Double Trouble

It's been over 2 weeks since my last post... sorry 'bout that!  Motivation slips away from me sometimes, especially when Christmas is such a shiny distraction!  But now that my gifts are purchased and wrapped, my apartment is decorated, and we have only 8 days until the big day, I can focus my attention on this blog that I've so cruelly neglected.

So, double trouble!  I have two pies to tell you about here!  And I'm making another tonight, so I'll hopefully have another blog up by the weekend (I'm also making mini-cup pies this weekend, so I'll have LOTS to write about come Sunday!).

Let's see, thinking back over what's happened in my oh-so-exciting life over the past two weeks...

Friday, December 4, we celebrated Alison's birthday and I baked her birthday pie... Caramel Apple Cheesecake.  I had been really excited about trying this pie for awhile, but I didn't have an actual recipe, so I was kind of winging it.  Experimenting!  That's what it was... experimenting.  It sounds so much more professional that way :)

So anyway, my brother-in-law, Jerry, told me that all I really needed to do was make a cheesecake batter, pour half of it into a crust, then pour in an apple/caramel mixture that I sauteed ahead of time, and then top with the other half of the cheesecake batter and bake.  Well, the cheesecake recipe I used was my mom's recipe for mini cheesecakes, and, knowing how large my pan is I doubled the recipe.

First, I must point out that I used caramel ice cream topping, rather than make my own caramel or melt actual caramels.  This made a very runny apple mixture, forcing me to remove almost all of the caramel sauce as I feared it would ruin the cheesecake in the baking process.

Second, it must also be known that I don't have a spring-form pan (quite essential to cheesecakes, I've discovered), and that while my pan is large, it wasn't quite large enough for double the mini cheesecake recipe.

Third, the mini cheesecakes, being so mini and all, only bake for about 15 minutes.  Normal cheesecake bakes for closer to an hour.  I had no idea how long this would need, so I just popped it in and checked on it until the top looked done-ish and a knife came out relatively clean.  It took almost an hour an a half.  Also note that I said "relatively clean"... I was ticked off at how long it was taking, so I just decided it was good enough.  Probably not my smartest choice of the day.

So in the baking process in my apparently now too-small pan, the cheesecake rose and expanded far more than I anticipated it would, and the entire thing wound up looking like a giant mushroom.  Which I suppose is rather funny, especially since I always thought that the interior of the Cheesecake Factory in Chicago was supposed to look like a mushroom... not a cheesecake.  I'm something, aren't I?

 

Not how cheesecake is supposed to look.

After an hour and a half of waiting on this pie, I was now late for the start of Alison's birthday dinner (I started the baking process 2 hours before I was supposed to be there... another blunder on my part), so the cheesecake had very little time to cool.  We tried for a rapid cool-off by shoving it in the freezer for 2 hours, but it was still rather warm when we ate it.

First of all, I don't like warm cheesecake.  It's weird.  Second, the texture of this was odd and a bit too fluffy for my liking.  Third, the apples weren't very caramel-y.  Fourth, the crust almost evaporated into the cake itself (most people didn't even know it had a crust).

So basically, I didn't like it all that much.  However, Alison did, which is the most important part, as it's her birthday pie, so it was more of a win than a fail.  I think it just needs to be worked on... a LOT.  I'm not giving up!

So I'm also throwing in a picture of my hilarious dinner for the evening... Alison's birthday dinner was a "peasant's feast", meaning everyone cooked/baked/brought something that sounded good and they had around their house... an un-organized potluck, if you will.  It's a really awesome idea from Rent creator Jonathan Larson, but ours wound up being heavy on the "peasant" part and light on the "feast" part.

Okay, so I'm going to try and keep this as pie-related as possible, but the goings-on of my own life have to slip in sometimes.  And this is one of those times.

Story!

So during Alison's birthday extravaganza, I decided it would be kind of fun to reclaim my childhood adventurous spirit (which I didn't really have, even as a kid, so I guess I was more creating it than reclaiming it) by doing cool jumping moves off of a banister.  It wasn't a huge jump, maybe 4 feet, but on the third landing (yes, I did this three times), I landed rather hard on my left foot.  It hurt a bit, but nothing major, so I hopped around and then carried on with the evening.

Well, as the night went on, extreme shots of pain started shooting into my foot and up my leg.  Now, a few nights prior, my foot had cramped up pretty badly, so I figured that's all this was... a cramp.  It continued to get worse as the night went on, however, and no matter how much I tried to relax it, the pain continued.  By the end of the night, I couldn't stand on it, and it hurt so bad I couldn't help but burst into tears (which I still feel bad about... sorry, birthday girl!).  Still thinking it was cramped, I tried drinking water, eating a banana, taking ibuprofen... anything that might relieve those symptoms, but to no avail.

So after a very rough night with little sleep (I woke up every time I moved, as it hurt like hell), I woke up the next morning and realized that this wasn't a cramp... I had sprained/fractured/torn something in my awesome landing-jumping moves (which trust me, were pretty awesome.  A bit Johnny Depp jumping over the bank counter in Public Enemies, if you will... also, that part's in the trailer, so you've seen it even if you haven't seen the movie).  Alison gave me a crutch (yes, just one) that she found in the attic of the house, and I spent all day Saturday hobbling around.  This was quite hilarious, and I have video documentation taken by Kaitlin.  Which I may or may not share eventually.  I'm leaning towards the "may not" right now.

By Sunday I could walk on the heel, so I went shopping, which was quite the experience.  The whole situaysh now pretty much better, but I've noticed that I changed my walking style because of it, so it's not as healed as I thought... I now walk on the inside of that foot, and it hurts a wee bit when I walk normally.  Oh well, serves me right.

Don't make fun of my pants.

So let's see, back to the pie.  The next week's pie was Lemon Meringue, my all-time favorite!  I cooked up the lemon mixture, whipped the egg-whites and sugar into a very tasty meringue, and layered it beautifully into my perfect-edged crust.  However, somehow, in the 6 days since the last pie, I managed to forget again just how large my pie pan is.  Dag-nab-it!  So rather than a large, puffy pie (as lemon meringue should be), this was a thin, concave one.  Boo.  The top was still pretty though.
 

I really wish I had a blow torch for this, rather than a broiler.

Random, but every time I type out "meringue," I pronounce it (in my head, of course) "mare-ing-gay"... kind of the Spanish pronunciation.  And that makes it sound so exotic.  Which makes me laugh.

Moving on...

So, having failed with lemon pie twice before, I was pretty hard-pressed to find people to eat this one.  Not that I blame them... lemon is a tough one to conquer, and clearly I haven't instilled much faith in my taste testers.

For the initial eating, there were just four of us (there are usually four more), so the comments weren't as varied as they usually are.  Also, I forgot to print off copies of the score sheet, so I don't have those numbers for you.

Anyway, while the pie wasn't a total failure, it wasn't super great either.  It was pretty tasty (and really quite sweet), but the lemon part didn't set quite right and the meringue wasn't as stiff as it should have been.  It turned out a bit runny, and the meringue didn't separate from the lemon like it does on a perfect L-M pie (hey!  My initials!  Maybe that's why I like it so much... subconscious attraction?).

So!  That's that for the two pies.  I'll try not to take as long between posts again... I really am sorry about that.

Before I go... so one of the things that's kind of starting to bug me about this project is that by making a new pie each week, I haven't had the time or money to really perfect the ones that need to be perfected (which is all of them).  I mean, I love that I'm trying so many new things and attempting different baking methods that I haven't used prior (like whipping up meringue), but it's kind of frustrating knowing that I've made okay pies, but I don't really have any great ones to pride myself on.  The only thing I've really gotten good at is the crust.  Maybe my goal for next year (post August, that is) will be to spend time perfecting the pies I really like.  We'll see.

So as I said, another pie tonight (it's going to be totally invented... peppermint patty pie!), and more this weekend!  Which means another new post on Sunday.  I hope.

Enjoy the pre-Christmas magic that's in the air.  It truly is my favorite time of year.

Wedding Bells and Turkey Day Pies and 1 Great Pumpkin Disappointment

Happy Thanksgiving a few days late!

