...The Pie Blog

A Year of Great Pies ...A Grand Finale

2011-12-03T08:26:00.001-08:00

A Year of Great Pies comes to a Grand Finale at Grandma's house...

There you have it...what I'd call an EPIC year of Pie has come to a close. What that means is, that new pies are coming. Fresh, fruity, yummy, homemade, perhaps you have a Pie that brought you together with friends, family, that was the centerpiece to a heart story. The Pie Blog memorializes those special pies. (That's what Pie Bloggin' is all about!) THANKS to the Pie contributors this year!

Grandma has the Classy Touch. Homemade Pies in Maryland presented with love.

Grammy's Holiday Home Dessert Table.

A gorgeous southern Pecan Classic. Do not attempt a calorie count.

Starry Apple. Home Comfort Cooking. My gratitude to the chef and photographer who contributed these beautiful pies!

Here Come Mini Pies

2011-11-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

Here come the Mini Pies from "Baltimore Bob". A beautiful vegetable pot pie, and 3 mini pies, and a pumpkin pie that has a whimsical touch...these were all photographed by the cook. Very nice! Thanks for the contribution!

3 Veggie Minis

Pumpkin Jack Mini Pie


4 Fresh Apple Pies for the Special Person who passed the Maryland Bar Exam. Congrats!

Tiny Pies and Cake Pops

2011-10-28T12:12:00.000-07:00


Dad's Tiny Pie, Raspberry 2011

That's a truly tiny Pie! Dad doesn't bake much...but when he does, he is using an Emeril Pie and Cake Maker. 'I found it in the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog," he said, proving you could have your cake and eat pie too. (Eat Pie!) Tiny bites and personal sizes are in favor right now. Check out these customized cake pops - designed especially for a fiesta with musical alumni and my dogs, who are the inspiration for these cake pops pictured...once getting past the sculpted sugar, there's delicious flavors of cake under there like s'mores and red velvet and german chocolate cake!


Mini Aussie and Musical Notes 'Cake Pops' October 2011

π San Francisco lives up to the Reputation: A Review

2011-10-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

...π San Francisco. A Place for Pizza Pies...if you aren't familiar with this Pie Blog, you may not have realized that, included, are pizza pies ... most welcome and fabulous topics for pie discussion.

This is a Rare Pie Blog Restaurant Review.

A gentleman friend and I went to sample the Pie, of the now locally famous π Bar on Valencia Street, San Francisco. The joint opens at 3:14 pm daily and is a few blocks from my office. Perfect!

I was excited to see right away there was a White Pizza on the menu for $13; I'll have to get that another time (when I can have it to myself.) The π Bar features a sophisticated array of delicious beers on tap, and the friendly wait staff gave us lots of tastings. The Gentleman had a Beligian White (refreshing and delicious!) and the Lady had the Pinot Noir from Sonoma (another story later on my journey through Pinot Noirs of Sonoma...)

Then came the pie: a perfect flaky thin crispy crust, just the right amount of sauce, and just how we liked it! We tried the Italian sausage, portabella mushrooms, green pepper and onions, and all the ingredients were as perfectly cooked, as they were when my mom took me as a kid to get a slice up in NYC, except here I got to order a nice California wine and hear some excellent live jazz (and accordion guest appearance!) ...for a casual after-work meal on a budget, I was impressed. Certainly this is the best NYC style pizza in the Mission.

These folks even have a Manifesto, check it out. The π Bar SF can be found on Valencia Street and Pi Bar SF. They get a tip of the hat and some love from ...The Pie Blog!

2011-10-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a little retrospective of the Indian Summer moments ...a precursor to the fall parade! The Pie Blog is gearing up to finish the year 2011 with amazing pies. ...Eat Pie!

San Fran-Berrylicious Pie and homemade crust...raspberries, blackberries & blueberries

Lila's Mojito Pie for Ben's Fiesta in Berkeley

Stone-Plum Pie, comfort at home.

Pies for the Festival Season

2011-08-20T10:21:00.000-07:00


Brown Sugar Sparkles

A fantastic summer it has been with Pies showing up everywhere. Most recently, pie was partaken of at the magical Outside Lands Music Festival, in San Francisco, August 12 - 14; where over 40 world class musical acts converged in Golden Gate Park for an extravaganza of good sound and a big party. Friends came from as far as Guadalajara to join in the festivities and good food, wine tasting tent, and music. Pecan pies were on sale at the festival along with southern style food, cocktails and local California wines. I liked the wines from "Field Recordings." We certainly had many good festival moments and picnic goodies while listening to Muse, The Black Keys, OK GO!, Phish, Ximena Sarinana, and old friend Sonny Smith on the Panhandle Stage.

