Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Day 29 of 31 Days Of Pie is Lemon Meringue Pie from Kate McDermott, Art Of The Pie

Our 31 Days Of Pie is drawing to a close, and yes, I am sad to see it go! Will we stop making pies? Never. Will we take a quick break from them? Most likely, but I’m sure it won’t be long. Today’s pie comes from America’s Test Kitchen, and happened rather last minute as we looked at the calendar and realized we made 30 pies, not 31, over the course of the month. We were at home enjoying down time and not at the studio, so this pie was whipped up quickly at home and photographed in the backyard. A quick sidenote: I’m always trying to keep myself busy creatively and realized “hey! I have the afternoon off! hey! it’s sunny! hey! I want to photograph a little backyard vignette!” I’ve included that photo and it also explains why this luscious key lime pie doesn’t match the series all that much. But no biggie, right? As with all things America’s Test Kitchen, it works and is delicious. Whenever you crave that zippy zing of citrus I hope you’ll think of this.

At one time or another, we've all had overripe bananas sitting on our counter tops waiting to be consumed. Unfortunately, most of the time they end up in the trash. I'm not a big fan of bananas in general, so that happens to me all the time. But I absolutely love using them as a device in baking. I almost purposely let them go brown just to have an excuse to use them for baking.

Banana bread is one of those confections that's always great to have on hand to offer friends when they stop by. Anyone would enjoy a thick slice spread with cinnamon butter served alongside coffee or tea. It's perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon pick-me-up. Banana bread also makes a great gift at holiday time or can be shared with coworkers, especially if baked as muffins. Even if you don't like bananas, like me, you will love this banana bread. The best part about this recipe is that it uses only two bowls. In one the dry ingredients are combined and in the other the wet. All one needs to do is dump and stir. No special culinary expertise required.

Sometimes you want a gallette instead of a pie.  You’re shocked hearing that from me? Well, don’t be. Apparently I enabled a gallette to be the winning “pie” at the last pie contest.  And you know why?  Because of the increased caramelization possibilities of more exposed crust and the ability to make a really big one for a wow presentation. 

Like this one here which served almost 20.  Also, I find that for bakers who are nervous about the whole cooking fruit inside a crust + thickener thing, cooking the apples separately can be an easy anxiety fix.

To size up the recipe just use more dough to make a bigger circle for your gallette and prep more apples.  For this gallette that was 14″ across I made my Ratio Dough using 15 oz of flour.  I used 10 small apples.  You actually don’t need to use many more apples than for a regular pie, they’re just spread out in a much thinner layer.

Move over...there's a new "crack" in town. And this dip is definitely it. Don't make it unless you plan on over-indulging or you have many friends around to help you eat it. I promise you, there won't be any left.

It's so delicious, especially when served with tart Granny Smith apples. The sweet and sour balance each other out and make for this wonderful food-dipping experience.

This is perfect for your upcoming Halloween party (serve in a hollowed out pumpkin). It will also be great for Thanksgiving, Christmas....okay, pretty much any holiday or gathering.

It will take you five minutes to make. Everyone will love you.