NYTimes Pear-Pomegranate Pie

My Thanksgiving dinner host sent me the link to this recipe on NYTimes.com. I told her that I would bring that to the dinner. And I eventually did - after a few hurdles. First, I nearly burned down my apartment and my first batch of homemade pomegranate molasses. According to Alton Brown, you're supposed to boil pomegranate juice with sugar and lemon juice until you get a consistency of a thick syrup - which was a big mistake. By the time the syrup cooled, I got a rock-hard black thing instead. The second try, I learned my lesson and turned the heat off when the juice looked like a normal syrup.



Then I moved on to the pie. I prepared all butter pie crust from this recipe on SimplyRecipes.com. I have used this recipe so many times with great result. But this time, somehow the butter separated from the crust and spilled over. Fortunately, I lined the pie dish with a baking sheet. The crust came out flaky and delicious. But still, by the end of the baking time I got a pull of melted butter all over the baking sheet... I'm blaming it on the Organic flour and Organic butter I started using from WholeFoods. The things you have to endure to try to eat healthy...



I followed the recipe exactly for the pear filling. I quartered 6 pears, cooked 3 at a time on a stove top with the pomegranate molasses. I sliced the 2 remaining pears and tossed them with all the other ingredients to make the pie filling. Everything was fine until it's time to check for its doneness after baking.



Those quartered pears were still not completely cooked even after 10 extra minutes in the oven. I didn't want to over cook the crust so I took it out of the oven and brought it to the dinner party.

The pie tasted great despite the fact that there were great giant hunks of pears to chew through. It was perfectly seasoned and sweetened. The crust light and flaky. The next time I try this, I'll just chop up all the pears and cook them all in the syrup before baking.

Amy's Jumbleberry Pie with Variations

This has become one of our favorite pies, and has graced our Thanksgiving table for the last couple of years.  I got the recipe from Amy, who is the baking queen in my book!  It's also got an open faced variation and a cream cheese variation, which I haven't tried because of Sarah's lactose intolerance.  But cream cheese?  Of course it must be wonderful.  Amy also included a pie crust recipe.

So here you go.  This is exactly as Amy e-mailed it to me.  I'll take a picture on Thanksgiving if I remember before it is all gone.

For one double crusted pie:

3-4 cups of berries (frozen or fresh) - depending on the size of your pie plate & whether or not you add a layer of cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
2-3 Tbl cornstarch (I'm not exactly sure how much cornstarch you would use because I use Ultragel for my pies.  It says that 1 Tbl cornstarch = 2 Tbl Ultragel, so I guess this amount is about right.)
1/4 c. lemon juice

Mix sugar and cornstarch together, then toss berries in the mixture and add lemon juice.  If you are not adding a layer of cream cheese, then just mound this into your unbaked pie shell, top with other crust, and seal edges.  Make slits in the top of the pie crust then brush on an egg wash (1 egg and a couple Tbls of milk).  Cook at 400 for 20 min, then reduce heat to 350 for another 35-45 minutes or until crust is a deep golden brown and juices are bubbly.  If edges are browning too quickly, cover with foil ring. 

Something that I read, but haven't tried yet (because I never have paper bags) is to cook your pie in a paper bag the entire time.  Just make sure it's not touching the sides of the oven.   It's supposed to make it brown perfectly.

If you want to add a layer of cream cheese:

1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg yolk
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth, add egg and vanilla.  Smooth into bottom of unbaked pie crust.  Add berries on top of layer and finish off as above.

If you want to do an open faced pie:

Cook pie shell and let cool.  If you want the cream cheese layer, then cook the pie shell with the cream cheese layer on the oven rack below the middle.

For berry filling:

3/4 c water
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 c sugar
5-6 Tbl cornstarch (again, not exactly sure on the amount.  Add more if it's too thin, and more water if too thick)
3-4 c berries

Mix sugar and starch together, then whisk into water and lemon juice.  Add berries and cook on medium heat until bubbly and thickened.  Let cool a bit, then add to cook pie shell and chill in fridge.

