Food Republik » pie

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pie

Camilla — Tue, 24 May 2011 23:08:52 +0000

Strawberry season! It’s strawberry season! Whoohoo!

Can you tell how excited I am? I mean, amazingly sweet, luscious strawberries are at the market for $0.97 a basket. WOWEEE!

We’ve been eating them on our pancakes, over yogurt, drizzled with vinegar in green salads, and neat. And today, a strawberry pie was my goal.

Yes, I know that most people don’t cook up the strawberries when they make strawberry pies. Most of the recipes I’ve seen have been 1) Strawberry-rhubarb pies, 2) fresh strawberries piled in a pie shell and glazed, 3) gelatinous globs of jello in a pie shell, or something else. I couldn’t for the life of me find a straight-up, cooked strawberry pie from a reputable source. I don’t know why that is. I agree that fresh strawberries are fantastic, but they’re so hard to eat when you stick them in a pie shell and then try to cut the pie into slices. And honestly, I’d rather eat fresh strawberries sans the cornstarch-laced glaze. If I have to eat cornstarch, I’d like it in a gooey berry-full pie filling, please.

Plus, I’ll take any excuse to make a lattice crust. Isn’t there just something about a lattice crust that makes you think…pink gingham aprons, ruffled curtains, open windows, and a vintage ice cream truck pulling over in front of the house? Anyone?

So here’s my version of an old-fashioned, straight up strawberry pie. No rhubarb. No jello. Just delicious buttery pastry and juicy strawberry filling.

I have to say, I outdid myself on the crust this time. It’s really flaky and flavorful. I left larger chunks of butter this time before bringing the dough together with a bit of water, which helped a lot. My strawberries were pretty ripe, so just 3/4 cup of light brown sugar was enough to make them sweet, but not too sweet.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pie

Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, chilled and cubed
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup ice water (or more)

Filling
5 cups strawberries
3/4 cup golden brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp cornstarch
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a bowl place the flour, sugar, salt and cubes of chilled butter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, until largest pieces are about pea-sized. Add ice water little by little while mixing dough. When dough holds together when you squeeze it, it’s ready. Gather into a ball. Divide into two equal balls, wrap in plastic, and chill in fridge while making filling.

Wash, halve, and hull the strawberries. Mix with rest of filling ingredients and place aside in a bowl.

Roll out the bottom crust and place it in a pie pan, trimming it about 1 inch over the edge. Place pie pan in freezer while you roll out the top crust.

Roll out the second ball of dough, and cut it into strips with a sharp knife. Remove the pie pan from freezer, and pour the strawberry filling into bottom crust. Place or weave the strips of dough into a lattice on top of the filling and trim strips 1/2 inch over edge. Fold bottom crust over lattice strips and crimp.

Bake 15 minutes at 400F, then lower oven temp to 350F for another hour, or until crust is browned and filling is bubbling. If crust is browning too fast, cover edges with strips of foil.

Let cool and serve!

Five Great Pies for the Holidays

Camilla — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 01:33:58 +0000

I was looking through my inventory of recipes the other day, reminiscing about the fun times that we had with many of them (how wonderful that a mere food blog should hold so many fun memories), and surprised myself at the number of pie recipes I’ve made. I guess I must like pie. Especially the filling – I’m definitely a filling person.

I haven’t quite decided which pie (or pies) I’m going to make for Thanksgiving yet, but to give us all a few ideas for pie, here are some of my favorites from the past two years. Behold, the pie retrospective.

Dark Chocolate Pie

While creamy pies don’t excite me as much as fruit pies do, I have to say this one was really good. Creamy chocolatey filling that’s not too sweet but has a good dark chocolate flavor means that this pie doesn’t feel too rich. And it’s really pretty.

Simple Apple Galette

One of the simplest of single crust pies, this galette was one of the first pies I ever made. It’s easy and rustic, and cute. I love the free-form shape that makes it easy to cut and eat.

Apple-Cranberry Crumb Pie

For those who love both pie and crumble, this pie packs SO much flavor and perfect crunch. One of my new favorites.

Key Lime Pie

While this might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a holiday pie, it’s light, sweet-tart and delicious, and as limes are available all year round these days, why not?

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Simple and classic, the pumpkin pie is a perennial favorite. I wonder why it’s not so popular on our tables the rest of the year? I know pumpkins are in season in the fall, but put in a cool place they last all winter. Why not serve pumpkin pie all winter?

