Sunday, January 27, 2013

Houseguest Pumpkin Pie



This is the last of the frozen pumpkin I had stashed in the freezer. It comes from a fresh pie pumpkin we got from an apple orchard back in October. I made this pie in honor of my husband's work colleague coming to town and staying with us for the duration of a local conference. Pumpkin pie is one of those pies that really demands a commitment. It's much easier to consume before it goes bad if there are more than two people eating it. Our houseguest said it was excellent, and he claims to be a pie expert.

I had two noncompliance issues with this particular pie. The first is that the crust edges fell down in multiple places while prebaking. No amount of finessing with a pair of tongs could save them. Rather than skimp on the filling, I half-heartedly erected some aluminum foil walls to contain the goo. Nevertheless, it went spilling over the slumped edges anyway. I hate when that happens. Some of the filling inevitably oozes down to the bottom of the pie dish, makes the crust all soggy, and burns slightly. The second pet peeve with this pie is that I overmixed the filling with the electric mixer, probably because I was simultaneously chasing my toddler around the house with a plastic sword. The result was that the top of the pie was not a blemishless glasslike surface, but rather more like a teenager's face, complete with peaks and craters - foamy. With that, here is the recipe, same as my other pumpkin pies.

Current Pie Tally: 107

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Book Club Chocolate Pecan Pie



I made this Chocolate Pecan Pie for the monthly gathering of the neighborhood book club ladies last night. I think almost everyone had a piece, so I consider it a success. I made it the same way as last time - I just threw a cup of chocolate chips into the hot butter sugar mixture. The base Pecan Pie recipe can be found here.

Current Pie Tally: 106

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Christmas Pecan Pie 2012



My father-in-law came to town for Christmas and Pecan Pie is his favorite, so I whipped one up for the occasion. The recipe is the same as my standard Pecan Pie, except that I left the orange zest out this time. It's nice without the zest sometimes.

Current Pie Tally: 105