Any Ideas Out There?

Not that you all really want to think about pies...or food for that matter...but I'm all about pushing the limits. Give a girl a hand and tell me what pie I should make on Wednesday. No vote this time, just plain ol' recommendations. Use that comment box down below. Do you see it? Good! Start typing!

If all I hear (or, actually, see) are crickets (I wouldn't actually see crickets), then I might have to make you all suffer through another apple pie. Yep, that's a threat.

Turkey Day is All About Pie

If there ever was a holiday that is all about pies, it's Thanksgiving. Cupcakes, you are not invited. Step off.

Tuesday and Wednesday was a complete wingding-tacular bakefest. I've whipped up eight pies for the holidays...three for family, five for other peeps who just plain ol' love pies and didn't want to bake them. (Again, that's where I come in.)

So, I knocked out:
3 pumpkin pecan pies (Side note: I added a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and a 1/4 teaspoon for nutmeg to this recipe. Makes it a WHOLE lot better for those of us who like it spicy.)
2 chocolate peanut butter pies
1 buttermilk pie
1 pecan pie
1 pumpkin pie

No fails. 

Oops...one more...a mini-pumpkin pie for my littlest pumpkin who will be turning one on Nov. 30. Celebrating early and often. Don't worry folks, I won't deprive him of cake. He'll get one later to faceplant in.

Here's a pic of some of the pies I made...boxed up and ready to go! And, here are the yummy pies for tonight's family feast. Nosh, nosh, nosh. Wishing you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING...ya bunch of turkeys.

Apple Pie Be Damned

I'm not in love with this apple pie recipe from Good Housekeeping either. Hmmmm.

What was wrong with this recipe? Well, first, I can no longer taste the apple. The filling is too lemony and the combo of nutmeg and cinnamon is just weird with apple pie. Not digging. The apples cooked great, though, but shrank so much that there is a lot of air between the filling and the upper crust. No bueno, again. So, I'm going commando a.k.a. I'm going without a recipe and making up my own. I'm going to follow the advice of my husband and precook the apples before baking that way I can get the taste and texture perfect, chill, and then put it in the oven for about 30-35 minutes to heat and bake the crust. I'm going to do sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Alas, I'm going to put this off, though, as next week is Thanksgiving, and I have a feeling I'm gonna be baking a shload of pies, and not apple pies. Sorry Tiffany.

Brevity of post and lack of humor due to child waking up from nap. Cheers!

Not Appropriate

Often, I can be inappropriate, and this will be one of those times. I have to tell you guys about "Chicken Bingo." This "game" was played at the fundraiser I went to over the weekend. So, there is a chicken, and she is in a cage that has a bingo card for the flooring. You buy tickets with bingo card numbers on them and pray that the chicken poops on your number for prizes. Wow. Think of the pressure that chicken must be under to go to the bano. Seriously. Awesome. Can we get some prunes over here? I know, food blog and potty humor do not go hand-in-hand.

OK, now back to being more appropriate. I made four delicious pies for the fundraiser. Yes, I said four, because I had an apple pie fail. The apples didn't soften and then liquid started to pour out of the pie pan. I need to seal the crust better for one thing. This was also my first foray into freezing pie filling. That may have played into it. I did freeze some crusts and they turned out great! I digress. So, I think it is time for me to divorce my apple pie recipe and come up with something more non-fail oriented. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Anywho, the chocolate peanut butter pie was the hit and GONE in a flash. The cherry pie and pumpkin pecan went shortly thereafter. I did have a whole cherry pie left, only because it was hidden under the table. Ooops.

I learned a few things from this event: 1) Pre-cut the pies, because people will butcher the hell out of them. Please see photo; 2) Have contact information ready to hand out, because people want to eat pies, but don't want to bake them (see, that's where I come in); 3) Don't hide pies; 4) Chickens like pie crust.

This Wednesday I will get back on my regularly scheduled program. Maybe I will find a new apple pie to date.

Dear Santa

I would like a commercial kitchen. I think I've been reasonably good. Think about it.

Love,
Snarky Pie Baker

P.S. Four pies down for weekend fundraiser; one to go.

Bulk Order, Kind Of

I have my first bulk order. Ok, kind of. I'll be donating five pies to a fundraising event this weekend, and my anal-retentive, semi-organized mind is trying to figure out how to do this. I can do this, I can do this, and raise two boys at the same time...it can be done.

Tonight, in lieu of pie-making, I'm going to be preparing crusts ahead of time to freeze. I'm also going to freeze an unbaked apple pie and bake it on the day of. We'll see how that goes.

I'll be making:
Granny Smith Apple Pie
Two Cherry Pies
Pumpkin Pecan Pie
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

If you're interested in having free pie, come on out to the Georgetown Gives Fall Festival on Nov. 13 from 2-4 p.m. at 1020 Highway 195 in Georgetown, Texas.

*** And, if any of you Austinites are in a bind and would like a homemade pie for Thanksgiving, let me do it for you! I've got killer pumpkin, pecan, pumpkin pecan, buttermilk, sweet potato, chocolate meringue and cherry pies. Or, I'd be happy to whip up something you are jones-ing for! Give me a shout, and I'll hook you up for $12 a pie. ***

Yet Another Thanksgiving Option

Some folks like pumpkin. Some like pecan. This is the smoosh pie -- pumpkin pecan or pumpcan or pepkin or... Since I don't really like nuts in, well, anything, I've asked my hubby to tell me why he likes it. These are his words (so serious) and I quote:

"It's the perfect Thanksgiving pie. I like pumpkin and pecan, but I feel like a piglet when I have one slice of each during the holiday. It has enough pumpkin without being overly pumpkin-y. There is something artificial about a pumpkin pie, especially when it comes out of a can. And, then, there is something overly syrupy about a pecan pie. This pie doesn't have either of those problems."

Thank you, dear hubby, for your thoughts. This seems like a really awkward blog entry, but I'm going with it.

Anyway, I used this Paula Deen recipe, if you are eager to condense your own Thanksgiving pie making. I'm all about helping you cut corners. My version looks a little different, because I'm a hasty baker and quickly poured the pumpkin filling on top of the pecans, and the pecans floated to the top. Yep, I had floaters. Whatevs. I think it looks lovely. And, next time I think I will add a very small amount of nutmeg, too.

I have one thing left to say...I have beef with my three-year-old. Yup. He's on my list. He had the raging audacity to turn down eating a piece of this delicious homemade pie, and, instead, wanted a piece of his Halloween candy. Mike and Ike's no less. Turncoat.

Huh? Whaddya say?

I'm not a slacker this week! The pumpkin pecan pie is in the oven, and I'm woo-hoo-ing like the Housewives of fill in the blank.

So, I'm gonna kick back and watch TV while it bakes. Too bad my gas oven and vent sound like an airplane landing in my house. Now my TV is screaming at me. It's a wonder my kids can sleep through all this racket.