Winter gift giving season did however leave me with some new toys to play with in the upcoming year. I've got a new silicon baking mat that I used for the biscuits the other day and can't wait to try with cookies. I also got an ever important cherry pitter so that the next time I decide to use fresh cherries my kitchen doesn't resemble a war zone.
My cookbook library was also increased with a great book on tarts: Janice Murfitt's Savory to Sweet Pies & Tarts and Ken Haedrich's Pie. This last one includes 300 sweet pie recipes. It clocks in at a hefty 600+ pages. I don't think you'll be seeing a Julie/Julia attempt to get through it in the course of the next year, but I'm very excited about trying some of the pies and tarts in both books during the coming months. The dog is excited too as he's always hoping for leftovers.
