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For us bakers, it’s never difficult to figure out how to celebrate Pi Day! The most important component of any halfway decent Pi Day celebration is pie. Pie is the obvious choice, not only because it shares a name with the popular number, but because of its traditional circular shape. There are infinite (like pi!) ways to create a pi-themed pie. I’ve decided to forgo any circular pie references in favor of creating a custom shaped pi filled with tangy sweet blood orange curd. The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. There are still apples for sale at the local orchards, which means that they are still working their way into many of my baked goods. For this month’s challenge we were given the opportunity to choose the flavor of our crostata so I used one of my old favorite flavor combinations: apples and cranberries. I’ve always loved cranberry juice and all its varieties (straight-up cranberry, cran-raspberry, cran-grape, cran-apple, etc), though I don’t seem to drink it as often anymore. Cranberries just aren’t as popular in California as they are in Massachusetts, with all its cranberry bogs. But I can still find fresh cranberries at the store so there’s nothing to stop me from baking with them! Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Cranberry Apple Crostata” »
Black cat, cross my path – good fortune bring to home and hearth. When I am away from home, bring me luck wherever I roam. I’ve got this black cat who simply adores pumpkin. Whenever a container of pumpkin is cracked open, he will come running from near or far, nose sniffing the air to determine the location of his favorite treat. He certainly crossed my path a few times while I put together this pie, ready to mop up any stray dollops of pumpkin puree. The aroma of nutty whole wheat pastry crust, browning butter, and melting cheese hung in the air as this galette baked. I resisted the urge to pull it from the oven before it was finished baking. Quickly and carefully, I transferred the piping hot galette to a fresh piece of parchment paper for its photo shoot. I snapped a few quick (blurry) photos, then got to work slicing and eating this galette. When you make this for yourself, you’ll understand.
Saturday, 7:10 am. The farmers market had just opened and we found ourselves in front of a bright display of strawberries and marionberries. As we selected one of each type of berry, the farmer appeared in front of us and half-whispered, “I’ve got one container of tayberries back here if you’re interested.” The Boyfriend and I exchanged looks. “What’s a tayberry?” I asked. He produced the half pint container and replied, “They’re like gold. They won’t last long.” I’m not sure if it was his clever marketing or the gorgeous purplish-black hue of the tayberries, but we were sold. We brought home the most delicious collection of strawberries, marionberries, and tayberries. Our CSA share added boysenberries and rhubarb to our bounty. Now, each and every one of those berries could have made their way into our stomachs within a few hours. But I had grander plans for them: pie. |
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