Caramel Nut Pie

The Life of PIE

To everything there is a season, and to every season…there is a pie.

Springtime means cherry, rhubarb, and lemon meringue. Summer is a pie-a-palooza with apple, peach, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry…and so on. Winter is reserved for the chocolates and for some interesting citrus versions, like this one.

Apple is really a year-round option. (‘Cause when is it not a good time for apple pie?)

But the Fall, it’s all about nuts and squash. There are some fruits thrown in for good measure. Apple, of course, Pear too…and both are often found mixed with cranberries. While Pumpkin and Pumpkin Spice seem to rule the month of November, for me the nut pies are the real stars.

Since November is Pie Month at Piedmont Grocery, I decided to get in the spirit and make a pie over the weekend—mainly so that I could eat it, but also to teach my daughter how to make her own. I have always been a big fan of Pecan Pie, but that’s what we will be having for Thanksgiving. I wanted to do something a different, and decided to try a Caramel Nut Pie recipe that I saw in the American Pie Council’s America’s Best Pies 2015-2014 cookbook my sister gave me last Christmas. I was a little concerned about letting my 9 year-old make caramel, but it turned out great, and we had it for dessert Sunday night.(And some of us may have had some for breakfast on Monday, maybe.)

This Caramel Nut Pie would make a great stand-in for pecan at Thanksgiving. It’s for anyone who loves nuts—especially if they are not a big fan of the gooey center. Fair warning, this pie is basically all nuts. It is as dense as it is rich. It is also very good.

Below is the recipe as printed in the book. If I were to make this again, and I definitely will, I would make some changes. (*See my notes.) For example, I added salt to the caramel because I thought the mixture was just too sweet and needed more of a buttery flavor. Second, next time I will bake this in a tart pan. It would make it easier to slice, and frankly, I think it works better as a tart. Third, I would get a little wacky with the mix of nuts…maybe add some hazelnuts or cashews to the mix. I also want to see what it would taste like with a little cayenne pepper added to the caramel. I left off the white chocolate because I didn’t think it was necessary, but a little melted semi-sweet chocolate could be tasty option too…

Caramel Nut Pie
America’s Best Pies 2014-2015 by American Pie Council
Christine Montalvo, Windsor Heights, IA Read more…

Pecan Bars

Belly up to the (Pecan) Bar
When life gets crazy, I bake. Others run or lift weights, but I self-medicate with cookies. This may not be the healthiest way to deal with life’s little curve balls, but the comfort is worth a thousand push-ups.

When this Barefoot Contessa recipe for pecan bars popped up on my Facebook feed, I knew I had to try them. I love pecans and anything with pecans—sweet or savory. Alas, the climate and soil of the East Bay are not optimal for a pecan tree, or I would have planted one within five minutes of moving in to our house.

With so much going on this month, I haven’t had time to make something for the fun of it…much less feed my family. So this recipe had been sitting on my try this pile taunting me. The perfect opportunity came last weekend for my sister’s impromptu gathering. After a stressful week, it was nice to get together as a family and relax…while yelling at the Cal game on TV.

The bars are good and I love that she uses honey instead of corn syrup. Not only does the honey give the pecan bars a more floral flavor, it’s just better for you. Plus, the addition of orange zest is delicious.

When I make them next time, I have a few tweaks. I would half the recipe (this makes way too many), and use regular butter instead of unsalted for both the crust and the filling. I like my pecan bars with a little more salt. Of course you could just sprinkle the cooling bars with some good-quality sea salt for a salted caramel feel. That would be darn tasty too!

Pecan Bars
Adapted from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa
(Makes 20 large squares) Read more…

Baked Farro, Bacon, and Butternut Squash

Costume (Butter) Nut
Do you remember your Halloween costumes from when you were a kid? I do. I remember being Raggedy Anne, and of course there was a mouse costume in there somewhere. One year I was a flamenco dancer, and I went as Wilma Flintstone another year. My favorite costume of all time had to be Cleopatra—partly because the make-up was totally fun, but the real reason was the mondo-cool dress.

My mom had this super-groovy one shoulder gold lamé disco dress that was just awesome. And because I was tall enough, I was able to wear it to be Queen of The Nile. Costume aside, the Gold Lamé Dress will forever live in familial infamy. I don’t remember actually seeing Mom wear it, but I have to assume she did at some point. It was just too fantastic to not wear it. Long live the 70s!

Why am I talking about Halloween costumes midway through September? Because it has been the topic of discussion around the dinner table for the last week. The planning has begun. For the boys the issue is do we care or not, and are we just too cool for Halloween? It’s Middle School. Gone are the Halloween parades, class parties and costume contests. In their place, the real world, where they have tests and homework assignments.

My daughter is in full planning mode which, frankly, scares me. Here’s why. Last week I came home to find her locked in her room (a.k.a. The Lab) furiously working on something with duct tape and scissors. Two hours later she emerges and proceeds to tape (yes, tape) a cardboard dragon costume to our Bassett Hound, Rocket. While we all found it funny, except for Rocket, it is this type of impulsive ingenuity that can make finding a Halloween costume for her difficult. It also means that her choices can be, well, different.

I am all for being your own person and not following the crowd. In fact I encourage all my kids to find their own beat. But someone please tell me why she thinks that being a squash for Halloween would be so totally awesome!? And where I can find a Butternut Squash costume? ‘Cause I doubt I’ll find it at Target alongside all of the frozen options…

Having me make the costume is not a possibility. She’s going to have to go a different route, because this is the only butternut squash I will be making…

Baked Farro, Bacon, and Butternut Squash Read more…

Baked Apple Dumplings

Fall Like Weather?
It’s about two minutes past the start of September, and in my mind, once Labor Day has come and gone, it’s Fall. That’s the kind of fly by the seat of my pants rebel that I am. Forget the thousands of years of science and astronomy. If the calendar says September 9th then it must be time for long sleeve shirts, flannel sheets, apples and pumpkins…unless you live here on the face of the sun where it will reach 102 degrees today.

Perhaps the heat has fried my brain, but pumpkin spice lattes and turning the oven on for a little Fall baking sounds like a great idea. The thought of apples and caramel and pecans and pumpkins has me going a little nuts.

There are so many fall baking ideas right now in the magazines and online that I am having a hard time choosing which ones to make. It’s safe to say I will be getting to all of them eventually…

What I have been seeing a lot are apple dumplings. I am a sucker for anything that involves apples, pastry, butter, and cinnamon so these are a no-brainer. This recipe adapted from Cooks Country is the bomb!

Baked Apple Dumplings
Serves 8