A life with pie

Training Update - Early May

Lucky me, the Burke Gilman quite literally runs through my backyard. The sunny weather has made it easier to throw on clothes/shoes and go. 

Unfortunately, last week I accidently doubled my first running circuit to 6 mins. The Iphone froze up on a notification and I ran through the walking segment after the run. Wow, this is a long 4 minutes! But on top of doing the 5k and not strictly tracking run vs walk, I over increased my run time by way more than the 10% weekly increase. My shins flared up in protest. Ice packs are my new best friend and I took a few days off to let them calm down.

It was quite a bit discouraging. Just another reminder that this is a process. Build and rebuild. Patience and good self care. Learning when to push and when to let the body heal. Trust in the process and progression. Blah, blah, blah.

Back at it this week. The running intervals are up to 5 minutes long (16 running over 36 minutes). Averaging little over 15 minute mile. Happy to report that 5 minutes at a time is much easier than the 1 minute was a few weeks ago. Most days I'm energized afterwards. Just need to keep an eye on the shins.

Meanwhile, here's some happy snaps from my morning runs.

 

Postcards from the Burke:

 

#16 - Mexican Chocolate Pie

 The Inspiration:

My inspiration was Cinco De Mayo. My lucky co-workers were pulled into my little celebration.

There is nothing like a bite of rich intense chocolate with a spiced edge. What else is needed besides a nice strong cup of coffee to kick off Cinco De Mayo right? Picked up a brand new pie book last week, First Prize Pies, and this was the first recipe I spied. What's a gal to do?

 Alison Kave's pie missive has some intriguing recipes that I'm eager to try. The Mint Julep pie was high on my list this weekend in honor of the Kentucky Derby (there is always next year). The Samoa pie (as in the GS cookies) will need to be on the hit list when my Dad is around. And The Chai Chess, Nutella and Strawberry Basil pies are looking like strong contenders. Honestly, I think I could probably finish out the year from this book and no one would complain. But what fun would that be.
 

The Production:

Serious Eats has a cute  article on Alison regarding how she got started in the pie business, which happens to have a link to the  Spicy Hot Chocolate Pie recipe. It's as close to the book version as I can spy online with some noteable exceptions:

• The gingersnaps for the crust are homemade and the only other ingredient is butter.
• Mexican Chocolate pie has ALOT more of the spice in the ganache/custard filling. The spice combo is the same, but I used 1 tsp each.

Honestly the pie was one of the easiest I've made. You just need to make a batch of cookies before you start. The cookie recipe would have produced enough crumbs for 2 pies if I hadn't burned the first tray. That'll teach me to pay attention to my rack height.

Ganache, which is essentially the filling, is simply scoulding cream, pouring it over chocolate, letting it set a minute and whisking it into a lush sauce. Add one egg, spice and pour into pre-baked (10 min) crust & toss in the oven for 20ish minutes. Easy!

Ok - the craft is in the details. Not burning the cream, getting the right set in the center without over cooking. Managing dual baking pies and paying attention that they were completed at different times. Those are the little things that become second nature.

There were a few little tweaks I made. The Ghirardelli chocolate I used was 1/2  semi-sweet chips and 1/2 60% cacoa bittersweet chips for a more complex and richer chocolate. And the 2nd batch of gingersnaps seriously depleted my ginger supply. My spice mix for the filling was missing the extra 1/2 tsp of ginger. Both adjustments worked out beautifully.

 

The Verdict:

This pie packs a punch. The spices in the gingersnaps (ginger, cloves & allspice) and molasses layered nicely with the heavily spiced chocolate. Cinnamon kissed whipped cream was a lovely topper. I witnessed a few colleagues sprinkling the red pepper flakes on - hurts so good!  Definitely called out as "evil" a number of times that day.  Notice however it didn't stop the pies from disappearing.

It was wonderful with a full bodied cup of coffee. The spice could be dialed back to 1/2 tsp and still maintain the spirit of the dessert.  But I wouldn't change a thing! Next time, I just need to design a fabulous meal to go around it.

 

The Photographic Evidence:

spicy chocolatey goodness times two

lush & rich whoo hoo!

Next up: still to be determined

#15 - Banana Cream with Chocolate & Caramel Pie

The Inspiration:

My inspiration was my sister's family and belated Easter dinner.

Easter coincided with the school spring breaks in my inner circle this year. Family Easter dinner was pushed back a week. As long as I get my BIL's lamb sometime in the spring all is right with the world! Dinner was delicious as always. My family just had some dynamite Banana Cream pie in Hawaii and still craved the taste for it. So banana cream it is!

 

The Production:

Looking through my cookbooks I was mostly intrigued by the banana cream versions with chocolate. Pie-ography had a version with a chocolate layer drizzled with salted caramel that peaked my interested. Upon further inspection, the recipe was inspired by the Tartine Banana Cream Pie (linked to a blog post that stayed true to the recipe.)  Tartine is my absolute favorite baking book. Everything I've ever made from this book is magical. It's very detailed and a bit technical, but amazing and a James Beard award winner. If you love baking and want to improve your skills seek this book out.