A true hit this season was a revisited D'Angelo Pie Duo (If you recall from previous articles, that's what we call the peach-blueberry oatmeal crumble top around here...) and those appeared, most notably, at 'T4' 4th Annual Thong Festival Celebrating Independence in Joshua Tree, California July 1-4, 2011 The two particular pies I speak of were among those that were gone too fast for the "Chairwoman" to taste, so I had to judge from the reports that it was simply awesome.


Messy, though Delicious

In July there were many fruit pies and celebrations of ice cream-on-top. In August, blueberries being abundant, the Pie Blogger branched out into a Blueberry-Cheesecake-Pie for the "Brett-est Birthday Ever" at Donner State Memorial Park, Truckee, California. (This pie was made by the friendly folks at the Truckee-Donner Summit Safeway, a prototype for something I'll make later--) Again, this yumminess was eaten by 12 dirt-biking, river-rafting, roller-skating freaks on the riverside camp before photo ops could be arranged. Good times!!!

My Very First Baked Alaska

2011-05-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

So, I really didn't know what to expect when I looked up 'Baked Alaska'. I wondered if I could attempt this recipe, and wondered if Baked Alaska could even be considered a pie dessert. While researching I looked at other people's versions on the internet. I had never had it before - and I just imagined a Denali sized mountain of baked egg-y deliciousness sitting in a pie shell. (Baked Alaska is the type of old-school restaurant dessert item that one doesn't see every day.)

Well, I decided to take on 'Strawberry Baked Alaska'. This turned out to be easier than expected, and very much a mountain of egg-y deliciousness sitting in a pie shell atop of fresh made strawberry ice cream.
Yes, you do bake the ice cream! It really does work.

This is amazing as a presentation and very good, winning the approval of my nephews because it has ice cream involved in it as well as the mountain of fluff... Here are some photos, pre-baked. The soft strawberry ice cream molds into the pie shell, with fresh strawberry slices on top, all in a pre-baked pie shell. Then, the meringue is piled atop high like a mountain before the 30 second broil that toasts the whole thing like a marshmallow! (Picture not available, the subject was eaten.)

D'Angelo's Pie

2011-04-30T01:31:00.000-07:00

After baking a deep dish blueberry-peach pie on the night of the Fiddlers' Fest, a quick late night reference to pie was made via DJ... a Pie song from D'Angelo, recorded over a decade ago.
The lyrics follow, to a tune which has a typical groove heard on this album Voodoo. 6 people tasted this pie and danced to this particular groove. An outstanding pie. An outstanding groove.
Peaches were purpled by the berries, so lovely a color combo. As for the groove, listen for it or look it up on your favorite internet radio service. Amazing how that groove had people eating and grooving to the unique rhythm.

"Devil's Pie"

[CHORUS]
F*ck the slice we want the pie
Why ask why till we fry
Watch us all stand in line
For a slice of the devil's pie
Drugs and thugs women wine
Three or four at a time
Watch them stand all in line
For a slice of the devil's pie

Who am I to justify
All the evil in our eye
When I myself feel the high
From all that I despise

Behind the jail or in the grave
I have to lay in this bed I made
If I die before I wake
I Hope the lord don't hesitate
2 get 2 heaven done been through hell
Tell my peeps all is well
All them fools whose soul's 4 sale
Sitting next to the Jezebel

Demons screaming in my ear
All my anger all my fear
If I holler let them hear
In this spinning sphere

Main ingredients 2 this dish
Goes like this
Here's the list
Materialistic, greed and lust, jealousy, envious
Bread and dough, cheddar cheese, flash and stash, cash and cream
Temperatures at a high degree
Wheres niggas come 2 feast
Hell's this all about
Apocalypse ain't no doubt

Everbody's ho'ing out all the loot all the clout
Right or wrong
Do or die
Only the vengeance will pacify
Watch your back
And so will I
In these days and time

Aint no justice
It's Just us
Ashes 2 ashes
Dust 2 dust
Time has come for most of us
2 choose in which God we trust
I know I was born 2 die
Searching 2 find
Piece of mind
With eighty five dumb and blind
There can be no compromise
...
*by most groove I mean groove in a cool dark swing, get it?

The Great Pine Street Pie Debate

2011-04-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Great Pine Street Clinic Pie Debate happened on a recent Saturday morning, where I, along with a collection of Bay Area acupuncture all-stars, and cancer detecting poodles, were semi-secretly meeting to put teams together for the 1st Annual Chinese Medicine Debate Tournament.
Our topics will be subjects of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and health care in the United States. We would learn about debate by doing a mock practice round, which would be about PIE (the actual TCM Tournament will be held at a location TBA to the public on June 11th, 2011...keep in touch for details) What more exciting for the Pie Blog than a Pie Debate to emerge!

