Pantry Collective

This pie was the winner of the Best Fruit Pie award at Piefest 10! You may recall last year’s entry, Poached Pear Pie. Well, this year I knew I had to up the ante, because all the pies last year were over the top. The pies at Piefest are hardcore, people. This year there were some amazing entries (Johnny Cashew Chicken Pot Pie, Coffee Talk with Linda Richmond Pie, Wishlist Pie - based on the Skee-Lo classic from 1995, Ted Kennedy Would Have Voted For This Blueberry Pie, and many other pies that did not have clever names but were delicious nonetheless).

Best in Show went to an amazing NPR Tomato Pie which I admit had me going back for seconds (that is saying A LOT when there are 25 pies to sample). There was a “hurry up and eat it” ice cream pie, a dirt pie that came in a huge vase with ornamental paper flowers, a late-entry stawberry-peach cream cheese pie that wowed me with super fresh, sweet strawberries, and of course, many more. You can see a video of me and John going through the line, sampling each pie one last time before voting (I should not be the cameraperson ever again, sorry!). There’s also an awards ceremony video! Piefest 10 was a lot of fun, and I’m already thinking up an entry for next year’s event. I think I’ll break away from fruit pies and go for either Miscellaneous or Savory.

Notes on this year’s pie:
I originally made this pie a month or so ago, using fresh blueberries, a store-bought traditional crust, and almonds instead of walnuts in the topping. We took photos of that pie; they’re below the cut. Happily, Evan (host of Piefest) took a photo of the improved version I made for the event. The Piefest version, with a shortbread crust, frozen (thawed and drained) blueberries, and walnuts in the topping was a lot better, in my opinion. Frozen blueberries are actually really good, especially when fresh ones aren’t in season. In my experience they are a bit sweeter than fresh, and at this time of year, a lot cheaper. In this application they turn the sour cream filling a beautiful bright purple color that we didn’t get as much of in the fresh-blueberry version. You can also see the mostly-eaten Piefest Version in the first video - don’t worry, we’re pretty close to the beginning.

(more…)

This sauce is amazing. Roasted red peppers are so sweet and delicious, and they form a great base for this creamy pasta sauce. The original recipe at Cooking Light looked good, but seemed to lack spices. This is a common problem with “light” recipes, I’ve found - they underestimate spices all the time. The sauce is definitely improved by the addition of garlic, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper. I added a zucchini into the puree; it didn’t contribute anything, flavor-wise, but it bulked up the sauce a little and added another veggie to the dish.

Paired with sweet italian sausage, fresh parmesan cheese, and some fresh basil on top, it was a delicious, hearty pasta dish that managed to feel summery thanks to the bright, sweet tang of the peppers.

(more…)