Well there you have it folks, the pie retrospective. Now go, make pie, and enjoy.

Apple-Cranberry Crumb Pie

Camilla — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:57:17 +0000

Yum yum! This pie is definitely a home run for Thanksgiving dinner.

(American) Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple weeks. Are any of you in a frenzy of recipe testing and stocking up on…stock, and other goodies? I’m not. Perhaps I should be, as we’re having Chris’ family over for Thanksgiving this year, which will be our first Thanksgiving with them as well as our first Thanksgiving together in the great US of A. But I figure, after cooking Thanksgiving dinner in China with nary a cooking appliance except a couple of toaster ovens and a hot plate, cooking for this year’s meal, with a full kitchen, ought to be a cinch. (Right? Right?)

That being said, I am starting to get a bit excited. The piles of squashes at the supermarket, the sweet smell of apples, fresh cranberries at the grocery store (a product of Canada, my homeland, no less), and the scent of spices in the air have kind of got me looking forward to the holiday season.

The only thing missing is the briskness in the air. Yes, the sun is shining on this November day on the Central Coast of California, the trees are still freshly green (with just a hint of tawny colors), and I plan to ride my bicycle to the farmer’s market this afternoon. It feels a bit strange that it’s still so nice out. I mean, there should be frost in the air. Dried piles of leaves. Maybe a hint of snow. It’s November, for goodness sake!

Of course, I’ll be eating my words when I go back to Toronto to visit in February and I’m snowed under 20 feet of snow. Maybe not. The climate’s been so temperamental lately.

Anyway, I’d rather eat this pie. It is definitely a keeper. The best of a pie and a crumble combined, with the tartness of cranberries perfectly complementing the juicy apples. It’s got the perfect combo of crunch and sloppy jamminess.

You can use a pre-made pie shell, which does make it faster and easier to pull together, but I don’t keep pre-frozen piecrust around the house, so I made my own. I also made my own super easy cranberry sauce, but canned is fine too. You can really cut down on the steps by using a few premade ingredients, if you’re pressed for time (and who isn’t at Thanksgiving dinner). However, I really, really, really, liked how it turned out with all homemade ingredients.

I like using Fuji apples – they keep their shape but still have good flavor, but you can use your favorite baking apple.

Apple-Cranberry Crumb Pie
Adapted from Epicurious

Crumb Topping
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/3 cup oatmeal
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Apple-Cranberry Filling
5 cups Fuji apples, cut into chunks (about 4 large or 6 small)
2 cups whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 heaping teaspoon cornstarch

1 9-inch deep-dish frozen pie shell, unthawed, or your own pie shell recipe

1. If you made your own pie crust, put it in the freezer while you assemble the other ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat – it will catch any leaking juices from the pie.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients for the crumb topping. Rub the chilled butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips, until it resembles coarse meal with some larger bits about the size of peas.

3. Mix together the ingredients for the filling, and pour into the chilled pie shell, mounding in the center. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the pie. Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes, until topping is browned and filling is bubbling. Cool and serve.

Norman Apple Tart

Camilla — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:52:01 +0000

Ever since Chris’ work schedule got more busy, he hasn’t been able to be my photo go-to guy. Which is kind of a bummer for me, because now I have to learn all about taking my own pictures and stuff like that. Fortunately he’s very patient at teaching me all the technical things, but it’s still frustrating because my pictures never turn out as well as his. So, you might have noticed that the past few posts, the pictures haven’t been very good. I haven’t figured out how to light food properly yet, and I’m impatient so I don’t bother to put the camera on the tripod so the pictures are blurry, etc… Plus we’re living in a new apartment, so I haven’t completely figured out the best place to take pictures yet. I’m learning, slowly.

The pictures on this post were taken by me and Chris, so no, I haven’t suddenly gotten good at photography, it’s really all him =p.

On the plus side, have you noticed how I’ve been frenetic with my posts lately? Working from home means I’m cooking a lot more, which means I’m posting a lot more. I’m almost a little embarrassed to be posting almost a recipe a day, but…oh well. Just don’t expect it to keep up at this pace =).

This tart was really beautiful, but sadly, a bit lacking in the flavor department. Which was a little disappointing, because Norman apple tart was one of the things I LOVED when I lived in France. I only got to eat it when my friends’ moms would bring it to parties, and usually I only got a tiny sliver, but I still remember how delicious and apple-y it tasted. Now, maybe it’s my apples. I got them from a local apple farm, and the girl swore to me that these apples would not fall apart when baked, and they certainly did NOT fall apart. In fact, they barely softened even after 40 minutes in the oven. No I don’t remember what they were called.