I hope your day was everything you hoped it would be and you gave all the thanks you wanted to (and then some).  I was so full post-dinner (which was actually lunch, as we ate at 1:30), that I couldn't even eat leftovers that evening!  And that NEVER happens.  Yowza, my pants were tight.

So in this Thanksgiving blog, I want to thank you for reading, commenting, voting, taste-testing (for those who are so lucky), and being just plain awesome.

So first off, I ventured home for my sister Sarah's wedding last Saturday (10 days ago Saturday, not 3 days ago... it's been a little while).  I don't think any of us could have asked for a more beautiful day... the weather was perfect (snow, where in the H are you?); Sarah was gorgeous; and everyone laughed, cried, danced, ate, and smiled until our faces froze.  A lovely, lovely day, and I am so blessed to have played a part in it.  Sid and B.I.L., you two are fantastic, and I wish you so much happiness and love... great big bear hugs worth, in fact!

So another thank you goes out to them and my parents and everyone involved in making the wedding so lovely!

After the wedding I was busy, busy, busy, and I haven't yearned for sleep so badly in a long time.  It wasn't quite the "vacation" I was hoping for, but I had a blast anyway.

The next thank you goes out to my family for such a great time at home... I love spending time with you :)

So after all the wedding madness was over, Thanksgiving madness began!

And I do NOT say thank you to Meijer, because you were out of pumpkin and therefore turned the pumpkin pie I was so excited to make into a frozen one made by Marie Callender.  BOO to you!

Not mine.  Stupid.  But still tasty.

Although I found out that there's been a pumpkin shortage due to the crazy weather we've had this fall, so I guess it's not entirely Meijer's fault, but STILL.  BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, HISS!!!

So instead of making pumpkin pie, my dad and I made the infamous Blackberry Apple, as well as a good 'ole Pecan Pie!  This pecan pie recipe was different than the last, so huzzah!  New pie!

Lydia sent me the recipe for this one, and I must say it turned out nicer once baked instead of the near-catastrophe of last time.  So THANK YOU, Lydia!  I like this "thanks" theme :)

We had to improvise a bit, since I didn't have the dark Karo syrup the recipe called for (we had light instead), so to make up for it, my genius dad swapped out some of the regular sugar for brown sugar.  Bum ba da dah! Pecan pie!  I even made a super fancy crust that actually turned out!  Woot woot!

 

The other pie also turned out rather well, although my dad and I both decided that something was missing... it was like it lacked that final punch or something.  It was good, but definitely not as great as it could've been.  Lack of cinammon maybe?  We couldn't quite put a finger on it, but it just didn't have the "wow" factor it usually does.  However, we FILLED the crust and made a pie worthy of Pushing Daisies... it was all round and giant and delicious-looking.  AKA, win!

 

YUM!

So as I said, my dad and I made these pies together, and it was interesting as we swapped techniques and tricks and discovered that while I learned pie-making from him, I do things a bit differently than he does.  It was especially interesting, as both of us took charge and it wasn't as though one of us was delegating to the other.  It was a good experience, and I had fun... it was a bit strange though, making pie with someone else after making them on my own so regularly for the past 3 months (!).  But thanks, Dad, for being my pie buddy for the week!  I had a good time!

So the wedding was a win, Thanksgiving was a win, I saw some great movies (Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Blind Side), I got to see my favorite people... a lot of things to be thankful for!

The final thing to be thankful for here?  MY NEW CHAIR!!!  I swiped my parents' old recliner that has been in storage for a few years and it's now sitting proudly in my apartment.  I love this chair and have huge sentimental attachment to it... it's where I read Deathly Hallows, after all!  It reminds me of the dad's chair on Fraser, just minus all the duct tape.  Awesome City!

Ooh, and I just finished decorating for Christmas!  This holiday is the best!

Final quick story before I let you go... so my mom and I were shopping on Wednesday for our Thanksgiving meal, and I grabbed canned fruit off the shelf and threw it into the cart.  Well, we got home, and we suddenly couldn't find the fruit, so I searched the car while my mom searched the house, but still no luck.  Upon checking the receipt, my mom discovered that the fruit was never purchased, though we both distinctly remember putting it in the cart.  The only explanation we can think of?  Amidst the chaos of last minute grocery shoppers at Meijer, I threw the cans in someone else's cart!  Haha, I hope they were pleased with their surprise purchase, and thankful for it too!  :)

Twice-Baked Pecan Pie

Woohoo, 2 posts in 2 days!!!  Don't you feel special?  You should, because I did it just for you ;)

So, this week's pie was Chocolate Pecan Pie.  Kaitlin had the pie at a work party and loved it so much she snagged the recipe for me.  I've never had pecan pie of any kind before, so I was a little bit nervous, especially considering I'm not a big pecan fan.  But this year is all about trying new things and pushing my limits, so I decided to give it a go!  Also, it's a seasonal pie.  Also, I'm short on recipes.  SEND THEM!!!

Okay, so I had to first toast the pecans, so I threw them into my skillet and flipped on the heat (a rather simple step, provided that you don't burn them, which I didn't.  Okay, maybe one or two.  But still).  So as I was tossing them, I started shaking the pan around and I did one of those cool flip things that you see chefs do on tv where whatever's cooking (in my case, pecans) flies up the back of the skillet and falls back down in a graceful wave-like movement.  And it totally worked!  And it was awesome!  So I did it a lot, even though it probably wasn't necessary.

It was necessary to my amusement and morale though...

So then I made my crust and I actually succeeded at a fancy edge!  It was all crimped and looking super awesome.  Oh, and I tried out a new crust recipe, which had about twice as many ingredients as mine usually does.

To make it a chocolate pecan pie, I added a layer of melted dark chocolate to the bottom of the crust, then layered in the pecans, and then poured the syrup mixture over top.  It was here that I ran into my first of many problems.  I should've learned from last week's pie, but I didn't... my pan is FAR too large for regular recipes.  Luckily I had enough ingredients to whip up another batch and pour over the top, which almost filled the crust.  Seriously, this could turn into quite the problem, money-wise.

So I put the pie in the oven and set the timer for the required 50 minutes.  25 minutes in, however, the second problem came about... I realized I was supposed to meet my friend Kelsey in Springfield (which is 30 minutes away) in 30 minutes.  I can hear your whispers... F-A-I-L.

I panicked and pulled the pie out of the oven (I don't have anyone around that could've gotten it for me later), threw it on my counter, half-baked, and ran off to S'field.  We had coffee (I haven't seen that lady in forever!), it was lovely, and then I bolted back.

I called my dad on the way and asked what I should do... though he warned me it would likely be an epic fail, he suggested I put it back in the oven for twice as long as it had to go (since it would have to get back up to temperature before cooking again) and pray for the best (hence the "twice-baked" part).

Which I did.  I crossed my fingers, said a few prayers, and hoped for something edible to come out of the ordeal.  This is an expensive pie, folks, I couldn't let it be for naught!

So I checked it after 50 minutes and it still seemed jiggly, so I left it in and checked it until it firmed up.  Unfortunately, my beautiful crust was now totally burnt, but it was the filling I was most concerned about this time.

I whipped up some homemade whipped cream to go along with it (just in case it was awful, I figured we would need something to wash it down).  And when I say whipped, I mean whipped.  I poured whipping cream and sugar in a bowl, took my newly purchased whisk, and went to town!  It took five full minutes and my arm was exhausted, but I made homemade whipped cream!  Booyah!

Okay... the final result!  It didn't slice all that well, but the double baking could be to blame for that (the pecans didn't rise to the top, but rather were mixed throughout, making it a bugger to cut).  However, it tasted fantastic!  For not being a pecan fan, I really loved it.  It was really rich, so the whipped cream helped to cut some of that out, and other than the back crust (burnt, burnt, burnt), it was awesome.  The only thing I can really think of that could be improved is the chocolate... I should add more next time.  I also don't feel I can judge the crust just yet, as it was pretty much ruined by my excessive baking.  I can't wait to do this one again (so I know what it's really supposed to taste like) as well as to experiment with other pecan pies.  Yum-O!

The scores!
Appearance: 15/20
Taste: 20/25
Crust: 15/20
Filling: 17/20
Originality: 12/15
Total: 81/100

The comments!

