SHF #34 – Mini Chocolate Pecan Pies
Someday, I would like to have pecan trees in my yard. I say things like this all the time, whether it could actually happen or not.
“Someday, I would like to have ______________ in my yard.” Insert any of the following:
- nut trees, pecan and almond
- bay laurel trees
- lemon trees, Meyer lemon and true lemon
- orange trees, valencia and clementine
- tangerine trees
- lime trees, Persian and key lime
- Hass avocado trees
- apple trees, Empire and Granny Smith
- Satsuma plum trees
- cherry trees, sweet and tart
- mango trees
- hazel bush
- vanilla orchids
- banana plant
Basically any plant with a culinary use is welcome in my yard. Read more
Cherry Cobbler
June 18, 2007 by Andrea
Filed under Dessert, Summer Favorites
This is such a wonderful time for fresh berries and cherries. We spotted some sweet cherries on sale at our local grocery store last week and grabbed a couple bags. My original plan was to make some cherry vanilla ice cream, but then I thought of cherry cobbler with all the lush cherries and juice and the soft, fluffy biscuits on top. Serve it warm with some vanilla ice cream and that would hit the spot!
When we got around to making the cobbler a few days later, the boys helped me remove the stems and find any bad cherries, of which there were plenty. Actually the cherries weren’t bad, but I realized that my three-year-old had been sneaking into the bags in the frig and taking bites out of the cherries and putting them back, just like he had done with the hot rolls back in April! We had to toss about a dozen half-eaten cherries. Read more
Key Lime Pie
I was thwarted in my attempt to make an authentic key lime pie last weekend.
I’ve been trying to make a good, intensely-flavored key lime pie for several years. A few years ago I made my first pie on a whim when I spotted a bottle of Nellie and Joe’s in the grocery store. It was early summer and the thought of a refreshingly cold key lime pie grabbed me and I brought a bottle of the juice home. I used the recipe on the bottle, and I thought it tasted pretty good, but there just wasn’t enough lime for me. Thus began my quest for a more “limey” key lime pie, and I wanted the real thing with freshly squeezed key limes.
Well of course I could substitute the more common Persian limes, but they aren’t the same. The key limes have a stronger flavor that makes all the difference in a key lime pie. The bottled key lime juice is considered an acceptable substitute in a pinch, but I wanted the real thing with the zest and juice of some fresh key limes.
But key limes can be notoriously difficult to find unless you live in…Florida. Read more
Strawberry Cream Tart
Yes, I’m on a strawberry kick. It’s too early for local strawberries, but the grocery stores are selling early berries from California, and when I walk into the store and see the lovely red berries on display I absolutely cannot resist. So yesterday I pulled out my tart pan and started working on this dessert. With so many strawberries and the pretty red glaze poured all over them, the tart looks very elegant and tastes scrumptious, too, perfect for a Mother’s Day dessert or a weekend brunch. Read more
Strawberry Pie with Crumb Topping and Almond Whipped Cream
May is only a few weeks away, the start of farmers market season, and I am very excited. Our new home is in an area with quite a few pick your own farms, farmers markets, and roadside stands, and we’re really looking forward to checking them out, especially with strawberry season looming. In the meantime, Wegmans has early strawberries on sale this week, and they were so nice that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make a pie for Michael.
This recipe is inspired by his mom’s French Apple Pie Read more
Minced-Fruit Pie
It was December 12, I was finalizing our plans for Christmas dinner, and I asked Michael, “What kind of pie would you like for Christmas day? Anything special?”
Michael raised his eyebrows and gazed at the ceiling as he racked his brain.
“Mincemeat pie,” he finally said.
Normally I would have responded politely with something like, “Really? Why mincemeat pie?” But the residual levels of HGT hormones from pregnancy and the lack of sleep during the postpartum recuperation period caused me to momentarily lose control over my inner monologue. “Mincemeat pie? You’ve got to be kidding me.” Read more
