Cherry Pie

My cousin, Hilary, is going back to school next week, and my aunt and uncle invited us for dinner.  I wanted to make something summery (is that a word?) to take.  Matt suggested cherry pie.  I couldn't find a recipe I loved so I (nervously) tried my own.  Cherry almond pie.  I used an almond crumb crust from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and used two bags of frozen cherries, a few teaspoons of cornstarch, a half cup of sugar and a teaspoon of almond extract.  I put all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and heated until it started to get thick.  Then I poured it in the shell and topped with the remainder of the crumbs.  Then baked at 350 degrees for an hour.  I was nervous to take it, but it turned out great!  This gave me a little more confidece to try my hand at creating new recipes.  There was only one small piece of pie left at the end of the night, so I'll take that as a good sign.  Very summer, not too sweet, and perfectly baked.  Delicious!

I started to put the crumb topping on when I realized that I should probably snap a picture of the filling.

Look at that delicious filling! 

That beautiful pie dish was a wedding shower gift from Hilary herself...

The crumb topping really made the pie.  I think this might become my go-to pie recipe from now on...

See you at Thanksgiving, Hilary!  We love you and will miss you!

Happy 30th Birthday to Us!

Several months ago, four of my best friends and I decided to spend a weekend at the beach celebrating us, our 30th birthdays, and over 15 years of friendship.  That's right.  This year marks that fact that we've known each other for over half of our lives.  That makes us old.  Well, me anyway, since (as my friends continued to remind me all weekend) I am actually the only one who has turned 30 so far.  The rest will fall in line in the fall...I can't wait.  In celebration, I made some cupcakes honoring us.  I have to admit, though, that I took the easy way out and killed 3 birds with one stone.  Not only did I have to make the cupcakes for the weekend,  I needed a dozen for Matt's co-worker's son who recently had surgery.  Also, I was having lunch one day with a friend of mine who lives in Massachusetts, and I wanted to give her some to take home, as well. 

Anyway, I used Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe and her Dark Chocolate Frosting recipe.  I'm not bashing Martha, but I hated her dark chocolate frosting recipe.  I couldn't seem to get it thick enough, so I put it in the fridge, but then it was too solid to work with.  So frustrating.  I was finally able to make it usable but I'm not sure I'll be using that recipe again in the future. 

Katie and I had a great time catching up at lunch.  I cannot wait for next year when she moves back to the Philadelphia area.

Matt's co-workers son, Matt, is doing well now.  He's a brave kid.

Each of my best friends on black fondant.  I didn't take great pictures, but the liners were black with white polka dots. 

Sorry for the poor quality pictures...

 

And here we are getting ready to go out to dinner on Saturday night.  From left to right:  Tara, Jen, Lauren, Me, and Denise.  I love these girls and wouldn't know how to get through life without them.