Oh, The Places You'll Go

Wow, it's been a long time. People keep asking me if I'm still making pies. And, well, my answer is always, "Kinda."

"What does that mean?" you might ask.

Well, I'm in grad school (just finished my first semester! Woohoo!); ergo, I'm broke.

When you have no income, you think about the phone bill or what you're going to eat for dinner. You don't think about which fruit might go best with a coconut cream and should it be in a graham cracker crust or a vanilla cookie crust.

But, I'm here to tell you that I just don't care anymore.

Maybe it's in the air. The warm air...swirling about my house, reminding me of something. But what?

I've figured it out.

Have you figured it out?

Think harder.

It's time for the 3rd Annual Summer Pie Challenge!!!!!!

Once again, I'll be switching up the rules a bit. The first year, I chose all of the pies. The second year, you chose all of the pies. This year, I have a new idea. Pies & Places. I need a list of 15 different places. I won't give examples, because, well, then you might be less inclined to pick that place. But I will say that your places don't have to exactly equal a city. Come on, be creative!

I will then figure out which pie would correspond with your place and see what I can do to bring that place into my kitchen.

Oh this could be fun.

Especially if you get to eat the final product.

The Skillet Pie

As I sit here watching the Red Skins game (come on, I live in the area - I still cheer for the Eagles), I can't help but think of the pie sitting on the counter next to me.

I think it's flirting with me: every time I glance in its direction, it's staring at me. I think it just winked.

Whatever it's doing, it definitely wants me to come take a slice. But I must resist.

Why must I resist? Well...I'm going to Vegas this weekend. See, Sumo has to do a bit of traveling for work and this trip posts him in Prescott, AZ. Prescott is about 4 hours from Vegas. He was going to go alone, leaving on Monday and coming home on Wednesday - all of which his office would pay for. But he figured, if they are going to pay his way, why not take me and do the weekend in Vegas first.

Now, I don't gamble, and I'm not much of a drinker. Eating is my vice - I love food. So the fact that this pie is staring me down like IT wants to eat ME is just too, too much.

Maybe I should tell you about the pie. It's a peach pie, officially a galette, it we're being technical. I like to call it a pie though, it has a crust and it has a filling. That's a pie.

I made this one in my skillet. I've never cooked in anything except a pie pan before, so it was a new idea. The crust is free form, which gives it a really rustic look.

But the taste... I had it for breakfast yesterday, that's how good it is. The peaches are so soft and covered in their cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y, sugary goodness. Then the crust, it's flakey and crispy, and light and brown. Feel free to use any other adjectives that equal out to a delicious crust.

I'm trying not to cave. Each time I look at it, I want it more.

Maybe I'll just leave the room.

Yo, Ho, Ho, and a Bottle of Rum...Raisin...Peach

Yep. This weekend I'm making a Rum Raisin Peach pie. The shell is actually pre-baking in the oven right now. I'm going to post pics as I make it (and when I taste it).

Sorry I've taken so much time off. First I was busy with school tests, then I was busy with application deadlines, then I ran out of excuses.

So I think I've missed around a month of the challenge. I don't think I'm going to do any big weekend of 5 pies or anything either. I'm going to make most of the pies from the challenge list, but will probably scratch some. Pickle Pie...Sorry.

Well, now. This pie should be really interesting. I'm mixing styles from a few different pies I've made in the past and combining them into one, fantastic, monster pie.

First, the peach part. I was going to just peal, core, and slice the peaches and lay them on the bottom of the pie shell. But, no. I've devised a plan that sounds much tastier.

In the past I've made a Calvados Apple pie. In this pie the apples are cooked on the stove top in a large skillet. First butter is melted, then the apples are added, a bit of sugar enters the picture, and then it's all followed up with some Calvados brandy. Well, I'm going to try something like that with the peaches, only this time I'll use rum.



Second, I'm making a custard with the rum, something I've done numerous other times. Only this time, I'll mix in a bunch of raisins.



Mix them all together. Et voila! Rum Raisin Peach!



Yum.



If you would like to know how I made the peaches, please check out my new blog, Supper's in the Skillet, at www.suppersintheskillet.blogspot.com.