Pecan Pie

Well, with my first attempt at a pecan pie, I got high marks from the judges in the taste category (which is really the important part), but the pie was a little runny.  According to the ever knowing "internetz", a runny pecan pie is a common first time mistake, so I don't feel that foolish.

Fortunately, the crust was excellent, and the pie itself was made from the best stuff on Earth. You know. Sugar. I hear it's some good stuff.

Pecan Pie: Part Deux will be much more "pie like" and less "thick-candied-pecan-soup-baked-inside-a-flaky-pie-crust."

--Isaac

Breakfast Pot Pie

While filling out my chef bio, it became clear why bacon is superior to pie – versatility. Where is the breakfast pie? I’m not talking about quiche (clearly not worthy of being associated with pie) or eating a slice of fruit pie for breakfast (as my husband is known to do), but a proper pie crust, filled breakfast foods.  Behold, the breakfast pot pie!

The cast assembles

The idea was to create a pot pie filled with ham, potatoes, onions, peppers and hollandaise sauce, topped with an over easy egg – essentially eggs Benedict reconstructed. I created a hash of sorts with the cubed ham, potatoes, onions and peppers while the bottom pie crusts baked.

I then filled the crusts, and topped with the hollandaise sauce:

They were topped with crust and baked for about 10 minutes.

The pièce de résistance – an egg sunny side up.  Breakfast pie is served:

--Mary

Bonus Content - actual conversation that took place when Isaac was looking at the above pictures and realized he didn't drink any orange juice with breakfast that morning:

Isaac: Hey, where’d the orange juice go?

Mary: Oh... it was for presentation purposes only. The container was actually full of mold…

Isaac: Oh that’s gross.

Mary: … and definitely not suitable for human consumption.

Always Save Room for Pie

Especially pumpkin pie. It is a proven fact that the size of the fall leaf decoration topping is directionally proportional to the pie's overall awesomeness. True fact, look it up... but give me a couple minutes to log in to Wikipedia and update some things completely unrelated to my recent assertion...

It's a pumpkin's dream come true.

Thanks to my Dad for submitting this pie! But the joke is on you: I'll be knocking on your door for a slice in..........now.

--Isaac

Ode to Pork Continues...

Part two of our three-part celebration of pork continues this week with Carnitas Tacos! This time, I started with a more carnitas-appropriate rub about 24 hours before my scheduled cooking session. The next day, I loaded the pork in the magical slow-cooker along with ample amounts of fresh squeezed lime juice, cilantro, and tequila (yay!):

And in less time than it takes to correctly pronounce the name of the Icelandic city of Kirkjubæjarklaustur...

Carnitas. With yellow, orange and poblano peppers.

Topped with homemade guacamole and more cilantro and then folded up in a homemade corn tortilla...

I'd pay many ones of dollars for a plate full of these any day. Not only were the tacos delicious, but they were different enough from the barbecue pulled pork from last week that it does not seem like this is the second week in a row of pork-dominated meals. I think that is a culinary achievement in itself.  The guacamole was easily some of the best yet, too. I would have been content just to sit down with a spoon and a bowl of that guac. Maybe I will for Avacado Appreciation Day or something. Adios!

--Isaac

October is Pork Month!

So to celebrate...

Bam. Seven pounds of pork shoulder. Literally pork month - because we'll be eating it for a month. Every day. Which is a-okay by me.

I felt the first way to honor what seemed like a metric ton of pork was to make some classic pulled-pork sandwiches.  I carved off a third (since I don't think there isn't a slow cooked big enough for that whole thing to fit in) slathered it in dry rub, and wrapped it up to sit overnight in the fridge.

Some twelve to fourteen hours later...

...it was ready for eight hours in a slow cooker:

Tender perfection. The second best part of this creation (second to actually eating the pork of course), was coming home to the awesome smell of the shoulder cooking away after having just watched my Niners solidify a month of disappointment with a fourth straight loss. But that is another blog...back to food.

The final product:

Finished with homemade barbecue sauce and homemade coleslaw, this was right about 24 hours in the making and very well worth it.

Two and a half pounds of pork shoulder down and about five to go... booyah.

One final side note: it is also apparently "National Vegetarian Awareness Month". So for all you herbivores, the BBQ sauce on top of the coleslaw is delicious in itself. Plus it means more pulled pork for me.

--Isaac