The Nifty Foodie

Pies

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Pie

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by OXO. I received free products in exchange for this post. A charitable donation was also made to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer in exchange for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Pie
According to the dollar spot at Target, as well as the baristas at Starbucks, it is FALL Y’ALL!

FINALLY.

(Yes, I know calendar-wise, it’s not TECHNICALLY Fall…but I’ll take what I can get!)

I’ve officially switched my home decor to Fall, and I’m currently warming ALL of the Fall Scentsy fragrances I can get my mitts on.

Also, I’m in full-on Fall baking mode. HELLO, pumpkin pie. <3
Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Pie

I decided to make a classic pumpkin pie with a slight twist. While I was at the store, I came across some dulce de leche, and thought that it would be PERFECT with this pie. Caramel + Pumpkin go really well together. It worked beautifully in this pie. I used my favorite all-butter pie crust, and adapted one of my favorite pumpkin pie recipes to make this fantastic dessert. I got a handful of compliments from coworkers the other day when I made this. It was a winner!

I highly encourage you to make your own pie crust from scratch, by the way. It’s super easy, doesn’t take much time at all, and the flavor in this crust is just so rich and buttery. It’s worth it!

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Pie

OXO sent me some amazing products to make the perfect pie! One thing I really love about OXO is that they really, truly make the cooking & baking experience easier on the home-cook! I’ve loved the OXO brand for years, and these products are a great addition to our kitchen tools.

I received the following products to use/review:

I have always been really cautious about glass bakeware lately, because of the risk of it shattering. However, OXO put me a little more at ease with their thermal shock resistant borosilicate glass. OXO claims that this means that it can go from freezer to oven without the need to thaw, which is awesome! I didn’t test this out, but the pie plate performed really well for me!

I also especially loved the measuring tools that they included. I already have (AND LOVE) the full set of their angled measuring cups, so getting another 4-cup one is awesome! The measuring spoons are especially awesome, because they connect via a magnet vs. constantly having to take them on/off loops to keep them all together. It’s GENIUS.

The double pastry wheel and silicone pastry brush seem really well-built, and they also performed really well. All in all, I really enjoyed all of these products!

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Pie

Pumpkin Dulce De Leche Pie
Source: Pie Filling adapted from Libby’s & Pie Crust is from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
For the crust:

For the filling:

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • 3 large eggs, divided
  • 1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
  • 4 oz. dulce de leche

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out your pie crust into two even-sized circles, that would fit into the pie dish. Rub butter on the inside of a 9″ pie dish, and press one of the crusts into the pie dish.
  2. To make the filling, mix the granulated sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat two of the eggs together, until well-mixed. Add in the pumpkin puree and sugar/spice mixture, and mix well. Then, gradually stir in the evaporated milk.
  3. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie shell-lined dish, and then drizzle the 4 oz. of dulce de leche on top of the filling (not on the crust).
  4. Optional: Using a pastry wheel, cut the last pie circle into 1/2 inch strips, and place over the pie in a lattice pattern.
  5. Place the last egg in a small bowl or mug, and beat until well-mixed together. Using the pastry brush, brush the edges of the crust, as well as the top of the crust (if you are using a double crust) with the egg wash.
  6. Bake the pie in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, and then reduce the temperature down to 350 degrees F. Bake the pie for another 40-50 minutes (checking the pie every 10 minutes or so to see if the pie crust edges need to be covered with a pie shield to prevent burning), or until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool the baked pie on a wire rack for 2 hours, and serve immediately or refrigerate.

Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Pie + GIVEAWAY!

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Disclosure: The folks at Greek Gods yogurt sent me product coupons to develop this recipe. They are also providing the giveaway prize within this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Pie

I’m not necessarily the strongest cook in my family. Most of the time, I can nail a recipe, but there are times when I totally have a fail.

For example, I burnt a batch of white rice in the rice cooker this weekend. Yep….rice.

