Last week was a bad week.
My work computer got a virus and it took a week and a half to get fixed, so I spent all of that time without the files I needed to get stuff done and actually accomplish something more than cleaning my desk. It was horrible.
I dropped my cell phone in a sink full of water, and while just about everything is now fixed on it, the microphone doesn't work, so I can't call out. A bit of a problem. I now have a bluetooth earpiece, so I'm officially one of those weirdos who looks like she's talking to herself in public. It's not a perfect system, but it's cheaper than a new phone, so I'm learning to deal.
Without a phone last week, getting in touch with people to do anything turned out to be absolute chaos. I had to have other people call the people I needed to get in touch with and have other people give me rides. It was irritating.
I was possibly going to get a new car, but the deal fell through. This happened three days before my car, Wall*E, died. I had to push him into a parking lot. Urgh.
I tried to print 20 pictures at Walmart, which took me 45 minutes to order, and then what I thought was "next day" printing turned out to be "you have to wait for 6 days, sucker" printing.
So all of that, on top of a whole bunch of little things that went wrong that I won't get into on such a public forum, meant for a ridiculously awful week.
Well, until I found out I get to keep my job for another year!!! It's been a little chaotic trying to figure it out, and it's been stressing me out for quite some time, so a weight was lifted right off my shoulders when I got that news :)
But anyway, what's the best way to cure a bad mood? Just about every woman I know will attest to this...
CHOCOLATE!!!
I decided chocolate pie was an absolute must last week, so on Saturday, I whipped up a little diddy that I'm calling "Death by Chocolate Treat Pie." Sound delicious? It was.
So my friend Alison makes this dessert called "chocolate treat," and it's basically chocolate cake, but less cake-like and more brownie-like. It's also smothered in chocolate chips... it's one of the best things I've ever eaten.
Well, I decided I needed to turn this into a pie somehow. After brainstorming ways to use cake mix in a pie, I came up with my own solution that was an absolute WIN.
Death by Chocolate Treat Pie is this: Oreo crust, chocolate cheesecake (which I made earlier this year), a layer of chocolate ganache, and topped with chocolate treat, all baked into my springform pan.
Say it with me... nom nom nom!!!
It was incredible. Not as overwhelmingly rich as I expected it to be, but it was gooey and creamy and chocolate-y... perfectly perfect, basically. And served with some homemade whipped cream? Wowza, it's a definite favorite.
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
:)
And yes, Death by Chocolate Treat Pie made just about everything better. Lucy Van Pelt, you were quite right.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A Culinary Trip Around the World
Folks, we're traversing the globe with this post! In the last two weeks, I've made 4 pies from 4 different cultures! Represent! I whipped up an Apple Pie (the good 'ole USofA), a Pizza Pie-a (say it with an Italian accent), Shepherd's Pie (top 'o the mornin' to ya, Ireland!), and Banoffee Pie (yes, that's what it's called... crazy Brits).
So, let's start our global trek!
For my boyfriend's birthday a few weeks ago, I made an apple pie, and it turned out SO much better than the first one I made. Apart from a pool of juice in the bottom, it was damn near perfect. I'm ridiculously proud of that pie... it was super full (so it looked awesome) and packed with flavor. Yum, yum, yum! I could go on and on... the crust was flaky and golden, the apples were cooked just right... it. was. awesome!
But as that was a "special" pie, I had to make another that week, so I decided on pizzas! Totally counts as a pie, by the way. A bit of a background on this... growing up, for all of our family gatherings (on my dad's side), we would meet up at Fricano's Pizza Parlor in Grand Haven, Michigan (sometimes we ordered it to go and ate it elsewhere, but it was always Fricano's). The owners of Fricano's are old family friends (my dad used to work there too... I think. Right? Wrong? Someone help me out there), but even if they weren't, I think Fricano's still would've been the place to go. The pizza is amazing.
