Fall?? Summer?? What??

Summer has flown by!!!!! Heat creates a major baking issue for me--lack of appetite. I know, I know... how could I not be hungry for any baked goods at any time really? The summer sucks it out of me. BUT cooler nights have prompted me to start mixing and chopping again. (I say chopping because of the chopped almonds for the Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti I made the other evening! Mmmmmmm) Baking at night can actually be quite enjoyable. The quiet atmosphere paired with something so calming and enjoyable in itself. You can't help but fall asleep peacefully that night after creating something as beautiful as Zucchini Muffins, Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti, or really anything that tickles your fancy. 

So, summer can kind of suck it when it comes to baking in a non air-conditioned dwelling. That's fine though, you know why? Because the itch to bake always comes back with a vengeance. I have sugary sweet thoughts bouncing around in my head and an upcoming event to help get my Pies back in action. I plan on discussing my other sweets here too more often. Why exclude any delicious treats?!

Pecan Pie!

Spring has started but I still have many winter Pies on the index to make yet... I thought Pecan Pie could suit a sunny, almost spring like day, but would still fullfill the winter Pie list.

To try and include a photo of myself during this process: As requested by Braden...

On page 313 the Pecan Pie recipe states this: "Traditional recipe from Tidewater Virginia. The choice among all desserts served at world renowned Williamsburg Inn in restored colonial Williamsburg." After reading this I decided to Google the Williamsburg Inn. I don't see any mention of said Pecan Pie but it certainly seems like a beautiful place. I'll let you Google it, as well, to see for yourself.

I started out this Pie by making the one crust recipe from page 310.

Unbaked Pie Shell

Next-- Assembled the filling. This filling had me a bit apprehensive because for 1. I had never made a Pecan Pie before and 2. everything was brown at the end. The first ingredients I added was the sugar and melted butter, I did this first because it helped the sugar melt slightly and it also gave me time to mix the two together so that the butter would cool down. Seeing as I just put hot, melted butter in the bowl, I wanted to cool it first before I added the eggs in the recipe. If you don't you may end up with scrambled bits of eggs in your filling and honestly that is gross. 

Sugar and Melted Butter

The eggs were added last, after I sprinkled in salt and the dark corn syrup-that apparently only exists on the bottom left corner of isle 7 at Fred Meyers. 

 The VERY last step to the filling was of course the Pecans, chopped in half. If you buy your Pecans in bulk like I do, you may want to bring along a measuring cup and purchase about a cup and 1/4 cup of whole Pecans. When you chop them in half it reduces the mass in your cup. Also, a little side note for the Pecans: it was less expensive to buy in bulk. Not only were they natural but they didn't have any random additives or were as costly as the prepackaged Pecans on the baking isle of the store. 

Pecans added: Before being baked

 This is the first entry I have made while actually eating the Pie I am writing about. I don't know if this means the pie has improved a lot, but I would like to think so. 

I really enjoyed making this traditional Pie and am definitely looking forward to Spring and Summer Pies! Thank you for reading along-- Don't forget to follow my blog so you can see my updates.

Ta Daaa!!

Happy Pi Day!!!

In honor of Pi day, I decided to make a nice Blackberry Pie. I used a recipe that was not Betty Crocker but it is delicious nonetheless. I think the pictures tell the best story of this weeks Pie.

Before the Baking

I decided to try out a lattice topped Pie for the first time... The edges could use a little help...

I have been getting a lot inspiration the past few weeks concerning my conquest of dessert making. Pie is definitely something I hope to keep up and perfect but I do love other treats as well. I haven't really delved much into cake baking, nor decorating, but I think that may be something to try at some point? Perhaps start smaller with cupcakes? 

Nice Side View

I enjoy Pie baking because I get to piece it together and play with the visual outcome a bit, as well. If you have any thoughts, please share. In the mean time I shall keep sharing my Pies with any, and all who shall read over this kitchy blog of mine!

Finished Product!!

The lattice top here at the end leaves a little to be desired visually... I suppose some practice may help with aesthetics but the oozing Blackberries are distracting me from this delicious mess.

WHO WANTS PIE?!

Yesterday, I helped put together a nice Chicken Pot Pie. 

I also had a good long talk about Baking... This got me thinking about what to do next in my food career (or what I like to pretend as my career in food). 

