Top 10 {Things I Love} :: Winter 2015

My Top 10 {Things I Love} list is back for Winter 2015 with some fun and interesting objets de desir, places, people, books, food and drinks that I’m currently crushing on – not necessarily ordered in terms of my favorite – but are all worthy of a huge shoutout for their awesomeness in my opinion… Happy Holidays and New Year 2016! 

magpie cookbook

Magpie Cookbook – Magpie Artisan Pie Boutique is a popular pie shop in Philadelphia, owned by Chef Holly Ricciardi. This book is full of her famous pie recipes, both savory and sweet – from luscious quiches, pot pies and hand pies, to fruity, creamy and nutty pies like her bourbon-infused Butterscotch Pie recipe passed down from her Grandmother. Great for any pie-obsessed person and includes tons of great techniques on how to make different types of crusts and decorative touches for a gorgeous handmade pie. Ah, PIE.
Get it on Amazon

aria wine bar

Aria Wine Bar, NYC – This trendy cozy place has 2 locations: one in the West Village, and another in Hell’s Kitchen in NYC. Offering Venetian-style Italian Tapas, the menu has a plethora of delicious small plates, appetizers, pasta dishes, and salads all created for sharing. They have a great wine list, and the atmosphere is romantic and buzzing and the best part is the wine list offers the fruits of the world’s foremost lady vintners. Try the Mini Meatballs drenched in homemade sauce and melted cheese, the Sautéed Mussels in wine, or the Truffle Mac & Cheese. You won’t be disappointed! Another NYC fave not to miss.
http://ariawinebar.com

bacon jam

The Bacon Jams Bacon Spread – Who doesn’t love bacon? Well now you can have it anytime on the fly. This delicious Bacon Jam is made with real bacon, brown sugar, and onions with three varieties that can all be simply spread on crackers or bread, elegantly spread to elevate appetizers, grilled sandwiches, pasta or to add bacon to any of your favorite dishes. Try the Original, Black Pepper or Red Chile and Garlic. Delicious!
http://thebaconjams.com

Trimino Protein Water

Trimino Protein Water – With the popularity of vitamin waters and fruit waters abound, there’s a new and improved kid on the block. Trimino Still and Sparkling waters are infused with 7 grams of protein, are caffeine and sugar free, and only 28 calories. And lots of fun flavors too! Strawberry Lemonade, Mixed Berry, Coconut Pineapple, Peach and Watermelon. Perfectly light and refreshing for and after workout drink or as a base for a fruity beverage or cocktail.
http://drinktrimino.com

Gala Pork Pie

Parker’s British Foods – Brits Victoria and Damian Parker have a serious love for British food, and learned the crafts of butchery, meat curing and pie making from some incredible British butchers, combining those skills with the best meats and recipes the British Isles had to offer. Then they got married, packed their bags and set off for a new life in America. Now based out of Buffalo, NY, they offer genuine British food like Pork Pie, Sausages, Proper Fish and Chips and a variety of British sweets, condiments, drinks, snacks and gifts for sale in their online store. Check ’em out, Mate!
https://www.parkersbritishinstitution.com/shop-online

extra virgin nyc

Extra Virgin NYC – Extra Virgin is a great little neighborhood spot located in New York City’s West Village. They offer delicious Mediterranean food in a buzzing dimly lit atmosphere with a fantastic wine selection and different varieties of extra virgin oils from around the world. Try the Fritto Misto – lightly fried calamari, zucchini and shrimp as an appetizer..it’s light and crispy and perfectly fried to perfection. The Prosciutto-wrapped Sea Scallops are equally delicious, served over Cauliflower Puree and Porcini Sauce with a Apple and Celery Salad on the side. The Short Ribs are to die for, and literally melt in your mouth, served over Truffled Mashed Potatoes (try these with a side of Grilled Broccolini..super delicious!) They also have a great Sunday brunch and lovely desserts..Another NYC fave, don’t miss it.
http://extravirginrestaurant.com

Jan Burtz Gold Luster Plates

Jan Burtz Luster Ceramics – Offered exclusively at ABC Home in New York City, these ceramics have a handprinted metallic border that lovingly outlines their natural and irregular forms. Made by hand from creamy porcelain and homemade glazes, these pieces bring us back to the basics, accentuating the fluidity and grace of hand-formed wares. Made in Jan Burtz’s Connecticut studio, no two pieces are alike. Also offered in silver and a variety of bowls, trays, platters, vases, plates and sizes. Adds an elegant rustic touch to any table!