The original location is in an old house that's been converted into the restaurant, and to get a table, you wait on the steps outside... most nights the line wraps way down the steps and onto the sidewalk. It's a pretty simple pizza place... they have one size and one type of crust: thin. I'm not usually a thin crust person, but this is so, so, so good. It's so hard to describe just how fantastic a Fricano's pizza is... it's all greasy and messy, but so packed with fresh flavors that it's insanely easy to lose count of how many slices you eat (as in, I could easily eat a whole pizza. Not that I have...).
Well, the Fricano's being old friends and all, my dad has the recipe and we've been making pizzas that way since I was a kid. Way back in my 2nd post, I told you about our pie making days growing up. Well, we did the same thing for pizza days, and we would make a huge batch of them to freeze and enjoy for a few weeks. I always volunteered to be in charge of either the cheese, mushrooms, or pepperoni, as I was a sneaky little foodie and loved to swipe samples as we baked.
I've been dying to make these pizzas as part of my project for months now, so I called up my dad to get the dough recipe and set to work!
My boyfriend and I made 4 pizzas: pepperoni, mushroom, ham and pineapple, and pepperoni and ham. As it was a Lenten Friday, we ate the mushroom one that night and the ham and pineapple the next. I still have the other 2 in my freezer.
Unfortunately, I didn't roll the dough thin enough, so that wound up being the dominating flavor :( Otherwise, though, they were quite scrumptious! I think mine tasted a bit healthier than they were supposed to... the dough was too thick to let the grease soak all the way through! Haha. I could've added more sauce, but these aren't supposed to be super saucy pizzas, so the dough was really the big issue there. Oh well, it was my first attempt at baking something I've been eating my entire life, and it wasn't a failure, so I'm pretty proud of that!
As last week was St. Patrick's Day, I made a Shepherd's pie! Again, this was a "special" pie, since I already made a version of this in January, but I wanted to give it another go and hopefully improve on the previous recipe. If you remember, I complained that there was a lack of flavor in the meat last time, which I attributed to a lack of gravy, so this time around I looked up a gravy recipe and set to work.
I've never made a homemade gravy before, and I don't know if I ever will again! I made it WAY too thick, and had a lot of trouble trying to thin it out, so I just mixed it in as is with the meat mixture and let it bake.
It came out looking beautiful and tasted pretty good (my fellow taste testers absolutely raved about it), but the "gravy" (if you can call brown goop gravy) didn't add as much flavor as I would've liked, so it was a bit too bland for my liking. Next time, I think I'll try more spices or something. Hmmm...
And finally, Banoffee Pie! I don't have much to complain about here... this is an AWESOME pie. Definitely going on the pie shop list. Yes, I'm creating a list. It's not very long right now, but it'll grow as I work on improving my previous endeavors.
Anyway, banoffee pie is a British recipe (so thanks to the boyfriend for this one), and the weird name is a contraction of banana toffee pie. I found three recipes for this, all of which varied slightly but featured really similar concepts. So I stole my favorite parts of each of them and created my own ultimate recipe! Sounds a bit crazy, but when you hear how simple this pie is, you'll get it.
Well, I say "simple," because it's a really basic idea and consists of few ingredients, but the sucker took about 4 1/2 hours to actually make... only because I chose the easiest methods of baking from each recipe. More time consuming, but easier :)
So I first made a graham cracker crust in my springform pan (which I adore), and I discovered when shopping for graham crackers that Keebler sells boxes of graham cracker crumbs! I don't see this as cheating... I still make my own crust, but I just cut out the process of smashing the crackers with a rolling pin. Genius, Keebler, genius.
So then I had to make the toffee. I always thought of this as a complex process (like all candy is), but it was about the easiest damn thing ever! All I did was take 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk, put them in a pot of water, and boil them for 3 hours! Hence, the time consuming pie-making process. But open the cans after they've boiled, and voila! The milk has magically transformed into a caramel-colored toffee!
