For 2008 I resolve …

… to perfect the art of a good pie crust. I thought I was getting good at it. But I’m a bit rusty, and the evidence below clearly shows I am not living up to my potential:

sad looking apple pie via Flickr.com

What brought about the pie baking in the first place, you ask? For Christmas this year the husband gave me the Waitress DVD. We watched last night, and I loved it just as much as I did in the theater. Plus, the film makes you want to bake pies. Of course, the pie I baked in my mind was WAY better that what you see here.

So, my new year’s resolution will be to improve upon my existing pie-making skills. Preferably using our Cuisinart rather than the pastry blender (I am blaming technology on my poor baking skills. It couldn’t possibly be me. I mean, really.)

Christmas feast

Lasagna - Christmas Dinner, via Flickr

We were in Colorado with my family for Christmas. Christmas dinner was … Lasagna! With sausage and veggies. I got distracted and failed to take photos before dinner. In addition, the batteries in my camera died mid-photo on Christmas day. I borrowed Sue’s for most of the pics. A waaay better camera than mine! Nice job with the dinner.

Lasagna - Christmas Dinner, via FlickrPie! via Flickr

Sue also made a heart-healthy version, for Mom and Dad (not sure if they were aware they were eating fake sausage and gluten-free cheese. Well, if they were reading this, they know now!). For dessert, Pear Cranberry pie. I made the crust while the sis made the filling.

Tasty.

When Life Gives You Pumpkin …

Make pumpkin bread!

pumpkin bread via flickr.com

And pumpkin biscuits.

Pumpkin biscuits via flickr.com

Yes, I had leftover pumpkin after completing my Thanksgiving dessert, bourbon pumpkin cheesecake. So flipping through recipe books I decided upon these two oldies but goodies. Other runner ups for leftover pumpkin recipes includes pumpkin pancakes (I would have had to make that one up as I went along, since I don’t have a recipe) and cream of pumpkin soup (we actually had cream, but no chicken stock on hand and my goal was to use ingredients in the house).

The pumpkin bread recipe is your typical quick bread type, this particular one courtesy of our Better Homes Cookbook (the big red one). The pumpkin biscuits is a fantastic recipe (includes the directions for orange-honey butter, which I didn’t bother with), courtesy of Cooking Light magazine (November 2003).

BTW, I’m surprised to find Cooking Light’s recipes no longer behind a subscription wall. I stopped going to their Web site after I cancelled my magazine subscription (at some point I just stopped cooking as much and subscribing to a cooking magazine seemed a bit much). Anyway, it seems their business model has changed. Check for yourself.