befitted such a fancy tart, but finally, the recipe and I met one another in the kitchen Christmas 2018. After all, it felt like it should be a very fancy occasion kind of tart. Nobody at lunch guessed the mystery ingredient, partly because I didn’t have a suitable puree-ing thing, so the beetroot ended up shredded, somewhat like desiccated coconut, rather than silky smooth!

Take two last year was more successful in terms of getting the right texture, so having signed it off as a success, I will leave it to rest for a little while. You’re more than welcome to read further of my experiments in life at “Cheap and Cheerful Life”. After all, there are lots more exciting recipes to try. ☺

But for now, for this to be a proper Peace-of-Pie post, I should give you a summary of the tart’s content, and bid you farewell.

82458795_481743469195722_7493497817210552320_n

Chocolate beetroot tart: a chocolate crumb biscuit base, chocolate ganache combined with beetroot puree, reduced balsamic vinegar and infused chillies, topped with a maple syrup and infused chili sauce. Served with Chantilly cream and fresh raspberries.

83102188_844112816046232_4817813649424908288_n

Pi Daze

15 Sunday Apr 2018

Posted by in Chocolate Pie, Custard Pie

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Hi friends, I thought I’d write you a nice post right after Pi Day this year to share how we celebrated, but then my (very new) MacBook started doing this cute thing where it would randomly turn CAPS LOCK on internally by itself and refuse to turn it off, making it impossible to type ANYTHING THAT DIDN”T LOOK RIDICULOUS and locking me out when I would try to restart the laptop because it didn’t recognize the password (since it was wrong, being in CAPS, naturally…) Happily it has just returned from Apple with a new keyboard and we’re on our way again here!

Levi and I have been living in a 735 sq. ft apartment in downtown Los Angeles between Little Tokyo and the Arts District since this past September. It’s been a great experience for a number of reasons. Living in a city can be exciting; there’s so much to see and do and most importantly EAT. We have been able to spend more time together just as the two of us, as a couple, and really feel like best friends more than ever. And we have absolutely loved the opportunity to attend a small Spanish-speaking church in Koreatown regularly. My Spanish still isn’t what I ultimately hope it will be, but the members of the ecclesia are great about helping me practice and speaking slowly when we talk!

We have also been able to host visitors in our new place–though it’s small, our couch is comfortable and our spirits are willing. For their Spring Break this year, we were able to have my cousins Leanna and Daniel and friends Ari and Mara with us. It is pretty cool when your cousins who are ten years younger than you actually want to spring break near/with you, I have to say. The day they arrived we had a plethora of visiting friends at church downtown!

IMG_6314

On the Wednesday of the Spring Breakers, 3/14 (we all know the significance of this day by now I should hope), I was realizing that I had yet to make a new pie from the Pie cookbook in our DTLA apartment (I’ve made new ones during this year, like Cherry Custard Pie, Maria’s Double Crust Walnut Pie, and New Hampshire Raspberry and Red Currant Pie, but all while traveling). This was a serious issue, especially as I had the audacity to bring my “Fresh Baked Pies Made Daily” sign downtown with us to hang in my kitchen.

I settled on Bittersweet Chocolate Turtle Pie for our Pi Day celebration. Ken’s description of this one suggests “Serve this kid-pleaser for a pajama party,” and while they’re not kids anymore, a week of six people in a one-room apartment is basically a non-stop pajama party come to think of it. I baked the pie in a beautiful dish that the “kids” brought to me carefully stowed in their luggage-a belated Christmas gift from my Aunt Ruthanne!

Here is the progression of the Turtle Pie:

1. New empty beautiful pie dish!

IMG_6343

2. Homemade Graham Cracker Crust

IMG_6316

3. Bottom is covered with a layer of toasted pecans.

IMG_6319

4. Layer of pre-bought caramel sauce that you’re a little embarrassed of but it was really hard to find a normal bag of caramels to melt down for a homemade sauce anywhere in or near Little Tokyo.

IMG_6321.jpg

5. Whipped cream cheese with some added vanilla and powdered sugar gets “spread” on as the next layer as best as possible.