Whenever stuff like this happens, I have to get back into baking again. I’m less likely to have a baking fail vs. a cooking fail, so it’s a bit of a boost when I whip up something delicious after a silly fail like that. 😛

The folks at Greek Gods yogurt reached out to me, asking me to somehow incorporate greek yogurt into a pie, since Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I’ve used yogurt substitutions before in baking with great results, so I was excited to try this out on a true classic: pumpkin pie.

When we tried this pie the other night, you couldn’t even tell that it wasn’t the traditional pumpkin pie. It was a lovely, smooth texture, and it still had that delicious pumpkin pie flavor that I’ve grown to know and love. The recipe is pretty simple…for the filling, you just dump everything in a bowl, mix and add to the pie crust. And if you don’t have time to make a crust, you can totally use a store-bought pie shell.

Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Pie
Source: an original

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Roll out the pie crust enough to fill a pie dish. Carefully place the rolled out dough in the pie dish, pressing gently against the bottom and sides of the dish to line the pie dish.
  3. In a large bowl, add the pumpkin puree, greek yogurt, granulated sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice and heavy cream. Mix everything together for a couple of minutes, until well-mixed.
  4. Carefully pour the pie filling into the pie dish, smoothing out the top. Place the pie in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes at 425. Then, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake for 45-55 minutes. Halfway through the baking process, you will want to add foil on top of the pie crust edges, to avoid burning.
  5. Allow the pie to cool for 2 hours. Serve warm or place in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Enjoy!

For other great recipes that use greek yogurt, check out Greek Gods yogurt’s Facebook page. They have quite a few great holiday recipe ideas, ranging from a Pumpkin Pie Trifle to Greek Yogurt Biscuits!

The generous folks at Greek Gods yogurt are offering one reader of The Nifty Foodie 10 free product coupons (approximate value, up to $50) to get you started with your holiday pie baking.

Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below (continental US readers only):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: This giveaway is supplied by Greek Gods yogurt, and is open to readers in the continental US only. Entries will be accepted until November 12th, 2015 at 11:59pm (central standard time). Winner will be emailed (make sure you leave an email address in the form), and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

 

Chocolate Glazed Tart with Strawberries

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Disclosure: I received a gift card and coupons for ingredients used in this recipe, in exchange for this sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Chocolate Tart with Strawberries

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it’s hard not to think of the classic chocolate covered strawberries. It’s just the perfect, simple treat to enjoy for the holiday. You simply clean/dry the berries, melt chocolate over a double boiler, dip, allow to dry (if you can wait) and enjoy! If you’d like to make things more festive and decorative, Driscoll’s has a few ideas here.

I wanted to make this treat even more indulgent, by placing chocolate covered strawberries on top of an indulgent, chocolate tart. While this may look intimidating, the recipe is fairly simple. With a chocolate sandwich cookie crust, truffle-like filling and a chocolate glaze, this heavenly dessert would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day dessert! Topping this dessert with chocolate covered berries and white chocolate drizzle is just the cherry on top of the sundae. 🙂

Chocolate Tart with Strawberries

As much as I love chocolate, I have to confess something to y’all. My husband does not like chocolate. I know…I KNOW. I like to joke that while it’s a bummer, I absolutely know for a fact that no one else in our house is touching my chocolate stash haha!

Chocolate Glazed Tart with Strawberries
Source: slightly adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 25 chocolate sandwich cookies, finely ground in a food processor
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

For the glaze:

  • 2 tbsp. heavy cream
  • 1 3/4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp. light corn syrup
  • 1 tbsp. warm water

For the topping:

  • 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 tsp. + 1/8 tsp. canola oil, divided
  • 12 medium to large sized Driscoll’s strawberries, cleaned and dried
  • 2 oz. white chocolate, roughly chopped
  • sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

