pretty by the bay

We’re getting there, people. My most recent attempt at homemade pie crust was much more successful than the last go ’round. I was inspired by a step-by-step pictorial in the November issue of Real Simple, which addressed one of my main problems: preventing the crust from cracking around the edges as it’s rolled out. In my last attempt, I thought the dough cracked because it was too dry. Real Simple suggests using your knuckles to make indentations around the edges of the dough, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t work like a charm. I still think my dough was a wee bit dry – I’m still scared of adding too much liquid and turning it into a gummy mess – but this method helped a lot. The crust wasn’t perfect, but it looked a lot better than last time and rolling it out was an easier process. Give their method a try if you, too are a pie crust newbie. (Note: I used my Kitchenaid mixer instead of a food processor, but that was the only change I made to the recipe and method.)

This pie, by the way, is for a Thanksgiving potluck held at my office later today. The filling is not your traditional pumpkin – it’s sweet potato, courtesy of one of my favorite bloggers, Joy the Baker. Head on over to Joy’s blog for the recipe. (She also includes a “no roll” pie crust if you want an easier path to homemade crust!) This was my first attempt at sweet potato pie, and man…I just can’t describe how DELICIOUS the batter smelled and tasted before it went into the oven. I questioned the use of coriander alongside “sweeter” spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, but Joy indicated the coriander was both lovely and essential – and I think she is spot on. I’ll post an update after we dig in to this pie later today. I can’t imagine it will be anything short of spectacular!

UPDATE: OK, we had the potluck and I tasted the pie. The filling was FANTASTIC – the coriander gave it such a delicate spicy flavor without overwhelming the cinnamon and nutmeg. The crust was….okay. Buttery, for sure, but not as tender as I’d like. I’m not sure if this was due to being overmixed or what, but it was a little tougher than I want it to be. Rest assured, I WILL persevere and I WILL prevail!

*****

In other news, I’d like to share two foodie gifts that came my way yesterday – and announce my first ever GIVEAWAY!

Gift # 1: Bacon Potato Chips from Sharon, one of Corey’s coworkers, who clearly knows the way to my heart! These chips are locally made by Who’s Your Daddy, and they not only taste like bacon, they include real bits of bacon in the bag. I can only imagine how delicious these would be with french onion dip. Thank you, Sharon!

Gift #2: something I’ve been eyeing for a few weeks now… Snickerdoodle Spread from Williams Sonoma!

I noticed this in Williams Sonoma a few weeks ago and was too cheap to buy it, but a student who works for me has a part-time job at WS – and kindly bought it using her employee discount! (She, too knows the way to my heart.) This stuff is as rich and decadent as it sounds. Have you ever made cinnamon toast with butter, and noticed how the cinnamon and sugar sort of clings to the butter and gets all crunchy and buttery and creamy? It tastes like that. It’s like a brown sugary dream. I sampled some on a banana yesterday and it was pure heaven. I can only imagine how good it would taste on pancakes, oatmeal, bagels or vanilla ice cream.

These gifts were totally random and totally made my day. In the spirit of giving, I’d like to pay it forward and send one of these treats to one of you! Leave a comment on this post and I’ll draw someone at random to receive their choice of either Bacon Potato Chips or Snickerdoodle Spread. (How’s that for the most random giveaway ever?) And by the way, it doesn’t matter if you know me personally or we’ve never met – anyone and everyone can enter to win. I’ll select the winner tomorrow (Wednesday) and announce it here.