The Grand Finale

For my final act, in this first ever Summer Pie Challenge, I will perform a feat never seen before (by many people at least, someone has made it before, but, alas! not I)! This stunt will make you gasp, it will make you squirm, it make even take your breath away!

So, raise the curtain and feast your eyes on this!



The one, the only, the totally bizarre: Pear and Jalapeno Jelly Pie!!!

"Can it be?!?!" You've been waiting all summer for this!

I know it sounds crazy, but just give it a chance.

Start with the crust: light, flakey, with a bit of crunch. There, there, that's not so bad.

The insides...the pears are sweet, like any normal fruit pie. The jalapeno jelly isn't spicy, like you might think. And it adds a nice pink color to the juices (I use red jam).

It actually seemed slightly Eastern - most likely from the anise.

On first bite, it was just too weird for me, so different from all of the other pies, more savory than sweet - less like a dessert, at least from an American perspective. Sumo took one bite and declared it too Indian (touche). The more of it that I ate, the more I began to understand it: The sweet with the spices. I even started to enjoy it.

I think if I was to ever make this pie again I would use less anise, and probably switch from jalapeno jelly to hot pepper jelly. I think the juxtaposition between the sweetness of the pears and the hot spices would work well together - though I still don't know if I could eat it as a dessert. Oh, and I would refrigerate it before serving it, let it thicken up a little.

So, 16 pies have been made this summer. And 16 pies have been written up. That's a lot of pie. I would like to thank my friends (especially the folks at my office) for helping me eat those pies. Which is interesting, because they probably are thanking me for making them...I mean, come on, free pie! I would also like to thank Sumo for watching the movies I didn't care to see while I stood in the kitchen with my rolling pin and apron.

But now that it's over, don't go thinking I'm going to slack off. I might give myself a week or two, but come on! It's fall! Fall screams pie! Apples and pumpkins are abounding! And I've always wanted to try this one-...

All Pie and No Jack Makes Chrissy a Dull Baker

Finally a trip to the liquor store that makes me seem like a normal 20-something.

Jack Daniels, easily one of the top liquor purchases of someone in my age range. However, if you make the mistake of telling the clerk that it's for a pie, you'll still be looked at like you have 3 eyes. Maybe I should take him a piece...

Anyway, to get back on topic, the Jack Daniels Chocolate Chip Pecan pie has risen pretty close to the top of my list for favorites of the first ever Summer Pie Challenge. Who knew those 3 things went together so well. I mean, I actually think I stood over this pie with a fork, completely ignoring the plate I had sat next to the pan.

To start, have you ever had a pecan pie? A real one, like, homemade? They are delicious, albeit so sweet and rich that it's hard to eat an entire slice. Well, somehow adding chocolate changed that.

I know that doesn't make sense whatsoever, but it did. And the Jack... humminah, humminah!

It was stickey and gooey, but crunchy and the hint of whiskey in the background just did the trick.

W.C. Fields got it right when he said, "Always carry a [slice] of whiskey [pie] in case of snake bite, and furthermore, always carry a small snake."

Now, to the pet store!

Well, Jimminy Cricket!

Ok, so it wasn't actually Jimminy. I imagine a few of you might be mad at me if it was. And, really, if we're being completely honest, it wasn't even a cricket. It was a grasshopper. And a darn good one if you ask me.

One of my final pies of the challenge went over even better than I had imagined. I mean, I guess I should have expected it: it was made with ice cream...That makes everything awesome.

Yeah, the grasshopper pie was pretty good. Graham cracker crust and vanilla ice cream are made for each other. The sweet creaminess with the crunchy saltiness...Then marshmallow with creme de menthe and creme de cacao. I swear the man at the liquor store must think I'm crazy. I never go just to get vodka, or something normal.

Sumo was actually a huge help for this pie. I know what you're thinking, "Riiiiight......." No really, there is a little shop near where I grew up. It's called Fairview. It's essentially a farmer's market. They sell everything from flowers to bird seed to, you guessed it, chopped up pieces of Andes mints. Well, the last time we were at my parent's house we stopped at Fairview and he just HAD to have these mints. Lucky me, he forgot to eat them.

They were the perfect topper for the pie. But next time, I think I'll use them as their own layer in between the ice cream and the marshmallow/liqueur layer. And still sprinkle some on top...

With that change, I think this pie would practically be jumping off the plate.

Pun intended.