Roasted Red Pepper & Poblano Quiche and The Grand Canyon Pie

I spent two and a half glorious weeks in the US, I think for the first time since I started this project. And it reminded me all over again why this project is a challenge, and why it would hardly be one if I were living State side. Just five minutes from my sister's place was a Whole Foods, which had pretty much all the ingredients I needed to bake every pie in the book! And if it wasn't there, I could order it online and have it delivered within a few days. I heart America, if not for anything else, but for the shopping!

So, I got right down to it, targeting pies with "rare" ingredients.

Here: cheddar crust (so cheap!), red pepper, and poblanos (which I was considering growing...)

Using half-and-half for the first time, instead of making my own (=half milk, half cream)

Pies are so pretty right before going into the oven.

First home-cooked dinner: yummy!

And the Grand Canyon Pie

It was a many layered pie: 

Oreo cookie crust, rich chocolate ganache, fresh raspberries, and chocolate & almond whipped cream

Topped with chocolate meringue "boulders" (I think that's what makes it the "grand canyon" pie)

Each bite was chocolaty - creamy perfection!

* * *

And I made apple dumplings (again) and caramel apples with hand-picked apples.

It was a lovely, lovely trip, for many reasons, and a much needed vacation. 

I can't wait to be back again, not only for the baking opportunities, but for the familiar faces and places...:)

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Yes, I’m still here! A lot has happened since I last updated: I moved twice, relearned how to drive, took a vacation, was a bridesmaid for the first (and perhaps last time) in my life, attended to two trainings, and had work pick up even more speed. This all adds up to very little time for baking, and even less time for blogging. In fact, this pie was made like three months ago!

And it was actually one of my biggest flops ever. All I had on hand at the time were really old eggs, and the yolk kept running into the whites, making them unfit for meringue-whipping.

I think I “messed-up” almost a whole carton of eggs! Talk about pure frustration! Faced with utter failure, I ventured out in the middle of the night in search of fresh eggs. I ended up making the nearby corner store reopen its doors for me just after it had closed for the night. (Many thanks to my former housemate for negotiating for me!)

Even so, it didn’t quite work out... No pretty pictures of the perfect slice exist because it turned out to be more pudding than pie and we all ended up eating straight from the pan with spoons. Ah well, you win some and you lose some, I guess!