Birthday Pie for a Gal and Her Dog

I'm going to (try to) keep this birthday pie post short, as it happens to be my birthday and I need to venture out on my annual solo birthday hike, as well as finish packing for two months in the woods. But before I do, I want to share these two pies I made for my friend Elizabeth and her dog Chickpea's birthday. Yes, the share the same birthday, which some might say coincidence, but I say is fate.

Elizabeth and I made the Pie Almanac together, and she would occasionally bring Chickpea to our meetings, which was just fine with me. Chickpea is TINY. Every time I see her I'm amazed that she is actually that small. She is also very sweet and verrrry chill (except when there's squirrels around), and her little wiry fur shakes when she's cold. Seriously cute, and the perfect mascot and occasional subject for Elizabeth's illustration work.

When Elizabeth asked if I would make birthday pies for her and Chickpea, I felt fine about the pie for Elizabeth--a Butterscotch Cream Pie with a Hazelnut Praline from Martha Stewart. But I was very nervous about the pie for the dog.

I'd never made dog treats before, let alone a dog pie. But it was something I needed to do for Chickpea. I found this homemade dog treat round-up on The Kitchn and chose one from King Arthur Flour. I halved the recipe and fit the dough into a small 4-inch pie tin, then rolled out the rest and used cookie cutters to make a little doggie treat bag as an added gift. It all came out well, but I was worried that it might not have enough "dog appeal" flavor. Then, as I was whipping the cream for Elizabeth's Butterscotch Cream Pie, I had a dog pie revelation--bacon grease whipped cream!

Before we get too far down the dog pie rabbit hole, I will say that this here Butterscotch Cream Pie (for people) is a new favorite. It's essentially a homemade butterscotch pudding, topped with a candied-hazelnut studded whipped cream. It almost went just as fast as Chickpea's bacon grease.

Butterscotch Cream Pie with Hazelnut Praline
Adapted from Martha Stewart's New Pies & Tarts

Ingredients
Nothing-in-the-House pie crust, halved

For filling:
3 oz. (6 Tblsp.) unsalted butter
1 c. dark brown sugar
2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. salt
2 c. whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For hazelnut praline:
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. light corn syrup
1 Tblsp. water
1/3 c. hazelnuts, toasted & skinless
Salt, to taste

Directions

1. Prepare half of the Nothing-in-the-House pie crust as per the directions, reserving the leftover egg for an egg wash. Chill dough at least 1 hour before rolling out and fitting into a greased and floured 9-inch pie pan. Pierce the bottom of the shell all over with a fork, and let chill for 15 more minutes in the fridge. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375.

2. Brush edges of crust with egg. Line chilled pie shell with parchment paper and pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes just until edges begin to brown. Remove from oven, and take out parchment and dried beans. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes more until the crust is golden brown. Let cool.

For filling:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the butter begins to brown. Stir in sugar until it dissolves, approximately 5 minutes. Slowly pour 1 cup of the cream down the side of the pan, stirring constantly until smooth (the caramel will bubble, so be careful!). Remove saucepan from the heat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch, salt, and milk until smooth. Whisk into the butter mixture until well combined. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is bubbling and thick, about 7 minutes (2 minutes after it comes to a boil).

3. In a medium bowl, whisk yolks until well combined. Pour in the milk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking until incorporated. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it returns to a boil, about 1-2 minutes.

4. Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let the custard cool in the saucepan, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

5. Pour the custard into the fully baked crust. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard and refrigerate until it is chilled and firm, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

6. Whisk remaining cup of cream until stiff peaks form (I was rushing and went a little overboard--yours should be a little more smooth). Reserve 2 Tblsp. praline (recipe below) and fold remaining praline into the the cream. Spread the cream over the pie and sprinkle the reserved praline on top. Serve immediately.

For hazelnut praline:

1. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat sugar, corns syrup, water, and a pinch of salt until sugar dissolves. Continue to cook without stirring until deep amber in color. Remove from heat and stir in nuts. Spread evenly on the parchment-lined baking sheet and let cool.

