Pretzel Pie

Hello Dear Readers. Have you missed me? I must appologize for not writing in awhile. I've still been baking pies, I've just neglected to write about them. So it appears as if I have a lot of catching up to do.

This weekend I asked my roommate Haley what Pie she wanted. She told me that she has been craving pretzels. Well, a pretzel crust sounded devine to us, and we quickly devised a plan for Pretzel Pie. I wanted the crust to be nice and salty, so I threw a little more salt in. Not the wisest decision. It was a little more salty than I would have liked, but still edible and delicious. It's easy enough to do. Take a bag of pretzels, crush them all up to crumbs, throw in 3 big tablespoons of sugar, and 1 stick of butter. Press into a pie tin and pre-bake for about 8 minutes at 350*.

Now, you may be asking yourselves, "What could you fill such an amazing concoction with?" We happened to have some bananas that were begging to be used, so we lined the bottom of the pie crust with bananas, threw together some chocolate pudding, and had an amazing dessert. Yummy!

I plan to fill my next Prezel Pie Crust with a Raspberry Pie. Ooooh, What about a Black-bottom Raspberry Pretzel Pie? Oh yeah.

Mock Apple Pie

Mock Apple Pie is an Apple Pie without any Apples in it at all. I know, strange, but true. You use crackers, water, sugar, lemons and cinnamon. That's it. And oddly enough, it DOES taste like Apple Pie.

What an interesting concept. Apparently this was something Pioneers made while moving across the Praries when Apples were scarce. I had heard it came about during WWII, but I think what that means is that's when Ritz Crackers put the recipie on the box. Which, as far as the marketing department is concerned, I'm sure is the same thing. And, as Jeff pointed out, Apples weren't really something on the rationed list.

But I found this letter from Henderson, TX that has a Mock Apple Pie recipie. It's dated 1858. I put the whole letter in here 'cause it cracks me up and sounds like something I would send.

Henderson Texas April 4th 1858
Dear Bet
I received your kind letter a few days ago, and haveing (sic) nothing else

to do this evening I concluded to write you a few lines, provided I don't get to (sic)

Lazy to finish. There is no news here of interest. Minnie has been home and staid

(sic) a week Josephus Ray has got the measels (sic) we will all have it. I am very

sorry for I dread it. Jake continues to get worse, the dr says he can't cure him, he is

a great deal of trouble it makes me very sorry to look at him he is swelled so bad. my

garden is very poor Well Bet I believe I am getting almost to (sic) lazy to finish my

letter Helen R. report says is to be married soon to Mr Fish. I never see her now she

has never been here since you left Bet you must excuse this short letter and write soon

give my love to all tell Jinny and Priss to write to me tell Ma I have never got the wool.

I don't expect Mr Lewis has ever tried to find out where it is. I am very sorry I did not

get it I wish I could get it. good by Bet. Write soon Your etc
Sue Smith

Bet I have learned to make a new kind of Pie I think you all would like them they taste just

like an apple pie make some and try them see if you dont love them.
Take a teaspoon heaping full of tartarlic (sic) acid and dissolve it in water a teasp (sic) full

of sugar and stir it in the acid then take cold biscuit or light bread and crumble in it. have

enough to make to (sic) pies put it in a crust and one over it and bake it they are fully as

good as Apple pies the spoonful of acid and cup of sugar is enough to make two pies

So how did it taste? I put a little too much lemon juice in there, so it had a nice lemony tang, but next time I'll cut back a bit. I kinda wanted a substantial bite, but crackers get soggy when soaked in liquid, so no bite there. But it was really good, and held up pretty well. Besides, I liked not having to peel and core a peck of apples.

Spicy Pear Tart

So this was a bit of a devience from the norm, but I thought it would be worth it. Besides, how could you not get excited about a Pear Tart with Ginger in it and a Caramel Bottom?

Very yummy! Though the caramel seeped through the bottom of the Springform Pan. After looking into it, I see that this seems to be the problem with springform pans anyway. I wrapped the bottom of the pan in foil, so it didn't go all over the oven, but a lot of the caramel seeped down into the foil. It would have been a really great bit with more caramel. Maybe next time I'll line the inside of the pan with parchment paper, and then nothing will leak. Hmm, good idea.