The Good:
"For a pie full of nuts I don't even like, it was very good."
"Delish."
"Overall, it was pretty good for a pecan pie... and most of the issues I had with it was simply because it was pecan."
"The bottom [of the crust] was good.  Also the waving was nice."

The In-Between:
"I think when you are able to do it the way it's supposed to be done, it will be even better!"
"Very delicious but the crust was a little burnt."
"I think I like your old crust better."
"The filling was good, but would have been better without the pecans (which also tasted a little burnt... or is that just how pecans taste?"

The Bad:
"The filling was weird for me.  I know it's supposed to be similar to baby food with nut chunks, but I didn't like that."
"Not the prettiest one... but maybe just because pecan pie always looks weird to me."
"Couldn't taste the chocolate too much, so it was a little like regular pecan pie."

So that about covers it!  Unfortunately, no pictures just yet, but I'll have them soon! 

I'm now off to Michigan for my sister's wedding!  And then Thanksgiving (where I'm baking pies!).  A blog to follow!

In case I don't get back here before... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!  Enjoy your family, laugh a lot, and EAT PIE!!!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S! GO, BANANAS!

EDIT: Pictures are now here!  I posted this entry sans photos, but now I have them, so there you are! 

So I've been a wee bit busy, and I just realized that it's been over a week since I updated my blog.  Woopsie Daisy!  Sorry 'bout that.

I'm getting ready to head back to Michigan for my sister's wedding this weekend, and I want to have a blog posted about last week's pie as well as this week's before I leave on Thursday morning, so this is going to be rather short and to the point... take it or leave it!

So the pie of the week was Banana Pudding Pie, and the recipe was one of those that was sent along after hearing about my project through facebook.  Jen sent this to me... we had a few classes together a few years ago, and she messaged me a month ago with the recipe, hoping to help out on this endeavor.  So thanks, Jen!  I love when that happens :)

Here's what she had to say about the pie: "So, I've been called 'un-American' because I've never liked pie...ever. Until my friend's mom had this. I was over at their house (this was like...3 maybe 4 years ago) and she came out and gave us all some, I was like...GAG pie! But to be nice I figured I could choke it down...turns out it was delish. Every time I visit now I request that she makes it."

Yay!  A pie convert!  That's the best news ever!

So the recipe involved making homemade pudding... like, 100% from scratch.  Okay, so I didn't grow the wheat and chop it down to make flour, but there was no box mix involved.  Win.  I had never made homemade pudding before, and it was suprisingly easy... I'm planning to make it like that from now on!  Delish!  Except I only know how to make vanilla pudding, so if a recipe calls for anything else, then I guess the box will come back into play.  Ah well.  You can't have everything.

I had to borrow a small pot to cook the pudding from Alison... I love how this becomes a community effort since I'm short on a lot of dishes/ingredients/pots and pans/etc.  I only have 1 pot, and it's big enough to feed 30 people chili for a week, so not small-time baking material.  That's what you get when you steal dishes from your sister.

Anyway, I cooked the pudding, failed on making a fancy edged crust (boo), added the bananas, and put it all together to set.  Well, my pan is a lot bigger than the standard size (Paula Deen likes big pies, apparently), so I had to whip up another batch to add, since the first filling mixture only took up half of the dish.

So that was about all I was supposed to do, but since I failed at making a fancy crust, I wanted it to be a bit more decorative, so I found some cool whip in my fridge, which I spread on top, and then shaved a chocolate bar over the whole thing.  Voila!  Presentation win!

 

The pie was a bit messy to plate, but once again, the messy ones are the best ones, right?

 

K, this was a total plating fail.

Here's how it came up in the ratings (MUCH better than the last one):
Appearance: 17/20
Taste: 20/25
Crust: 17/20
Filling: 17/20
Originality: 12/15
Total: 83/100

And the comments:
The Good:
 "I'm not a huge banana fan, but even so, you had me convinced!"
"It was especially delicious... The crust could have been prettier, but overall it was a definite win!"
"Crust was amazing!  I was pleasantly surprised by its fresh, non-burnt taste!"
"Loved it, almost as good as my fav."

The Middle-Ground:
"Looks great in pan and sometimes okay on plate."
"Banana filling had a weird consistency -- didn't make it bad, but maybe you could firm it up a little bit."

The Bad:
"I didn't like the banana chunks.  I wish they were mushed."
"The crust was really buttery/salty." -- Okay, so explanation on this one.  First, the comment is from Brianne, who is probably the pickiest of my pie eaters... in this case, that's a good thing though!  I appreciate that she can pick out the tiny little details (seriously, Brianne, keep it up!).  I laughed when I read this, though, since I had to halve my crust recipe (no top crust) and I accidentally poured double the salt I was supposed to... I pinched what I could out, but I really had no idea how much salt remained.  So apparently it was just noticeable enough!

Okay, well I'm out for now... I'll have another blog up by Wednesday night!

Oh, and SEND RECIPES!!!  Pretty please?!?!  Also, vote in the poll!!!

How do you spell fail? L-E-M-O-N

Ladies and gentlemen, I come as the bearer of bad news.  It has happened.  On Sunday, November 1, 2009, I officially had pie FAIL.  *gasp*  I know, I know.  I'm shocked too.  My head is hanging in shame (yes, even 5 days later).  Some of the pie was even... thrown out.  In the garbage.  To be disposed of and forgotten.  *sigh*

'Twas such a tragedy that not even Alison's score of 74 could save this pie from a mere 58 out of 100.  Yes, the first pie to receive a rating based on my finalized scorecards was a failure.  Definitely not the way I would've liked the newly implemented ratings system to be initiated.  Not at all.

Deep breath...

Wait, what?  You say pie fail has happened before?  Written about in this very blog?  Which one?  The shaker lemon pie?  Ah, yes, I can see how such perceptions can be misconstrued.  You see, while that pie wasn't universally praised or loved, it had some very winning qualities: the crust, the flavor, the custard filling.  The only problem people had with that one was the lemon rinds.  So it wasn't an all-out failure.

But this--this one was only (somewhat) liked by two people.  Two out of eight.  And of those two, a 74 hardly qualifies as tasty.

The recipe was given to me by Lydia, and I can't blame her for this one, because she warned me ahead of time... this was one that she doesn't like, but eats it because it's her dad's favorite and they have it on his birthday.  Which, Lydia, is super sweet of you!

I also can't blame her, or the recipe itself for that matter, because I'm not even entirely sure if I made it right.  Hence the horror!  The shame!  I may have failed on my own pie baking!

Most of the recipe seemed pretty straight forward... Oh!  It was called "Lemon Cheese Pie"... anyway, it started like a cheesecake recipe (cream cheese, sugar, vanilla), and then called for still-liquid lemon jello to be blended in.  Now, here's where part of the problem lay (lie?  I can never remember)... I don't have an electric mixer yet, so mixing it by hand left some lumps still in the batter (I also don't have a whisk... yes, I'm aware how ridiculous that sounds.  Deal.).  So to the lumpy mixture, I was told to add a "whipped" can of evaporated milk.  First, I didn't know how big the can should be (there are two sizes), so I got the bigger one and then left some out to create a happy medium between the two.  Second, I don't know what whipped milk is supposed to look like.  Whipped until whipped cream-y?  Or whipped until it's weirdly bubbly?  I went with the latter, as I was whipping with a fork and my arm got tired.

So I mixed it in and poured it into my homemade graham cracker crust.  Well, it set in the fridge and when we ate it, a few things happened.

Fail #1: The crust adhered to the bottom of the pan so well, everyone was served a side of crust with their pie.
Fail #2: The texture of the pie was uber bizarre.  It looked like cheesecake, but had the texture of creamy jello.
Fail #3: It barely tasted like lemon.
Fail #4: The crust was horrible.  Alison tried to be nice and claim otherwise, but it was ridiculously bad.

So, to solve the reasoning for fail #4, we pulled out the box of graham crackers and tasted them.  Brianne immediately spat out her bite, and the rest of us choked it down.  It was BURNT!  Honest to blog, the graham crackers were burnt.  So basically I'm bringing them back to Walmart to return in exchange for better tasting ones.  F-A-I-L.