The recipe has promise, though. A good Gala apple I think would MAKE this. I think I’ll save it and try it again at a later date. I LOVE frangipane (the almond filling) so I’m really hoping this tart succeeds better someday.

Strangely, it tasted much better the next day, after the flavors had developed a little bit.

Norman Apple Tart
Recipe adapted from here

Tart Shell
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, beaten
1 stick cold butter, diced
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Frangipane Filling
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup almond flour

3 to 4 medium apples, sliced thin
apricot jelly, for serving

1. Make the tart shell. Mix dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, salt), and rub butter in with your fingertips. Add egg gradually while stirring with a fork. With your hands, press together to form a mass of dough. If dough is too crumbly, add a teaspoon of ice water at a time. Form into a disk and chill in refrigerator.

2. Make filling. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until uniform, fluffy, and pale yellow. Gradually mix in the egg and egg yolk. Add almond extract. Add almond flour gradually while mixing, until incorporated. Put in the fridge until needed.

3. If you haven’t sliced your apples, do so now. You may need to add a teensy bit of lemon juice to prevent them from browning.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the tart shell and place inside a tart pan, pressing up sides. Alternatively, skip the rolling and just press the dough into a tart pan. Spread the frangipane inside the shell. Fan the apples out over the tart, overlapping them closely. Sprinkle with a bit of extra sugar, if desired.

5. Bake the tart at 400 F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F and bake for another 20 minutes, until apples are tender and tart is slightly browned.

6. Cool and glaze with apricot jelly for serving, if desired.

Tortilla Pie

Camilla — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:36:47 +0000

Chris and I are starting to settle into a rhythm of life here on the Central Coast. Chris goes to work; I tidy up the house and try to do some work (I’m freelancing now) while getting distracted by Facebook. Usually by the afternoon, cabin fever sets in and I’m ready to get out of the house, especially on a beautiful clear day like today (gotta love that California weather). Today I took a walk and came to the most adorable family farm on the edge of town where they had a farm stand, and the cutest little organic fruits and vegetables! The owner told me in neighborly fashion that I could come take a walk on the fields anytime I felt like it. I didn’t have any money on me at the time, but I’m going to go back soon and bring home some pesticide-free produce.

I’m enjoying working from home. It gives me time to experiment with things I don’t always have time to do, like making bread. It’s also really nice to be on my own time.

In my newfound role as stay at home working wife, I also spend a good part of my day thinking up what to make for dinner. This is one of my husband’s favorites.

This tortilla pie is comfort food at its best. It’s the sort of humble, homey dish that hungry husbands love to come home to (woah, check out the alliteration there. I didn’t do that on purpose). Kind of a twist on lasagna with some Southwestern flavors. It’s easy to put together, and cheesy, spicy, saucy and delicious. To make it more kid-friendly, just omit the chili powder.

Tortilla Pie
I love serving this in a pie dish so it really seems like a tortilla PIE. My husband doesn’t love corn, but feel free to add some if you do.

5 8-inch round tortillas
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 pound ground beef
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup cooked pinto beans (or canned)
1 ½ cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
(optional) ½ cup frozen corn
(optional) prepared salsa

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Heat a little cooking oil over medium heat, and cook the onion and garlic until onion is softened. Add the ground beef, cumin and chili powder, and cook until ground beef is cooked through and no longer pink. Add the diced green pepper and stir for a minute to soften the green pepper. Add the tomato sauce and beans (and optional corn), stir till heated through.

In a pie dish, spread a layer of sauce, then lay a tortilla on top. Spread another layer of sauce and sprinkle a little cheese. Lay the next tortilla on top. Continue layering sauce, cheese, tortillas until finished (with cheese as the top layer). It’s ok if your stack ends up higher than the dish. If desired, put a few dollops of salsa on top of the pie.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and pie is heated through.

Serve with a big green salad. You’ll need to – this pie is pretty heavy, but delish!

Good Ol’ Apple Pie

Camilla — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:54:11 +0000

Hello loyal readers! Thank you for being patient with us as we traveled through East Asia and went through a major move from China back to the United States! We have been in a whirlwind of events in the last few weeks – spending two weeks in Japan, then a week in Hong Kong, and finally flying back to Southern California. We’re back here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, so you can expect a lot more cooking in the future now that I’ll have access to a real kitchen.