IMG_6323

6. Best part…lots of bittersweet chocolate whipped cream gets piled over the top, covering the messy layers beneath.

IMG_6324.jpg

7. Prior to serving, the pie is decorated with whipped cream, and makes a statement about the importance of the day if/when appropriate.

IMG_6332.jpg

We wrapped up in blankets and took our Pi Day celebration up to our rooftop, where we could enjoy a stunning view of downtown between bites of pie!

IMG_3337.jpg

I’m quite behind on sharing the pies I baked last year and wanted to take this opportunity to time travel quickly back to Pi Day 2017, when I made a Tyler Pie to bring to one of my school sites in Orange County. I had no idea what a Tyler Pie entailed before I made it, and I’m guessing you probably don’t either. Apparently it is named after John Tyler, the 10th president (maybe he had a sweet tooth?) and it is essential a sweet custard pie with a caramelly flavor (in keeping with the theme of caramelly pies for Pi Day, it seems).

Tyler Pie is very easy to make. If you can melt a bunch of butter in a pot with cream and brown sugar and salt, you can make a Tyler Pie.

IMG_3139
IMG_3141.JPG

(There are some other steps too…mixing and adding a few dry ingredients and spices, and whisking eggs, but yeah. It’s kind of a no-brainer. And it tastes as good as you would expect, given that the starting point is a stick of melted butter.)

IMG_3145

Thanks for reading and happy Spring or Fall, depending on what part of the world you’re reading from. ❤

Grandmother’s Chocolate Angel Pie

22 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by in Chocolate Pie, Cream Pie, Meringue Pie, Original Pies

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Goal: Catch up on stories from last summer before embarking on this summer’s adventures. Okay. Go.

Our last visit to Minnesota was in August. We’re going again in exactly one week. I can’t wait. Last August’s trip was wonderful, but bittersweet. My Granddad passed away a year ago, and it makes me sad that I will never fish with him again, or do the Bible readings with him again, or hear his funny songs again. But, as my dad said at the funeral, Granddad believed in a hope that was reasonable: the resurrection. God created us with the ability to reason and created a world full of order and beauty for us to all marvel at. So, “why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?” as Paul asks in Acts. We will see Granddad again soon.

IMG_6736.jpgIMG_6755.jpgIMG_6758.jpgIMG_6769.jpg

On this particular trip, in the day and half we spent alone together, I asked my Grandmom to sit with me for a couple hours and let me record some of her stories…about growing up on a farm in Vermont, moving to the Midwest as a young woman, becoming a chemist during a time when women simply didn’t do that, being asked on lots of dates (as being practically the only woman at her workplace put her in a good position for!), meeting and marrying my Granddad and learning the Bible together. If you didn’t know this about my grandmother, she still volunteers at a nature center and does pond walks for children. She also spent many years volunteering at the Minnesota Science Museum; seeing the latest exhibit there was always a highlight of my childhood visits (okay, and my adult ones–who are we kidding here?) Of course, she is also a pie-maker extraordinaire. I am so thankful for the legacy that she and Granddad are leaving for our family.

IMG_6759.jpg

Once again, we visited Minnesota at the wrong time of year to pick the ever-elusive red currants and make a pie out of them. Nonetheless, there were plenty of pie opportunities. One that I had been meaning to pursue for some time was a legendary recipe I had heard stories about but had never tasted myself; Grandmother’s Chocolate Angel Pie. My cousins and aunts and uncles had long talked about this wondrous concoction and I knew that I wanted…no, needed…to learn how to make it in order to continue climbing the ladder to Pie Mastery. It was the next achievement to unlock.

IMG_6785.jpg

Grandmom didn’t have a recipe written down for this pie, per se. She uses elements of a recipe for Chocolate Dream Pie that she got from her roommate’s aunt when she was young Marie Gerdon and had just moved to Michigan from Vermont (the aunt was a high school Home Ec teacher). She also referred to a recipe for an unbaked Chocolate Cream Pie from the Joy of Cooking, as well as a pamphlet from the 60’s entitled “Betty Crocker’s Merry Makings: Fine Foods for Happy Entertaining”.

