When "Easy as Pie" Makes Sense

        Sometimes I wonder who coined the phrase, "easy as pie." I've mulled those three words over in my mind countless times when working with pastry. Pastry, like pie crust for example, isn't too hard once you get the hang of it, but it's far from easy when you're just starting out. At least, it was for me. It took a long time before I knew what I was doing, but I loved homemade pie crust too much to simply purchase it store-bought.
        Then came puff pastry. Making your own puff pastry is supposed to be very time-consuming -- it can take over five hours of prep-time. There are some days when I'm perfectly willing to spend that amount of time in the kitchen. There are other days when I want to pop into the kitchen for only a few minutes, throw a few ingredients together and into the oven, be on my way, and pop back in half an hour later to find… magic. I love to find a meal that seems to defy logic -- so little time and effort is needed to produce it, yet the meal itself manages to be incredibly delicious.

Chicken Pie with Puff Pastry

The Thanksgiving Feast

        I went up to my cottage last weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Dad's side of the family. Thanksgiving Day arrives a bit earlier here in Canada than in the United States, which is fine by me (I'm terrible at waiting). Unsurprisingly, I ate a mountain of food. Perhaps I have mentioned this before, but nearly all of my relatives on my Dad's side--and myself, of course--are big eaters. We love food. We live to eat. It's only natural that we had a large menu planned for Thanksgiving.

        I, my friends, was in charge of the dessert. Determined to make my favorite, I knew one single pie wouldn't be enough to feed so many of us. We eventually decided on three pies. I set to work with my cousins as helpers and together we tripled my favorite pecan pie recipe.

Classic Pecan Pie

The Mississippi Mud Challenge

        I've always enjoyed a challenge, and you know what? I just took on a super, super big challenge. 

        Okay, so maybe this challenge wasn't all that big. Maybe this challenge can't be classified as big at all, or even a challenge for that matter. Maybe you should completely disregard the second sentence of this post, as it will probably hurt my brain a little less.

        I call it a challenge in the sense that this little baking project of mine was fairly time-consuming. Yes, it was pretty lengthy, but a very, very excellent investment of my time indeed.

Mississippi Mud Pie

My Sweet Life Has a Savory Side

        There's a time and a place for everything. No matter how much I love sugar and its sweetness, the two of us go our separate ways come dinner time. When I'm hungry, my tummy cries for nourishment in the form of a hearty meal and it's a need that no slice of cake (no matter how good) can satisfy. So, at around 6:30 P.M.--standard dinner time in my house--I yank out the sweet tooth, set it aside for later, have a seat at the table with my family, and consume the delicious savory dish that is my meal on that particular day.

        I often like to prepare dinner, not because I have to but because I want to. It isn't unusual for there to also be some sort of dessert made that same day we sit down to eat (I like to go all out), waiting somewhere very nearby for mealtime to end and transition into dessert time. That's when I pop the sweet tooth back in. Until then, though, I focus on what's in front of me. 
        During my last meal, I was faced with a pie. It wasn't a sweet pie (though I am certainly very familiar with those), but a savory pie. The ultimate savory pie... Chicken Pot Pie.

The Ultimate Chicken Pot Pie

Coconut Cream Pie Sent From Heaven

I love being a baker. I get the most wonderful satisfaction from mixing and stirring and watching my creations transform in the oven... and tasting, of course; tasting is one of the best parts. What I love the most, though, is being able to share my love for baking through other people tasting the treats I labor to create.

Divine Coconut Cream Pie