6/3/11

Making Delicious

A coworker of mine brought me in something that she had described as "crab meat, pasta, and sauce that combine to make delicious" and it turned out it was crabmeat-penne in vodka sauce. And it was delicious. So, I promised to make her something equally delicious in return.

Both of us being big blueberry fans, I settled on a blueberry pie.
Now, let me just say before this goes any further that I have never made anything more than a pumpkin or apple pie for thanksgiving before, because I don't like store bought filling and the image in my head of boiling up a pie filling from scratch was for some reason incredibly difficult.
Turns out it isn't. I found a really good-sounding recipe from my dearest friend Allrecipes (It's this one) and bought the ingredients today on my way home.

The two pints of blueberries almost didn't make it home, they were so sweet and tasty.

But after a quick stop to see Patrick's sister Kelly off to prom (emerald green strapless dress against dark red hair--she looked absolutely stunning!) I got home and proceeded to be suddenly intimidated by the recipe. Two steps? Really? Something must be wrong here. I reviewed it again, nearly memorizing the incredibly simple set up before dragging Patrick out the door again to our local library's annual book sale, where I got six books for $9. I, Robot (Issac Asimov), Letters from a Nation (ed. Andrew Carroll), The Songs of Distant Earth (Arthur C. Clarke), World Folk Tales, Monstrous Regiment (Terry Pratchett), and I couldn't pass up on Vikings! by Magnus Magnusson.
We got home and I made empanadas for dinner, and finally buckled down to the seemingly impossible task of making this pie. I'd gotten enough ingredients to double the recipe and make a pie for me as well as a pie for her. It took me about 15 minutes, and then I had a pot full of blueberry pie filling.


I removed it from the heat when it had boiled long enough (about two minutes), and set it aside on an unused burner to cool. I tried a little bit and was sent into paroxysms of joy. It was so delicious! Perhaps a little less lemon extract next time, but even so it is absolutely delicious.
So, as that cooled, I started on the other part.

This pie has two fillings: the standard blueberry-water-sugar-cornstarch-lemon mixture, and a cream cheese-confectioner's sugar-whipped cream concoction that is to die for.

I whipped up the heavy cream as directed (and decided next time to use cool whip) and then beat together the cream cheese and sugar until it was so tasty in and of itself that folding in the whipped cream that just made it light and fluffy was almost unfair.
Even Patrick liked it (but not the blueberries, because he won't eat them).

As the blueberry filling continued to cool (It will take a while) I filled up the bottom of the premade shortbread crusts I'd bought--don't give me that look, this pie doesn't get any baking and I'm not making a crust from hand--with that heavenly sweet cream cheese.

The pie filling will go on top, but it's still far too warm to mess with yet. After it's been spread on top, the pie gets refrigerated until you are ready to glory in all the amazingness that is blueberry pie made from scratch.

I've got some leftover cream cheese mix and will probably have leftover filling, and they will go into a container together for me to enjoy sans crust, perhaps for breakfast tomorrow.

Guilty about health food? Me? Not at all.

My last day at Pizza Hut is tomorrow, a simple 5-hour shift. I open with one of my favorite managers, and we're going to make a trip to dunkin donuts in celebration/despair.

Bob is also coming over tomorrow to hang out and discuss some DM things with me, since he has much more experience running D&D games than I do, and I have a few questions for him.

Patrick and I have decided to read I, Robot together. Right now, he's reading me the first short story, Robbie. It's one of my favorites, but I'm a sucker for a great short story.

Sunday we may go to the lake with my parents, depending on how the weather looks. It may be a bit too chilly.

Fairy Blue
kimi no tame ni hoshi wo kudaki
kazaritsuketa
Black paper moon
Shinjite kureta nara
When you're lost
Here I am
Forever with your soul
Miagereba kagayaku tsuki no you ni
Fairy Blue
for your sake I would destroy the stars
and decorate with a
Black paper moon
If you just believe in me
When you're lost
Here I am
Forever with your soul
Look up, just like the shining moon

~Papermoon; Tommy heavenly6

2 comments:

roxie said...

My mouth is watering so hard it hurts! Just as well you live so far away. I can't eat cream cheese. What a great exchange though.

Hooray for the final day up coming! YOu deserve so much better!

Donna Lee said...

Your pie looks yummy, and I don't really like blueberry pie. Don't substitute coolwhip for cream. It won't be the same.