Get them on ABC Home

Maple Syrup Cookbook

Maple Syrup Cookbook – I recently got this cookbook and absolutely love it! Why? Because I’m in love with maple syrup and everything in here has a recipe made with it. I made the French Canadian Maple Sugar Pie with Walnuts and the Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts for Thanksgiving and they were both delicious hit at the table! If you love maple syrup as much as I do you can’t miss this cookbook..get it! Immediately.
Get it on Amazon

Raised Bloom Baking Set, Anthropologie

Raised Bloom Baking Set – Who doesn’t love a little bling for the holidays, and better yet who doesn’t love Anthropologie??? This adorable baking set is made of carved stoneware coated in a lovely iridescent glaze including a rolling pin, pie server, measuring spoons, pie plate, whisk and a muffin tin. Almost too pretty to bake with!
Get it on Anthropologie

cranberry sauce

Colors of Nature Cranberry Sauce with Rum and Orange – Colors of Nature is a small, family owned company based out of Brooklyn NY that makes beautiful small batch sauces, jellies and cakes full of fresh ingredients and flavors. Try the Cranberry Sauce made with Rum and Orange – perfect for the holidays!
http://www.colorsofnature.nyc

Holiday Recipes: Maple Brown Sugar Walnut Pie & Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Maple Recipes for the Holiday

Well it’s that time a year again…the holidays are here, and we all know what that means…PIE. And lots of cooking. With lots of yummy Winter comfort food and ingredients, like maple syrup.

maple syrup cookbook

Every year I try to make a new pie and experiment away from the traditional pumpkin, cherry and apple pies. I got a new cookbook title The Maple Syrup Cookbook with some awesome recipes in it and was inspired to make some of them for Thanksgiving this year with the family.

Maple Brown Sugar Walnut Pie

This French Canadian Maple Brown Sugar Walnut Pie is super delicious and was a hit at the table this year!

Maple Brown Sugar Walnut Pie

It’s similar to Pecan pie but has a touch of maple syrup and apple cider vinegar along with a big mess of chopped walnuts, brown sugar, brewed tea, and eggs all baked in a lovely crust. It has a nice balance of sweetness and tartness with lots of crunch and a gooey filling – super #delish!

Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts

I always make Brussels sprouts for the holidays, but this year I made Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts from the cookbook, using a touch of maple syrup for sweetness to the recipe instead of the balsamic drizzle I  normally use with the bacon, shallots and vinegar.

Riesling

They both went great with our Thanksgiving dinner and were absolutely divine with some lovely Riesling wine to go with.

Thanksgiving Dinner

I’m definitely a big fan of this cookbook and these new recipes and I hope you try them too – I’m thinking I’ll make the Maple-Bacon Bread Pudding that’s in the book this year for Christmas Brunch! Stay tuned for that one on the blog soon!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Happy Holidays! xo 

Thanksgiving Dinner

Maple Brown Sugar Walnut Pie

Holiday Recipes: Maple Brown Sugar Walnut Pie & Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