I'm not sure if you needed the pie crust recipe as well, but here it is if you want:

2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar
1 c butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/4 - 1/2 c ice water

In food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt.  Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 sec).  Pour 1/4 c. water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched.  If necessary add more water.  Do not process more than 30 seconds.  Turn dough out onto surface and gather in a ball.  Divide in half, flattening each half into a disk.  Cover w/ plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour before using.  After it's chilled, remove one portion & roll out on lightly floured surface.  Roll out to 12" circle.  To help prevent sticking, lift shell up as you roll out and add a little more flour if necessary - also make sure to keep your rolling pin floured as well.  Transfer to pie plate, and let the magic happen :)

To bake pie shell:  Prick sides and bottom of shell and cook at 400 for about 15 min? (with cream cheese: 375 and about 20 min) or until it's slightly browned.  *Keep an eye on it - I'm not positive on those times - I'm too lazy to go and look :)

Blueberry Crumb Pie

Last week, for a friend's birthday party, we went to Buttermilk Channel - a restaurant in Brooklyn and had excellent dinner. My favorite dish was the appetizer - grilled flat bread with fresh ricotta and squash blossom. The dish was so simple but it was executed so perfectly that I kept dreaming about it for days.

For dessert, we all shared a chocolate tart, a pecan pie sundae, a banana bread pudding and a blueberry tart with vanilla ice cream.

I made it my mission to replicate the tart. It was tart - as in sour. It was full of berries and probably with minimal added sugar. It was perfect pairing with sweet and creamy ice cream.



I got pretty close. I made blueberry crumb pie with only 1/2 cup of raw sugar for 4 pints of blueberries. The pie was juicy and tart. The crust was flaky and buttery especially the day after baking - before it went into the refrigerator.



From the list of ingredients below, I got one 9-inch pie which I brought to a dinner party. The host said she had never tasted such a good pie. :D I also had enough to make additional 8 mini tarts in a muffin pan which I distributed to my friends with varying level of compliments - from "amazing!" to "not bad" to "ok"...



Ingredients

• Pie crust


• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 3 tablespoon sugar


• 3 sticks chilled butter - cut into chunks


• 1/4 cup ice cold water


• Filling


• 4 pints fresh blueberries (about 7 cups) - rinsed and stemmed


• Juice from 1 lemon


• 1/2 cup sugar (if you want sweeter pie, increase sugar up to 1 1/2 cups)


• 3 tablespoons instant tapioca


• Topping


• 2/3 cup all purpose flour


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1/2 stick chilled butter

Directions

1. To make the pie crust, in a food processor, pulse flour, salt and sugar together. Add cubed butter. Pulse 10 more times until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Turn the mixture into a large bowl, sprinkle cold water over and mix with a rubber spatula. Gather the dough into 2 balls. Flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.


2. To make the filling, toss the berries with sugar, lemon juice and tapioca.


3. For the crumb topping, mix flour and sugar in a clean bowl. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or two table knives until the mixture resemble coarse crumbs.


4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. To assemble, roll out one of disks and place at the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish. Crimp the edge. For mini tart, roll out the other disk and cut out with 4-inch cookie cutter. Arrange into a muffin pan.


5. Spoon the berries into the prepared pie dish and muffin pan. Sprinkle the crumb topping.


6. For the pie bake for 35-40 minutes and 20-25 minutes for mini tarts or until the top is nicely brown.


7. Let the pie cool in the dish before cutting. For the tarts, let cool of a few minutes in the muffin pan, then turn out (I used mini metal spatula to scoop out the side) to cool on a cooling rack.

Peach Pie

I baked this pie for our 4th of July picnic in Prospect Park (along with super awesome cider braised pork shoulder which I shredded and served as tacos.)

I experimented a bit with the pie. First, I read somewhere that there's no reason why we shouldn't pre-bake pie crust even with fruit pies in order to get crispier shell. So I pre-baked the crust for about 15 minutes before filling and then baked for 40 minutes more.

The result: Meh. I didn't get any crispier or flakier shell. So, no pre-baked pie crust in my future fruit pies.



Second, I was wondering why we only use cold water in the pie dough. Why don't we use buttermilk? My wise friend, Hannah, said it's because we want all the liquid to evaporate leaving flaky crust from layers of fat and flour. I argued that buttermilk is acidic and it can prevent gluten from forming in the dough which makes the crust tough. So I used buttermilk instead of water.

The result: The crust wasn't as flaky as usual. Maybe buttermilk has leftover residue that affected the crust texture. Hannah was right.