It was cooked well, the tart was still nice and moist. Though after discussing it, Schwartz, Molly and I decided that it might be really yummy if I did 2 layers of caramel. One on the bottom, do the tart layer, and then another layer of caramel before putting on the pears. Then the caramel might seep through the batter. Which I don't think would be a bad thing at all!!

Fly Pie

I live in San Diego, where the weather is wonderful year-round. Hence the windows are always open. And the door usually stays open too to let in more light in and a bit more of a breeze. And Flies.

So I first noticed them about a month ago when my friend Jess came to visit me. We were starting to get buzzed by them, and so armed with rolled up Newspapers we had a fun time swatting flies. Jess is a Master Swatter. Perhaps we should have felt bad for murdering so many flies. They only live 24 hours anyway, so why not let them enjoy it? What can I say, we're cruel.

Unfortunately this is not the end of the story. August was an incredibly hot month, and they multiplied. I opened the door on Tuesday night and I was accosted by a Swarm of flies. It might have been funny, but there is nothing funny about walking across your carpet and having them hop out of the way. Not to mention the fact that I was showing the apartment to a potential roommate. Thankfully she was just as baffled as me, and assured me that there was nothing disgusting about the apartment and there was no reason for them to have invaded so completely. Jeff showed up right as I was setting a fly trap, and we attempted to swat as many as we could, but were thwarted by the sheer magnitude of their forces. I knew when we parted the curtain and they attacked us with all their might that a Weapon of Mass Destruction was required.

The next day I nuc-ed the hell out of those little suckers with Raid. Let me tell you that stuff is the BOMB! (pun fully intended) The horrible thing is that I could actually hear them screaming. One fly dying and crying out in pain can be ignored, but 10,000 Flies all crying out at the same time is really quite unsettling. But it was worth it when I opened the door and nothing moved.

So in memorandum for all the little fly souls I murdered in my quest for dominance over the ownership of the apartment, I am baking a pie.

How strange is it that everyone of my friends, when I told them I was going to make a Fly Pie, all asked, "You're not going to use real flies. .... Are you?" Of course not! I may be a Crazy Pie Lady, but I'm not that crazy!!!

I decided to make a Rum Raisin Apple Pie, which turned out very well, if I do say so myself. I'm always apprehensive about Apple Pie. It scares me a bit, but I thought this one was going to be great! As I'm assembling it, Schwartz leaned in and asked what I was planning on doing with the top of it. I honestly hadn't thought about it, but as usual, Schwartz had a plan. He mixed butter, cinnamon and a little bit of sugar together and piled it on top. It browned up so nicely, and I think, really made the pie! Thanks Schwartz!!

Suggestions & Requests

So many people have said, "Oooooh, when you make ____ Pie let me know!" I've had so many of those I don't know what to do with them all. So I've decided to start taking requests here. If there is a Pie that you want I will do my best to accommodate. We might as well make my obsession something everyone can benefit from! So leave a comment and we'll have some crazy Pie Eating to do!

Peach - Blueberry Angel Pie

Okay, so another friend came in town and she - as the guest of honor - chose an Angel Pie. I made one for the 4th of July, but I didn't beat the Meringue enough, so it kinda spread out in the oven.

This time the meringue was perfect, but as it was a Chicken Night I got impatient and didn't cook it long enough. So though it looked amazing when I took it out of the oven an hour before I should have, it fell within a few minutes. The Peaches and Blueberries I put on top of it made the whole dessert still taste amazing, but next time, I will make sure and cook it the right amount of time.

Cherry Peach Pie

I have to confess the combination here just jumped up and bit me. I HAD to try it. I went to the market and found White Peaches. The colors with the White and Dark Red was gorgeous! I topped it with a strudel topping, but I almost wish I did a lattice top instead. That way the colors could be more pronounced.

I liked the sweetness, but I should have probably used Tart Cherries instead. It would have been more of a contrast. And then I wouldn't feel bad about lathering it in Vanilla Ice Cream!