Craisin For You Mixed Nut Pie

I wanted something rich and sweet. Crunchy and fruity. This is the result.

1 9 inch unbaked pie shell
2/3 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of melted butter
1 cup of dark corn syrup
1/2 tsp of salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup of pecan halves
1/2 cup of unsalted cashews
1/2 cup of slivered almonds
1/2 cup of craisins

Mix together melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt and eggs until thoroughly mixed. Fold in nuts. Spread craisins in bottom of unbaked pie shell. Pour in the nut mixture. Bake at 375 for 45 to 50 minutes until the center is set.

Holidays and Homemade Pies

I have always loved the holiday season. Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve is my favorite time of year. This is a time of family and homecoming. A time when we, as human beings, draw together against the long cold dark night and offer one another warmth and light. It is a time of magic and miracles. For gathering close not only those that we love, but those most in need of magic and miracles in their lives. It occurs to me that the true spirit of the season is the courage of human beings to create a season of thanks, love, joy and light in the midst of what truly is our darkest time of year. For my family the holiday season always means homemade pie. At least two for Thanksgiving even if there are only four of us for dinner. This year I decided to do a twist on the traditional pecan pie. May it bring some love, warmth and a little bit of magic into your holiday season!

Am I Blue Lemon Berry Pie

1 8-inch baked pie crust

1 to 1 1/2 cups of fresh or thawed frozen blueberries

2 tsps of sugar

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

the grated peel of 1/2 of a lemon

1 TBSP of flour

3 eggs

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup of lemon juice

1 tsp of grated lemon peel



Mix together blueberries, sugar and flour. Squeeze in 1/2 of a lemon and then grate in peel. Mix together until flour and sugar are thoroughly mixed with the liquid. Spread blueberry mixture in bottom of crust. Mix together eggs, sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup of lemon juice and teaspoon of grated lemon peel on medium speed with electric mixer until thoroughly combined. Pour over blueberries in crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Top each slice with whipped cream and blueberries that have been mixed with 2 teaspoons of sugar and the juice of half a lemon.

Summer's Last Gasp

It was brought on by surplus of blueberries and an unusually hot September. I adore lemon pie. In fact, the first pie I ever made on my own was a lemon meringue pie. This combined with the huge bag of blueberries taking up space in my freezer inspired a new pie. I call it Am I Blue Lemon Berry Pie. It made it's first appearance at my friend Julie's birthday celebration at the end of September, and although everyone assured me that it was a delicious first run, I felt it needed a tweak or two to make it perfect. So I reran the pie at my parent's house and came up with the perfect combination of tart lemon custard over a layer of slightly sweet blueberries contained in a perfectly flaky pie crust. I like to spoon some blueberries (that have been soaking in lemon juice and little bit of sugar to make them saucy) over the pie and top with a dollop of whipped cream. It tasted just like a little bit of summer.

Chocolate Covered Almond Swirl Cheesecake

This is a re-mix of a an old standby cheesecake recipe. I use Penzey's real almond extract for maximum almond flavor. I have found this recipe works best in an 8 or 8 1/2 inch springform pan. Anything larger is too big.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. (Fahrenheit of course)

Chocolate Mixture:

Combine

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup of sugar

Heat until chocolate is melted and set aside. I do this in the microwave.

Crust:

1 & 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup of melted butter

2 Tbsps of sugar

Mix together and press firmly into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a springform pan.

Batter:

2 8oz packages of cream cheese softened. (I use neufeutchel cheese which is lower in calories)

3/4 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of sour cream ( I use Breakstone's light sour cream. Just as rich as regular sour cream)

1 tsp. of almond extract

4 eggs

Beat cream cheese until light and creamy. Gradually beat in sugar (I do 1/4 cup at at time). Mix in sour cream and almond extract. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Divide batter in half. (I never measure so this is never exactly half for me. Just do the best you can.) Stir the Chocolate Mixture into half the batter. Pour the chocolate batter into the crust and then pour the regular half of the batter over the chocolate batter. Swirl with a butter knife by carefully thrusting it into the batter and moving it slow swirls. Bake for 50 minutes or until only a 2 to 3 inch circle in the center moves. Cool at room temperature for 10 minutes. Take a knife and loosen the edges and then cool for one hour.

