P.O.O.P. PARTY

My year of pie has come to an end.  It was fun.  I learned a lot.  I gained a lot of weight.  It was fun to do something new.  To wrap up our big pie experiment, we threw a P.O.O.P. Party!

A P.O.O.P. Party is a Pig Out On Pie Party (a long standing Thanksgiving tradition in my family :).  Everyone brings their favorite pie and we all feast.  It's fun because you get to have a little sliver of everything.  It was so fun!  All Sophie could talk about (to anyone that would listen) for an entire week was the pie party.  We had 15 different pies and then someone showed up with a stack of McDonald's Fried Pies!  So fun!  The kids were dying to eat.  We couldn't get the kids away from table long enough to get the rest of the pies on.

For the grand finale of the year, I made a very rich chocolate cream pie and a lemon truffle pie.  Both pie plates were licked clean and I didn't even get to have a slice.  Some other fun flavors were caramel apple pecan, pumpkin with a maple crumble topping, pumpkin cheesecake, banana cream, chocolate pecan, cherry, apple, and of course a Costco Pumpkin Pie!  My all time favorite of the night though, was my friend Sarah's Derby Pie.  I'd never heard of it before, but let me tell you, IT IS FABULOUS.  So fabulous that I begged her if I could post the recipe here for you all to try.  It basically tastes like the best cookie in the universe in pie form.  I've been dreaming about this pie every day since.

 Now I just have to figure out a project to keep me busy next year!  Any ideas?

Make this.  You will love it.  I promise.

Derby Pie – Sarah Phillips

2 eggs, beaten

½ c flour

½ c butter, melted

1 c sugar

¾ c chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

1 c pecans or walnuts

9 inch unbaked pie shell

Combine all ingredients and mix well with a fork.  Pour into unbaked pie shell.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes for a gooey center or 35 minutes for a firmer center.

 

Pie #11

Our Thanksgiving was kind of a bust.  I was so sick with strep throat I could hardly swallow.  We tried to spend a lot of time counting our blessings though.  Here is our Thankful poster:

One of our favorite things to be thankful for is pie! 

For Thanksgiving we made a couple of new pies.  Logan wanted peanut butter so we made a creamy peanut butter pie on a chocolate cookie crust.  It was delicious, but one bite was enough for me.  It was so rich!  We also made a pralines and cream pie.  It really turned out more like a caramel custard with pecans in it.  It was really complicated to make and not as fantastic as anticipated.  So in order to make sure that the Thanksgiving spread was perfect, we had to pick up a Costco pumpkin pie.  It's the best pumpkin pie and the only kind I like.  It just doesn't get better than Costco pumpkin pie and fresh whipped cream. 

My sweet friend took pity on me, knowing my love for pie and homesickness over missing my family's P.O.O.P. party, and brought me a slice of her apple and absolutely perfect berry pie. 

So thoughtful!  When I could swallow again, Logan and I had our own Pig Out On Pie Party with all of our different slices of pie.  We only made it through approximately 1/16 of the Costco pie but it was all fabulous! 

Pie #9

Apparently I forgot to blog about #9!  For September we made Banana Cream Pie when we were learning about monkeys. 

There's just something glorious about the vanilla wafers/ banana combo, isn't there?  It's probably the kid in me, but banana cream is probably my favorite pie. I'm always happy when banana cream pie is around!  Unfortunately, the cubs have been on a banana strike for the last several months.  They insisted on eating their pie sans bananas.  More for me!

Pie #10

For October I decided to make the raspberry cream pie we served at our wedding dinner 6 years ago.

It was delicious! 

 Happy Anniversary my love.

Pie #8

I always think that berry pie is my favorite pie.  Every time I have the chance to order pie (not that this happens often, just seldom enough for me to always forget) I end up ordering some sort of mixed berry pie.  I take a bite and suddenly remember that I should have ordered peach.  Peach is perfect.  Costco finally got some pie worthy peaches, so that's what we had for August.

 Here are some people who eat peach pie.  Peach pie goes nicely with Killer Bunnies!

Despite Logan's awkward face, he actually liked the pie.  He said it was his favorite next to that sick Grasshopper Pie from March.  I guess that means that I shouldn't trust his opinion, but I liked it! Help, I have no idea what to make for September!

Pie #7

For July we made a 4th of July Blueberry Pie!  I've wanted to try blueberry pie forever but never had the chance.  I figured it was time since we live in a state full of blueberries and all that.  We made some vanilla ice cream to go with it.  Sophie had fun putting all the stars on top!  Then Sophie had a lot of fun making funny faces for the camera.  Logan likes blueberry pie, I do not.  It was just 'whatever' for me.  It left me wanting peach pie.  Random, but maybe that's next?

