#24: Strawberry Cream Cheese

This Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie recipe came from "The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook" and helped me deal with some stray pecans and strawberries that I had on hand.  :o)

Actually this was a pretty simple recipe that made it possible for the little one to get involved.

Plus I loved the used of pecans in the crust. It gave the simple flavors a little extra WOW!

#12: Spinach and Ham Pie

Believe it or not, after about 3 months of pies...I'm starting to crave something different. So yes, this week, I have a savory pie for you -- Spinach and Ham Pie.

I began my search by googling "ham pie".  (How could anyone go wrong with a search like that?)  This lead me to a recipe from Martha Stewart and figured it would solve two problems -- satiate my savory pie craving and work as my contribution to our family Easter dinner.

The first time I did this recipe, I followed it exactly (sort of), which included using the food processor to make the crust.  <GASP!>  I know.  However, I was very careful to not over-process the dough.  So even though they said to process until a dough ball formed, I stopped short of that and brought it all together in a separate bowl.

The dough came out fine, I could still see chunks of butter/cheese it the dough disks that I wrapped to chill.  But I think, if you're not paying attention, it's probably really easy to let this go too far.  So the second time I made this pie (for Easter), I did it by hand...no problemo.


Another thing I liked about this recipe is that it uses spinach, which is in season right now.  However, with all the washing and de-stemming and cooking and chopping and squeezing...it soon became quick clear.  I should have used frozen, chopped spinach to cut the process in half.  Comparing my first (fresh spinach) and second pies (frozen), you can't taste the difference.

No matter what kind of spinach you use, though, you have to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.  Yes, you end up with something that looks like a road apple.  But if you skip on this step..even in the slightest, you will have a soggy bottom crust.  Period.  (Worried about squeezing out all the nutrients?  Save it and put it in a smoothie or something.  Just don't leave it in your pie.)

The end result?  Wonderful.  The original recipe says it makes 8 servings but when I served it for Easter, I doubled it so for those who (like me) were happy to combine a bit of pie and ham to make the perfect bite.  Plus, where were extra slices for those who (like my husband) could easily just eat the pie all on its own.

#8: Mrs. Salter's Peanut Butter Pie

So for our 2013 Oscar Dinner Party, I decided to go with Mrs. Salter's Peanut Butter Pie, courtesy of Paula Deen.  If you're keeping track of my Oscar reasoning...well, here's what was going through my mind...

• Life of Pi:  It's a pie.  Yeah, it's a cheat but for a move about the lack of food...this was better than a raw fish and rice crackers pie.
• Beasts of the Southern Wild:  This is a recipe from the South's own Paula Deen, who I'm wild for.  (Was that a groan?  Well, it's only downhill from here so hold on to your seats.)
• Argo:  I went with peanut butter for the Carter (a peanut farmer for you young-ins) era setting of this movie.
• Zero Dark 30:  I added a layer of dark fudge to this recipe to represent this movie.  (I was going to do a chocolate cookie crust but I forgot to get the chocolate wafers.  That ''inspired'' me to make my own, which then went south...unfortunately, not very quickly.  However, I'm sure I'll talk more about that later when I decide to tackle that hurdle again.)
• Silver Linings Playbook:  The Philadelphia Cream Cheese used for this pie represents the setting of this movie.
• Django Unchained:  Dare I reference the whipped cream?  It's either that or pepper the reference with N-words like "nice", "nostalgic" and "nummy".
• Lincoln:  (I'm going to start hitting bottom very soon here.)  Well, as mentioned in my earlier post...this pie goes great with coffee (Lincoln's favorite drink).
• Amour:  Did I mention this goes great with coffee?  (I could have gone with "After one bite, you'll want to have...uh...more. Get it? Sounds like ''amour''.)
• Les Miserables:  I'm sure this would go well with a glass of red wine or a side of french fries.

OMG!  You made it!  Thank goodness the Oscars is only once a year.

As for the pie.  It was delicious, of course.  This is the first time I've made a mousse (and a peanut butter on, nonetheless) so of course I was afraid it wouldn't remain light and fluffy. As you can see, no need for me to fret.

I'm happy that I decided to add a layer of fudge for Zero Dark 30 because the pie wasn't super sweet and (I thought) it could use the extra ZING!  Hello...you can never go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.

BTW, if you're wondering about our entire 2013 Oscar menu, here it is:

• Appetizers:  Crabby Snacks (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Main Course:  Persian Roast Chicken (Argo/Zero Dark 30)
• Sides:  Hushpuppies (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Roast Vegetables (Lincoln), Pita & Hummus (Argo/Zero Dark 30)
• Desserts:  Peanut Butter Pie (Life of Pi) and White Cake (Django Unchained)
• Beverages included Champagne (Amour and Les Miserables)

#6: Cherry Cheese Pie

It's February so it seem right to find something for Valentine's Day or Presidents' Day or BOTH!

Valentine's Day is easy...just pick something red.

Presidents' Day, on the other hand, can be trickier.

I haven't seen the movie ''Lincoln'' but I asked a friend who did. ''What did Lincoln eat in the movie?'' Nothing. All she could recall was him drinking coffee and his wife complaining about how he didn't eat. (No wonder he was so thin.)

Okay, well Washington is easier -- cherry. But cherries aren't in season and I really wanted to keep the fruit seasonal and fresh.

So here's my compromise -- Cherry Cheese Pie. It's red for Valentine's day. It has cherries for Washington (canned yes but I can then save the fresh cherry pie for later this year). And for Lincoln? Well, it goes great with coffee. :o)

And for those of you who think this is actually a cheese cake.  Well yeah, I guess you're right.  But it's easy AND delicious so I think it can be easily overlooked.