That went on top of the crust, followed by a layer of bananas, and topped with homemade whipped cream. I sprinkled some cocoa powder over the top and after a few hours in the fridge, the pie was done!
Apart from being delicious (the flavors mesh well and are actually pretty light), this was also the most perfect-looking pie I've made so far! When I took the springform pan apart, you could see each individual layer, and it sliced in perfect wedges. I was SO proud of that! Three cheers for sprinform!
Alrighty, I think all of my typing has probably burned your retinas by now, so I'm out!
So, let's start our global trek!
For my boyfriend's birthday a few weeks ago, I made an apple pie, and it turned out SO much better than the first one I made. Apart from a pool of juice in the bottom, it was damn near perfect. I'm ridiculously proud of that pie... it was super full (so it looked awesome) and packed with flavor. Yum, yum, yum! I could go on and on... the crust was flaky and golden, the apples were cooked just right... it. was. awesome!
But as that was a "special" pie, I had to make another that week, so I decided on pizzas! Totally counts as a pie, by the way. A bit of a background on this... growing up, for all of our family gatherings (on my dad's side), we would meet up at Fricano's Pizza Parlor in Grand Haven, Michigan (sometimes we ordered it to go and ate it elsewhere, but it was always Fricano's). The owners of Fricano's are old family friends (my dad used to work there too... I think. Right? Wrong? Someone help me out there), but even if they weren't, I think Fricano's still would've been the place to go. The pizza is amazing.
The original location is in an old house that's been converted into the restaurant, and to get a table, you wait on the steps outside... most nights the line wraps way down the steps and onto the sidewalk. It's a pretty simple pizza place... they have one size and one type of crust: thin. I'm not usually a thin crust person, but this is so, so, so good. It's so hard to describe just how fantastic a Fricano's pizza is... it's all greasy and messy, but so packed with fresh flavors that it's insanely easy to lose count of how many slices you eat (as in, I could easily eat a whole pizza. Not that I have...).
Well, the Fricano's being old friends and all, my dad has the recipe and we've been making pizzas that way since I was a kid. Way back in my 2nd post, I told you about our pie making days growing up. Well, we did the same thing for pizza days, and we would make a huge batch of them to freeze and enjoy for a few weeks. I always volunteered to be in charge of either the cheese, mushrooms, or pepperoni, as I was a sneaky little foodie and loved to swipe samples as we baked.
I've been dying to make these pizzas as part of my project for months now, so I called up my dad to get the dough recipe and set to work!
My boyfriend and I made 4 pizzas: pepperoni, mushroom, ham and pineapple, and pepperoni and ham. As it was a Lenten Friday, we ate the mushroom one that night and the ham and pineapple the next. I still have the other 2 in my freezer.
Unfortunately, I didn't roll the dough thin enough, so that wound up being the dominating flavor :( Otherwise, though, they were quite scrumptious! I think mine tasted a bit healthier than they were supposed to... the dough was too thick to let the grease soak all the way through! Haha. I could've added more sauce, but these aren't supposed to be super saucy pizzas, so the dough was really the big issue there. Oh well, it was my first attempt at baking something I've been eating my entire life, and it wasn't a failure, so I'm pretty proud of that!
As last week was St. Patrick's Day, I made a Shepherd's pie! Again, this was a "special" pie, since I already made a version of this in January, but I wanted to give it another go and hopefully improve on the previous recipe. If you remember, I complained that there was a lack of flavor in the meat last time, which I attributed to a lack of gravy, so this time around I looked up a gravy recipe and set to work.
I've never made a homemade gravy before, and I don't know if I ever will again! I made it WAY too thick, and had a lot of trouble trying to thin it out, so I just mixed it in as is with the meat mixture and let it bake.
It came out looking beautiful and tasted pretty good (my fellow taste testers absolutely raved about it), but the "gravy" (if you can call brown goop gravy) didn't add as much flavor as I would've liked, so it was a bit too bland for my liking. Next time, I think I'll try more spices or something. Hmmm...
