Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Pie

Not the best photo, but we weren't worried about photos at the time!

Sometimes you just have to improvise. I mean, not all rental houses are stocked as fully as we might hope them to be.

But, when you are celebrating a very important person's impending nuptials with a bachelorette party to end all bachelorette parties--in Lake Tahoe no less--there must be chocolate peanut butter pie.

And so I crushed the graham crackers for the crust in a Ziplock bag with a melon (success!), because there was no food processor. And Amber "whipped" the cream for the mousse in the blender (mostly a success!), because there was not an electric beater. Having no tablespoon measuring spoon, we dutifully counted out 3 teaspoons for each one. The fact that there was no also pie pan was also a bit of a set back. Luckily, there was a Kmart down the way, so I bought one. (When is the last time you were in a Kmart? Weird!) Pie pan doesn't fit in the freezer? Refrigerator will have to do. Sometimes you just have to be flexible.

This pie is really rich (you probably got that impression from the name), but it is super easy and very delicious--if you like peanut butter and chocolate. (If you don't like peanut butter and chocolate, you should really, really work on that.) This is a chilled pie, so it's great for summer parties. Make it ahead, then just sit back and enjoy the feather boas---er, festivities.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Pie

~Print Recipe~

• Non-stick vegetable oil spray
• 7 whole graham crackers, coarsely broken
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick), unsalted butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 1/3 cups bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 8 ounces)
• 2/3 plus 1 3/4 cups chilled whipping cream, divided
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 6 ounces (1 cup) peanut butter chips
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (like Skippy, not old-fashioned or freshly ground)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch glass pie pan with non-stick spray. Blend graham crackers, melted butter and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a food processor until moist clumps form. Press crumb mixture over bottom and up sides of prepared pie dish. Bake crust until lightly browned, around 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine chocolate chips, 2/3 cup whipping cream, corn syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium heat until chocolate softens, about 3 minutes, checking it frequently. Whisk until melted and smooth. Spread chocolate mixture over the bottom of the crust. Freeze 10 minutes.
3. Microwave peanut butter chips and 3/4 cup cream in a large microwave-safe bowl on medium heat at 15 second intervals, stirring often, until chips soften. Whisk in peanut butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Set aside and cool to barely lukewarm. In another medium bowl, beat remaining 1 cup cream and and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl until very thick, but not yet holding peaks. Fold in peanut butter mixture in 3 additions. Spoon mousse evenly over chocolate layer. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Now that I know how to make the filling for sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie from scratch (and hopefully you do, too!), it's time to step it up and make the crust from scratch as well. Putting that homemade filling in a generic pie tin crust just feels like a cop-out. Plus, you run the risk of people thinking you bought the whole thing from a bakery. The great benefit of the graham cracker crust is it is a breeze to make, and no rolling pin is needed!

What's in it:

1 plastic sealed package graham crackers (about 10 crackers)

6 Tbl butter, melted

1/4 C sugar

tsp cinnamon (optional)

How it's made:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Smash up the crackers before you open the package (it's pretty fun) and then dump the crumbs in a food processor. Pulse until the consistency is a fine crumb. Add in sugar and cinnamon and pulse to mix. Add in melted butter and pulse until thoroughly distributed, and you have a nice even consistency. Press the cracker crumbs into a 9" pie pan, evenly distributing the layer. If you do not have a food processor, you can do all this by hand in a bowl with any pounding and mixing utensil you would like to use (such as a muddler or rolling pin, etc).

Bake in oven 7-10 minutes, and cool. If recipe calls for an uncooked pie crust, chill in the fridge an hour before filling.

Enjoy!

Libby's Pie Crust

Libby is the Mom of REI Berkeley, and last month she invited some ladies over for a pie crust workshop. She claimed to have the best pie crust in the west, and was kind enough to show us the ropes. It was a fantastic evening, and felt like we were in a Food Network program. I will try to put into writing what Libby does with her crusts, but it will not compare with the real deal.

Libby originally got this recipe from a neighbor back in the 70's. She still has the original recipe written down. Her best advice was to get in the right space for making the crust, relax and don't get frustrated.  I no longer am afraid to make pie crusts from scratch, and neither should you!

This crust recipe makes enough dough for a two crust pie, like peach, so cut in half if you just need enough for a pie/quiche without a lid.

What's in it
2 C white flour, unbleached, leveled with a knife - no fudging!

1 1/3 C butter (I prefer unsalted) at room temperature, but not too warm

6 Tbls ice cold water

a bit of sugar

How it's made

Start by prepping your ingredients and your work surfaces. The key is to keep everything very clean and dry. If you have a large wooden cutting board, it is perfect for working the dough. A nice clean rolling pin is key as well. Prep your butter by setting it out, and your water by putting it on ice. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Measure your flour into a bowl, and add the butter, sliced. Use two knives or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until it is about pea sized and pretty uniform. Gently fold in the water. This helps set the butter so the dough is workable.

Next massage the dough together until it is an even consistency. Take half and set aside. Pat other half into a ball and set on a well floured work surface. It helps to also cover the ball with flour. Using a well floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is large enough to fit in the pie pan. Tease the dough up off the board or counter with a spatula, or roll out on parchment paper so you can flip the crust onto the pie pan.  A 9" deep dish pie pan is best, and apparently metal is better than glass as well.

Pinch dough around the edges of the pan to form the crust. Prepare your filling* and put in the pie pan. Then repeat for the second half of the dough - rolling out and then placing on top of filling. Pinch edges again to form the crust, and poke decorative holes in the top. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 55 minutes or until crust is golden.  I also recommend placing a pan or foil under the pie while baking, because juices usually bubble out of the pie.

*For a filling, I recommend peaches, especially in the summer. Wash well and dry 8 peaches (not too ripe), and slice into uniform slices. Mix (with your hands) peaches into 1/2 C sugar (more or less for tartness or sweetness), and dashes of cinnamon, plus 3 Tbls flour to thicken.

Enjoy!

Kale Quiche

I have never made a quiche before, and I am realizing now that is a very big mistake on my part.  They are delicious and fairly easy to make.  I got this recipe from my CSA box, and this is the only way I have found I like to eat kale.

What's in it

1 bunch kale or collard 

1 small onion chopped

salt and pepper

olive oil

5 eggs

3/4 C milk

1/2 shredded cheese

1 pie crust

How it's made

Preheat oven to 350.  Slice kale into thin ribbons, then spin in salad spinner if needing a wash.  Heat the oil in a pan, then add onion and cook until soft and tender.  Add kale and saute another few minutes until tender.  Remove from heat and salt and pepper to taste.

Beat eggs and milk together until frothy.  Add kale mixture to pie crust and stir in cheese.  Pour eggs on top and gently stir in.  Bake 35-45 minutes until set in the middle.  Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Rolling Pie Crusts

So this may not be the most interesting 'recipe', but I feel like I made a breakthrough last night while rolling crusts for pasties.  Making crusts from scratch is challenging for most of us, and for me personally, the hardest part is rolling it out.  Luckily my new food processor makes the mixing of a crust fairly easy.

Here's my tip on rolling crusts:

Start with a clean surface, or not.  Lay down a sheet of parchment paper large enough to work on your dough.  Sprinkle the paper with a generous amount of flour.  Roll your dough in a ball and set it in the middle of the paper, then press down a bit to flatten.

Tear off another piece of parchment paper about the same size as the first, and sprinkle it with flour.  Lay the paper (flour side down) on top of the ball of dough.  You now have a parchment paper dough sandwich.  Find a rolling pin or round bottle (I used a wine bottle - a recommendation from Davey).  Roll out the dough with the pin/bottle on top of the paper.  It should be fairly quick getting it thin, even and round.  Once it is the proper size, pull up the parchment paper, and lift up the rolled out dough.  If it sticks anywhere, just use a spoon or spatula to edge it off. 

This technique eliminated my frustrations with trying to roll out dough and having it stick to everything.  It also was super easy to roll out a thin circle.  I just couldn't let those darn pie crusts get the best of me.  I used Betty Crocker's pie crust mix, I highly recommend it (just add water!).

Pecan Pie

For most of my life I refused to touch the stuff, though it was a staple at my family's traditional Thanksgiving dinner (store bought, I would guess--not really any pie-makers in my family). Those days I was too busy savoring a fat slice of the only pie I cared for--pumpkin. Something about pecan pie creeped me out... maybe it was that oozy, gelatinous goo below the pecans.

Well, I don't remember what finally convinced me to branch out a bit and taste pecan pie for the first time, but when I did--holy sweet angels in heaven! It was delicious. For a few years after that first foray, I tried to divide my loyalty equally between the pumpkin and the pecan after our turkey dinner. Then somehow over the years pecan pie pulled ahead and is now unequivocally my first and foremost favorite pie. I wanted to make it.

So, I scoured the Internet and found plenty of recipes. Most of them had about a cup of corn syrup in them, but one on allrecipes.com touted itself as corn syrup free. (Plenty of sugar instead!) I liked the idea, but would it be any good? As it turns out, 366 people had reviewed the recipe and given it an average rating of 4.5/5, mostly commenting that it was even tastier than the corn syrup version. Done.

Here is my adapted version*:

No Corn Syrup Pecan Pie

~Print Recipe~

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (melted)
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups pecans (I used 1 cup pecan halves and 1/2 cup chopped pecans)
• 1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust (Kate recommended the Pillsbury pre-made crusts to me. I'm now officially recommending them to you.)
  

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Stir in the slightly cooled, melted butter. Quickly stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and flour so that the sugar begins to dissolve. Mix well. Add milk, vanilla and nuts. (That's it! So easy!)
3. Sprinkle both sides of pre-made pie crust with flour and place in a 9" pie pan. Pour pecan mixture into prepared crust. Cover edges of crust with tin foil or a pie crust protector.
   
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. (I know--it was preheated to 350 degrees. Turn it up; go with it.) Then reduce temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the crust protector and bake for another 25 minutes or until set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
   

* This pie doesn't look completely like an ordinary pecan pie; it comes out a little darker.
* When you pour in the filling, it won't fill up the crust, but it will rise when baking.
* I baked my crusts bare for the first 20 minutes and then covered with tin foil; but my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (old-school!) says to put it on first--which seems to make a lot more sense. It was kinda tough attaching the tin foil strips to a hot pie.
* This pie tasted pretty fantastic. Especially when served with homemade whipped cream. Try it!