  • Maple Brown Sugar Walnut Pie
  • 1 9-inch pie crust (homemade or frozen)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup brewed tea
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
  • Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts:
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup finely chopped sweet onion (or substitute shallots)
  • 1-1 1/4 pounds Brussels Sprouts, halved
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional, I did not use)
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Maple Brown Sugar Walnut Pie
  2. Prepare the pie shell according to the directions and line a 9-inch pie plate with the pie pastry and refrigerate or freeze. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  3. Whisk together eggs and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add maple syrup, butter, tea, vinegar and salt, whisking until smooth. Stir in the walnuts. Place the pie shell on a heavy baking sheet and pour in the filling.
  4. Bake on the center rack of oven for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temp to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for about 25 minutes longer until the center is set. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp with whipped cream or ice cream. Also good cold.
  5. Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts:
  6. Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towels and let cool. Spoon off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the skillet.
  7. Add the butter and onions to the skillet, and saute over medium heat until translucent, 7-8 minutes. Stir in the Brussels sprouts and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken broth.
  8. Cover and braise the Brussels sprouts until not quite tender, about 3 minutes. Uncover the pan, stir in the mustard, and add salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Continue to cook uncovered, until sprouts are tender and liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup just before taking off the heat, and transfer to a serving dish and top with the cooked crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.
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https://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2015/12/holiday-recipes-maple-brown-sugar-walnut-pie-maple-glazed-brussels-sprouts/

Pear and Hazelnut Salted Caramel Pie

Pear and Hazelnut Salted Caramel Pie

Fall has finally arrived – my favorite season of the year! I love the cooler weather and dressing in jeans, sweaters, boots and leather jackets. I love the beautiful colors of the changing leaves. And I love the gorgeous fall produce and warmer, cozier comfort foods that come with the season.

Pears Hazelnuts

One of my favorite things to make in the fall is pie – sweet or savory with gorgeous fruits and veggies and all sorts of lovely ingredients and spices.

Pear Filling

There’s something so soothing about the smell of pie baking in the oven that warms up the home and goes perfectly with the crisp fall air and cooler days and nights.

KitchenAid Stainless Pie Pan

I recently got a KitchenAid® Stainless Steel 8-Piece Set of cookware along with a new KitchenAid® 9” Professional-Grade Nonstick Pie Pan and was inspired to make a gorgeous Pear and Hazelnut Salted Caramel Pie with a Chocolate Graham Crust. The flavors of nuts, homemade caramel, fresh pears, chocolate, cinnamon and nutmeg pair perfectly together and scream fall.

Pour Salted Caramel Sauce

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY STEP BY STEP RECIPE & PHOTOS ON THE KITCHENAID BLOG!

A Birthday Pie for Dad: Lemon Icebox Pie w/ Raspberry-Blueberry Topping

Lemon Berry Icebox Pie

LemonBlueberryPie2

I just got back from a lovely 2 week vacation in Upstate New York (Rochester) visiting family and friends, which I normally do in the Summer, my family and I go camping with a tent from Survival Cooking every year. Not only is it the 4th of July holiday, but my Sister’s and Dad’s birthdays and a time to celebrate Summer!

Dads Birthday Pie

I decided to make my Dad a pie for his birthday because I know he loves them..he usually loves Lemon Meringue Pie but I thought I’d surprise him with a lovely Lemon Icebox Pie with a Blueberry-Raspberry Filling in a Graham Cracker crust.

Lemon Blueberry Pie1

The pie is made in a buttery graham cracker crust and has a light and luscious creamy lemon filling made with eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest that is mixed with condensed milk, buttermilk and whipped egg yolks. It’s topped with a homemade Blueberry-Raspberry Filling made with fresh berries, sugar and lemon zest and cooked into a yummy warm syrupy topping, along with some fluffy whipped cream to top it off.

It’s really easy to make and has a creamy tangy flavor that is balanced by the sweet berry topping a crunchy graham crust. Delicious! Here’s how to make it in a few easy steps:

Bake Pie Crust

Prepare the crust by mixing crushed graham crackers with melted butter, sugar and salt and pressing into a 9 inch pie pan. Bake at 325 for about 10 minutes until lightly browned, set aside to cool on wire rack.

Zest Lemons

Next make your lemon icebox pie filling by zesting some lemons,

Lemon Pie Filling

and whisking the lemon zest and lemon juice with the condensed milk.