2. Using a chef's knife, cut praline into small bite-sized pieces. Use to top pie.

When we placed Chickpea's pie in front of her, she dove tongue-first into the bacon grease top. I was worried she might go for the grease and ignore the pie, but she did methodically nibble on the crust and decorative cut "Cs". Maybe with a little work on some recipes and a new dog pie blog "Nothing-in-the-Dog House," I can expand our nation's favorite dessert to our dog's best friends.

Instagram by @Elizabeth_Draws

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with an Almond Shortbread Crust

Yes, I know. Strawberries in late August!? Especially after I recently championed the bounty of the late-summer micro-season to a national audience? Though I enjoy and recommend eating with the seasons. I'm not the most diehard, and I assure you, this purchase of California Driscoll berries was for a very good reason. I'll explain.

About a month ago I was out with my fella, his sister, brother, and sister-in-law Luigia, at the Quarry House, a former basement speakeasy and one of the best and oldest bars in the DC area that boasts a great beer selection, whiskey menu, rockabilly/honky-tonk Saturday nights AND Old Bay tater tots. It was indeed, a Saturday night, and we were enjoying our Clipper City Ales, sampling the whiskey and dancing to some real genuine Southern rock. Back at the table, trying to hear each others' jokes over the loud music, all of our phones (except Luigia's) went off at once. We checked our messages to discover that we had all gotten the same text, from, of course, Luigia: "Don't forget my birthday party August 11." I put it in my calendar then and there.

Luigia is a wonder of a gal. She's Italian, and though she learned English within the past few years, she still manages to be utterly hilarious in a language not her own (Quite a challenge as I remember from my study abroad days, where I could only eek out a few lame French puns). She's fun and caring and strong-- just pretty radical all around. I was not gonna miss her birthday. And I was going to make her a birthday treat.

When the party weekend rolled around a month later, I asked Luigia what kind of pie/tart/cake she wanted. She said she liked fruit tarts and loved strawberries. So of course a strawberry tart it was for the birthday girl. When I found this recipe for a strawberry mascarpone tart with almond shortbread (& a brilliant red strawberry simple syrup!) I knew it hit a trifecta of Luigia's loves--the crust especially, as she had really dug the grapefruit-ginger marmalade with almond shortbread crostata I'd made back in the spring. As usual I was snapping these shots in a hurry before rushing off to the party, so please excuse the slight blur, but this recipe is no slouch.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust
Adapted from Dust Jacket 

Makes 1 11-inch tart

Ingredients
For crust:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 c. almond meal (make your own by grinding almonds in the food processor)
3/4 c. confectioner's sugar 
10 Tblsp. (1 stick +2 Tblsp.) butter
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1 T. ice water

For filling:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 c. confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 vanilla bean, split in half and seeds scraped
3 c. mascarpone
2 Tblsp. lemon rind
1 lb. strawberries (3 1/2-4 c.), hulled and halved

For strawberry simple syrup: 
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. strawberries, hulled and quartered

Directions
1. Combine flour, almond meal, and sugar in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Add cold butter chunks to the almond mixture and process until mix is the size of small peas. Add egg yolks, extracts and ice water and pulse just until dough begins to form. Remove pastry dough from the food processor and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least one hour and up to 1 day.

2. After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 11-inch tart pan. Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper and transfer to the tart pan, forming the crust up the sides (dough will be crumbly, so you may have to piece it together). Fold dough over the sides to ensure that the tart will have a strong edge. Prick all over the bottom with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes.

3. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove paper and pie weights and bake for 10-12 minutes longer until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

4. While tart is baking, make the strawberry simple syrup.  Place sugar, water and strawberries in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Boil for 10-15 minutes until thickened. Strain out strawberries and let cool.

5. For the filling, place cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla bean seeds in a medium size bowl or bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. Stir in mascarpone and lemon rind  until just combined.  Spoon mascarpone cream into the cooled tart shell and smooth with a knife or spatula. Top decoratively with the strawberries. When ready to serve, drizzle with the simple syrup.

Looking for more strawberries? Try the Nothing-in-the-House Strawberry Crème Tart or our Strawberry Icebox Pie. Or maybe it's the almond shortbread crust you're after? Then get to this Almond & Grapefruit-Ginger Marmalade Crostata.

