Rum Cream Pie - Week 24

Rich slices of Rum Cream Pie would be perfect for a tea party or any special occasion.

Innes Department Co. in the 30s.

I found this recipe alongside pictures of the Wichita, Kansas Innes Tea Room. This was one of their pies that they served in their top-floor establishment. Apparently this restaurant opened up in the 1920's on the 6th floor of the Innes department store in Wichita. It sounds like it was the perfect place to go with the ladies and be served during a busy day of shopping. It even had the luxury of air conditioning added in 1936. Unfortunately, the Tea Room closed sometime in the 70s and the department store closed in the 80s after it had operated as Macy's and Dillard's for years. Currently, the building is used for state offices.

I never had the opportunity to shop in the massive department store, but I'm guessing at one time it was quite the experience for Kansans. There are no department stores located in the Wichita downtown area now (other than Gander Mountain), but there remains entertainment, boutique shops, business offices, and dining establishments.

I had a few questions about the recipe. Like, what are toffee candies, and are they different than caramels or the hard candies? Or, do you really need all of that cream? I found this recipe here, and I've provided it pretty much as I found it. The next time, I will use caramels instead of the hard candies. And, there will be a next time because this was my favorite cream pie so far even though the rest of the family didn't like it as well.

Ingredients:

9" baked pastry shell

8-12 toffee candies

2 T. cream

1/2 t. rum flavoring

1-1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup sugar

5 T. sifted flour

1/4 t. salt

2 eggs, well beaten

1 t. rum flavoring

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

Whipped cream and shaved chocolate for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In double boiler over hot water, melt toffee candies and 2 T. cream to thin to spreading consistency. Add rum flavoring. 

Spread candy mixture over bottom of baked pastry shell. 

In double boiler over hot water, heat milk and ½ c. cream. Mix together sugar, flour and salt and add to hot milk mixture in double boiler. Cook and stir until thickened, about 15 minutes. Add a little of the hot mixture to the beaten eggs, then stir egg mixture into double boiler mixture and cook 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool. Add rum flavoring and fold in whipped cream. Turn into pie shell. Garnish with whipped cream and shaved chocolate, covering entire surface if desired.

Tea parties are such a delight. Most young girls play tea party, and imagine themselves dressed up in hats and gloves with fancy teacups and tasty treats to eat. 

I attended a Garden Party this past spring, and my friends did a fabulous job...they served mini cucumber sandwiches, cupcakes, fruit salad, and lemon bars. 

The tasty refreshments at our Ladies Garden Party at church.

What are some of the refreshments you would serve at your tea party? 

Cheeseburger Pie - Week 23 Bonus

Top this pie with your favorite cheeseburger topping to make a great meal.

Our bonus pie is an easy meal that can go from fridge to table in less than an hour. I recommend having shredded lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mustard on the table  for the family to dress up their own slice. 

Almost everyone enjoys a good cheeseburger, and the combinations are endless. 


Ingredients:
1 Pie Crust
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
4 slices American cheese (cut into strips)

Directions:
Brown ground beef, and drain. Add onion and cook until tender.
Combine eggs, milk, shredded cheese, and seasonings in a medium bowl. Add hamburger mixture. Spread on top of pie crust. 
Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until egg is set.
Place strips of American cheese in lattice formation. Bake another 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with cheeseburger condiments like ketchup, mustard and pickles, if you like!

What is your favorite burger topping? And can you imagine it on this pie?

I think the next time it should have a bacon lattice on top!

Banana Cream Pie - Week 23

Old-Fashioned Banana Cream Pie is a tasty treat for the whole family.

Over the last 6 months, I've learned that there are wide range of "favorite pies" among family and friends. This pie is a common favorite.  My family was hesitant on declaring this on their favorite list too, until they tried it. I suspect that my husband was afraid that it would have fake-banana flavoring taste like banana laffy taffy (which I love, and he despises). However, there is nothing fake about this pie at all. The simple creamy flavors mix well with the fresh banana slices along with the crispy crust, which make it a tasty slice.

Meringue tops this pie, and I have found that it is really easy to make. The key is a chilled bowl and cooled egg whites.  However, it would also be delicious topped with whipped cream.

Ingredients (Pie):

1 pie pastry, baked

3 cups, milk, scalded

3/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 t. salt

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

2 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

3 bananas

Ingredients (Meringue):

3 egg whites

3 T. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

Directions (Pie):

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt; gradually stir in the scalded milk. Over medium heat; stir constantly, cook until thickened. Cook for 3 additional minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, beat 3 egg yolks. Stir a small amount of the hot mixture into beaten yolks. When thoroughly combined, stir yolks into hot mixture. Cook for 2 additional minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and blend in the butter and vanilla. Let sit until lukewarm. Slice bananas and scatter in baked pie shell. Pour warm mixture over bananas. Topped with whipped cream or Meringue.

Directions (Meringue):

Beat egg whites until frothy. Add sugar gradually and continue beating until stiff. Add flavoring. Pile on pie and bake at 350 degrees 10 to 15 minutes.

What is your all-time favorite pie? Do you think you could be convinced otherwise?

Pizza Pie Part 1 - Week 22 Bonus

Everyone loves pizza, but not all pizzas are created equal.

Over the years, I've tried to make homemade pizza multiple times. But, I have never felt successful with any of those attempts.  In our Kansan small town there are at least 5 options to get a fresh pizza, so my attempts have been less frequent. Even the gas station pizza is quite good.

I can even say that there are even some very good frozen pizza options out there.