Perhaps a garnish would've been nicer.  I'm learning.

Yup.  There it is.  Uhhh....

The only other person who mildly enjoyed the pie was one of my co-workers, but even then it wasn't a favorite.

To give you a better idea, here are some of the comments left on the scorecard:
"It quivers.  Fact.  Food should not quiver."
"Looks like dulce de leche and gross flan."
"Please never tell me what it is the pie."
"...just odd."

So I've come to the conclusion that either lemon is a curse on the world of pie, or I am just not equipped to make a delicious treat out of lemon.  Perhaps I'll give a lemon cheesecake a try.  I will not be beaten!  No, sir, I WON'T!

As for the sticky pie crust, I learned a little tip while watching the Food Network the other day (I watch it waaaaaaaay too much.  Seriously.).  My favorite southern lady in the kitchen, the one and only Paula Deen, was baking a cheesecake and when she smushed her homemade crust into the pan, she baked it for a few minutes before adding the batter.  Genius!  Everytime I've had to bake a pie with the graham crust, it's come out fine... it's just the cold ones that stick.  I don't know why this little lightbulb didn't go off sooner.  Problem solved!

...Hopefully.

So, before I post some Halloween pics, here are the final pie scores.

Overall Pie Scorecard Breakdown (I'm posting the average score in each category):
Appearance (12 out of a possible 20)
Overall Taste (12 out of 25)... ouch
Crust (10 out of 20)
Filling (12 out of 20)
Originality (12 out of 15)
TOTAL: 58/100

One last time, say it with me... FAIL!

Well, at least it's over.  I can put it behind me, hopefully learn a thing or two, and move on.  Which I'm doing now!

Aaaaaaand, some Halloween pics!  One of my favorite holidays (but then again, what holiday isn't one of my favorites?  I go all out for every one of them).

I was candy corn at work, and then I was Hermione!  Or, as one woman said, "a graduate!", to which her daughter replied, "Yeah, from Hogwarts."  I have hope for today's youth.

Papa Murphy's had Jack-o'-lantern pizzas!

Much cuter in the "before" picture, I'm not gonna lie.  Let's call it a sunburn :)

"Ghosts in the Graveyard"... it's a pudding/oreo dessert.  We included the footprint from Paranormal Activity in front there (terrifying movie... I still have trouble falling asleep.  Actually, I have to set the sleep timer on my TV now so I can have noise as I fall asleep... kind of like how my mom sometimes leaves the TV on so my dog doesn't get scared when we're gone.  Pathetic, but true.).  My favorite part about this, though, is the ghosts.  The one in the back center is angry, the one in the back right is sad/scared, and the fat one up front reminds me of Gus (from Cinderella and my cat).  Love it!

Finally, me making a weird face as Hermione, Kaitlin as Minnie (minus the shoes), and Brianne as Professor Trelawny.

So how was your Halloween?!  What'd you do?

Oh, and new poll!  What is your favorite pie accompaniment?

In the boxing ring with Mother Nature

I apologize for the long stretches of time between updates... for some reason I've really been struggling with finding a creative niche, so I don't feel like I have much to say.  It's weird, and I'm working on it... a bit of writer's funk if you will.  Let's hope it goes away soon!

So last week was a rather busy one!  I made two pies, so you've got two descriptions to look forward to coming up!  Huzzah!

Anyway, I went home last Friday (the 23rd), stopping first to visit my sister Erin at school.  I had a really good time and got to wander around Notre Dame's campus all afternoon, snapping pictures like the dork I am :)  I also got to watch the marching band's rehearsals/marches through campus/pep rally, which was super duper awesome!  Seriously, I was blown away... it's amazing what happens when the people in the band actually care about being there and are some of the best at what they do.  I spent four years of college in a band that wasn't exactly up to that par.  We were so tiny that it was often a struggle to find songs that didn't include the instruments we didn't have.  25 of the only kids willing to even attempt band definitely can't begin to compare to 300 kids who had to audition.  Well, that's life at a tiny school that few people have ever heard of.

Gotta love Touchdown Jesus

One of the best parts was the pep rally, and one of the best quotes came from Golden Tate, in regards to Boston College's mascot (the Eagles): "Y'alls little birdies ain't got nothin' on us... we people!"

Hilarious.  Gotta love when football players speak.

*ahem*

So then I traversed onto the great state of Michigan, and first of all, I have to say just how much I miss the leaves!  Illinois is okay, but driving into Michigan was like getting punched repeatedly in the face by the fist of Mother Nature.  And I mean that in a good way.  B-e-a-utiful!  I miss it so so so so much.

I also miss home a LOT.  I didn't realize it until I walked in the front door of my parents' house.  There's literally no place like it, and it makes me wonder just how long it's going to be until another place gives me a similar feeling.  *sigh*  I'm being angsty... moving on!  It was really great to see everyone and we had a grand time celebrating my sister's bachelorette party!  She gets married in three weeks!  Also, my dress fits!!!  Yippee skippee!!!  I can't breathe, sit, or put my arms down, but it FITS!!!

So for my family, I made a "special" pie... the peanut butter chocolate one that served as my "special" pie the last time.  Except this time I made a few changes, notably less peanut butter and more chocolate.  I still failed on the more crust part, but otherwise it held up a lot better than the last one and was Delicious with a capital D.

Although now that I've baked that one twice, I'm working on really tweaking it and making it my own.  I just looked up a peanut butter mousse recipe, and I can't wait to give it a shot!  I need things that I can one day serve in my quaint, adorable, super-awesome pie shop!

So I got back Sunday evening (6 hours in a car is killer, especially when you have no one to talk to, let me tell you), and I wasn't feeling up to baking, so I waited until Monday to make the actual pie of the week... Chocolate Chip Cheesecake!

The recipe was a little different than most cheesecake recipes, as it didn't call for any sugar but used sweetened condensed milk instead.  I was also concerned by the amount of cream cheese it called for, which wasn't much, so I had to call my mom for advice.  She thought it was weird too, but there wasn't much I could do about it, so I just had to hope for the best!

Oh, before I forget, the recipe came from Kristine, and while she says there's not really a story to it, it's one that she really loves and her mom bakes it for her quite often.

Well, the recipe also calls for a full cup of chocolate chips to be added to the mix before baking, so I did just that (well, minus a few for sampling purposes... I couldn't put tainted chips into the pie!), and when it was done I added another 1/2 cup of chips (melted) to the top as a glaze.

 

We felt the goopiness on top was artsy

No matter what anyone argues, there is NO such thing as too much chocolate.

Holy heaven, Batman!  It was super rich, but also super tasty... once again it was a tad thin (I need to double the recipe for my pie plate), but it was the right amounts of creamy and sweet and fab-u-lous.  It's one that will definitely be served at other points in the (hopefully near) future, and it made me really excited to start experimenting with other cheesecake add-ins.  Who knew that such a vast world of cheesecake flavors existed?!  I do now!

So a few blogs ago I mentioned the National Pie Championships/Festival in Florida... 'member?  And I mentioned how I really, really, really want to go?  Well, I was watching the Food Network the other day and they had last year's pie bake-off championships on!!!  Is it safe to say I was thrilled?  I think so.  They followed four competitors (one was a complete amateur) as they baked multiple pies for a variety of categories.  Some of the competitors seemed a bit terrifying (especially Miss I'm-Going-To-Bake-Five-Pies-In-Three-Hours-And-I-Won-Last-Year), and their recipes sounded top-notch, but once they started baking, I've gotta say, I think I could've spanked most of them.  Seriously, I was expecting some crazy professional baking techniques and crusts and fillings, but most were basically what I've been doing.  One guy even failed at baking his crust (it shrunk and burned in the oven).  Not to sound arrogant, but seriously, I think I could do it... in time, of course, I need to tweak a bit, but it definitely wasn't nearly as intense as I thought it would be.  2011 Pie Championships?  Count me in!

Alrighty, that's about all I have for you... next post will include Halloween pics!

Hope you had a festive Fright Night!!!

Also, SEND RECIPES!!!  I'm running low!!!  Something, anything, I don't care... SEND THEM!!!

Oh, and the poll has spoken and according to you, Grandma makes the best pie.  I'll think of a new poll to post... any ideas?

Well, nothing like EXPERIMENTIN'...

Pie, pie, pie... how I love you so.  Seriously, I do.  Yes, I know I should, seeing as how I'm devoting an entire year of my life to it, but I'm really starting to appreciate it in its perfect, delicious entirety.  The genius of the crispy crust, which manages to be both savory and sweet (even without any added sugar) combined with the wholesomeness of baked fruit (or custard, or pudding, or peanut butter), combined with the presentation that literally becomes eye-candy is about the best darn idea ever... well, after the wheel, sliced bread, and the onion goggles, of course (seriously, have you seen these?  http://www.broadwaypanhandler.com/broadway/product.asp?s_id=0&pf_id=rsvp_onion_goggles).  I. Want.

It's funny how much I notice every distinct element of the pie in each bite... I would've just scarfed it down before, but I'm getting much better at picking out each flavor and texture and noticing even miniscule things that can be changed or improved.

A baker in the making, perhaps?  Ha, I like to pretend :)

Anyway, on to the star of the show... BLUEBERRY RASPBERRY PIE!!!  Please note that today is CAPS LOCK DAY... I swear, it is (look it up on one of those lists of ridiculous holidays).  So I'm celebrating both this FANTASTIC HOLIDAY as well as my excitement over this week's pie.  SA-WEET!

Okay, so I was originally going to make just a blueberry pie (which, once again, is one of my family's recipes and one of my favs), but then I got to the store and they ALSO had fresh raspberries, and I couldn't pass up what are likely the last of this season's fresh fruits, so I decided to combine them.  I had never eaten a blueberry raspberry PIE (teehee) nor did I know if it was going to be a good combination, but I decided to go with it and bake my first experimental/invented pie!

I consider it invented since I didn't actually have the blueberry recipe, so I really just threw everything into a bowl and added sugar (I did call my dad to check on the amount, but I had already added it, so that doesn't really count) and then hoped for the best!

I ALSO (caps lock = way too much fun) decided to try out a lattice top instead of my usual full-crust-with-some-adorable-shape top.  It was suprisingly easy to do, and I daresay it turned out rather beautifully!  I'm working on fancy edges next... for now, I'm still sticking to my guns and using the good ol' bird feet/fork method.

VOILA!  Blueberry Raspberry Pie with a Lattice Top!  HUZZAH!

Now, as for overall presentation, I felt that I could've used more berries... it was concave rather than convex, and the top was impossible to cut without it crumbling to bits.  It was also a bit juicy again, so the slices turned out to be crap-in-a-bowl instead of beauty-on-a-plate.  Ah well... it still tasted AWESOME! 

 

Even Sam the Cheetah wanted to try some!  I don't even feel the need to explain any further than that.

Not as awesome as the blackberry apple, but still pretty darn phenom.  The blueberries were a bit more tart than usual (*sigh* end of the season), but otherwise it was yum-o.  A definite win/keeper!  Oh, I think it would've been SUPER phenom had I served it with ice cream.  One thing (and by thing, I mean expense) at a time though, I shouldn't get ahead of myself...

Also, yay for fruit experiments!  I think my next invention will be a pudding/custard/chocolate sort of dealio, which will also be interesting.

So I've also been reading into food photography, because I want really cool shots of my pies to accompany the recipe book that I want to put together when this is over (for myself and anyone who would like a copy... Christmas presents?  I think so!), so I've been experimenting a lot with different focal points and presentation and all that.  These are fairly boring ones here, but I just discovered a close-up setting on my camera, so more interesting ones will hopefully be coming soon.

That being said, I really like this one.

I think that's where I'll leave you for now... I'm heading home tomorrow to visit the fam and celebrate my sister Sarah's Bachelorette Party!  I'll swing by to visit Erin at school tomorrow, and then it's homeward bound.  Pray/cross your fingers/cast a protective spell/do whatever you do to bring me luck... Wall*E (my super awesome mini-van) is up for his first big trip in 2 months!  So let's hope we make it.  Also, I'll have to give you some Wall*E stories soon... I'm working on a list of everything that doesn't work and will hopefully turn it into an essay.  He's a joy and an adventure, let me tell you!

Also, I'm baking a pie for the fam tonight to bring with me... I'm making the chocolate peanut butter pie that I made a few weeks back (you know, the one that was like eating Canada), but this time with some improvements based on the notes I jotted down.  I'll let you know how it turns out!  This is the first time I'm re-making a pie, and I'm excited to start working on perfecting it and making it my own.  Woot woot!

K, LATOR GATORS!

P.S.  Wear PINK!!!  Lydia and I participated in a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk last weekend, which was a great experience.  Here's a pic from our completion of the 5k!

Messy Magnificence

Hey there, good lookin'!  Sorry I'm a bit late here... I was at a conference Wednesday and Thursday, and with all of the last minute craziness on Tuesday, I'm just now getting around to writing.  You have my utmost and sincerest apologies... I hate to keep you waiting!  Thanks for being patient, though, I really appreciate it :)

I don't know that I have too much outside information that would be of particular interest to you, so rather than rambling, I'll cut straight to the chase.  This week's pie was Blackberry Apple.  It's an unusual sounding combination, for sure, so if you raised your eyebrows a bit and did that lip-curve downward thing that people do when they go, "hmm, interesting," I can understand completely.  Blackberries and apples are definitely not the first two fruits that I would put together, but I've gotta say, it's a match made in fruit filling heaven.

This recipe is one my dad tried out a few years ago and has been baking ever since.  I found out it originally came from a restaurant in Grafton, Illinois, a city only about an hour and a half from me, so I think a road trip is in order!  Anyway, the first time we made this pie came after a summer afternoon spent hunched over among thickets and brambles, fighting the thorny bushes for blackberries (actually, I think they were dewberries, but basically the same thing).  My grandparents have a fair amount of property, and a good chunk of it is full of blackberry bushes.  My dad makes wine, and we were out that day to pick enough blackberries for his next batch of wine (roughly 30 pounds).  By the end of the day (or when I gave up, which was likely before the end of the day), my hands were scratched and bloody... it was actually hard to tell what was blood and what was blackberry juice.

Well, when everyone had called it quits, we wound up with more than our 30 necessary pounds (I'm being liberal on the "we"... I probably picked only about a pound.  I've got a great work ethic, if you can't tell).  That night my dad decided to try out this recipe, and the rest is pretty much history.  It became a fast favorite, and I'm actually planning on baking it for Thanksgiving this year!  I don't know if I mentioned that or not, but I'm in charge of baking our Thanksgiving pies... I'm rather honored.

Okay, so the recipe is quite similar to apple pie, only half of the apples are replaced by blackberries.  I had to use frozen berries as fresh are no longer in season, but it didn't do much to alter the flavor, so while I prefer to use the freshest ingredients possible, this worked out just fine... well, almost.  I didn't think to thaw the berries before mixing them into the pie, and, well, it wasn't the neatest pie in the world (definitely not restaurant-worthy).  The ice around the berries melted while baking, and when I cut out the first slice, a nice pool of liquid was left behind.  Since there was too much juice to allow the pie to set, the pieces were the messiest things I've ever plated.

Pool O' Liquid

Messy?  Yes.  Delicious?  YES.

Surplus liquid problem solved by Alison

However, I like to think that the messier looking plates are often the tastier, and that was never truer than with this pie.  Holy scrum-diddly-umptious, Batman!  First, let it be known that the crust was damn near perfect... the right amount of flaky and sweet and just plain melt-in-your-mouth awesome.  The combination of blackberries with apples, while unusual, is also incredible.  The softer berries with the slightly more firm apples, plus a perfect combination of sweetness and tartness make this a ridiculously phenomenal pie.  Or, as Lydia described it, "divine."

If I do say so myself :)

Since the blackberry apple was so popular, I'm looking forward to other berry pies... blackberry pear, blackberry/blueberry/rasberry, etc.  I'll start inventing soon!