Chicken Pot Pie - Before Baking

I am curious about if I were to sell some of my Pies over the internet...

Would any of you like to purchase a Pie from me? Would you know anyone who would like to purchase Pies?

I am still figuring on how I would ship these Pies quickly, so as to keep them fresh! I am throwing ideas out and hopefully will get some feedback in return!

Canned Peach Pie: "Overflowing with bright, sparkly fruit and juice."

Today I made a variation of the Canned Berry Pie recipe on page 303. I also, used the two pie crust recipe from page 299. I chose the variation of using Peaches instead of a berry.
Canned Peaches taste pretty good... but not as good as canned Peaches in Pie form.

I followed the recipe according but added in less salt this time with the crust and used butter instead of shortening (I really only ever use butter, for personal preference).

The idea of cooking your Pie filling before baking it all together seems more daunting than it really is. The last Pie that called for this, the Butterscotch, was quite the ordeal. However, this nice Peach Pie was very simple. You just had to plop everything in a pot under medium-high heat and stir non-stop until it boiled up a bit.
 

Supposedly after this has happened you are to pour this mixture into your Pie shell and then dot with butter. After this you are to add your top crust. I kind of forgot to do the butter dotting so while my top crust was getting more and more saturated by the boiling inerds, I was cramming butter cubes through the apple-ish shaped cutouts I had made previously.
 

You can see the butter : )

I think it just added a little charm.

Oozing Peach goodness

Tasting this Canned Peach Pie was the best part! I rarely have a high liking for Peach flavored things but this was nice. The 3/4 cup of sugar as oppose to the full cup was a good choice and the cinnamon was a nice touch, too. I will certainly have to make this Pie again! 

(dramatic closeup)

Pot Pie.. Heaven?

This weekend I was scuffing around the Oregon Coast. While in Newport, I was able to have dinner with my awesome mates (April, Matthew, Svea) at a very nifty, dimly lit, Irish Pub. Nana's is in Nye Beach and full of great food! Seeing as how I am ALL about PIE though, I had to try out Bridget's Chicken Pot Pie. 

The Pot Pie came in a little crock with an amazing looking crust, baked juuuuuust right (little brown bits with soft, yet flaky peaks). After I jammed my spoon into the middle of the crust to break it apart, the steam escaped and I was soon able to mow down.
 
Now, most Pot Pies have a creamy sort of too rich but still good sauce. Bridget's Pot Pie was not too heavy at all. In fact, the filling was on the chunky side and the sauce was more of a nice touch. 
What I am trying to say is: Go to Nana's Irish Pub and eat this Pot Pie (or really anything you choose would be fine).

Having a classic Pie made well is a treat and I hope to try out my own soon.

PS: Blueberries.

Butterscotch Pie..."Glossy smooth... with the true butterscotchy flavor."

Wahooo! Yeah! Yay! Yippee!! Cream Pie! And may I add, if that title didn't catch you, I don't know what will.

I haven't had much experience with Cream Pies, and lets just say this one was a bit interesting. I made my Pie Crust from the one crust recipe on page 310 and proceeded to make the seemingly simple filling. 

Crust before baking.

Heating up, let alone boiling sugar, takes some time. Aside from this being a test of my patience, it really wasn't too bad of an experience. The random yoga I did in the kitchen to help pass the time was definitely a good choice, too. 

Melting the butter until golden brown... Yum!

Once the brown sugar was foaming and smelling delicious with the melted butter, I was to add a cup of boiling water. I did remove the pot from the heat before proceeding to this step but it spit up boiling sugar/ water at me while I was yelling. It was a learning experience. Everything after this was pretty simple, it just took a lot of time to wait for things to boil, take it off of the heat, add something, and boil again. I thought this interesting though, because to have a cream pie now you could just mix up a box of pudding and slap it in a pie crust.

Waiting to boil...

I grabbed a couple licks off the spoon before I poured out the filling into the pretty pie crust, it tasted butterscotchy... Success?? The Pie has yet to chill but once this is done I can add whipped cream and start the tastings...

All finished!

I would like to think that this pie adventure has had a good start. It was very fun reading through the ingredients and analogies within the Betty Crocker and to see my pie come out, somewhat how the description says, is pretty satisfying. I hope my taste testers and I have a good experience with this one!