  1. To make the crust, adjust an oven rack to the middle rack, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Stir together the ground chocolate sandwich cookies and butter. Then press the mixture evenly into the bottom and 3/4″ up the side of a 9″ fluted tart pan. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes, or until firm. Allow the crust to cool on a rack for 15-20 minutes.
  3. To make the filling, bring the heavy cream to a boil, and pour the hot cream over the bittersweet chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, allowing the mixture to stand for 5 minutes. Gently stir the mixture until smooth. Whisk the eggs, vanilla and salt together in another bowl. Add 1 tbsp. of the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, mixing well (this is to prevent the eggs from scrambling once the egg/chocolate mixtures come together), then add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture.
  4. Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Place the tart pan in a baking sheet (just in case there’s leaks). Place the tart pan in the oven, baking for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is set about 3 inches from the edge, but the center is still jiggly. Allow the tart to cool completely in the tart pan on the cooling rack, about 1 hour.
  5. To make the glaze, bring the heavy cream to a boil and remove the cream from heat. Stir in the chocolate, until the mixture is smooth. Then, stir in the corn syrup and warm water.
  6. Pour the glaze on top of the tart, and then gently tilt and rotate the tart to allow the glaze to coat the top evenly. Allow the glaze to stand until the glaze is set, about 1 hour.
  7. To make the berries, while the glaze is setting, place the bittersweet chocolate and 1/4 tsp. of the canola oil in a double boiler, stirring often until melted. Set a parchment paper or wax paper lined baking pan on the side. Dip each berry in the chocolate, up to about 1/4 from the top of the strawberry. Place the dipped berries on the parchment/wax paper lined baking sheet, about an inch from each other. If you’d like, you can add sprinkles on top of the chocolate. Allow the strawberries to set for about 10 minutes (they will still be slightly wet).
  8. Arrange the berries on top of the tart. If you’d like to stack the berries, they will still be slightly wet to allow them to stick to each other. Melt the white chocolate and 1/8 tsp. of canola oil in a double boiler, and then drizzle the white chocolate over the tart and berries. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Peppermint Mousse Pie

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Disclosure: I received a copy of “Southern Living Christmas All Through the South” at no cost to me, for a fair and honest review. Southern Living/YC Media is providing the giveaway item. All opinions are 100% my own.

White Chocolate Peppermint Mousse Pie

I’ve had a really rough past week. Two deaths in my family (one being my grandmother and the other being the family dog) happened, and I just don’t know how to stop randomly crying when I start thinking about a world without either of them. I know that humans > dog, and my grandmother and family dog don’t compare. They don’t. Just two large pieces of bad news, and I’m terrible at grieving. I do know that they are both no longer suffering ,and that gives me a bit of solace. It’s just really hard with the holidays around the corner.

I’m an early holiday celebrator. I just love the holidays, as I’m sure this is no secret to y’all. However, when my husband offered to take down the decorations this week (the same husband who is firmly in the post-Thanksgiving decorating camp), I said no. I’m just not feeling the holiday spirit right now. The idea of taking everything down and making the house Christmas-y is suddenly making me a bit overwhelmed. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if I would be perfectly content just taking down the gift wrap and not decorating at all this year. This is so not like me. I’ve tried watching “Christmas Vacation”, listening to Christmas Pandora, and I’m just meh about it all. I know this has a lot to do with our family’s losses, so I’m hoping my mini holiday funk will pass.

In another attempt to get the holiday spirit back, I decided to make something with holiday flavors. I was sent a review copy of Southern Living Christmas All Through the South, and I picked out the most seasonal sounding recipe to me at the time to whip up: White Chocolate-Peppermint Mousse Pie. Peppermint Bark is one of my favorites around the holidays, and I thought with the chocolate cookie crust and white chocolate peppermint mousse, I couldn’t go wrong with this recipe. Something about whipping egg whites and heavy cream into fluffy goodness is oddly therapeutic. Just watching the components come together distracted me enough to forget about the bad news for a while. It was really pleasant…

Hopefully, I’ll shake out of this mini funk soon. I’m just going to take this weekend to relax a bit, since I feel like this has been the longest week ever. I need Monday.

…

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Mini Apple Tartlets

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applepietarts

Well, yesterday was Mardi Gras. Usually, I’m super jazzed about it, but I’ve had a lot going on in my personal life, and Mardi Gras sort of just snuck up on me. I’m glad I didn’t get my hopes up too much about parading though…we had SLEET on Mardi Gras Day. SLEET…ICE…they closed roads…in Louisiana…in March! Let that sink in for a little bit. This winter has been a weird one..

Now that Mardi Gras season is over, and I’m mourning over an empty king cake box, I have to face what I’m giving up during the lenten season: candy and soda. I was really considering all refined  & artificial sugar, but I really want it to be something I know I can handle. Soda is hard enough (diet coke addict here!), but candy during Easter season? Ugh…I’ll buy a box of Cadbury eggs for the week after Easter. 😛 Hopefully, this will kick my sweet tooth to the side for a while…I really need to stop craving Reese’s cups darnit!

Speaking of the sweet tooth, I’m still thinking about these mini tartlets that I made for my Opal Apple dessert party. They were so simple to make, and they made quite a bit for a party! I think this would be a perfect dessert to throw together at the last minute, and if you have some caramel sauce or ice cream lying around, they would be perfection on these!

Mini Apple Tartlets
Source: Opal Apples

Ingredients:

  • 2 Opal apples, peeled, cored & chopped
  • 1/8 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp. candied ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp. water
  • 2 packages (containing 15 each) mini phyllo dough cups

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan, add all ingredients, except for the phyllo dough cups. Heat the apple mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cover. Cook the mixture for about 5 minutes and remove the mixture from the heat.
  3. Once slightly cooled, fill each phyllo cup with a tsp. of the apple filling. Place the cups on the prepared baking sheet, and bake them for 8-10 minutes. They’re best served warm, but also taste great at room temperature!

Disclosure: I’m a 2014 brand ambassador for Opal Apple. I was compensated in the form of free products, a party kit with all printed materials necessary for the party, and a gift card. All opinions are 100% my own.

Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carton Smart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

triplechocolatepumpkinpie

With the holidays just days away, I'm starting to make my to-do lists and finalize the menu for the big Christmas dinner. We're hosting my husband's family this year, which is about 20 people, so the menu is getting a bit crazy. Thankfully, we have some family members willing to help out, and bring some dishes, but you guys know me…I'm all about the desserts! 🙂
 
When it comes to the holidays, I always enjoy a good homemade pumpkin pie, and this year, I wanted to try something different since chocolate & pumpkin are a match made in heaven: triple chocolate pumpkin pie.
 
Yup…that's pie with bittersweet chocolate spread on top of a graham cracker crust, along with chocolate in the pumpkin pie batter, topped with a milk chocolate drizzle. If that doesn't scream holiday decadence, I don't know what does!
 

pacific1
 

I was recently sent a package of products from Pacific Foods, and was asked to use one of their products to make a holiday dish. I chose the organic pumpkin puree to make this pie.
 
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They also sent me a container of organic cranberry sauce and chicken stock.
 
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One of the great things Pacific Foods has is their packaging. Their products are packed in Tetra Pak cartons, which is great for many reasons…the main one to me being that there are no preservatives. For example, the cranberry sauce ingredients are organic cranberries, organic cane sugar and water. That's it!
 
Here's more information about Tetra Pack packaging on the graphic below:
 
photo 1898ca76-3272-4baf-a8df-07abf60e15e3_zps1bf425e9.jpg
 
Based on the information above, how do you think you can be #CartonSmart this holiday season? You can also learn more by checking out their Carton Smart page (link below), as well as their social media sites:
 
triplechocolatepumpkinpie2
Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
Source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

For the crust:

 
  • 2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
  • 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 3 oz. bittersweet (61%) chocolate, finely chopped

For the filling:

  • 6 oz. semisweet (55%) chocolate, chopped
  • 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
  • 15 oz. pumpkin puree
  • 12 oz. can evaporated milk
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp. cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
  • 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • pinch of ground cloves

For the drizzle:

