Friday, March 15, 2013

How To Be Objective When Your Taste Buds are Screaming Ewww



During Week 17 I hit upon another “first” in my pie-making.  Prior to this week I had never tasted or baked a Pecan Pie, of any sort.  Growing up I tended to avoid all things nut, whether in the form of pie or cookies, or just for plain for snacking.  I had an opportunity to try a Pecan Pie nearly every Thanksgiving of my childhood, but alas I avoided it until now, near the end of my 32nd year. 

With this confession at hand, readers, I must also admit that I know not what a good Pecan Pie should taste like or what its texture should feel like, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into by making a Sugar Free Pecan Pie over a traditional Pecan Pie. 

I was set on making a pie for my Father In-Law, who does not eat sugar, and also wanted to make a sugar free pie that is not available at Marie Callendar’s.  The cookbooks I have in the house do not have recipes for sugar free pies, so I began to scour the internet for recipe options.  The recipe I found for Sugar Free Pecan Pie comes from Tablespoon.com.

For the crust I used a parbaked All-Butter Crust.

The filling was incredibly fast.  I mixed all the ingredients in a bowl, poured them in my crust, and baked for 50 minutes.  Should it have been this easy to make?  Are Pecan Pies this easy??  This pie was making a great first impression on me, even if it was to be short-lived. 

Fast filling
Oven-ready

Now when I took this Sugar Free Pecan Pie to my In-Laws’ house, I received nothing but praise from my Father In-Law.  My Mother In-Law also found it to be quite good.  My husband and I, on the other hand found the pie rather strange.  Since neither of us had experienced Pecan Pie before I feel a little wrong giving this pie completely bad marks just because of my uncertainty of the pie.  Here are my observations:
1.  
     The pie was squishy, like a cross between a gelatin and a pudding.  I was expecting a filling that was more solid and firm.
2.       The pecans had become chewy, even those that were sticking out of the top of the pie.  I was expecting them to be a little crispier—at least those on the surface of the pie.
3.       The pie was just sugary sweet tasting.  I was expecting more of the earthiness of the nuts to rise above the syrupy sweet flavor.
4.       The crust was awesome.

So whether my In-Laws were right on with their praise and I could not comprehend the true meaning of Pecan Pie, or whether my In-Laws were over generous with their praise and my husband and I were correct in our assessment of this pie, I may never know.  Now it is your turn.  If you have made a Pecan Pie before, try out this recipe for Sugar Free Pecan Pie and let me know your thoughts!

    

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Now I Understand Why


Lemon Blueberry Pie was the short order for Week 16.  Blueberries were on sale for a spectacular price, so another pie featuring the delightful berry seemed an easy choice.  The recipe comes from the Cutie Pies cookbook.

For the crust I chose to follow the recipe for All-Butter Crust from the Cutie Pies cookbook as I am becoming increasingly fond of this simple to make and simply delicious crust.  For the last month or so I have been using this crust and it is with reserve, and delicacy, that I am venturing to say that it may be my favorite crust yet.  Grandma’s Oil Crust has, and will always remain, one of my favorite crust recipes, but I believe it may have finally met its match.  Hopefully, if Grandma reads this blog entry, she will forgive me this betrayal and accept a homemade pie of her choice the next time we are together as payoff for such a breach in loyalty....

The filling for this pie was very simple, and the whole pie was prepared, baked and cooling by the time I was on my way to church this particular Sunday morning. 

The recipe leaves the option to leave the pie open-faced or put a crumb topping on.  I opted for the crumb topping.  The only other time I have had a blueberry pie it did not have the addition of lemon and was prepared with a double-crust.  The flavor of that first pie decent, but I felt it was missing something.  So with this pie I had my hopes on brightening the flavor with the lemon and the sweet crumb topping. 

Our visiting friends were not disappointed.  This Lemon Blueberry Pie was delicious.  The addition of lemon perked up the pie and made my taste buds pop.  The crumb topping further enhanced the pie by providing a melt-in-your-mouth finish.

Not many leftovers this week!
To all of my friends who have always loved Blueberry Pies… now I understand why.