I'm in trouble with my family.

[xiphias]

Specifically, my cousins.

See, I didn't make my sweet potato crunch to bring to Thanksgiving this year.

Apparently, my cousin Lindsay and her fiance' Darren were talking about it on the car ride over, and were really looking forward to it. So was Mike, who'd explained it to his girlfriend Erin.

And there wasn't any.

I did bring a chocolate pie and a cranberry pie, both of which had about a quarter eaten -- which is good, mind you, because there were ten pies, a cake, three trays of cookies (two of which were homemade), a trifle, and two trays of chocolates, for 23 people. So while the lemon-yogurt pie (DAMN good pie, by the way) was half-consumed, no other pie managed over a quarter gone, so I can count them both as successes. Even the lemon meringue only got a quarter-eaten, and that one usually goes fast. Two pumpkin pies, a squash pie, lemon-yogurt, cherry, deep-dish apple, lemon meringue, cranberry, chocolate mousse, and I forget what the tenth one was. The cake was a chocolate frosted birthday cake for my uncle Rob, and wasn't touched, so they just re-boxed it to take to another birthday party he's having.

Of course all the pies were homemade, although many of us have started buying crusts, just because crusts are annoying to make. I mean, most of us CAN make pie crusts, and some of us can make GOOD pie crusts -- but, well, for those of us whose pie crusts end up about as tender and flaky as basalt, the store-bought ones are quite a good choice. I HAVE made good pie crusts in the past, but it's just usually more work than I care to do for a marginal improvement over the store ones. Besides, the pies I'm making are with graham cracker crusts, and, for THOSE, the store-bought variety is usually virtually indistinguishable from the homemade kind. Unless you do something particularly impressive with your crusts. Which I don't.

I also made and brought cranberry sauce, which few people ate. But those who did liked it quite a bit.

Uncle David made a cranberry-orange relish, which was good if you like that sort of thing, but I liked mine better, because mine was just cranberries, apple cider, and sugar. And a little molasses. And spices. More New-England traditional.

Comments

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Making a good pie crust is actually Really Easy. If you ever want a demonstration, just ask. :)

[jhitchin.livejournal.com]

If you do end up doing a demonstration, videotape it. I'll pay you. :-)

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

I should just teach a small class, as people keep expressing interest. :)

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

I'd come! I used to make really good pies, including flaky crusts - learned from my aunts, who were great cooks and bakers. I used to make everything from scratch - pie crusts, breads, yogurt, soups - back in the days before organic, whole foods were readily available. Now, you have lots more choices of healthful foods in the grocery stores, and the prices have come down somewhat, so there isn't as much incentive to do all homemade. I'd love a refresher on pie crust, especially on rolling them out and getting them into the pie plates in one piece. Do you know how to do a criss-cross weave for an upper crust?

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Do you know how to do a criss-cross weave for an upper crust?

Yep, I do. :)

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

Me too, but it's a real pain.

We make an oil crust, which is pretty fast, though not as tasty.

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

so - when is that class gonna be?

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Good question. xiphias, cheshyre? Are you two interested (or definitely NOT interested) in hosting a small gathering to make this happen? And if so, are you interested in doing this around my next couple of job interviews up in MA? :)

Failing that I'll poke a couple of other people in the area who might be interested and see who doesn't mind opening their kitchen for a bit.

[cheshyre]

I'm fine with hosting it. And I'm okay with you charging for such. [I'm not so interested in attending, but then Ian's the foodie/cook.]

Do you think we could make it work in the first floor kitchen? [We could put out tables and bring down any supplies/equipment needed.]

Our upstairs kitchen may require a fair bit of cleaning before it's quite suitable for large demonstration purposes. Plus, it's kosher so might be a problem if anything uses lard. Doable, but a bit more effort. I'd rather do it downstairs if possible.

What do you think?

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Cool. I think the downstairs would be fine--the layout is probably even better than the upstairs since there's not really anything in the rooms and people would therefore have places to be to observe.

I don't use lard in my piecrusts, although Southern recipes call for it frequently. Being a northerner, I don't have that issue. :)

I guess we can work out the details via email/AIM, and when we've all found something that seems reasonable we can get the word out. Thanks for helping make this possible!

[cellio]

Lemon-yogurt pie sounds interesting. Recipe?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Dunno; it's my uncle's recipe. I think it involves gelatin somehow.

pie crusts

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

The times that I make my own crusts, it's for presentation reasons... if I don't want to serve a pie in a disposable aluminum pan, but rather in my pretty pie plates, I make my own crust. Otherwise, there are a lot more important things I could be doing with the time required to make, roll out, and clean up from, making my own crust. I have a small kitchen, so allocating space to roll out a pie crust is generally not worth it if I'm making an entire meal as well. If I'm only making dessert, it's a totally different story.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

What is sweet potato crunch?

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

Delicious! xiphias introduced it a couple of years ago, and it has become one of the favorites at our holiday meals. I missed it this year, too. Hey, xiphias, want to make it for Hanukkah?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

It's a dish we had in a restaurant in New Orleans that Lis's father managed to get the recipe for. It's sweet potatoes, butter, cream, sugar, brown sugar, butter, sugar, brown sugar, cream, butter, and butter. With a topping which is butter and brown sugar.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

Gee, do you think it can be made with Splenda, non-dairy creamer, & pareve margarine?

So yeah, I guess we'll not be enjoying it at any Thanksgiving dinner.

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

I agree that your pies were delicious. I especially liked the cranberry pie eaten with a bit of the lemon-yogurt pie - the tartness and sweetness of each set each other off well. Please get the recipe for the lemon-yogurt pie. I do think one of the ingredients is gelatin, but kosher gelatin is available. I'm sure the recipe could be adapted. I also loved your cranberry sauce - I'm not so fond of cranberries with orange peel, so I was glad you brought yours along. It was perfect with grillers and mashed potatoes. All in all, it was a very satisfying Great Feast - good food, good company, good times. Did miss the Sweet Potato Crunch, though. Now you know for next year. Where did you learn to cook so good - at your mother's knee?