Finally, I didn't add any spice to the fruit (about 6 pounds of peaches) - just 1/4 cup sugar, zest of a lemon plus half the juice and 3 tablespoons of flour to thicken. I thought the filling came out great - a little tart and not at all watery to which a few people agreed and a few didn't. Hannah said the balance of sweet and tart was just right but she preferred more juicy pie. My friend, Tim, said the filling was way too sour. Not tart. Just SOUR! Dude has sweet tooth...



Anyway, by the end of the day, the whole pie was gone. I didn't even have to sell it to hard.

Vanilla Custard Apple Cake

At The Tea Lounge in Park Slope last weekend, I had an absolutely lovely apple cake. It looked like a crumb cake but the gentle hipster behind the counter said it's an apple pie. True enough, it had pie crust at the bottom. The middle were chunks of apples swimming in creamy sweet custard and topped with substantial layer of streusel.

So I made it my mission to replicate the cake at home. My attempt number one came out almost on the mark. Almost. The cake was moist and deliciously creamy. Chunks of apples were still intact and gave nice crunch. And it was perfectly sweetened - not too sweet but sweet enough to keep you (me) wanting more. Almost.... It just needs more steusel. Something more hefty to stand up to the pie crust and creamy chunky apples.



I started with an olive oil pie crust just because it only involved mixing and pressing the dough on to a baking dish. There's no need for fancy pie crust because it will soak up all the liquid at the bottom anyway. I used a combination of Granny Smith, Gala and Golden Delicious apples. Gala stays chunky after cooking while the other two become soft. Sour Granny Smith balances off all the other sweet and creamy ingredients.



Ingredients

• 1 recipe olive oil pie crust


• 6 apples (I used 2 Granny Smith apples, 2 Gala and 2 Golden Delicious.)


• 1 1/2 cups low-fat yogurt


• 3 eggs


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 2 tablespoons instant tapioca (or just all purpose flour)


• 1 vanilla bean


• For Steusel


• 2/3 cups all purpose flour


• 4 tablespoons cold butter


• 1/3 cup sugar


• 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. In an 8 inch square pan, mix all the dry ingredients for the crust together. Sprinkle oil and milk over. Use finger tips to mix until just wet and press onto the pan. Cover and refrigerate.


2. Prepare the streusel by mixing 2/3 cup flour and 1/3 cup sugar together in a medium bowl. Rub in cold butter and sprinkle milk over until you get coarse crumbs. Cover and refrigerate.


3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Clean, peel, core and cut the apples into chunks. Whisk yogurt, eggs, salt and tapioca together. Split the vanilla bean and scrape it seeds into the yogurt mixture. Pour over apples. Stir.


4. Pile apples on top of the pie crust. Pour any extra liquid into the pan. Sprinkle the streusel on top. Place the pan on a cookie sheet (in case of juice overflow) and bake for 60 minutes or until the top is golden. Rotate the pan half way through cooking. Let cool before serving.

Pineapple Pie

I took this pie to Drew's Thanksgiving play at school today. Several people asked me for the recipe so I think that qualifies it for here. I'll have to remember to take a picture when I make it again on Thursday. With such a cute first grader/acorn squash to take pictures of there was no time for food photography.

This pie is super easy and is great to add variety to the usual Thanksgiving pie selection.

Need: 2 unbaked pie shells, top and bottom
1-20 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
3 level Tablespoons tapioca
7/8 cups sugar (are you serious? use a scant cup)
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
sprinkle of salt

Mix the above together and let stand while you make the crust. Put in a pie shell and pat the top with butter. (Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever done this. I don't read instructions very well.)

Cover with top shell. Vent top crust with a fork or cut a pretty design in it. Seal edges with milk or water. Brush top crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

Fresh peach pie

The highlight of peach season for me: fresh peach pie. As far back as I can remember there was always the debate in my home over fresh v. cooked peach pie. My vote is fresh, so here is the recipe.


Fresh Peach Pie:

2 c. boiling water
1/2 c. cold water
1 3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. cornstarch (or Ultragel works great)
1/8 tsp. salt
1 pkg (3 oz) orange or peach jello (I like orange better)
1/4 c. lemon juice
4 c. ripe, peeled, and sliced peaches

Bring 2 c. water to a boil in saucepan. Make a paste with the cold water, sugar, starch, and salt. Pour into the pan of boiling water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture becomes thick-about 5 minutes. Add jello and cook 1 more minute. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Cool a bit, then stir in peaches. Pour into baked pie shells and put in fridge to set up. Makes 2 pies. Whipped cream (the real kind) is great on top.

