Identity Crisis Pie (trust me, you WANT to look at this!)

Have you ever had those times you just can’t figure out what you want to eat? Do I want something salty? nah. Sweet? nah. Meaty? nah. Greasy? nah. Since you just can’t seem to make a decision, you just go without? Yeah, me neither. I mean I can always come up with something to eat. Going hungry just isn’t in my skill set. sometimes it’s a constant grazing. Others, it’s a complete gorgefest with a side of my-pants-are-already-too-tight-why-did-i-eat-that-entire-pizza. I’ve seen people my age in the hot rod cars. Others who divorce their spouse of 20 yrs to hook up with someone half their age. I get it, an identity crisis. I’ve been there too, although I didn’t go completely off the deep end. Don’t think it wasn’t a thought though, my rational side (slim though it is) kicks in before I do any real damage.

I got a magazine in the mail a few wks ago and the cover was all cheesecakes. OMG I nearly licked the cover. And I definitely drooled on it! I love cheesecake in any form. Will you eat it in a house? Will you eat it with a mouse? Will you eat it in a box? Will you eat it with a fox? Oops, sorry, I slipped into a Dr Seuss frame. Anyhoo. My boy loves cheesecake too, a child after my own heart! When he saw the recipe I made, he asked, nay BEGGED me to make it for today, Easter. Well cha, of course! I renamed it Identity Crisis Pie. Not because I”m having one, but because it really didn’t fit anything. Is it mousse? Is it cheesecake? It’s a great recipe, it just couldn’t make up its mind. See why I did that? Doesn’t it sound cooler? Tastes the same, but much easier to say! I also changed up a few of the ingredients to make prep a bit easier & quicker. I will start with a warning, do not consume this if you don’t like rich desserts, have at least a gallon of milk or a dose of insulin handy. If you do, don’t say I didn’t warn you! Oh, and one more thing, don’t be afraid. It’s not really a cheesecake, there’s only a little bit in it and there’s no oven involved. So if you’re afraid of the cheesecake b/c of the baking or taste, this will be a lovely surprise!

Please forgive the setting. I was taking it quickly before my hubby ate it! 🙂

IDENTITY CRISIS PIE

CRUST
1 sleeve chocolate graham crackers crushed
1/4C butter melted

FILLING
3/4C creamy peanut butter

5oz cream chz softened

2tbsp butter softened

1-1/4C powdered sugar

1-1/4C heavy whipping cream, whipped & divided (it’s tough to divide whipped cream! The 1-1/4C measurement is BEFORE it’s whipped, just in case you haven’t made whipped cream before.)

5oz 60% cacao chocolate chips (I splurged & used Ghiradelli chips)

4oz milk chocolate chips (once again, Ghiradelli)

1/3C sugar

1/4C 2% milk

1tsp vanilla extract

GANACHE

6oz 60% cacao dark chocolate chips

2/3C heavy cream

1tsp vanilla extract

PREPARATION

A. In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and butter. Mix well and press into the bottom of a greased 9-in springform pan and set aside.

Beat the peanut butter, cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered (confectioners) sugar and beat until smooth.

With a spatula, gently fold in 1-1/4C whipped cream. (This may take a few minutes, don’t stir, but gently fold so as not to lose the air in the whipped cream, hence the fluffiness of it in your mousse layer). Spread this mixture over the crust.

B. Place the chocolate chips in a bowl. In a small sauce pan heat sugar and milk just to a boil. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream and spread the chocolate over the peanut butter layer.

Cover and freeze 2 hours or until firm.

C. For ganache, place chocolate in a bowl.

In a small sauce pan bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Stir in vanilla. Cool to spreading consistency, stirring occasionally.

Spread over pie.

Refrigerate until set. Run a knife around the pie to loosen it from the pan before removing the rim.

Top with chocolate shavings or curls if desired.

And have coffee/milk/insulin at the ready! Enjoy!

I nearly forgot to mention, you don’t have to have an identity crisis to eat this! You just have to love rich desserts!

 

 

What the…..My BLONDE moment for the week!

Agh. have you ever seen ‘Charlie Brown’? You know when he’s trying to kick the football and Lucy promises she won’t pull the ball out from him this time? So he decides to give it a go because she seems so sincere, and surely she won’t do it to him again. Charlie backs up, gets a good running start, kicks with all his might and….bam! Flat on his back looking at the sky, frustrated and humiliated once again.

Well, that’s me today, frustrated and humiliated, again. You see, I have this problem, a memory problem. I tend to forget things easily. Early onset Alzheimer’s? Nope, i blame it on my children, but anyway, I sometimes forget things that need to be done if it’s not written down. Today, at 6AM, I sat straight up in bed remembering what I’d forgotten last night: my pie. My beautiful, wonderful, perfect Key Lime Pie! Talk about feeling like a real genius! I followed the recipe to the T. The crust came out golden and perfect. The filling was tart, tangy and sweet all at the same time. It said to cool completely then place in the freezer. Well, me and my little pea brain decided the counter would be a good place to cool the pie. As if any part of my house is really what I’d call cool this time of year. When I went off to bed, with thoughts of a fluffy feather pillow in my head, the pie had completely slipped my mind. My question, why couldn’t I have had that AHA moment at, oh, say , 10:30 last night, rather than 6AM, when my pie was essentially garbage? I felt like Charlie, lying flat on my back looking up at the sky and wondering ‘Why?’

