S'mores Pie

Call me crazy, but in my mind s'mores are a fall treat, not summer. I know, I know...summer camp and overnight camping trips --> camp fires --> s'mores and ghost stories. Camp fires remind me of autumn and cold weather, though. Maybe it's because I went to math camp instead of summer camp. Or, maybe it's because when I see a roaring fire burning real wood, I think of cool New England nights in Massachusetts with Dan's family. Either way, the only time I crave s'mores is when there's a chill in the air. And folks, it's starting to get nippy hereabouts...

If you're an avid FoodGawker, you'll know that this S'mores Pie is actually an imitation of the S'mores Bars posted by Endless Simmer blog last week. I tried to follow their recipe, but I couldn't get 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs to cover the bottom of an 11x13 baking dish and still come out as thick as the bars pictured in the original post. So, I made some adjustments to the recipe, put everything together in a pie dish, and called this sucker a s'mores pie. See, potential employers? I am creative and think well on my feet.

The Endless Simmer's trick of mixing Cocoa Pebbles into the chocolate layer of this pie is genius. Without the flavor/textural contrast provided by the cereal, this pie would pretty much be a giant chunk of chocolate with some marshmallows on top. Not that that wouldn't be delicious, but it would certainly be much harder to eat in one sitting. The Cocoa Pebbles really helps cut the richness of the pie and provide an interesting crunch that makes this treat extra addictive. I guarantee you won't be able to stop at just one piece. 

S'mores Pie (Adapted from the Endless Simmer blog's recipe)

Ingredients:

(Crust)

- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 6 tbsp melted butter

(Filling)

- 12 oz dark chocolate

- 2/3 cup skim milk

- 2 cups Cocoa Pebbles

- 1 cup mini marshmallows

(Topping)

- 2 cups mini marshmallows

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 350.
(2) In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl. Mix well.
(3) Firmly press mixture into the bottom of a pie dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

(4) In a sauce pan/pot, melt chocolate with milk over medium/low heat. Whisk until smooth. Cool for about 10 minutes.
(5) Add Cocoa Pebbles and 1 cup marshmallows to cooled chocolate. Mix until well-combined.

(6) Pour chocolate mixture over graham cracker crust.

(7) Pour remaining 2 cups mini marshmallows on top of the pie. Press down slightly to help them stick.
(8) Transfer pie to broiler for about 2 minutes to lightly toast the marshmallows.

** Keep an eye on your marshmallows while they're under the broiler. I forgot how powerful my oven was, and my marshmallows got a little too toasty. I personally like crispy 'mallows, but I had to pull off a lot of burnt bits for the pie's beauty shots. I would recommend broiling for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and then deciding if you want to keep your pie in the oven longer after that.

(9) Chill for a couple hours, then slice up and serve with a big glass of milk.

For other great recipe ideas, click here or here.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

My friend Mark came over for lunch yesterday. He's a fantastic cook. During law school he was constantly whipping up delicious treats in his kitchen and bringing them to class. You'd think all that cooking would be a distraction during school, but he was also acing all his classes, teaching legal research and writing to bright young minds, and moonlighting as the Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review Journal. Don't you hate people who are good at everything?

Anyway, after drooling over his baked goods for the last three years, I've been dying to cook with Mark. So, when he came over, I roped him into helping me make a quiche. In no time at all, we were rolling out our store-bought pie crust, cooking/chopping fresh spinach, sauteing mushrooms, and whipping up the creamy base for the quiche filling. We were like a well oiled machine, chatting and chopping and whisking. But, hey wait a minute...when did the pie crust go in the oven??? Eff. Turns out, we not only forgot to set a timer for the crust, but also failed to put in pie weights before baking. So yeah, it came out just a little burnt, and very shriveled. Oy. Thank god there was another crust in the package. 

The second time around, we nailed it. The crust was baked, filled, and then stuck back in the oven for one final round. The resulting quiche was flaky, creamy, savory, and every bit as delicious as we hoped it would be. Thanks, Mark!

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche (Adapted from The Faux Martha's recipe)

** Looking back at my recipes, I do seem to do the spinach/mushroom combo a lot. I know there are a lot more interesting flavor combos for vegetarian fare, but spinach/mushroom is just so delicious!