                     

And in all actuality, by the time you include the cost for the cheese that you put on a homemade pizza, plus the convenience factor; I'm not convinced that homemade pizza is the best option for me. I will attempt another homemade pizza pie before the year's end. I did enjoy this sauce, and think it is one of the best sauces that I've ever tried in the kitchen. The addition of Parmesan cheese gives it this bold sauce a little depth. I will share it with you. I am anxious to share it with you.

Pizza Pie Sauce Ingredients:

1 (6 oz.) can tomato sauce

6 oz. warm water

3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1 t. minced garlic

2 T. honey

1 t. onion powder

1 t. Italian seasoning

1/4 t. black pepper

salt to taste

Pizza Pie Sauce Directions:

In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, warm water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, onion powder, and seasonings. Mix together well. Let sauce sit for at least 30 minutes. (I used half of this sauce for one very large pizza.)

For the crust, I chose Bobby Flay's Pizza Dough recipe. I've never had great success with homemade pizza dough in the past, and this was one of my better attempts. I didn't have the bread flour that it recommended; so that could be part of its performance issues. I plan on trying it again with some modifications, so stay tuned to Pizza Pie - Part 2. If you have a great pizza dough recipe, feel free to pass it along.

I served this pizza pie for some of my son's friends so I kept the toppings simple with cheese, beef, and sausage. We typically put some veggies on our pizza.

What is your favorite pizza topping? 

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Pie - Week 22

This pie is like an enormous chilled Peanut Butter Cup.

It has a rich dark chocolate crust that balances well with creamy sweet filling. Each slice is a real treat.

Ingredients:

1 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup powdered sugar, divided

1 t. vanilla

15 whole chocolate sandwich cookies

20 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (wrappers removed, divided)

3 T. butter, melted

4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 of 8 oz. pkg.), softened

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1/8 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

1 oz. milk chocolate, broken into pieces

Directions:

1. In a tall bowl, whip heavy cream until foamy. Add vanilla and slowly add 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Place in refrigerator.

2. In a food processor combine cookies and 10 peanut butter cups. Pulse until your mixture is crumbs. Slowly pour melted butter in the mix, and pulse until combined and crumbs are moistened. Pour crumbs into pie plate and press mixture on bottom and sides. Place in freezer.

3. Combine cream cheese and ½ cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat until fluffy. Add peanut butter. Beat until well combined. Fold in ½ of whipped cream. Pour into chilled crust. Smooth with a spatula. Pour remaining whipped cream over top. Place in refrigerator.

4. Quarter remaining peanut butter cups. Melt chocolate.

5. Sprinkle peanut butter cups, and peanuts over pie. Drizzle chocolate over pie.

6. Freeze pie until ready to eat.

Recipe Notes:
I had some issues with this recipe as it was originally wrote. The original recipe easily made 2 pies, and chilling it in the refrigerator just wouldn't have been sufficient. Halfway through the making of this recipe, I modified it to make it work. 
Also, I'm providing a link for whipping cream from bakingvintage.com. I think it does a good job going through the different steps of whipping cream that most people my generation haven't had the chance to learn. 
I also believe you could make it with creamy peanut butter; and leave the peanuts off for those non-nutty people. I think my boys would have enjoyed it much more that way.

What do you think, creamy or crunchy peanut butter?

Summer Strawberry Sour Cream Pie - Week 21

Fresh strawberries are the first glimpse of summer. We can be assured that late sunsets, fireflies and water sprinklers will be just a few things we can celebrate.  

Who doesn't like to remember their lazy summers of youth when you could sleep in and feel the cool breeze of the fan in the mornings before you would crawl out of bed to take part in household activities like putting laundry on the clothesline or helping in the garden by pulling weeds out of the cool morning soil. On your way inside for lunch from the garden, you would need to wash off your legs and feet, also taking a long cool drink straight from the garden hose. After lunch, when the sun was overhead and it was about too hot to do anything else, you would either head off to the swimming pool or run through the lawn sprinkler.  At the end of the afternoon, we knew it was time to head home when we could see people coming home from work because supper would be served soon. Sometimes if you were lucky, the smell of a grilled hamburger was finding us in our secret shaded tree forts signaling that someone's name would soon be called out  for mealtime. Fresh garden cucumbers & onions, large thick slices of tomatoes, fresh cooked green beans, and buttery ears of corn are just a few of the dishes that you could expect multiple times each week once the garden started producing through the summer. 

However, the strawberries were one of the first treats of summer. Maybe, you were even fortunate enough to have your own prized patch. The first strawberries that turned red were usually ate before they even left the patch by anxious gardeners. Soon there would be enough to pick a whole pail of ruby red strawberries to make a dessert for everyone. They would be all different shapes and sizes. Some would have a few spots that would have to be cut off, but it would not take long to get so many that your pail was overflowing and you had hopes that you were finished with your task. There was always a chance, you could be sent back out with an empty pail.

Enjoy your summer with the tastes of Summer Strawberry Sour Cream Pie.

Ingredients:

Single Crust Pastry

1 quart fresh strawberries

1 cup flour

1-1/4 sugar

Dash salt

1 cup sour cream (not fat free)

Directions:

Hull and wash strawberries. Slice them in half. Set aside.Sift flour, sugar and salt. In a large mixing bowl. Add sour cream, blending until creamy. Gently fold in berries. Pour into shell and spread without packing. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 4-5 hours. Serve with whip cream or ice cream.

Summers are especially fun for us because we have birthdays in June, July and August with an anniversary too. This time it was Daniel's birthday so I stuck 12 candles on his birthday pie and sang happy birthday to him before his friends and the family enjoyed a slice of pie with some birthday ice cream.

What is your favorite sign of summer?