Pie #34 – Screwed Up Texan Creamy Watermelon Pie

Posted on July 16, 2011 by pieofthebeholder

Excessive melon-o-mania

The social committee at my place of employment decided that we needed to have a theme day at the office. Team spirit and all that. The Crew organized what is now dubbed in agency lore as “Wacky Watermelon Wednesday.” You could win prizes for your creations, which was enticing:) They had individual categories for taste, as well as presentation. So, I decided to partake in this wacky theme day and brought to work, pie 34, the Screwed Up Texan Creamy Watermelon pie. Actually, I brought in two pies. And I won a $25 dollar gift certificate for the pies! It’s baby steps on my march to Top Chef Desserts masterdom.

This recipe is very simple and quick to make and is excellent on 100+ degree days, which we have a lot of in Texas right now.

I attribute the recipe to Allie which I found on her site, Confessions of a Screwed Up Texan. Really good stuff.

The crust!:

1 prepared graham cracker crust (I bought one original and one chocolate graham cracker crust for this exercise)

The filling!:

2 cups of cubed or balled watermelon chunks. Seedless watermelon is the way to go.

1 cup sugar

1 package cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 drops of red food coloring (optional)

2 cups prepared whipped cream for topping (you can also use cool whip which for ease of use is the direction I took)

In a large bowl, whip the sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, and (optional) food coloring together until smooth and fluffy, about two minutes.

Using a spoon or rubber spatula, fold in watermelon.

Spoon mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust and top with whipped cream. Chill for at least one hour if possible or just eat right away.

Because I had to transport these from home to work, I didn’t spoon the whipped cream on the top of the pies until the contest Wednesday afternoon. It only added to the mystique:) The pie was very well received and I enjoyed it as well. The

creamy mix and the texture and coolness of the watermelon worked very well together. The only downside for me was the pie “melted’ very quickly but no one seemed to mind. If you have leftover, it’s important to keep refrigerated.

Pie #33 – 1975 Dick Taeuber’s Brandy Alexander Pie

Posted on July 11, 2011 by pieofthebeholder

I’ve been staring at this recipe for a few weeks. It’s from the Essential New York Times Cookbook, which is out now. The recipe was previously covered by Amanda Hesser at food52.com, which is where I discovered this boozey delight. You can go here to read the story behind this concoction. I remember 1975 – 8-tracks, Led Zeppelin 4, and really bad color palettes. And now, one variation of many booze pies. Truly great days.

The Crust!:

1 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs

Booze Pie

1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the crumbs with the melted butter. Form in a 9-inch pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

The filling!:

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup Cognac (I used brandy)

1/4 cup Crème de Cacao

1 cup heavy cream

Pour 1/2 cup cold water in a saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Add 1/3 cup sugar, salt and egg yolks. Stir in to mix. Place over low heat and stir until the gelatin dissolves and mixture thickens slightly (it won’t be as thick as a custard). Do not boil! Remove from heat.

Stir the liqueurs into the mixture. Chill until the mixture starts to mound slightly.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add remaining sugar and beat until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the meringue into the chilled mixture.

Whip the cream, then fold into the mixture. Fill the crust. Chill for several hours.

Pie #32 – Lemon Macaroon Pie

Posted on July 4, 2011 by pieofthebeholder

Happy Independence Day! Like any good, upstanding citizen, I spent some dough on stuff. Bought a much-needed mattress from Costco online. We hear it’s nice:) My wife and I look forward to a new mattress. We roll to the center of the current one nightly, like sleepy little bumper cars. I guess no more pillow tops…

Being that the day went spending dough on stuff, I didn’t start until about 7pm. And this weeks pie needs a lot of attention. It won’t be piped until tomorrow morning. This week it’s lemon macaroon pie, courtesy of Bon Apetit Deserts by Barbara Fairchild.

Lemon Macaroon Pie, not as beautiful as it would be in Bon Apetit, but probably just as tasty

The crust!:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flower

1/2 cup cake flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces

2 tbsp. chilled non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening cut into half-inch pieces

3 tbsp. (or more) ice water

Blend both flours, sugar and salt in food processor. Add butter and shortening; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add 3 tbsp. ice water and process until moist clumps form. Add more water by teaspoon full if dough is dry. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill at least an hour.

Position rack in bottom third of oven and pre-heat to 350F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13 inches diameter. Transfer to dish. Trim dough to half-inch and fold under. Crimp decoratively and freeze for 15 minutes.

Line crust with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights (I have pie weights!). Bake until crust is set and edges are pale golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans (or weights). Cool completely on rack. Maintain oven temperature.

The filling!:

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp. (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp. finely grated lemon peel

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Using and electric mixer beat the eggs, egg yolks and salt in a large bowl to blend. Add sugar, and beat until mixture is thick and fluffy, about a minute. Beat in coconut, whipping cream, lemon juice, lemon peel, melted butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Pour into crust.