Whip Egg Buttermilk Filling

Next you will beat your egg yolks for about 5 minutes until ribbons form, and gradually whisk in condensed milk mixture and buttermilk, and pour into prepared graham crust.

Pie Cooling

Bake the pie for about 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees F, and let cool completely on a wire rack for about an hour.

Cook Berry Filling

While the pie is cooling, make your fresh berry filling by adding 2 cups of fresh berries (I used raspberries and blueberries, but you can use any berries you wish) to a medium saucepan along with some lemon zest, sugar and water. Cook the berry mixture on medium-low for about 10 minutes until the berries breakdown and a syrupy texture forms.

Berry Filling

Let the berry filling cool completely and keep cool in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Lemon Blueberry Pie 3

Let the pie freeze for about 4-6 hours (make sure to spray some plastic wrap and cover well first). Once ready to eat, just top pie with mixed berries and whipped cream and let the party begin!

A Birthday Pie for Dad: Lemon Icebox Pie w/ Raspberry-Blueberry Topping

Total Time: 6 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 8

A luscious and light lemony pie in a graham cracker crust with macerated raspberries and blueberries topped with whipped cream.

Ingredients

  • Graham Cracker Crust:
  • 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • Lemon Icebox Pie Filling:
  • 1 (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • Raspberry-Blueberry Topping:
  • 1 cup raspberries
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • Dash of vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Prepare Pie Crust:
  2. Preheat oven to 325 F.
  3. Pour graham cracker crumbs in a large mixing bowl and add sugar, salt and melted butter.
  4. Mix well and press into the bottom of a greased 9-inch pie pan.
  5. Bake crust for 8 to 10 minutes and let cool completely on a wire rack. (Can also freeze for up to an hour while preparing pie filling and topping).
  6. Prepare Lemon Icebox Pie Filling:
  7. Whisk together lemon zest, juice and condensed milk in a mixing bowl, set aside.
  8. In another large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks with a mixer on high speed, until ribbons form and they become pale (for about 5 minutes).
  9. Whisk in condensed milk and lemon mixture slowly and gradually until thoroughly combined, then whisk in buttermilk.
  10. Pour mixture into cooled graham cracker crust and bake at 325 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes until filling is set.
  11. Let pie cool on a wire rack for an hour, then cover with a greased saran wrap and freeze at least 4 hours.
  12. Prepare Raspberry-Blueberry Topping:
  13. Place all the berries and rest of ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
  14. Once berries come to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes until berry mixture thickens (stirring often).
  15. Let berry topping cool completely and store in the fridge (covered) until ready to use.
  16. Top the pie with berry topping and whipped cream.

Notes

You can substitute any berries you like for the pie topping, and also use cracker crumbs, vanilla wafers or gingersnaps in place of the graham crackers for the crust.

Recipe adapted from Lisa Donovan, Southern Living Magazine - June 2015

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https://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2015/07/a-birthday-pie-for-dad-lemon-icebox-pie-w-raspberry-blueberry-topping/

Dad's Birthday Pie

We also had a great lunch for Dad’s birthday at Phillip’s European before we had this pie for dessert. Fun delicious day! 🙂

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Maine Wild Blueberry Pie

Maine Wild Blueberry Pie

September is one of my favorite months – the weather is getting cooler, the leaves are turning color, and the breezy nights remind us that Summer is coming to an end with a bountiful harvest to come. I especially love the fruits and vegetables of late Summer/early Fall – especially Maine blueberries, which are primarily found in the Downeast areas of Bar Harbor where they grow wild. They are typically smaller than regular blueberries, giving them a high amount of antioxidants and other healthy nutrients, and have an intense sweet and tangy flavor. They also stay whole when you cook them, making them perfect for baking up a gorgeous berry pie. Although August is the peak season for picking them fresh, they can also be frozen (harvesters freeze them within 24 hours) so they are available year round – Wyman’s and Cascadian Farms are my favorite brands.

