Strawberry Pie... or why I like baking cakes

This year for the 4th of July I went to on of my FAVORITE tasting rooms.  Bedford Winery in Los Alamos is really the place to be, from the first time I walked through the doors there almost a year ago, I felt like family.  They host a ton of special events throughout the year, and offer a great selection of wines to sample in their tasting room.  If you love dogs, books, and wine (like me) this place will feel like home.  

The event for Independence Day was BYOPFP (Bake Your Own Pie For Prizes), and of course I had to participate (even if there may have been a slight conflict of interest with my BF being one of the judges).  I started thinking of all the pies I love, what I thought I could make, and what would stand out in a crowd.  I immediately thought of my Aunt Josephine's Strawberry Pie, but was a little intimidated because I've never baked a pie before (and I would learn for good reasons).  I took that inspiration and started thinking about what I wanted to make.  BF and I brainstormed a little and we cobbled together a pretty kick ass pie.  It wasn't one of the winners, there were some kinks to work out, but for a first attempt, I'd call it a success... with a teensy bit of side-eye.

The pie story really begins on the 3rd of July, when I went shopping for ingredients. I picked up a pretty pie plate at Target, along with a few other essentials (some clothes, some house hold items... you know, all the stuff you can't live without)... and by dawdling there I missed getting the the berry stand before they closed. BY FOUR FREAKING MINUTES. I knew they would open again in the morning, but I wouldn't have time to let the berries set up if I waited, that meant I would have to buy them at the grocery store. Now for most people, grocery store strawberries are the only option (and I feel really sorry for you), but I live in the strawberry capitol of California, and store bought ones only get purchased out of sheer desperation. So I go to the Albertson's near my house, buy two clamshells of berries and the rest of the ingredients I needed and headed home.  

While prepping the berries the night before (I quarted the regular sized ones, chopped the larger ones into pieces that were close to the others.... roughly 4 cups of strawberries) I realized that it was a stroke of genius to buy double what I thought I needed.... mostly because half of the berries were bruised and rotten. Way to go Albertsons, way to suck. I could have taken them back and complained, but I really didn't have time or the inclination.

that's not a giant bug, it's a mint leaf, I swear! 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self rising flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4+ cups of strawberries
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Mint Leaves
• Basil Leaves
• Unflavored Gelatin
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips--Melted
• Cooking spray
• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Vanilla
• Powdered Sugar

Berries:

• Quarter roughly 4 cups of berries, they will shrink overnight, you'll need about 3 cups to fill the pie.
• Mix in a generous splash of your favorite balsamic vinegar, a few mint leaves, and a few basil leaves.
• Let sit overnight to get the juices flowing.
• After the berries have set overnight and created a juice  strain the berries.  Boil a small amount of the juice with the unflavored gelatin until it has thoroughly mixed.
• Mix the gelatin mix back into the berries and put into the fridge while the crust is getting ready.

Trisha Yearwood, you're a godsend,
this is the BEST pie crust I've ever had. 

For the crust I doubled Trisha Yearwood's Shortbread recipe (because 1, it's super easy to make, and 2. who doesn't LOVE shortbread? It's a clear winner).

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix flour, butter, brown and granulated sugars in an electric mixer until thoroughly combined.  (I mixed the last bit by hand because the mixer wasn't getting the butter just right)
• Spray the pie plate with your favorite cooking spray (mine is Trader Joe's coconut oil spray)
• Bake for 25 minutes
• Don't panic if the crust falls/flattens, you can press it back into place with a wooden spoon or use your Pampered Chef Mini-Tart Shaper like I did (seriously, that little gadget kept me from crying and/or burning my fingers).
• Allow to cool completely before spreading chocolate shell/ganache.

Tollhouse Semi Sweet morsels 

The next step was getting my double-boiler action on.  I tossed about 3/4 of a 16 ounce bag of semi sweet Nestle Tollhouse morsels, but you can use whatever your favorite chocolate is to create the shell.  I wanted to make sure that the berries didn't make the cookie crust soggy, but I didn't really think about how creating a chocolate shell layer would make the pie hard to cut into slices.  The baker at my BF's work suggested making a chocolate ganache, so that you'll still get the chocolate flavor, a barrier between the cookie and berries, AND you'll be able to cut the pie without too much difficulty.




