Dim Sum Sunday - Pie

Wow. Despite this photo, I have to rate this recipe a fail. How sad it that?

I don't have a lot of experience making cream pies so I followed this recipe to the letter. You start out making your own graham cracker crust which I have never had much luck to begin with. It's not hard to make, it's just I've never had success getting it to slice easily or release from the pie pan. Still I gave it my best shot. Next I went ahead and made the honeycomb candy. I had major doubts about this component of the pie. I wasn't really sure what it added to the whole dish?

Don't get me wrong, it's a great chemistry experiment for making a lighter airy version of peanut brittle without the peanuts but as a topping for a cream pie, I just wasn't feeling it. Onto the filling. It seemed to be going well, seemed firm after spending the night in the fridge. All that was left was to add the topping. Spread out little melted bittersweet chocolate on the top of the pie, pieces of honeycomb and then more chocolate. Here's where I went all Sandra Lee stupid by not realizing that I had just put hot topping on a cold pie thus making the cold pie very loose. Yet despite a couple of hours in the freezer, the pie was only slightly less soupy and totally unfit for human consumption. The middle was soft, the crust was impossible to cut, and the topping needed a chisel to get through. Even if the filling had that nice firm texture I'm not sure it would have worked that with candy topping. Could the recipe be fixed? I consulted with the folks who have much more experience fixing recipe disasters than I do, the chefs at Cook's Illustrated. Their section on cream pies described exactly the problem I was having. Their answer is cornstarch and some evaporated milk. They had no answer for the bizarre topping.

Sad to say, the folks at the office won't get to try this pie...at least this week. I may attempt it again in the future or I may just visit everyone else's kitchens to sample their pies. That is, if there's any left.

Sad Dim Sum Sunday.

Dim Sum Sunday - Pie

There is something soul satisfying to me about making pie. I know some folks feel the same way about baking bread but since I don't eat a lot of bread, the process isn't usually worth the effort. Pie has a payoff I've never found disappointing. Pie is so versatile that you can make a pie out of just about anything. Fruit, meat, vegetables, custard and even vinegar. For me, it's intensive and detailed. Crust made from scratch. Picking the best fruit, peeling and cutting that fruit. Seasoning, tasting and adjusting to just the right flavor combinations. Careful and watchful baking. It's detailed and time consuming but watching people enjoy a good slice of pie makes it all worth the time and effort.

The featured pie was a request by a good friend for her birthday. You gotta love somebody that when given the choice between store bought birthday cake and homemade chocolate pecan pie...asks for the pie. It's a fairly simple recipe, Epicurious had one that looked good, the only change I made was to add a teaspoon of vanilla. I don't have any photos of a single slice since the pie is going to work tomorrow. Unless the aroma of fragrant nuts and luscious chocolate doesn't tempt me into cutting into it. We'll see how the rest of the day goes...

Turns out the rest of the day was spent making this luscious peach pie.Still no slice picture...I could only hold out for so long. Sorry.

(not too sorry)

Dim Sum Sunday - Pie

Fall means many things but to me it means apple harvest and with apple harvest comes apple pie. This Sunday any pie will do, savory, sweet, even pizza. Grab hold of that bag of flour, chill that butter and dive into the mystique that is rolling out a flaky crust. (The ingredient that dare not speak it's name)

While we're talking pie, you know the TV Cooking Mavens have gone mad with TV Power don't you? How else to explain this much meringue...Martha Stewart's Mile High Lemon Pie

... or the madness that is Paula Deen's apple monstrosity. (Must be 18 or over to make.)Paula Deen's Savannah High Apple Pie

Now you can go crazy like Martha or Paula or you can exercise some restraint but either way come back Sunday and have a slice. (We won't tell your cardiologist.)