The Debate Prompt: That Apple Pie is Superior to Cherry Pie. Arguments were heard; A Cherry Team, An Apple Team...What more exciting for the Pie Blog than a Pie Debate to emerge!

My good friend and team captain was asked by the deli check-out person earlier that morning, 'where she was headed out, so early?'
"To a Chinese Medicine Debate Meeting," she replied.
"...Sounds like a Ninja Warrior Fight!," the cashier exclaimed.

Dr. Ashby with Opening Statements Pro-Apple Pie: All-American Ancestory, Economical, and TASTY with tradition

Pie of Apples, we argued, is the All-American Family Pie in season all year. It is the Pie's Pie. It even has medicinal uses, and can be combined with cinnamon and other wonderful spices and aromatics. It's cheap to make an Apple Pie, and that's a plus in this economic environment! There's also the lore and story of Johnny Appleseed, walking across America, giving rise to the great diversity of the apple in North America. The Cherry Pie Team dismissed Johnny Appleseed as a hoax, arguing that their pie was simply the more luxurious, erotic pie. Cherry Pie was fragrant of spring and love. Cherry Pie supports Wisconsin. The elegant Cherry Pie had George Washington somewhere in their history, too (an minor point about chopping down cherry trees...) Our Apple Team argued back that often there are animal products and gelatin materials made to make the Cherry Pie set correctly, which was not erotic or luxurious. Apple Pie needs no animal products and can go vegan quite nicely. Cherry Pies are messy and who wants to pick all those pits anyway? The Cherry Team bounced back, noting that Apple Pie needs vanilla ice cream to be great and can't stand alone. Oooh! Pow!
In the end, the Apple Team, with our passion for The Pie and confident debate, won the contest!

When a Pie becomes a Tart

2011-03-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

This pie is more like a danish, or tart.

Compare it to when a pizza goes square.

I love having guests at my place, people driving in for the weekend even when the Bay Area is freakin' cold and damp. Recently the weather was calling for comfort breakfast-anytime-you-want food again, so I made an Apple Tart with Apricot syrup drizzle.

It was so good I made it again the next day and improvised more. Better the 2nd time around!

Using a pre-made puff pastry made the day before or from the freezer, fresh peeled organic fruit slices, a vanilla, milk and egg custard to make pastry cream, apricots and lemon juice, this one is pretty artistic too!

Valentine Apple Crisp

2011-02-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

a quick step from pie ... this is so good for a cold mid-February night, and if you want to you may call it 'Lovers' Apple Crisp'.

...because it's 2 of everything: 2 personal size pie dishes, 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream on top.

2 cups of quick cooking rolled oats, with butter make the crust. 2 Apples, 2 Eggs, 2 splashes of vanilla, and so on. Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Milk, butter. Drizzle local honey on top, or maple syrup. Make as sweet or saucy as you like, and then bake for 45 minutes, at 350ºF after adding a little more rolled oats on top.

Move over, Cupcakes...

2011-01-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

If you have been following the news lately, you are aware that year of The Pie has arrived. (If they say it on NPR, it might even be true.) This is the year where Pie is preferred. And, in celebration, The Pie Blog wants you to know that we are expanding this year to include tarts, personal pies and mini pies (as described in the previous article). Actually, we never leave a pie behind. (Except the one that Puppy ate off the countertop, Thanksgiving 2009.)
The Pie Blog (a.k.a. Wannabe Pie Chef) was created in 2007 to celebrate pies, pie thoughts, and stories of pie and photography along the way. Your non spammy comments are generally welcomed and appreciated, along with any inspiring pies that might meet our criteria for the coming year!

Bring on the 2011 Pies!

2011-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Here it is, 'With an Eye on the Pie', it's 2011 and the First Pies of the Year are up. These are Elisa's New Year Personal Apple Pies. Beautiful and delicious on a cold winters' New Year Eve! She got the light flaky crust perfected and fed over 50 people their own personal delicious mini apple pie at the stroke of midnight. Definitively the best of the spread. I can say I saw more than one guest have more than one. The Year of the Cupcake is over - It's Time For Pie! Thanks to those pie supporters for keeping the Pie Blogger Motivated and cookin'. Stay tuned for more winter specialties!

Doing the Gingersnap Dance

2010-11-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

Another Thanksgiving, the time has come to turn over a new leaf. Sweet potato pie with a Gingersnap-Pecan crust. Here's the thing, the crust is made like a giant cookie, ahead of time. Then after it cools and hardens, the sweet potato pureé with rum goes in, and you have a great, not too sweet pie. Then, cool it again, and toast it later, you have an AWESOME pie.