This is how the pie looked before I put the strawberries in, I waited for the chocolate to harden into a complete shell, dumped the berry mixture in, and made some whipped cream according to the directions on the heavy whipping cream carton.

There ended up being roughly 27 contestants at the event, I placed somewhere in the middle, but I think given more practice I could totally knock this recipe out of the park.... if I ever decide to make a pie again, it was so much harder than I had anticipated.

Birthday Month: July

• The 4th of July: This year I spent the 4th being lazy for most of the day, woke up with a massive headache and decided to sleep it off... sometime around 3pm I woke up feeling mostly rejuvenated and then headed over to a friend's house to watch movies and binge on Jack in the Box... can't get much more patriotic than that. When the fireworks (both city sponsored and the illegal variety) started it sounded like we were in the middle of a shootout, and my friend's cat went and hid under the bed... I ran outside to see if I could see all the colors light up the sky, what I could view (apartment buildings and trees blocked most of them) were beautiful.
• Reunited with HS Friend: Facebook is a strange and sometimes wonderful thing. Through it I was able to be reconnected with a friend I'm pretty sure I haven't seen since high school. We met up for dinner and a Charmed marathon one evening and had a blast. It was night filled with laughter, stories about crazy exes, and filled in the gaps of what many of our experiences have been since the last time we saw each other.
• Dinner w/ BFF: My best friend and I haven't seen each other in what seems like months even though only about 20 miles separate us. Lives get busy and it's hard to find time that works for everyone, but we made it happen and met for Sushi and shopping one Tuesday night early in the month. We had a great time catching up and she was very excited to share her new business venture with her husband and some other close friends of hers. If you live in the 5 Cities area of the Central Coast of California and are looking for a new fitness center you should really consider checking them out. Their official opening is next month, but you can find more information here on their Facebook page Coastline Strength and Conditioning: Home of Obsidian Crossfit. 
• Birthday Celebrations: I have always done birthdays big. With a family the size of mine one night can't contain all the festivities, so I tend to celebrate BIRTHDAY MONTH, and it's really the best way to do it. The first birthday night was July 16th and the last one will mostly likely be in early August... because why not?
• Spamalot: I was not familiar with the Monty Python story so this play was a complete surprise to me and what an awesome surprise it was, I can't remember a time where I have laughed as much as I did that night. I was near tears from the antics of the players on stage, I don't think it could have possibly been better. PCPA never disappoints, and their Solvang Theaterfest theater was a perfect setting for the show. Earlier in the night my aunt and I had gone to dinner at the Firestone Brewery in Buellton and my only complaint is that we didn't have the time to drink more beers and explore the restaurant a little more, but the food was delicious and the staff was friendly, and my beer sampler was refreshing. This was also the first night of the mini vacation I took from work.
• Santa Barbara Day: The first full day off on my vacation one of my great friends spent the day down in Santa Barbara, we had great food, awesome adult beverages, went to the Art History Museum, and just enjoyed the great weather and each other's company. We didn't really do any shopping, but I don't feel like we missed out on anything, and I'm pretty sure our checking accounts were fairly thankful we didn't open them up in the stores on State Street.
• SLO Day: I had my annual exam on the morning of the 18th (all tests came back happy and healthy), and since the doctor's office is really close to Cal Poly I went to visit a couple of friends who work on campus. I spent about 3+ hours hanging out in the Math department and 30 minutes in Human Resources catching up with some people I hadn't seen in months and it was a treat to spend time with them.
• Baby Date: The Friday before my birthday I had a lunch date with some new friends, one of which is a 4 month old baby, we went to Babies R Us, Applebees, and Joann's and it was a such a fun time.
• Dinner w/ The Grandparents: Friday night lead to dinner w/ my paternal grandparents, we went to Old Juan's Cantina in Oceano, California and celebrated the night with awesome Mexican food and margaritas.
• The Getty: on my actual birthday my mom and I drove down to Los Angeles to experience the Getty Museum. I had never gone before even though I'd driven by multiple times. I was so impressed with the art and exhibits that were displayed, I can't wait to someday go back and to go to the museum in Malibu. 
• The Palace: on the way home from Los Angeles we stopped in Santa Barbara and had dinner at one of my absolute favorite restaurants, The Palace. It's like a taste of New Orleans on the California Coast. I had the Pecan Encrusted Chicken Piccata and we shared a Chocolate Souffle... I have to say they did not disappoint, they even made a special ice cream plate for my birthday with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and they wrote "Happy Birthday" in chocolate fudge on the plate. My taste buds were delighted. 
• House sitting: The last weekend of the month I house sat for my friends with the rat terrier and we had a great time watching TV and just hanging out until it was time for me to go back to my place. 