In a recent cooking class (that was centered around classic Summer foods of Maine, of course), we made a Wild Blueberry Pie with a gorgeous homemade piecrust with cut holes on top for venting the filling. We used frozen blueberries and thickened them up with a little ground tapioca and apple pectin to create a juicy sliceable filling, that wasn’t too loose and runny. The secret to a crispy piecrust is plenty of super cold butter with a small amount of vegetable shortening to crisp it up, and a touch of vodka for texture, making the crust light and flaky.

Make the Pie Dough

 

Make the Blueberry Filling

 

Cut Pie Holes in Crust

 

Blueberry Pies-2

 

We also made a slew of other Maine-inspired dishes for our feast: Lobster Pie, Lobster Rolls, Fish Chowda, Summer Corn Pudding and Seaside Slaw, served with Blueberry Beer and some lovely cocktails – Tart Cherry and Blueberry Vodka Lemonade. I’m not sure I’m ready for Summer to be over yet, but these recipes I’ll be making all year around whenever I’m missing sunny skies and blue waters. Next year a Summer vacation on the Maine coast is definitely in order!

 

Maine Wild Blueberry Pie

Yield: Makes 1 pie, serving 6 to 8

Ingredients

  • Perfect Pie Dough
  • 2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces), divided, plus more for work surface
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), cut into ¼ inch slices
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening, cold, cut into 4 pieces
  • ¼ cup vodka, cold
  • ¼ cup cold water
  • Wild Blueberry Filling
  • 6 cups fresh wild blueberries (about 30 ounces), if using frozen, cook but do not mash the berries, as described below
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
  • 2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons of juice from 1 lemon
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, ground in a clean spice grinder
  • Pinch table salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch pieces
  • Egg wash; 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Instructions

  1. Process 1 ½ cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 (1 second) pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until a homogenous dough starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup of flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
  2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until it is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
  3. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhand on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
  4. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 F.
  5. Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times, to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduce to half (about 1 ½ cups), for 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
  6. Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca and salt, toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.
  7. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 1 ¼-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 ½ inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least ½-inch overhang on each side.
  8. Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving ½-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.
  9. Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
https://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2014/09/maine-wild-blueberry-pie/

Pie Party GE Potluck & a Potato, Bacon & Gruyere Pie w/ Shallots, Creme Fraiche & Fresh Herbs

Potato, Bacon & Gruyere Pie1

Potato, Bacon & Gruyere Pie1

I recently got invited to the Annual Pie Party GE Potluck with a group of food professionals from NYC, NJ and PA, and in order to attend you had to be a food professional and of course, bring a unique and delicious pie. Tickets to this awesome event were a hot commodity and sold out as always, so thanks to Harvard Common Press for releasing an extra ticket last minute me! I knew everyone would probably bring an array of sweet, and gooey pies and tarts – enough to make you swoon and pass out from a sugar coma.

Kristen Hess The Artful Gourmet

I’m not really a huge sweets person so I decided to make a savory Potato, Bacon & Gruyere Pie with Shallots, Creme Fraiche & Fresh Herbs, which is really more like a tart or quiche, just to switch it up and bring something different to the party.

Sweet Pies

The 3 hour party had hundreds of gorgeous sweet and savory pies from food bloggers, writers, and local Chefs in the food industry, and was planned and hosted by Jackie Gordon aka The Diva That Ate New York and Ken Leung aka Hungry Rabbit at the gorgeous GE Monogram Design Center in NYC.

Pie Party GE

We had tons of fun meeting other foodies

Savory Pies

and sampling the goods,

Chef Tagere

watched a cooking demo by  Chef Tagere showing us how to make gorgeous handmade Empanadas,

Sweet Pies 2

and did lots and lots of eating

Bartender

and drinking and mingling with some of the best foodies on the East Coast!

Anolon

Our awesome sponsors of this amazing party were: OXO, Jarlsberg, Kerrygold, Dub Pies, Wusthof, Snapware, Woolwich Dairy and Anolon.

Wusthof

Plus we got some great swag bags full of goodies from our generous sponsors to take home with us to enjoy all the leftover pie for the next week.

