Happy National Pie Day!!!

YES! It has finally arrived! The highly anticipated National Pie Day! And, this lady couldn't be more pleased.

I have two kinds of VERY SPECIAL PIE to share with you today.

As you can see above, last night we were celebrating the eve of this great day by eating some Chicken, Ham, and Fennel Pot Pies.

Freaking ridiculous. So good effin' good that it made me remember why I got so gung-ho about today in the first place.

Above, is the beautiful four-some that emerged from our oven.

Here's a before shot of our gastronomic gems with a little egg-wash:



And what kind of blog would we be if we didn't show you how soft and flaky our crust was?

So that was amazing. But, did you think that was all I was gonna pull out for National Pie Day?

Hells no. I wouldn't jip you like that. Check out the fantastic dessert from start to finish!

Strawberry Butterfly Pie

First, the gorgeous berries are washed:


Next, I rolled out an All-American double crust (notice I drink beer while I work, an absolute necessity):


Then I mixed our strawberries with tapioca, sugar, and cut some butter all around, because, what would pie be without LOTS of butter?:


Finally, it was time to assemble the pie, after cutting a lovely butterfly steam vent, of course:

Into the oven she went, and out she came, looking buxom and bubbly:


And, at last, slices were cut and many-a-tummy was made happy:


Amen! So good it's Godly!

Pie is a passion. And today we can go ALL-OUT!

Make pie, bake pie, and eat pie!

HAPPY NATIONAL PIE DAY!!!

Check out pictures sent to me from fellow bloggers and readers!!!

This beauty was sent to me by Mrs. Hess, one of my most favorite food bloggers! Isn't her Chicken Pot Pie fabulous?! Go check out her blog, Last Night's Dinner, this second! Her culinary adventures will get your mouth watering!



And, look at this bad boy!!! Nabeela, hostess of the wonderful blog Trial and Error, sent me a picture of her luscious Wild Blueberry Crumble Pie, ummm, SCRUMPTIOUS!



And here's a submission from Harry, of The Brooklyn Kitchen. He made a Pumpkin Pie with a Graham Cracker Crust....YUMMY!

Jamaican Beef Pies*

After giving dinner a a great deal of thought, trying to keep in step with this week's pie theme, we decided to bend the rules a bit.

We decided to make some meat pies...

So, we pulled out the beer and the Jamaican Rum (Holla!) and got to cookin' some grub as if we were on the beaches of Negril, as opposed to our cold-ass kitchen.

Above, I rolled out the pastry, which is very similar to the pastry of your traditional pie. Though, it does contain quite a bit more flour.

Then, using an ugly, little bowl, I cut out circles of pastry...which would soon be stuffed with tasty, tasty beef.



addROC stuffed those bad boys, and then sealed them shut with egg and rum...and into the lovin' heat of the oven they went. And, then, after some minor dripping, we removed our tasty Jamaican Meat Pies* from the oven...



Then, we placed a lovely veggie and ranch appetizer on the table for pre-dinner nibbles.



And, for the final plating, addROC mixed up some of his famous bean salad, grabbed our meat pies* and we went to town...



SOOOOOOO delicious. The spices in the meat filling were fragrant and tasty.
It was a new kind of pie, and it got me thinkin' that I should branch out more often.

In conclusion to today's post, I would like to remind you all that:

TOMORROW is National Pie Day.
We will have some special pies to post from our kitchen, and we hope to see your contributions as well!

Send us a photo of the pie you've made (it can be sweet OR savory) with a brief description and we will include it in tomorrow's post.

All entries should be sent to: thebrooklynnester (at) gmail (dot) com

Have a great time baking (and eating) your pie! I look forward to seeing your entries!


*These "pies" are typically called "Jamaican Beef Patties." But, for the sake of pie week, I am taking the liberty of calling them pies. If you have objections to this slight substitution, I apologize, but, in actuality, they are little pies! Extremely delicious little pies!

Keep Your Eyes on the Pies

Yes Nesters, it is a Holiday weekend, in many respects.

This weekend, we celebrate a man whose vision and goodness still resonates throughout this country and the world. On Martin Luther King Day, we all take a moment to remember and to honor a national emblem of peace, whose loss is still felt. And, whose message is carried on by the many hearts he touched.

MLK, The Brooklyn Nester salutes you, for pursuing peace in a world that has far too little.

In addition to remembering Dr. King, addROC and I will be busy preparing for this coming Wednesday, January 23rd. AKA National Pie Day.

(Painting: © Wayne Thiebaud)

I encourage everyone to make a pie! Make many pies!

Email your photos and a short description to [thebrooklynnester (at) gmail (dot) com] and we will post your photos on the 23rd!

For pie-spiration, take a look at all the pies The Brooklyn Nester has made in 2007!!!


Pear Pie. Crisp and lovely!


Cherry Pie. Horrendous!


Apple Pie. Delicious, and oh-so-American!


Raspberry Chiffon Pie. Amazing...my favorite of the entire year!


Peanut Butter Cream Pie w/Chocolate-Coated Rice Crispie^© Crust. addROC liked this one, but, it was a little too much Peanut Butter for me!


Gingered-Lemon Meringue Pie. A sour, bitter disaster.


