Because all I think about is food.

I would like to be one of those cooking show people with two ovens. Think about it. Thanksgiving: mom, sisters, and aunts swirling around the kitchen, fighting over if the brussels sprouts or pie should go into the oven. "The brussels sprouts are part of the meal, plus you don't want it smelling all turkey-fied." one says. "But the pie needs time to cool!" another argues. Then you step in and offer, "Put the pie in the lower oven and the brussels sprouts in the top." Aaahhhh. Peacekeeping int he kitchen has never been so easy.

Blackberry Peach Pie

Last night, I was faced with making a dessert for a party we're holding for our student workers. Because I don't know the words "give up and go buy a dessert and stop torturing your poor husband with baked goods he can't eat" or "it's 9:00 pm, do you really want to bake?", I decided I'd make a blackberry peach pie.

You see, I'm a freak of nature late night baker, so this shouldn't be surprising. But, pie crust and I have always had a strained relationship. It's one of those things where we've always agreed to disagree and leave it at that. Until....I browsed the Pioneer Woman's site a few days ago and found a reader recipe for a Perfect Pie Crust--the title says it's perfect! It has a ton of pretty pictures! And it's on the Pioneer Woman! What could go wrong?

Unsuspecting looking filling

I usually tear my crust to bits before I can get it into any sort of pan. This is a good sign!

Bottom crust and filling...the kitchen is starting to smell good

Let's all say one last prayer before it goes into the oven...

Aaannnd, done!

Thankfully, not much went wrong. My coworkers enjoyed the pie (or so they said), and the crust was delightfully flaky. Pre-baking, dough was a lot sloppier than what I am used to because of the extra liquid used (5 T water, 1 T vinegar, 1 egg). Freezing helped, and I had to make sure I picked up the crust completely off the counter frequently when rolling it (thank you Martha Stewart), so it wouldn't stick and become a sloppy mess. 

Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust (On The Pioneer Woman, submitted by Sylvia)

Ingredients
1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Egg
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
Preparation Instructions

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

 ***

Blackberry Peach Filling (From Bobby Flay on the Food Network website; I omitted the alcohol in this recipe because it was about 10 pm before I got around to mixing it up and I didn't feel like going to the store. C'est la vie.)

3 pounds mixed yellow and white peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced about 1/2-inch thick
1/3 to 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground fresh nutmeg
2 tablespoons peach eau de vie
1/4 cup cornstarch or tapioca
1 cup fresh blackberries
2 tablespoons cassis
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Saturday brought a three-person birthday celebration, as well as a farewell dinner for my sister-in-law J, as she is moving to Shreveport, LA to be with C, her one and only. The drive is a hefty 10 hours a day over two days through heart attack-inducing roadways, and I do not envy them at all! I decided to bake J and C a batch of good ol' chocolate chip cookies to help make the trip a little more enjoyable. The recipe came to me in a Martha Stewart Cookie of the Day e-mail, and I just HAD to try it because it is a Jacques Torres (my TV husband) recipe.

I used the smaller ice cream scoop for the cookies, and was able to make exactly 61 cookies. 61 of the best looking and tasting chocolate chip cookies I've made so far!

The cookies are substantial, chewy, and taste wonderful. I think this recipe will definitely surface again for future care packages!

Jacques Torres's Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies (from the Martha Stewart website, click on link to see a video)

1 pound unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour

3 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 pounds Jacques Torres House (60 percent cocoa) Chocolate or other best-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped