Macadamia Nut Pie

This came out fantastic! I followed a standard pecan pie recipe but substituted macadamia nuts for pecans. I also used white sugar and clear corn syrup. It makes for a more light and buttery flavor and this only enhances the rich macadamia nuts. I will try with 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 dark syrup for the next pie, but trust me, this is fantastic! I also zigzagged dark and white chocolate over the top. It is so good that no one wanted to wait and I had to take a pic when it was already cut! I highly recommend this and will surely make it again. You can tell from the picture that the inside is very light and clear. The crust is a standard butter flakey crust. The secret to sturdy, flakey crust, is to freeze it thoroughly and then blind bake before you add your chess pie ingredients. Also brush it with egg yolk to seal it from the moisture and don't forget to use pie weights to hold it down. I just use some dry beans that I only use for baking. A one pound bag of beans will last forever and they are way cheaper than pie weights. Bake on!

Crusty Season

Well it's crust season. For me anyway. It is time for me to bake pies. I have started making crusts for the pies I will make this Thanksgiving. Pumpkin, apple, pecan and sweet potato are the flavors for this coming Thursday. After several experiments and a couple of crusty failures. I have finally achieved the perfect ratio of butter and shortening. The best crusts are made with 3/4 cups shortening and 1/4 cup butter. The butter has been on sale for the past 2 weeks and I have been buying it up for my crusts. But butter is NOT the ingredient to use on it's own in this heat and humidity. It is way too hot and humid here in South Florida to make a crust out of butter. The shortening needs to be there because it will hold up and create a light and flakey crust. My sources say that the best is lard but I just haven't used it this holiday. I will try to post a picture of my apple pie later! Wish me luck.

Blueberry Pie

This summer was great for blueberries. There were sales all over the place. So I purchased a lot and froze them. I forgot all about them (of course) so in my quest for a lost veggie burger for lunch I came upon my lovely blueberries. I usually make a blueberry coffee cake but my friend has been hounding me for a pie. So I obliged. And here it is. I really need to work on my appearance. I decided to make a wide lattice for the top but my crust needs help. I am going to practice this weekend. But here is the finished product. The crust is made entirely of butter which is not always the best choice. But butter was on sale so there.

The other pie is a sandwich pie. It is a very rich and sweet (not too sweet) crust like a pate brisee. This is made only with butter the addition of an egg and some white wine (or vodka because the alcohol adds texture) and a more crumbly-butter-cookie-texture (only softer) and filled with slices of sweet ham, roast pork, cheese, pickles mayo, and mustard. Baked until golden and a really great lunch menu item. I think I will make some mini ones for the holidays. I have the whole and then sliced pic. Great stuff and what a crazy description of the crust but it's as accurate as I can get. You can contact for recipe.

A Tragic End To A Cake

This is the tragic story of a red velvet cake. M is the baker and I am running the camera. This poor cake never made it to a table in once piece. This poor Frankenstein was destroyed by its mad doctor before it could make it to the table. It was consumed by others because it was believed that something like that should not be wasted. This "others" did not include me.

I would have eaten that fabby cream cheese icing. This is one of my earlier (first attempts) at film so I had not yet mastered the Ken Burns effect, in fact I hadn't even figured it out. But I was already experimenting with the soundtrack. So please enjoy Blue Velvet, some music from the FOTL commercials and I'll Be Seeing You.

Cheers!

UP NEXT!

A broccoli casserole!

Chocolat

Here they are the best chocolate, chocolate chip cookies in the world. I got the recipe from Food2 and they are quite outstanding. My technique is great, if I do say so myself and the weather must have been cooperating! I am working the camera, director, producer and cinematographer (except at the end, I only have 2 hands).

Please be patient and kind with any critiques.

Please enjoy the music (Amas Veritas, Barcelona, and Battle Without Honor or Humanity) and my experimentation with new techniques such as the Ken Burns.

Cheerio!