Thanksgiving

Every year I make the pies for Thanksgiving.  I always make too many pies and this year was going to be no different.  I had a hard time decided on a pecan pie recipe so I made two.  Yes, two pecan pies!  One was my grandma's recipe and the other was a Cooks Illustrated recipe.  People who want a slice of pecan have to have one slice of each pie because I'm very curious to see what they think - and I won't tell them which pie is which.

Buttery, sugary, pecan goodness....

Pecan pie #1:

Pecan Pie #2:

The pumpkin pies asked to pose next to pecan #2:

And all five pies... two pecan, apple, and two pumpkin.

Oh, apple pie, how I love you...

Bennett and his mommy made a great, kid friendly appetizer.  A 'turkey' with cheese and grape skewers for feathers, an apple beak, bell pepper 'wobbler' and grape eyes!

And the real turkey.  Yum.

And no Thanksgiving is complete without Prudence the pitcher.  She loves to stare at you with this nasty face while you stuff yours. 

And the pecan pie taste test 2012 was a success!  I was amazed... everyone preferred my grandma's recipe (basically all butter) to the much lighter colored Cooks Illustrated recipe.  Both pies were phenomenal but they each had their own strong points.  Grandma Charlotte's pie won overall for texture, taste and flavor.

Below is grandma Charlotte's winning pecan pie recipe.

Pecan Pie, courtesy of Charlotte Smith

3 slightly beaten eggs

1 c. sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 c. pecans

1 1/4 c. melted butter

Combine eggs, sugar and syrup, vanilla, salt.  Put nuts in unbaked shell and add filling.  Bake at 400 for 10 min and at 345 for 40min.

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Tonight I hosted a Stella & Dot jewelry party at the house.  I decided to create a festive fall menu of heavy appetizers for the guests and my favorite item were the mini pumpkin pies! 

The mini pies can be as easy or difficult as you choose... store bought pie dough vs homemade.  Canned pumpkin pie filling or roast pumpkins and mix your own filling in your kitchen.

You'll need:
- Mini muffin tins

- Unbaked pie dough, enough for a two crust pie.
- Pumpkin pie filling, enough for two pies.
- A circle cookie cutter or even use a glass or small bowl as a cutter.  You may need to play around with the sizing depending on your muffin tin size.  You want cut dough to stick up a bit out of the tins, like below.

Cut as many circles as you can from the dough.  You should get anywhere between 22-30 discs of dough. Place dough inside ungreased muffin tins and prick bottom of each mini pie shell with a fork one time.  Bake the empty shells for about 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  They may puff up a bit so use your fingers or some foil to press the shells back down a bit.

Pour the prepared pumpkin mix in to the semi baked shells.  I fill mine just below the edge of the crust.  Bake anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on tin size.  You'll know the pies are done when they puff up a bit, may have a crack on the surface, and the filling isn't jiggly and is firm to the touch.  Let them cool in the pans for 15 minutes and carefully remove.

Pretty little pies!

And why not get festive with your bottles of wine?  I used a shipping label and printed "Witches Brew" on them with a skull graphic. 

Just a fraction of the beautiful jewelry that was on display tonight!

Birthday Pie!

My son who is obsessed with chocolate and all things covered with frosting threw me for a loop.  Instead of his usual birthday chocolate cake with chocolate frosting request he asked for birthday apple pie!  Say what?  Is this what happens when your 'little' boy turns 5 and suddenly seems so grown up?

This new request wasn't all bad.  It meant I didn't have to blow his past birthday cakes out of the water (airplane theme and train theme) and didn't have to deal with any frosting.

Extra pie dough is your friend.  I always use leftover dough to make patterns for the top of the pie using a cookie cutter or a sharp knife to cut out letters. 

The birthday boy even received his own personal apple pie...

Baked and ready for five candles and a birthday serenade!

The desserts... And yes, I made chocolate brownies as an emergency backup.  My son has never requested pie when given any dessert option.  I wanted something chocolate in case we had a birthday party meltdown.  In the end, it was my daughter who had a meltdown about pie... 

One very happy 5 year old! 