This pie comes together quickly and is fun to make. Although it requires the use of an oven, the temperature never gets set higher to 300 degrees, so it’s a good summertime choice if you’re trying to avoid heating your house up. The final result is very yummy…a slightly chewy, nut-studded layer of meringue crust filled with light whipped chocolate cream…and I think you should all try it. So much so that I took detailed notes and am writing up the recipe below. After all, pie is meant to be shared.

IMG_6786.jpgIMG_6788.jpgIMG_6789.jpgIMG_6790.jpgIMG_6780.jpg

Grandmother’s Chocolate Angel Pie

Preheat Oven to 300 degrees F.

For Meringue Pie Shell:

2 egg whites (beat until shiny with electric mixer)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar (add to egg whites while beating)

1/2 tsp vanilla (add to egg whites while beating)

1/2 cup sugar (slowly add and gradually beat in. Turn off beaters.)

1/2 cup pecans (gently fold into egg white mixture)

Use a spatula (we used a spoon and our fingers!) to round the meringue into a pie shell (in a pie dish). It should touch the top rim of the pie dish all the way around. Bake for 55 minutes, making sure it doesn’t get too brown (rotate the dish halfway through baking).

For Chocolate Cream Filling:

1 4 oz. bar of baker’s chocolate (Grandmom uses German’s Chocolate Baking Bar, 48% cacao)

Melt chocolate. If using a microwave, melt on high for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for 30 seconds more, stir, and continue heating and stirring in 10 second increments until the chocolate is completely melted.

Whip 1 cup of whipping/heavy cream and fold in the melted chocolate. Spread chocolate cream in cooled pie shell. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

IMG_6777.jpgIMG_6792.jpg

Macadamia Magnificence

10 Sunday Apr 2016

Posted by in Chocolate Pie, Cream Pie, Nut Pie

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Pi Day comes but once a year, but if you’re lucky enough to teach at my school, Pi Day lasts an entire week each March. Good stuff.

Following in the footsteps of many worthy predecessors (such as 2015’s Avocado Cream Cheese and 2014’s Coconut Cream) was a pie I had been excited to make for a long time, due to my great love of the main ingredient: Niel’s Chocolate-Macadamia Nut Cream Pie.

IMG_8129

One time, I was working late and a coworker had recently returned from Hawaii and generously brought eight tins of flavored macadamia nuts back with her. She left them in the kitchen, and I knew others had at least gotten the opportunity to try them that day. So uh after everyone else went home I took it upon myself to polish off the remainder.

Embarrassing.

IMG_8122

Oh, there are almonds in the crust. I love you too, almonds. But you’re not as much of a novelty so I didn’t stuff as many of you in my face while I was baking this pie.

IMG_8121IMG_8120

Nutty pastry crusts (recipe in Ken’s book) are very very delicious things and can be made with a variety of nuts…other pies in my past have called for walnuts, or peanuts. The almond crust here really adds to the level of Specialness of this pie. Only thing to really note about nutty crusts is that they do tend to be much trickier to work with. Don’t be surprised if the crust doesn’t hold together as well as a typical pastry does when you roll it out, and if small cracks form in the bottom as it pre-bakes.

IMG_8131

Case in point. Don’t worry, you’ll never notice-the filling is never runny enough to sneak down into that crack. Plus, the next step is to cover the bottom of the crust with chopped macadamia nuggets anyway.

IMG_8132

The chocolate cream pie filling goes on top of the macs. A layer of plastic wrap smoothed over the top prevents a skin from forming when it’s refrigerated.

IMG_8134

Once the pie is refrigerated for hours, it’s completed with a layer of whipped cream and topped with more marvelous macadamias. Et voilà!

IMG_8137

Like most of Ken’s pies, this one had all the flavor you could ever hope for and a subtle, not sickly, sweetness. This is helpful when you’re trying to eat multiple slices of pie at 10:45 am while also avoiding sugar crashes and stomachaches as much as humanly possible.

There are always so many delicious options.

