Here we are, only two pies to go (and only an extra year or so in the making).  The plan is to finish up soon, very soon.

However, as a diversionary tactic, it appears that I am about to embark on an entirely new culinary adventure.  This (moderately?) obsessive personality of mine has glommed onto something new.

I am planning to blog about it (in some form or fashion).

See you there!

Dulce de Pumpkin

A little over a year ago, I stated on this blog that I could not think of a reason why I would make a pumpkin pie again.


Well, in perusing my RSS feeds recently (hey, I have to follow some foodie blogs so that I can have a semi-intelligent conversation with my food-obsessed wife), I stumbled upon this recipe for Dulce de Pumpkin and thought, "there is my reason to try another."


And, so, I did.


The only real twist of consequence in this recipe is the substitution of Dulce de Leche for the sugar and milk, which as the author states, results in a slightly firmer texture.  That was definitely my experience as well.  And, I did appreciate the firmer texture.


But (there is always a but, isn't there?), I have to disagree with the original baker that this is in some way a better version because "most pie recipes downplay the flavor of pumpkin."  All of the eaters in our household agreed that while this was a good pie, it had even less pumpkin flavor than a Libby's special.


Who is complaining?  At the end of the day, it's a slice of pie for heaven's sake.  What is there to complain about?  It looked good, it tasted good.  I am happy.

But (here I go again), I did make my preferred Butternut Squash the very next day...  

Stop me if you have heard this before:

I can not think of a reason that I would make a pumpkin pie again.

On a final note:  While I am absolutely certain that Becca is a far more accomplished and talented baker than I will ever be, I simply must call ridiculous on the following statement.

I’ve found that for a quick and easy pie like this, the 

store-bought crust works out just fine.

Seriously?  Such words will never escape my lips, nor should they anyone else's.

I may finish this yet.

Enjoy the Holidays!

Over a month...

And a complete disaster. It's actually a few weeks in the past now (but, oh, the disgust lingers).

Blueberry-Pineapple pie. Sound good, doesn't it? It even looked good, although I managed to delete all of the pictures I took somehow, so you will never know.

I broke the first rule of cooking (Or one of the first few rules anyway).

Know your ingredients

The fresh pineapple that I used turned out to be anything but fresh. Blueberry-Rotten Pineapple does not sound quite so appetizing. That is because it is not. Awful!

Only a few left now. I'd better get my act together and churn out these last pies in the journey. Hopefully they will not suck as badly as this one did.

French Peach Pie

I am in grave danger of doing it again. Here I am after another couple of weeks with no pie production and no blogging either.

I did make a pie a few weeks ago. It seems as though ever since, at least one of us has been sick (and me nearly the entire time). That is my excuse, and I am sticking with it!

The last pie... French Peach. It was quite good, although sadly, it was not made with fresh peaches, and included some less than homemade elements. Ah well, it was still pie. It could have been worse. It could have been a lesser dessert.

The obligatory picture...

Hoping for this weekend to get back on track. I would never let a minor distraction like a Super Bowl dissuade me from baking, that is for certain.

Only four left now.

Banoffee Pie

A strange name, with a simple explanation. Apparently, this is the pie in England. And with the reputation of British cuisine, I knew it had to be good. Anyway, back to that name. Once you see the ingredients list... bananas and what we here call caramel, apparently toffee across the pond (wow, am I culturally illiterate). Banana+Toffee = Banoffee. Some eaters of this pie were partial to Toffanana. Spelled either way, this one was a pretty universal success.

This pie, as much as any I recall, was a true amalgamation of multiple, multiple recipes. In the end, this one is probably the closest to what I actually made. Boiling sweetened, condensed milk was an interesting, albeit somewhere south of thrilling experience. Somewhere deep, deep in the recesses of my feeble mind, I recall hearing of that as a mechanism for producing caramel, but I don't recall where. I am not exactly sure if I should have kept it going for another hour, or if that portion of the pie was supposed to be pretty runny. It did not quite set up as I may have expected (you can see that in the picture below), but that flaw was definitely not catastrophic.

Other thoughts:

• I am a week late making this pie. It happens.
• I have not made a no-bake graham cracker crust before. I was concerned (change is difficult for some of us), but it turned out just fine
• I was floored by the recipe calling for a cup of butter in the crust. I could not bring myself to do it and so I didn't. A 1/2 cup worked out just fine.
• I love ginger and in this case it went extremely well with the other flavors in the pie. It has to be fresh grated, though (Does that make me a foodie, or just a snob? Do these jeans make me look fat?). Several other recipes that I looked at used ginger snaps for the crust. I doubt they have the same effect.
• I did not get to try the fully constructed pie. The work crowd managed to consume all of it, so this pie's rating will be based on their feedback. That feedback was good enough, however, that I think there is a great chance that I will be making this one for familial consumption very soon.
• If and when I make it again, I am really leaning towards making "toffee" from scratch rather than what feels more than a little bit like cheating with the milk boiling. I cannot imagine that going well (remember rule #1: I am an idiot). Should be a blast!

What is next? I have a few listener suggestions in the hopper, and there are only five more to go. I may actually make it; the finish line is in sight.