Santa Barbara Margaritas

Firestone Brewery Sampler

Jubilant July

First I want to say Happy 800+!! We made it today, couldn't have done it without you faithful/new readers.

July was a crazy awesome month so here's the rundown. Slightly out of chronological order but still documented for your amusement.

• Per tradition I spent the 4th of July with my bestie and her husband (she has great recipes and DIY projects on her blog, you should take a gander) at her parents house for an annual BBQ, this is the first year my "other parents" weren't in attendance (they were out of town on business) but we still had a wonderful time drinking margaritas, roasting marshmallows, telling stories around the fire pit, and just relaxing with good friends.
• A weekly Girls' Night was started this summer, we've titled it Hot Tub Thursday, even though we might jot always meet on a Thursday or get in the jacuzzi, it's really just a reason for us girlies to get together and not lose track of each other as our lives get crazy. Always make time for your friends and they'll make time for you. Also if you ever need a karaoke buddy, I'm your girl. One of the girls' nights this month we went to a dive bar in Goleta (old town tavern, in case you were interested) and I brought the house down with the classic Bon Jovi song "Livin' on a Prayer" and before you ask, no I wasn't drunk. I just hit the stage and perform. I think it's all those years of dancing as a kid. Put me on a stage and I'll entertain you.
   
• While my aunt and uncle took a vacation this summer they hired me to watch their house and dog, little did we know my 19 (almost 20) year old cousin would also be home from school for those 10 days. He obviously didn't need a baby sitter but I stayed any way and we had a great time spending one on one cousin time together and I actually was surprised by how much fun I had hanging out with his friends. We had some good talks and I think have a better appreciation of who the other one is. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to do it. I would do it again in a heartbeat without question.

• It's finally happened after a months long dry spell I finally started dating again. Someone I've known for years called me out of the blue one evening, asked me out, and we've been spending a lot of time together since. I can't tell you how great it is to be dating someone who is excited to see you every time you get together, to be involved with someone who can make you laugh so hard that you can't breathe, who can quote all your favorite movies, and who makes you smile all the time instead of making you feel like a crazy person. I'm used to dating the person who makes me insane, I have to say this is such a welcome change.

• While this next paragraph isn't exactly a happy bullet point, it isn't sorrowful either. This month my great grandmother passed away. She was 102 and died in her sleep. Grammy was a fabulous lady and the world is a better place because she was in it for so long. The funeral was the strangest I have ever been to, and in the best way possible. Yes there were moments of sadness, but it was truly a celebration of the long life she lived and loved. There was more laughter than tears. Even the priest was cracking jokes throughout the services. Even though it was under sad circumstances it was really nice to see everyone together on once place and what was even better was to see family members set aside their differences (even if it was just for a few hours) to honor someone we all loved.

• I can't talk about July without mentioning that it is BIRTHDAY MONTH. This year I celebrated the 10th anniversary of my 21st birthday, yes people I am 31. Don't feel weird, it's hard for me to believe too. This year I celebrated by going to dinner in SLO with my parents (the June NOLA trip was also part of the celebration); going to a Brad Paisley concert with my sister, dad, and his girlfriend; going to dinner (sushi) and a movie (The Dark Knight Rises) with friends; wine tasting with friends; dinner with my grandma and aunt; going to a Kellie Pickler concert with my aunt; multiple trips to the California Mid-State Fair; and a mini office party at work. I think it's safe to say I'm loved and very lucky to have such fantastic people in my life.