And finally, Banoffee Pie! I don't have much to complain about here... this is an AWESOME pie. Definitely going on the pie shop list. Yes, I'm creating a list. It's not very long right now, but it'll grow as I work on improving my previous endeavors.
Anyway, banoffee pie is a British recipe (so thanks to the boyfriend for this one), and the weird name is a contraction of banana toffee pie. I found three recipes for this, all of which varied slightly but featured really similar concepts. So I stole my favorite parts of each of them and created my own ultimate recipe! Sounds a bit crazy, but when you hear how simple this pie is, you'll get it.
Well, I say "simple," because it's a really basic idea and consists of few ingredients, but the sucker took about 4 1/2 hours to actually make... only because I chose the easiest methods of baking from each recipe. More time consuming, but easier :)
So I first made a graham cracker crust in my springform pan (which I adore), and I discovered when shopping for graham crackers that Keebler sells boxes of graham cracker crumbs! I don't see this as cheating... I still make my own crust, but I just cut out the process of smashing the crackers with a rolling pin. Genius, Keebler, genius.
So then I had to make the toffee. I always thought of this as a complex process (like all candy is), but it was about the easiest damn thing ever! All I did was take 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk, put them in a pot of water, and boil them for 3 hours! Hence, the time consuming pie-making process. But open the cans after they've boiled, and voila! The milk has magically transformed into a caramel-colored toffee!
That went on top of the crust, followed by a layer of bananas, and topped with homemade whipped cream. I sprinkled some cocoa powder over the top and after a few hours in the fridge, the pie was done!
Apart from being delicious (the flavors mesh well and are actually pretty light), this was also the most perfect-looking pie I've made so far! When I took the springform pan apart, you could see each individual layer, and it sliced in perfect wedges. I was SO proud of that! Three cheers for sprinform!
Alrighty, I think all of my typing has probably burned your retinas by now, so I'm out!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Happy 3.14 Day!!!
I don't have an update ready just yet, but I wanted to take the time to celebrate!
HAPPY PI DAY!!!
Enjoy the day! Eat pie!
:)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The First Annual Pie Slicies
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the First Annual Pie Slicies! In honor of the halfway point of my pie project (6 months! Holy cow!), and in the spirit of the Academy Awards, I have a few awards to present to my pies. I suppose I could say a few words on what this pie project has meant for me so far and reflect back on the experiment as a whole, but I think awards are more fun. Consider this a short acceptance speech.
So, without further ado, the Pie Slicies!
Best First Pie: Apple Pie
Best Pie in a Profile Picture: White Chocolate Strawberry Pie
Best Reason to Invent a Time Machine so I Can Punch the Shakers in the Face: Shaker Lemon Pie
Best Pie that Represents America's Stomping of Canada at the Olympics: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (aka the pie that was "like eating Canada")
Best Excuse to Add More Chocolate to My Life: Chocolate Cheesecake
Best Pie that's Actually a Cookie with Fruit: Caramel Apple Dessert Pizza
Best Fruit Pie: Blackberry Apple Pie
Best Lattice-Topped Pie: Blueberry Raspberry Pie
Best Cheesecake: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Best Example of Pie Fail: Lemon Cheese Pie
Best Pie that Came From a Non-Pie Lover: Banana Pudding Pie
Best Pie that Shouldn't Have Worked But Somehow Did: Chocolate Pecan Pie (aka Twice-Baked Pecan Pie)
Best Way to Eat Your Daily Serving of Nuts When You're Actually Eating Pure Sugar: Pecan Pie
Best Reason to Have an Actual Recipe Rather than Improvising: Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Best Pie With My Initials: Lemon Meringue
Best Christmas Pie Invention: Peppermint Patty Pie
Best Christmas Morning Breakfast Pie: Broccoli and Ham Quiche
Best Meat Pie: Shepherd's Pie
Best Reason to Just Throw Out Ruined Meringue Rather than Attempt to Save it: Pecan Pie Minus the Pecans with a Meringue Topping
Best Name for a Pie, Even if it's No the Real Name and I Just Invented it Because it Sounds Cool: Pink Lady Pie (aka Pink Lemonade Pie)... also Orange Creamsicle Pie
Best Non-Cheesecake that Totally Tasted like Cheesecake: Key Lime Pie
Best Perkin's Knock-Off: Peanut Butter Pie
Best Pie Made in an Apple-Shaped Pie Pan: Chicken Taco Pie
Best Pie to Make When Sick and Unable to Do Anything but Throw Ice Cream in a Crust: Snickers Ice Cream Pie
Best Example of Why Martha Stewart Can't Be Trusted (and Should Also be Punched in the Face): Chocolate Ganache Tart
Best On-a-Whim Pie Invention (also Best Reason to Shop When Hungry): I Was Craving Cinnamon Rolls Pie
Best Excuse to Make Chili and Still Count it as a Pie: Walking Taco Pie
So! There you have it! Every pie I've made so far! I mean, I've made duplicates of a few of these, but thus far I've baked 27 different recipes... kind of crazy/cool!
