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Chocolate Chip-Walnut Pie

Ingredients
Pie Filling

  • Sweet Pie Crust Dough (recipe below)
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons bourbon
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • Bourbon Cream (recipe below)

Sweet Pie Crust Dough Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 2 tablespoons cold shortening
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Sweet Pie Crust Dough Instructions:

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl. With your fingers, incorporate the butter pieces and shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Work the ice water into the dough until it just comes together, being careful not to over work.

Form the crust into a disk shape, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling out to fit into a pie pan. Makes one 9-inch crust.

Pie Filling Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crust dough to an 11-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch pie pan, trim the edges to a 1/2-inch overhang, and fold over. Crimp the edges decoratively, cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the flour and bourbon, and fold in the walnuts and chocolate. Turn out into the prepared pie shell, spread with a rubber spatula to fill the crust evenly, and bake until golden brown, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

To serve, spread about 1/3 cup of the Bourbon Cream onto the center of each plate and top with a wedge of the pie. Serve immediately. Makes one 9-inch pie.

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Very Important Week

Hi Baby,

Right now you are about the size of a sesame seed.  Within one weeks time you have grown from a poppy seed to a sesame seed.  Still very small but more than double what you were this time last week.  This is an important time for you.  This week your heart will begin to beat and the four chambers will form.  For me and papa it is a very scary time because we want so badly for your heart to form perfectly.  I’ve been really watching what I am eating and trying to do everything possible to avoid getting sick.  Did you know that mommy’s immune system operates at about 80% for the first 10 weeks you are developing?  This is to prevent my body from fighting your developing cells.  My nausea has started and some mornings are worse than others but so far not too bad.

Next week you will be going on your first airplane.  Mommy has to go to Miami for a team meeting and you’ll be going with me.  I’ll do my best to keep you super safe and we will only be away from papa for a few nights.  We will be staying on the penthouse floor and will have impeccable views of the ocean.  One of your very first trips after you are born will likely be to the beach.  Mommy loves sitting on the beach while relaxing in the ocean breeze.  I know you will also be a fan.  I can’t wait to help you make your very first sand castle and teach you all of the animals, birds and fish that live in the ocean.  We can even build a bond fire and roast marshmallows and hot dogs right on the beach.  How fun will that be?  I’ve been making all sorts of plans for you while you are in my belly.  In only a few short months we can start doing some of them together.  Stay safe and strong until next time.

With love,

Mommy

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My Favorite Cribs…so far

I spent some time this weekend looking for the perfect crib.  I found some really nice cribs which has led to me to surmise that choosing one is going to be a tough decision.  I am leaning towards a vintage nursery with some european flair and a few modern touches.  Just like me, my style is never simple.  I can’t wait to begin working on the nursery as I believe my true calling in life was to be a interior designer.  I love searching for the perfect pieces and then combining them to create a one-of-kind and very memorable look.  I’ll be checking out vintage stores and yard sales for some vintage crib sheets and vintage children’s clothing once I know what we are having.  For now all I can do is dream and begin thinking about what I really want in a nursery.  Below are a few pictures of cribs I found during my search that definitely make the short list.  They are extremely different and I am not leaning in one direction over another at this moment.  Just thought I would share.

Possible Cribs:

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The Creative “Spark”

Finger Painting -- so much fun!

Since February of 2010, multiple studies have been released that show a dramatic decrease in the creativity of American children.  In every study technology and television are listed as the top culprits.  Children today are subjected to TV at home, in restaurants, in daycare centers, in the mall and even in the car.  Children rarely have times when they aren’t being “entertained.”  Parents love the techno-babysitter because it means they don’t have to watch the child or children as closely (direct quote from a mother).  Video games, Disney on DVD and Nickelodeon cash in as babysitters but is it at the expense of our children’s own creativity?

I’m 36 years old and a soon to-be mommy.  I am discouraged by the constantly shrinking budgets for art and music and the lack of school science fairs and team projects.  America was built on ingenuity.  Creativity is the foundation of ingenuity so what does this say for our country’s future?  In America, it seems parents would rather sit their children in front of a TV or video game than to go to the park and play frisbee or play sing-a-longs on a stereo.  Many children never play outside.  They aren’t learning about nature and the environment — not the way they should anyway.  How many children today actually catch fireflies in a jar and creatively explain why they light up, or grab a frog and try to carry it in their pocket, or discover a chameleon and then watch is change color and wonder why?  How many kids really look into the sky and search for constellations (making up their own as they go) and watch the phases of the moon and see more than just a man?  How many kids lay on a blanket quietly in the spring and find shapes in the puffy clouds floating by?  What about my personal car game of “I Spy”?  How many families play that game to pass the time on family vacations?  The kids I am around most often are interested in Disney, Spongebob and video games.  They see a spider and either run from it or step on it to kill it.  Our kids aren’t learning and growing and expanding with creativity.  They are being “spoon-fed” facts about our universe,  global warming, animal rights and sustainability from teachers but nothing teaches better than experience.  What not have a school garden with plants that each child is responsible for growing?  I worry that the children of today are being given nothing but answers.  They aren’t being given the tools to find answers and make discoveries.  The creativity of our children is being stolen by technology.