IMG_8143

IMG_8145IMG_8146IMG_8147IMG_8135IMG_8140IMG_8151

This post has been brought to you by circles, the Hawaiian islands, Trader Joe’s, and coral fingernail polish.

Pie & Beer, Chocolate & Whiskey

13 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by in Chocolate Pie

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

I store too many pictures and messages on my phone, with the result that I’ve come to the very annoying point of being told every time I want to take a new photo that my storage is too full. As I was going through my camera roll and deleting some old photos today, I realized that I’ve been holding onto these, from my 26th birthday, for quite a while, and that I never shared them with all of you. So here’s a peek back to last end-of-May; a simple but very delicious dinner at our house with my cousin Martin and his girlfriend Jessica. I made this Chocolate and Whiskey Cream Pie with Toffee Meringue, a recipe from Donna Hay magazine (shout out to the Aussies!) and Martin made us the best birthday card ever. A happy night!

IMG_3581IMG_3582

IMG_3583IMG_3586

IMG_3588

IMG_3596 IMG_3601IMG_3603IMG_3599   IMG_3606 IMG_3609 IMG_3613

When Friends Come to Visit

19 Monday May 2014

Posted by in Chocolate Pie, Nut Pie

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

It’s really great when friends come to visit. It means that we can do fun things such as: run around San Francisco for a couple of days.IMG_1398IMG_1112

IMG_4783

San Francisco’s a gorgeous city, no doubt, and we loved being there with Nathan and Nic. It’s not like we get to see them often–they live in Australia, after all. We just met Nic last year, when we met up and similarly ran around Salt Lake City (you can read that post, “Guilty Pleasures,” here. You should, it’s a good one.) Nathan we’ve known for quite a while now, and we still like him, so that’s good. People often ask me how come I have so many friends who live all over the world, and it does seem strange at first, I admit. But I know exactly why these friendships work and why they are so good; it has to do with Jesus.

If you ever want to know more, just ask. IMG_1263

Whilst running around San Fran, Nic and I stumbled upon this delight of delights. A chocolate factory! I sagely decided to purchase some chocolate baking discs, as I thought that we would probably be able to make use of them in a pie. (I was right, as you’ll see later on.) Tcho is pronounced with a long O, by the way. For a while I was thinking “Tcha”, like what the first syllable of the word “chocolate” sounds like, but pretty sure that it’s “Tch-oh.” You can read about one of the coolest aspects of the company here. IMG_1122

Nic is quite a cook and baker. A fun fact is that she has also acquired a copy of the Pie cookbook (by way of me and another willing Aussie traveler) and has made a few of the recipes on her own over this past year. This is more of a feat when you take into account the fact that all the recipes are written using American measurements, so I applaud her for her efforts. We were excited to get back home and start pie-ing it up.

One night, Nic showed me how to make a chicken and mushroom pie. I’ve ranted on this before, but, truly, we Americans do not eat enough savory pies. Not even close to enough. Cause they are delicious times a million.

IMG_2675Someday I’m going to try making my own puff pastry. Or maybe that’s a lie. Either way, it didn’t happen on this particular night, but I have no qualms about store-bought puff pastry until they discover a less time-consuming way to make it at home. I think it takes approximately seventeen hours and pounds of butter. Ain’t nobody got time for that.IMG_2678Here’s the finished product, all warm and flaky and lovely. Leave a comment if you’re interested in making a chicken and mushroom pie yourself and I just may be able to share the recipe.
IMG_2686IMG_2689IMG_2683Even Obi suddenly appeared at the table when he smelled the pie. What a little sneak. *Disclaimer: We do not actually feed our dog at the table, nor we do let him drink wine.*IMG_2695

Now let’s turn our attention to dessert. Remember those Tcho baking discs that came home with me from San Francisco? They made an excellent addition to Macadamia-Chocolate Chunk Pie.

IMG_2705Can anyone tell me why macadamia nuts are so delicious? Is it just all that good fat? The rich, buttery flavor? I have no idea, but there is a lot of attempted self-restraint that goes on when I have an open bag of macadamias around. It’s a massive struggle that looks something like this:

Me: I only need one and a quarter cups of macadamia nuts for that recipe, and I bought two cups. I’ll just have one small handful.

