Tag: pie

Nectarine Pie: The Music Video

Ashley Bischoff2 Comments

Josh Baugher passes along what’s essentially a music video for foodies. In Katy Bakes a Nectatine Pie, Katy goes through the steps of baking a pie, including commentary on the cooking process. Considering that it’s a Quicktime file (a .mov), it may have even been edited in iMovie.

To some, this may just be a pleasant diversion, but I really enjoyed it. In some ways, it was like watching an engaging movie but with the director’s commentary track playing as well. I’m only disappointed that I couldn’t find a reference to the recipe itself (especially since the pie-eaters at the end of the clip appear to be really enjoying it). The movie is hosted on The Amateur Gourmet blog, but I only saw it listed as a link in the sidebar without a proper entry to go along with it.

I was a bit dismayed at the use of shortening in the pie crust. Not that I’m surprised, really — shortening is a common ingredient in pie crusts — but shortening if full of trans fat. Trans fat is probably the worst kind of fat since it both lowers “good” cholesterol while raising “bad” cholesterol (even saturated fat doesn’t affect “good” cholesterol).

Now that the government is requiring trans fat labeling on foods (beginning in 2006), companies are all of a sudden reformulating their products to reduce their trans fats. In particular, I’ve noticed that there's a trans-fat free version of Crisco shortening now. But, I’m still skeptical — if a 2% increase in trans fat can really increase a women’s risk for heart disease by 93%, then I’d feel most comfortable with a shortening which actually had 0g trans fat, not just 0g trans fat per serving :-/.

Update 06/03: It appears that J.M. Smucker (the makers of Crisco) create the trans-fat free version by fully hydrogenating the cottonseed oil. And, much in the same way that partial hydrogenation turns oil into a semi-solid form, fully hydrogenating it turns it completely solid. So, they then add sunflower and soybean oils to soften it. I’m not sure whether fully hydrogenating an oil creates any trans fat, but if not, this trans-fat free Crisco may not be so bad.

Recipe: Triple Chocolate S’more Pie

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

I was watching the awards show for Emeril’s Chocolate Contest which featured four finalists: Chocolate Turtle Martini, Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate Mousse Cake, and Triple Chocolate S’more Pie. Of those, Sarah Benner’s Triple Chocolate S’more Pie was voted best and I tend to agree — it not only seems choco-licious, but easy to make as well:

Triple Chocolate S’more Pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk [Really, 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, three times —Alex]
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract [Like the condensed milk, this is really 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, three times. — Alex]
  • 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Preparation:

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Spray the inside of a 9-inch pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture firmly into sprayed pie pan, covering bottom and sides. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For filling: In a microwave safe bowl, combine milk chocolate chips, 1/2 cup condensed milk, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Microwave for 2 minutes on medium (50 percent) power. Alternately, combine all ingredients and melt in a double boiler. Stir until all chips are melted and pour into bottom of cooled crust. Set in refrigerator while preparing second layer.

For second layer, repeat above process using the vanilla chips. Pour over milk chocolate layer. Set in refrigerator while preparing third layer. For third layer repeat above process using the dark chocolate chips. Pour over white chocolate layer.

Preheat the broiler. Evenly cover top with miniature marshmallows. Place under broiler for a few minutes just until marshmallows are lightly browned. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

  • Yield: 16 slices as small pieces are sufficient for even the most devoted chocoholics
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Difficulty: Easy

I might be inclined to substitute a premade graham cracker crust but, other than that, I’d be tempted to try this sometime.

PS: I generally enjoy most of the shows on Food Networks, but I have a small gripe about Emeril’s show in particular. The recipes often look tasty and, Emeril’s over-caffeinated personality aside, it’s also inconvenient that Emeril never mentions the ingredient-amounts (neither out loud nor on-screen).

So, you’ll have Emeril saying something like “And now, I’m going to add some butter to the mixer … and then some sugar…”. So, an archive of the show is no longer suitable as a “visual recipe” — I would have to refer to both the recording and the website every time I wanted to make one of the recipes from his show :-/.