You can find the ingredients and instructions on the Gourmet magazine site. It needs nutmeg and about 1/4 c more sugar than what they say. Another tip - reheat after cooling, and it's just so much more delicious because the crust becomes a bit like a ginger rum cake, dependent on how much rum you happen to put in. (Be warned, don't overdo that, even if you are a really authentic pirate, because if it doesn't cook through, you will have a poor, soupy consistency. That's bad.)

Uncle Marcus and Uncle Max tried this right away with vanilla ice cream. A million kids were present and none of them wanted to try any of the pies that came from any of the guests. They were only interested in ice cream.

Do all kids hate pie? One of my nephews insisted, 'yes.' So I had only Uncle Marcus to judge, because I don't really think Max would be honest but Marcus would...and it was his kindness or his eating two more pieces, that I decided it was awesome. Not a pie for kids, though.

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

2010-10-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Seated before an apple pie in a elegant dining hall, these are the words of the great Carl Sagan.

Carl Edward Sagan was an american astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and made astronomy very popular.

Was he also a pie chef?

An average apple pie slice cut 90 times ends up being about one atom. Sagan slices the pie.

"Crumbly, but good." ... I noticed he was missing the vanilla ice cream. Really necessary with the apple pie in my humble opinion.

So many varieties of apple pie...and now is the time. Remember your best apple pie ever.

Coming soon: Cosmos Apple Pie!

Jewel Yam Pie

2010-09-12T22:36:00.000-07:00

Organic Jewel Yam and Maple Pie

This is my own preparation, and I usually just eyeball the quantities, and attempt to leave butter and white sugar out of it. This cuts down dramatically on calories, etc. ...if it's gonna be a pie, you do need a pre-made pie shell, which you can make by many other expert recipes or by buying (lard-free if possible) at the store. I am using a smaller 9 inch vegetarian pre-made shell made at the local grocery this time.

Gather:

2 big beautiful ruby colored organic Jewel Yams: boiled until soft and the skins peel off easily, and then mashed until very smooth. By hand-masher or fork is fine.
1/3 c plain greek organic yogurt
1/2 c organic vermont maple syrup, less if you like your pie more savory.
1/3 c golden-brown choice sugar
4 large and local egg whites, whisked into a froth (not as many if you decide leave the yolks in).
1/4 teaspoon natural vanilla

Spice mixture: 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and a dash of cloves and nutmeg, a pinch of sea salt.
Ginger is a nice addition, as yams and ginger have a centering, balancing and harmonious nature when put together. Fresh ginger or dried, (a pinch will do) it's up to you.

Preheat your oven and blend all of these ingredients together. Pour the mix into a standard 9" pie dough, smooth out into the shell and bake for 20 minutes at 400°F.
Remember to then reduce your oven's temperature to 350 and then let this pie bake for 35-50 minutes. You may need to check on it (fold foil over the pie crust to keep from over-crisping if necessary) and stick a toothpick in, when it comes out clean, you have a Jewel Yam Pie to set up on a wire rack for a few minutes at least before you try to cut into it... Served hot or cold, and not too sweet...really good for breakfast the next day. That seems to be a large part of how I rate a pie, anyway: if it's good for breakfast, it's a champion.

To be a good host you can add whipped cream but I like this pie 'casual' and edible anytime. It's less sugary sweet than other recipes that you will find - light comfort food as we come into Autumn.

Summer Pies

2010-08-26T01:21:00.000-07:00

One more peach pie for end of summer! ...total peaches

Reunion Pies!

2010-06-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

This spring we had a gathering of cousins in Maryland, and maybe it's a family trait, but at all of our events were supplemented by pie. Not all were homemade, but all were tasty and worth bloggin' about.

Here we have an old-fashioned apple pie and a crumble top fruit pie, for dessert at the pool party!

This one is a Blueberry Pie that came from Butler's Orchard, Germantown. We mainly had this for breakfast. I liked this one the best, perfect for Raven's Pie (only 3 more months until football season!)

Strawberry Rhubarb - heavy on the Rhubarb is okay with my folks - very popular and hard to photograph quick enough.

On Memorial Day, a friend brought over Soviet Lemon Pie, which I would have called a cake or a tart. I include it on the Pie Blog because it was so odd - the secret ingredient was Ensure. I can't say it was really very good but we had a fun time discussing it over watermelon vodka shots.

The 2010 Spring Guest Pie

2010-05-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

Springtime brought yummy fruit and friends to the house this past month, and here is my favorite 2010 Guest Pie! Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble was delicious. I think this is my favorite pie of all time, and my Dad's favorite too. Much Thanks to the guest chef, C-n-G!

Uncle Bro's Apple Gallete

2010-01-28T22:47:00.000-08:00

Before going into to bake

If you want a way to ease yourself into pie making, you could start with a free-form pie known as a galette. On the other hand, getting the flaky crust and caramelized apples perfectly done can make this simple pie not totally simple.
Uncle Bro is indeed a master chef, a professional in a city of serious chefiness, and has even recently served up a good meal to the Dalai Lama here in San Francisco! As humble as Uncle Bro is, admittedly he knows this French Tart.

