Pie Adventures (4)

So, since I've decided to have a year of Pie Adventures, I've only grown more excited about the prospect and I want to share as much as I can with all of you...pictures, recipes, funny pie stories, etc. So... here's what I've made since last time:

I realized it's been a few weeks since I posted some pies for you all.  Following up the key lime pie and savory meat pie, I decided to try some very different things.  I actually have FOUR new pies to share! The first, was a nice, easy and interesting pie...CINNAMON APPLESAUCE PIE from Ken Haedrich's Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie. (All of today's recipes are from this book) 

INGREDIENTS:

1 (9-inch) premade crust

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 cups sweetened applesauce

1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)

1 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon zest 

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Place pie crust into greased pie pan and place in freezer for 15 mins. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

2. Combine the eggs, egg yolk, and sugars in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend the ingredients until well mixed. Add all the remaining ingredients and beat again until evenly blended. Carefully pour the filling into the chilled pie shell. 

4. Place the pie on center oven rack and bake for 15 mins. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for another 30 mins. Rotate the pie 180 degrees (so that the back is now in front) when there's about 15 mins. left. 

5. Let pie cool completely before serving. 

This pie was pretty good!  You could eat it warmed up or cold...either way it was deliciously cinnamon apple-y, which is one of my favorite flavors.  

In fact, I liked this one enough that it inspired me to go for a more difficult apple pie next, the CARAMEL APPLE PECAN pie. (Plus, I'd gotten requests from both the hubs and my boss for a pecan pie next...so...) 

INGREDIENTS:

1 (9-inch) premade pie crust

10 caramels, cut into 4 pieces each

[filling] 7 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples (I chose granny smith)

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tblsp. granulated sugar

1 Tblsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

[topping] 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup pecan halves

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

6 Tblsp. cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4 in. pieces

[caramel garnish] 3 Tblsp. unsalted butter cut into pieces

1 Tblsp. water

30 caramels

large handful of pecan halves

1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place pie crust in greased pie pan. Scatter the caramel pieces into the pie shell and place in freezer while preparing the filling. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

2. Combine the apples, brown sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Mix well, then set aside for 10 mins. Mix the granulated sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the fruit along with the cinnamon and vanilla. Scrape the filling into the pie shell and flatten. 

3. Put the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 30 minutes. 

4. Make the crumb topping. Combine the flour, pecan halves, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse several times, chopping the nuts coarsely. Scatter the butter over the dry mixture and pulse the machine again until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a medium-sized bowl and rub the mixture between fingers to make damp, gravelly crumbs. 

5. Remove pie from oven and reduce temperature to 375 degrees F. Carefully dumb crumbs in the center of the pie, spreading evenly over the surface with hands. Return pie to oven, on a pie sheet, placing the part that had been in back in the front.

6. Bake another 30 minutes.

7. Take pie out and let cool for about an hour. 

8. While pie is still warm, (at almost the end of the cooling hour) prepare the caramel

garnish. Combine the butter, water, and caramels in the top of a double boiler (I used a large metal bowl on top of a pot). Melt the caramels over, NOT in, barely simmering water. When melted, whisk the mixture until it is smooth, then drizzle the caramel over the entire surface of the pie. 

9. Immediately press the pecan halves into the caramel then sprinkle chopped pecans over top, as well.  Let cool for another hour before serving. 

This pie came out AMAZING.  I won't lie.  Good cold. Amazing once warmed so the caramels melt again.  Ridiculously good...and pretty aggravating to make.  Not that it wasn't worth it, but this is NOT a pie to make on a whim.  This pie took about 3 hours from start to finish and had so many steps! Thank goodness the end result was fantastic.  I plan to make it again, but only for a special occasion. 

On the heels of this challenging bake, I decided to try something simple again. My husband loves peanut butter, so I decided to try a PEANUT BUTTER PIE. 

