Day 6 - Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Ok, so it's NOT Sunday - but it is a big baking day because it's the day before THANKSGIVING!! We didn't bake on Sunday because with the holiday coming up, we were both super busy. Today Joanne wasn't able to bake so I [Lele] am on my own! I was off of work today so it gave me plenty of time to do my baking for thanksgiving. I have a lot to bake today [after all, we are having about 25 people!]- frozen key lime pie, apple pie, lemon bars, and let's not forget.. it's the big day for the cheesecake we practiced last week!

First up was the frozen key lime pie [I know it sounds a little summery but it is soo good!]. I made this for the first time 2 years ago for thanksgiving and it was a big hit - so I've been making it ever since. It's a recipe from Ina Garten. It is so delicious - it has a sweet and tart flavor and even though its a "frozen" key lime pie, it still has a smooth texture. The best part about it is that it is super easy. First I make the graham cracker crust (graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter) and then I make the filling. The filling consists of egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, fresh squeezed lime juice and lime zest. The pie came out great as usual [kind of hard to mess this one up!] and I am excited to serve it tomorrow.

Finished Key Lime Pie

Next, I was ready to attempt the cheesecake for the second time. I had to borrow Joanne's food processor. I only have a mini one and that would not do the trick - so THANKS JoJo!! The process went smoothly [no smoking food processor] and I couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic knowing that my Grandma and more recently my Aunt has made this exact recipe every year for Thanksgiving. The cheesecake came out great - it looked light and fluffy and had a golden top. Can't wait to share this with the whole family tomorrow! I'll be serving it with strawberries and whipped cream!

Finished Cheesecake

The next thing on my list to make is an apple pie. Every year my Mom or Dad make 2 apple pies. This year it's up to me [with Maria in Roma and Dean working late]! My goal is to make one but we'll see how many apples I end up with.. if it's enough, I'll make a second pie. The best part about my parent's apple pie is the amazing crumb topping - let's just say I'm terrified!

So I started by peeling and cutting up 12 apples that I picked up from Silverman's Farm yesterday. Once they were all cut up, I put them in a bowl (well actually, two bowls since I had so much!) and I added sugar, cinnamon and a little flour. I mixed the apples well so each slice was covered. I filled two pie crusts with the apples and the whole time I heard my Mom's voice in my head telling me to "make sure I really make a mound of apples because they'll cook down" and I did just that. Next came the crumb topping. I crumbled butter, brown sugar, flour and a dash of cinnamon. This was the point where I made a phone call to both my Mom and Dad just to make sure I was on the right track! After they eased my mind, I topped both pies and put them in the oven to bake.

Pies before going in the oven (pre and post crumb topping!)

When the pies were cooking, the oven was smoking the whole time from old crumbs on the bottom. I was also slightly concerned because the crumb topping was melting rather than staying in tact and browning [like Maria's]. Just when the pies were about done (so I thought) all of a sudden I saw flames inside the oven!! I mean BIG flames!! So of course I freaked out (thank God Anthony was here because if I was by myself it would have been worse). So I turned off the oven and kept the door closed and what else.. called my Dad! I asked if we should get the fire extinguisher because the flames were pretty big but he said no, to use salt instead. Just when we were getting the salt out, the flames went away and I was able to pull out my pies.. which amazingly looked okay [PHEW!!!]

Finished Apple Pies

Ok - so that ends my baking for the night! I actually think the fire started because while I had both pies on a cookie sheet, the butter topping was melting off the pies and was dripping off the cookie sheet and onto the bottom of the oven and we all know butter burns!! In any case, my Dad is going to clean out the oven tonight so we have no issues tomorrow for Thanksgiving :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!