Five Holiday Pies on PBS Food

I was very excited when the writers of PBS Food asked if I would contribute a piece. All those years developing my part-Julia Child part-Mrs. Doubtfire cooking show host alter-ego Emily Pothole (pronounced poth-ole) finally paid off! Their request though, however unfortunately, was not for a prime-time TV spot between Martha Stewart and Mark Bittman, but instead for a written piece on their blog, to accompany their other "Five Ideas" holiday features. Though ENJOYING LIFE with Emily Pothole and Ms. Amanda Deitermeyer will have to be put on the back burner (so to speak), I was happy to oblige.

Five Ideas for Holiday Pies, though nothing especially new for Nothing-in-the-House readers, is a round-up of some of my favorite mostly seasonal and rather simple pie recipes for your winter celebration.  Check it out for blurbs on Shaker Orange Tarts, Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie, a Cranberry Lime Galette, Nutella Pie, and Apple Pie with Salted Caramel Glaze. And stay right here for all the recipes.

Pie Almanac Release Party!

Our Pie Almanac Release Party last night at Ginger Root was SO. MUCH. FUN!  Except for one film shot of Diego (pictured in the Speculoos PEZ previously) eating the last crumbs of the Nutella Pie with a big smirk on his face, I only took pictures of pie, but the above Instagrams by Grant Dickie, Morgan of Panda Head and Carla of TPWP can help set the scene. It was really wonderful to see so many friends, and meet lots of new ones, all of whom were so encouraging and supportive and pumped on pie and pie art. Elizabeth and I want to extend a very big thank you to the Ginger Root gals for hosting us in their lovely space, DJ Dianamatic for playing awesome jams, and everyone who came, bought a book, sampled pie, or said hello. I even had two pals, Annie & Diego who drove all the way from Charlottesville! That little surprise made me feel really good.

I know some people were asking for recipes for the pies that were offered last night. Our selections were:
Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan
Nutella Pie
Shaker Lemon Pie (Shaker Orange Tart version here)
Speculoos Pie
Spiced Pumpkin Sorghum Pie (adapted from this recipe)
Sweet Potato Speculoos Pie (coming soon!)

If you missed the party, you can still order the almanac on Etsy here, where you can also find more of Elizabeth Graeber's work, like the framed pie prints pictured here! The almanac is now also for sale at local shops including Ginger Root and Meeps-- We'll keep you posted as they appear other places. Thanks again to everyone for their support and happy pie making!

Nutella Icebox Pie

It's winter. And when you're into (somewhat) seasonal baking and fresh ingredients are your game, this time of year can be a challenge. However, the cold season can also provide a great excuse for using "non-perishable" items for pie fillings such as... nutella. Nutella is already a cheater's ingredient, as it is the auspicious pairing of two delicious things--hazelnut and chocolate--that I daresay are greater than the sum of their parts. The Italian delight is versatile enough to be spread on your morning toast or late-night crepe, stuffed inside a doughnut, or poured in a pie crust.

We had an "It's a Wonderful Life" screening/holiday party at our house, featuring the movie projected on a sheet, blankets on the floor--picnic style, and a treats table already loaded with overflowing popcorn bowls, incredible chocolate-peppermint ice cream "sammiches," and the savory dark horse of homemade macaroni and cheese. I had seen some nutella pie recipes bandying about the internet, so I thought it would be a good addition to the #occupypottersville smorgasboard. Here's the recipe I used, adapted from Hill Country Cook.

Nutella Icebox Pie

Ingredients

For crust:

2 sleeves Oreos (or chocolate sandwich cookie substitute)

3 Tblsp. butter, melted

2 Tblsp. sugar (could probably do without since Oreos are already quite sweet)

For filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2/3 c. powdered sugar, plus 2 Tblsp.

3/4 c. nutella

2 c. heavy whipping cream

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

For crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pulse cookies in a food processor until they form a fairly fine powder. Mix in melted butter and sugar until well incorporated. 

2. Pat filling into a 9 or 10-in. pie plate, reserving a few crumbs for topping. Bake crust for 7 minutes, let cool, then put in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

For filling:

1. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and 2/3 c. powdered sugar using a hand mixer, about one minute. Add 3/4 cup nutella and beat until fluffy, about three minutes (continue even once it's combined so filling gets fluffy). 

2. In a separate bowl, beat 1c. of the heavy whipping cream, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar until stiff peaks have formed- approximately 3-4 minutes. Starting with 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Once it's combined, add the remaining whipped cream to the chocolate mixture, folding gently until thoroughly mixed. 

3. Pour the mixture into the cookie crust. Freeze approximately 4 hours or until firm (I think mine only froze for 1-2 hrs). Twenty minutes before serving, remove pie from freezer and let sit at room temperature. Beat remaining 1 c. of heavy whipping cream with 1 tsp. vanilla and extra powdered sugar, maple syrup, or bourbon to taste. Top pie with whipped cream mixture and sprinkle on cookie crumbs. Enjoy!

I have been making pretty intense pies as of late (see dark chocolate sea salt tart with candied pecans) and this one was no exception, with the triple threat of cream cheese, whipped cream, and nutella. The intense flavor and smooth filling did pair well with the swimmin' Charleston, a charmingly off-key rendition of Buffalo Gals, and parallelled the sweet revenge when George Bailey sticks it to mean ol' Potter. Bedford Falls, welcome to the Pie Enjoyment Zone. 

Related recipes:

Speculoos Icebox Pie