Oh well, I guess it really doesn’t pay to cry over spoiled pie. I’m just going to go to the store in a bit, when it actually opens, and buy the ingredients to make it again. It came together really easily, btw, much easier than I thought it would. I thought  it was going to be more like putting together a cheesecake, but it wasn’t. Easy? Yup. I’m all about easy recipes! I’ll post a review and the recipe tomorrow. In the mean time, you can call me Charlie.

And so it begins….

Today is Thanksgiving and now the holiday stuff really begins in earnest.  I’ve been doing some Christmas shopping here and there the past month or so, maybe even longer.  When I see things I know my kids will want or like, I snag it and put it back. I don’t even know that they need anything else, to be honest.  I know they have way too much already in the way of toys, so I’ll probably just hold off on anything else.  I think Santa will be bringing the good stuff this year and mom is giving the clothes, you know, the boring stuff!

I wrote an earlier post about feeling guilty for having only my in-laws over today.  I’m not feeling that any more.  they all got along just fine without us.  And to be perfectly honest, it was nice just the 6 of us here having a nice quiet meal to celebrate family and give thanks for our health and each other.

I bought a spiral cut ham, made mashed potatoes and fresh green beans and a green salad and we called it good.  And it was just enough to get us all good and full.  Which is the point, not to have so much left over that we’re eating ham and mashed potatoes for weeks on end!

One recipe I tried today was new. The name that’s on it is Topsy Turvy apple pie.  It’s basically an upside down apple pie.  You put pecans and a blended sauce of butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in the bottom of the pan, then put a crust over that, top with sliced fresh apples and the second crust and bake.  When you serve it, invert it on a serving dish so you see the pecans and caramel sauce. All I can say is O.M.G.! It was so good!  My father-in-law was raving about it and I was pretty happy about it myself.  I love apple pie and there are so many variations on that theme.  but to hit on one that is just hands-down a knock-out makes me very happy.  Served warm with vanilla bean ice cream and I’m a happy girl!  I’m so full from eating 5 hours ago, I probably won’t have dinner!

My suggestion to you, if you see a recipe that looks interesting to you, don’t be shy, try it out.  And if you’re afraid you’ll have too much of something, it’s a great way to make friends with your neighbors, school teachers, firefighters, etc.  I love to bake, but the problem is, I like to EAT it too!  Many times, I’ll get in that baking mood and make a batch of cookies and rather than freezing them for later addition to my thighs, I’ll share them with my neighbors.  Or, if you want to keep them for yourself, you can alway freeze them.  Be sure they’re cooled completely and put them in a freezer storage bag and press out as much air as possible.  sometimes I even double-bag it, just to prevent any freezer burn that may occur.  Also use a sharpie and write on the bag what is inside and the date, that way, you won’t have any questions.  Like I do sometimes when I get something out and think, ‘now when did I put this in there?’

Enjoy and have a very happy Holiday! Or if you’re Canadian, have a great weekend!

Let the pig-out begin!

Well, that was probably a bad title, since we’re having ham tomorrow!  I always enjoy holidays with the food and the family.  This year will be a bit different and I’m actually kind of conflicted about it.

My husband’s parents live 2 hrs away, and yet they have never come over for Thanksgiving or children’s birthday parties, even though they’ve been invited countless times.  They moved back a few years ago, so it’s not like they’ve been there the last ten years, but still.  I really love my in-laws, they are great people, I just don’t understand why don’t come over when have the opportunity.

They have decided they really are not happy in that town and are going to move back to Idaho.  Hey, I’m with that idea. You have to be where you want to be, really.  They accepted our invitation this year, which made me really happy. 

Here comes the conflicted/guilty part.  My husband is a retail store manager and has to be AT work at 2AM the day after Thanksgiving.  Normally it’s my parents, us, and my brother and his family for holidays. There is a lot of food and merriment.  This year, because my husband has to be at work so early, and his parents are coming, I told my family, that we’re just going to be low-key and have dinner w/his parents.  It’s really no different than alternating families every year, like many people do.  I guess the guilt/conflict comes from the fact that we are going to be at my house, in the same town as my family.  I guess I need to just get over it. His parents are going to leave sometime after we eat, so they won’t be staying overnight. And we will see my family, my mother is going to take my kids to spend the night at her house and I”m going to brave the Black Friday crowds for a few bargains.  I will go to my brother’s house since my mom will be there. Ugh. I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I do.

On a better note, I’m going to try a new recipe or two.  An apple pie called Topsy Turvy apple pie, you put pecans and a caramel sauce in the bottom of the pie dish, put the crust over it, bake it and when it’s done, you invert it on a serving plate, and serve it upside down.  Sounds delish!  And I’ve got a cookie recipe I may try if I have time today. My boy doesn’t like apple pie, can you imagine?  Normally Thanksgiving involves about 3 or 4 desserts, but with just us, I thought a single pie and some cookies would do the trick.

Wish me luck.  And tell me I’m not crazy for feeling guilty, please.