Eric an I talk about this pretty often.  Both of us have successful careers in technology, we love computers and each have iphones and ipads.  However, we agree that the success we have found is not due to the education we had as children, rather it is a result of our ability to be creative.  To find solutions to problems in a clever way.  To look outside the box and feel confident enough to bring the idea forward and then execute on it.   As upcoming parents we are working to find ways to encourage creativity and uniqueness for our child.  I have been searching vintage shops for toys that really encourage creativity, for music that encourages creativity and teamwork, for anything that will bring our child one step closer to experiencing a creative “spark”.  We believe that once that spark is ignited, it never really goes out!

Over the next few months I’ll be adding posts that describe the tools be discover along the way.  I hope you’ll follow along and add comments/suggestions as we go.

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Supplements for Baby

High Dose of Folic Acid as well as B and C Vitamins

My pregnancy continues to progress smoothly.  I have just started getting tension headaches and nausea.  I understand both of these will likely be stronger in the coming weeks before they dissipate entirely by the end of the first trimester.

I am supplementing my pregnancy with extra folic acid and calcium every day.  I can’t keep down the large pills most often consumed so I went on a mission to Target to find alternatives.  I found both supplements in the form of gummies and they taste terrific!  In addition, I am including daily walks in my schedule to help keep me strong and hopefully curb any swelling that may come my way later in pregnancy.  My appetite is very low these days.  I prefer liquids over foods and am trying hard to make sure the liquids I am drinking are high quality including large amounts of protein.  One of my favorites so far is the high protein drink by Bolthouse Farms.  It’s chocolate in flavor but is made with fresh fruits, vegetables and cocoa.

Calcium Supplement

Due to it’s freshness (it’s all natural — no additives, no preservatives, no added sugar) the shelf life is quite short but the drink is perfect for me right now.

Bolthouse - High Protein Chocolate

We are not ready to announce our great news yet.  We are waiting to get through the first trimester and our first ultrasound before we break the news.  One of the most ironic and awesome things about our due date is that it falls on my father’s birthday.  If he were still here he would be so excited to learn a new baby would becoming and he would tell us how lucky it would be to have his birthday!  Dad always enjoyed a good joke and her perpetually searched for the next big laugh.  My dad was an incredible man, the greatest dad anyone could ever ask to have.  I am more than honored to be carrying a baby that could potentially be born on his big day.  Though our baby will have some pretty big shoes to fill, I know he/she will be up for the challenge.

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Meet Mister Rogers

Mister Rogers with his cardigan and Keds

Hi Baby,

Today I was reminded of my own early childhood when an internet search returned the name of one of my very first friends, Mister Rogers.

As a child, he was the star on public television.  He focused on early childhood education and began his show by asking children throughout the world “would you be my neighbor?”.   He would zip his cardigan all the way up, then halfway down, put on his Keds sneakers and invite you into his world.  Mister Rogers was perhaps my very first friend.  I learned so much from him.  I learned how to be polite, how to ask for help, how to tie my shoe, and most importantly how to be a friend.  I want you to have the same access to Mister Rogers as I had when I was younger so today I found some used, vinyl LPs of Mister Rogers’ most amazing songs and I ordered them.  I know we are going to have so much fun with these songs some day!  Soon I’ll be singing them to you while you are in my tummy and then in a few years you’ll be able to sing them with me.

Today we took Frannie dog for a long walk through the neighborhood.  Mommy is working to get into better shape so that when your birthday comes I’ll be very strong and in good shape for the delivery.  Papa and I can’t wait to see you.  Stay strong and I’ll do my best to feed you with healthy, good food.

Love,

Mommy

 

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Doggy Bank

Doggy Bank

Hi Baby,

Today you are only a few weeks in the making.  About the size of a poppy seed you are growing at a furious pace.  When I read that I could compare you to a poppy seed I ran to the pantry to get one, hold one, just so I would know how tiny and special you already are.   Papa and I have only known about you for four days but thoughts of you inundate my mind (in an awesome way).  When I eat I think of what I am feeding you, when I drive I focus on being extra careful because I have a fragile package on-board.  Throughout every second of every day — I think of you.  I wonder if you are a boy or a girl?  I wonder if you will get papas awesomely, long legs?  Will you get the Callicutt dimple?  All of these things will be answered in just a few months but oh how excited they make me!

You’ll learn pretty quickly that your mom is an art lover.  Papa and I visited one of our favorite shops called “The Little Art Gallery” over the weekend.  And, we purchased your first gift.  What better than a gift of hand-crafted, local art?  It’s a doggy bank and I can’t wait to show it to you.  It’s so sweet and special and we bought it in a color that is gender neutral.

Doggy Bank from Top

That way boy or girl you will love it.  I plan to add any birth coins we get when your born to the bank so that you can keep them and someday show them to children of your very own.  Why a doggy bank?  You are destined to love animals and when you arrive home you’ll be greeted by three furry sisters:  Gracie – the sweetest dog ever to live, Frannie – the craziest and funniest dog ever and Princess Pretty Paws – the cat you have to love.  You’ll have lots of fun with these guys as you grow.  I’ll write you again soon.  I can already feel you, well not exactly — I already feel some nausea.  I know you are in there and I love the way I feel!

