Friday is PIE DAY!

Today I am revisiting a favorite pie in our house. It's not quite rhubarb season yet, but I always have to make one on the first of March for my sweetie's birthday. Frozen rhubarb doesn't have the same effect as fresh but, after months of winter, that big burst of tart spring taste is pretty darn good. Rhubarb pie won the affections of my sweetie and jumpstarted my love of pie baking, so it seems appropriate to share this simple recipe and dream of spring.

Birthday Rhubarb Pie

double crust for 9" pie

4 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, cut
2 cups sugar
3 T flour
2 T butter
1 T orange zest
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg

-spoon cut rhubarb into bottom pie crust
-pour sugar over top of rhubarb
-sprinkle first orange zest, then flour, over top
-cut butter into small pieces and dot on top
-sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg
-top with crust, crimp and vent
-bake at 350 degrees for 70-75 minutes

 (c) copyright March 2012

Pies and Aprons

Earring Storage

My long search for the proper ring storage was finally rewarded with this amazingly easy solution.
After posting about the project, I had a couple of requests for a post about my earring storage.
Earrings are perhaps the smallest of my jewelry categories. I have lots of necklaces, lots of bracelets,
and lots of brooches. My earrings, however, all fit (for now) onto one small display board.

I bought a stack of these boards years ago on clearance at Target-for the whopping price of .99 each!
They sat in my closet for quite some time before I called them into service for the jewelry room.

I simply hang the earrings from the ribbons strung horizontally across the board, and tuck in a vintage

postcard or two to add another dose of fun!

You can easily make something similar using this great tutorial from the DIY network.
(Just string your ribbon in a horizontal/vertical manner rather than criscrossing)
http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-make-a-ribbon-bulletin-board/index.html

I'm also now inspired to dream up some new earring storage solutions, so check back for more ideas
in the upcoming weeks.

Friday is PIE DAY!

It struck me a few weeks back that I have completely ignored one very important and tasty pie. Sweet Potato. I love sweet potato pie, and have baked many, but have neglected to devote a Pie Day post to it until today. As soon as my brain began churning up images and recipes for sweet potato pie, a wide range of sweet potato pairings came to mind. I promise to post a classic sweet potato pie recipe at some point, but for now, please indulge some experimentation.

Straddling the fence between sweet and savory, sweet potatoes lend themselves to mingling with many flavors, including a variety of fruits. The sweet mellowness of pears seemed like a good place to start.
(ok-actually, I had lots of combos buzzing around in my head, but we happened to have a bowl of pears on the counter, and I am always an opportunist when it comes to my kitchen)

To change up the usual puree,

I caramelized the sweet potatoes.

First peeling, halving and blanching

 the sweet potatoes in boiling water....

 ...then cutting them into small wedges.

Pears were also peeled and cut into thin slices.

 Caramelizing the sweet potatoes drapes them in this lovely, gooey, sugary coat.

Scrumptious!

 Adding some almonds to the mix of sweet and fruit ups the complexity of the final taste.

 A quick mix of toasted ground almonds,

a hint of vanilla, and an egg yolk for binding

creates a perfect base for the pie.

 It gets layered first into the unbaked crust.

 The sliced pears are layered over that.

 And finally, the caramelized sweet potatoes

 are spooned on top.

A rustic finish to the crust

(fancy speak for flopping it over)

 provides a peek of the vibrant color inside.

 The finished pie looks perfectly browned and tempting.

A slice reveals the rich layers of almond, pear and sweet potato.

This recipe is quite on the savory side. It would be divine served in slivers with a cheese course and prosecco or port for an elegant dessert. As I was baking this one, I was already developing notes for a sweeter version. Look for that in a future Pie Day post!

