When bakers and geeks collide

...things get ePIc pretty darn quick.

It's 3.14.15 today.

Image from Wolfram*

The Pi Day of the century.**

There are, of course, T-shirts. You can geek out with the limited edition three-pack "Pi Day" collection from Scientific American, or with one of these Pi-themed goodies on Etsy.

Limited Edition "I ate some pie..." board from MidlandMooseWorks

Or you can just forget the math and eat some pie.

Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Pie

Best in Show Apple Pie

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Hand Pies

Mexican Chocolate Pie

Fresh Fruit Pie with Mascarpone Cheese

Lemon Chess Pie

Totally fine to take a short cut and hit up a local bakery too. The Foodie Girls love the Mexican Chocolate and Maple Custard Pie at The Pie Hole, and I'm a massive fan*** of the Cherry Pie at Sweet Lady Jane here in LA. Don't forget, pizza counts as pie, too.  Try The Luggage Room in Pasadena or Olive Wood Pizza at the Studio City Farmers Market.

Bonus! Unless your clock runs on military time, or you live outside the US****, on this very special Pi day, you get to celebrate twice.*****

* Did you know that everybody's birthday appears in the number Pi? Mine is at digit 70,113. Find your birthday in Pi here.
** Explained wonderfully here, with five more drool-worthy pie recipes, on the always tasty Shockingly Delicious blog.
*** Literally, I weigh a ton.
**** Pi Day never happens in countries that put the day first in their dates.  America rules.
***** At 9:26:53 a.m. and p.m. Not to mention that you can have mini celebrations at 1:59:26 a.m. and p.m. as well, like people do on non-monumental Pi days. While you're at it, have an extra slice for Albert Einstein.  It's his birthday today.

Spontaneous Pumpkin Cream Cheese Hand Pies

The plan was to make soup and salad for dinner tonight.  Then I went to Trader Joe's and this happened*.

No. Wait.

Hand Pies. I meant Hand Pies happened.

This should be a real post

But it's not. Instead, it's my contribution to That should be a word*

I did manage to push this recipe for Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Pie through at last. After all, nothing gets the system going again like a good pie recipe, right?**

Especially one where I don't have to say much.
Bon Appetit wrote about it first.***

Falling Back

Here's the thing about blogging, at least the way I do it.  I cook something, and then I write about it after we eat it*.   Days, weeks, or even months pass between consumption and posting, because honestly, that's just how s@#$ goes around here.

The problem with this system** for the reader***  is that there can be a bit of a timing issue. For example, last year I posted the recipes for a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner shortly before Christmas.  I have been known to suggest making eggnog scones when the aisles of the grocery store are full of frilly red boxes of chocolate.  And recently, I dangled tantalizing images of heirloom tomato pies just in time for people to head out to their local U-Pick apple orchard.

As Charlie Brown**** would say, "Argh!"

I think about this sometimes and despair.  Like today. I was driving through vast stretches of the midwest admiring the spectacular foliage while having a mild panic attack about the fact that daylight savings time is ending soon and I'm still grappling with a post about summer corn salad.  Then, it hit me.

I could truly fall back.
As in, resurrect some autumn favorites from the archives, and share them ahead of time*****.

Good grief, Charlie Brown! Why didn't I think of this sooner?******

Best in Show

I would like Jane Lynch to play me in the movie please.

From the LA Times

That's right. 

The latest sequel to The Marvelous Misadventures of the Fabulous Baker Girls (and the lesser known but no less heartbreaking Scientific Method of Pie, and If at First You Don't Succeed, Pie, Pie Again) has an incredible surprise ending*.

This pie...

was...

Plus it was the winner of Best Fruit Pie and Best Crust!

I'm speechless with happiness**.  And really full of pie. 

Here's a slideshow from the event, before the unexpected plot twist *** left me with my mouth hanging open in front of all those people and my camera stuck in the bottom of my bag.  

Carpool Wars - Battle: Braise!

When I took my pro chef class, I learned the following:

Braising is a cooking technique, seen often in French cuisine, combining moist and dry heat. It uses heat, time, and moisture to break down the tough connective tissue, collagen, in meat, making it an ideal way to cook tougher cuts. Most often the meat is quickly dry seared in a hot pan, then transferred to a pot with liquids to cook, long and slowly, until the meat is utterly and completely delicious.

Carpool Wars - Battle: Braise! 
A long-simmering summary.

It turns out that I have been braising this post*.

Back in December 2012 (!), the carpool moms had another knock-down, all-out, no-holds-barred, gourmet dinner throw-down.  We raised the stakes by adding a new category, Best Wine Pairing.  We required complementary side dishes.