I had the pleasure of hanging at Uncle Bro's and having a wonderful home-cooked meal of a fresh farmer's market vegetable soup (which resurrected my interest in Cauliflower), a wonderful chicken entrée and this cute dessert baked with Granny Smith Apples and served with a crème inglese...so wonderful at the end of a long week. Thanks to Uncle Bro and Swiss Sis for hosting!

Butternut - Azuki Pie

2010-01-09T18:23:00.000-08:00

Spontaneous Pie! A roasted Butternut Squash that has decorated my kitchen since Thanksgiving, and the sweet little red Azuki beans available in the pantry inspired me to get creative and throw something together I had never done.
Bringing together the organic brown sugar, a little buttermilk, a few eggs and some cloves, this pie was for me a not-too sweet and not-too heavy after-holiday pie that was so tasty warm, I can see having this for breakfast.

Final Pie of the Year: Chicago Stone-Baked Pizza Pie!

2009-12-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

This one was my first pizza pie on '...The Pie Blog'. I called it a delicious mess, as I learned to make a deep dish Chicago style creation for this last blog of the year without having a proper pizza peel or proper deep dish. Nonetheless, the taste was a most fantastic outcome. It ended up looking a bit like a gi-normous stromboli.

The crust was a hand-made whole wheat garlic bread, and yes I made it from scratch without a bread maker or any machines. This made for a really rustic and irregular shape and texture, truly homemade comfort. I also made the tomato sauce from scratch, making this an all day thing that I would best do on winter break like now. The hot italian spicy sausage, crumbled and cooked into the dough was the best part, I think. Fresh italian cheeses and lots of fresh basil topped it off. This was time consuming, but very worthwhile and ultimately easy to do.

Giving Thanks...before the pies are made

2009-11-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

'Before the Pies Are Made'...

That's what I call this pie blog entry. Kind of like a 'behind the scenes edition' of my pie blog.

I was considering - over a cup of coffee this morning in the Hall of Justice - and instead of fretting that I might be selected for Jury Duty - that each year there are many who feel inclined to 'think outside the box' when it comes to putting together a Thanksgiving menu. These are people who find Turkey boring or bothersome to cook after a hundred times, feel that the holiday meal becomes excessive with multiple starchy different dishes, or want to just do something 'different' from traditions that actually get boring. Fair enough...however, I find myself wanting to do many of the traditional hits over and over because I enjoy having some cooking rituals, and I find we have many opportunities throughout the year but what we choose to make is so varied, since America is so hugely diverse in cultures. I feel disheartened to hear that turkey is boring, overhearing conversations that folks are going for sushi instead of the regular bird. I should add that Vegetarians are excepted from my summons to turkey-feasting, and I have no particular 'beef' with the Tofurkey or the Madden-made-famous 'Turduckin" turkey-duck-chicken phenom. I know it is about being thankful for what you DO have. I met some folks recently in the countryside that had a goat, no turkey, and since that's what they have, they're excited to make goat soup instead and invite a crowd. I suppose that's what's important.

I asked the nephews what kinds of things they think of when we talk about cooking our Thanksgiving dinner this year. Pumpkin pie was essential to this crew of kids, being right after Turkey in order of importance. This year I plan to serve it with a cinnamon crust and whipped cream.

The nephews happen to be young boys under 5 at the time of this stream of thoughts, and currently look forward to the ritual of giving thanks at the nightly dinner table. They don't yet have many Thanksgivings to look back upon, and I have the opinion like they could associate Thanksgiving day with Turkey, the significant bird of the day. We generally join hands and each have a say as to what we are thankful for.

Aside from the occasional impulsive statement of 'I'm thankful for CAKE!!!' which happens, usually after there has been a recent birthday party or some fun school event involving cupcakes, I've noted that the nephews regularly say they are thankful for Mommy and Daddy. It is a wonderful thing for everyone to hear that simple but profound announcement - and so meaningful that the very most important thing to their survival and healthy development is what they want to thank. The younger one also shouts, "...Icing!" as footnote to his blessing. 'Amen,' we add.

The older one says, "What about a cherry pie for Thanksgiving?'' I consider. "Why not?" I like the idea. "With ice cream!" he adds. "Of course!" It's not cherry season but we could use frozen berries. I like the red holiday color and appeal of the celebratory cherry. The cross-culturally lucky holiday color of red. Hot gooey sweetness! Okay. I am convinced it will be a hit... I start to envision beautiful berries and a double layer pie. How to do it I'm not sure yet.