Dub Pies

Pie pans from Anolon, gorgeous knives from Wusthof, measuring spoons and a strawberry huller from OXO, a take home container by Snapware, a gorgeous Aussie Beef Pie from Dub Pies, mini Jarlsberg cheese and lots of beautiful creamy butter from Kerrygold USA.

KerryGold USA

All hail to the pie makers!

Savory Pies 2

Spaghetti Pie

Now back to my pie. This is one of my favorite recipes ever. It has a delicious buttery crust with a savory filling of thinly sliced potatoes, crispy bacon, Gruyere cheese, sage, shallots and garlic, with a touch of cream and crème fraiche inside to make it extra creamy and give a nice sauce to envelop all those delicious potatoes. It’s then baked into a golden brown and topped with a dollop of crème fraiche, chopped Italian parsley, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper for a finishing touch. It’s kind of like a big cheesy potato casserole you’d make for Thanksgiving dinner except it’s a pie. And who doesn’t love a good homemade fresh pie right out of the oven? I advise making two, though, (just double the pie filling recipe below) because this one will get snatched up quicker than you can grab your fork and say “pie”.

Potato, Bacon & Gruyere Pie2

Potato, Bacon & Gruyere Pie w/ Shallots, Creme Fraiche & Fresh Herbs

Yield: 4-6

The pie has a delicious buttery crust with a handmade dough and a hearty filling of thinly sliced potatoes, crispy bacon, Gruyere cheese, sage, shallots and garlic, with a touch of cream and crème fraiche inside to make it extra creamy and give a nice sauce to envelop all those delicious potatoes. It’s then baked into a golden brown and topped with a dollop of crème fraiche, chopped Italian parsley, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper for a finishing touch.

Ingredients

  • Pie Crust (For two 9-inch crusts):
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter; cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 6 tablespoons ice water
  • Potato Pie Filling (For one 9-inch Pie):
  • 6 slices of bacon or pancetta
  • 4 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced into 1/16”
  • 2 shallots, peeled and minced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, minced
  • ¼ cup half and half
  • 2 tablespoons crème fraiche
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons crème fraiche (for garnish)
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

  1. For the dough, mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse to mix until a coarse meal forms. Gradually add the ice water in until moist clumps form in the dough. Gather the dough and form into a ball. Divide in half and flatten into disks. Wrap each dough disk in plastic and chill it for at least one to two hours before rolling it out.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  3. Gently roll out the pie dough on a floured surface and place into a lightly greased nine-inch round pie dish. Trim and flute the edges, set aside.
  4. Cook the bacon slices in a large sauté pan over medium heat until crispy and browned. Drain on paper towels, crumble into small pieces and set aside.
  5. For the potato pie filling, peel and slice the potatoes thinly (about 1/16” rounds) with a mandolin or knife; chop shallots, garlic and sage leaves. Whisk two tablespoons of crème fraiche into the half and half in a small bowl.
  6. Toss the sliced potatoes with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes in the dish in a circular overlapping pattern, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the shallots, garlic, sage, Gruyere cheese, half and half/crème fraiche mixture, and crumbled bacon. Repeat 2-3 more layers until all of the potato mixture and fillings are inside the pie shell. Top the pie with a little extra shredded Gruyere cheese and olive oil.
  7. Bake the pie for about 45 minutes until crust is golden brown and the cheese on top is melted and bubbly.
  8. Cool the pie on a baking rack for about 5 minutes and then top with a dollop or two of more crème fraiche, chopped parsley, sea salt and pepper for garnish.

Notes

You can also substitute pancetta or ham for the bacon, and mix in some Swiss or Emmenthaler cheese to the Gruyere if you want to make it extra cheesy and melty. Play around with the herbs too – throw in a little rosemary or thyme if you like. This recipe makes two 9-inch piecrusts, so if you want to make two pies, just double the pie filling recipe.

https://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2014/05/pie-party-mania-potato-bacon-gruyere-pie/

Photo Gallery from the Event (just click the photos to enlarge and see slideshow)

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