  • 1 oz. milk chocolate, melted

Directions:

  1. To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt and cinnamon. Evenly press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a deep 9 1/2 inch pie dish. Bake the crust until firm and fragrant, for about 8-10 minutes.
  2. Remove the pie dish from the oven and immediately sprinkle the bittersweet chocolate pieces over the bottom of the crust. Return the pie dish to the oven for about 1 minute, until the chocolate is melted. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate in a thin layer on the bottom and up the sides of the crust. Allow the crust to cool on a wire rack and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
  3. While the crust is cooling, make the pie filling. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the semisweet chocolate and butter together in 30 second increments on 50% power, stirring well between each cycle, until the chocolate is smooth and melted.
  4. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt and spices together until everything is well-mixed. While whisking the chocolate, slowly add in 1/3 of the pumpkin puree mixture to the chocolate mixture. Once that's mixed well, add in the rest of the pumpkin puree mixture and whisk until everyhing is well incorporated.
  5. Place the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet and pour the pumpkin/chocolate mixture into the crust. You may have some extra filling (you could bake this in ramekins for mini servings…it will take less time to bake, though), so only fill the pie dish until you have about 1/4 inch of space left at the top (for rising).
  6. Bake the pie until the center is set, but still wobbly, for about 55-60 minutes. Allow the pie to cool in the pie dish on a wire rack, and then refrigerate the pie until chilled (at least 8 hours or overnight). Before serving the pie, drizzle the milk chocolate over the top. Enjoy!

Disclosure: I was compensated by SocialSpark to write this post, and was sent product samples from Pacific Foods at no cost to me. All opinions are 100% my own.

 

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Sweet Potato Pie

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sweetpotatopie

I went to the grocery store tonight, since they had cream cheese for 99 cents. When it gets this low in price, I do the annual stock-up for cheesecake season. See, this cheesecake has made me famous between our families, and well, that cheesecake calls for 4 blocks of cream cheese. It can get spendy during the holiday season, so it’s always fun to go to the store to stock up and request 30ish boxes of cream cheese. A bit crazy, but I use every last bit of it. 🙂

I was thinking about cheesecake the other day when it came to brainstorming Thanksgiving recipes, and what bothered me is that I never make something traditional for the holiday. So, I wanted to try to make sweet potato pie.

When I went to Fresh Summit, I connected with a company called Frieda’s Produce, and they generously offered to send me one of their featured produce items for me try. When I saw these potatoes on their list, I just had to try them, and the first thing that popped in my head was to try pie. Yes, these are purple sweet potatoes, and I can’t tell you how many times I was asked if I used food dye to enhance the color. Nope…these potatoes are very purple. It’s gorgeous, and they taste great, too!

This pie was definitely the classic pie that I’ve loved for years. It’s not too sweet, but with the bourbon and molasses in there, the flavor was much deeper and richer. This dessert makes me want to curl up on the couch with an electric blanket and drink warm hot chocolate along with a slice of this.

Sweet Potato Pie
Source: filling from Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, pie crust via Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs. sweet potatoes
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs + 2 large yolks
  • 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsp. bourbon
  • 1 tbsp. molasses
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 recipe pie dough (this recipe is meant for a double-crust pie, so half will work for this single-crust pie), partially baked and still warm

Directions:

  1. Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Poke each sweet potato several times with a paring knife or fork all over the entire surface. Place the potatoes on a paper towel-lined microwave safe plate and microwave the potatoes until they are tender, but not completely mushy (about 10 minutes…the purple potatoes need to cook longer so they took 15 minutes), being sure to flip the potatoes halfway through the microwaving. Take the sweet potatoes out of the microwave, and peel the skin off of each sweet potato carefully while holding the potato with a towel or potholder to prevent from burning yourself. You should end up with about 2 cups of sweet potato after peeling.
  3. While the potatoes are still hot, add the butter and mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher until a few small lumps remain. In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, eggs, egg yolks, nutmeg and salt. Add in the bourbon, molasses and vanilla extract, and stir those into the potato mixture. Whisk in the milk.
  4. Slowly add the egg mixture to the mashed potato mixture, stirring/whisking gently until just combined.
  5. Sprinkle the dark brown sugar evenly over the pre-baked pie crust, and then pour the sweet potato mixture on top. Bake the pie for about 45 minutes, until the edges are set, but the center will still jiggle slightly when shaken. Allow the pie to cool to room temperature before serving.