I am sure I'm going to make a pecan pie, in memory of Grandma who passed away this year and was the primary pecan pie and puzzle person of my life. I am adding to her famous pie some sprigs of Mint this year. (Mom is making it also, but reports that this time is destined to be with chocolate chips.)

Again, to fulfill my need of tradition and my need for sufficient leftovers there will be pumpkin pies - no photos necessary. (nothing can top the pumpkin pie breakfast before taking a long walk on a sunny fall Friday.)

P.S. Did anybody catch the cloud mystery behind that Pie Art on the cover of The New Yorker Magazine this week?

Ithaca Pie

2009-10-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

An Organic Berry Pie in downtown Ithaca at the Farmers' Market. In this photo, it's also impossible not to notice that chocolate cake in the foreground; however, this is a pie blog.

Visiting Ithaca was wonderful,
with cherries and berries,
and fruit pies lovingly created.

We enjoyed the company of old friends in the park, listened to music, and soon the pie was gone.

Before finding this pie, we enjoyed the Grass Roots Festival of Music and Arts nearby, which had its own draw of treats, like vocalist Oumou Sangare jamming with banjologist Bela Fleck.

Boston Creme Pie, OMG

2009-06-02T22:49:00.001-07:00

Welcome back to the Pie Blog.
This pie was eaten, (more like devoured) to the tunes of celebration
A friend from Boston
Has had good fortune.
He did not know we were eating it:
toasting him, his new love and home;
his many blessings amplified by chocolate
as we listened on the other line and responded, "OMG"
putting our woes aside
This called for celebration, a Boston Creme Pie
Party favor LED fiesta
Dropping jaw and pondering the highs and lows
of our own lives, in awe

Ravens Pie

2009-01-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

Well, if you haven't heard, the Baltimore Ravens are in the playoffs this year, and tomorrow we shall celebrate with this Maryland Pie. Ironically, it was a fan of our arch-enemy Steelers that today reminded me that it was 'Pie Time' for Ravens Pie. (Just For Tomorrow we are 'swar'n' enemies...but thanks for getting me on the pie project again!)
Even if you are not from Baltimore like myself, try mastering this one. It is the adaptation of a Blueberry Pie, with no actual Ravens in it, or Blackbirds, or Crows either. It is from the Western Maryland mountains where there is great farm country and orchards and fruit pies.

Catoctin Mountain - Ravens Pie

3 c pitted apricots unpeeled
2 c blueberries, fresh and no stems
2/3 c sugar plus 2 tablespoons on the side
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves

Brown sugar topping
1/2 c light brown sugar
1/2 c flour all purpose
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter unsalted cut into 1/4 inch pieces at room temp

Pie Pastry prepared and cold chillin'

1. prepare the pastry shell
2. In a large bowl, combine apricots blueberries and 2/3 c of the granulated sugar, and lemon juice. Mix well, set aside for 30 min to juice. Preheat the oven to 400 in the meantime.
3. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and remaining 2 tbsp gran. sugar ...stir the mix into the fruit along with nutmeg and cloves. Turning the filling into the chilled pie shell. Level it out with a spoon. Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake 30 minutes.
4. Make the topping by combining brown sugar and flour, cinnamon and salt, and pulse in a food processor to mix (or use fingers). Use your hands to scatter the butter pieces over the dry ingredients and make large buttery crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.
5. Remove pie from oven and reduce the temp to 375. Carefully dump the crumbs into the center of the pie, like Ray Lewis dumps a quarterback. Then, spread the crumbs a little with your fingers over the surface. Return the pie to the oven, placing it so that the part of the pie that faced the back of the oven now faces forward, for even cooking. Use aluminum foil underneath to catch any spills here. Bake until top is dark golden brown and juices are bubblin'. This could be 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on it - if the topping starts looking too dark cover the pie with loosely tented aluminum foil for the last 15 min or so.
6. HOT. Transfer to wire rack and LET COOL for at least 2 hours before diving into.

Dia de los Muertos Pumpkin Pie

2008-11-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

An organic pumpkin pie here enhanced by Tanya and myself with painted Day of the Dead cookies. It's pie season. Anyone wanting to do pie season 2009 in Oaxaca next round get in touch with me!

A Spontaneous Pear Jalapeño Pie

2008-09-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

A very fun dinner and game party for 7 at my friends' place back in the old neighborhood prompted me to do a fun eccentric pie last night to bring to the pot-luck. Never had this one before, but having lived in Mexico I am excited to try out the spicy-tart-sweet flavor combo potential of pears and jalapeño! We had some pears and lemons from our backyard which made this particularly special. Just using Jalapeño Jelly melted with butter, poured over fresh fruit and some lemon juice, sugar, and nutmeg, cinnamon, and turned into a double crust pie. Made just like a traditional apple pie - just substitute pears and a 1/2 cup of the Jalapeño Jelly. It was gone in 5 minutes. We didn't need the vanilla ice cream but of course that would have put it 'over the top'. This pie could be a good one for next Thanksgiving, with flavor that pleases the apple pie lovers but is a new twist that people will want to test!

