This lemon cream tart is what I ate for dessert on New Year’s Eve and is my polite middle finger to these forced habits that don’t survive past January, all of which are responsible for some of the least exciting food of the year. This tart contains a respectable ~2.5 sticks of butter and, in my case, followed a New Year’s Eve dinner of macaroni and cheese with lobster and truffle oil. Take that, health-centric resolutions.

So with that wholly unexciting rant (if it could even be called as much) out of the way, back to the food! From the ingredient list, this tart… click to read more…

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Taste and texture-wise, the pecan pie heritage of this tart is very clear. All the tweaks add to what is still very much a pecan pie flavor foundation, and I loved it. You pick up the flavor of almond and hazelnut with deeper, dark sweet notes of chocolate and maple which I found was a great foil to the touch of cinnamon you get from the graham cracker crust. You still get that gooey custard filling with… click to read more…

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There are three major elements to this pie: the crust, the peach filling, and the pecan topping. I fell in love with each and the trio was a great mix. The crust was a pâte sablée (sweet pie dough) made with ground almonds for an assertive, sweet, but nutty flavor and a crisp, crumbly bite. The filling has the sweetness of peaches, accentuated by the tartness and added creaminess of quark (if you’ve never heard of it, it is a kind of cheese. I would compare it to a mix of cream cheese and sour cream as far as texture/flavor), the total combination of which… click to read more…

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I loved the taste when I’d first had it, but there was one thing I didn’t care for (and if you look into mango pie, you’ll find so many of them do the same): they’re gelatinous. Not just a little bit, but to the point where its distracting–as if the pie crust is simply a jello… click to read more…

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Not wanting to be too boring, I had a few ideas to dress things up a bit. For instance, I’d recently read of an odd flavor combo that I was eager to try: strawberries and thyme. So I decided to incorporate both thyme and almonds into the pie crust and I’m very glad I did. The flavor was fantastic–buttery, rich, almondy, and the thyme was very distinct. I was honestly surprised by how nicely the almond and thyme enhanced one another and made the crust a… click to read more…

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If you’ve never had this before, you’re probably wondering what’s up with the name? Its simple really: bananas + toffee = banoffee. Knowing that, you should be drooling now. I was when I first… click to read more…

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There are many ways you could approach a pot pie, but the core of it is the same: a rich, broth full of chicken and vegetables packaged in a flaky pie crust. Some would make individual serving sized pot pies (e.g. in ramekins), others would fill a casserole dish with the broth and lay pastry on top, while I have done pie crust on the top and bottom (like any other pie). What can I say, I like pastry!

While my resulting pot pie was not a looker (in retrospect, individual servings in something like ramekins would have looked better), the flavor was just awesome, if not the best chicken pot pie i’ve… click to read more…

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Given the aforementioned similarity to pumpkin pie, the approach to this pie is in keeping with my recent experimenting with pumpkin pie. I made a fresh graham cracker crust, a seductively spiced, delicious, creme fraiche & cream mashed sweet potato mixture, and a maple… click to read more…

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I knew I’d enjoy this and it was also a way for me to scratch my apple pie itch while making something new. You have the familiar comfort food flavor of apple pie, but also the tart of cranberries, the tang of sour cream, the crunch of a walnut topping, and the spice of the graham cracker crust–a great twist on a fall favorite. So if you’ve also got an apple pie itch to scratch, give this a try!

• Graham cracker crust
• 4 apples (I used 2 honey crisp and 2 gala)
• 1.5 cups cranberries
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• dash cardamom
• splash orange juice
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Streusel
  • 1 cup

… click to read more…

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I chose to go with a graham cracker crust for this pie rather than the more traditional pate brisee. Given the spices inherent in pumpkin pie, a totally unspiced crust just seems like an almost bland supporting character in the pie, right? Plus, making a fresh graham cracker crust… click to read more…

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