Kiwi Pie with Lemon-Lime Shortbread Cookie Crust

I think this will also pass as a kiwi tart because the crust is sweet. I rolled out leftover lemon-lime shortbread cookie dough and used it for the crust. But it's baked in a pie dish. I decided that if it looks like a pie it should be called a pie.

A friend of mine threw a fabulous fruit and berries party where they were so plentiful that by the end of the party he had pounds of leftover strawberries, raspberries, bananas and kiwis. He got jam from the berries, and a banana cream pie from the bananas. I made Alton Brown's banana ice cream which is probably the best banana ice cream I ever ate.



So what to do with 3 pounds of kiwis? We used about 6 kiwis for this pie/tart and the rest for Gourmet's kiwi sorbet.

Here's the recipe for the pie. You can also double the crust and bake the rest of the dough as shortbread cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1 stick cold butter


• Zest from half a lemon and 1 lime and about 2 teaspoon of either lemon or lime juice.



• 6 kiwis - peeled and sliced


• 1 package cream cheese


• 2 tablespoons sugar


• 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. With a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt together. Cut butter into chunks and add to the flour mixture. Add zest and juice. Process until the dough is crumbly but not dough-y. Gather the dough with a plastic wrap. Ball and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for a few hours or freeze for 30 minutes until the dough is hard enough to roll out.


2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the cookie dough and line a pie dish or a tart pan. Poke a lot of holes with fork. Cover with foil and weigh down with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely.


3. Whip cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of sugar and milk with an electric mixer and wire attachment until fluffy - about 3 minutes.


4. Arrange half the kiwi over the crust. Spread cream cheese over the first layer of kiwi. Then arrange the rest on top. Serve chill.

Gruyere Pie Crust

Another recipe from KingArthurFlour.com. This time it's a pie crust for Thanksgiving apple pie. I have been making so many apple pies in the past couple of months that I want to try something new. Plus everybody is going crazy about Pushing Daisies - a show on ABC featuring a pie shop called Pie Hole. Gruyere apple and pear pies were mentioned in the show. So I figured I would give it a try.



I followed the crust recipe from Vermont Cheddar Apple Pie on KingArthurFlour.com. I just used Gruyere instead of Cheddar and all butter rather than with shortening. My apartment smells very cheesy for two days after baking it.

The crust came out a little tough after it cooled down. Maybe the cheese hardened up. Or maybe I over process the dough. I like it regardless. It's like eating apple pie with cheese sticks. Two birds with one stone.

Single Serving Honey Strawberry Pie

That's right. Honey strawberry pie baked in a heart-shape dish for people (me) without a honey - and therefore single serving. I should make more of these so that I don't eat 8 servings of pies by myself. I had leftover pie crust dough from the apple pie frenzy. To save the planet, I decided not to throw it in garbage but bake some more pies...



Directions - toss as many strawberries as you can fit in your heart-shape dish with as much honey as you want. Top with rolled out pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees until the top crust brown. Let cool. Refrigerate. And eat by yourself. Do not invite any friends.




Single serving honey strawberry pie - or - bleeding heart pie <3

Apple Streusel Pie and Honey Apple Pie

I don't know what got into me. Last week I bought about 10 pounds of apples wanting to make pies. I baked two. And I still have a lot of apples left. The first pie I made was apple streusel pie. I used 9 McIntosh apples, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg for the filling, and 3/4 cup of oats, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoon butter, 1/4 cup raw sugar and 2 teaspoon of cinnamon for the topping.



The streusel pie came out a little sad looking because the topping didn't brown even though I baked it for almost an hour. I guess there's not enough butter.



I think the pie was a bit too sweet. Maybe I shouldn't use sugar at all in the filling and should just rely on sweetness from the streusel.

The next pie is a little simpler - a regular double-crusted pie, but instead of sugar, I used honey. This will be my favourtie pie recipe from now on. Nothing beats honey-apple and lots of butter combination.


Forgot that I should have crimped the pie at the end...

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


• 2 sticks chilled butter - cut into chunks


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 6 tablespoon cold water



• 8 Granny Smith apples


• 1/3 cup honey


• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour


• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg



• 1 egg

Directions

1. Pulse 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, butter, salt and water with a food processor until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Gather into 2 balls. Wrap with Seran wrap. Flatten a bit and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to an hour.


