Turkey Day? I prefer Pie Day!

Happy Turkey Day everyone!!!! Thanksgiving has been, and always will be, known for family and food...lot's of it. Some people reserve pies at the local bakery weeks before the big day, others purchase them when they buy their giant turkey. I, like many others, bake and bake and bake some more.

Because the oven was consumed by the bird all day, I opted for baking my pies yesterday. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I made a traditional pumpkin pie. The recipe calls for Libby's 100% pure pumpkin, found in a can. This is not to be confused with Libby's pumpkin pie mix. Even though the pumpkin is from a can, I still consider the pie from scratch. Baked with a crust I made form scratch, it turned out as the perfect Turkey Day treat.

Pie number two was apple, of course! Instead of a simple classic apple, I chose an apple pie with a twist: Cider Infused Apple Pie. The recipe called for pre-cooking the apples beforehand in a pot with apple cider. By doing this, the apples not only absorbed the flavor of the cider to bump up the flavor of the apples, but it also shrinks the apples some, thus eliminating the space between the filling and the top crust that usually occurs. This apple pie has to be one of the best ones I have ever made. The filling did not overflow and spill out, leading to clean-cut pieces.

Overall, a fantastically successful Thanksgiving. Great food, good company, perfect pies. I hope your day was just as great. Happy Pie!

Pie will always be better than finals

I haven't baked in a couple weeks. School has been crazy, professors cramming all sorts of things in before the death that is finals week. Well I'm not done yet. My school is on trimesters. We have three 10 week terms when most schools have two 18 week terms, or something. While all my friends back home are getting ready for the short little break for Turkey Day, I'm getting ready for a nice long 6 week break from Turkey Day all the way until New Years.

Finals start on Sunday, so to prepare for this, I made pie. Duh! Brownie Pie to be exact. Shared it with the quad and a couple others for a little study break time. It was to die for!! I'm sorry, but I didn't take any pictures of the deliciousness, but take my word for it, it looked amazing. It is made with a graham cracker crust, which, I think makes it. The brownie part, all made from scratch, has a rather rich, chocolaty taste which makes the pie perfect with vanilla ice cream!

I have to get my pie skills ready for the upcoming week. I believe I have 4 or 5 pies to make. Not all for Turkey Day, but I don't mind, 'cause in my family, I'm the best pie person we've got!

The review is in...

Last weekend I baked a Washington Apple Pie for my sorority sister from Seattle. She is possibly the nicest person I have ever met so when asked to bake her a pie that reminds her of home, I was more than happy to. I asked her to write me a review and here it is, straight from Matiland to you.

"My review of Katie's Pie: The apple pie that Katie made for me was absolutely delicious. I am from Washington State and I requested the apple pie because I missed my mommy who makes amazing pies. Katie managed to make a pie that was every bit as good as any that my mom has made. The personal touch of the heart on the top was perfect. It was sooo yummy :)"

Well there ya have it, folks, I guess it was good. I never did have a piece; had I, the pie never would have made it successfully across campus.

Meringue, please

The last pie I made was a Washington Apple Pie made with granny smith apples for one of my fellow Kappas. The jury is still out on that one, but I think the review is going to be a good one. In the meantime, I will share with you my interesting lemon meringue story.

Lemon Meringue is one of my favorite pies, hands down. I have never once even attempted to bake one. The sound of it is just very daunting. Everyone says how hard it will be so I have simply steered clear. That is,until now. I was determined today to conquer my pie fear, which, overall, I would say that I did.

I'll preface by saying, I am a die hard Packers fan. So, for those who don't know, tonight was/is (I'm currently watching it) the Packers-Vikings game, so kinda a big deal. I made the crust, in the comfort of my dorm room, right in front of the TV. Based on how it all mixed up, I'd say the crust is gonna be awesome. I prebaked the crust, but didn't quite follow directions. I didn't have aluminum foil so I didn't weigh it down; thus, the crust came out of the oven looking a little sad. Oh well, as long as it tastes good.

The lemon filling, in my opinion, and that of my helper Claire, is just as it should be. The funny looking crust and filling is sitting nicely in the fridge while I watch the end of the game. Stay tuned for an update of the true challenge of this pie...the meringue, along with a taste review and pretty pretty pictures. In the meantime, GO, PACK, GO!

OMG Did you hear?!?

Apparently, there is an American Pie Council. Now, this is a legit, fancy website and everything. The council, referred to as APC, is "the only organization committed to preserving America's heritage and promoting Americans' love affair with pie." This is a pretty neat organization. National Pie day is January 23, not to be confused with National Pi day, March 14, 3.14. They host a national championship once a year! The chances of me becoming a member are rather high indeed, if only I wasn't a poor college student and had the money to pay the $40 fee. Hint hint, nudge nudge mama: I know you are reading this. The APC just made my day!

Pie Fact #1

Did you know that in the 19th Century, fruit pies were common breakfast items?? Well, it's true. And if you are me, they are still common breakfast items. The best thing about baking a pie is having it for breakfast the next day. Why, I even had a slice of my delicious pear apple pie before heading off to class this morning. According to my source, foodreference.com, fruit pies were "considered part of a good hearty meal before a hard day's work." I would have to agree with this statement. Happy Pie!

Snickers Brownie Pie

This pie is all in the title. With a graham cracker crust, which I did make from scratch (snaps for me!), a layer of delicious brownie, a layer of cut-up Snickers bars and topped with a peanut butter whipped cream mix. Not too difficult a recipe, but my friend Grace and I definitely improvised some.

For starters, I don't have a double boiler, which, of course, was needed to melt chocolate. So we made a make-shift one. It got the job done.

Then came time to whip the cream. I, of course, didn't think about the fact that in order to have whipped cream, one must whip it. I don't own a wisk or a mixer. Clearly, not the seasoned baker you may have thought I was. I whipped it by hand using a fork. Surprisingly enough, it worked!!! And didn't take forever. Yay, me!

The reviews are in and this pie is amazing. I wouldn't call it the best pie ever, but it is pretty good. I wasn't a fan of the peanut butter topping. I think because I am not a fan of cream cheese and since I know it is in the topping, I can definitely taste it more than one would think. The graham cracker crust was so fantastic!!!!

I think I am all pied out for a couple days, but there is a Washington

Granny Smith Apple pie sometime in my future for one of my Kappa sisters from Seattle. Until then, happy pie!