A post detailing the highlights of our trip to Japan is coming soon. In the meantime, the apple tree at my parents-in-law’s house is bearing clusters of delicious, slightly tart fruit, and I had to make an apple pie to celebrate the season. Yes, apple trees do grow in Southern California, though only certain types are adapted to the warmer climate here.

I’m amazed by the sheer variety of fresh produce that is available in Southern California. I mean, not only is the food industry’s transportation system amazing, but there is just so much available locally and seasonally. My in-laws’ have grapefruit ripening slowly on the tree, loads of lemons, persimmons soon to be ripening, not to mention the large numbers of apples. Now THAT is local! Straight from your own backyard! That is something that as a Canadian living in a big city, I did not have the opportunity to enjoy, especially during the frigid winter months.

The crust was a tried-and-true recipe from this cherry pie that I made earlier this year, and the filling was somewhat adapted from this apple pie at SimplyRecipes, and turned out really well. It’s hard to go wrong with tart apples, a bit of cinnamon, sugar, and allspice, baked until bubbling and juicy.

Apple Pie

Crust
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, chilled and cubed
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup ice water (or more)

Pie
3 lbs apples (I used about 5 good sized ones)
3/4 cup white sugar (or a mixture of white and brown)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp flour

Egg Wash
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Peel and cut apples into chunks (I cubed mine to see how it would turn out, which made my pie kind of lumpy looking, so you might want to just slice them about 1/3 inch thick). Toss with sugar, cinnamon, allspice, flour and vanilla. Let sit while you roll out dough.

Take out one ball of dough and roll out into a 12-inch circle. Fit into pie plate. Mound pie shell with filling. Take out the other ball of dough and roll into a slightly smaller circle. Place over pie. Fold edges over and crimp to seal. Make a few slits in the top crust to let steam out.

Mix egg yolk with milk and brush over top crust of pie, but not the crimped edges.

Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes. Then lower temperature to 350 F and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Pie is done when juices are bubbling and crust is browned.

Classic Cherry Pie

Camilla — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:29:03 +0000

Ever since I got married, I started cooking all this American food. I mean, I grew up on Chinese food, stir-fries and rice every day, so pies ain’t exactly on my usual repertoire. Plus I’m Canadian. You know, we eat poutine and Montreal Smoked Meat and Beavertails and maple syrup and whatnot. Sometimes I worry that I’m becoming co-opted by my country’s powerful neighbor, my husband’s country, and that I am losing my national identity. Just the other day, one of my Chinese oral English students came up to me and said, “You don’t sound Canadian; your accent is so American!” Er…uh…um…I don’t sound American, Americans just sound Canadian! So there!

Few things say American like cherry pie. Well, ‘cept maybe apple pie. But cherry pie is definitely high up there on the list of American symbols. At least, so I’ve been told. I don’t really care what it’s a symbol of – as long as the filling is sweet and tart and luscious, and the crust is flaky and buttery and addictive. And oh…this pie delivers on both counts. It is cherry season, folks, and a pie is the perfect vehicle for loads of those sweet succulent berries.

I have to tell you, I don’t like using cornstarch to thicken pie filling. I had to in this case because it was the only thing I had, but if I’d had any, I would have used instant tapioca, pulverized in a food processor, and you might want to as well. Other than that, this recipe is really simple and good. The crust, especially, is incredibly buttery and flaky. So buttery that it’s difficult to work with, and the edges of my pie practically fell off rather than got trimmed off (that’s why the edges are so “rustic” and uneven). You may have to put the dough in the fridge for a few minutes while rolling it out to ensure it doesn’t get too soft. I definitely had to chill the dough before cutting the strips for the lattice so they wouldn’t fall apart as I wove them.

Enjoy cherry season, and cherry pie, friends. And not that I would know anything about holidays south of the border, but methinks this might be a good pie to bring to a certain holiday coming up on the fourth of July? Or Canada Day on July 1st. Eh?

Classic Cherry Pie
Adapted from Epicurious

The lemon juice in this recipe gives sweet cherries a nice tartness and complexity. If using tart cherries, reduce amount of lemon juice to one teaspoon.