Ingredients:

- 1 store-bought pie crust, rolled out.
- 3 oz cream cheese, room temperature

- 1/3 cup heavy cream

- 3 large eggs

- 3-4 cups fresh spinach, boiled, drained, and chopped (Or, 1 package frozen chopped spinach)
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1 cup chopped portobello mushroom
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 425.
(2) Press rolled out pie crust firmly into a pie dish, making sure it sticks firmly to the bottom/sides of the dish. lay a large sheet of wax paper on top of the pie crust, and line with dried beans or pie weights.
(3) Bake crust for about 10 minutes, then pull it out and set it aside to cool. Leave oven on.
(4) In a large pan, sautee the garlic, onion and chopped mushroom in olive oil until onion pieces are translucent. Season with salt/pepper to taste. Remove from heat, add spinach, and mix until well-combined. Set aside to cool.
(5) Beat cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth.
(6) Add eggs, then gradually beat in cream. Mix until smooth.
(7) Stir in cheese.
(8) Add spinach/mushroom to the creamy mixture, and stir until well-combined.
(9) Pour filling into the prepared pie crust.
(10) Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the filling is set and lightly brown in spots on top.
(11) Cool for 10 minutes, then dig in!

For other great food ideas, click here or here.

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Last Sunday, food blogger Jennifer Perillo's husband suffered a massive and unexpected heart attack and passed away. He loved peanut butter cream pie, and as a tribute to him, Jennifer asked everyone to join her in celebrating his life and honoring his memory by making the dessert he loved so much. 

I have never met Jennifer Perillo, and until last week I had never read her blog. In fact, I probably would have never known of her existence if it weren't for a delicious-looking peanut butter pie entry on FoodGawker early last week. In the last several days there has been an amazing influx of peanut butter cream pie entries on both TasteSpotting and FoodGawker, as hundreds of food bloggers rushed to support Jennifer. 

To be honest, I feel a little strange making a dessert for someone I've never met, and who likely won't even know what I've done. I also can't wholly relate to Jennifer's experience, as I've been fortunate enough to never  have  experienced the loss of someone dear to me. But, I'm so awed by the love and support complete strangers have shown for Jennifer and her family that I can't help but want to do my part as well. So, here's my pie for Mikey Perillo, and my best wishes for his family.

Peanut Butter Cream Pie (Adapted from the Running With Tweezer's blog)

Ingredients:
(Crust)
- 1-1/4 chocolate cookie crumbs (I used crushed Oreos)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, melted

(Filling)

- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp butter, softened

- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- Melted chocolate and butterscotch ganache for garnish (Optional! I had butterscotch ganache leftover from when I made those butterbeer cupcakes, and I thought it would be a nice touch.)

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 375.
(2) Combine cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until the mixture has the texture of crumbly, wet sand. Press into the bottom of a pie plate.
** I opted out of the pie dish and divided my mixture between 2 mini spring-form pans.
(3) Bake crusts for 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

(4) In a mixing bowl, cream together peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar, butter, and vanilla until smooth.
(5) Whip cream in a separate bowl, then fold into the peanut butter mixture.
(6) Spoon filling on top of your crust.
** In my case, divide evenly between two mini spring-forms.
(7) Drizzle with melted chocolate and butterscotch ganache.
(8) Refrigerate until you're ready to serve -- the longer it spends in the fridge, the firmer the filling.
(9) Serve immediately, plain or with ice cream.

Mini Lemon Curd Tarts

Remember when you were a kid and after you got a shot the doctor would give you a lollipop for being brave? The lollipops were always red, purple, or yellow, and were cherry, grape, or lemon flavored. I always picked the red lollipop, because red was my favorite color, and cherry tasted the best. Yellow-lemon? The worst! I mean, who wants to eat candy that makes your mouth pucker and your tongue recoil? Yuck.

I was pretty intensely anti-lemon until I started dating Dan, the lemon fiend. He actually enjoyed yellow Starbursts and lemon drop candies; he loved lemon meringue pie; and he could lay waste to a plate of lemon bars. Watching him eat, I was both repulsed and fascinated. After a while I became curious enough to try some of the lemony foods I had previously avoided, and I was shocked to discover that I actually liked them. A lot.