Caramelized Sweet Potato Pie with Pear and Almond

single 10" pie crust

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced in half
3 large pears, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 T lemon juice
1/8 t salt
1 cup toasted almonds
1 egg, separated
1/2 t vanilla paste (or pure vanilla extract)

To caramelize sweet potatoes:

-combine butter and brown sugar in large skillet
-heat on medium until butter and sugar are melted
-add lemon juice, stirring to combine
-add sweet potato slices, stirring to coat with sugar mixture
-cook on medium high heat, stirring often, until mixture thickens and
sweet potatoes are coated. about 18-20 minutes
-remove from heat

To make almond layer:

-layer one cup almonds on baking sheet
-toast at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned
-place in food processor
-add vanilla paste and egg yolk
-process until almonds are finely ground

To assemble pie:

-spoon almond mixture onto unbaked bottom pie crust, spreading evenly
-layer sliced pears over the almond mixture
-layer caramelized sweet potatoes on top of all
-fold and tuck crust up and over filling
-bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes

(c) copyright Pies and Aprons

March 2, 2012

Color Palette

This vintage top found it's way

into my closet last week.

Shades of violet and periwinkle

paired with earthy hues

are really rocking my world right now.

Freshen up your bedding

for spring with these hues.

Delightful and refreshing.

Spreading my wings.

My main "studio" is housed in our basement. Most of the time, this works just dandy, but lately I've been craving a new work space. During the winter, I tend to gravitate up to the dining room table for computer work and photographs. Better light, better heat. My issue with the dining room table: distraction. It's the main hub of the house, so it's easy to notice some mundane task that must be done RIGHT NOW and wander off to take care of it.

The guest room has been the source of many conversations with my husband.  Our house is tiny, and we only have guests a few times a year. The other 340 or so days of the year,  it just sits there with no one using it. Thus, the idea was born to convert it into my studio annex. After all, I work from home every day, so it just seems like a smarter use of the space.

I gleefully cleared the room out and started getting set up. This cupboard houses reference books and a few props (It's previous life was as a pantry in our farm kitchen). I want to keep this room fairly sparse, but I can't live without a little color. The whiteness of this cupboard door was suddenly making me very sad.

So I gave it a quick and easy makeover. I grabbed a stack of coordinating wallpaper sample sheets, paint chips and fabric, then created a patchwork door. I didn't work with a plan or layout, preferring just to go with the flow and see where the patchwork led me. I also used double stick tape, knowing that I will need to repaint the door if I ever choose to remove the patchwork.

I'm so happy with the results. I squeal with delight (really) every time I look into my new room and spy the new colorful patchwork. In fact, the whole rooms makes me dizzy with delight. It's not quite done yet, but

here is a peek at the progress.

I picked these metal racks up at a junk sale. Topped with a $25 Ikea table top, they make a perfectly tall work and photo table.  You can see that they were not quite the same height-easily solved by sliding in a decorative box to fill the gap. The big bonus? Lots of supply and prop storage right at my fingertips! I'll pick up a few bins to slide onto the shelves. This will keep everything looking tidy, and allow me to move props and materials up and down from basement storage.

The height of the table and open racks below keep the room from feeling too cramped. I'm keeping things simple, using just a few key elements-a funky lampshade or two, colors and patterns-to spice up the neutral carpet and subdued wall color (Benjamin Moore-Aura/Croquet). I'm feeling more productive already!

Collecting: A peek inside my drawers

Vintage utensils are one

of my collecting "categories".

They're fun and cheap and useful. But you can quickly end up with unweildly drawers full of them. If you can even get the drawer open, you have to dig through bottle openers and melon ballers to find that perfect cheese knife.

I generally rely on vintage cutlery holders to corral everything, but this metal cabinet puts them to shame. The long narrow slots that formerly housed metal springs are perfect for organizing utensils.

Makes it super easy to select

just the right fork or spoon for the job.

Each implement in it's own little home.

So happy.

This gem lives on my dining room sideboard,

keeping everything handy for eating and entertaining.







L.O.V.E.

hope your day is

sweet as can be!

xoxo

christine