Lobster Bisque, kind of!

This is a little different than pie but it is a favorite in my house.  This is especially good on a cold winter night. 

This is my take on lobster bisque with the difference being I use crab meat instead of lobster.  This is the easiest recipe for bisque I have found and it is very fast to make.

I chop the onion pretty small because I like the flavor but I don't want the big chuncks.

Next saute the onion in the butter until tender, then slowly add the flour and cook for about a minute.

Next you need to slowly add the broth.  You need to do this slowly so the mixture has a chance to sort of melt.  Cook until thickened then add the water and crab meat.

Cover and simmer about 15 minutes stirring occasionally.  Then add the tomato paste and half and half.  I add the tomato paste first and stir it until it dissolves then add the half and half.

What you have is a wonder pink tinted, creamy hot soup!  I serve with french bread or another crusty bread!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Florida Pie - The Results Are In

The Florida Pie was a toss up.  I think this would be a really good summer pie.  I like the flavor or oranges but not the pulpy texture so I think if I left out the chopped oranges I would have liked it better.  I did not care for the regular crust but I think a shortbread crust would have been nice.  Jason did not like it and all and Lucas spit out the one bite he tried.

I took the leftovers to work and my work friends said they thought it was good.  A few said they also did not care for the orange pieces and agreed a different type of crust would have been better.

A few things to think about if I make the pie again is to leave out the orange peices and use a short bread pie crust.  I would also consider putting whipped cream on top instead of the meringue.  My overall score is a 2. 

Oh well better luck on the next one - Almond Cream.

Florida Pie

So the second pie in my year long journey is called a Florida Pie.  I have never had a Florida pie before but I must say it looks fabulous.  It was pretty easy to make but you have to really watch the custard while cooking because it firms up very fast.  The recipe is from Taste of HOme Best-Loved Pies page 11.

I always like to gather my ingredients so everything is ready.  I also need to remember to read through the recipe before I begin.  I didn't realize until after the custard was finished cooking that you need to add the oranges right away.  I was still chopping the oranges long after the custard was cooked.

The recipe calls for two large oranges but my store only had smaller ones so I used three.  Also since I had some crust left over from Thanksgiving I went ahead and used a store bought crust.  The box said to bake the crust on 450 for about 10 minutes.  Here is a before picture and after picture of the crust.  You can also see the custard in the second picture.

Once you complete the custard just pour into the pre-baked crust.  Then I made the meringue.  I have found in the past I am not very good at making meringue but it was worth a shot.  I won't win any awards on presentation but you can see from the pictures my final product.  The first is the pie without meringue the second is after baking.

Again after it cools we will try a piece and let you know the results.  If you would like the full recipe please comment below and I will email it to you.

2 down 50 to go - Next weeks pie is Almond Cream which is going to be an attemp at one of Jason's favorite childhood pies.

Follow-Up on Mom's Apple Pie

Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful and it was great seeing my family.  All of the pies were wonderful; I had a slice of each.  I saved the apple for later in the evening.  The apples held up very good and the taste was sweet.  I prefer my homemade crust but when baking several pies I choose to go for the quickness of the store bought crust.  My husband said the filling was one of the best but he thought the crust lacked flakiness.  He gave it a 4 out of 5.  Thanks Jason!  I wanted to put a picture of a slice so you could see the inside using the slicing method.  If you want a great apple pie this is the one.

I randomly selected the next pie for next week and the winner is the Florida Pie.  I have never had this pie but I can't wait to give it a try.

Mom's Apple Pie

This is probably the best apple pie recipe I have ever used.  It also happens to be Jason's favorite.  One other ingredient not listed is butter.

I have used several different types of apples in this pie but I find the best is a firm apple that holds it's shape while cooking.  For this pie I used Roma apples.  They were big, red and looked absolutely gorgeous.  I know the recipe calles for 6 but these beauties were so big I only needed 5.

Next you will need to wash, core and peel your apples.  I saw a special on pies on the FoodNetwork one time where the person used a vegetable slicer to make thin slices instead of thick chunks.  I decided to try this a few months ago and I will never go back.

Once you finish this you will have thin rings of apples.  These not only cook through better but they also lay in the shell nicer.

Next I added the remaining ingredients (except the butter) then tossed everything together.  I use apple pie spice and a little extra cinnamon in my filling.  I also use 1 cup of sugar instead of 3/4 just because I like my apple pie sweet.  If you like it tart use 3/4 cup of sugar.

Next I layered the apples in the crust.  I used a store bought crust for this pie.  I do love to make my own crust, but today I had to make 4 pies and store bought crust is much faster and they taste pretty good.  You can see from the picture the rings make it easy to layer the apples in the crust.  Make sure you pour any dry ingredients from the bowl on top of the apples so you get all the yummy goodness.  After I layer the apples I dot the top with butter.

Next I put the top crust on.  You need to remember to vent the top so steam does not build up.  I like to use a small cookie cutter to cut out shapes.  I used a snowflake for this pie.  After I cut out four snowflakes I put the crust on top and pinched the edges.  I then used an egg with about a teaspoon of water mixed together and brushed on the top.  You can lay the cut outs on top of the pie for decoration.  I also sprinkle some sugar over the top.  Some people like to sprinkle salt but again I like my pie sweet!  Then bake at 375 degrees for about an hour.

Be sure to let your pie cool before eating!  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

I'll let you all know how it tastes tomorrow!!  Happy Thanksgiving.

1 down 51 to go!

In the beginning...

So I am making an early New Years Resolution of sorts.  I absolutely love pie.  I love making pie.  It makes my mind stop reeling from all the things that are going through it.  When I am in that pie making mode I only think of the task of making a pie.  Sure I am aware of what is going on around me but for that brief moment I am concentrating on measuring ingredients, rolling out dough and  getting the crust just right. 

I recently bought a book, "Taste of Home Best Loved Pies" which includes 185 delicious delights!  I plan on picking pies from that book and making one each week.  I will also be making pies that are not in the book like my mom's apple pie or my grandpa's chocolate pie. 

I hope you will follow my journey into the world of pies.  By the way I have my first one in the oven right now baking for our Thanksgiving celebration.  This one is my mom's apple pie which happens to be my husbands favorite.  Wish you could smell what I smell!