I also feel I must note that Jonathan and Cortland apples are the easiest to hand peel... Granny Smith are the worst (the peel breaks off into tiny chunks and I slip with the peeler and almost gouge my hands open), but the peels practically fall off of those two apples.  I love making silly discoveries like that.

For better and more comprehensive ideas of the future pies I bake, I'm working on creating a scorecard to rate each one.  Overall scores will be based on the crust, the filling, the cohesiveness of the two, presentation (will this be a good choice for my pie shop?), and overall flavor.  I'm still tweaking it to get the best answers, but I think this will help me decide what needs to be altered and perfected on future pies.  Right now my score system is to try and remember what people say to me regarding the pie... the two flaws in this are that A. I have a terrible short term memory (honestly, the moment a conversation switches topics, I immediately forget the previous subject altogether.  Don't even bother asking what we were just talking about), and B. People are less honest and too general when telling me how it turned out.  I really want to get good at this, and so while this is a goofy way to do it, I think it can produce some awesome/interesting results.

The next pie is actually another one from my family... Blueberry!  I hate to do one of mine two weeks in a row, but blueberries are just about out of season, and I want to use fresh ones my first time out.  Blueberry is in my top 5 favorite pies, and I really don't want to wait until next summer to bake it.  So blueberry it is!  My quest, my rules.  Deal.

That's just about all I have for you (short this week!), but before I go, I have to make a totally un-pie-related note... I just recently started watching The West Wing, and I'm OBSESSED.  Seriously, it's my new favorite show.  And anyone who knows me at all knows that when I become obsessed with something, it pretty much consumes my life.  It's what I read about, what I dream about, what I youtube about, what I bring up in any conversation I can ("Speaking of painful dental procedures... in this episode of The West Wing...").  I only wish I had been able to appreciate it when it was on.  I just finished season 2, and am trying to hunt down season 3 to watch.  The season 2 finale was hands down one of the best I've ever seen for any show EVER, and I was an emotional wreck afterwards.  It also brought me my new favorite song (which plays during the final few and most emotional/dramatic moments): "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits.  It's a 25-year-old song, but it's awesome.  So anyway, if anyone has season 3 (or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7) and would like to let me borrow them, let me know!

K, random, but that's where I'm leaving you.  Peace out!

P.S.  Vote in the poll!

Of sore arms, tarts, laziness, and stretching pie boundaries

So what's the difference between a tart and a pie, you ask?  Well, it's funny you should mention it!  (Roll with me here... you're learning valuable knowledge that might one day help you watch Jeopardy! and scream the answers from your couch)  Well, I've done a little research, and it turns out the answer isn't quite as easy as pie (ba dum bum).  Much of it boils down to the pan (honest to goodness... the two can taste virtually the same, but depending on what pan they were baked in can be called totally different things).  A pie pan has sloping sides while a tart pan is shallower with straight sides (and in some cases, a removeable bottom).

Now, that being said, both tarts and pies can have fruit, custard, or chocolate fillings, but meat is more commonly associated with pie.  However, while pies can either have a top crust or not, tarts are open-topped.  Now, those answers were drawn from a few sites, many of which conflicted, so there are probably more differences and some of the ones I gave you may even be disputed, but that's about as clear as I can get for you. 

Straight + shallow + open top = tart.  Sloping + deeper + top crust or no crust = pie.

It's still weird to me that the differences are so subtle.  Oh well, that's life.  And now hopefully you're a tad smarter for learning that bit o' trivia.

Well, as you can see to the right there, the poll has closed!  And the favorite pie of my readers is............ OTHER!  Fantastic!  Anyone have a recipe for that one?!  Oh, it's amazing how easily I crack myself up.  Anyway, "Other" was followed closely by chocolate cream, then apple, and so on.  Well, "other" was probably a stupid choice to list, as it doesn't help me a whole lot in getting to know my readers.  I've heard that cherry was a popular choice that I missed, so that could explain it, but if there's another pie that you just love, please tell me what it is in a sweet, charming little comment!

I've added a new poll... Who is the best pie baker you know?  Have a story to go with your choice?  That's what comments are for :)

Okay, enough stalling... onto this week's pie!  The recipe came from my friend Brianne, who got it from her sister, who made it in a class at school.  It once again stretches the limits on the word "pie," but I think it fully qualified.  It was a caramel apple dessert pizza (pie), and it was most definitely a winner.

Rather than a regular pie crust (or a graham or oreo crust), the dessert pizza (pie) called for a sugar cookie crust.  Rather than buy dough, I called up my mom and got the recipe we used growing up.  It was easy enough to do, but I've gotta say, not having an electric mixer is killer when it comes to stirring up batter and dough.  I guess in exchange for further patience and true understanding of the "labor of love" involved in baking, I get a sore arm.  Win?

Anyway, on top of the baked crust (which I put on a pizza pan... I felt it made more sense), I spread a mixture of peanut butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and milk, which served as the "sauce."  It was delish, and I snuck a few tastes while spreading.  Probably why my bridesmaid dress still doesn't fit.

On top of that went a layer of sliced apples, which were tossed with cinnamon and lemon juice.  I arranged them all fancy, just for kicks.  Also because presentation is a biggie for me.  On top of that went a fair dousing of caramel ice cream topping.

Voila!  Caramel apple dessert pizza (pie)!

It was quite yummy, and the crust was interesting, as it was much thicker than regular sugar cookies, so it didn't really taste like a sugar cookie... odd, but still good.  The "sauce" was awesome, in my most humble opinion, and who doesn't like caramel apples?

However, as with all first-time recipes, this one has room for improvement.  Perhaps baked apples in the future would make for a pie that's easier to eat and has a more coherent flavor.  Also, I chopped the apples a little thick, so that's something that needs to be addressed next time around.  And yes, there will be a next time.  Oh-ho, will there ever be a next time.  Definite keeper.

Also, I had extra cookie dough left over, so I made some Halloween cookies!  And then I made icing, because what good is a sugar cookie without icing?  However, I didn't have food coloring, and white was far too boring for my taste, so I shook in some cinnamon and made an icing that was both pretty and tasty.  It actually made the cookies taste a bit "pop-tart" ish, so another win!

So all in all, this pie making is going super well... I really enjoy doing it, and I'm always flipping through magazines for pie ideas (not recipes, ideas) or thinking up new combinations to try out.  It's lotsa fun!  Also, I'm working on a score chart for each pie, with detailed categories and individual scores, so hopefully I'll get more accurate responses to the pies on top of seeing what needs improvement.  Also, it's just fun.

The only serious downfall I'm discovering is the massive amount of dishes I accumulate.  Each Sunday I have a large load of regular weekend dishes (I tend to cook much more on the weekends), which I wash up before starting the pie baking, and then I have another full load when I'm done (I'm a messy baker and use a lot of dishes).  I realize I'm sounding lazy and lame for admitting it, but I'm usually pooped come Sunday evenings!  Dishes, pie, dishes, yelling at football on TV, cleaning... it's quite the afternoon.

Yup, I'm a whiner.  And re-reading that paragraph makes me realize just how lame I sound.  Ah well, I can complain once in awhile.  After all, complaining "means that life is still good."  (That one comes from the brilliantly funny comedian Jennifer Eolin, whose blog, "The New Old Biddy," is linked to the right there... check it out, she's awesome).

Final thing... Friday my friend Kaitlin and I made dinner, and it was just about one of the BEST things I've ever eaten.  Honest to blog, you HAVE to try this recipe.  Basically, we marinated chicken breasts in a chipotle marinade, then grilled them and shredded/chopped them until they looked like chicken one might find on a shredded chicken sandwich (I don't know how else to describe this step).  We then mixed that with barbeque sauce and scooped it onto toasted burger buns (be sure to keep an eye on your toaster oven... I almost burned down my apartment (on top of ruining the buns)).  On top of the chicken went a combination of diced avocado, lime/lemon juice, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.  Top with the other half of the bun, and you have just about the best sandwich you could ever eat.  It was sweet, spicy, tangy, smokey awesomeness on a bun, and while the avocado might sound like an odd topping, it balanced the chicken perfectly.  YUM.  We served it with a side of bruschetta (why not?), which was also quite awesome.