Pie #6

I have a new chiropractor.  He has been working miracles with my back.  Miracles I tell you.  I haven't be laid up with pain for almost 2 months.  I'm so happy.  I'm also so happy because the man likes pie.  Every time I visit he tells me about his famous pie.  It's a good thing I'm always face down because I'm practically drooling by the time he's done explaining about it.  He finally shared with me his famous chocolate almond pie recipe.  Let me tell you, it's delicious.  DE-LICIOUS!  It's got all good things in it: chocolate almond bars, marshmallows, cookies, whipped cream...you get the idea.

I made two.  I made one with an oreo cookie crust and one with a regular graham cracker crust because I just couldn't decide between the two.  The oreo crust was better.  This pie was delicious.  It's almost like a French Silk but richer.  I loved it so much because all the almonds sink down and form a crunchy little layer on top of the crust.  I want more.  Right NOW.

Our friends were having a Thanksgiving party because they were cleaning out their freezer to get ready for dipnetting.  They made a  FULL Thanksgiving feast.  It was all so delicious and I've decided that Thanksgiving in the summer is brilliant.  It will now be an annual tradition.  We brought the pie for dessert and it was perfect.  Yum!

Here's the recipe:

Oreo pie crust
5 Hershey Chocolate Almond Candy Bars, chopped
1/2 c Half-and-Half
18 large marshmallows
8 oz whipped cream
Extra whipped cream and chocolate curls for garnish

Place the chocolate, half and half, and marshamllows in the top of a double broiler and heat until chocolate and marshmallows and melted and smooth.  Cool slightly.  In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff (or thaw Cool Whip).  Fold the cream into the slightly cooled chocolate mixture.  Pour filling into the crust.  Refrigerate.  When completely cooled, you can freeze the pie.  Remove from freezer 1 hour before serving.  Top with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Pie #5

The goals for May were 3 fold:

1. Use the adorable cherry pie plates mom gave me 6 years ago for something other than German Pancakes already!

2. Use a new crust recipe.

3. Use fruit.

So May was destined for Cherry Pie.  I put it off all month long.  Why? Because I promised myself that if I ever made a cherry pie, I would do it right.  I would make it with a lattice crust.  I was scared to death of the lattice crust. 

As it turns out, it wasn't so bad!  Except for the screaming baby part.  Claire made it very hard to remember where I left off with the over/under stuff.  I did try a new crust recipe.  I wanted to try the old fashioned vinegar and egg crust I've seen in so many different recipes.  I used the Lion House one.  It's so soft and it makes for a very very flaky crust.  It's was so light and delicious, especially with a generous coating of course sugar baked on top!  Here is the pie before it went in the oven.  I had to document the lattice incase I burned it to death.

I also tried something else with this recipe that I've seen in a bunch of different fruit pie recipes: quick cooking tapioca as a thickener.  It was really interesting.  It definitely did a great job thickening the pie.  I liked it because it didn't leave a taste or grainy texture like flour or cornstarch can leave sometimes.  I didn't like it because it really, really thickened the pie!  I was expecting at least a little syrup to ooze out, especially since I had to use canned cherries (bleh - still homesick for decent produce).

Hooray I didn't burn it!  AND it was edible!

It was quite delicious with homemade ice cream for our Memorial Day BBQ!  Some of us couldn't wait for a fork.

Get ready for June.  June is going to be all about chocolate.  Yes!  

Pie #4

I don't know if Pecans belong at Easter time, but it felt right.  So I went with it.  I'm quite glad I did.  This was the first pie, in my mind, that was a success.  Sophie was as concerned as I was.  She checked on the pie, repeatedly.  I still don't understand how long to bake a pie.  I feel like I'm baking all my pies at least 20 minutes longer than the directions because they are still too jiggly.  Maybe it's my oven?

I did finally smooth out all my crust making woes.  This crust was textbook.  It held up perfectly with the pecans and looked AWESOME.  Yes!

Here are the pie eaters.  There are some veteran Pecan Pie tasters in this group.  I was nervous.

But there was none left, so that's a good sign!

I've never had Pecan Pie before.  Logan introduced me to a pie when we were dating called Tart au Sucre (sugar pie).  He had it in Quebec a lot.  It's pretty much Pecan Pie without the nuts.  I have since matured enough to like pecans, so I figured I'd give it a try.  Aside from the pecans cutting up my mouth (I have a sensi mouth), I pretty much adore Pecan Pie.  It was delicious, especially with a gargantuan dollop of whipped cream.

I'm just really sad that there's not any left for breakfast.  :(

Pie #3

March was a month of pies.  We celebrated Pi day by making a couple of different pies!  I can't count these pies as part of the project because I didn't make the crust from scratch.  I just had some mini pie shells I needed to use up.  Logan wanted strawberry pie so we made strawberry cream mini pies.