And tonight, in honor of this momentous anniversary, and more importantly in celebration of my boyfriend's birthday, I'm baking Apple Pie... the first pie I ever made :)
Okay, so a write-up of that last award there. Last week I decided to try out an invention that Jerry came up with... Walking Taco Pie. In case you don't know what it is, a walking taco is a snack/meal that's frequently sold at sporting events for its simplicity and genius. You take a small bag of Frito's (or jumbo bag, if you're really hungry or want to make it "family style"), open it, and pour a scoop of chili over the top, and then finish it off with cheese and sour cream (or whatever chili toppings tickle your fancy). You then eat and enjoy, whilst getting your fingers all kinds of messy. Ah well, c'est la vie when you eat sloppy foods in public!
So turning this into a pie was definitely a challenge, and it took me awhile to think of how exactly to do it. I knew I wanted a Frito's crust, but just pouring chili on top of that seemed a bit ridiculous to me... that's not a pie, it's just chili and smashed Frito's, and that would be unfair to the pie quest.
Instead, with Jerry's suggestion, I made a Frito crust (which didn't hold its shape nearly as well as graham crackers do, but oh well) and then poured on top a cornbread batter which I had added some chili to (homemade chili... woot woot!). The chili was meatless, as it was a Friday, but still tasty. I then baked the mixture in the new springform pan that I bought at Ikea last weekend (I also got a super cute apron and pastry brush along with some other things, and I got to see my lovely siblings, which is a win!).
Well, when I sliced it to serve, the Frito crust kind of crumbled, so we put the slices in bowls and added chili on top. So basically, it was cornbread and chili, but it was baked like a pie, so it totally counts! The experiment wasn't as successful as I had hoped... the crust was pretty darn awful (baking the Frito's burnt them), but the chili and cornbread were both tasty!
So anyway, it wasn't a win, but it wasn't a total fail... and besides, I had chili for the last few days for lunch, and I can't really complain about that :)
Well, that's about all I have I think! Apple pie tonight and then pizza pies this week! Hooray!
So, without further ado, the Pie Slicies!