2. Roll out a ball of the prepared dough big enough to cover a 9-inch pie dish on a floured surface. Line a pie dish with the dough. Cover and refrigerate.


3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.


4. Peel, core and slice the apples into 1/4 inch slices. Toss with honey, flour, and spices. Transfer onto the prepared pie dish. Press down the filling a bit with your palms.


5. Roll out the other half of pie crust. Cover the pie and crimp the edges. Lightly beat an egg and brush the pie.


6. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for 30 more minutes.

Lemon Meringue Pie

My first meringue pie... Inspired by a mini-meringue pie my friend, Livia, bought last weekend. I had a bite of it and could not forget how it was so perfectly creamy, sweet and tangy. I was determined to bake one in my kitchen so that we can have multiple bites each.



I decided to follow this recipe from Epicurious.com with a few changes. I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup, used 1/2 cup store-bought lemon juice plus the juice from 2 fresh lemons and all their zest. I didn't have cream of tartar and used 1/4 teaspoon of white vinegar instead in the meringue.



The pie was let cool for about an hour then refrigerated overnight. In the morning, the meringue pulled away from the crust and the pie became weepy. According to notes on the recipe, I might have to use more corn starch or cook the filling a little longer and let the pie cool at room temperature longer. But it didn't really matter. The pie was delicious - light and creamy, not too sweet, with a perfect balance of salt, tang and sugar.

Pear Blackberry Pie

When Hannah was over making maple nutmeg cream tart, she left me extra pie dough. That perfect delicious butter-shortening pie dough. So I made pear and blackberry pie from 2 pears and a bag of frozen blackberries.



The crafty flowery top crust was because I didn't have enough dough to cover the entire pie. The pie came out really pretty but the filling was a little off. Maybe more lemon and/or sugar next time.

Apple Pie

Apples everywhere. As a reflect, I bought pounds of them. And I got 2 pies within 2 days. The first one to celebrate a brand new pie dish Hannah bought.


Pie number 1

We used the perfect pie crust recipe from Simply Recipes blog. And the crust was really perfect - light, flaky and buttery.


Inside pie number 1

The second pie I made with extra light olive oil in this recipe because it's for a friend who likes to think that he's health conscious...


Pie number 2

The crust came out denser than the butter/shortening recipe but still crisp and flaky. For future reference, here are the ingredients for the pie filling:

• 7 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced


• Juice from 1/2 lemon


• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour


• 1/3 cup sugar


• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Blueberry and Peach Mini Pies

I meant to bake these mini pies for my friends. But they were too tempting and delicious that I ate them all before they reached any of my friends. These are great - very juicy - bursting with peaches and blueberries. I might have to make them again after finish writing this post.



Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled and chopped peaches


• 2 cups blueberries


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour


• 2 pie crust recipes

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with a non stick spray.


2. Toss the peaches and blueberries with sugar and flour.


3. Roll out the pie crust and press onto the muffin pan.


4. Spoon the fruit onto the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 30 minutes.


5. Let cool in the pan. Pop out when they cool. Keep refrigerated and serve cold.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and Fudge

When I was in the 4th Grade, we took a trip to Washington, DC to visit my mom's friend Sherry. Sherry was very cool, not mom-like at all - she just knew things. She seemed to know my heart and see into my soul, and I remember nothing of the trip except for two things that changed my view of decadence forever. She introduced me to 1/ Shirley Temples and 2/ The Most Chocolate-y Brownies EVER. In other words, it was like the kid version of a double martini and porn. I was smitten.

The secret to Sherry's brownies was that she would pour half of the batter into the pan, layer in a supersize Hershey's chocolate bar, and then add the rest of the batter. The result was the wonderful cakey-fudgy brownie with an extra shot of gooey chocolate in the middle. Hell, those brownies were good. Washed down with my grenadine-infused drink, I was in heaven. Damn! (That was also the year that the "Bad News Bears" came out and I was enamored by profanity - yes, it was a eye-opening year).

I found a recipe for a grown-up Chocolate Pudding Pie on the cover of Bon Appetit magazine (hailed as "Dessert of the Year"), and I made it for the first time for a dinner party in January, and then for Valentine's Day yesterday. It's a little bit labor-intensive, but totally worth it. Not since Sherry's brownies have I enjoyed a chocolate fix like this. It even has a secret melted chocolate layer between the crust and the filling. You can get the entire recipe here, and below is a step-by-step pictoral journey into this rich and creamy delight. Washed down with a glass of champagne, my 4th grade self emerges to say once again, "Damn!" (or, even better, my favorite: cocksuckermotherfuckertwoballsonofabitch).

