pumpkin pie

With real punkin'! I used this recipe for the filling - except I cut the pumpkin in half and roasted it at 375 for about an hour instead of boiling it. Pie is best for breakfast, don't you think? I also made roasted pumpkin seeds from this little pumpkin and the Jack-O-Lantern, but I forgot to take a picture before we ate them all. I will do another batch for sure. 

apple pie

Made an apple pie (well, 2, actually) for the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest this past weekend. Plus a practice pie. So I guess that makes 3 pies, phew! They gave me a mug for participating, one of those hefty diner-type ones, I love it. The top picture is my practice pie. I put a lot more apples in the final product, the lower picture. I won't print the recipe, since it is a contest and I will be tinkering with the recipe for next year. I will say however, that there is a ton of good sharp cheddar in the crust. Yum! I made the semifinals, plus both my pies had been devoured by the time I got to their table, so I was pretty pleased overall. It was such a cool event, you can buy a slice of any of the other pies - and eat it with vanilla ice cream! I tried a delicious sheet pie with a gorgeous flower pattern in the crust. Needless to say, I have consumed an obscene amount of pie in the last few days.

chocolate banana cream pie

Yum! I used this recipe, with a few changes: bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet, and a chocolate graham cracker crust instead of a regular pastry crust. Wow, was this intense! I think I overdid it a bit with the chocolate crust...maybe a little less sweetness would be better. However, the texture was really nice, I do love custard. Next time I'd probably add another banana. It's all my sister-in-law's fault, she was talking about chocolate banana cream pie over the 4th of July. It got stuck in my head, and the only way to get it out was to make it. She will be inheriting half of this pie today.

sour cherry pie

Wouldn't it be nice if the first slice didn't always completely disintigrate between the dish and the plate? I used this recipe, which turned out super tasty, but with a lot of juice (Not that there's anything wrong with that!).