And then we made some mini Key Lime pies with the girlies.  Bunch is a very intense pie maker.

Tip: you must use real Key Lime juice in Key Lime pie.  Fake lime juice is just gross.  FAIL.

Now for the real experiment.  I like mint.  York Patties are my favorite candy.  Have you ever cracked a York Patty next to your ear?  It makes the most phenomenal sound.  I knew I wanted to try a mint pie, but wasn't sure how to go about it.  I didn't want to buy any Creme de Menth or whatever.  After my last pie post, I got a lovely package in the mail.  My sweet Grandma sent me a box of Thin Mints to make sure that I wouldn't miss out this year!  I love her.  Absolutely made my day.  So in honor of Grandma, I invented this Grasshopper Pie.  I crushed one package of thin mints to make the crust (with just a little melted butter).  I poured a thick layer of fudge over the top of that and then filled it with a pistachio pudding pie filling (for the pretty green color) with a hint of peppermint extract.  I topped it with whipped cream, mini chocolate chips, and thin mints.

It was quite minty but pretty good!  I think if I had to do it over, I would just make a chocolate cream pie with the Thin Mint crust.  That would be enough mint for me, but Logan won't let me.  He says it's the best dessert I've ever made.  He's already requested it for his next birthday.  Silly boy ate the ENTIRE PIE.  So thanks Grandma!  You made the Hubs one happy man! Any ideas for April?

Pie #2

Making fruit pies is going to be a real challenge up here in the frozen tundra.  It's just impossible to get decent produce.  I really wanted to make something pink or red for Valentine's Day.  I had some rhubarb that we picked over the summer so I figured I had better figure out if I like rhubarb or not.  So February's pie was Strawberry Rhubarb!  I used Costco's frozen strawberries and they were really sweet and such a pretty color!

Mom's pie crust was equally as delicious on this pie as on the Apple pie. Sophie agreed.  Such attitude lately. Sheesh.

 We had a little extra dough because I opted for a streusel topping this time.  So we made a mini pie too.  The florescent lighting makes for a wonderous complexion, no?

So, this month I learned that I have no idea how long to bake a pie.  How do you tell when it's done?  I baked this one for an hour!  Sophie would like to draw your attention to the pie she made in her kitchen while the real pie was in the oven.

We ate the pie for Family Night.  The stuesel topping was delicious!  I loved it.  Logan and Sophie liked it too.

 The verdict: I really don't like rhubarb.  At all.  I just ate all the strawberries. They were really good!

 Good thing we know someone who loves rhubarb.  Sophie gave the little pie to Grandpa.  He was very happy to take it off our hands!

Right now all I can think about are Girl Scout Cookies.  I'm terrified I won't get any because I don't know any Girl Scouts here.  If I can find some, I'm thinking maybe Thin Mints in a pie for March?

Pie a Month for a Year, Pie #1

Over the holidays Logan and I started watching Pushing Daisies.  Big mistake.  Now all I dream about is pie, beautiful pie, in really vibrant colors.  

When we were kids, our favorite family vacations were to Cambria, CA.  It's on the coast and we spent days there combing tide pools, looking for moonstones, making drift wood forts, and eating pie.  

There's a little pie shop in Cambria called Linn's.  She makes the most delicious Olallieberry (pronounced oh-la-leh berry) pies.  We always bought two or three on each trip.  I still dream about them.  Combine all these happy pie thoughts with the lovely new Lion House Pie book Mama Goodrich gave me for Christmas and the 'Pie a Month for a Year' project was born.  Sophie's infancy was easily defined by cupcakes...maybe Claire's will be cutie pies?

Confession...I have never made a pie from scratch before.  It's about time I remedy this.  First step: learn to make a pie crust.  One of the criteria for my last trip home was for Mom to teach me how to make her delicious and fool proof pie crust recipe.  So naturally, pie #1 for January had to be the all American classic, Apple Pie.  It also helps that mom is a pro.  She makes an apple pie for my baby brother EVERY Sunday.  Lucky duck.  Baby sister (do you love that I call my siblings 'baby' when they are all taller, more beautiful, and ridiculously more talented than me? I do.) Laura was there to learn too.

Making the crust was not as daunting as I had imagined.  Mom taught us some helpful tricks: use butter flavored shortening, invest in a pastry cutter, 'push' the dough out ON wax paper = easy cleanup!

(Please keep in mind that I am a horrible photographer, so the pies are actually 10x more beautiful in person!)  The pie was fantastic.  The crust was nice and flaky.  The filling was perfect, not soggy at all.  Mom's secret: throw in a couple Gala apples with the Grannies.  It gives it a little extra sweetness.

So, I've got the pie crust down.  Stay tuned for something pretty and pink for February.