Thanksgiving prep

The past few days have been filled with baking, crafting, and making lists. Yesterday I tried my hand at baking a green tomato pie, which actually isn't very Thanksgiving-themed, but we had all the ingredients in the kitchen and I thought it would be fun to try something new. I also went to Michaels and picked up glitter glue and foam owls to make for our DIY placecards. They're a little childish, but so cute, I just couldn't resist. I honestly don't have a lot of money right now because I lost my job, so I'm impressed that I was able to put together cute little place cards for around $6 total ($1.99 for the glitter glue and $3.99 for the owls). I also bought a stack of flashcards for a dinner table activity that I'll share later.

Adding the cubes of butter...









It actually was pretty tasty! I'm usually a sweet pie lover, not so much a savory. But it's definitely worth trying.

They're not finished yet. I was thinking of drawing little acorns on the back, or writing a Thanksgiving-themed phrase, so that everyone gets something different, but I'm starting to run out of that glue.
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Another Night Of Pie-Making

Lately I’ve been obsessed with making pies. There's something so relaxing about hanging out in a warm kitchen on a cold, dark day, with the smell of vanilla and butter in the air. Last night I tried my hand at a chocolate chess pie (courtesy of a woman named Betty Thomason), which is basically the easiest pie to make in the world. Luckily the only thing I had to buy was the pie crust (shh, store bought), and the whole process took less than an hour.

*Recipe courtesy of southern pies

What you’ll need

• pastry for a 9-inch single crust pie
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 square(1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate (note: all i had was semi-sweet chocolate chips and they worked out just fine. just be sure to measure out two tablespoons, equivalent to 1 oz)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch pie pan with crust and press the crust into the pan Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat (note: I would suggest heating the butter and chocolate in a heat-safe bowl over a pot of simmering water.. otherwise your chocolate & butter could/will probably burn.. not fun). Cook, stirring often, until the chocolate and butter melt and they end up looking like a saucy consistency, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and stir well. (You will notice at this point the chocolate/butter will get thicker). Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt, and stir to combine everything evenly.

Pour the filling into the chilled crust and place the pie on the bottom shelf of the oven. Bake until the pie is well browned, 35 to 45 minutes.

Place the pie on a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature (I would suggest room temp)

I can’t go without mentioning my lovely apron from my favorite store anthropologie

Pie Time

A couple of days ago, I thought it would be fun to bake an apple galette (better known as a pie without the top crust). It was so, so simple to make. My special trick is tossing the apple filling with a little nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar. Once it’s ready to be baked and the top/edges are brushed with an egg white wash, I pour in a little cherry brandy (I found it lying around), plus a little brown sugar on top. I baked it for about 30 minutes until the crust was golden, and it was perfect! I love the rustic look of it.

Before :


After :


There was dough left over so I made a little mini apple pie pocket. I would definitely make more of these again, and hand them out as gifts. perhaps for Christmas since I’m so broke: