Wrap Up

It was been a long time (relatively) since I posted on here for all of the 4 people who watch this. I didn't have internet for a month, and I did finish my project. Here is the list of pies that I made:

46) 7/11 – 7/17: White Chocolate - made it for my friend Phil's birthday. Was similar to a cheesecake.
47) 7/18 – 7/24: a) Peach b) Fudge - Peach pie is one of my favorites. Fudge pie was rich, but good.

48) 7/25 – 7/31: White Peach Crumble - didn't turn out like I wanted it to. Was too soupy.

49) 8/1 – 8/7: Peach and Blueberry - classic summer pie.

50) 8/8 – 8/14: Honey - was made w/ egg yolks, and tasted eggy, maybe similar to baklava? Not sure. Might need some more work but I'd try it a gain.

51) 8/15 – 8/21: Margarita - a hint of tequila made this a refreshing summer pie. Was very similar to key lime in texture.
52) 8/22 – 8/28: Stone Fruit - a great way to end the year of pies. A combo of nectarine, plum, and peaches.

Week #45 July 4 - 10

This week Sandy was visiting, and I didn't make any new pies. But I did make a banana cream pie because I know it is my friend Cameron's favorite. I was very happy with how it turned out.




We also ate some delicious pie at the Hubbard Ave diner in Madison.

Week #44 June 27 - July 3

One of my co-workers is named Lindsey. She "claims" she doesn't like pie. Yet it just so happens that she has given me three great ideas for pies: dirt, chocolate chip, and this week's pie called boatsinker. I really had no idea what to think when the recipe calls for 5 sticks of butter. But I figured I'd give it a try.

I ended up making 3 pie shells, because I knew that I would be making a hefty amount of filling. Also, on a side note, I've had a number of compliments on my pie crust recently. I think I'm getting the hang of it better. I'm using slightly more water than I used to, which is holding it together better than before. And it is easier to roll out.

I had to add almost a half hour on the bake time. I'm not sure if it was because I was cooking three pies or what. Not a huge deal, but just something to be aware of.



The pie was about what I expected. Which is both rich and sweet. Not my favorite, but people seemed to like it. Something that I did notice was that it seemed to separate when cooking. I think it had to do something with the recipe. Which called for cooking melting the butter in the microwave for 9 minutes without stirring. In the future I would take it out and mix it while melting the ingredients in the microwave.

Week #43 June 20 - 26

It has been almost a month since I've updated this thing. For week #43 my friend Ashley at work gave me a bunch of rhubarb. I knew I needed to redeem myself after the less than stellar strawberry rhubarb. I decided on a raspberry rhubarb.

I used my Bubby's Pies book for the recipe, so I'm not going to bother writing it down here. If you really want it, let me know. Although I'm pretty convinced no once reads this. Except for maybe 6 people a week. I digress.

So I made sure to add extra thickener this time, which ended up being tapioca. And I also changed things up and made a lattice crust. Which ended up being the best lattice crust I've made to date.



It was one of the best fruit pies I've made in a long time. It wasn't too sweet, but still had some nice flavor. The consistency was terrific. It will definitely be made again.

Week #42 June 13 - 19

I had no idea what type of pie I was going to make this week. Even though it doesn't feel like it in Southeastern Wisconsin, we are in the summer months. A custard pie doesn't really fit, and I've been making a lot of fruit pies as of late. I searched some pie sites, and came up with a Chess Pie. This is a Southern pie, known for it's intense sweetness. There is actually vinegar in the pie to help cut some of the sweetness.

It seemed relatively easy, with not too many complex ingredients. I figured I'd give it a shot. Here is the recipe. A note: I used half white and half brown sugar. I also cooked it for well over an hour to get it to set.

I knew this wasn't going to be my favorite pie, but I figured I owed it a shot. It was sweet, but not as much as I expected. The consistency came out real nice, almost like a pecan or oatmeal pie. The cornstarch rose to the top, to give it a halfway decent crunch. And my co-workers all seemed to enjoy it.

Week #41 June 6 - 12

I have been on the hunt for rhubarb for about 3 weeks now. I finally found it this past week, and made a strawberry rhubarb pie, out of my Bubby's book. Even though I know its popular, I've never had strawberry rhubarb pie. I really had no idea what to expect in terms of cooking and trying it.



As you can see from the picture above, it turned out rather soupy and watery. It tasted good, but the ingredients didn't hold together as well as I think they should have. The recipe called for flour as the thickener, but if I were to make this again, I would use an extra tablespoon or two of cornstarch.

My co-workers all enjoyed it though, and people seemed to really enjoy the crust.

Week #40 May 30 - June 5

I took this week "off". But really, I ended up making 4 pies.

Three were apple pies for a pie eating contest at work.



I then made the peanut butter oreo pie for Sandy as she was visiting and it was her birthday.

Lastly, I had dinner at Honeypie and had this great slice of pie.

Week #39 May 23 - 29

I made two pies this week. The first pie I made was a request. A friend sent me this recipe for a chocolate chip cookie pie. I tweaked the recipe slightly. I only used 1/2 cup of butter, and didn't put nuts in it. I also added a pinch of vanilla and pinch of salt.

It literally tasted like a chocolate chip cookie. One thing I noticed was that the chocolate chips fell to the bottom of the pie, but besides that, it seemed to be a crowd favorite.

The second pie I decided to take on was a strawberry pie. I got the recipe from Cooks Illustrated. It worked out well. It was really full of strawberries, and they held together decently.

Week #38 May 16 - 22

I was feeling ambitious this week and made two pies. The first was just a random idea I had for a Chai Pie. You know, like chai tea. Well, I looked online, and found this fellow.

Instead of making an almond crust, I just made a regular graham cracker crust. The taste was good, but I had a few problems. The first was that the pie didn't really get too firm. I know it isn't going to be a real firm pie, but it just didn't hold it's shape like I would have hoped. The second issue I had came with the chai whipped cream. For the life of me, I had a tough time getting this into a real "whipped" cream form. I made it twice, and both times, a fail.


The second pie I made was a chocolate raspberry. I like raspberries, and think they usually get shoved to the back because our friend the strawberry is more popular. I just googled "chocolate raspberry pie", and this beauty came up.

I have to say, I was impressed by this pie. Normally I am not a huge chocolate fan, but something about the thin layer of chocolate on top really was a nice touch. There was no one ingredient overbearing. Just a nice blend of chocolate, raspberries, and cream.

Week #37 May 9-15

I took this week off. I was home for Sandy's graduation.

Week #36 May 2 - 8

For my pie this week, I was feeling a berry pie. I decided to go with blueberries, as they are just about to come into season. I found a recipe in my Bubby's Homemade Pie's book, and the rest is history.



I know I've said it before, but berry pies are some of my favorites. I am still trying to get the right amount of corn starch or other thickener in them to be correct. But overall, I would say that I nailed this one pretty well. The blueberries weren't too tart, however it wasn't overly sweet. My co-workers enjoyed this pie, and I would say it will definitely be made again.

Week #35 April 25 - May 1

I had a request this week, for a dirt pie. For those of you that do not know, this is a staple at summer potlucks, with crushed Oreos, vanilla or chocolate pudding, and topped with gummy worms. I put my own spin on it:



I didn't like the graham cracker crust, so when I made it again I used an Oreo crust. Even though you can't see a slice, the vanilla pudding is layered with the crushed Oreos.

I tell people that everything in my pies is made from scratch. Except the Oreos. They are quite the useful food when it comes to pie making.

Week #34 April 18 - 24

This week I went with what was sure to be a crowd favorite: peanut butter Oreo. Anything with the peanut butter/chocolate combo, people tend to devour. This pie was no exception.

I've realized in the last month or two that with all the pie making, I am able to now tweak and mold recipes to the way I like them and my cooking style. I incorporated a two different recipes for the crust as well as the filling.



Overall, this pie was a winner. The filling was creamy, and the Oreos gave it a nice crunch. Please note that from what I've read, there were peanut butter Oreos on the market a few years ago. I'm not sure if they still are, but I couldn't find them and didn't use them. Here is the recipe for the crust:

CRUSH 26 of the cookies; mix with butter until well blended. Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

And the filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Using an electric mixer or a lot of elbow grease, combine the cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream until firm. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and pour it into the prepared pie crust. Chill the pie for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Week #33 April 11 - 17

This week I continued with the cream pie theme, and made a recipe that has been staring me in the face for a long time. It is a hybrid between a banana cream and coconut cream. Or aptly titled, "Banoconut Cream Pie". This recipe comes from Chow, one of my favorite food resources.

The recipe calls for a layer of bananas on top of the crust. Then the next layer is the coconut filling. Followed by the standard whipped cream. And to top it off, a sprinkle of toasted coconut.