White Chocolate Pecan Pie. My first pie EVER! And it was good! What can I say? Pie and I are a match made in pastry heaven!!!

So, enjoy your MLK day, and think about making some Pies for Peace.

MLK...this pie's for you!

Bavarian Night (Sort Of)

Willkommen Nesters!

Welcome, indeed, to our Bavarian Night, or so I insisted on calling it. Though, in actuality it was really nothing other than addROC and I happily scurrying across our kitchen preparing to bake (Bavarian) pretzels. Wondering, the whole time, how long it would be before they were baking in the oven and addROC would be standing at the stove grilling (Bavarian) Bratwurst and boiling (Bavarian) Pasta.

So, the (Bavarian) Pretzel making began with the rolling of the dough that I had allowed to rise for an hour.



Next, addROC and I twisted them into teeny-weeny, cutesy-wootsy baby (Bavarian) pretzels!


Then, I brushed them with a lovely egg wash, and we both sprinkled some course salt, both plain Sea Salt and natural Celtic Grey Sea Salt, over the tops:



So, right before they went in to the oven, they looked something like this:



Into the oven they went! Gott sei Dank!* And then out they came, and they were as golden and adorable as I could ever have wished for!



And finally, after much labor, we sat down to enjoy our (Bavarian) Bratwurst, Pasta, and Pretzel Feast.


Köstlich!**



*Thank God!
**Delicious!

Nester of the Week: Rose Levy Beranbaum

After officially announcing pie season, here at The Brooklyn Nester, it would be inappropriate to ignore a very special lady who has influenced the world of pie and pastry exponentially. Rose Levy Beranbaum is the author of the famed and, not to mention, completely necessary: The Pie and Pastry Bible.



If you don't have her book(s), I bet you've made one of her recipes. Epicurious.com draws many of their pie and pastry recipes from her books...and, she hosts a wonderful blog, Real Baking With Rose, equipped with recipes and a ton of baking tips and tidbits.

So, this pie season, we celebrate you Rose. Here's to you, for making our quest for the perfect pie just a little bit easier...crust and all.

Prepare Ye, The Way Of The Pie

Hear ye! Hear ye!

It's time to get ready for a holiday that is so great, so spectacular, that it has to wait for Christmas, New Years, and Martin Luther King Day to pass...

Yes...January 23rd is National Pie Day.

And here, at The Brooklyn Nester, we take pie VERY, VERY seriously.

So, in preparation for this great day...it has officially become pie season.

I hope to post several pies in the coming weeks, and, hope to have a VERY special pie on the actual day itself, which happens to fall on a Wednesday.

I encourage you, faithful nester, to make pies as well.

Apple, Mincemeat, Pecan, Sour Cherry, Blueberry, Strawberry Rhubarb, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chicken Pot, and the list goes on....

Make a pie, any pie, send us [thebrooklynnester (at) gmail (dot) com] a photo with a short description and WE WILL POST IT on the 23rd of January, NATIONAL PIE DAY!!!!

Pies now, and forever! Prepare ye, the way of the pie!

I Can Mash Potato...I Can Do the (Cheddar) Twist(s)!!!

Finally, after days of wanting to post, but, not finding the time or motivation. I travelled to the homestead...determined.

This holiday season has been pretty jam packed. And, as much as I love the razzle dazzle and the sound of wrapping paper being torn, I'm worn out.

So, in the aftermath, I've found myself hunkering as close to the couch as possible, and have let myself become inundated with the crap that flows through, and pumps out of my TV set.

But, other other night, I said "No more!" I went to the store and purchased means to bake...yeasted breads!

I went forth, and made scrumptious Cheddar Twists.

First I made the dough and portioned it out. You can see (above) that I used a tape measure to make sure all my twists were 14" long. Wowwee!

After rolling them out, I halved them, and twisted them.



Then, I let them rise, painted them with egg wash, and sprinkled them with Parmesan cheese.

And then, I reveled in their beauty after witnessing their crusty goodness.

Mmmm...cheesy.

I highly recommend that you check out BreadWorld.com, the site for Fleischmann's Yeast. They have a ton of great recipes. And, I trust them. Sometimes you find recipes on the net that just aren't quite right, especially when it comes to yeasty breads. So far, BreadWorld.com has been excellent for me!

Go, Bake away!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year to you all, my faithful Nesters!

May you have a happy and healthy New Year!

This year, here at The Brooklyn Nester, we hope to domesticate you even further by baking our way to bliss!!!

I had a great Christmas vacation and am feeling inspired now that I've returned home to my little slice of life in Ye Olde Brooklyn.

It's cold as fuck today, so, I'm sitting here in my cubicle thinking of nothing but steaming hot pies being pulled from my cozy little oven.

This Christmas, I believe, Santa went a little ape shit. addROC and I got soooo much kitchen stuff from our families that our cabinets cannot even contain most of it. Our counter and kitchen table are littered with gadgets, gizmos, pans, and knives.

And we're ready...to Nest bitches!

Join us, won't you, in our quest for domestic bliss in this urban jungle.

I can't wait to get cookin' AND postin'.

Best wishes to you all! The Bitch is back! And it's time to EAT!