Crisps, Crumbles & The Like

Pie season is upon us!  It’s all up on us, actually.  Only 2.5 weeks until Thanksgiving!  Crazy talk, I know, because wasn’t it just August?  I swear I was wearing shorts, like, yesterday. (Note: I probably was though, because I live in California and apparently you can wear shorts in November here? It’s the best/weirdest.)

I feel like the older I get, the faster time seems to fly.  Elders/Wisers — is this a thing?  And if so, can we punch this thing in the face?  No?

Well.  At least there’s pie.

Have you ever made pie from scratch?  I highly suggest it.  It’s a bit of work, but just a bit.  Entirely worth it, in the end.  I kind of feel like the ability to make a pie is a worthy and important life skill.  Never done it?  Just take it slow.  Read all the steps.  Chill your dough.  Flour your hands.  Don’t cut corners.  Most importantly, enjoy the process!  Throw on some Christmas carols (it’s November, you’re officially allowed), pour some drinks, and get rolling.  And don’t stress about it, because if you do then you’ll forget to add the sugar, which I can say with some authority is a fantastic way to truly ruin a pie.

I usually stick with a few trusty pie recipes around the holidays — pumpkin and pecan are my go-to guys — but when it comes to pie, the options are boundless.

See that?  That’s a buttermilk chess pie.  I’ve been reading about chess pie for ages, on other blogs and in magazines, but I’d never seen or tried one in real life.  So when I got a copy of the gorgeous new Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book, I knew exactly what I wanted to try first.

In the book, the recipe for chess pie is actually a variation of a recipe for buttermilk pecan pie with raisins — simply omit the pecans and raisins and HELLO, CHESS PIE!  It’s got a toasty, crackly top shell which gives way to a soft, creamy, sweet custard filling — the buttermilk is there to balance out all of the sugar, although it’s definitely a sweet pie by nature, so next time I’m going to try it with the toasted pecans, too, which I’m sure would help further ground the sweetness.

The Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book, put out by the incredible food geeks (and I mean that in the best way possible) at America’s Test Kitchen, is nothing short of amazing.  It’s a behemoth of baking intelligence and know-how — over 450 recipes!  Each with extensive headnotes outlining the science behind the pie — or cake, cookie, custard, bread, brownie, pastry… pretty much anything you can bake is covered in this bad boy.  Personally, I’ve got my eye on the recipe for buttermilk doughnuts.  Or maybe the lemon layer cake?  No, wait, first I want to try the chocolate-raspberry rugelach.  …ECLAIRS!  Let’s make eclairs.

Want a copy of this baker’s bible?  Lucky for us, the generous folks at America’s Test Kitchen have offered to gift one copy to a Dunk & Crumble reader — that’s you!  And all you have to do to win one bona-fide copy of the Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book is leave a comment, below, telling me about your very favorite thing to bake for the holidays (also you have to live in the US, for shipping reasons).  I’ll choose a winner at random on Sunday, November 17th.

Also, in the name of full disclosure, I was given a free copy of the book in exchange for my review, here.  I don’t agree to do these kinds of things unless I fully support the company/product I’m endorsing, and I’ve been an avid reader of all things America’s Test Kitchen for years now (the baking buck stops with them, as far as I’m concerned).  Needless to say, I was thrilled to accept my copy and the chance to gift one to one of you lovelies, too.

Don’t forget, you’ve got until Sunday, November 17th (at noon Pacific time)!  So tell me — what is your favorite thing to bake for the holidays?

THANKS GUYS! THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED — CONGRATULATIONS TO SUSAN T!

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Pie!  A light and creamy one, covered with bright and juicy strawberries.

For you.  Love, me.

So.  Yeah.  That’s all, really.  Need I say much more?

I think it’s safe to say that this has been a rough week, and a little big slice of pie feels like a welcome thing this weekend.

This one’s got a sugar-and-egg-enriched crust and a sour-cream-and-yogurt-based custard filling. It’s smooth and velvety and just faintly sweet with brown sugar.  And the ruby tumble of berries on top?  Essential.  Pile those on there.

It took me a few happy bites slices of this beauty before I realized that the whole thing is actually pretty reminiscent of cheesecake, which makes a lot of sense if you look at the ingredient list (eggs, sugar, sour cream… oh hello, extensive pastry training).  A welcome discovery!  Strawberry cheesecake pie?  Alright then.

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Thanksgiving 2012 was… eventful.  At my house, anyway.

The events that went down are twofold: first, my sister got engaged.  ENGAGED!  To John!  There was a proposal on a bench and a diamond and everything.  There were hugs and elation and glasses of champagne!  Everything was happy and goodness.

And then everybody threw up.

I’m not even kidding a little bit.  The joyful holiday weekend quickly turned into Stomach-Bugsgiving, 2012.  It started with one person (I don’t want to blame Ben, but it was probably his fault), and quickly moved to two, then three and four and five and on to ten.  Ten people!  Downed by horrible, feverish plague (or, more likely, Norovirus).  It even got Grandma.  We all tried to fight it, but before we knew it we were dropping like flies, and instead of feasting on stuffing and pie and potatoes we were cautiously nibbling saltines and sipping Gatorade with Tylenol.  It was the only Thanksgiving in the history of Thanksgivings where everyone actually lost weight.

Can you all just join me in one large and appropriate “OY?”

…Oy.

Still, we’re a tough crowd.  We soldiered on, we set the table, we had some seltzer water and some laughs and even a little pie.

Come on, Norovirus.  We are Gilberts.  You can’t keep us from the pie.

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