Disclosure: I was sent a 5 lb. case of Stokes Purple Sweet Potatoes at no cost to me to sample. All opinions are 100% my own.

The 9Chefs Baking Competition

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A couple of weeks ago, I posted about peppermint bark chess pie. I adapted the pie recipe for the 9Chefs Baking Competition, which was aired on WAFB (a local news station). I can’t tell you how many times I made that pie to practice, but it was to the point to where I pretty much didn’t need to look at the recipe for the competition.

I was INCREDIBLY nervous about this competition. The whole week of the competition, I would randomly get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Would I drop my pie? Add salt instead of sugar? Look ridiculous on camera? I also had dreams about how it would go….I know it’s ridiculous sounding, but I’ve never done anything like this.

The morning of the competition, I left my house an hour early just to give myself ample time to settle in at the culinary institute (where it was held/taped). Well, typical Friday traffic didn’t happen, because there was a terrible accident on the Interstate, which, despite me leaving an hour early, I was 10 minutes late. I was the last one there…how embarrassing. 🙁 I seriously thought I was going to get kicked out for being late.

When I arrived, I learned that we were going to be wearing chef jackets. Um…WAY COOL. After that, it was a whirlwind, but I remember we had a few minutes to set up our stations (we were allowed to bring any tools/appliances from home, so I had a bit to unpack haha) before interviews. Then, right after, the competition would start.

The competition allowed us 3 hours to bake two pies. One for tasting and one for presentation. With the pie I wanted to make, I knew I had to get it in the oven within the first hour, to give it ample cooling time. One thing I didn’t expect was that there were culinary students there to help us gather ingredients, and while we were frantically rolling pie dough and making fillings, the students washed our dishes for us. It was so appreciated. I’m sure the students have no idea this blog exists, but if they happen to see this, Thank You. Also, a HUGE thanks to the Louisiana Culinary Institute (LCI) for allowing us to use their kitchen, their ingredients and their equipment. It was very interesting (intimidating at first) to use commercial equipment, but with the help of the students and instructors from LCI, it wasn’t bad at all.

That first hour, I was completely in the zone. The room was actually VERY quiet, and I thought it would be crazy/loud/hectic like you see on Chopped, but every competitor was quietly doing their thing. It was so cool to glance around to see what everyone was making, and to watch how everyone works differently in the kitchen. After the first hour, I relaxed a bit and worked on decorations/whipped cream topping. I also got to really take this whole experience in once the pies were in the oven….that first hour, the room felt so quiet, but after everyone had their pies in, we all would just randomly chat and it became a pretty friendly environment, which I didn’t expect at all. It was a relief, but we were all amateur home bakers…I think we were all pretty nervous about it. Once my pies were out of the oven (about 2 hours in), I concentrated on cleaning my station/packing my tools and letting my pies cool.

9Chefs Baking Competition

After 3 hours, this is the display that I left for the judges. My pies could have cooled a bit more, and man, I was SO nervous slicing the pie that quite a few of them just broke (compared to the blog photo from the recipe post). I was really hoping that the taste would make up for it. 🙂

9Chefs Baking Competition

Once the competition was over, we went to a waiting room to allow the judges to taste the pies and did our post-competition interviews. I think that’s when the butterflies really set in. My pies came out great but of course, I had to question if I did enough….

If you’d like to see how the competition went down, here’s the video on YouTube. If you want to skip to the results, just drag the player to about 20 minutes in. 🙂

One of the big questions my friends and family have asked me is if I would do this again. In a heartbeat. I really loved it!

