Buttermilk Chess Pie

Now, this is the main buttermilk attraction.

I think most people would agree that the crust is the best part of any pie, never mind what the filling is. Just rolled-out or freshly baked – gorgeous, either way! I used a buttermilk crust, which requires buttermilk instead of ice water. It doesn’t really lend any flavor, but makes the crust extra tender and flaky. I could probably just finish off the crust like a huge cookie. Nomnomnom!

Is there anything so wonderful as pie cooling on the counter?

I want to call this picture, “Anticipation.”

It looked and tasted like a giant egg tart!

This is, after all, your most standard custard tart, with a slight citrus flavor from the lemon and just an afterthought-like hint of yogurt from the buttermilk. But otherwise, quite standard.

Just another morning at the office!

My Hundredth Pie: Baked Empanadas, Blackberry Pie, and Buttermilk Ice-Cream

I’ve just surpassed my 100th pie! This makes me about two-thirds done with the project.

For this momentous milestone, I made a blackberry pie and…

Empanadas in cheddar crust.

I got the stamp of approval from my friend and her hubby, who is from Colombia:) He said that empanadas are often fried, but they’re baked in places like Argentina. These “southern style” empanadas were gooood!

Blackberry pie with a scoop of buttermilk ice-cream.

This was my first time trying blackberry pie (perhaps trying blackberry, period). It was more tart than I expected, though less so than raspberry. And quite seed-ful, too. The buttermilk ice-cream was also definitely a first. Flavored with orange, it tasted like a citrus yogurt ice-cream. Quite a tart & tangy combo!

Buttermilk ice-cream and raspberry sauce is good too!

I think I may be developing a fondness for buttermilk…

Oh yes, with the extra buttermilk, I made biscuits again. 
This time I used a different recipe (Smitten Kitchen’s) and a scalloped biscuit cutter – to much better results.

And then I made a bacon-egg heart attack sandwich.

You bet it was good!

I sort of feel like I’m racing through the Pie Bible – and I don’t even bake everyday! A large part of the work is coordination (matching pies to people, scouting for and using up ingredients, etc.) and administration (organizing pictures, taking notes, blogging, etc.). And, of course, cleaning up. I think the actual baking accounts for less than a third of all the labor. But I guess that’s normal; it takes a huge amount of energy just too keep something afloat. So, here’s to chugging along at breakneck speed for the next 60 pies!

Profiteroles!

The exclamation mark should be a permanent addendum the word profiterole! They are simply delightful. For last week’s Sunday snack, I made petits choux and five types of pastry cream: chocolate, praline, orange, white chocolate, and coffee. Whheeee!

I can’t believe ‘chou’ means cabbage; these are much too adorable.

Maybe cabbages have a different reputation in France…?

Making praline powder with caramel-hazelnut.

The “triple vanilla” ice-cream with two types of vanilla seeds (Tahitian and Malagasy) and vanilla extract.  

Vanilla is an actual flavor and this ice-cream proves it!

I made a Do-It-Yourself profiterole bar.

The orange (made with orange zest and Grand Marnier) disappeared the fastest, followed by the chocolate. 

Surprisingly, the white chocolate and praline were not so popular.

And my ultimate favorite: the triple vanilla ice-cream with hot fudge sauce.

O!M!G! These were truly heavenly. 

If I, as the cook, didn’t feel an obligation to taste-test everything I made, I would’ve eaten these exclusively.

Everybody I know always points out that I have a very limited eating capacity. This is not untrue; I probably eat only a small portion of what I make. Instead, I usually ruin other people’s diets and resolve (not intentionally). But when I happen upon something super scrumptious, I really really wish I could eat more! Or at least as much as a normal person. Here are the top ten that have gotten a five-outta-five stars and made me curse my tiny stomach:

1. Profiteroles!

2. Un-Rugelach Mini Turnovers

3. Cherry-Rhubarb Lattice Pie

4. Strawberry Lover’s Chiffon Pie

5. Tiramisu Black Bottom Tart

6. Pure Passion Ice-Cream

7. Fresh Berry Tart

8. Pear Tart with Almond Cream

9. Mango Passion Tart

10. Apricot Tartlets with Almond Cream

Chocolate Oblivion Tartlets

A mini Sunday afternoon treat.

