Monthly Archives: February 2014

Bacon Egg and Cheese Bacon Lattice Breakfast Pie and Sweet Potato Pie

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I really enjoyed making both of these pies because they were so different! A bacon lattice top and a marshmallow top are pretty dissimilar, but somehow I managed to make both of them work out. I think the breakfast pie was the biggest success mostly because I think there is something inherently appetizing about a bacon lattice!
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The challenge with the breakfast pie was figuring out how to cook the bacon lattice entirely without overcooking the pie filling (essentially a quiche). I decided to prebake the crust then add the filling and cook it for 15-20 minutes before adding the bacon. The bacon was added early enough that the egg was still a little runny so the bacon drippings could contribute to the flavor of the filling, but not so early that it overcooked in the oven. As it turns out the middle of the bacon strips cooked more slowly I assume because the filling was thickest there.
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Overall, though, I think the pie went pretty well! At least I enjoyed eating it. Forgive me for not including the final picture of the pie. The wordpress site refuses to upload it!

The sweet potato pie went pretty well too. I was working off of two recipes. One for sweet potato pie and one for marshmallow toped sweet potatoes, so I had to be a little inventive. This was the first time I’d done a pie with a runny liquid filling rather than chunks of fruit and meat. The main issue I had to tackle here was also with the top. I had to figure out how to prevent the marshmallows from sinking into the liquid of the filling, so I cooked the filling in the pie crust until it began to set a bit then I pilled the marshmallows on top. The other thing I didn’t foresee was the the marshmallows expanding in the oven and then contracting upon cooling so that the top of the pie actually pulled away from the edges of the crust. It looked a little strange and made it hard to cut well, but I think the flavor wasn’t effected.
Here is the completed pie complete with marshmallow-y bubbles:
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And here is the sweet potato filling while being cooked on the stove:
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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

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Chocolate. Peanut butter. Banana cream. Love. What else do you need?! Nothing! This was one of my favorite pies, and, according to the meager bit I had left at the end of the banquet, an overwhelming success. Best of all, it was super easy to make. You can follow any recipe for homemade graham cracker crust. The graham cracker crust has definitely become my new go-to. Graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and a tad bit of baking and you’re all set! No worries about the crust woes that befall your typical pastry. The one thing I would recommend is buttering your pan thoroughly before pre baking/pressing in your crust. I had many crusts of the graham cracker variety, and too often they stuck to the pan, and I couldn’t get enough!

Anyway, after my crust was prepared and chilling, I  started with the peanut butter pudding:

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It was phenomenal. I had never had homemade peanut butter pudding (I’m accustomed to the Jell-O variety), and it was terrific! I had no idea puddings were so simple; corn starch, sugar (of course), and some heavy whipping cream/whole milk, and I was all set! I figured I’d follow the same strategy for the chocolate pudding and I got ahead of myself…turns out chocolate pudding only calls for 2 tbsp of cornstarch, as opposed to the 5 tbsp in the peanut butter pudding…whoops! I could definitely tell that it was a little less liquid than typical pudding, but it still tasted great! I filled a layer of banana in over the peanut butter and then covered that with a layer of chocolate pudding. Then, I put my leftovers in a mason jar to give some friends a taste-test before the big next day.

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After the puddings were in the crust, it was time to chill them both. I wrapped up my little treat, and popped it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I came in about an hour early to prepare our space and whip up some homemade whipped cream…After making my own, I have to say, it will be pretty darn hard to go back to the store-bought stuff.

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It was wonderfully light and sweet. To finish, I sliced up one more banana to complete the presentation. As I’ve said, it was super sweet and delicious, and not too heavy! In retrospect, I think I’d like a little more banana cream, rather than the chocolate/peanut butter/whipped cream with bananas thrown in. Nikki also made a coconut whipped cream that was spectacular, and would be great with the flavors in this pie.

And so comes the end of my month of pies. It was quite the journey in our industrial kitchen–Lord knows I learned how to manage a 10-lb skillet. Let’s see, what else have I learned…not to be such a wimp in the face of pastry adversity, how to not connect a pastry braid to a bottom crust, you can never chill your dough enough…Yep, I’ve definitely learned some life lessons…how could I not while watching Sweeney Todd and Pushing Daisies? But honestly, I had such a lovely month with great new friends making great food. It’s going to be hard to compare this course to my other classes come spring semester!

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Savory Tomato and Zucchini Hummus Tart

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Another week, another pie. This week I decided to switch things up for my savory pie and delve into the vegan world for my inspiration. I had tried my hand at being a vegan about a year ago and because of a jam-packed schedule and limited resources, had given up on the venture after approx. 3 months–not to mention, vegan cheese didn’t really cut it for me. Ideally, I loved the idea of veganism–if you stick to local and seasonal ingredients, it’s a super eco-friendly and healthy lifestyle. So, I decided why not pie? Well, friends, I have to admit, this pie wasn’t my proudest venture. It was bursting with flavor from the strong garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, but I think the flavors were overwhelming and stood out too much, rather than creating the deep layers of satisfying flavor I was hoping for. Additionally, I think cold nature of the dish and the lack of flakiness rubbed me the wrong way in comparison to all of the other pies I was consuming on banquet day. Still, though, it was pretty cool to make an entire pie with veggies, nuts, and seeds, and if you’re into that kind of thing, by all means here’s how to do it!

The first thing I did coat the tomatoes with some salt and olive oil and throw them in the oven. The recipe said to dehydrate them at the lowest temperature for 4-5 hours…Well, that amount of time seemed like forever, so I just cranked up the heat to a whopping 375 and decided that would knock off a couple hours…little did I know…

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Yes. This is what happens when you forget about the tomatoes…Luckily, I ended up having just enough to make a pretty topping!

Making the tart “crust” was super simple. All there really was to it was processing and pressing. No big shakes. The filling was ridiculously easy, as well. Process and spread. I found that the sesame seeds didn’t particularly turn into sesame “butter”, but that didn’t seem to make a difference! The final picture of this tart on banquet day is picture below…I had about half of it left at the end, sadly, but I don’t blame anyone…I’d say it would be much better suited to a hot summer day.

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