Black Bottom Pie (You Make the Rockin' World Go Round)

I only frequented Raleigh's Poole's Diner twice when I lived in the North Carolina piedmont, but twice was enough to know that when Ashley Christensen, the chef of the up-scaled Southern luncheonette shares her pie recipes, you make them. I tried her banana cream pie with salty bourbon caramel for Pi(e) Day and again for a honky-tonk St. Patrick's Day party (I will post that recipe soon, I promise), and have been eyeing the black bottom pie on my Pinterest board (which I've been using lately to track recipe ideas). So when two dear friends with a penchant for sweets came to visit, and with a birthday-and-music party on our dance card for our Saturday evening, I figured it was a chance for somethin' special.

Black bottom pie is another southern favorite which, according to John Edgerton in his Southern Food: At Home, On The Road, In History, surfaced almost simultaneously-- appearing in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' 1942 Cross Creek Cookery as well as in Duncan Hines' Adventures in Good Cooking in the early 1940s. It's called such because of the bottom layer of chocolate custard, which is covered with a layer of vanilla custard, and topped with a healthy (or unhealthy) dose of whipped cream. In this version, marscapone in the custard and coffee in the chocolate layer give it a little extra oomph. I found this recipe to be a little sparse on the vanilla layer, as you can see from the pre-whipped cream and toppings picture above, so next time I make it, I'll set more vanilla custard aside before adding chocolate to the rest. Christensen's calls for 1 cup to be set aside, but I would recommend 1 1/2 cups, for more equal portions of vanilla and chocolate, and a purty three-layered cross section when you slice it.

Black Bottom Pie
Adapted from Poole's Diner via Bon Appetit

Ingredients
For crust:
6 oz. gingersnap cookies
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp. heavy cream

For custard:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin 
1 1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tblsp. rum (dark preferred)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. mascarpone
5 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (I used bittersweet, 60% cacao)
1/4 oz. hot espresso or strong coffee

For topping:
1 c. chilled heavy cream
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. rum (dark preferred)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Unsweetened cocoa powder (for dusting, optional)
Grated or chopped semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (for sprinkling, optional) 

Directions
For crust:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Pulse cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Slowly add melted butter and cream and pulse until fully combined and crust begins to form together. Grease and flour a 9-inch pie pan. Pour crust into pan and use your hands or the back of a measuring cup to pack into the bottom and sides of the dish to form a crust shape. Bake 12-15 minutes or until set. Let cool.

For custard:
1. Pour 2 Tbsp. of water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over. Whisk until incorporated and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat milk and cream in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer. Remove from heat.

2. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, rum, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Gradually mix egg mixture into milk mixture, using the whisk. Return to medium-low heat and cook until thick, about 5 minutes.

3. Remove custard from heat and stir in mascarpone. Place 1 cup custard in a medium bowl and set aside (though this ended up not allowing for enough vanilla custard for me. I would advise setting aside 1 1/2 c. custard). Return saucepan with remaining custard to heat and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Add coffee. Pour chocolate custard into crust and smooth top. Chill until set, about 30 minutes, while keeping vanilla custard at room temperature.

4. Gently pour remaining vanilla custard over the chocolate layer. Be careful not to disturb the chocolate, so that layers set separately! Smooth top and chill for about one hour.

For topping:
1. Using a mixer, beat cream and sugar until cream begins to thicken. Add rum and vanilla, then beat until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over custard, and dust with cocoa powder and sprinkle with chocolate curls or slices.

As it turned out, when we arrived at the party, we found out that there was no birthday cake for the birthday boy, so this black bottom pie was adorned with candles and magically transformed into a black bottom birthday pie (adding to the alliteration)! Then I had the task of cutting lil' tiny slices so everyone could get a piece. Here's my old pal Angela, one of the aforementioned dear friends with a penchant for sweets, with one of the aforementioned wee slices. The slicing of the pie was just what we needed to get the music started. Once it was gone, there was nothing left to do but bust out some Fats Waller & Jelly Roll Morton piano in the living room and later, fiddle tunes with friends in the attic.