These days lemon curd is my dessert kryptonite. The cafeteria at work sells these amazing, gooey lemon tarts, and I can't let myself look at them. If I look, an intense internal battle immediately ensues:

    Good Tina: "You cannot eat one of those. There is so much fat in there!"

    Bad Tina: "Who cares, just go for a run tonight."
    GT: "If you eat one today, you're going to want one tomorrow. It's a slippery slope."
    BT: "Mo' tarts, mo' happiness."
    GT: "You are on a budget."
    BT: "You're getting paid on Friday. Budgets are for wimps."

More times than not, I'll cave and buy one, telling myself that it'll be fine if I just eat half and save the rest for the next day. But, once I get back to my desk and start eating, I don't stop until the whole thing is gone, and I'm left with nothing but a sticky sweet taste in my mouth, a slight stomach-ache and intense eater's guilt. This is why I have to pretend those things don't exist.

Baking with lemon curd would normally be a no-no as well, but it's my birthday this weekend, and I'm treating myself. Plus, these are miniature tarts with just a spoonful or two of lemon curd each, so...how bad could they be? 

Recipe for the sugar cookie tart crust can be found here, courtesy of the Baking Bites Blog.

** Since I was making mini tarts in a muffin pan, I only baked the crusts for 10 minutes.

Recipe for the lemon curd filling can be found here, courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa.

One year ago: Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream Cake

Chicken Pot Pie

I noticed the other day that I've been making a lot of desserts lately. My last five or six posts have been sweet things -- girl scout cookies, molten lava cake, mini pies, etc. Come to think of it, I haven't made a proper meal since the day we had Chicken Fried Steak for lunch. This is not good. A girl can't live on desserts, you know. So when I came home from work tonight, I was pretty determined to cook something tasty that didn't involve any amount of sugar. Luckily, there was chicken in the fridge, and leftover pie dough + frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer. Chicken pot pie, hollaaaa!

The thing about chicken pot pie is that it's awesome. Like, really awesome. Definitely one of the top ten comfort foods of all time. Let's break it down, shall we? First, there's the buttery, flaky crust that melts in your mouth with every bite. Then you have the morsels of juicy chicken and softened vegetables that not only explode with flavor but also add a nice textural contrast to the mix. And finally, there's the thick, creamy, and fragrant gravy that binds it all together and amps up the comfort-food quality of the dish. Mmmmm. What's not to love?

I only had enough dough to make two 4-oz ramekin-sized mini pot pies, but that actually turned out to be the perfect amount of pot pie. Dan and I each ate one for dinner and felt totally satisfied. Chicken pot pie is both filling and delicious, after all. And, the mini pies were adorable! What a great day in the kitchen.

Recipe can be found here, courtesy of AllRecipes.com.

One year ago: Grilled Sirloin with Roasted Potatoes and Caprese Salad

Mini Blueberry Pies

Happy Pi(e) Day, everyone! What is Pi Day, you ask? It's a holiday commemorating the mathematical constant pi. Invented in 1989 by Larry Shaw, a physicist at the San Francisco Exploratorium, it was officially recognized by the US House of Reps as "National Pi Day" in 2009. Basically, it's a kind of nerdy day that makes engineers, and scientists, and anyone else who likes math giddy with glee. I love it!

I'm terrible with dates, so I didn't realize it was 3/14 until Facebook told me that my friend Tiffany had hosted a Pi(e) Party this past weekend in honor of the mathematically special date. There were sweet pies, savory pies, and...a mac n' cheese pie with a woven bacon crust! This, of course, inspired me to bake some pies of my own.

I woke up this morning feeling under the weather, and decided to stay home from work. This pie-baking adventure was the only thing that could motivate me to get off the couch, and I almost gave up on the whole project when I realized there were no frozen pie crusts in the freezer. Fortunately, I managed to find a recipe online for mini pies that looked pretty easy. Even with a drippy nose and watering eyes I could handle rolling out enough dough for 4 tiny pies.

