All About the Cranberries

I'm on a cranberry kick lately, so when I found this recipe, I no doubt got excited.  Every time I step into Williams-Sonoma, my mouth begins to water at the first smell of whatever is being cooked in the test kitchen.  I secretly hoped this recipe would fill my place with the same aroma.  The spiced apples and cranberries on the stove-top did just that.  And once the pie was done baking, it was full-blown WS aroma.

Now that I've mastered become decent at making pie crust, I'm starting to get a little fancy in my pie "styling."  This is the first time I tried a braided crust.  What do you think?

bon appétit,

Kelsey

All of the Fall Things

There's nothing that says fall more than pumpkin and gingersnaps.  If you ask me, I could eat gingersnaps year-round.  But with fall, comes all the fall flavors, and gingersnaps are no exception.  I whipped this pie up in {no joke} 10 minutes.  I quickly put gingersnaps in a food processor, with a little added white sugar and melted butter.  I pressed the mixture firmly in my new {super cute} mini pie dish, and tossed it in the oven for a quick 7 minutes.  During that time, I let two ice creams--Vanilla and Pumpkin Pie {if you haven't tried Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Ice-cream, run--don't walk--to your nearest Trader Joe's and pick up a pint}--defrost a little.  I let the pie crust chill, and filled it with all vanilla ice-cream.  Because I didn't want to ruin an upcoming pumpkin pie {coming to the blog soon}, I opted to just drizzle in the Pumpkin Pie Ice-cream, just to add a touch of the pumpkin flavor. I then covered with plastic wrap, and let freeze overnight.  The juxtaposition of the crunchy crust and creamy filling was simply perfection.

 bon appétit,

Kelsey

Crushin' on Cranberries

Aside from apples, the fruit I associate most with the holiday season is cranberries.  And while I can't stand the sight of cranberry sauce {maybe it was the ribs indentation from the aluminum can the sauce was squeezed into that turned me off}, I've always loved the fruit in desserts.  Since I'm not quite ready to fully accept that it's fall {goodbye  70 degree days, hello freezing mornings} this recipe the perfect marriage to hold onto those summer flavors while attempting to embrace the start of fall.

bon appétit,

Kelsey

Fall Fruits

Now that the temperatures are finally cooling off in South Carolina, I've been wanting to bake a fall fruit pie.  While most recipes I came across included some late summer fruits {hey figs!}, I decided to concoct my own filling.  I combined raspberries and pears with sugar, the zest and juice of one lemon, and a little cornstarch.  I added some of my favorite fall spices, including cinnamon and nutmeg, and before I know it, my whole place smelled perfectly of fall.

bon appétit,

Kelsey

Adapting a Fall Favorite

The other day I craved my favorite foods served at Thanksgiving, including my mom's Sweet Potato Casserole.  I snatched her recipe, adjusted the potato to liquid ratio, and plopped it into a pie crust.  After eating nearly half the pie, my craving was satisfied {at least until Thanksgiving rolls around}.

bon appétit,

Kelsey

When It Rains, It Floods

The title says it all.  Last weekend, Columbia experienced severe flooding after 72 hours of rain.  And while I was spared from any damage downtown, many neighborhoods were washed out and experienced severe flooding.  When I first attempted this pie, I lost all water pressure and decided to take a week off from this journey.  I reattempted the pie tonight with disposable cook/bakeware {We're still under a boil water advisory which makes cleaning any type of dishes a pain}.  Lets just say, if you've ever seen these pinterest fails, my pie could come close to qualifying.  I'm not one to not complete something in full, but after I slowly watched the pie crust sink while baking and then burnt the lemon curd, I concluded that even a pretty layer of whipped cream couldn't save this disaster.  Lets hope for better luck next week.

The Pie Started Pretty

Yep, those dark spots are burnt lemon curd

bon appétit,

Kelsey

French Silk

While chocolate is not my favorite flavor, many requests were made from my pie tasting team {aka co-workers} for a chocolate pie, and this recipe did not disappoint.  While I've perfected the pie crust, I haven't quite mastered the crust when it needs to pre-bake {not pictured below: watching the sides of the pie crust sink in the oven}.  I think this gadget and these techniques may help.

  bon appétit,

Kelsey