Topping:

1/4 cup (or so) of slivered almonds

Toast almonds in the oven. Turn oven up to 425 degrees and place almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Toast for about 4 or 5 minutes. Keep an eye on them they burn quickly. Remove them from the baking sheet immediately or they will continue cooking. Set aside.

1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 Tbsps of butter

1/2 tsp of almond extract

Melt together butter and chocolate chips in microwave and then stir in almond extract.

Pour chocolate mixture over the cheesecake that has cooled for an hour and then sprinkle with toasted almonds. Refrigerate overnight. If you let the cheesecake warm up a bit before cutting, it will be easier to serve.

A Corkscrew, a Corkscrew, my Cheesecake for a Corkscrew

It was because of our annual wine soaked pilgrimage to the woods for a dose of culture that I invented a new cheesecake. In an attempt to class up an old favorite and celebrate a dear friend's belated birthday, I turned chocolate swirl cheesecake into Chocolate Covered Almond Swirl Cheesecake. Hauling a cheesecake out the woods for a pre-play picnic, especially when it does not fit in your cooler, is a difficult undertaking. That is why I decided to leave some essentials at home like wine glasses and a corkscrew. To be fair my bottle was a cava and needed no corkscrew. Well, I was not the only one who did not bring a corkscrew, and we ended up with three bottles of wine we couldn't open. Luckily we were able to borrow a corkscrew from some kind picnickers a few feet away. As a reward we gave them the rest of the cheesecake thereby solving the problem of what to do with the leftovers. Not only did my friends enjoy the cheesecake, but the other group seemed to find it delicious as well. For this reason, I have decided that cheesecake is indeed pie and I will be posting the recipe for this particular cheesecake on my blog. Enjoy!

Pie Project Uno - Realized?

Well I made the peach pie over Labor Day weekend. I made a pie crust and baked it, and then I set it aside to cool. I sauteed about four sliced and peeled peaches in pan with butter, dark brown sugar, cinnamon and bourbon and carefully spooned them into the crust. I put it in the fridge to cool and made some caramel. I used a recipe for caramel meant for caramel apples and I spooned it over the top of the peaches. Then I made a custard similar to what you would find on a banana cream pie except I flavored it with almond extract instead of vanilla extract. For a final finishing touch I toasted up some slivered almonds in the pan that I used to cook the peaches and sprinkled them over the top of the pie. The almonds turned out almost candy coated. After everything cooled down in the refrigerator, I served it with whipped cream. After this initial pie, I think I need to make some changes to it before it is perfect. In the meantime, here is a picture of the pie, and if you have an idea for the name please let me know! I will be making the pie again this week and then posting the recipe.

Pie Project Uno - intial findings

So I have started work on a new pie, and I am thinking peaches. Not traditional peach pie because I have never found a recipe for peach pie that I truly liked. So I am thinking peaches, custard, cinnamon, caramel, toasted almonds and a touch of bourbon. Tomorrow I bake. I hope it tastes as good as it sounds....

The Purpose of Proper Pie

I bake apple pie. According to my friends, the pie is exceptional. The best thing that they have ever tasted. From my point of view, it tastes like pie is supposed to taste. It tastes like the pie I grew up eating. It tastes like Mom's pie. This made me wonder about what kind of pie other people are used to eating. When I give people the recipe I use for apple pie, they usually remark on how simple it is. A good, proper pie is simple, but in this age of multi-tasking and over scheduling no one likes to take the time make good pie. Because they grew up eating store bought crust and canned filling, they don't realize that good pie is worth the time and trouble. I want this blog to change people's lives by introducing them to proper pie, to really good proper pie. I will post recipes and tips, and share my pie baking experiments. I want to invent one new pie a week. I look to anyone reading this for suggestions. Proper pie makes people happy. Proper pie can change the world. Starting next week look for my first posted new pie recipe!

The Manifesto

Pie. It’s simple and ubiquitous, a subject that we give little or no thought to on a daily basis. Pie deserves our attention because pie is our culinary heritage. Pie is found in some form in almost every culture. The idea of wrapping food in some sort of pastry to make it portable and easier to eat is as old as cooking. Pie can be sweet or savory. You can make an entire meal based on pie, but how many people have actually tasted really good pie. Proper pie does not come frozen in a box. Proper pie does not have a mass produced pre-rolled crust. Proper pie does not use pre- cooked or canned fillings. Proper pie is made from scratch from the crust up. Proper pie uses fresh ingredients for the filling. Proper pie can change your life.