The pie consists of 4 recipes - dough, pastry cream, caramel sauce and the banana cream pie itself. Tartine's dough recipe produces a very flaky crust. Pastry cream is one of my favorite things to make. It never fails to make me happy.

The pie crust is completely blind baked (pre-baked with weights for 20 minutes and without weights for 10+ minutes) until the crust is completely baked and golden. The bottom is lined with melted chocolate to protect the crust from getting soggy. Caramel sauce is drizzled over the chocolate. And then the pastry cream, banana and whipped cream layers on. Dreamy!

 

The Verdict:

The pie was wonderful. The crust was perfection. The best job I've ever done with a blind baked crust. It was buttery, crisp and flaky. The pastry cream, banana, whipped cream concoction was heavenly. And the caramel gave it just that something extra. Although, next time I need to do a whole layer instead of a drizzle. A touch more caramel was needed.

The caramel & the chocolate definitely created a nice middle layer in flavor and structure. Keeper! Definitely, a keeper.

 

The Photographic Evidence:

bananas - check

 '

my lovely niece photobombing the pie pic

slice action

End of Rd 1, Rd 2 didn't last too much longer

 

Next up: Cinco de Mayo - Mexican Chocolate Pie

 

#14 - Rhubarb Orange Zest Pie

The Inspiration:

My inspiration was my friend Parker's favorite pie and finally writing an online profile to get me back in the game.

Back to the sweet stuff!  My friends have been hinting, nudging, pushing, suggesting and lightly peer pressuring me (all lovingly of course!) to get back into the dating pool for years. And last week I decided it's high time and took Parker up on his offer to help write my online profile. So with a nice bottle of red and a homemade rhubarb pie in hand, I started into a new adventure. Whoo hoo! Hold onto your hats (and sense of humor) this ride could get a bit bumpy. 

 

The Production:

It's rhubarb season! The bright red stalks herald in the spring baking season. Love the bittersweetness and color it brings. I know rhubarb can fall into that love it or hate it category. To quote a friend  "Anything that needs that much sugar to taste good you can have." Rhubarb grows well in the PNW. Our farmers markets and local groceries are stocking it in spades right now. Make sure you pick out the brightest hued and crispest stalks. Don't waste your time on dull and limp.

My recipe data base at Eat Your Books highlighted 45 recipes in my arsenal, but very few that featured rhubarb as the sole fruit. Yes, there will be a strawberry-rhubarb pie in our foreseeable future. But only when local strawberries arrive. Practiced patience will be well worth it, trust me.

Orangette & Delancey cooking guru, Molly Wizenberg's recipe for Fresh Rhubarb Pie with Orange Zest captured my imagination. I loved the idea of seasons in transition - winter orange meet spring rhubarb. And you can never go wrong with citrus zest for adding brightness and joy to a baked good. I'm glad she warns not to skimp on the sugar mixture in the assembly because my god that looks like ALOT of sugar piled up. The recipe utilizes Martha Stewart's pie dough that is also one of my standards, so that was easy. My only liberty was to brush the pie top with a heavy cream wash for coloring during baking.

 

The Verdict:

The pie was gorgeous. The filling remained vibrant red and the fruit while well cooked held it's form. The orange zest added a brightness and modern note to the pie. A good balance of tart, bright and sweet - quite lovely. The leftover 3/4 of a pie was offered up to my coworkers on Tuesday. It didn't last 15 minutes in the breakroom. All gone by 9:00am. Definitely a hit! And I was left a note that made me smile all day long.

The Rhubarb with Orange Zest Pie recipe is a definite keeper. And perfect for the first fresh fruit pie of the year. 

 

The Photographic Evidence:

 

lovely

borrowing co-worker Michelle's lovely pic (only one I have of a slice)

note left with the empty pie plate 

 

Next up: Banana Caramel Chocolate Cream Pie

 

#13 - Bacon Leek Quiche

The Inspiration:

My inspiration was still the monthly potluck @ work. Let them eat quiche!

Poundering my quiche offerings, I couldn't get this phenomenal seasonal pizza from Pagliacci's out of my head - Bacon Leek. A few rainy Saturdays ago warranted a delivery pie and an Ironman marathon. Yes I know bacon makes everything better, but oh my goodness I was in love! Still wanting to hold onto that combo, I searched for Bacon Leek quiche options. Sorry Julia, your version was just too big for a Tuesday night.  Very similar but in a single portion, I went with William & Sonoma's recipe.  

 

The Production:

Since the recipe just called for pie dough, I doubled the Martha Stewart version and called it good. Is there a more intoxicating and seductive smell than frying bacon? It always makes me instantly ravenous. The prep for the recipe was to saute the leeks and bacon separately. And partially blind bake the crust for 25 minutes.

 

The Verdict:

The knock my socks off favor combo of Leek and Bacon came shining through in this iteration. And the salty and smokiness of the bacon played beautifully with the leeks and gruyere. The crust was crisper on this quiche due to the blind baking and I loved the texture against the softer billowy egg custard. This recipe definitely made it into the keeper pile - William-Sonoma Bacon Leek Quiche.

 

The Photographic Evidence:

 

hot out of the oven

presented for the office peeps

 

Next up - Rhubarb Orangette Pie