Apple Pumpkin Pie – Recipe

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

From the Back of the Box mailling list, I found this recipe for Apple Pumpkin Pie. I’m trying to be adventurous in foods and, though I didn’t used to like pumpkin pie as a kid, I think it's something that I’d like to give another chance.

I seem to be at the point where my taste buds are dying and some foods are tasting differently to me. So, I think I’ll be daring and have a slice of pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. At any rate, this Apple Pumpkin Pie recipe could be quite tasty, Thanksgiving or otherwise:

Prep: 15 min, Cook: 60 min

Filling:

  • ¾ cup (148 grams) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped (about two to three apples)
  • 1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Crumb Topping:

  • ⅓ cup (47 grams) all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup (66 grams) brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

  1. Combine the sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl.
  2. With an electric mixer, beat in the pumpkin, egg, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth.
  3. Stir in the apples gently with a spatula.
  4. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Cover the crust’s edges with foil.
  5. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.
  6. While the pie is baking, prepare the crumb topping:
    • Combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
    • Mix in the softened butter with a fork.
  7. Take the pie out after 45 minutes and add the crumb topping:
    • Sprinkle the crumb topping over the pie.
    • Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
  8. Serve warm.

Slashdot Meetup Tonight

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

The Slashdot Meetup for Dallas is this evening. And, since I hadn’t had a chance to write about last month’s Slashdot Meetup, this may be a good time to do so.

Last month’s Meetup was scheduled for Jupiter Lanes. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to that location, as bowling isn’t very conducive to conversation (especially since this was the first Slashdot Meetup, and none of us had met before). But, I went anyhow. I figured — if nothing else — the Meetup may offer some opportunities to mention my portfolio to some of the local geeks.

I arrived there right on time, and found the other Meetup people. And, even though there are apparently 92 Slashdot Meetup people in Dallas, there were just five people there (including myself).

Some people enjoy large crowds… I am not one of those people. So, I was actually pleased that a small number of people made it. And, after a short discussion, we all agreed that bowling wasn’t the best idea for conversation. So, we drove in caravan to a Chili’s down the street. Many of the guys (yeah, it was all guys) hadn’t eaten dinner yet, anyway, so Chili’s was a welcome suggestion.

At the Chili’s, we looked over the drinks menu before deciding on our entrees. I remarked that, according to the menu, they only had Bud, Bud Light, and Coors Light on top. One guy was talking to another and didn’t hear my remark about the beer selection, so another fellow clarified:

“They don't have any beer on tap.”

[ puzzled look ]

“They only have Bud, Bud Light, and Coors Light on tap. Ergo, they have no beer on tap.”

We had a good chuckle about that ;). When the server came around, we asked him about what was on tap, just to be sure. He rattled off a few names, resulting in a beer-on-tap list much longer than the menu implied. In particular, Sam Adams caught my eye (“caught my ear”?), so I quickly decided on that. Most of us ordered a 22oz Sam Adams (or around that size, I can’t remember the exact volume), except for one poor guy that was under 21.

One guy ordered one of those fried-onion sea urchin things. Another had chicken tenders, and I can’t remember what the other two had. Of course, I had already eaten dinner before coming, so I just went straight for dessert. I decided on their “Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie”. Basically, it’s a warm walnut-based bar topped with ice cream and chocolate & caramel sauces. It was very delicious, and went strangely well with my Sam Adams; I wouldn’t hesitate in ordering one again.

There may be some stereotypes about the “Slashdot crowd”, but the people at the Slashdot Meetup didn’t fit into the typical nerd stereotype. Sure, one guy had a salt-n-pepper beard with long hair tied into a ponytail, but he managed to do so fashionably. Another guy had stylishly-short hair (with gel, even). And none of them were introverted, though one or two guys may have been on the borderline between introverted and extroverted.

The conversation was good, the food was good, and I had a great time. I look forward to the next one which, of course, happens to be tonight.