Flaky Piecrust
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
5 tbsp ice water (or more)

Filling
5 cups pitted cherries (2lbs unpitted)
¾ cup sugar (use 1 cup if using tart cherries), plus extra for sprinkling
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp cornstarch or instant tapioca
3 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 tbsp milk

1. Prepare the crust. Whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter cubes and rub in with your fingertips until the biggest pieces are about pea-sized (or use a pastry cutter to do the same thing). Add a tablespoonful of ice water at a time, stirring the mixture with a fork. Dough should stick together if pressed. Gather the dough together to form two balls. Flatten them into discs and place in the refrigerator to chill for ½ hour.

2. Preheat oven to 425 F. For the filling, mix together the cornstarch/tapioca, sugar and salt. Stir into cherries along with lemon juice and extracts.

3. Assemble the pie. Roll out one of the dough discs into a 12-inch circle. Lay into the bottom of a pie plate and press gently into corners. Trim edges, leaving an overhang of ½ inch. Roll out the other disk into a 12-inch circle and cut into strips. Pour filling into pie shell and dot with butter. Place strips of dough over filling to form lattice, lifting up alternating strips to form a weave. Trim strips of dough to a ½ inch overhang as well. Fold up remaining dough on the edges, and crimp or flute the pie edge to seal. Brush the lattice with milk (but not the edges of the pie or they will brown too much).

4. Place in oven for 15 minutes. Then lower the heat to 375 F and bake for another hour, until crust is browned and filling is bubbling and thickened. If the pie is browning too quickly, place aluminum foil loosely over pie as it bakes.

5. When pie is done, let cool completely before serving.

Key Lime Pie

Camilla — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:01:01 +0000

We had a great Christmas celebration with some friends this week. Many of us are foreigners teaching English here in China, so in lieu of getting together with our families, we celebrated with each other. We rented a party room at a café/restaurant near the university, and they graciously allowed us to bring our own food, as long as we spent a certain amount on food and beverages at the café. With tinsel, candy canes, shiny Christmas balls, and a fun gift exchange game inspired by a Dutch friend, we managed to evoke the holiday spirit, though far from home. The best part, of course, was hanging out with the great friends we’ve made here that we are genuinely grateful for.

I wanted to make something a little out of the ordinary to bring for dessert, and ended up making this Key Lime Pie. After scorching the crust not once, but twice, I managed to patch it up, and with a recipe from my trusty Cook’s Illustrated cookbook, made a creamy, sweet, and definitely limey pie.

Unfortunately, after transporting the pie to the café where it sat in state on the buffet table waiting for dessert time, one of the café’s kittens got a whiff of the whipped cream topping. Before we knew it, the cat was quietly lapping away at a corner of the pie. Luckily it had only gotten a small bit before it was shooed away, and we managed to salvage the majority of the pie, which had been left untouched.

It still tasted good, though to be honest, Chris and I aren’t the biggest fans of cream and custard type pies. They’re a bit too sweet for our taste. I’d personally rather have a fruit pie. But I like variety, and this key lime pie was a nice change from the ordinary.

Key Lime Pie
Cook’s Illustrated How-To-Cook Library

4 tsp grated lime zest
½ cup lime juice
4 large egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp granulated sugar
5 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Whisk together the zest and the yolks until yolks turn pale green. Add the condensed milk and lime juice and whisk till smooth. Set aside to thicken (to avoid filling becoming runny, do not whisk again before pouring it into crust).

Mix crumbs, sugar and butter together and press crumbs into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake in center of oven until slightly browned, about 10 minutes (watch carefully to see that it doesn’t burn!). Cool completely.

Pour filling into crust and bake 15-20 minutes until filling is set (center should just jiggle slightly when moved). Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate about 3 hours until cold.

Serve topped with whipped cream.

Dark Chocolate Pie

Camilla — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:37:17 +0000

Mmm. Pie.

Have you seen “Waitress” yet? If not, go and rent the DVD or something. If you love pies, you’ll love this cute little romantic comedy.

Keri Russell (I love her – in my eyes she can do no wrong) is Jenna, a waitress with a cute Southern accent at a diner in the deep South. She spends her days dreaming up and making all sorts of unique pies, when she finds out, horror of horrors, that she is pregnant and can therefore never hope to escape her controlling lout of a husband.

The movie follows Jenna through her pregnancy, a secret love affair, and a girl-power ending, but my favorite parts are when Jenna makes her pies. Keri Russell in a ruffly apron stirring a smooth chocolate ganache over a vintage stove in a pastel tinted kitchen has me channeling my inner 50’s domestic goddess and has got me a-hankering after a good ol’ slice of pie myself.