Cheers, Sherry, wherever you are!

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie with Creme Fraiche Topping:

The World's Easiest Pie Crust

This Sweet Potato Pecan Pie recipe was so good I had to make it again. The last time I used store bought crust. This time I'm making my own crust. This is from Have Your Cake and Eat It Too by Susan Purdy. I was very skeptical about oil pie crust but this one came out crusty - flaky - nutty - and delicious. Best of all - there are no dishes to clean up.



Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour


• 1/2 teaspoon sugar


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/3 cup extra light tasting olive oil (or canola oil)


• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy milk

Directions

1. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a 9-inch pie dish.


2. Add oil and milk. With your fingers, gently rub the mixture together and gather into a ball.


3. Press the mixture into the pie dish


4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.


5. My pie recipe requires a pre-baked crust, so I line the pie crust with aluminum foil. Weight the pie with a pound of dry red beans and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. And then reduce the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes.

Shut Your Pie-Hole

...only after you fill it with a heaping forkful of this delicious new pie I have discovered! And then you can open it back up to thank me for leading to you to the best frozen pie that you can buy.

I was at our corner store last night picking up stuff for dinner last night, when Charles called and said "What's for dessert?" Now mind you, I was not at the grocery store - I was at a small market with a limited, although excellent, selection.

I spotted this pie from Vermont Mystic Pie Company in the frozen section, and I just had a feeling about it. That feeling came when I read the phrase "100% pure butter crust", with no trans-fats. And it came in one flavor only, Blueberry.

So I took one home ($12.99 later), and when I got it out to bake it, I was impressed that it was in such good shape out of the box (no broken edges - I hate that, are you listening Mrs. Smith's???), and the upper crust was a huge dome, promising tons of fruit inside.

While it was in the oven making magic, I checked out the website and was very impressed. The artwork has a Ben-and-Jerry's meets Moosewood Cookbook feel for a reason - the founder of the company is a veteran of socially minded companies such as B & J's and Celestial Seasonings Teas. I love the fact that they use King Arthur Flour and Cabot Butter (which is my great-Aunt Martha's family - hi, Aunt Martha!), as well as hand-picked locally-grown fruit.

And they only make 2 kinds of pie - Apple and Blueberry. None of this Dutch Apple and French Silk shit - just classic fruit pies.

And the result? Oh, man. The closest I have tasted to a homemade pie out of the box by a long shot. The filling is absolutely perfect - juicy fruit, not too sweet, and no gel. This is why it is absolutely essential to let the pie rest for at least 45 min after it comes out of the oven - the fruit and juice have to settle, otherwise it will be a soupy mess. The crust is flaky and tasty and not oily, and holds up to the fruit. They sell the crusts separately, which I am thrilled about as I hate being stuck buying the Pilsbury ones.

They are sold at Whole Foods, Rainbow Grocery and other gourmet food emporiums throughout the country - the map on the website is very well done and easy to use.

I'm saying it here: Pie is the new Cupcake.

What a perfect treat on a cold night in front of the fire watching the season opener of Project Runway.

Mini Sweet Potato Pecan Pies

We had a Thanksgiving party at the office today. Each of us brought food to share. I brought this. This is the first sweet potato pie I have ever made and it came out great! Everybody at the office loved it. Rebecca even said that these mini pies won the tastiest award of the day - although she always said she loved my food whenever I gave her anything to eat, it was still flattering.



I got the recipe from Simply Recipe - my favourite food blog. I baked mine in muffin pans and got 16 mini pies. I figured they would be easier to carry and if there were leftover, they wouldn't look like leftover. I could give them to my friends after work. It's just that there were only crumbs left by the end of the first hour.

I used 3 frozen pie crusts from the supermarket, divided and pressed into greased muffin pans. The pies baked for about 20 to 22 minutes at 375 degrees in my oven. And because I made mini pies, I chopped all the pecans instead of just half so that I can drop them easily.

I need to find excuses to make more of these. They are delicious... Maybe I'll start baking mini pies for birthday parties instead of cupcakes.