Well, almost. Even though I estimated that I needed 100-140 cupcakes I wound up baking almost 200. What can I say? I’m an overachiever.
As freaked out as I was the night before, it wasn’t so bad. I’m not saying that if you’ve never baked a cupcake you should start by baking 200 in one day, but if you’ve got a method to your madness, it ain’t that bad.
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A few years ago, I decided I needed to make a pumpkin pie using an actual pumpkin. Do you get these kinds of urges? I get them all the time. Like what’s the best kind of pie crust? How do you make brown sugar? And what would happen if I substitute a little butter with bacon fat in some chocolate chip cookies?
So I did it. I bought a sugar “pie” pumpkin. When I got it home, I realized I had no clue where to begin. So I consulted books and the internet to figure out what to do with the thing. And then I made a pie. A pie that will live forever in my memory.
While I do still use canned pumpkin, it has become a tradition of mine to make at least 1 pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin each holiday season. And since I buy one or two pie pumpkins as decorations anyway (they’re just cute), the pumpkins do double duty.
So if you have a sugar pumpkin in your decor, consider using it to its full potential.
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When I was in 4th grade, we had to do a demonstration in front of the class. I don’t remember what my demonstration was which really isn’t all that surprising because I tend block out anything that has to do with me speaking or performing in front of others. Then again, I don’t even remember my teacher’s name.
But what I do remember is that some kid in my class did a demonstration for what he called an apple sandwich. I don’t remember the kid’s name, and I don’t remember why he called it an apple sandwich (I mean, it’s not really a sandwich, hello?). Still, I was blown away by this idea, this apple sandwich. Here it is in a nutshell: cut an apple in half and remove the core, put a spoonful of peanut butter on each half. And… eat it. Mind-blowing, isn’t it?
Anyway, let’s make some peanut butter…
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Chiffa-wha? Chiffonade. It’s a fancy name for cutting herbs or other greens into long, thin strips. It’s literal French translation is “made of rags”. Sounds appetizing, right? Even so, it’s a nice little technique to have in your back pocket.
I mostly use chiffonade for basil (do chiffonade? make chiffonade? I’m not sure the right verbage here). It is nice for bruschetta, caprese salads, pasta, etc. I like it because it makes the basil smaller so it gets distributed better. And it looks pretty. Besides sometimes you need a dash of fancy in your life.
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A new batch of mini-pies are cooling in the kitchen right now. Once the taste tests are done I will share the results with you. I have four crusts in the test: all butter, butter + shortening (both of these are repeats from round 1), butter + lard, and Cook’s Illustrated fool-proof pie dough which uses vodka.
But for today, I thought I’d share a few tips about making pie dough. [Continue reading...]
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