We braised our butts off.

That memorable evening, meat was falling off of bones all over the place.  Rich, long-simmered sauces were ladled over risotto and silky smooth potatoes and creamy, cheesy polenta.  In the midst of all the heartiness, a gorgeous green salad appeared**.

Then much incredible wine was consumed, and I kind of lost track of the details.  But there was definitely a warm apple tart with cinnamon ice cream in there somewhere.

The contenders:

 Christy F's Asian Style Beef Short Ribs, with Melted Leeks and Creamy Mashed Potatoes.  Ginger, garlic, soy and scallions in the sauce, perfectly tender beef, and the barely caramelized leeks went perfectly with the luxurious spuds.  Wow.

Recipe here.

The short ribs were paired with a gorgeous vintage wine from the host's collection

 My Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata and Baked Polenta.  The lamb cooked for hours in tomatoes, onions, stock and wine, with a little fennel and rosemary.  Very tasty.  And the creamy polenta with a slightly toasted top crust was killer.  This was the cover recipe from the October issue of Bon Appetit, so this is actually a double theme post:  Carpool Wars and Cook My Mailbox!

Recipe here.

The lamb was paired with a Biale Petite Syrah, Royal Punishers, one of my all-time favorite wines***.  My friend had just given me this bottle, and I couldn't think of a better reason to crack it open.

Christy D.'s Veal Osso Buco with Saffron Risotto.  Can you say decadent?  I thought you could.  Her sauce was deeply flavored, with cloves, bay leaves, sage and thyme.  I loved this one.

Recipe here.

A Shiraz married with the veal.  They were quite well matched, if I do say so myself.

The judges ate, and drank, and considered.

In the end, our hostess' Short Ribs (justifiably) ruled!  My wine pairing received accolades, and Christy D's presentation once again impressed****.   As much as everyone loved Battle: Brunch and Battle: Taco, the consensus was that we'd outdone ourselves yet again.

But that might have been the wine talking.
And the apple tart.

Foodie Girls Lunch Brigade - Episode 29: Bonus Pie Visit

Unlike our previous deliberate detour for pie, this bonus visit was truly just luck.  Republic of Pie is right next to Bow & Truss, and what self-respecting FG could miss the bright red beacon above her head?

This had all the ingredients of a true find.  The handwritten menu with a wide variety of pies to choose from:

Great looking options in the glass cases to lust after while you wait (there was a mac & cheese pot pie too!):

And even more to crave around the corner:

 

And a space that was airy, bright and warm, with exposed wood beams, comfy couches and wooden chairs, trees and greenery, cozy cupboards and tables, free wi-fi, and plenty of room to spread out.  There was even a small stage, where apparently they have live music in the evenings.

Oh, how elated we were! Despite being stuffed from lunch, we each got a slice of pie and a hot drink, plus a few takeout items (pecan brownies, oatmeal bars, macarons, whoopie pies).
For the kids, of course.
For the kids.

We found a table.  The cappuccino was a work of art, and the tea was brewed in a beautiful Japanse tea pot, individually timed to be strong without being at all bitter.

The pies arrived, after being warmed up in the oven.  Our forks rose as one and we prepared to be blown away.

The dense, smooth, well spiced sweet potato pie was the best of the lot.

The chocolate pecan pie was overly sweet and oddly dry

The coconut cream pie didn't taste much like coconut, and what is up with that caramel squirter in the kitchen anyway? Give it a rest!

Oh, how underwhelmed we were! With the exception of the sweet potato, which was quite good, the other pies were OK at best.  Plus, on every pie, the crust was flat and bland, instead of flaky and tasty, and everyone knows that crust is the best part!

We dutifully nibbled while we talked, and noted again how very pleasant it was to hang out in the bright, cheerful room.  So pleasant, in fact, that I thought it just might be worth giving Republic of Pie one more chance.

Nah.  The pecan brownie I brought home wasn't all that good either.
I mean, the kids hated it.
Yeah.
The kids.

When being a little nuts pays off

Case in point:

When I tell the family at camp about how I coerced my husband and kids into coming to their apple farm in order to relive my childhood last year?
This appears on my doorstep.

Even bigger case in point:

When a friend asks if I want to help with a new company he's starting out of his dining room*?
Two years later, we sell the company, help open the NASDAQ, and this appears in Times Square.

That's me, three stories high, on the right!

Yep.  Being a little crazy sometime pays off.
Big time.
How do you like them apples?

If at first you don't succeed, pie, pie again

You still won't win*.

But you'll have made a damn fine pie.