3 pies in 4 hours

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I realize that I might be a little late in posting this but I wanted to share what I made for Thanksgiving dinner. My task this year was to bring dessert and I had settled on two pumpkin pies and my favorite apple pie. I thought I had found the pumpkin pie recipe I wanted to use a few weeks ago but I wasn't completely happy with what I had so I finally decided on using the recipe from the most obvious source: the recipe from the can of pumpkin!

I used my favorite recipe for the crust (see it here). I left it in the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes which made it easier to work with. I discovered half way into making the crust that I was out of butter. I could have sworn that I had another four sticks in the fridge but I must bake too often.

Here is the recipe I followed for the pumpkin pie:

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz) Libby's Pure Pumpkin
1 can (15 fl oz) Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit. Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves in a bowl. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Now, if you want, you can add a fun leaf cut out crust. I made another pie crust, rolled it out, and cut-out several different types of leaves using small leaf cookie cutters. I placed the leaves on a cookie sheet and set it in the fridge for about 10 minutes. Then I beat one egg with about a 1/2 cup of half and half (you can also use heavy cream) and brushed the pie crust with theegg wash. I took the leaves and pressed them onto the crust and then brushed them with the egg wash. I recommend doing this before you add the filling; I dropped a few and did my best to wipe off the filling. It wasn't too horrible but it's easier to do the crust first.

I really enjoyed making these pies and having the chance to get a little more creative with my pie crust. I was also really pleased with how the pumpkin pie tasted. I normally avoid eating pumpkin pie; the custardy texture of most pies just isn't my favorite. But these turned out really great and had a much different texture to them. I am not sure what the technical baking term is for that but I would say that they had more substance.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Next up: Christmas cookies! Can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Ryan

My husband's birthday was this last Thursday. Each year since we got married I bake him something special. Last year was a mad dash to the grocery store for a vanilla cake mix. I have nothing against box cakes, but this time around I wanted to do something a little more from scratch. This year I decided to use one of his favorite dessert ingredients: blackberries! I had thought of doing a recipe from the Domestic Goddess but I didn't have all the ingredients. Option two, a blackberry pie!

The recipe called for a 1/4 cup of sugar on the top crust. I only used about two tablespoons, maybe less. It gave the top crust a nice caramelized crunch. I don't really prefer that for pies but it gave me an idea on a few desserts to experiment on. In the end, it was really yummy and a great success for my first blackberry pie!

(My pie crust recipe comes from Martha Stewart. It is amazing! Find the link on my Recipes page!)

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Cookbook Review 2

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook
by Dinah Bucholz

Yes, you read that correctly, there is such a thing as a Harry Potter cookbook. First, let me start off by stating that the cookbook is not authorized by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros. Entertainment hence the "unofficial" in the title. Ok, disclaimers aside, here we go...

I received this cookbook as a Christmas present from my in-laws. I absolutely love everything Harry Potter and I quickly proceeded to read through the entire thing. The book is compromised of ten chapters, each relating to a different topic or place in the Harry Potter books. There are receipts for Aunt Petunia's pudding, treats from Diagon Alley, a chapter on all the breakfast food Harry, Ron, and Hermione ate while at school, favorite dishes from all the school feasts, Harry's favorite Treacle Tart, and of course a whole chapter dedicated to Harry's favorite cook, Mrs. Weasley.

Each recipe begins with where it is found in the books. Sometimes there are even great historical facts on where the recipe came from or why it has a funny name. A few recipes include ingredients that you can't get in the US (blood sausage anyone?) but most have ingredients easy to find and more than not often stocked in your pantry.

The first thing I made was the Cornish Pasties. The instructions weren't too complicated; it just took a long time. I recommend making the dough a day early if you have the time. I don't think we ate until eight o'clock in the evening when I first made these but they were so worth it. The picture below is from my first attempt.

My second favorite is the Meat and Potato Pies which I shared with you earlier this year.

There are so many others I really want to try, not because they are from Harry Potter, but because they are also just so British. I plan on trying the Mince Pies come this Christmas. And what Sunday roast would be complete without Yorkshire Pudding? I will be sure to share all my Harry Potter baking adventures with you and maybe you can experience some of the magic yourself!

Cheers! And Happy Baking!

Baking with Love - Celebrating a family matriarch

This last weekend our family had the pleasure of celebrating my grandma Ru's 85th birthday. Her only wish was for the whole family to be there and we did not let her down. It was a great night of chatting, laughing, and eating desserts.

That's thing about this family - we love our desserts. Most specifically, we love apple pie. That might be an understatement. Apple pie is essential to any family event. I first learned how to make apple pie from my grandma. A few years ago she helped me make one as a birthday present for my dad. He, too, loves apple pie. One of the biggest compliments he ever gave me was that he like my pie. We have such high standards so this was a big deal!

I have yet to master my grandma's recipe. I don't even think I have it in my recipe book. I have been trying other recipes that I have found online or in cookbooks. The pie I made for Gram was a combination of three different recipes. I wanted to make mini apple pies but I didn't have circle cutter in the right size. So, my pie became a pleated crumble topping apple pie.

But one of these days I'm going to make sure I have my grandma's recipe. Traditions are what make a family a family. And when it's a baking tradition, well, that's something extra special.

Savory Baking - Meat and Potato Pies

I love baking desserts and sweet treats but I also love baking savory dishes. Earlier this week I thought I would try to make something with the extra onion and chuck steak I had on hand. After perusing my Harry Potter cookbook (yes, I have one, and yes, I will post a review sometime!), I decided to try making meat and potato pies. The recipe was really similar to the Cornish Pasty recipe (from the same book) so I knew it wouldn't be too complicated. I cut the cooking time in half, though, since I didn't really have three hours to prepare dinner. I think the long cook time for this is to allow all the flavors come through. All ingredients go into a skillet and I tried to let them simmer as long as I could.

The dough was a simple pastry dough. I mixed it up and let it chill while I cooked the filling. Once ready, I rolled it out to make my little pie crusts. I didn't have a large enough cookie cutter to make the bottom crust so I actually used the lid to my flour container. It worked perfect! I sprayed my muffin pan with Pam, added the bottom crusts, filled the crust with the meat filling, and added a top crust. A little brush of egg wash and the pies were ready to bake.

These smelled so amazing as they baked. Both Ryan and I were really excited for dinner. I think these turned out amazingly. Surprisingly, I found them to be a bit easier to make then Cornish Pasties. I will have to check the freezer for more chuck steak because I can't wait to make these again!