Thanks again to WAFB and LCI for the wonderful opportunity, and congratulations to the winners!

Top 10 Recipes of 2012

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Man, what a year it has been! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with their friends and family. 🙂

Most years, I feel like time has flown by, but for some reason, it feels like last January was truly a year ago. So many great things have happened to us this year (as well as some really crappy events).  

Some highlights and not so highlights:

  • It was our first full year in our new house, which has been such a blessing. It’s just awesome to finally have friendly neighbors, who don’t throw their trash in our backyard or play loud music at 2am (side-eye to the neighbors at the old house).
  • My husband and I have both decided to live healthier. Between us, we’ve lost over 150 lbs. this year. (I’m sure my husband is rolling his eyes at me sharing this, but seriously..I’m gonna brag here!) That’s just amazing to me. I’m so proud of us.
  • Another weight loss highlight. I fit into a clothes size that I haven’t been able to wear since 10th grade. That was 12 years ago. OMG!
  • A not so highlight. Hurricane Isaac…don’t want to go into too much detail with that one, but yeah, hurricanes suck. Oh, and for the record, labradors don’t care if the winds are 50 mph outside. If there’s rain/water, it’s playtime! (ugh)
  • I think I’m making some good progress on my 101 Goals in 1001 Days list.

And of course, it’s been another fun year blogging. I really appreciate all of y’all taking the time to read my tiny corner of the Internet. Thank you for your sweet comments, emails and tweets. In January, it’s gonna be this blog’s 5th anniversary, and I’m just amazed by all of the friends I’ve made and people I’ve “met”  through this blog. You guys are the best!

Just to round up the year, I wanted to share with y’all your top 10 most read posts from 2012.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies w/ Salted Caramel Buttercream

10. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Salted Caramel Buttercream – These whoopie pies were made for a work fundraiser, and they were a huge success. Great pumpkin/spicy flavor, and the salted caramel buttercream just makes them super indulgent. Pumpkin + caramel is a wonderful combination!

Red Velvet Bundt Cake

9. Red Velvet Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – I love anything red velvet. This bundt cake is a fun change from a regular cake, and it was pretty easy to throw together and bake!

Baked Oatmeal

8. Baked Oatmeal – My breakfast has been forever changed by this. This oatmeal is not soggy at all (which I hate about cooked oats), and it’s very sweet with the addition of bananas.

Peanut Butter Cookies

7. Peanut Butter Cookies – Just simple, classic peanut butter cookies. 🙂 Very good!

Candy Corn Oreo Truffles

6. Candy Corn Oreo Truffles – Oreo truffles are insanely good, and it was fun to make these with seasonal flavors. Always a favorite when I bring these truffles to work!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

5. Fresh Strawberry Pie – I’m SO glad strawberry season is back. I need to make this pie again…it’s not rich at all, and since it involves no cooking (except for the crust), it tastes so fresh!

Snickers Cupcakes

4. Snickers Cupcakes – Oh, I totally need to make these again. If you love Snickers, you will LOVE these!

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

3. Homemade Strawberry Lemonade – Meyer lemon season + strawberry season? Um…guess I need to make this too and ASAP!

Red Velvet Swirl Brownies

2. Red Velvet Swirl Brownies – These were just delicious, and so pretty too! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Spinach Strawberry Salad with Feta

1. Spinach, Strawberry, Pecan and Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette – This is a huge favorite of y’alls. I think Pinterest made this a popular one, and it is VERY easy to throw together! This is a salad you want to make for your next party…it’s an awesome combination!

Thanks so much for reading this blog, and I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! Time to get used to writing/typing “2013”. 🙂

Peppermint Bark Chess Pie

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Peppermint Bark Chess Pie

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind for me. I love to check the local news sites for random giveaways, because hey, you never know, right? While checking one of the station’s websites, I saw that they were accepting applications for a baking competition. I didn’t hesitate at all to apply, because it sounded pretty fun! A couple of weeks later, I got a call from someone at the station informing me that I was a finalist.

I was floored.