Dan's favorite pie flavors are apple and blueberry. His mom makes him an apple pie every time we visit, and I once saw him eat an entire blueberry pie by himself in one sitting. So, I thought it would be a nice surprise to have some mini apple and blueberry pies waiting for him when he came home from work. Unfortunately, no apples in the fridge. Alas! But, I'm pretty sure he likes blueberry pies better anyway...

As everyone knows, I am a fiend for things in miniature, and these pies are probably the cutest things I've ever made. Delicious too -- the crusts are flaky and buttery, and each bite is just bursting with sweet, juicy berries. Yum! 

Recipe can be found here, courtesy of The Cookie Shop blog.

One year ago: Thumbprint Cookies

First Ever Dinner Party

Happy early Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year, everyone! In honor of these two special holidays, the boyfriend and I decided to host our first official, true blue, not-just-booze-and-snacks, dinner party. "Firsts" are always an exciting event, and we were eager to start out strong.  Unfortunately, by the time we got around to cooking, we were running a couple hours behind schedule, so we had to really fly to get food on the table by 7 as promised.  Which means I had less time to take pictures -- after my 3rd attempt to get the perfect action shot of him buttering the chicken, Dan suggested that we maybe forgo the step-by-step photos this one time and get cracking on the actual cooking. Such a wise man.

Overall the dinner was a success -- a pain in the ass to make, yes, but a success.  Everyone ate well and drank well and left happy.  Still, Dan and I may need a few months to recover before the next party.

Appetizers:

- Sliced Italian Bread served with herbed olive oil

- Creamed Mushrooms on Chive Butter Toast (Recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

The recipe called for brioche or good white bread, but I couldn't find any at the local grocery store so I just went with a french baguette.  I also had to substitute portobello mushrooms for cremini mushrooms, because, surprise, my store didn't have any.  Either way, this dish was a big hit with everyone, and was polished off in short order.

Dinner:
- Poulet Roti a la Normande (Roast Chicken Basted with Cream, Herb and Giblet Stuffing)

This was my first time roasting a chicken, so I figured a Julia Child recipe was the way to go.  This proved to be a fantastic decision, as the chicken was juicy and flavorful, the cream cheese/giblet stuffing was a revelation (none of us had ever tasted anything like it!), and the accompanying gravy was the best I've ever had.  

But I have to be honest --- I didn't actually follow Julia's instructions for roasting the chicken.  She called for a lot of flipping and turning and basting and monitoring, and I just didn't have the time to be that involved. So I used this recipe instead for the roasting instructions, but stuck with Julia for the stuffing and gravy. No one complained!

- Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives

OK, 8 gigantic Russet potatoes may be just a tad too much for 7 people to eat.  The picture above was actually taken after everyone had eaten multiple helpings  at dinner -- we barely finished 1/2 of the potatoes, delicious though they were.  Next time I'll just stick with 4 taters and call it a day.

Super easy recipe:

(1) Boil 4 potatoes until soft. (Jab a fork into one of the potatoes and if it feels soft vs. crisp, it's done.)
(2) Peel potatoes. (Or, if you're like Dan and enjoy a little texture with your taters, keep some of the skin on.)
(3) Mash potatoes with 1/2 cup milk (use more milk if you're using more potatoes), and 1/2 cup sour cream.  If you don't have milk on hand, heavy cream works too -- it's just more fattening. Yum.
(4) Throw in a handful of chopped chives.
(5) Add salt and butter to taste.

- Creamed Spinach (Another Smitten Kitchen recipe)

Spinach is probably my favorite leafy green vegetable -- nutritious yet delicious, and so versatile.  I had my first creamed spinach experience when Dan and I went to a fancy steak joint for our 3 year anniversary, and it blew my mind.  Spinach + butter + cream looks mushy and unimpressive, but the delicious flavors just wrap around your tongue and the whole thing melts in your mouth.

One minor edit to the recipe: no nutmeg. I hate nutmeg. Except for when it's baked into cakes and I can't taste it.  So I left it out of this dish and just went about my merry way. No one missed it.

Dessert:
- Strawberry Cream Pie (Recipe courtesy of Crumbly Cookie)

My picture may not look as awesome as Bridget's, but the pie itself was an unqualified success.  Who can resist the siren call of strawberries, chocolate, and cheesecake filling? No one.