Old Friends and a Pie Party!

Life doesn’t get any better than this:)

I hosted a pie party for my old buddies. I have known these girls for ten years, since we were eager teens just starting out college. – Interrupted by a brief reverie of the past that paradoxically seems, at once, an eon ago and just last year. – I don’t normally post pictures of people on my blog, but I thought this moment was worth commemorating on the internet:)

For this momentous occasion, I baked three pies and one free-form galette. Yes, it was sort of a massive undertaking to tackle alone… A veritable baking marathon.

Washing the apples under the faucet-waterfall. How pretty.

Sugar & Spice

So, this is nutmeg! I’ve always been enamored of spices, so I bought a small assortment when I was in India. I haven’t been able to use the nutmeg… because I couldn’t figure out how. Just recently I found out that you have to crack open the outer shell. Well, duuuh! Now, I’m going to insist on only freshly grated nutmeg!

And then, I became too frenzied to take any more pictures of the pie-making process…

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So, to the pies!

The apple crumb pie

With caramel whipped cream

The Chocolate Pecan Pie

With Grand Marnier whipped cream

The Christmas Cranberry Galette

With crème anglaise

And a mini designer apple pie, just for my friend who’s allergic to nuts

The condiments

And coconut macaroons, just to use up the oodles of leftover egg white. I got sick of failing at French macaroons (after grinding and sifting the almond meal myself, no less), and just went with the coconut variety. I felt like a cop-out at first, but then I tasted them. They were really good! Maybe I’ll never bother with French macaroons again…

 A super-mini designer apple pielet, just for me (made with scraps and leftovers), as I reminisce about good times, past and present. And pies, past and digesting.

 I told my friends that I felt like I just finished my finals. But, strangely, with more of a sense of accomplishment. Haha! Perhaps I’ll make this a regular pie gathering!