Blueberries and Crabs

The boys spent the night on the boat so our crab pots could soak a while.  That meant the house was very quiet this morning, especially since little Miss C decided to sleep until 8:45am!  After a walk to Tully's we ran in to our neighbor who was going to pick blackberries.  I love picking blackberries but had no supplies with me (bucket, gloves, garden tools to fight the vines).  But I decided I had to pick some blackberries when I walked past a tucked away location with more plump blackberries than I could count.  I sucked down my dirty chai and convinced Miss C to finish up the water so I could use the two 16oz cups to hold my pickings!

Best part?  The cups had lids so I didn't have to worry about the berries spilling all over our stroller on the walk back.  Of course, two of the stroller pockets were also stuffed full with blackberries. 

The blackberries quickly became a blackberry pie.  Lesson learned?  This blackberries were so juicy that the pie was too soupy after baking; even with the addition of some corn starch before baking.  Trick?  Add a tablespoon or two of uncooked tapioca beads to the fruit before pouring it in to the pie shell!   Here is a past post for blackberry pie.

The boys came home with quite a few keepers!  I love crabbing season!

Sweet Baby Shower

Today I hosted a Sweets themed baby shower for my sister-in-law with one of her best friends (we also hosted her bridal shower together).  I had way too much fun planning for the event and tried to keep the food both interesting and easy.  And yes, the shower was on a Wednesday evening.  I've attended a few wedding and baby showers on weeknights.  I think it is a great way to ensure guest attendance during busy months and a nice change to busy weekends.

Nothing says sweets like chocolate!  Here I'm finishing the mini brownie bites dessert.

Each mini brownie is coated in a chocolate ganache.  A quick but elegant looking dessert... you can make the brownies from a box mix and bake in mini cupcake tins.  Or if you're tight on time, buy premade mini brownies. I much prefer Metropolitan Market's mini brownies to any other brand.  Create a ganache by combining and slowly heating/melting 8oz semi-sweet chocolate, 1 cup heavy cream, 2 Tbsp light corn syrup and 2 tsp vanilla.  Dip each brownie in the ganache and set down to firm.  Top with a piece of fruit, a single nut, jelly bean, sprinkles, M&M, edible flowers. The possibilities are endless.

I made a carseat cover for Tonya in her favorite color combo, grey and yellow.  This may be a bit more feminine (they don't know sex of baby), but I couldn't resist this fabric due to the colors! 

The brownies ready to go...

A gumball filled vase topped with a tissue paper puff (from Tonya's wedding!), and a menu for the Macaroni & Cheese bar toppings.  Guests could top their M&C with chopped green onions, blue cheese, crumbled bacon, or tomato. 

Lollipops, candy bowls, lemonade and personalized straws for each guest. 

I love personalized straws to avoid people losing their glasses.

Nothings much cuter than swirled lollipops!

The buffet almost ready for guests.  In addition to M&C we had fruit salad, green salad, greek salad.  And for dessert we had mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, brownie bites, and homemade kettle korn. 

My favorite part of the party were the take home gifts.  I made mini mixed fruit pies for each guest to take home.  The fabric topping each pie coordinated with the candy colors and table cloth from buffet table. 

We didn't want to play any games, so we opted for optional guest activities.  Because the baby's sex is unknown, we had a poster for guests to guess the sex, weight, and birthday of baby as well as a place to write down wishes or baby name ideas.  

Me with my sister in law and Alexis the co-host (who is due with her 3rd boy in August!) 

*tip - you don't need to invest in fancy tablecloths.  I will typically use yards of fabric in fun patterns or even a denim.  Because our dining table is over 100" long, most attractive tablecloths cost $150+.  And that drives me crazy, especially if red wine or an oily dish is spilled on to the cloth and gets stained.  But, I can buy 4 yards of fabric for around $30.

Picnic on the Boat

Today we took a boat ride around the Sound for Father's Day.  I packed Tony a special lunch for our family that we enjoyed.  Try these for your next picnic or meal at home.

Southwest Chicken Wraps with Tabbouleh salad (made yesterday), sliced apples, chocolate chip cookies, pies in a jar and margaritas in jars for drinks (see below). 