Sweet Peach Pie in Alaska

2008-09-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

This summer I went to visit Alaska for my cousin's wedding, (wonderful and gorgeous!) and it also was an amazing experience of stunning wilderness and adventuresome spirits. What did not prevail was the dining experience, I found that culinary adventure is not really a part of what Alaska has to offer (coming from San Francisco and being on the other side of the culinary spectrum, this was not really a big surprise) Yet I tried the reindeer sausage and various forms of halibut, (hmmm, not exactly my favorite).
The BEST place to eat in the Kenai region I traveled was, by far, Gwin's Lodge in Cooper Landing. Their menu was printed up like a newspaper with some local info and tidbits of history. We were happy: The salmon burger was tasty. The root beer was refreshing. The burger and fries was thankfully received as a familiar relief after a week of less satisfying but exotic choices.
The staff there was welcoming and kind and we were happy to find this little road house because we were HUNGRY! "Care for desert?" Oh yes - a list of many pies to choose from! Happily taking the server's suggestion to go with the peach pie, we tried it - and suddenly we could have been all the way down south in Sweet Georgia sampling a country fair's greatest pride and joy.

Cowabunga's Mud Pie

2008-08-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

It's late August and the kids are back to...working at the Cowabunga Creamery. I walked in to try the Mud Pie and was surrounded by children herding the adults in. Dogs outside, but longing to come in. Behind the counter, it must be 'girls' day because it's all pre-teen young ladies...a few days ago it was 'boys' day and I had a coconut mini shake. I noticed how the girls and boys do not work the same shift. Is that planned? Are they so pre-teen paradise that they can't handle the love? I love how it's a total pre-teen scene, they have surfboards on the walls and cool surfer videos playing on the HD screen.. but I still feel short there. I tried the pie. I photographed the pie. I decided to pour tequila on it. There, I'm an adult again. That was tasty.

All-Strawberry Pie

2008-07-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

All-Fresa Pie

We had a party, to celebrate the birthdays of July and our kitty, and our being here a year. The Pie Blog has been going over a year now, too!
This pie got eaten up faster than I could take a picture of it. My first All-Strawberry pie: it was amazing. With large farmer's market strawberries, cheap, ripe and plentiful here. I used a little fresh mint in the mix, with nutmeg and no other berries but strawberries...

Key Lime Pie Time!

2008-05-30T17:24:00.001-07:00

Tropical heat wave? Key Lime Pie is the natural pie solution.

Almost summertime!
Refreshing and sweet-sour flavors were quite bold for me (and I found it zingy!) We served this to some dudes who were dressing up to go to a wedding at our casita. A picture of springtime elegance it was!
There's a little song I made called Key Lime Pie, too. It's not easy to put an mp3 on this site so just comment to me if you wanna hear it.

Superbowl Pie, Part Two

2008-02-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

If you watched the NFL Superbowl tonight you will agree with me that it was a truly stunning football game. A Batch of Personal Sized - Banana Cream Pies (with Coconut!) came out at halftime and at the end of the game, where a small crowd had gathered in my kitchen for some prime time pies in HD.

A little game in the street, to work off some of the extra calories today! (There was plenty of other snacking going on, as is tradition! Organic Turkey Chile, Chicken Apple Beans by L.J., Hot Wings by MexiSub, Middle-Eastern-Delite by G. and flores by L-Bill) My thanks everyone for the yummy and interesting viewing this year!

Superbowl Pie, Part One

2008-02-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

The Strawberry Rhubarb Nopal Pie

For our Superbowl this time it's the Super-berry Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie with Cornmeal crust and Nopal Cactus Liquor. I made this recipe, as I do every year and I think this one -of my rhubarb family- really turned out the best, made with organic ingredients. The Nopal Liquor of course made sense since the flavor is much like a red berry. It's a good candidate for ice cream or breakfast! I reserve some of the fruit syrup to pour on other things - so I don't cut into the pie too early. Well, I admit, we had some as soon as the blog posted.
Stay tuned, for the big sport event there will be warm personal sized banana cream pies!