Not pie related, I know, but I had to share... your life will be better for it, I promise.  If you try the sandwich, that is.  Not just by reading that.  Or maybe it will be, I don't know.

OKAY!  I'm done!  Catch you next week!

Say CHEESEcake (pie)!!!

Howdy hey there, lovely reader!  Welcome to pie #4!  Well, yes, technically pie #5, but don't forget that that last one was a special one, so this is officially pie #4 of the 52 pie challenge.  Is it weird that I whispered the "special" part in my head as I typed it?  Meh, oh well.  Well, a month in and so far we've both stuck it out!  Go us!

This week's pie is probably not the first thing you think of when someone mentions pie, namely because "pie" is rarely found anywhere near its name (title?  What do you call what a pie is?  Would apple pie be its name or title?  hmmmm).  Anyway, this week's recipe, which came from my awesomely funny friend Lydia, was chocolate cheesecake (pie)!  I threw the "pie" in just to make it official, so really its name (title) is chocolate cheesecake.

Not typical, I know, BUT I have solid reasons for including this.  First, I've stated this before: I'm going to have to get creative.  I'm going to be pretty hard pressed to find 52 unique recipes that fall under the "traditional" classification, so creativity is essential to the completion of this quest.  Second, Wikipedia says cheesecake is not a cake, but rather a pie, and if Wikipedia says it, it must be true.  They also say that Boston Cream Pie isn't actually a pie... it's a cake.  Is your mind blown?  Because mine was.  And still is.

Also, I'm totally going to believe that it's a pie, as it required a crust and didn't involve typical cake ingredients, so it counts!

Basically, it was your pretty standard cheesecake recipe, although I stirred melted semi-sweet chocolate into the batter before pouring it into an oreo crust, hence the chocolate part.  Once again, to make my life more difficult, I made the oreo crust, which meant that I had to scoop the cream center out of two rows of oreos before crumbling them up and flattening them out in the dish.  I wasn't sure what to do with the centers, so they went into a bowl where they were later consumed (not entirely by me.  Mostly, but not entirely).  However, I think I might use them in the recipe if I make it again... perhaps melt them and use them as a glaze on top?  Or maybe just leave them as I roll out the crust?  I didn't actually know how to make an oreo crust, I just made it up, so if anyone has ideas, let me know!

Artsy, eh?

Well, the cheesecake was pretty delicious altogether... not too sweet, as I used semi-sweet chocolate, which was nice, I thought.  It could've been overwhelming had it been any sweeter.  The only problems I saw with it were that I used my tart pan instead of my pie pan (I'll explain those differences in a later post), so the cheesecake was a little thin and because of that I think I baked it a little too long... it wasn't nearly as creamy as cheesecake should be.

However, those both being said, I really did love it (woot woot, complimenting myself!), though it's not entirely difficult for me to love cheesecake... it's one of my two favorite pies (right up there with lemon meringue).  My mom used to make mini cheesecakes, and I distinctly remember eating far more than I should have.  Always.  (I had lightning/hungry fingers).  It was also often my choice of birthday cake (to the disappointment of my non-cheesecake-loving sisters), and I was thrilled when my aunt had cheesecake as her wedding cake.  Yeah, it's really not hard for me to enjoy a cheesecake.

Final note on the pie... does anyone know how the best way to roll out a graham cracker (or oreo, I'm not discriminating) crust?  My method of using wax paper to smooth it out is okay, but if there's an easier/better/more efficient way, let me know!

So, that's the basic pie lowdown for the week, but I have a few things to tack on to the end here (all pie/blog related).

First of all, I apologize that it takes me a few days to get a post up.  This is due to a few reasons.  One, my computer is horribly slow and freezes frequently, so it takes quite awhile just to type the blog out.  Two, I like to have a tiny bit of time to process my thoughts and figure out what I'm going to say (I take notes throughout the week on things to include, but still, I want to give my reactions proper thought).  Three, Blogspot and I have butted heads more than a few times when it comes to uploading my pictures.  I usually have to upload them to Flickr, and then here.  A bit of a pain in the tush.  Four, my Netflix rental usually comes on Monday, so I don't always get much writing done then.  True facts.  I'll try to be quicker though (TWSS)!

Next, there are only a few hours left to vote in the poll to the right there... see it?  It's asking for your favorite kind of pie.  Vote if it's still there!  I'll post another poll soon... have any ideas for what you'd like to answer or know more about your fellow readers?  Let me know in a pretty little comment!  Those make me happy :)

Oh, this was kinda funny... the My Life is Average word of the day on Sunday (pie day) was "Slice."  Cute?  I think so.  And if you don't know what MLIA is, check out mylifeisaverage.com.  Basically, it's awesome.  And remember that I sent you there, and then correlate the awesomeness of that site to just how awesome I am.  Oh, come on, you were thinking it!

Also, on a totally unrelated note (unrelated to MLIA, not to pie), each April in Florida, a national pie festival is held, and it's basically three days of all things PIE!  Competitions, samples, souvenirs (yes, souvenirs)... it's all there and I would LOVE to go one day.  Maybe not this year, but someday.  Anyone in?  You know you want to go...

Look at those happy pie-loving folks!

I've had some requests for me to post the recipes I use on here, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that.  Part of me is all for sharing and spreading the delicious wealth, but at the same time, they're not my recipes, I'm just using them, so I'm not 100% sure if that would be okay to pass them along.  I would think it would, as once again, people are sending them to me, but I wouldn't want to offend someone by sending their precious recipe into the vast expanse of the internet.  Thoughts on this?  Post it in a comment!  Really, I do love them.  They're like tiny shards of rainbow, just placed in a handy location to make my day a whole lot brighter.  Only nice things though... keep your negative Nancy-isms to yourself.  KIDDING!  Seriously, pros, cons, ups, downs, questions, jokes, rants... post whatever you like!  I want to know what you think, really, I do.  Just as long as it's happy.  Kidding again!  I crack myself up sometimes.

Finally (I really don't intend for these posts to be so long, all sorts of fun things just pop into my head as I'm typing), PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE SEND RECIPES!!!!!!!!!  In just over two month's time, I will completely run out of things to bake, meaning my friends, family, coworkers and I will have nothing delicious to eat, and you will have nothing to read here!  Stop the travesty before it starts!  Send me recipes!  Anything you like, I'm not picky!  Fruit, custard, chocolate, cream, pizza, chicken pot, whatever... SEND IT!!!!  In return, you will get both the satisfaction that you entertained my crazy little quest as well as a shoutout here in the blog!  Your lovely name, posted here!  In something that about 10 people read!  I might even say something nice about you!  What could possibly be more cool?

Absolutely nothing, that's what.

That pie was like eating Canada.

The pie in this post is my first ever "special" pie, making this my first "special" post.  And by special, I mean not one of the 52.  Because it was made in the same week as the lemon one.  And I don't want to hurt its feelings, so I'm calling it "special."  :)

So!  As I said, I made a second pie this week, to celebrate two friends' birthdays (I've decided I'm going to do that when I can... make pies for birthday cakes, that is).  Jordan and Kaitlin are both chocolate lovers, so we decided on a recipe I've been both nervous and excited for (I even sang a song called "Nervous but Excited"... yes?  Get it?  No?  Oh, watch a little SNL.)... chocolate peanut butter pie!

The recipe came from one of my former English professors (one of the most awesome ones too... shoutout!), who made up this recipe based on a pie she used to eat while lunching with her mom at a tea room.  I was really excited about the fact that it was chocolate and peanut butter in the same pie, but I was really nervous about the lack of measurements.

The entire recipe called for mixing everything and adding amounts until it "looked right," a cause for panic since A. I don't know what "looks right" and B. I'm a measurer through and through.  I don't know that I've ever cooked or baked anything from a recipe and not measured.  If it's just me throwing things in a pan, that's fine, but a recipe means directions and I hate guessing on directions!  It's part of the reason Rachael Ray gives me anxiety... I can't just glob a bunch of EVOO in a pan and call it a few tablespoons.  There are measuring cups for a reason, woman!  Gah!

