baking update

[verbicide]

I was going to bake these awesome strawberry cupcakes, but I think it may just be too much for a busy Sunday night before a full work week. I bought the strawberries, but I can make them tomorrow or Tuesday.

The strawberry banana bread is half gone, I really don't think it comes out very picturesque, but I may have to still try.



I busted my ass making a blueberry pie on Friday because it's one of Jeff's favorites. And after all that work, I hate it. Jeff's just going to have to chip away at it alone. I'm so mad at Cook's Illustrated. They have this stupid tapioca thickener method which fails like half the fucking time. You end up biting into hard nurdles of tapioca that haven't dissolved. I let it sit in the macerating fruit for like half an hour. I don't know what it fucking wants. And plus the visual of little white balls in the pie is wrong. And also, I think I don't like blueberries. So it's just not worth eating it around the nurdles for me. Jeff says everything is perfect about it except for the stupid nurdles. It's apparently worth it to him to eat, which is sweet. Except that I want to throw it away.

I'm sad, because it was one of the prettiest pies I've ever made. Instead of vents, I cut out little hearts in a circle with the heart cut outs alternating. My camera battery was dying just as I wanted to take pictures (before serving it) so the photos aren't as nice as I'd liked. It just looks okay in the shot.

I so prefer making tarts. Pie making is a total pain the ass. Except for the nurdles, I feel I've mastered pie-making and now I never, ever want to make a pie again. Except I may have to make a peach one still this summer.

I'm not sure why I'm driven to perfect things I don't even like that much. I don't think I really like pie that much. And before roly de-friends me (hi!), let me clarify, that I don't think I like the summer fruit pies so much. With the double-crust. I love all other pies (like cream and custard pies). I also really love this jelly-roll-ish cobbler I make. So anyhow. To sum up: maybe I should stop trying to make pies.

You know what it is. I think I like how they look on a countertop. That's just sad.

Comments

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

Shhh - don't tell, but I prefer pretty much every other dessert to pie. Pumpkin pie is the only pie that really stands a chance against cake or cookies, but like you, the double crust fruit pies don't really do it for me.

Hmm, okay, a chocolate cream pie stands a chance too.

But, really, give me cake or cookies!

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

You have totally made my day! :D

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

Yay! :)

Three cheers for cookies and cake!! ;)

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

The hearts look very nice. Certainly makes me want to have some pie.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Well I wish I could offer you some --but not this pie. This pie is not my friend.

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

I love pie, but that tapioca thing sounds scary! Pie should not have little white balls of tapioca in!!!

But the crust looks gorgeous!

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

It's so weird --I can't believe the instructions don't call for disintegrating them somehow.

And thanks! I was happy with the crust at least.

[pinkminx.livejournal.com]

Tapioca thickener? We had to use that because ex-flatmate is coeliac. It does behave a little strangely.

I've usually made blueberry pies with the very simple dough-goes-in-first, blueberries on top, screw anything else method I learned at home. I have a very simple and yummy recipe for it (this being the most popular pie in Finland, after all) if you ever get over your horror of blueberry pies.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Thanks--but as I've realized I don't like blueberries, I don't think I'm going to do this again!

[mixed-up-media.livejournal.com]

When sidebernie made a strawberry pie earlier in the summer, we likewise made the mistake of following a tapioca recipe. We won't be doing *that* again! (It was otherwise tasty, thank goodness.)

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I am so glad to hear that I'm not the only one with the tapioca issue--I kept thinking I was doing something wrong!

If you find a better pie filling recipe--let me know! :)

[mixed-up-media.livejournal.com]

We may have used the wrong kind of tapioca. But whatever the reason for the thickener malfunction, we had similar results to yours.

I suppose that the advantage of using tapioca is that it gives a lovely, clear, jewel-like appearance to berry pie fillings. But I'd rather use a flour-thickened recipe that actually works, even if the filling ends up a little cloudier!

My favorite cooking basics cookbook is Better Homes & Gardens, and it does have pretty foolproof (flour-thickened) pie filling recipes.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Were they just the small, dry, white tapioca pearls? That's what I used.

I haven't had the jewel-like experience so much as little white balls --some almost translucent and some whiter --and hard.

I'll have to test out some flour-thickened ones!

[mixed-up-media.livejournal.com]

Yup--that's what we used, too. DO NOT WANT!!!

Thickening with flour is so much easier!

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Never again!!