The Nifty Foodie

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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″.

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.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Mrs. Smith’s for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I feel like I’ve been baking pie like crazy lately. Between the office potlucks and family get-togethers, it just seems like the butter will run out. Seriously y’all….I purchased 12 boxes of butter last month and I’m down to 5! Crazy, no?

As much as I love to bake, sometimes there’s a party where I just don’t have the time to make something for us to bring. There may be some people who will judge me for this, but hey, I’ve been known to purchase a frozen pie or two, and bake them up. I usually tend to grab for Mrs. Smith’s, because I’ve never had a bad pie from them. In fact, my husband insists that his all-time favorite pie is Mrs. Smith’s Cinnabon Apple Crumb Pie, so when Mrs. Smith’s (via SocialSpark) offered me the opportunity to try their new line of Mrs. Smith’s Signature Deep Dish pies, I just couldn’t say no.

In case you’re a stranger to Mrs. Smith’s products, here’s a little background on the company (from the company’s website):

When Amanda Smith baked her first pies in the kitchen of her Pottstown, Pennsylvania home, she used the finest ingredients and amazing attention to detail to create the finest pies available. Amanda Smith started by baking pies for family, friends and charity events, but when her son, Robert Smith, convinced her to sell her pies, a business was born. Today, the makers of MRS. SMITH’S® desserts continue the tradition started by Amanda Smith, delivering pies and cobblers with made-from-scratch goodness you can see and taste. MRS. SMITH’S® pies and cobblers … a timeless tradition. Their new Signature Deep Dish pies come in four flavors:

• Signature Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie with Caramel Sauce
• Signature Deep Dish Cherry Pie with Butter Fudge Sauce
• Signature Deep Dish Peach Pie with Cream Cheese Icing
• Signature Deep Dish Pumpkin Pie with Cream Cheese Icing

The great thing about these pies is that it comes with a fun topping packet to help you create a unique, customized pie, and of course, with any Mrs. Smith’s pie, it couldn’t be simpler to bake. Simply take it out of the freezer, place it on a baking sheet (in case it leaks) and let it bake in the oven. Then, once the pie has cooled, add the topping.

I got to try the pumpkin pie, and it was VERY good! It was spiced well (some pumpkin pies don’t have enough spice, in my opinion), and the custard was super smooth! The pie dough was very flaky and not at all soggy, too. I especially loved being able to decorate our pie with the included icing packet, which gave it a fun, festive touch. If you’re under a time crunch this holiday season, this pumpkin pie would definitely do the trick! To find where these pies are sold, here’s a link to the retailers near you. Mrs. Smith’s is generously offering one reader of The Nifty Foodie a coupon for a free Signature Deep Dish pie, as well as a $50 gift card to Williams-Sonoma!!
Read the rest of this entry »

I find that I don’t make pie nearly enough. For some reason, I find it to be much more time-consuming than cupcakes or cookies, but in all seriousness, pie is very simple. Your food processor basically does all of the work to make the crust, and heck, sometimes I’ve even made pie crust in the stand mixer…still works great. The secret to an easier pie crust for me is frozen butter. I like to cut the butter in small cubes, then throw them in the freezer to make them extra cold. This is one of the few desserts where you want your butter as cold as possible, because as you work with the dough, it warms up and is just miserable to work with when it’s no longer cold (at least in my very beginner pie-making experience).

I have been having a killer craving for some apple pie, and since I had a batch of caramel sauce handy (Why do I do that to myself?), I figured there HAD to be a recipe out there for caramel apple pie. I got to googling and found this one. Since I already had the caramel sauce, I just used that in this recipe instead of the caramel recipe that Williams-Sonoma had. This pie came out so good, y’all. The filling just melts in your mouth, and their recipe for pie crust has such a wonderful, buttery flavor, as well as a bit of a flaky texture. Just SO good. If you want to bring something a little different to your Thanksgiving dinner, this is a tasty twist on the American classic.

Now, if this caramel apple pie isn’t your thing, you can definitely find other ideas this week. Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom  sponsored by Whirlpool and enter to win a new Whirlpool Range! Be sure to check out TidyMom’s website for other great pie ideas and recipes! The party is going on all week!

Caramel Apple Pie
Source: adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

For the pie crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. + 2 tsp. sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 6 to 8 tbsp. ice water
• 1 egg + 1 tbsp. water, lightly beaten in a small bowl

For the filling:

• 4 lb. Granny Smith apples, peeled/cored & cut into 8 slices
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 batch salted butter caramel sauce

Directions:

1. To make the pie crust, combine the flour, 2 tbsp. of the sugar and salt in a large food processor and pulse the mixture to combine. Add the cold cubes of butter and pulse the mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Add 6 tbsp. of the ice water and pulse the mixture twice. Check the dough for consistency by squeezing it with your fingers. If the dough holds together well, the dough is fine. You don’t want the dough to be crumbly (too little water), but not sticky either (too much water). If you need to add water, add it 1 tsp. at a time and pulse twice after each addition. Once the dough is at the consistency you need, place the dough on a work surface and divide the mixture in half.  Shape each half into a dish and wrap each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).
2. To roll the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and let the dough stand for 5 minutes. Place 1 dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured wax paper & roll it out into a 12-inch round, to about 3/16″ thickness. Repeat for the other disk of dough. Take one of the doughs out from between the wax paper sheets and gently press it into a 9 inch deep-dish pie dish. Refrigerate both doughs for another 30 minutes.
3. To make the apple filling, place the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & lemon juice in a large dutch oven. Cover and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until the apples are just tender (you can easily check by sticking a fork in an apple slice). Once the mixture is done, uncover the pot and allow the filling to cool to room temperature. Stir in the cornstarch.
4. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Once the filling is cool, take out your pie crusts and allow those to sit for 5 minutes. In the meantime, stir the apple filling and 3/4 cup of the caramel sauce together (the rest of the caramel will be for serving).  Pour the apple filling into your pie dish, and then place the top crust over the pie. Cut off any remaining dough hanging over the edge of the pie dish, and then press the top and bottom crusts together. Brush the top crust with the egg wash, and sprinkle the top crust with the remaining 2 tsp. of sugar.
5. Place the pie dish in a jelly roll/baking sheet. Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown, about 1 hour. Be sure to check the pie after 30 minutes, to make sure the crust isn’t too dark—whatever part of the crust on too dark, just simply cover it with foil. When the pie is done baking, allow the pie to cool on a wire rack for at least 2 1/2 hours before serving. Serve with leftover caramel sauce (warmed) for drizzling (it’s also equally great with ice cream). Enjoy!