Pie Social and chocolates

Sunday was the 2nd annual Pie Social, a competition to benefit the San Francisco Community School. There's a band, pie tasting, and lots of auction items. The judges are all local experts from the food industry.

The Verdi Club ballroom

I entered last year and it was a lot of fun! Although I didn't win, I did make it into the top ten. So I figured I'd give it a try again this year. I baked my go-to favorite pie, Bourbon chocolate chip pecan, with an added twist: bacon! I used both cooked chopped bacon in the filling, as well as bacon fat instead of butter. It gives such a smoky, salty flavor that complements the sweet filling well. I also added a bit of maple syrup. Yum!

my pie: Bourbon Bacon Pecan

Pie tasting- over 30 varieties!

We arrived at the Verdi Club to enter in my pie, actually 2 pies, one for the judges and one for tasting. The event had a band, refreshments, auction items to bid on, and lots of pie! There was actually another entry just like mine. And I thought I was being so original!

The judges hard at work

Slicing up all those pies!

I'll be honest, since this is a fundraiser for a school, there were tons of kids running around like crazy. I wasn't such a fan of that, so we spent most of the time outside. I just wanted to know who won! So after a lot of waiting, I went to check on the results, and they had already announced the winners, and I wasn't one of them. Too bad! I think I'll stick to cupcake competitions in the future.

After it was over, we explored the neighborhood a bit. We found a cute chocolate shop and factory, Charles Chocolates. They offer tours and tastings during the week, but we just bought some chocolates to take home. And a meyer lemon pate de fruit that I ate right there in the shop.

They were all so cute and delicious! We got a honey bunny, a fleur de sel caramel, an espresso ganache, and a passion fruit heart, my favorite. We also bought a bag of hazelnut truffles to share with our friends. Super yummy! I love discovering new treats, and I'll definitely go back for the tour soon. So even though I didn't win the pie contest, I still went home with a prize.

Happy Pi(e) Day!

Today, March 14th, is Pi Day. Get it? 3.14? Although I'm not great at math, I am great at baking! To celebrate, I thought I'd post a round-up of my favorite pies, both homemade and not.

My go-to pie, made every year, is my famous chocolate chip bourbon pecan pie. It's inspired by Derby pie, named after the Kentucky Derby, hence the bourbon. My version has a buttery crust, and a layer of chocolate chips under the sweet pecan and bourbon filling. Every time I make it for my dad, he requests more bourbon! It's his favorite, as well as my husband's and most of his friends. Seems like guys really like the boozy pie.

Then of course, there's always the Thanksgiving classic, pumpkin pie. I always try to add a little twist to the classic recipe, with maple syrup, extra cinnamon, or more bourbon. Hmmm, seems like bourbon always makes an appearance!

A close relation to pies are tarts. Usually just one crust, and more refined, tarts were the subject of a whole chapter in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. Whether a simple chocolate ganache mini tart, a light and airy lemon meringue tart, a summery plum almond tart, or a rich caramel nut tart, there are so many ways to make tarts. Once the crust is made, the filling can be anything you have on hand or whatever fruit is in season.

When making a pie is too much work, you can always go out and get a slice. The most decadent and extravagant pies I've ever had are from Rockaberry, in Montreal. They are huge pies, tall and super rich. I always go for the most chocoaltey option, but their cheesecake variety pies and fruit pies are always amazing. This is why it's best to go with friends, so everyone gets a different slice and you can sample many kinds.

But then again, who said pies have to be sweet? There's always pizza pies! The best pizza in the country is by far Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, Arizona. When I lived there, we'd go often, usually waiting up to three hours in the scalding desert heat just to eat these amazing pies. After moving away I've been trying to find something to compare, to no avail. So I went back to Phoenix this summer, and got to enjoy it again. I wanted to buy 10 pies and take them home with me, but it's not quite the same as eating there.

 

So, does that get you in the mood for pies? Whether homemade or store-bought, sweet or savory, pies are always delicious.  And they can be helpful in learning math!

Holiday Baking

As I'm trying to get my business up and running, I'm trying a few test-runs, including selling holiday treats at my husband's office. I had quite a few orders, and they all turned out great!
I made mini Derby pies, red velvet cake balls, pumpkin cake pops, and red velvet cupcakes. I was a baking machine for a few days! Oh, and just for fun, I made sugar cookies, and decorated them too.
Check it out!
Sugar cookie snowflakes with royal icing and sanding sugar.


Sugar cookie candy canes with royal icing and sanding sugar.


Sugar cookie Xmas trees with royal icing, sanding sugar, and silver dragees.


Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting and holly berry sprinkles.


Mini Derby Pies: Chocolate Chip-Bourbon-Pecan.


Red Velvet Cake balls- dipped in Red (vanilla) and Milk Chocolate with holiday sprinkles.


Pumpkin Cake Pops- dipped in white (vanilla) candy and topped with holiday sprinkles.

I had so much fun baking all these treats, I can't wait until I get paid to do it all the time!

Chocolate-Bourbon-Pecan Cupcakes

So, taking a break from the Martha challenge, for our friend's birthday I made him Derby Pie, as requested. For those who don't know what Derby Pie is, it's a special pie named after the Kentucky Derby, with a pecan-bourbon-chocolate chip filling. In other words, to die for. Technically, you can't call it a Derby pie, because the name is trademarked, so for me it's a chocolate bourbon pecan pie.
So after making the pie, I wanted to see how I could translate it into cupcakes. I thought about making little pies, but decided on chocolate cupcakes with bourbon and pecan mixed in. And voila! delicious cupcakes. I also experimented with different bourbons, for the pie I used Wild Turkey, and for the cupcakes I used Jack Daniels. I think the Wild Turkey is more potent, the smell was overwhelming!

Now, the bottoms of these cupcakes were more well done than I would have liked, not sure if it's because of my oven, or maybe I had the rack too low. I sampled half of one so I could see the inside, and the pecans stayed pretty well in the middle of the cupcake. Very tasty!
I topped these with a bourbon whipped cream, which was amazing! Also a little pecan on the top to indicate what's inside. All in all, a good effort, might need some more tweaking, but these are a good addition to my recipe list.