Whaddya Want?

I'm doing an open call for pie suggestions. What should I make next Wednesday? Skies the limit, so put on your thinking caps -- knitted or otherwise -- and lemmeno what sounds good.

French Apple Tart-lets

First, let me note that I didn't wuss out this week. I didn't pull the ol' I-made-a-shload-of-pies-last-week-therefore-I-can-skip-about-eight-Wednesdays. No, I pulled on my big girl panties and got in the kitchen. This week I am using some of my new wares from Xmas. Go figure that I got a ton of pie-related gifts. Couldn't be happier, as I was using some interesting utensils to get the job done. Whatevs. Now I'm all professional-like.

So, I used my new French mini-tart pie pans and made two of these cute French Apple Tarts, which I turned into tartlets. I somewhat followed Sara Moulton's recipe in the latest Saveur. Here's a video if you are interested in making it yourself. It is surprisingly easy. Yum...I'm eating this now with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It's damn good. The apricot jam makes this a huge winner. HUGE! And, I'm agreeing with Ms. Moulton that Golden Delicious apples are the best to bake with. Much better than Granny Smith. Come over and have a bite! ;)

All the Energy I Can Muster

It's taking every ounce of energy I have to write this blog post. Pardon the grammatical errors, etc. The holidays are awesome, but like everyone else preparing for Christmas, I'm completely exhausted and it's not even Christmas Eve. Wow. I'll hit a wall on Christmas and just start babbling and drooling...and not because I'm toasted. This isn't a pity party. Promise. I'm being empathetic.

So, last night was a pie-palooza. In total, I made six pies, so I think that makes up for the Wednesdays I've missed. I still have two or three to make, though, before Christmas. The pies in the picture are: chocolate meringue, two cherry pies, two pumpkin pecans and one chocolate peanut butter, which will definitely add an inch to the waistline.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Be safe and, if you can, spend it with the ones you love.

S.N.B.

The 12 Hours of Pie Baking (Slammed into 5 Hours)

Everyone! Sing along!!!!

12 Beads of forehead sweat
11 Cups of flour
10 Sticks of butter
9 Cracked eggs
8 Scoops of sugar
7 Rolls of dough
6 Pies baking
5 Hours to goooooooo
4 Interruptions
3 G-dammits
2 Hugs from the husband AND
1 Totally frickin' tired baker (snarky, at that)

Six pies to bake tonight: 2 cherry, 2 pumpkin pecan, 1 chocolate meringue and 1 chocolate peanut butter. Worth it and having fun, plus cursing just a little. To spice up things.

Chocolate Hazelnut...Do You Like-a the Nuts?

Hello, hello, hello. I'm promptly on time with my thoughts on the chocolate hazelnut pie and deserve no heckling. Although, you guys are pretty nice and don't heckle me when I blow a deadline. Get mean, people. Come on!

I took a whack at chocolate hazelnut by quadrupling this recipe for chocolate custard (using semi-sweet chocolate instead), reducing the sugar by a third, adding in a cup of coarsely chopped hazelnuts (or filberts, if you wanna giggle) and sprinkling sea salt on the top.

My thoughts...I don't like nuts in my pies, people. Keep your darn nuts out of my pies. I had to say that. I'm laughing pretty hard right now. OK...get serious. So, I don't like the texture. I like my chocolate smooooooooth, with maybe some nuts on top. Next time, I'll just sprinkle the hazelnuts on top and mix hazelnut oil into the chocolate. I really liked this chocolate custard recipe in terms of how it set. I do want to work on the taste. Because I only had semi-sweet chocolate in the pantry, my custard came out a bit too sweet. Should've peeled back on the sugar more.

I am not a huge fan of salt on chocolate or salt on caramel or whatever the big kick is now. I feel my blood pressure rising. For some, the salt may be great. For me, I'd prefer not to have it. So, that's how I feel about this chocolate hazelnut pie.

Next Wednesday, give me a challenge. What would you like me to make?

Tonight's Pie Will Be...

A chocolate hazelnut custard with fleur de sel.

Need More Chocolate

I'm really, REALLY in the mood for chocolate. In honor of my craving (no, I'm not pregnant), I will do one of the following three pies next Wednesday:

Chocolate chess pie,
Chocolate mint pie, or
Chocolate orange pie

Whaddaya think??

If I don't make a pie next Wednesday, you have the right to give me a wedgie.

Again????

Yeah, I'm blowing off tonight's pie making. The reason? Can't tell you...yet. Got something brewing and putting my focus there. More to come.

I think I'll make a pie this Friday and I'll post the creation then. Tell we meet again, tell a pie you love it. :)

My Tomorrow is Really Today

Yeah, I said I would post a review on Thursday, but, well, hmmmmm. No excuses.

The chocolate peppermint pie. A YIPPEE! pie. I'd say this pie is a lot like Katy Perry. In the right context, this pie is reallllllly good, but we aren't looking for any awards here folks, just mindless entertainment.

From a looks point-of-view, the chocolate on top needs to be darker. I would half the amount of custard that I mixed into the melted semi-sweet chocolate chips.

I did like the smooth and fluffy consistency of both layers of the pie, so a thicker layer really isn't necessary. I would consider (and thanks to the advice of my royal tasters Ryan and David) a different crust. Maybe Oreo or chocolate wafer? Who knows, but I'm making this pie again for Christmas.

-- SPB

P.S. I thought my little guy would like this pie, but he simply said, "Mom, I'm not a fan." The peppermint is probably too strong for kidlets. Peppermint is an acquired taste. Remember sneaking a swig of your parents' Peppermint Schnapps when you were younger and thinking, "Oh holy sh*t, what the hell did I just drink?!?!" Wait, you never did that? Oh, and I was probably more like 12 and not 3. And, well, alcohol is definitely an acquired taste. I don't know why I wrote this, but, well, hmmmmm.

Licking the Spatula...

But not reusing it, mind you. I'm not that gross. I've made the chocolate peppermint pie (recipe found here) and I think that this might (just might) rival the DELICIOUS! chocolate peanut butter pie. I have to wait for the pie to cool (it's a non-cook pie) for three hours, but I am already thinking of ways to change it up. I think the pie will taste really damn good, but aesthetically, I think the chocolate on top should be darker...like a chocolate ganache. The peppermint garnish would really pop then.

And, while I'm changing things up, I think this pie may just be too, well, custardy. The ganache would be a perfect contrast to the white chocolate custard-like filling. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. A full review will be posted tomorrow. 'Til then, I'll tease you with a picture. Wait...all I do is tease with pictures.

Tonight It Will Be...

A chocolate peppermint pie! That just screams Christmas to me, and I need help shifting gears.

For the lovely person who suggested I whip up a Dulce de Leche pie, I appreciate your faith in me. It takes three hours to create just the dulce de leche alone! Holy snikes. This pie will be on my to-do list. I think I need to be a little more prepared to tackle this one. Thanks to all who offer recommendations!!!