Me: Well, just one more small handful. That’s fine. Then I’ll clip the bag and put it away.

Me: I still have enough left for the recipe, so who really cares? I’m going to take out the bag and have only a couple more. Then that’s IT!

IMG_2707The end result of this pie has a texture that’s sort of half like a nut pie (pecan pie is what I’m sure we’re all the most familiar with), thanks to the egg/corn syrup/brown sugar base. It’s also half cookie-like, with lots of chopped macadamias, chocolate chunks, and coconut flakes. There are a lot of goodies in there. IMG_2719

When friends come to visit, it’s really nice to cook and bake and enjoy each others’ company. And unintentionally wear lots of maroon and take Apple Photo Booth shots of yourselves, as it turns out.

4-up on 2-21-14 at 9.47 PM (compiled)Hopefully it won’t be too long before we are reunited. Australia 2015? Sounds great to me.

IMG_1343

“So, this was Christmas…

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Chocolate Pie, Cream Pie, Mixed Fruit Pie

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

…and what have you done?”

Not kept my blog up to date, that’s for a surety.

Let’s not dwell on the fact that these pies were made at Christmastime. Just ignore Levi’s “Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal” sweater in the picture below, which was supposed to be a selfie with a pie (the pie was in the basket) but instead you can just see Levi and I, so I guess instead of a piefie, I ended up with a spousie.

IMG_2422Also, please forgive the fact that nearly every picture below, taken while putting together the astonishingly beautiful Pear and Fig Pie with a Pine Nut Crust, shows off my glittery holiday manicure.

IMG_2413

This pie is made with dried figs, which I don’t love half so much as the fresh figs that my Great-Uncle Benny somehow grew every summer in his concrete backyard. Still, the combination of fig, pear, honey, and pine nut is really a delight.

IMG_2414

IMG_2417

Trader Joe’s should pay me for all the advertising I do for them. HONESTly. IMG_2418 IMG_2419

To make the crust, just roll out a standard crust and then sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and gently press them in, your fantastic fingernails guiding the rolling pin.IMG_2420

When glazed with milk and sugar and baked, this pie truly looks like a masterpiece. Studding the top crust with nuts would be a fun trick for a variety of pies…just keep an eye out for burning and be prepared to tent the pie with aluminum foil for part of the baking if needed.

So here’s something that happens often. (As in, every time I make more than one pie at a time.) I do a swell job documenting the process of whatever pie I start first. Then, by the time I remember that I still have a whole other pie to make and it’s probably past my bedtime already, I don’t bother with all the pictures and just take one token one of the finished product. I have way fewer pictures of this Chocolate Cream Pie with Cinnamon Meringue. 

Point to ponder: Is that what’s going to happen when I have two children…?

IMG_2421Let it be known; this was MY FIRST EVER MERINGUE. I kid you not. I’ve been making new pies for going on five years now and I’ve never made a stinkin’ meringue before. And look how purty it turned out. I’m such a proud mama.

IMG_2434

Festivities

23 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in Chocolate Pie, Nut Pie, Pumpkin Pie

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

Today is National Pie Day (not to be confused with Pi Day, March 14th). I didn’t bake today. I didn’t even eat a piece of pie today. That being said, I like to think I embody the spirit of National Pie Day a good deal in my life; I’m not feeling too guilty about my lack of celebrations.

In fact, I did one good pie deed today…I delivered a Pie-in-a-Jar. Did any of you “celebrate”?

In honor of the holiday, I wanted to share with you the pies I baked for Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) this past fall.

The Triple-Layer Pumpkin-Chocolate Pie is pictured below. 1. Empty crust  2. The first layer, cheesecakey pumpkin filling with chocolate mixed in  3. The second layer, the same pumpkin filling without chocolate added  4. A tangy sour cream topping to finish it off.

IMG_2204

Here’s what it takes to make a Jellied Cranberry-Pecan Pie.

picstitch

Have a happy weekend!