INGREDIENTS:
1 (9-inch) premade pie crust

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup 

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place pie crust in greased pie pan and place in freezer for 15 mins. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until frothy. Whisk in the corn syrup, butter, salt, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the peanuts. Slowly pour the filling into the pie shell and rake the peanuts with a fork to distribute evenly. 

3. Place pie on center oven rack and bake for 30 mins. Then rotate pie so back is in front and bake for 20 additional mins. 

4. Let pie cool completely, then refridgerate overnight. Serve chilled. 

This pie should most definitely be served cold.  We tried pieces before it had cooled completely and were both disappointed.  Then we tried pieces the second day and LOVED it.  It really does need to be ice cold. It tastes like crunchy peanut butter and was a huge hit at both home and work. 

Easy and tasty, I'll definitely make that one again.  Two tips - dark corn syrup NOT light for sure.  It makes the pie more appealing visually, though I think the taste would be about the same.  Second, make sure you get roasted peanuts, but not the sweetened kind. You really want this pie to taste like pure peanuts. 

All right, last pie for tonight!  After two nut based pies, I decided I wanted a fruity one. So, tonight for the Superbowl, we had STRAWBERRY PIE. Nice and light and just right after so many "heavy" pies.  It almost felt like summer...

INGREDIENTS:
2 (9-inch) premade pie crusts

[filling] 4 cups hulled and thickly sliced fresh strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tblsp. cornstarch

1 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 Tblsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

[glaze] sugar

milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the pie crust in a greased pie pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  

2. Put strawberries in a large bowl. Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl, then add the mixture to the fruit and toss well. Add the lemon juice and nutmeg and toss again.  Set aside for 10 mins. 

3. Turn the filling into the pie shell and smooth fruit with a spoon. Dot the top with butter. Lightly moisten the rim of the pie shell and press the top and bottom pastries together along the dampened edge.  Trim the overhang. Cut a few vents in the top of the pie crust. 

4. Sprinkle the top crust evenly with sugar, then with milk. 

5. Place pie on center oven rack and bake for 30 mins. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F and rotate the pie so the back is now in front (may want to place on a cookie sheet). 

6. Bake for another 35 mins. If top of pie begins to get too brown, cover with tented aluminum foil for last 10 mins. 

7. Let cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

As I said this pie was light and berry-licious.  I topped it with some whipped cream, but if warmed, this pie could also be served with vanilla ice cream.  YUM!

Hope you're not pied out yet, because I'll be getting you more pictures and recipes soon.  I'm averaging a pie a week so far... LOL!

Pie Adventures (3)

So, since I've decided to have a year of Pie Adventures, I've only grown more excited about the prospect and I want to share as much as I can with all of you...pictures, recipes, funny pie stories, etc. So... here's what I've made since last time: 

After the chocolate cream pie, I decided to make another of my husband's favorites, KEY LIME PIE. I was pleasantly surprised with this one...lime's not always my favorite, but this pie was actually a lot sweeter than I'd expected! Not quite as tart as some of the other versions I've had. This one was a HUGE hit with everyone that tried it. The recipe actually came from Ashley English's book, A Year of Pies: A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies. 

INGREDIENTS:
1 (9 inch) premade graham cracker crust
1/4 cup key lime juice
3 tablespoons grated lime zest
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
3 large egg yolks, beaten

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the lime juice, lime zest, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl.
3. Whisk until ingredients are fully blended.
4. Pour the filling into the crust.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.

Cool completely before serving.

Here's what I learned...while on the surface this pie was easy to make, without ahand-held juicer, squeezing the juice out of those little key limes was a pain in the tush! I highly recommend that you invest in one like I did (after this pie, lol) before making anything that involves a lot of fresh orange, lime, or lemon juice. 

This pie, with a combination of tart and sweet, would probably go great with a contemporary suspense/romance featuring a sarcastic teen character...something like the book Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore. 