The tarts were made with just three ingredients – chocolate, butter, eggs – and were encased in tender walnut cookie tart crusts. They were like intensely chocolaty brownies on cookies:D

                                                                                                                               

This one is a chocolate “oblivion” tartlet with pistachio crème anglaise and raspberry sauce. Pistachio and raspberry are both natural flavor complements to chocolate, so of course I had to have both!

And this one is a chocolate “dependence” tartlet flavored with Grand Marnier and crème anglaise spiked with the same liqueur. Liqueur always seems to bring out flavors; I rather liked this one better. Yum!

I’m flying through these pies at a crazy rate. What normal people would have as a special treat, I have any day of the week. (I realize this book wasn’t meant to be read or made cover to cover, especially not with a time limit!) I sometimes think that perhaps pies are losing their value on me…? Not that I’m really complaining!

Touch-of-Grace Biscuits: A Buttermilk Dinner

I made buttermilk awhile back. I know there’s the ole vinegar and milk method that’s quite popular as a quick substitute, but I got a hold of the real enzymes. *Grin* Time to make some Southern dishes! I made buttermilk “touch-of-grace” biscuits and buttermilk baked chicken.

Contrary to what it sounds like, buttermilk is not buttery, but a little yogurty. The acid in buttermilk is a wonderful tenderizer, so it’s often used on chicken to bring it to maximum succulence. Let’s put it this way, chicken breast tastes like drumstick after a buttermilk bath.

I set the chicken overnight in a buttermilk marinade of onion, garlic, thyme, and hot sauce, and then baked it with a parmesan, bread crumb coating.

Succulent, spicy, herb-ful, crunchy, cheesy…

I’ll let you imagine what it tasted like:)

Unfortunately, there was nothing “graceful” about the biscuits. That’s actually an understatement because they were probably my biggest flop to date! They came out very dense and doughy instead of fluffy and soft. I’d followed the recipe religiously, as I always do, but I must have done something very wrong. I just don’t know what… It’s at times like these, when I try my hand at a new sub-genre like puff pastry or biscuits, that I remember what it was like to be a newbie. And I’m reminded that I still have a long ways to go!

When something turns out poorly, I have the unignorable urge to improve. Immediately, if possible! This pursuit of perfect is going to do me in one day… And it would also prevent me from ever finishing the project. So I have a mental list of the dismal flops I want to give another chance once the project is over:

1. Shoofly Pie – The crust burst and all the spice-juices oozed out. The filling was bready when it should have been texturefully moist!

2. Fig Tart with Mascarpone Cream – I bought figs too early in the season and they were unripe and massively disappointing:(

3. Boulders Tart – This luxurious tart was ruined by burnt caramel made with something that’s not corn syrup. (Luckily, Gateau Engadine turned out better when I did a mini repeat:)

4. Éclairs – A real Christmas disappointment, if there ever was one.

5. Perfect Peach Pie – There was nothing perfect about this overbaked pie.

Hmmm… It seems I’ve figured out what I did wrong on each pie. Perhaps the mystery of the ruined biscuits will solve itself with time!

Deep-Dish Chicken Potpies… And More!

Time for another savory!

I had my American contact (i.e. brother) send me some “midnight sun” dried Alaskan forest morel mushrooms. Oh, even the sound of it – how exquisite!

This is not your average chicken pot pie; it’s been properly gourmeted. I mean, it’s got morels in it! And the gravy is reduced vigorously for intense flavor, with Riesling for a bit of tang.

Capped with a thyme cream cheese crust.

Oh yes, it was soul-soothing:)

And dessert. Guess what these are…

And this.

Molten chocolate soufflé tartlet and pistachio ice-cream!

The ball of ganache in the center becomes molten chocolate… which is surrounded by fluffy chocolate soufflé… which is encased in a walnut chocolate cookie crust. Pistachio is a perfect flavor pairing.

It’s at times like this that I really really wish I could eat more. I was quite full after the pot-pie, and positively bursting after the soufflé. So full, I skipped dinner entirely. I’m such a wimp at eating!