And even aside from the mouthwatering pies, it’s a good movie. It’s a light-hearted, offbeat, sometimes kitschy romantic comedy with some funny parts and just a few serious moments, and it does that well.

Anyway, inspired by “Waitress”, I made this dark chocolate pudding pie. It’s really easy, but impressive for company (or for a chocolate-loving hubby, perhaps?), and stirring that creamy chocolate filling as it thickened over the stove made even ME feel like a blue ribbon winner!

The dark chocolate pudding filling is smooth and creamy, though a bit sweet – I might cut down on the sugar next time. Oh, and use the best quality chocolate you can afford. It makes a difference.

Mmm. Top it with some whipped cream, if you’re not a WUSS!

Look, modern art! An installment piece depicting the ennui of modern life springing from the unbridled gluttony of our overindulgent population. Hey, that might work! Think I can sell it for a million bucks? Oops, too late. Already washed the dishes.

Dark Chocolate Pie
Bon Appetit Jan 2009

1 piecrust (premade or your favorite all-butter pie crust)

2 ¼ cups of whole milk
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tsp cornstarch
4 ounces (about 100g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp unsalted butter (though I only had salted and it worked fine)

Bake the piecrust at 350 F, lined with foil and with pie weights for about 10 minutes, then another 10-15 minutes without foil and pie weights, until lightly browned and cooked through. Let cool.

Heat 2 cups of milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and ¼ cup milk.

Gradually pour the hot milk into the chocolate mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the chocolate milk mixture back into the saucepan and set over medium heat. Add the chopped chocolate and butter and stir until melted. Heat chocolate mixture, stirring constantly, until it thickens and begins to boil.

Pour chocolate filling into cooled pie crust. Refrigerate (uncovered) until set, about 4 hours. Decorate if you want with little leaves made from excess pie dough.

Classic Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Camilla — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:09:32 +0000

This Thanksgiving was a day of many firsts. My first American Thanksgiving – I’ve been celebrating a lifetime of Canadian Thanksgivings until I got married to my American hubby, and this year was the first time we were able to celebrate it. It was our first Thanksgiving celebration together since we’ve been married and had our own place (our very first Thanksgiving was on the road somewhere in Malaysia, I think).

It was also my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner on my own. I know right – first American Thanksgiving, first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner – aren’t you asking for trouble here, Camilla? Fortunately I have very understanding friends who praise all my efforts no matter how they taste.

And not only was it my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner, but it was also my first time roasting a chicken in a toaster oven. Yes, you heard me, a chicken! I suppose it might be possible to find a turkey in China, but my Chinese isn’t yet good enough to ask for and bargain for a huo ji. Plus, I don’t think I could fit a turkey in my little toaster oven. So a chicken it was.

Now before you think I totally copped out by doing a chicken instead of a turkey, consider this – I cooked two pies, a roast chicken, two vegetable side dishes, stuffing, chicken wings, mashed potatoes, and cornbread muffins, ALL using two toaster ovens, a single electric hot plate, and a rice cooker. Well? Well?! WELL?!?! Isn’t that a little something to be proud about?

The best thing, of course, was being able to eat the meal with our friends. It was nice to have some traditional Thanksgiving tastes while living as expats in China.

And you know what? I’m thankful to be in China. Often it frustrates me, sometimes it irritates me, and sometimes I think I just can’t take it any more…but I’m thankful for the wonderful people I’ve met, and the experience of living in a country where you just don’t know what might happen next.

Classic Spiced Pumpkin Pie
This pie, adapted from one on Epicurious.com, isn’t too heavy, and puréeing the pumpkin with some whipping cream in a blender creates a fluffy, smooth texture for the filling. It really is one of the best pumpkin pies I’ve ever had, if I do say so myself. The spice mixture is nicely balanced, though I didn’t add ground cloves (didn’t have any) and used nutmeg instead.

One pie crust (make your own or storebought)
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cup golden brown sugar, packed
¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
1/3 tsp ground nutmeg
3 medium eggs (or two large)
pinch of salt

Bake the piecrust at 350F for 20 minutes, lined with foil and weighted with pie weights, rice or beans. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes, flattening any bubbles with the back of a spoon.

Blend the pumpkin and the whipping cream in a blender until smooth.

Whisk the sugar, spices, salt and egg together in a large bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin/cream mixture until smooth and creamy. Pour into piecrust.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 325F and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until pie filling is puffed and set. Allow to cool thoroughly (the filling will deflate and flatten out beautifully) before serving.