Pie on the Internet

Jezebel is having the kind of March Madness that I can totally get behind:

Pie vs. Cake

They are in round two at the moment, so there's plenty of time but I'm hoping for an eventual showdown between Blueberry Pie and German Chocolate Cake. I encourage you to go vote.

I spent most of the weekend cleaning my apartment for Passover. I finished off a bottle of Murphy's Oil on the floors and most of a smallish container of bleach in the kitchen. It's now as clean as it was in October, but without all of my belongings in plastic bags against the bed bugs. Sadly though it does mean that baking projects will be put on hold until after Passover is over. Though if I get ambitious enough we'll see what sort of Passover recipes I might come up with, unless I choose to just eat salad all week long. I've always hated most Passover recipes that just attempt to recreate what you aren't supposed to eat for the week. Yes, it sticks to the letter of the law, but why bother? There's plenty that you can still eat, especially if you eat rice and legumes, and all those passover rolls and brownies never taste as good as the real thing anyway.

Happy Pi Day!

3.14 pies - or as close to them as my baking dishes would allow.

Corn pie is the same as from Thanksgiving.

The sweet pie and the mini pie are both strawberry apple. The big pie has an almond crumb topping. The little one I tried to cut a pi into, but it didn't work out so well.

Pi #1 for Pi Day - Chicken Tikka Masala Pie

I've been meaning to experiment with making this pie for a really long time. It was one of the very first pie experimentation ideas that I had. Pi Day is tomorrow and it seemed like a great time to try it out. I tried really hard to make an aesthetically pleasing pie. I like being able to see the filling in the vents. This is pie #1 in honor of Pi Day 2010.

Chicken Tikka Masala Pie

Basic Butter Crust

2 cups of flour

2/3 cup of butter

Enough cold water to hold dough together

1. Chop cold butter into square and work into flour by hand until the texture resembles store bough bread crumbs.

2. Add enough cold water to form dough. Be careful not to over knead. (approximately ¼ cup of water)

3. Put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before rolling out.

Pie Filling

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup fat free plain yogurt plus 1 teaspoon flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 cup frozen peas

1. Into a large bowl, grate the garlic and add the lemon juice. Add the garlic, cilantro, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, half the lemon's juice, and 2 tablespoons of yogurt, salt, and pepper. Stir, add chicken to bowl, and set aside to marinate.

2. While the meat is marinating, heat the remaining oil in a heavy, large skillet over low heat. Add chopped onion and cook gently for 10-15 minutes until falling apart and caramelized. Add the spices and stir well. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

3. Add chicken to pan. Cook until brown and cooked through, but still tender. Return the onion mixture to the skillet, and add remaining yogurt and approximately a tablespoon of flour. Stir in the tomato paste and frozen peas and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Let cool a bit then put in bottom pie crust. Add pie top, vent and cook for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.

Random things before Pi Day

Pi Day is Sunday and I'm going to have to submit a pie photo to Serious Eats pie bake off, but I'm not sure what to go with yet. If you've got suggestions, then let me know, otherwise stay tuned...

And a bit of pie humor for all you Mac aficionados. I love the idea, but I can guarantee I would never have the patience.

Pretty Pie for the Oscars

Strawberry Blackberry Pie

Why? Because strawberries and blackberries were cheap and had to be used that day.
The crust was a basic butter crust but came out particularly flakey. I also felt like being artistic with the top.

As to the Oscars...well let's just say I've never seen so many cut shots to so many bored and clueless actors. It was priceless.

Quick meal

I've been very busy with school lately, and most nights when I get home I don't have the energy or time to cook. This of course conflicts with my desire to stop eating out as much. I put this together the other night in less than the time it took to listen to a half hour of Jeopardy. I thought I'd share because it is such an easy meal.

Easiest Mushrooms and Snow Peas

1/2 lb of snow peas
8 oz of fresh button mushrooms
1 tbs. of butter
3 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs. rice wine vinegar

1. Saute the mushrooms in butter until about half cooked. Add the snow peas
2. Cook for a couple of minutes than add the soy sauce and rice vinegar.


Honey Mustard Chicken

1 can of low fat Cream of Chicken soup
3 tbs brown mustard
3 tbs honey

1. Brown the chicken in a pan, remove
2. Mix soup, honey and mustard in pan. Return chicken to pan, cook until chicken is fully cooked through
3. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes