Week #28 & 29 pies

Mostly pictures of the past two pies

Lemonade cheesecake. I maintain that this was definitely not cheesecake, it is just unfortunately named. Anyway, it is a nice, reasonably light pie that is extremely easy to make (perhaps the easiest so far) and would be a great summer pie. You can find the recipe here.

If you looked at the recipe and were wondering, I ain't piping whipped cream any time soon.

And, from the ever so slightly off-center mind of E.S., chocolate chip pie...

I added my own slightly more off-center touch and made up this pie. It consisted of:

• The usual pastry crust
• A big chocolate chip cookie laid on top of the crust
• A layer of home made vanilla custard
• A layer of chocolate chips
• A layer of the above custard mixed with whipped cream
• A sprinkling of chocolate chips on the top

I think it turned out okay, if a little bit strange for a pie.

C'mon, I know you think the rose is a nice touch.

We probably should have waited a little bit longer for it to set up, but sometimes you just get impatient, right?

Pie of the Week - Week #30

Kiwi Pie.

Once again, I have no idea what this might/will look like, which only adds to the fun.

I will be out of town most of the weekend, as well, so I will likely have to endure another Monday of whining at work regarding the lack of a "pie day." Oh well, at least they're not begging me to stop forcing them to eat my experiments.

Have a great weekend!

Pie of the week - Week #29

I solicited pie flavor advice from one of the more creative people I know this week. Her response was immediate. "Chocolate Chip!" We discussed the idea briefly and neither she, nor I, knows what a chocolate chip pie looks like. That leaves it open for interpretation, and I am sure that it could go in many directions.

Thoughts, anyone?

Pie of the Week - Week #28

I am undoubtedly going to get bludgeoned over the name, but I assure you, it is a pie.

It is called Lemonade Cheesecake Pie. Despite the unfortunate choice of name, it fits the definition. And, it is a request, which seems to have become the theme lately. That is fine by me.

I have seen the recipe, and it looks simple to make and oh so good. Maybe those are the new criteria...

Week #27 - Chocolate, Banana, Peanut Butter Cream

As I mentioned in last week's post, this week's pie came about as a reaction to some comments about flavors that go well together during the semi-weekly pie tasting at work. Since no particular pie was mentioned, that gave me another opportunity to make up a recipe rather than follow a script.

If you recall, the flavor's mentioned were chocolate, peanut butter, and banana. With those flavors in mind, I attempted to cobble something together.

Here is the fallout...

The Crust

I started with the usual pastry crust recipe, with some additions:

• 1/2 cup of cocoa
• 1 additional tablespoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts

The crust did not turn out too bad, but the consistency ended up being a little bit off. It definitely was not flaky like the pastry crust normally is. I assume that the cocoa was largely responsible for that change. Overall, it was not a horrible crust, but it ended up a little bit thick and hard. Not the highlight, although I did not think that it ruined the pie. The peanuts added a little bit of texture, but were not as noticeable as I had expected. If I had it to do over again, I think that I would just skip the nuts in the crust.

The Filling, part 1

I blind baked the crust and then borrowed the "truffle" layer from an earlier pie for this one. The crust itself did not end up with a strong chocolate flavor, so I am glad that I included this layer, otherwise I do not think that the chocolate would have been a strong enough component.

The Filling, part 2

The rest of the filling was simply layers of sliced bananas and a peanut butter custard/cream. This part of the filling went well. I have made several similar pies now and so it was not a completely foreign experience. Maybe I am actually starting to get it! Probably not, but maybe...

Here is a full shot (just some grated chocolate on the top)

And a slice (you can make out the layers if you squint really hard). Nothing cute about this one. That is one manly, deep-dish slice of pie!

I shared some with the whole family after it had set up for about six hours and it was pretty nicely balanced among the three major flavors. By the next day, however, the bananas had really started to overpower the peanut butter. There is surely some lesson to be learned there. Do not use bananas that are too ripe perhaps? Ah, it is all lost on me. I just make a pie a week for crying out loud. If you like it, eat it. If not, throw it away.

Next week... controversy