The Sweet Taste of Summer...Attempted

One of the pies I have been most anxious to bake is a lemon meringue pie. Not only have I never thought to make one, I've actually never tried one, either. I know, shocking. Ok, a little history about me: I do try new things sporadically (including adventurous things), but for the most part I stick to what I like and know is good. Same sushi, same ice cream, same pie. Same, same, same. I don't enjoy lemonade but I do love lemon bars. My wonderful mother came to help me with my little gerbils (an endearing nick-name by a random stranger...love it) and brought some perfectly ripe strawberries for the boys and me. I thought..lemonade..strawberry lemonade..why not? oh, my love of complicating things.
But I'm getting ahead of myself again. For some inexplicable reason I assumed a lemon meringue pie would be a gooey cloying mess with a hard shell. It's sooo not. It's tangy but sweet with a pillowy meringue and flaky and perfectly contrasting crust. I was in heaven..and ate about 3 slices in 2 days. Got a thumbs up from the husband and kids (though those thumbs haven't quite discovered their fine motor dexterity...so my confirmation came from them repeating "moae, moae" until I gave in). Hubby even had more than one slice which is amazing since the man doesn't even like soda. Sugar HATER! And the strawberry addition verdict: take it or leave it.

Part of my success with this was a utilization of Meyer lemons. They are a milder, sweeter version of a regular lemon, and is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. They look and smell like lemon candy and produce a juice demanding less sugar to tone down the tart.

Three things that need to improve:

1. Crust. Taste was good but this pie requires a thicker crust to offset the tart factor. Will use more than normally required next time.
2. Filling. I was too anxious to try the pie and didn't allow the filling to set which was partially the reason for it "goo-ing" out when I sliced. Another is cooking and baking it enough; I suspect it needed to set more fully in the oven and on the stove. Also I had those wonderful strawberries in there so they could have caused some unwanted juicy-ness. Picky, picky pie.
3. Meringue. Though light and perfectly browned, I got apprehensive beating the eggs (a must-be in baking pies is a complete lack of fear) and only did to soft-peak...would have liked them to be hard-peak.
   

The taste was fabulous so no fixing needed there...just a little technical difficulty easily remedied. Luckily I have two Meyers left so I'll re-do and let my co-worker ladies at church taste-test so I don't eat it all again...you're welcome, ladies.

My, My, Sweet Potato Pie...

I was less adventurous this time around...and the sweet potatoes in the fridge were calling my name...so I went for a sweet potato custard pie. Technically I have made a sweet potato pie before...but thought this would be completely different. It wasn't. The texture was good, and the taste was fine...just overall it was...well...meeeah. I guess I was hoping for something exorbitantly full of taste. I was underwhelmed.
Here's the deal: The good old-fashioned Southern Sweet Potato pie calls for sweet potatoes found in the South (naturally). They are very dark in flesh color and are often confused with yams. Yams are completely different botanically and are rarely found in the states, and can usually only be grown in very tropic places. So I'm sure I just had run-of-the-mill sweet potatoes. There are two varieties that work well and by golly I am going to go buy seeds for them and plant those suckers next fall...try this darn thing over again. For now my solace is that there is already a booth at the market selling sweet potato cakes and pies...who I'm sure have their act together. I need not worry about competing, I have plenty of other pies to offer! So for now, green tomato pie: YES, sweet potato custard pie: NO!

On a side note: I gave the remainder of the green tomato pie to my father, and he came back with the plate exclaiming "that pie was incredible!" "what did you add to it to make it taste like that?!"...I'm serious..all it needs is some sugar and lemon juice, it make a fabulous pie filling!

Out of the gate, it's...

So I contemplated for hours, reviewed my list, and finally decided on...nothing aforementioned. I know, I know...but that makes it more adventurous, right? And this way I still have seven more desserts to try! So what did I make? Let me start by saying it was a bea-U-tiful January day in San Diego...would say I like the east coast (where I was born) for it's seasons, but then you have a 75-degree day in January and hey, why not LOVE SD? So, anyway the fam and I were meandering the acreage when we wandered into my father's garden. Not much was flourishing except the tomatoes, which were almost all in their green pre-ripened stage. So it hit me...drum roll please...Green Tomato Pie! hahaha don't gag! It's a traditional Southern pie, and I've never made it, so I thought...dessert for tonight and a good use of a bunch of neglected tomatoes!