At least this recipe didn't call for much baking, and at least it's nearly impossible to go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate.  Still, I made sure to keep track of every teaspoon that went into this so that I can have an actual recipe in the future.  I'm lame, I know, but I have a hard time "letting loose" when it comes to something other people are going to consume.

So anyhoo, I made the bottom crust (from scratch, of course, no cheating here), and I was ridiculously proud of the fact that I hardly needed the recipe and I whipped it out pretty dang fast... I was a crust-making machine!  I baked it in my new Paula Dean pie dish (!), but I didn't know how long to bake a crust on its own, so I just threw it in and checked on it from time to time.

Be proud, this was a big step for an over-analyzing nerd like me.

I accidentally cooked it a little too long, not where I burned it, but it was much crispier than I would've liked, and also it shrunk so it no longer touched the pretty edges (I was quite sad about this).

Once it cooled, I added a mixture of peanut butter (an entire jar!) and powdered sugar and spread it on the bottom (spread being a relative term, since the crust crumbled at the slightest touch), then added chocolate pudding (mixed with half the milk) and topping it with cool whip and crumbled Reese's cups.

Pretty, eh?

 

The slices were massively tall and super goopy and messy... nearly impossible to get a good picture!  However, it was DELICIOUS!  Everyone's favorite so far (I actually promised the ladies I work with that I would make it again just for them... and I can do that, since it's not one of the 52.  I just can't repeat recipes for the 52... rules!).  It was incredibly rich and creamy, and the peanut butter/powdered sugar mixture tasted just like the inside of a Reese's cup, which was awesome.

The only downside to the pie was that it was almost too rich... it was probably a bit too much peanut butter (gasp!  Who knew such a thing existed?) and needed more pudding to balance it out, but otherwise it was awesome.  That's actually the meaning behind the title of this entry... in the words of my friend Brianne, it was "like eating Canada."  You know, because it was "big, rich, and had universal health care."  That last part was Alison... I have fantastic friends.  Also, we were all pretty much in a food coma afterwards.  A delicious food coma.

And now that I've tried it, I'm making it my goal to recreate Perkins' peanut butter pie, which is to pie what Ricky Gervais is to award show speaches.  Genius.  Oh, yes, experimenting in this case is just fine with me, because I don't have an initial recipe to follow.  I have issues, I know.  It's okay.

Also, you know what?  With this pie, I've started doing something I've never been able to do... compliment my own cooking!  Seriously, I have a really hard time doing that.  I'm sadly an extremely self-depreciating person, and I'm working to get over it.  One of the things that actually got me the most in Julie and Julia was that both women praised their own cooking, proclaiming how great it was on the first bite.  They weren't braggy, but they weren't afraid to be happy with what they did.  I need to do this.  I need to take a bite and say, "Damn!  This is awesome!"  Because it usually is.

Confidence.

I'm working on it.

Thanks, pie, for helping me figure out my life!

A little slice of history

I thought I'd start off this post with a little pie history.  So in my second post I said, "pie really is a strictly American dessert."  Well, once I said that I decided to do a little research into pie's history and see when exactly it came about.  Turns out, I was basically wrong on that American thing.  Pies date back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, where dough was filled with nuts, dried fruits, seafood, and meat (beef, lamb and yes, magpie pigeon... yum) and used solely to cook what was inside.  Pies were often given as rewards for conquering an enemy.  The tradition was then passed to England, where meat became the customary filling.  The crust was known as a "coffyn" (cryptic, eh?) and was often thick, tough, and inedible (it just held the juices of the meat inside).

Pies even served as entertainment in England, where live animals (frogs, birds, rabbits) were put into pies and would subsequently pop out when sliced at a dinner banquet, to the immense delight of guests.  Occasionally, little people were also set into pies, and they would emerge and stroll along the tables, reciting poetry.  So basically I think we see where we get the strange idea of popping out of cakes.

Pies did eventually come to America, but the pumpkin pies we so often associate with the pilgrims on the first Thanksgiving weren't likely the case.  It is thought that the pilgrims did enjoy pie, but it was still the customary meat pie from England.  It wasn't until the 1800s that fruits became common in pie, and around that time that the crust became edible (it was also around this time that people stopped calling crust a "coffyn," to the delight of non-morbid pie eaters everywhere).  Pies have since flourished, and much like the original spreading of pie recipes hundreds of years ago, recipes have changed based on region and culture.

There!  A little pie history!  Does life get any better than that?  Well, a slice of pie itself helps, but still.

I thought it was interesting, and I hope you learned something!

So this week's pie was a Shaker Lemon Pie, coming from my sister's fiance, Jerry.  He sent along the actual history that came with the pie, so hooray!  History lesson #2!  I'm going to quote from the recipe here: "This recipe perfectly demonstrates the simplicity, wholesomeness, and ingenuity of the Shakers, who were renowned bakers and responsible for many culinary inventions, including the mechanical apple peeler (my kind of people!), the hand-crank egg beater, and the revolving oven, still used in many bakeries today."  It goes on to say that the resulting pie (which is basically lemon custard but using the whole lemon) "is a sweet-tart filling that is quite toothsome because of the use of the whole lemon, rind and all, which lends the filling the texture of marmalade."

Yes, rind and all.  "Toothsome" is a great word to describe this one.

So basically I sliced four lemons as thin as possible, removed the seeds, and then put them in a bowl with two full cups of sugar.  This mixture sat for almost four hours, and when I got ready to bake it, it had turned into a sugary liquid in which the lemons were tenderized.  I then added four eggs and mixed the whole thing together.

Sound a little odd?  I was extremely apprehensive about this all week, and even more so as I poured this liquidy/eggy/rind-y combination into my pie crust.

However, when I pulled it out of the oven, it smelled and looked amazing.  Golden on top, bubbly, and emitting wafts of lemon, I couldn't imagine it coming out any better.

So, nervous as to what the eggs, sugar, and lemon (that's literally all that went into this) would do when cooked together, I cut a slice and was incredibly surprised to see it almost custard-like (with added rinds, of course).  I was half expecting it to look like quiche... a weird quiche, I might add, but that's honestly what I pictured as soon as I added eggs into it.  Who knew?

Well, the rinds were tender enough, and the initial taste was comparable to lemon meringue, but in a flakier crust and minus the meringue.  However, a few bites later it got interesting.  The rinds themselves made the pie incredibly tart, and overall it was a bit overwhelming.  Part of the problem could have been my negligence of the line in the recipe that called for each slice to be served with un-sweetened whipped cream (oops!), but almost everyone who ate it pulled the remaining rinds out and ate just the custard and crust.

That's not all to say the pie was bad, it was just... different.  I got tons of compliments on the crust, which was nice, but the overall consensus is that a slice was a bit too much, so if I were to bake it again, I should either make small tarts (or use my bite-sized pan), or bake it as directed but without the rinds.

So, Jerry, it wasn't a failure!  It was just not an immediate success... I'll have to tweak it a bit for my tastes.

That's what I love about this idea... I'm not going to immediately love every single recipe according to the directions, but I'm taking notes and getting ideas for how to make them better.  Because of this, I think I'm really going to learn a lot about pies and how to make things my own.

And this lemon pie actually fit in well with the rest of my weekend... a little bitter, a little sweet.  Quick explanation (I know I'm starting to babble).  This Saturday was my first service event as coordinator and it was quite an experience.  We were supposed to go clean up the Illinois River, but the group that we worked with was incredibly disorganized and we wound up cleaning some back country road out in the middle of nowhere.  The morning started off foggy, and we had to drive almost three miles down this dirt road with trees lining both sides.  It was a horror film waiting to happen, I kid you not.  

Just imagine fog...

So the overall event, while entertaining, was not what I had expected, and therefore both bitter and sweet!  Ta-da, tying my life into pie!

Finally, I splurged on a new pie dish this week... the one I'm using, while great, is much larger and shallower than a typical pie dish, and for pudding/cream based pies, I decided I needed something that would make the pies a bit taller and fuller... who wants a thin, flat cream pie?

Not Paula Dean!!!  Hers was the prettiest dish, and therefore the one I had to buy.  And besides, I can't sacrifice the pan.  :)

I'm baking another pie tomorrow... my first extra one!  It's a birthday pie, and a blog will be sure to follow!