This pie is a little bit labor intensive with lots of steps, but is worth it for those double custard rummy layers in a spicy gingersnap crust. It also wasn't overly sweet, which I like, but if you've got a real sweet tooth, then opt for semi-sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet. And as I couldn't stop singing when I was making it, black bottom pie, you make the rockin' world go round! (to the tune of Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls," clearly).

Baltimore Birthday Pies

My friend Justin in Baltimore send in these birthday pie photos from our friend Anna's 30th birthday party. He said,

Here is some pie porn for you. I think Anna sent you a picture from this same occasion, her 30th birthday dinner in Baltimore. Needless to say, your pie day put us to shame, but here we have two delicious pies that are sorely missed, my savory vegetable with the birthday engraving, chickpeas, green beans, potatoes, carrots, onions, and assorted spices including fresh oregano and thyme...


as well as Bob's take on shepherd's pie featuring sweet potatoes, bleu cheese, peas, and I believe the meat was from a turkey.


Wish I could have been there! He also asked if I had a recipe for a vegan pecan pie. Anyone have a good one?

Golden Birthday Pie Party Potluck!

On April 26th, my 26th birthday, I drove up to Stoneset Farm, the home of my friends Nathan & Clara and their young daughters, Eleanor and Magpie, in Brooklin, Maine. They had organized a beautiful pie potluck party for my birthday and the birthday of their friend Fred (the day before). I arrived (with a pear-ginger pie in tow) a little late, to this dreamy scene of a picnic table full of delicious pies (at least 10), dear friends, kids and dogs running about, the start of spring on the farm, and a new little baby Magpie (how apropos) to meet.
 The pie table--note Eleanor's little custard pie in the red dish, and Alison's amazing leeky cheese pie (leeks and all the leftover cheese in her house.) Some other favorites were Clara's (she also took these lovely photos) custard pie with eggs from their chickens, a spinach mushroom eggy pie, a banana cream pie, and a wild Maine blueberry with a few strawberries pie. The spread made for quite a colorful and copious plate of pie and by the end of the afternoon, EVERY pie was completely gone, leaving us wondering how many more pies would we need to add for there to be any leftover? We followed the pie with some fiddle tunes and swinging. I'm so grateful to Nathan and Clara and their friends for making my golden birthday so special--I can't think of a better way to have spent the day. Thank you!

Happy Birthday (Pie), Grant!

For my brother's 21st birthday I made him a fresh cherry pie. I also gave him a bottle of Maredsous beer, which is brewed at the monastery in Belgium where my grandma's cousin Renee is a monk--it was Grant's 21st, after all, and being his older sister, I felt obliged to supply him with some sort of booze).

I used fresh Michigan cherries--part Rainer (the yellow variety) and part Bing (the stains-your-hands-deep-red variety). I had hoped to use sour cherries because they seem to make better and more flavorful pies, but they didn't have any at the local Elkhart, Indiana grocery store.

I used the recipe from my mom's old "Joy of Cooking"(not sure what year). It called for tapioca, but I substituted it for flour because I didn't want it to have that gelatin-like consistency that many cherry pies seem to have. I used my standard crust recipe, though we didn't have whole wheat pastry flour, so I just went with all-purpose.

Thanks to mom for sacrificing her hand's skin tone by cutting the pits out of the cherries (we couldn't find our pitter).

To do the lattice top (a signature mark of cherry pie!) I cut a template out of cardboard so that each strip of dough would be approximately the same width. It was my first independent-attempt at lattice top and I was pleased with how it turned out.

I think my brother was as well, though this picture doesn't do much to show it:

We topped it with DQ soft serve. Don't know if there are pics of us in the pie enjoyment zone, though.

Sneak Preview: Emily's Birthday Cake Pie!

This photo is a SNEAK PREVIEW of the pie-shaped cake I will present to our very own birthday girl later tonight! It's a vanilla cake with a semi-sweet chocolate "crust" and vanilla chocolate chip icing piled high on top. Greg and I are freaking out because it looks so tasty. So happy birthday, Emily! We will dance the night away high on cake-pie in honor of you tonight!

Anticipation!!

Love,
Mandy