This was definitely one of the better looking pies I've made. I may have put too much whipped cream on top, but I didn't hear any complaints. As opposed to the last banana cream and coconut cream pies I made, this one turned out pretty well. If I were to have one complaint about the taste, it is that the coconut filling wasn't strong enough. But overall, when I hear, "This is my favorite pie you've made so far young man" it's a good feeling.

Week #32 April 4 - 10

I have been feeling the cream based pies as of late, and this week I made a raisin and sour cream pie. I knew this wasn't going to be for everyone, because for some reason a lot of people don't like raisins.



I felt like this pie didn't turn out exactly as planned. It has a regular crust, a layer of raisins, and a layer of sour cream topping. The crust was fine. But the raisins didn't cook they way I had wanted them to. The recipe called for them to be mixed with sugar, orange zest, flour, vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. But they didn't really get to the consistency that I wanted them to. When they cooled, they hardened more than I would have liked.

The sour cream custard topping was good, but again, I don't think it thickened to the extent that it was supposed to. It wasn't runny, but I was hoping for a firmer consistency then what I got.

Overall, the pie seemed to have some people who enjoyed it. A few of my coworkers told me it was great. I hope they were serious. However, there was about 20% left over, which means that it wasn't a fan favorite. Not every pie will be though. The goal of this project was to make a different one each week. I knew going into it that there would be winner and losers.

Week #31 March 28 - April 3

For my pie this week, I stuck with the pudding pies in Bubby's book, and made a chocolate pudding pie. What was interesting was that I actually found two, yes 2 mistakes in the recipe that I made. I was able to use my best judgement. But aren't there editors that are supposed to correct these things?

Regardless, I think it is safe to say that this was the best chocolate pie that I have made. It is made very similar to the vanilla pudding pie. Except I used a traditional pastry crust instead of a graham cracker crust. The chocolate is melted in a double boiler and then added at the end of the process before the filling is cooled.

Not to brag, but not only was this pie the best tasting chocolate pie that I made, but it also seemed to be the closest one that I made to being of a more professional caliber.

I wanted to get a picture, but by the time I grabbed my phone to get a picture, it was gone. It was eaten in under 5 minutes by my coworkers.

Week #30 - March 21 - 27

This week I cracked open Bubby's Homemade Pies, and came across a recipe for vanilla pudding pie. I was skeptical, because I feel like vanilla isn't necessarily a flavor that is in pies a lot. But, I made up my mind to give it a shot.



The pie actually looks very similar to a key lime pie. Probably because it calls for a full cup, or about 12 egg yolks. It also called fo a vanilla bean. I had never cooked with one before. They are long and thin, but pack a ton of flavor.

It was a crazy process mixing the ingredients together. With all the egg yolks, they book made reference that if you didn't mix correctly you would have scrambled eggs. But I must have done something correctly, because everything turned out all right. The pudding was by far better than any pudding I've ever made out of a box. I think overall this is a keeper, especially when you want a rich dessert that isn't chocolate based.

Week #29 - March 14 - 20

I took this week "off" from baking a "new" pie. I haven't had a week off in a long time. But that being said, I still made an apple pie, as well as a mixed berry pie.

Week #28 - March 7 - 13

This week I made a coconut cream pie. It was another pie from my new book. I think it turned out well, but there were issues with the filling.

I beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. But when I poured in the warm milk and shredded coconut, and beat it together, the filling expanded and filled with air. When I went to pour it into the crust, it wouldn't fit. So I baked the pie, and of course the filling completely shrank.

I used whipped cream to fill in the difference in the pie, and it still tasted good. I will definitely try this pie again, but might use a different recipe.

Week #27 January 28 - February 6

I've been saying for quite some time that I want to make non-dessert pies. Or as some might say, "savory". This past week my mom sent me a recipe for an onion pie. It seemed simple, and I decided to give it a shot.

Let me also state that I don't consider a quiche a pie. I know it is similar, but I decided long ago that I would not consider a quiche a pie for this project of mine. That being said, the onion pie has some definite quiche qualities.

For starters, I made way too much filling for the pie crust. I actually had enough to make two pies. Second, this pie isn't the heartiest. I've been eating it along with soup, but on it's own, it isn't a meal. And lastly, because it has egg in it, along with sour cream, there is an eggy type consistency, similar to a quiche.

But I've enjoyed in. A good break in tradition. And a nice warm slice of this is a great way to beat the dog-days of winter, as this one has been barking for a while.