Thank you Betty Crocker for making me use so many dishes for one pie that I had to run my dishwasher afterwards...

Florrid... The word of the Day!

Cherry Pie

Gather your belongings,
Pick each thing just so.
All of your ingredients must settle,
or your creation will not grow.
The luster will catch you,
if it all came out right.
The florridity of the cut-outs,
create such a beautiful Cherry Pie.


I wrote this poem about pie today and thought I would share : )

Thank you for a very generous donation! I will keep your name private but it will definitely help with my pie conquest.

A Collage of Pie

On pages 296 and 297 of The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook there is a collage of pies. The pie on the top right of the collage looks like a blackberry pie with Christmas Tree cut-outs on the top! Basically, they all look perfect and I am wising to have something look anywhere near any of these pies.

Julie and Julia is playing next to me. I am hoping this will bring some sort of encouragement and inspiration to keep up my project. I wouldn't say I am stealing the idea, I would say it is helping me to stay inspired. Knowing other people think about food as much as I do makes me feel as though I belong to something. Food is everything to me. I had the best pulled pork today and made my very first coleslaw to go along with it. It was just amazing. I could never take credit for the pork but the coleslaw almost tastes like a coleslaw... almost.

I also spent the better half of my Sunday watching the Food Network... 

I feel the lack of funds in my very cute clutch bag, and bank account, make the aspirations of pie making a bit difficult. I am antsy to make a nice berry pie of some sort and maybe a nice rich bread... maybe an oatmeal bread because it has been so chilly out. Oatmeal is always better when it is chilly out.  I wonder if there are any pies out there with oatmeal in them? hmmm...

Should I add a Paypal thingy to this? Would anyone want to help? I feel weird asking even. Ponder Ponder

Pass the milk. These cat treats are dry.

Today I made my own "Kitty Treats," courtesy of www.healthyrecipesforpets.com.
I'm going to be honest, I tried one. It was dry with a hint of chicken aftertaste. I can see why my cat turned her nose up at them and where a look of, "You're insane, not only did you eat that, but you made that" came from. I just wanted a more wholesome option for my furry best friend to eat. I try to eat organic when I can afford to, and generally home cooked foods. Why can't my cat have that luxury too? 

So, I am passing on some "Kitty Treats" to a few mates to see what their furry pals think of them...
Aside from cat food (haha) I am still looking over the pie comments and keeping in mind what to try out next. I kind of need more funds to buy most of the ingredients for any pie, really, at the moment.... but it will be done!

I am tossing around the idea in my mind now of selling my baked goods. My friend Martin last night asked if I had ever thought about selling them over the internet. I really have not even considered that a possibility. I think if someone really wanted something I would love to make it for them... It's fun nonetheless to just think of such a possibility.

My first Challah

Thus far, I am comfortable with my bread making skills, some pies, some cookies... some cakes... I think if I had more practice and honest eaters of baked goods, maybe I would be more willing to give it a go. Oh and willing eaters and/or buyers to begin with. That may help out the process. I'm not really sure how well a homemade pie ships either...

Pie. It's what we want.

Blackberry
Pre-Oven - So Pretty!

I received three of my Grandmother's cookbooks for Christmas a few years ago. One of these cookbooks being, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, from I think the 1960's but I cannot find a copyright. This really inspired me to try out my Pie making skills. This brought on my very first Pie, a nice Blackberry. I got some good reviews on this pie. It pushed me toward a Marionberry Pie and Peach Cobbler (too sloopy).

 Thanksgiving brought on more Pie opportunities. I helped my Mom with two Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pies. I made a Cherry (from a can) and an Apple (from one online recipe and good ole' Betty - I just made it up really). I did however make the Pie Crust for all of them with an Awesome recipe from an Awesome lady (Jean).

Apple Pie Post Oven Shot - Lumps of Flavor

The next step and big question is...what Pie should I try next? Or should I try to perfect these Pies (and one cobbler that was not cobbler esc but cobblerish- It was an island of biscuits in a sea of peachy syrupness)? This brings up another good question, Tarts?
We shall see...

PS: Never ask about my first Chocolate Cream Pie. It never happened. Never.
Neitherdidthecaramelcreamwhatevernotevenclosetoapiepiewhichisatestamenttowhyyoushouldneverbakeinabadmood.