Green tomatoes are still very firm, so they don't mush up or release too much liquid when baked. This pie calls for only a couple ingredients, a lot of sugar, and a higher baking temperature. It went in looking like a savory green pepper pie, and came out...well...better than I expected...I think. It smelled unlike anything I can describe (not bad, just different).

My number one taste-tester will be my husband. He is encouraging, but brutally honest enough to tell me he doesn't like something. He also immediately follows up with how I can improve it. He has a great palate and can throw things together to make a delicious meal, with absolutely no forethought. And he HATES tomatoes. What the heck was I thinking?! I finally started this and then had no one to taste my first pie!
But hubby pulled through. He didn't want a slice but did help himself to a small tomato on its own.

He was impressed! As was I...it tastes like oranges but has the texture of cooked bell peppers. With the crust it really comes together and is surprisingly really, really...I mean really..good. Like scrape your plate good.
My two year olds kept asking "more," so it's child friendly, too..(like any sweet isn't).

What a great kick-off. I am on my way, baby...

Where to begin...

To say this blog is completely in thanks to my self-motivation and confidence would be a lie. I have been practically coerced by a dear friend into creating this blog, and hopefully, a business. It makes it that much better, however, to know I have a friend who believes in me, supplying me the reassurance in my constant self-doubt mode. I'm getting way ahead of myself though...

For as long as I can remember I have been drawn to the kitchen. Making meals whenever possible, creating a "restaurant" for my parents (hey, anything to supplement a frugal allowance, eh?)...truth is I LOVED making and baking food for others...well mostly for myself. I LOVE to eat..especially sweets. When I wasn't allowed extra dessert, I would create my own concoction of sugar, flour, and butter (Pate Sucree-ish) and occasionally add fresh fruit. I have no idea how I came up with this, but I guess I technically was a baker since...well...for as long as I can remember. Soon, teenage priorities reined, then the college years, and I forgot all about my knack for all things culinary. I married at 24 and began to cook and bake again...like rekindling an old friendship...ok that was way too cheesy. Anyway my husband has been completely surprised by my prowess in the kitchen (I was a vegetarian while we were dating so he never ate my food ;) and remains incredibly supportive...throughout my "cupcake phase," my pie summers, and countless attempts at the perfect chocolate chip cookie (oh, I have that one DOWN).

I've always received rave reviews of my peach pies (except that one...I swear that wasn't the peach stand I normally go to!), and my crust is very unique and sooo flaky. I have an ability to decorate cakes without classes or training. And my flourless chocolate cake is freaking awesome (says me anyway)...Thing is I really have a minimal repertoire when it comes to experience doing other recipes...I baked peach pies like crazy when they were in season, but never attempted a blueberry pie the next month (major burnout). I have NEVER made a pie with meringue, a bundt cake, nor attempted to conquer the mysterious red velvet cake...needless to say I'm limited to what I like, and re-make..over, and over...With all that said, my plan is to start a pie booth at my local farmers market, and decorate cakes for weddings and birthdays, like..asap, so I guess I better start practicing!

So here it is..Julie & Julia style... at least one recipe I've never attempted, each and every week for as long as it takes to master this art...I'll post pics and try to bake on Mondays...but ya never know having twin toddlers...Thanks for coming along on my adventure, I hope we have some laughs at my expense, and that we learn a lot together!

So here's my list of prospective first-impression sweets:

1. Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie (peak season, so that's a do-soon-er)
2. Banana Cream Pie (a little too easy, but needs to be done!)
3. Coconut Cream Pie (again, super cinchy, but I've never attempted it)
4. Red Velvet Cake (all-natural, of course)...
5. Shoofly Pie (Unless you're Amish or a pie aficionado, don't feel ignorant for never hearing of this before)...
6. Buttermilk Chess Pie (Again, unless you say "pahh" for "pie" you wouldn't know this one)
7. And lastly, Sweet potato custard pie (Pops just handed me a bag of sweet potatoes from his garden, so that's a big fat possibility)