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.
5 comments:
All your pies look so fabulous! I wish I could be there to eat them with you. Job well done!
Also, I cannot get over how adorable those pictures of Bauer are! Especially the one where he's sprawled out on the floor. (And Ziggy is still just as adorable as ever).
Oh I also forgot to mention this on your last post, but I love the paint job in your kitchen. The colors turned out great.
That pie looks amazing. I think I'm going to make a key lime ice creamy type pie this weekend... Pie....
In our current neighborhood and our last neighborhood people planted plastic flowers in their beds. So weird.
Funny funny picture of Bauer. I laughed out loud.
I gain wieght just reading your blog.
xo
Wow! Good lookin' pies. Liam's response was "Hey, we should go dare, to 'Nells house to eat!" -Good idea. We miss you.
i'm glad bauer brought some smiles. he is a very entertaining pup. i love how bauer will just give up on his sad little legs. there is a little grassy mound a block from my house that he stops for a rest every time we go more than a couple blocks on our walks. if he could talk, i'm pretty sure his voice would sound like a mix between eeyore and wylie burp (jimmy stewart) in fievel goes west. poor zig is just too dumb to know he's tired.
Jenny- you have some awesome neighbors. that's hilarious- I had no idea this was a common occurrence! how was your pie?! i've never made a keylime, but it's one of ben's favorite so I should maybe consider putting it on my list.
Dani- I will make Liam whatever pie he wants if he comes to visit!
Heather- as someone who has great taste I appreciate the paint job approval! :)
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