Best First Pie: Apple Pie
Best Pie in a Profile Picture: White Chocolate Strawberry Pie
Best Reason to Invent a Time Machine so I Can Punch the Shakers in the Face: Shaker Lemon Pie
Best Pie that Represents America's Stomping of Canada at the Olympics: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (aka the pie that was "like eating Canada")
Best Excuse to Add More Chocolate to My Life: Chocolate Cheesecake
Best Pie that's Actually a Cookie with Fruit: Caramel Apple Dessert Pizza
Best Fruit Pie: Blackberry Apple Pie
Best Lattice-Topped Pie: Blueberry Raspberry Pie
Best Cheesecake: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Best Example of Pie Fail: Lemon Cheese Pie
Best Pie that Came From a Non-Pie Lover: Banana Pudding Pie
Best Pie that Shouldn't Have Worked But Somehow Did: Chocolate Pecan Pie (aka Twice-Baked Pecan Pie)
Best Way to Eat Your Daily Serving of Nuts When You're Actually Eating Pure Sugar: Pecan Pie
Best Reason to Have an Actual Recipe Rather than Improvising: Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Best Pie With My Initials: Lemon Meringue
Best Christmas Pie Invention: Peppermint Patty Pie
Best Christmas Morning Breakfast Pie: Broccoli and Ham Quiche
Best Meat Pie: Shepherd's Pie
Best Reason to Just Throw Out Ruined Meringue Rather than Attempt to Save it: Pecan Pie Minus the Pecans with a Meringue Topping
Best Name for a Pie, Even if it's No the Real Name and I Just Invented it Because it Sounds Cool: Pink Lady Pie (aka Pink Lemonade Pie)... also Orange Creamsicle Pie
Best Non-Cheesecake that Totally Tasted like Cheesecake: Key Lime Pie
Best Perkin's Knock-Off: Peanut Butter Pie
Best Pie Made in an Apple-Shaped Pie Pan: Chicken Taco Pie
Best Pie to Make When Sick and Unable to Do Anything but Throw Ice Cream in a Crust: Snickers Ice Cream Pie
Best Example of Why Martha Stewart Can't Be Trusted (and Should Also be Punched in the Face): Chocolate Ganache Tart
Best On-a-Whim Pie Invention (also Best Reason to Shop When Hungry): I Was Craving Cinnamon Rolls Pie
Best Excuse to Make Chili and Still Count it as a Pie: Walking Taco Pie
So! There you have it! Every pie I've made so far! I mean, I've made duplicates of a few of these, but thus far I've baked 27 different recipes... kind of crazy/cool!
And tonight, in honor of this momentous anniversary, and more importantly in celebration of my boyfriend's birthday, I'm baking Apple Pie... the first pie I ever made :)
Okay, so a write-up of that last award there. Last week I decided to try out an invention that Jerry came up with... Walking Taco Pie. In case you don't know what it is, a walking taco is a snack/meal that's frequently sold at sporting events for its simplicity and genius. You take a small bag of Frito's (or jumbo bag, if you're really hungry or want to make it "family style"), open it, and pour a scoop of chili over the top, and then finish it off with cheese and sour cream (or whatever chili toppings tickle your fancy). You then eat and enjoy, whilst getting your fingers all kinds of messy. Ah well, c'est la vie when you eat sloppy foods in public!
So turning this into a pie was definitely a challenge, and it took me awhile to think of how exactly to do it. I knew I wanted a Frito's crust, but just pouring chili on top of that seemed a bit ridiculous to me... that's not a pie, it's just chili and smashed Frito's, and that would be unfair to the pie quest.
Instead, with Jerry's suggestion, I made a Frito crust (which didn't hold its shape nearly as well as graham crackers do, but oh well) and then poured on top a cornbread batter which I had added some chili to (homemade chili... woot woot!). The chili was meatless, as it was a Friday, but still tasty. I then baked the mixture in the new springform pan that I bought at Ikea last weekend (I also got a super cute apron and pastry brush along with some other things, and I got to see my lovely siblings, which is a win!).
Well, when I sliced it to serve, the Frito crust kind of crumbled, so we put the slices in bowls and added chili on top. So basically, it was cornbread and chili, but it was baked like a pie, so it totally counts! The experiment wasn't as successful as I had hoped... the crust was pretty darn awful (baking the Frito's burnt them), but the chili and cornbread were both tasty!
So anyway, it wasn't a win, but it wasn't a total fail... and besides, I had chili for the last few days for lunch, and I can't really complain about that :)
Well, that's about all I have I think! Apple pie tonight and then pizza pies this week! Hooray!
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