Bake until filling is golden and set, about 40 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack and then chill until cold, about 3 hours. Note that I’m typing this at 11:45 pm CST. And the pie is still in the oven. I guess, I’ll have a slice for breakfast. I’ll drop in a picture too. Enjoy your Independence Day, however you choose to celebrate!

An update on July 4-Finally got the pie piped with whipped cream and garnished with the lemon slice at around noon. The pie has a good taste of lemon but there’s a heavy texture of coconut that I’m not too crazy about. The crust baked well and thankfully didn’t burn. Pie collars are important:)Coming from a Bon Apetit cookbook, I’m bummed this doesn’t have a bigger lemon pop to the flavor. It’s average to me. Too bad, considering the amount of time it took to put together. I guess I’ll have to drown my disappointment by going out and looking for a sectional sofa.

Pie #31 – Strawberry Cream Pie

Posted on June 26, 2011 by pieofthebeholder

It’s a True Blood evening. Our friend Piph is coming over to watch it with Tammi. I don’t include myself in this as I don’t have much of an interest in the series. I’ll just do something else. But I did keep in a theme (sort of) for the show. Pie number 31 is a strawberry cream pie. Strawberries for the (tasty, delicious) bloody gore, and cream for these vampires silky complexions (until they fight and tear each other up). So saxy. I did this pie with a graham cracker crust. I don’t really have anything to tie into for the crust. Charring at first sunlight? Doesn’t sound very yummy. I don’t know. I don’t watch it, seriously.

The crust!:

16 -20 graham crackers

5 tbsp. butter, melted

3 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend the graham crackers until fine. Add butter, sugar and salt and mix until blended. In a 9 inch pie plate, spread the mixture along bottom and sides of pan. Bake for approx. 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

The filling!:

Two (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened

3 cups strawberries

1 tbsp. sugar

6 tbsp. sugar

3 tbsp. corn starch

3 tbsp. confectioner powdered sugar

1/2 cup whipped cream

Place the sliced strawberries in a dish and sprinkle with 1 tbsp. sugar. Let sit for 30 to 60 minutes to make juice. Set aside 1/2 cup strawberries and juice for later.

Add the remaining berries and juice in a saucepan and add remaining sugar and the cornstarch. Set at medium low heat (don’t go too high, you could burn the berries) and simmer until berries break down and the mixture thickens, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

While strawberries simmer , beat together the cream cheese, reserved juice, powdered sugar, and whipped cream until smooth and creamy.

Place the set-aside strawberries in the bottom of the cooled pie crust. Spoon the cream cheese mixture on top of them, using a spatula or flat wooden spoon to smooth it out.

Pour the cooled strawberry sauce in the center of the pie and smooth out toward the edges with a flat wooden spoon. Top with more strawberries as desired. Chill for two hours and serve with whipped cream.

I had a bit of it before the steak-with-garlic dinner, and it is delish. It’s heavy on the creaminess. The taste of the strawberries is very sweet. I like it; it’s like jelly. The sweetness stays a while. Having it with a graham cracker crust is an extra added bonus. It’s a good one.

Pie #30 – Pecan Pie with Creme de Cacao and Chocolate Chips

Posted on June 19, 2011 by pieofthebeholder

It’s 104F in Austin today. Needless to say, things are moving slowly. Inside with air conditioning, baking and watching murder mysteries. Fun! I probably should have made something with ice cream. Pie number 30 is pecan pie with Creme de Cacao and chocolate chips. The original recipe called for Kahlua. Unfortunately, I don’t have any. And it’s Sunday so the liquor store is closed. You go with what you have, and perhaps serve it with ice cream.

The recipe is from epicurious.

Smiling pecan and chocolate

The crust was from the pie that I made last week. If you want the recipe go to pie #29. Let’s just say, pre-made:)

The filling!:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup Creme de Cacao or Kahlúa or coffee liqueur

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I added a full cup; I like chocolate)

2/3 cup chilled whipping cream (or cool hwip)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat sugar and butter in medium bowl until smooth; beat in flour. Gradually beat in corn syrup, then Creme de Cacao and vanilla. Mix in eggs, then chopped pecans. Sprinkle chocolate chips over bottom of crust. Pour filling into crust.

Bake pie until filling is puffed around edges and just set in center, covering edge of crust if browning too quickly, about 45 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Beat cream in medium bowl until peaks form. Drop whipped cream in small dollops around edge of pie. Or slather with Cool Hwip.

It’s a good gooey pie with the melted chocolate and it tastes like hot brownie with nuts. I have a bigger piece later, probably with the ice cream. Hey, it is HOT!

After serving be sure to cover and refrigerate.