The chicken wrap was very quick and had a nice flavor.  Picnic food can seem pretty boring, so it was nice eating something on the go that was both healthy and tasty. (Recipe below)  The Tabbouleh was made yesterday and was easy to pack along in a container.  You could also pack in individual serving sized containers to avoid needing plates.

I made the margaritas last night and poured in to the jars to let them chill overnight.  When we were ready to drink, I added ice cubes, screwed the lids back on and shook for a few seconds.  Presto!  Marg in a jar!  My new fave.  Plus, enviromentally friendly in reusable jars.

And to carry on the jar theme I made little pies in mini jars for dessert.  Just add your favorite pie filling to the jar, top with pie dough and bake on a cookie sheet for 20-40 minutes or until lightly browned.  Once cooled, screw lid on and you've got dessert to go! (Also a preview of whats to come at a baby shower I'm hosting this week...)

Southwestern Chicken Wraps, adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

2 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos (I skipped this since kids were involved)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 - 10" tortillas, (I used sun-dried tomato flavor)
3 cups baby spinach or baby greens
3 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey (I used sliced chicken breast that I bbq'd yesterday)
1 can (15 ounces) drained and rinsed black beans
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado, thinly sliced

In a bowl, whisk together sour cream, jalapenos, and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Spread sandwich wraps with sour-cream sauce, leaving a 2-inch border. In center of wraps, layer equal amounts of baby spinach, shredded chicken, black beans, tomato, onion, and avocado. For each wrap, fold two sides of wrap over filling, then roll tightly, ending seam side down.

Apple Cup Saturday!

Today is the big Apple Cup game and I wanted to make comfort food with an apple twist.

For dessert I made individual apple pies.  I purchased the mini pie tins from the grocery store and one package of pre-made crust (containing two rounds of crust).  I sliced about 7 granny smith apples thin and cut in half, liberally sprinkled with sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg.  Then I cooked them on the stove until they were slightly tender.

Before dividing the apples in the four mini pie tins, I drained them and cooked down the juice separately for a few minutes to make it more syrupy.

Once apples were divided in to the tins, I took a stick of butter and mixed with about a cup of flour and half cup of sugar.  Once the mixture is nice and crumbly I divided and sprinkled on top of the pies. Bake at 375 for 40-60 min, or until the juices start to bubble and the top is nicely browned.  (Check pie at about 20min and cover edges with foil if they're browning too quick)

For an appetizer I wrapped whole water chestnuts with thick slices of applewood smoked bacon.  Cut bacon in half and wrap around single chestnut.  Use a toothpick to close.  Bake at 400 for 10-20 minutes, you can also broil but watch closely.  This has got to be one of the most easy, cheap, and popular appetizers around.  You can typically find water chestnuts on sale for $1 per can, and there are about 20-25 in each. 

The finished pies:

The oil after frying chicken.  The finished product was so good - crispy outside and super moist on the inside.  The recipe is courtesy of Lisa Dupar and Pomegranite Bistro in Redmond, WA.  Recipe is at bottom of this post.

As a side to the chicken, I roasted fingerling potatoes in the colors of purple and gold!  You can typically find this mix in the grocery store.

Place the potatoes in a 8x8 pyrex or similar sized baker.  Add 1/3 cup unsalted butter, some salt and pepper, juice from one lemon and some chopped fresh rosemary if you have some.  Roast at 400 for 20-30 minutes or until tender.  Toss them frequently while cooking. 

Lisa’s Southern Fried Chicken, courtesy of Lisa Dupar
1 Whole Grown Fryer - cut for frying (ask the meat dept to do for you at grocery store)
Seasoning salt blend
1 Cup Buttermilk with 2 eggs - Egg Wash
Flour - All purpose
2-3 Sleeves of Saltine Crackers - Crushed by hand so your have coarse crumbs. (Not super fine.)
Corn or Peanut Oil for frying in a pan

Season chicken meat with your favorite seasoning salt. Dust with flour. Dip into buttermilk egg wash. Press into crushed saltine cracker crumbs.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over med-high heat.

Fry until golden brown in skillet. This happens very quickly. Place on baking sheet & bake in 375-degree oven for 40-45 more minutes or until done. Reserve until you need to serve – warm quickly. Serve with mashers and slaw.