As one of the finalists, I had to bring cupcakes for tasting and an interview. Since it was just before Thanksgiving, I thought…why not pumpkin? So I brought these to the interview. Since my interview was one of the last interviews of the day, I think the interviewers were “cupcake-ed” out. I couldn’t really tell if they liked what I brought, so I left the interview feeling a bit unsure. However, a few days later, I got the call saying I would be one of the competitors! WHOA…

The person from the show told me that we had to bake a pie. Any pie, as long as it had some sort of holiday theme. When I heard pie, I have to admit that I cringed a little. I’ve mentioned this before, but pie is something I just haven’t worked with a lot. Cakes? Cookies? Cupcakes? I’m good. Pie? Ehhh…

First thing was first. I had to have a pie idea. I didn’t want to do anything too common, so sweet potato, pumpkin and pecan pie were all out. I brainstormed with eggnog and gingerbread, but nothing in particular really came to mind. Then I thought about chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate, but what could I do to make it more a holiday-ish. Then, it hit me….peppermint bark. Who doesn’t love the infamous chocolate/white chocolate/candy cane combination?

I started searching for chocolate pies online, and came across this idea for a chocolate chess pie. So, I adapted the recipe to make two pie fillings: one being chocolate, the other being white chocolate candy cane. Since the competition asked for the competitors to bake two pies, I simply put half of each filling into each pie crust (which is an amazing, flaky all butter crust…seriously, make this crust someday), and swirled them together. Then, I baked the pie up, tried a piece (hoping and praying I got the mint amount just right), and whew! I did. I brought to pies to my husband and I’s work asking for some tough love, and there really weren’t any complaints. Everyone seemed to love it!

I can’t wait to share the links to the show with you all (the show aired locally last night), but for now, here’s the recipe to my competition pie.

Peppermint Bark Chess Pie
Source: pie crust from Smitten Kitchen, filling adapted from Ezra’s Pound Cake

**makes two 9″ pies**

Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. table salt
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
  • 1/2 cup ice cold water

For the fillings:

  • 3 cups sugar, divided
  • 3 heaping tbsp. cocoa powder
  • 2 oz. of white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled (I used Baker’s squares)
  • 4 candy canes, grinded in a food processor until it’s a dust
  • 2 pinches of salt, divided
  • 10 oz. evaporated milk, divided
  • 1 stick butter, divided in half and melted (cooled)
  • 4 eggs, divided
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar and table salt. Mix for about 30 seconds, and then add the cold, cubed butter on top and mix everything until the butter clumps are about pea sized. Drizzle in the ice water while the mixer is on low, a little at a time, until the pie dough is just wet enough to hold together in a dough ball.
  2. Divide into two 5″ wide disks, wrap in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for about an hour or two (or overnight).
  3. While the dough is chilling, you can make the fillings. Take out two large bowls, and add 1 1/2 cups of sugar to each, as well as a pinch of salt to each. To one of the bowls, add the cocoa powder. To the other, add the candy cane dust. Whisk the dry ingredients in each bowl.
  4. In the bowl with the cocoa powder mixture, add in 1/2 stick of melted butter, 5 oz. of evaporated milk, 2 eggs and a tsp. of vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture well and set aside. In the bowl with the candy cane mixture, add in the other 1/2 stick of melted butter, the last 5 oz. of evaporated milk, melted white chocolate, the other 2 eggs and the last tsp. of vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture well.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  6. Take the pie dough disks out and roll them until they are about 1/8″ thick. Add each dough to a buttered pie dish (this is a fantastic tutorial), and then add half of the chocolate pie filling to each pie dish. After that, add half of the white chocolate candy cane filling to each pie dish. Then with a butter knife, gently swirl the two fillings (being mindful not to hit the crust).
  7. Place the pie dishes in a baking sheet, and bake the pies for 45-50 minutes. Allow the pies to cool for a couple of hours before serving (if you’d prefer to serve it warm) or after they cool, refrigerate overnight and serve cold. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.