Gratitude Pie

So, are you wondering what a "Gratitude Pie" is?  My pie is a mix of blueberry, blackberry and raspberry, and it's a pie that you bake and give away to your coworkers because they have so generously bought raffle tickets week after week since November for a good cause.  The good cause - was to raise funds for our 8th grade end of year activities.  Thanks to their generous support, we raised $1,014.00 for our students!

November - Election day bake sale, no school, but I dropped a pie off!

It started innocently enough - bake two pies and bring them in for a Thanksgiving raffle.  Who wouldn't be happy to have a home-made pie for Thanksgiving?

Then it was 3 more pies until Christmas (one a week) - gee, this money is starting to pile up!  Maybe I should bake one a month for special occassions.

January - Martin Luther King's Birthday
February - Super Bowl Sunday Apple Pie
February - President's Day & Valentine's Day - Cherry pie with white chocolate hearts
March - St. Patrick's Grasshopper pie
March - MCAS Pie (to cheer everyone up after the high stakes testing)
March - Family game night
April - Kentucky Derby
April -Easter Chocolate Cream pie with cocoanut crust
May - Mother's Day Apple Pie
May - Apple Pie for major school fundraiser
June - Gratitude Pie

Who knows, there may be one more in store, school's in session until the 18th!

Now, my question to you is this; do you think I should continue this for next year?  Or will people get bored buying raffle tickets for home made pies?

White Iris

This stunning beauty took my breath away as I turned on to our side street.  This was the first time I've ever planted white iris's and I look forward to planting more of these beauties!  

What I've learned is that it takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. There are between 260 & 300 species!

They just scream Spring to me!  How about you, what's your favorite spring and summer flower?  My favorite summer flower is the Casablanca lily!

Thankful Thursday ~ Nieces

There is so much to be thankful for, let me start with these little gems!  I still can't believe the four older ones, were flower-girls at our wedding, and now are young women who are beginning to launch their careers and their adult lives! Their accomplishments make me smile with pride.

From left to right, "M" going off to medical school in August.  "L" completing her dental hygiene program last spring. "C" going on to 9th grade. "C" graduating June 1st with a Masters in Forensic Psychology, and "S" graduating this weekend with a Masters in Special Education.

From left to right ~ "L" on the floor, "C" & "M" on the left & right & "S" leaning against "M" - my oldest nephew is also in this photo.

My favorite photo, taken at Old Orchard Beach, Maine - from left to right - "L" ~ "C" ~ "S" ~ "M"

These girls simply fill my heart!

Blind Baking

No, it's not baking with your eyes closed or wearing a blindfold!  Goodness, can you imagine what a mess you'd make!

What I'm talking about is rolling out a pie crust and pre-baking it in the oven.  Have you ever done that?  Only to find your pie crust has shrunk like a wool sweater washed in hot water then thrown in the dryer? Blind baking is typically done for cream, custard, pudding and some fresh fruit type pie fillings that do not have to be baked (most of the time).

The secret is, freezing the pie shell once you've rolled out your crust and nicely placed it in your pie dish, then crimped your edges.  I've listed the steps below, I hope you find them helpful!

1. Dock the bottom of your pie shell with a fork, as you can see I dock the bottom quite a bit.
2. Dock the sides around your pie shell.
3. FREEZE your pie shell for 5 minutes!!!  
4. Put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom and up the sides a little.
5. Use a pie weight on the bottom. I use dry beans.
6. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes depending on your oven
7. Take the shell out of the oven and carefully remove the parchment paper with the beans, be careful, the beans will be hot.  Once cooled store them for later baking use.  I use mine over and over when baking pie shells.
8. Place the pie shell back in the oven for another 7 - 10 minutes, keeping a watch on it.

I hope you enjoyed this helpful pie baking tip!

Have a wonderful week and thank you for following!  I truly appreciate your friendship!

Quiche ~ Basic & Delicious

This is the best quiche recipe I have ever made!  It was light, fluffy and melt in your mouth delicious.  I did make three changes, I substituted the bacon for leftover spiral Easter ham, I added parsley and I used 3/4 cup+ 1% milk and 3/4 cup+ of light cream (because I didn't have half-and-half).

I would make it again in a moment! I have bolded, italicized and made notes for critical steps in preparing the dough and cooking the quiche.

I apologize for the photo, I realized at the last moment that I should post this recipe, and it was the last piece, it was hot, and it was my breakfast!

Also, my friend Susan at From Beyond My Kitchen Window suggests freezing individual leftover slices for lunches!  Great idea!  I've got one in the freezer!

Enjoy!

Classic Quiche
The recipe states that you can substitute various ingredients which I noted above.  The recipe very nicely tells you the quantity to use if you substitute vegetables for the bacon in the quiche filling, such as cooked small broccoli florets, sautéed sliced leeks or chopped cooked spinach. Use about 1 1/2 cups vegetables.

Ingredients:
1 flaky pastry dough disk, at cool room temperature
8 bacon slices, chopped (I used leftover spiral Easter ham)
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese (I used Swiss)
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups half-and-half or milk (I used 3/4+ cup 1% milk & 3/4+ cup light cream)
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:

Partially bake the pastry shell (I used my homemade pastry)
Preheat an oven to 425°F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough disk into a 12-inch round. Fold the dough round in half and transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Unfold the round and ease it into the dish, patting it firmly into the bottom and up the sides. Trim the edges to form a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under itself and pinch to create a high edge on the rim of the dish. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the dough a few times (I also prick the dough along the sides too). Freeze for 5 minutes (this step is critical, it keeps the dough from shrinking and keeps your crimped border).

Bake the pastry shell until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.

Prepare the filling
In a saucepan over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the partially baked pastry shell. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Whisk in the half-and-half, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the bacon and the remaining cheese. Pour the egg mixture into the pastry shell.

Bake the quiche
Bake until the filling is set and slightly puffed and the crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes (I had to add 10 minutes to this cooking time). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool briefly. Cut the quiche into wedges and serve warm. Makes one 9-inch quiche.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Baking, by Lou Seibert Pappas (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Chocolate Coconut Easter Pie

This recipe came out of my Martha Stewart Pies & Tarts Cookbook.  I've made some notes below before you begin.  Mostly because sometimes the recipes fall short of my expectations.

-I made one tweak, you really need six cups of coconut.  

-You will need to make a foil ring for the crust or use a pie crust ring.

- Use convection if you have it, and you will want the bottom lightly browned before you take the pie shell out of the oven.

Ingredients

For the crust

•    4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

•     6 cups of sweetened shredded coconut

For the filling

•    1 cup heavy cream

•    8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped

Directions

1 Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, process butter and one-third of coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Sprinkle remaining two-thirds coconut over mixture and combine with your fingers.

2 Place a 9-inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Press coconut mixture into bottom and up sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy. Place a foil ring over edge to prevent burning. Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes; remove foil and bake until edges are browned, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

3 Make the filling: Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is combined. Pour into coconut crust. Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Ya baby, it's that easy to make & it's gluten free!

Happy Easter!

P.S. I can't wait for school vacation at 3:35 p.m. today!  Eleven glorious days off to catch up on blogs!

Happy 10th Birthday Duke

Looks who is wrapped up in an afghan and who turned 10 on March 29th!  We find it hard to believe that this sweet, intelligent, cuddling little guy has been with us for a decade!  It seems like yesterday when I held him in the palm of my hand - he was so tiny!  Now, he's 20 pounds of joy and terror!

Watch out intruders!  Grrrrrrrrr!!!