Love always,

Mom

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Pear and Cranberry Pie

Pear and Cranberry Pie

An all-time favorite.  As a lover of pears I was delighted to find this recipe in Food Network magazine a few years back.  Combining pears with cranberries and a dash of lemon gives this pie a down-home but complex taste.  This pie is best served at room temperature and gets better even a couple of days after baking.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2 refrigerated pie crusts, or double your favorite recipe
  • 3 to 3 1/2-pounds pears, a mixture of Bartlett and Bosc
  • 1/2 cup sugar, divided
  • 6 ounces dried cranberries
  • 3 tablespoons minute tapioca
  • 2 tablespoons mixed berry jam
  • 1 tablespoon cranberry juice
  • Juice of 2 lemons + zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

Minute Tapioca with Mixed Berry Jam

NOTE:  For those who have never baked with Minute Tapioca — here is a pic of what you’ll find on the baking isle of your supermarket

Directions

Peel and core the pears. Slice into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick wedges. Toss all of the pears with 1/4 cup of the sugar, the juice of 1 lemon and the zest of that lemon, place in a colander set over a large bowl and allow to drain for about 1 hour.

Transfer the drained liquid to a small saucepan, place over medium heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons. Set aside to cool.

Toss the pears with the remaining sugar, cranberries, minute tapioca, mixed berry jam, cranberry juice, lemon juice (from second lemon),  salt and nutmeg.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Place pie crust into a 9 1/2 to 10-inch  pie pan that is 2 inches deep. Gently press the dough into the sides of the pan, crimping and trimming the edges as necessary. Place the pears into the unbaked pie shell in concentric circles starting around the edges, working towards the center and forming a slight mound in the center of the pie. Be sure to sprinkle in some of the cranberry mixture as you add the layers so that the pie is even with all ingredients.

Pour over any liquid that remains in the bowl. Place the second pie crust over the pears.  Press together the edges of the dough around the rim of the pie. Brush the top crust with the reduced juice everywhere except around the edge of the pie. Trim excess dough. Cut slits in the top of the pie for venting.  Place the pie on on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and continue to bake another 20 minutes or until the pears are cooked through but not mushy. Remove to a rack and cool a minimum of 4 hours or until almost room temperature.

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Potato & Bacon Pie

This pie is soooo good on a crisp, fall evening!

Who doesn’t love potatoes, bacon, cheese and a flaky crust?  This is a must try pie!  Easy to make and warms up well as leftovers.  The recipe I am including calls for swiss cheese but you can use Cheddar, Gouda or Manchego — all are great in this recipe.  In addition, I have made this pie with browned sausage crumbles in lieu of bacon (especially good for brunch)!

Ingredients

2 pie crusts (refrigerated or use your favorite recipe)
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled, sliced to even thickness (about 1/8 inch)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
2/3 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon dried thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise, and then thinly slice into half moons. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust to cover the bottom. Season with salt and pepper, and crumble one piece of the bacon over the potatoes. Repeat the layers three more times. The pan should be nearly full. Top with the shredded cheese.

3. Whisk the dried thyme into the cream and slowly pour the cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices.

4. Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet.

5. Bake the pie until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.

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The Results Show

Proof Positive

Our first official month of trying to have a baby and now it’s time to see how we did.

Recap:  Yesterday, September 16.  Three days to go before my period is officially late but the suspense is absolutely killing me.  Last night we stopped at Target to pick up some tests in anticipation of the “big reveal”.  I knew going in that for most couples it takes three to six months to conceive — but knowing we are trying makes the wait even harder.

So, the alarm sounds at 5:51AM and I rush to the bathroom to take the test.  The instructions say to wait up to 10 minutes before reading the results so I decide to hope in the shower and begin getting ready for work!

Here comes the craziest part of my morning…I forgot to check the test when I got out of the shower.  I FORGOT TO CHECK THE TEST WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE SHOWER!  What?  I find myself about an hour and half later at work, sitting at my desk when that oversight dawns on me.  How could I have forgotten to look?  All day I wonder what the test will say.  However, I also know that you are not supposed to read the results after 1 hour has elapsed.  So, regardless a second test is going to be in order.

Near the end of the day I rush home and find my test laying on the counter in the bathroom — right where I had left it.  But wait, it has not one but two lines.

Confirmed x 3

TWO LINES!  Could it be?  Am I really pregnant?  After only one month of trying?  Really?!?!?

I hastily perch myself on the toilet, test in hand for a second look.  A few minutes pass and once again I see one really solid test line and one very faint prego line.  OMG — I really am pregnant.

That night I went back to the drug store for more test preparing for the next morning.  I need to know for sure, this is happening.

Today:  Saturday, September 17, 7:04 AM — Honey, we’re pregnant!  Three more tests have officially confirmed!  I am elated and terrified all at the same time.  Wow!  What an awesome journey we are starting!