Chocolate Chess Pie

2008-01-13T20:10:00.000-08:00

On a recent winter evening I got to open a birthday present - this year my sister sent me a great pie book. Mid January is a really good time for a pie making session, I thought, and I'd do it just for the sake of the Pie Blog. The Pie Blog is how I learn and teach myself something about baking pies. But being Mid January, and on a tighter budget, I found the cupboard nearly bare, except for a minimum of ingredients. Perfect - we don't need a fancy pie right now. Then I opened up my new pie book and found this 'Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie', a pie from the American South (among many other delicious sounding pies I will have to experiment with when fruit season is back.) Do I have some eggs, vanilla, sugar, a little corn meal and pie pastry? Well, indeed I do. Turn the page. Do I have chocolate? (Leftovers from Christmas...yes!) MMM. One more pie, and a game of chess to go along. Apparently the game of chess has nothing to do with the name of a chess pie, but I decided to take it in a new direction for the sake of the Pie Blog. (The Chess name may come from 'pie chest' or the British Cheese pie perhaps, said with a southern hospitable accent...'cheesss' but this pie contains no cheese today at least.) I'm enjoying experiments and games all at once while learning about chess pies.

The Angus Barn name comes from a restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina. I think of paintings of the eastern light and countryside out there, horse country. I would love to visit again - hope they don't mind (as I so had no problem adding something) a light splash of Mexican Coffee Liquor and calling it 'done'.
* note: Personal Size Pies is the coming trend according to my 'associate' so I made one and photographed it. It went quicker than I could write about it.
Before the main baking event, the pie crust sank in pre-baking but I went with it. Glad I didn't get worried about it, because my Chess Pie turned into a brownie-cookie-light flaky- crust Pizza, all organic with free trade chocolate and delicious. Now being served - thanks to some new tools I received from friends and family this year. Yum!

Sweet and Savory

2007-12-16T20:30:00.002-08:00

This Sweet Potato Pie was not overly sweet and very yummy with a hint of fresh ginger and mint. We just ate it after some buffalo burgers and green beans, a non-occasion winter dinner at home! Sweet potatoes are some of the most comfort-foody staples I can think of...this may have been the most basic but perfectly tasting pie of 2007.

Thanksgiving is ON!

2007-11-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

The Carrots and Ginger Crew is here and we have completed a total of 4 pies. My sister called in a 'Drunken Turtle Pecan Pie', too. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

The Pie Throw Down

2007-10-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

So, Bobby Flay is trying this Pie Mother's Mixed Berry Pie in one of his 'Throw Down' Episodes. The Pie Mother asks him, "How is it?" and he answers, "Delicious."
She then asks him,"Would you get up in the night to eat it?"
Bobby answers, "Absolutely!"
"See, that's the true test. If you get up in the night to eat it."

Our Annual Pumpkin Smash

2007-10-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

Once again, October is here and it's time to celebrate a bunch of things. Eventful as usual. Here's the first Pumpkin Pie of the Season! We always have a party in October, time to get crazy with those melding pumpkin heads...

A Baja Blue Damiana Pie

2007-08-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

This is an exotic pie that I invented (as far as I know...) The Guaycura Liquour of Mexico is what makes this pie really tropical. Allspice added in can make it a holiday flavor, since the Damiana is kind of a Christmas in Mexico kind of flavor. Damiana comes in a very bottle resembling a voluptuous lady. You might have to come to my house to find this, or fly into Los Cabos. The color of the pie is a deep Pacific Ocean Blue!

For the filling I used
3 tablespoons cornstarch (or flour)
3 tablespoons Guaycura Damiana.
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2/3 cup sugar (I used Dark Muscovado sugar, exotic is good!)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
8 cups blueberries, picked over well
or reduce the amount of blueberries and add golden raisins or dried peaches as I did here for little tart pies.

Mix this up and pour into a pie crust; bake at 375 for an hour, check it. You can also do an egg wash to make it pretty or make little tarts. You got it, a tropical holiday yummy thing.

The Claim Jumper Pie: Sweetest Pie EVER

2007-08-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

Above you will see a photo depicting an example of the type of Pie I normally avoid. I would not have put a commercial pie out of the grocery freezer on the blog except for a very SWEET thing that happened to me. Here's the story.
I realized that our neighbors had just had their first baby earlier than expected, and so took a card of congrats to their house (so they would have something to greet them as they brought their newborn home over the threshold, in case no family or friends were there). Turns out that they needed that extra kindness after the experience at the hospital, and were so touched that they brought me a pie!
Now, I could NOT chow down on this because it's just too many calories than I can personally handle, so we took it to a party instead where it was enjoyed. Should I tell the neighbors about...The Pie Blog?

Reporting with an Eye on the Pie

2007-07-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

One of the hottest days of the summer: July 4, at the Marin County Fair. The winning pie, the blue ribbon prize winner, was still looking good despite days of sitting out under thousands of interested noses. What was that pie? Some combination of many a wondrous blue coloured berry fruit...

The Early Pies: Greetings!

2007-05-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Wannabe Pie Chef,
These articles are notes,
Chapters of Pies - that looked tasty,
along with their recipies, and stories!