18 Monday Mar 2013
Posted in Pie Academy
about the Pie Academy!!
It’s a wonderful website started by a pie baker (Ken Haedrich, the author of the cookbook I’m baking my way through…) for pie bakers of all levels.
Check it out here: http://thepieacademy.com.
If you sign up to be a member (it’s free!), you will reap the benefits in the form of discounted bakeware, step-by-step how-to videos, and original recipes in your inbox. The latest recipe, Cherry Almond Coffeecake Tart, looks just fabulous. Now if only I had a tart pan…
02 Tuesday Oct 2012
Posted in Berry Pie, Summer Fruit Pie
We had a dessert-off at our church.
A dessert-off is what it sounds like…a free-for-all contest in which any dessert may be entered. No parameters.
What kind of pie would you make in this situation, given 212 recipes to choose from? I was at a loss. Should I make a chocolate pie? Everyone likes chocolate…but then again, I was sure many of the desserts would be chocolatey.
Nectarines were in season (this was at the very beginning of September. California seasons.) I also like nectarines a lot. I decided that I wasn’t going to find one pie that would please everyone, so I might as well pick one that pleased me.
Added some blueberries, to please the hubby.
Now normally I don’t give away my secret ingredients so easy. But as this recipe is neither mine nor a secret, being as it’s published in Ken Haedrich’s Pie, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that the key to success here is almond extract. Don’t skip it.
Deep Dish Nectarine Pie with Almond Crumb Topping arrives at the dessert-off and nervously checks out the competition.
There are an array of other tasty and beautiful desserts around, from cupcakes to tarts to cheesecake and beyond.
But lo! What treachery is this? A decadent-looking Caramel Apple Pecan Pie made by an aspiring young pastry chef? What does this mean for poor Deep-Dish Nectarine?
It means that the competition will be stiff. Well done, young pie Jedi. I have my eye on you.
Although neither pie took home the prize, I should mention that they were both in the top four. Also, that they were delicious in my belly.
06 Tuesday Mar 2012
Posted in Uncategorized
But not really, cause that would be gross.
If you have read my previous posts, think back to the aforementioned group of ladies I get together with once or twice a month and do fun things with. They feature again in this post. This time, we didn’t make mini pies together, but we did make something. And then ate pie. Almost the same story. (I can hear the jealous whispers…why do these girls get to eat so many pies? Right place, right time, my friends.)
So we had a lovely dinner together and then my friend Mimi stirred up some large smelly pots of Shibori dye and we had at it with dishtowels and white shirts from the Salvation Army. I claimed this tiny child-size shirt as my own.
And now presenting…Almond-Coconut Pie! A few quick comments about this one. First of all, as Ken had mentioned in his notes, this is a very cakey pie. I’d say almost about as cakey as a pie can get. But think coffeecake, not birthday cake. Second thing: It’s totally justifiable to eat the leftovers of this one for breakfast. I know this from personal experience.
Pie Features: whipped cream on top (the real deal, of course), All-Butter pastry, easy to make (all in the food processor, baby!)
Pie Feedback: texture surprisingly reminiscent of…cornbread? Yet not in a bad way. (Don’t take this the wrong way, little pie!) Also surprising, one friend who isn’t into coconut or almonds really liked it. Unless she’s lying. Or maybe she just loves cornbread. Ah, the mystery.
Here’s a badly-composed picture of the Almond-Coconut pie hovering mysteriously, UFO-like, over someone’s tie-dyed dishtowel, drying on a bush. In the night. Under a full moon. (Okay okay, maybe not that last part.)
If mystery isn’t your thing, how about history? Because my friend April send me this great link the other day with fun/shocking facts about pies in the olden days. Did you know that pie birds
