weekend fun

for anyone tiring of pictures of my pastry attempts, my apologies in advance. All I do these days is eat pastries and write papers. And who wants to hear about what I have to say on the binary system?! so.... pie it is.

Pie #5 (&6)

Strawberry Rhubarb

 I took a stab at a lattice top- and it was cake! (easy as pie seems like a horrible saying these days.) I had limited dough, so the strips aren't as wide as I'd like, but not too shabby for my first go.

The reason for my limited dough was for an experiment for my next pie. A bacon chocolate cream. I've been doing some research on the best way to execute this idea, as I haven't been able to find any resources of anyone attempting it before.  Luckily working in the food industry I have lots of culinary smarty pants who are happy to let me pick their brains.  After my pastry chef shot down my idea of caramelized bacon crumbles beneath the chocolate cream (it turns out the bacon will sponge up all moisture and turn soggy. and no one likes soggy bacon) I came up with this great idea- sandwich the bacon in the crust! I made these little suckers, and I think I problem solved the crap out of the soggy bacon conundrum. 

behold!  bacon sticks!

I tried a thinner and a thicker bacon.  The thicker of the two won. I'll have to do a thinner crust, and definitely plan on replacing some of the butter in the crust with bacon fat (ohhhhh yummmmmmm) but I think I just might be on to something here.  I can't wait to share my discovery with my pastry chef. And I'll admit- I hope he's impressed with me as I am.

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the best part of my pie project has been eating them up with friends.  the first pie we gobbled up after a beautiful afternoon by the river with our friends Matt and Melissa.  We walked down to sellwood riverfront park, which is just a mile away, and had a blast playing with the dogs and enjoying the sun.  The pups are still recuperation from the exhausting but fun day. 

 Zig doing his part to help to save the planet

M&M's cute pup, Jet.

Bauer barely made it home,

and gave up as soon as he made it in the door.

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One of these things is not like the other:

On our way home from the river, Melissa spotted this little guy- a plastic plant nestled amongst the living. You're not fooling anybody, mister. Maybe I should give that type of gardening (that would be the fake kind) a go!

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My girlfriend Emily is moving into a new place this week, so she had me and our friend Jillian over for desserts and one last hurrah on her darling porch. I brought my second pie to share with them (sadly, my battery was almost dead, so photos were limited and not so great) and had lots of laughs while we filled our bellies with pie and Emily's divine molasses cookies.

I met Jillian and Emily at the Grill (although they've both since left me behind as they've moved on to bigger things) and I adore them both.  Emily is a force to be reckoned with.  She is always involved with a million things- her motivation is amazing.  She's a yoga instructor, trail builder, and am pretty sure you'd find her name under the definition of "great friend".  Jillian could not be more different than me and I love it. I have never met such a girlie girl- there is never a time you won't find her in heels. But unlike most of my encounters with designer shoe loving girls, doesn't have a stuck up bone in her body and is one of the most genuine, sweet people I have ever met.  With her guidance I may become a lady yet!

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Caitlyn Joi and I had another bakery tour pastry date last week.  This visit was to Petite Provence. Everything was delicious, and as always, the company lovely.  However, I learned that stuffing yourself with a rich pastry isn't always the best idea right before a two hour lecture.

It was a great joint with very impressive sweets, but I still prefer the more homey bakeries. The type that feel like grandma's in the back baking up a storm. The apple rhubarb tart won the prize.

triumphant failure

Pie #4: fail #1

banana cream 

I type before you today, oh computer, with my head hung low, but with a full belly-o-pie just the same.  I made my 4th pie and it did not go as well as planned. It started out great- the dough was perfect. I could feel it in my bones that this pie would be a success!... until I had the wise idea to to try it in a spring-form pan, as it it much larger than any pie pan I have.  My greed ultimately lead to the pie's demise. the edges, surprise surprise, did not stay up well at all and folded down like a poor schmuck with bad posture.  Of course this is the pie night that caitlyn joi was bringing over a pie of her own, so I didn't dare end up completely pie-less.  I'm glad I stuck it out, as it actually tasted pretty great.  the crust was a bit thick,  especially when paired with the pie filling which was more than a bit shallow due to the lack of depth my slumpy crust provided- but I couldn't have had a more flaky crust and the filling set up perfectly.  

caitlyn joi's had attempted her first ever meringue pie, a lemon. and it was gorgeous.

 

  check out those golden brown peaks!  and it was delicious to boot! 

We've decided to enter a pie contest in August, so now my baking quest has some sort of end goal.

 Four months should give me time to become a semi-pro. 

A perfect pie wasn't all Caitlyn Joi had brought either.  She bestowed upon me her first handmade apron- complete with custom pie screen printing.  I am officially a maker of pies!

Never before have I looked so domestic!

Ccaitlyn's beautiful pie made my first disaster all the more painful- but the apron made it all worth it. and I even convinced her to let me pose with her pie to make me feel better.

i tried a first of my own this weekend, too. biscuits! i don't mean to brag.... but they were AWE.SOME. 

I feel like I'm being a horrible girlfriend by subjecting Ben to his inevitable heart attack from all the mass amounts of buttery baked goods we've been consuming, but so far we've managed to avoid packing on the pounds-- and have even managed to lose a few! (biscuits and pie! best weight loss solution ever!)  having the beautiful Portland weather back after a particularly gray winter, it's been great to spend more time out side. staying active can become such a challenge in all the rain. extra long walks with the dogs and hanging out in the yard has been great and makes me so excited for summer. 

  

Now all I need is a BBQ....

It turns out taking pictures of my kitchen is a bit challenging- it isn't the most roomy of spaces and doesn't have an awful lot of light. Here's a peak at our finished smurf and kermit cupboards. it's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do in an outdated house!

 

baking quests 2010

spring has arrived and it has me buzzing around like a bee. i don't know where all of this sudden motivation has come from, but i'll ride it out as long as i can and enjoy this feeling people refer to as "accomplished". i started my (drum roll, please) final term at pcc, after which i will have my associates all set and ready to transfer me to a real school!  my ten year plan is working out perfectly!

after 5 months of being surrounded by beige, tan, and all colors boring, permission from the landlord for adding some color was granted!

we went with a bold blue and green which we now refer to as "smurf" and "kermit". the living room wall, bathroom and kitchen cupboards all look bright and happy and makes me that much more antsy for the rain to be done with for a few months.

after a delicious run in with a grand central's berry pie, fully equipped with the most divine pie crust i had ever put in my mouth, i have declared the spring of 2010 to be the spring of pie!  i have decided that i will make several pies a month until i can master the art of the pie crust.  so far i feel pretty confident that i am on my road to success in achieving the perfect pie crust! 

#1 Ginger Peach

#2 Strawberry Blueberry

#3 Peach Strawberry Rhubarb

i haven't had problems finding help to eat them up, which i'm taking as a good sign. the good tasting part is proving to be much easier than the beautifin'.   i have plans to give a lattice top a go, but for now i've been sticking with decorative hearts (courtesy of miss kaycee jacklin and the lovely valentine cookie cutters i received from her!) the third was probably the best, which has been encouraging. soon enough i think i might just be able to master this pie making thing!

 sacrificing good hair days in the name of pie! 

i'm not the only one keeping busy in the kitchen.  i was spoiled rotten this week by chef ben.  he made one of my favorites, his orange chicken, friday night which made for a great accompaniment for our kung fu movie watching. 

oh but he didn't stop there! 

ben started his 2010 baking quest- the perfect biscuits and gravy. 

he is certainly well on his way! his benja-biscuits & gravy were phenomenal.