Friday is PIE DAY!

It has been a whirlwind of activity in my kitchen today. My PIE DAY pie was created and baked throughout the day, and I have been making desserts for a wine tasting party that we are lucky enough to attend tonight.

For this weeks PIE DAY, I wanted to bake something that would be worthy of a May Day celebration.  Fresh berries and fruit came to mind, but we're still a bit early for much good fruit.  However, I found some organic blackberries on sale yesterday, and that seemed like a good start.  Lemon struck me as a bright springy combination with blackberries, so I came up with a May Day Meringue Pie. 

It's still cooling, and I have to get dressed for the party, so the recipe and taste report will follow tomorrow.
I can hardly wait for a slice!

Ok-  Here is the recipe for the May Day Meringue Pie!

1 9" pie crust, prebaked

Lemon Filling
1 c sugar
7 T cornstarch
1/4 t salt
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 stick butter
4 egg yolks
1/2 c lemon juice
1 T lemon zest

-combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan
-add the milk, and whisk until smooth
-cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil and starts to thicken
-remove from heat, temper egg yolks, then stir in egg yolks
-bring this mixture back to a boil
-reduce heat to low and cook for 2 more minutes
-remove from heat and add butter, lemon juice and zest
-whisk until well blended and completely smooth.
-set aside to cool
-when cool, pour into prepared crust

Meringue

4 egg whites
6 T sugar
1 t lemon juice

-beat egg whites, adding sugar and lemon juice slowly, until soft peaks form
-starting at edges of pie, spread meringue into a tall ring around edge of pie
-bake at 350 degrees until meringue is lightly browned
-let cool to room temperature, then chill in refrigerator for an hour
-fill center with fresh, organic berries, slice and serve!

DIY: More May baskets!

Here is another super easy and colorful May basket project.

Make button 'flowers' by gluing stacks of buttons together, then attaching to a pipe cleaner stem.

I used a plastic flower petal base glued to the pipe cleaner to give them a nice base.

Fold and wrap another pipe cleaner around the stem to form leaves.

I filled a small shaker jar (these were $1 at Michael's!) with assorted candy.

Stick a few flowers into the shaker and tie a ribbon around the jar,

and you've got a colorful edible May basket filled with keepsake flowers.

May baskets need not always show up on a front door.

Surprise your family with a May basket hanging on their dresser door knob,

or on their chair at the breakfast table!

Happy May Day!

DIY: May basket

May Day is one of my favorite days.  Traditional celebrations aside, May 1st just seems like a good day to celebrate-the arrival of spring, the first blooming flowers, or just longer days outside. May baskets for May Day are a sweet little tradition, and I am surprised at how many people are unaware of it. My mother and I always made May baskets for me to take to school or hang on neighbors' doors.  Usually, they were filled with May flowers and Dutchman's Breeches that I picked in the woods, but sometimes we also included candy. I have continued this tradition, and people are always happy and surpised to find one adorning their front door.

It's a cinch to make this simple May basket.  A small jar-this one has a wire bale handle-holds water and spring blooms.  Tie a piece of lace trim (or ribbon, or twine-whatever you have on hand) around the jar, and one onto the handle to loop around a doorknob. A tag wishes a Happy May Day to the recipient, and a vintage clip-on earring adds a bit of bling.

Another springtime treat: morel mushrooms!

Mushrooms are one of my favorite things in the world.  My requests for special occasion food when I was little were usually mushroom pizza or cream of mushroom soup.  (I know-weird for a kid, right?)  The first time S made dinner for me he made a fabulous mushroom soup.  I don't remember if I had tipped him off or if it was just a really intuitive choice.  I won him over with rhubarb pie and he won me over with that soup.

Spring morel hunting has always been a thrill. Growing up surrounded by woodlands, we often had a pretty amazing harvest, and a couple of years ago we came upon a big cache.  For the most part, though, they are fairly elusive.  We spent a couple of hours searching this past weekend, only to come up empty-handed.  S called on his way home from work last night to tell me that he had a surprise. When he arrived home, he immediately called me up to the kitchen to see my surprise-a bowl full of morels!
(I wish I had a photo to put here, but I was so excited, that I forgot to take one)

I could have easily made a meal out of buttered bread and sauteed morels, but thought that I should probably add a little more substance.  My concoction was full of fabulous flavors, and I'd like to develop this one a bit more to make it more sophisticated and showy.  But, here is last night's version.....

Ham and Pink Lady Apple Ragout
with Artichoke Romaine Salad and Sauteed Morels

1 medium Pink Lady Apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 cup cubed cooked ham
1/4 cup vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

-saute onion and apple in 2 T olive oil until translucent and lightly browned
-deglaze pan with broth, then add ham, salt and pepper
-cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, until heated through

1 head Romaine lettuce, sliced
1 artichoke heart (with a little of the juice from the jar), finely chopped
3 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

-combine artichoke,olive oil, vinegar, lemon and salt and pepper
-whisk well, then pour over Romaine

morels
butter
garlic
salt

-adjust ingredient amounts according to number of morels-when in doubt, add more butter!
-saute slice morels in butter, minced garlic and salt

This made for a pretty tasty combination, but any one of these elements would work on their own or with other menus. 

Ahhh.....Lilacs

Today I picked the first lilac bunches of the season. 

This is the first year in a very long time that they have bloomed here before May 1st. 

I paired a big handful with a few stalks of bleeding heart blooms.

My first instinct was to grab a pale blue pottery vase,

but this bright blue mid-century piece from my collection

gives these old fashion flowers a modern twist.

A few stragglers cut from the big branches combine with a branch from a blooming apple tree

to form a diminutive arrangment in this milk glass playing card holder.

The scent is already filling the house,

and I'm giddy with excitement that the fresh cut blooms season has arrived!

Friday is PIE DAY!

My recent PIE DAY post for this glorious pie, left me hankering for more of that buttermilk tang.
So, I took away all the bells and whistles, and made a straight-up-no-frills buttermilk pie.  It's ingredients and preparation are similar to a classic custard pie, but with that signature buttermilk taste.  That said, if you don't care for buttermilk, um, chances are you won't care for this pie either.  But if you love buttermilk.....watch out!

Buttermilk Pie

1 9 inch unbaked pie shell
2 c buttermilk
1 c sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 t vanilla
1 T butter, melted
3 T flour

-combine all ingredients in large bowl and beat until well combined
-pour into prepared pie shell
-bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes
-reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes
(test by inserting knife into center-it should come out clean)

Meringue is tasty on this pie, but optional.  Like I said, I was all about that full on buttermilk experience, so I decided against meringue this time.  If you want to add meringue, here's what to do!

3 egg whites
4 T sugar

-beat egg whites with mixer, adding sugar slowly (i mean it!), until it stiff peaks form
-spread meringue over pie, starting at edges and working your way to the center
-bake in 350 degree oven until slightly browned (about 6-8 minutes)

Collecting: A peek inside my drawers

Mmmmmm.....a drawer full of colorful plastic fun.

This one holds lots of party serving ware like the leaf plates

and a stack of melamine "butt bowls", as I call them.....

but the real gems are these little party favor or bridge snack trays.

They have a coaster half for your drink to rest on,

and a snack half for your mixed nuts or party mints!

Really, how have you lived without a few of these?

Aren't they darling?

The colors and flower motif found in this style make me swoon.

I used these at my sister's birthday party recently to hold a cupcake and jelly bean combo!

Use them for centerpieces, patio parties, table settings or cocktail parties,

or put one to work holding office supplies.