Last week I also made a staple in our house during the winter months.  This savory pie was developed originally from a recipe given to me by my friend, Sharon, who had gotten it passed down through her French-Canadian family. So, my version of French Meat Pie is somewhat more Americanized. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 (9 inch) pre-made unbaked crusts

1 lb. ground beef 

Adobo spice or salt and pepper

1/2 medium onion (I prefer vidalia) 

2 cloves garlic

Mashed potatoes (we cheat and use boxed) 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Spray pie dish and place bottom crust. 

3. Prepare mashed potatoes. If using boxed, make 6 servings worth. 

4. Mince the garlic cloves, chop the onion, then saute until onion is translucent.  

5. Brown the ground beef. Season to taste. 

6. Combine the beef mixture and mashed potatoes. 

7. Pour filling into pie shell and roll second crust over the top. Make sure to poke several holes in the top crust before baking. 

8. Bake pie for 30 minutes or until top crust is golden brown. 

Allow to cool for five minutes before serving. 

This pie, which takes about 10 minutes to put together (before baking) is super easy and is a great comfort food meal, perfect for cold nights over the winter. This is a great pie to eat while reading a book with a cold setting, something perhaps like Trapped by Michael Northrop.

As I continue my pie adventures, I'll be sure to share more pictures, recipes, and reviews of each pie's deliciousness. Look for more tasty posts on the weekends!

My Pie Adventures Continue!

So, since I've decided to have a year of Pie Adventures, I've only grown more excited about the prospect and I want to share as much as I can with all of you...pictures, recipes, funny pie stories, etc.  So... let me catch you up: 

First, I made a SOUR CREAM AND RAISIN pie which was...interesting!

Not sweet, but more spicy like a pumpkin pie.  And if you don't like raisins, you definitely won't like this one.  However, if you'd like to try making this one yourself, here's the recipe I used from Allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS:
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, salt and nutmeg. Beat until smooth. stir in raisins. Pour filling into pie crust.
3. Bake in the lower half of preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until filling is set. Allow to cool before serving.

This pie would be perfect while reading any book set in the South, like the Caster Chronicles series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl or the Southern Vampire Mysteries (ie - Sookie Stackhouse) series by Charlaine Harris. 

Secondly, I decided to go for a more traditional and sweet pie, so I decided to make my husband's favorite, CHOCOLATE PUDDING PIE. 

I realized as I was prepping it, though, that I'd made a silly mistake.  In order to make a pudding pie or any other type of chilled/no bake pie, you need to use a prebaked crust.  I only had the uncooked kind (and yes, at the moment I'm still cheating with store-bought crust...I'll tackle that extra challenge as the year goes on...).  So, first I learned how to bake an empty pie crust! 

Once that crust was set and cooling, I started the pie recipe, again from Allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate
pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped
topping, thawed
10 gummi worms

DIRECTIONS:
1. Make instant pudding according to directions on box.
2. Dump pudding into pie crust.
3. Spread whipped topping on top of the pudding.
4. Refrigerate until not too gooey.

This pie came out delicious and once I had the pie all set, it was super easy. I would just recommend letting this one chill in the fridge overnight for maximum firmness.  This pie would pair perfectly with a good holiday romance... 

As I continue my pie adventures, I'll be sure to share more pictures, recipes, and reviews of each pie's deliciousness.  Look for more tasty posts on the weekends! 

A Year of Pie Adventures Ahead

So, With the holidays upon us,  my mind has of course turned to sweets. As I was reading Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl last week,  I was intrigued by the multitude of different pies that the Southern characters baked throughout the book. Inspiration struck and I have decided to launch a new hobby in the coming year...

I am going to embark upon a pie exploration!  I told my husband that I am going to bake a different pie about one every other week (a declaration to which his response was rather enthusiastic,  lol). So, tonight I tried my first new recipe.  One for a sour cream and raisin pie.  Something I had never heard of before!

The result:

A pie that turned out to be way more flavorful than I'd expected!  Not too sweet,  but rather spicy like a pumpkin pie... full of nutmeg and raisin-y goodness. So different than most pies I've ever had!

Now I just have to decide what recipe to try next!  Fun. If you have any suggestions let me know! I'm up for almost anything.