Posts tagged pie
that's what she baked.
Adventures (and misadventures) in the kitchen from a novice baker.
Strawberry and Rhubarb Frankenpie
by Cora and Tyler
I used this great website to figure out how to make the lattice top. I highly recommend it. The pictures and instructions are very helpful and clear.
Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
(it’s a theater thing. right? someone please tell me I’m not making that up)
Last week I baked in my old apartment for the last time. Well, maybe not the last time, that kitchen is just upstairs and maybe I’ll have a crazy baking project where I need 2 ovens and my old roommate will be okay with it, but that’s beside the point. It was the last time that I baked there while it was the kitchen to the apartment that I lived in.
Tyler and I made another collaborative pie with rhubarb from his parents garden.
He worked on the filling and I made the crust. I didn’t have my simple pie dough recipe, because I put all my baking books in a box and the book with the recipe was at the bottom so I googled a simple pie dough and kind of improvised from there.
I couldn’t fully remember what I was supposed to do… making the dough by hand, what it was supposed to feel like, etc. (only having experience making 2 or 3 pies before) It was really warm in the kitchen, too, so that also played a factor in what I was calling our FRANKENPIE!
But that’s okay, because nobody sees that once the filling is in. I also wanted to try to make a lattice top (a first for me), and the dough was a little finicky for that too.
However, the pie made it into the oven fine, and despite it’s messiness, it came out tasting great!
HAPPY PIE DAY!
Okay… So these pictures are also from over a week ago, but the sentiment is still there. A post about pie for pi day. I’d be much cooler if I made pie for today, but my schedule generally doesn’t work out like that.
These pies were super special because it was a team effort between Tyler and I. I made the crust and he made the filling. He forages mushrooms and had a bunch of dried trumpets from the beginning of the fall and made up his own recipes for savory and sweet pies. I got super nervous while making the crust because I’ve only made it twice before now, and it’s been quite a few months, and I couldn’t remember if I was doing it right, but I think if I totally messed up, I would know.. but I think they turned out just great!
So here I was, the day before Thanksgiving, attempting to do things I did in my baking class. Now, during class, there’s a lot going on, and there’s the chef (teacher) and two TA’s (current students at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts) helping out. There’s many other eyes watching the ovens and to double check if you’re doing things right. And there’s a bunch of other people trying to do the same thing.. so there’s lots of support and answers to questions.
Things were much different in my kitchen. I was getting worried about bunches of things, especially making the pie dough, because I’ve heard it’s really easy to make not-good pie dough. Anyway, it ended up being just wonderful, I made my second successful pie from scratch and I’m super proud. I made 2 full sized pies and a couple small ones, replicating the pie I made in class. The filling was a sweet-potatoe/pumpkin pie (+ some other ingredients) and I made same praline topping. At the CSCA, they have a separate oven-thing for broiling (you need to broil the topping), I didn’t know how my broiler worked… I didn’t even know what a broiler was before that class. It’s pretty cool seeing the flame work it’s magic. If you’re using a recipe that calls for broiling, don’t be scared. It’s really cool, you just have to watch it because it works SO FAST.
More pictures from baking class, week 2. I made a sweet potato/pumpkin pie with a praline pecan topping. It was a HIT with everybody I shared it with, including my mother who requested I replicate it for Thanksgiving. I’ve never been into pies.. I’ve never made one before, but after this class, I LOVE IT! I don’t think I’m into meringues or things of that sort but now I’m opened up to a whole new world of pies!
I am going to try and make some of the things, that I made in my baking class, in my own kitchen this week. We’ll see how that goes…
Pictures from baking class, week 2: Pies and tarts
