My First Pie & Happy Pi Day!

I am in LOVE with this cookbook, First Prize Pies by Allison Kave. It might come as a surprise to you knowing that I am a health coach and here I am blogging about eating sugar-laden pies. I firmly believe in moderation, I don't think it's possible for most people to completely eliminate sugary sweet desserts forever. I believe that we have to find a balance for ourselves to live and be happy. (In a previous post, I explained my Social Pie Experiment.) I've decided that 2018 will be the year of making pies and what better day to post a recipe for a pie than on Pi day! 

For my very first pie I made one of the recipes from First Prize Pies cookbook. I chose this one for my wife, both for her love of caramel and Samantha Bee. The pie tasted fantastic, extremely rich in flavor and relatively easy to make except that I will note that making this pie is time consuming. Not labor intensive but waiting for things to set in order to finish the recipe takes patience. I hope you enjoy!

Samantha Bee's Salty Caramel Pie: First Prize Pies by Allison Kave

Pretzel Crust
8 ounces pretzels (pick your favorite kind)
6 to 8 tablespoons (85 to 115 g) unsalted butter, melted (pretzels can be very dry, so you may need more)

Filling
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) brown butter (I used regular butter)
2 tablespoons mascarpone (I couldn't find mascarpone so I used 2 tablespoons of full fat cream cheese and a splash of heavy cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Topping
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips

Make the crust: Grind the pretzels in a food processor until finely ground or seal them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Pour in the butter and mix (hands are best for this) until the texture is that of wet sand. You may need more or less butter, depending on the texture of the pretzels. Firmly press the crumbs into a 9-inch pie pan. Chill the crust in the freezer or fridge for several hours. (For a less crumbly crust: Once chilled through, bake the crust in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.)

Make the filling: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together 1/2 cup water, the sugar, and honey until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Cook over medium-high heat, moving the pan around occasionally, until the caramel has turned dark amber and reached 340°F (170°C) on a candy thermometer. (Or just guess, like I did.)
Remove the caramel from the heat and slowly pour the cream down the side of the pan, whisking constantly. Be very careful here: The caramel will start to bubble violently and release a lot of hot steam. Whisk in the butter, then the mascarpone, then the vanilla and salt. Pour the filling into your prepared pie shell, and refrigerate it, uncovered, until fully set—at least 5 hours.

Make the topping: Heat the cream until scalded, and then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then whisk until glossy. Spread or drizzle the ganache over the filling, allow it to set, and serve. This pie can be refrigerated for up to 1 week, covered well in plastic wrap. Allow it to come to room temperature before serving. For easier slicing, run your knife under hot water first to prevent the caramel from sticking to the blade.

The Social Life of Pie

It might come as a surprise to you knowing that I am a health coach and I am blogging about eating sugar-laden pies. Here is the thing, as a health coach, I believe in moderation. I believe that we have to find a balance for ourselves to live and be happy. I don't eat pie every day, but every once in a while is totally okay for me. Also as someone who identifies as an Alcoholic, I'm always looking for alternative ways to find social gatherings that don't feel awkward when alcoholic drinks aren't being served. Even for folks who don't drink often they might mistakenly assume that a Friday night dinner invitation warrants bringing a bottle of wine. And for some people, it's an uncomfortable conversation to have with guests that you might not know very well and have invited over with the intention to get to know better.

Recently I had a conversation where I admitted to the other person that I’ve never actually made a pie before. I’ve made all kinds of desserts but never a pie. Their mouth hung open, shocked. She even said, "Come one everyone has made a pumpkin pie, it's so easy!" 

Nope, never. 

Here is a bit of my backstory.....my entire childhood my mother, my sister and I would take turns helping a neighbor Mary who lived a few doors down and was in a wheelchair. Mary was grandmother age, never had any children of her own and we started helping her soon after her husband died. We actually didn’t even know her before that. My mom was and still is such a caring, kind person, she saw a person in need and immediately wanted to help her. We took care of Mary and welcomed her into our lives, without seeking recognition or reward. (My mom, of course, did a lot more than me and my sister.) Our job, as kids, was to go down to Mary’s house in the evening and take her shoes and socks off and put on her slippers. Every third day it was my turn and Mary would have made a pie and her and I would have a slice (or two!) and talk. I really cherished that time with her and Mary’s pies were delicious! I’ve never tried to make a pie of any kind before now, yet they hold this very special place in my heart. 

So all of this is to say, I'm starting a little social pie experiment. 

I found this cookbook, First Prize Pies by Allison Kave on the shelf of my local library and was immediately drawn to the beautiful cover. After flipping through it for a few days I knew I had to own this book. The photographs are beautiful, I love the font that is used in the recipe writing and the actual recipes are both unique and yet familiar flavors. I have a fondness for eating food that is in season and this cookbook has pie recipes that are divided up by seasons, our meeting was clearly meant to be. When I saw that, ideas began to run wild.... what if I made a pie each month and intentionally invited friends over for pie and tea. Doesn't that sound lovely? It's a beautiful confluence of my love for cooking, of my purpose to live intentionally and devote time to relationships which have meaning in my life and also my goal of learning and developing a new skill. 

I'll keep you posted on this slice of my life!  ;) 

Honoring Your Time, Living with Intention

 

I am choosing to live my life with Intention on a daily basis, as I mentioned before in a previous post my word for 2018 is Intention.
It's not easy, I'll be honest.
It would be a lot easier to get back into the habits that felt comfortable but weren't serving my purpose or goals. Similiar to when you create a new goal of being healthier, with food and exercise. It's hard to create that new habit but it's only the creating of the habit that is hard. Once the habit of meal prepping and carving out time in your schedule to exercise is a part of your routine, it no longer feels hard.

What does living with intention look like on a weekly basis? I am taking weekly inventory of how we are spending our time and making room in our busy schedules to spend time with the people we love and care about but have lost sight of because they aren't immediately in front of us. Like a lot of people we get swept up into the daily living; work, kids' activities, dog walks etc. If we don't pencil in the time to see these people that we love and care about but don't happen to be one of the faces we run into as we go about our lives, we hardly see them.

Maybe you feel the same way, you are raising kids and absorbed in practices and games and your time is spent with the other parents you sit next to on the bleachers. Or maybe you feel absorbed in your career and all of your time is spent at work and then getting drinks with other staff members afterward to shrug off the day and decompress. This is life, this is being in that comfortable place of habits. But the question I propose to you is- Is this serving your purpose? If you were a company would your intention of how you spend your time be in line with your mission statement? It wasn't for me and that's why I am making this change in my life.

We are making the time to see those faces that we lost sight of and care about, even if that means driving to a halfway point to have a meal together for a few hours. Twice we have done exactly that this month. For my mother-in-law's birthday, we drove halfway to meet her for lunch and yes, it would have been ideal to spend a weekend together but with the boys' schedules right now of classes and musical rehearsals, it's just not possible. That lunch with her felt really special. I felt present and happy to be with her and my wife on a Wednesday afternoon, breaking up our normal weekly routine. We also met up with my cousins who live outside of Philadelphia, we met halfway in a little sleepy boat town for lunch. We laughed and ate and talked truth. I don't think I've laughed that much in a long time. It was so good for our souls to connect with like-minded people and share our stories.

Intention lives in the choosing, being mindful of where our energies are going. Who and what are occupying the time slots on our calendars. Choosing how you spend your time and with whom is possible for all of us. We deserve to make living with intention a priority in our lives. How will you do it?