I think I'm in love!

How cute is this, I mean seriously.



I guess we know how I'll be wrapping presents this year! And getting rid of tons of scraps in the process!

Diagrams for this wrap and other Furoshiki wraps can be found here.

Gwinn Pie Bake Off Week 1 - Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Pie

Two days late... but better late than never. Thanksgiving craziness slowed me down a bit and now I'm beginning to feel quite a bit of get-ready-for Christmas type pressure, the year has gone by so fast that I haven't even had time to sit back and realize that November is almost over and Christmas is just a month away. Completely ridiculous.

Anyway, on to the pie!

Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Pie



Crust:

I used Ken Haedrich's cornmeal crust recipe, which I will not be putting up here... look in the review section to see why!

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese (I used full-fat)
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 t. vanilla extract
Zest of one lemon
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. salt
1 cup sweet potato puree (see below)
2/3 c. half and half

1. Get your pie crust ready and partially bake. I fluted the edges and would recommend this, in the oven this pie tends to grow and then shrink back. Place crust in freezer for 15 minutes after partial baking. Set oven a 350 degrees.
2. Cream the cream cheese and add both white and brown sugar gradually. Blend in eggs and yolks one at a time. Blend in vanilla, lemon zest, spices, and salt. Add sweet potato and half and half, blending until incorporated. Pour this mixture into pie shell and smooth the top.
3. Bake on center rack for 20 minutes, turn pie 180 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. The pie will still be a bit wobbly when you take it out of the oven. Some cracking around the edges is normal.
4. Let cool on a wire rack for around 1 hour and then cover with aluminum foil and transfer to refrigerator. Refrigerate at least four hours before serving.

Sweet Potato Puree

Take 2 sweet potatoes, prick all over and then microwave for 7 minutes, flipping the potatoes over halfway through. Let potatoes cool slightly and then roll them between your hand and your counter (think when you were little making play-dough snakes and you'll have the right idea). Peel off the skins and place potato flesh in blender. Blend in Cuisinart or household blender adding milk very slowly until you've reached the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Reviews - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Overall this pie turned out pretty well. The consistency of the pie filling was great and the taste was good as well. I would also definitely recommend adding the lemon zest, it really made the flavors stand out more. The only comment that was made about the flavor was that the spices were a little strong, so says Joey. He later admitted that once there was whip cream on top it was perfect, but I still might cut the ginger back to 1/4 t. next time.

The crust I made was a cornmeal crust, two things were just not quite right about this crust. One was recipe oriented and the other was user error.
- The crust contained cornmeal, which caused it to have a good flavor, but at the expense of leaving a bit of grit in your teeth, this is an odd sensation when you are eating a pie that is so creamy.
- I never use actual pie weights, I always use lentils or beans and I always line the pie with foil before dropping them in... until this time. Note to self, ALWAYS line pie crust with foil before dumping pie weights in, it is not very fun to stand in your kitchen picking lentils out of your crust and hoping that you got them all.


Next Pie - December 2nd
Chocolate Mint Cream Pie

25 Days of Christmas

In an effort to keep me sane during the holidays, while simultaneously forcing me to post things on the blog... I have determined that for the month of December, through the 25th, I will be posting a tutorial everyday for a holiday gift, decoration, or yummy food item including pictures and a completed project. Some tutorials will be original and some will be from other sources, but all will be awesome!

Here's the schedule:

1. Sewing Kit
2. Chocolate Mint Cream Pie
3. Mini Heart Ornament
4. Laptop Cozy
5. Homemade Oreos
6. Merit Badge
7. Holiday Wreath
8. Tree Skirt
9. Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses
10. Adorable Stuffed Bear
11. Cake Pops
12. Stocking Hooks
13. Picture Ornament
14. Garland
15. Pin Cushion
16. Throw Pillow
17. Swedish Heart Ornament
18. Mitten Ornaments
19. Oreo and Nutter Butter Truffles
20. Patchwork Christmas Stocking
21. Cross Stitch Wall Hanging
22. Mini Wallet
23. Gift Box Ornament
24. Pie Jars
25. Advent Calendar

The Gwinn Bi-Monthly Pie Bake Off

I made a pie yesterday... which was quite a feat! I actually ended up making the crust twice. The first time it just looked ridiculous, so I did it over, but the second time I made it... it was great! The pie itself was pear-raspberry with lemon and almond.

I am actually quite pleased with myself in regard to this pie making effort and have concluded that I will be moving to Louisiana to open a pie shop in the future. I will make pies all day and then people will come to eat them and it will be magical. (On a side note: actually making something real makes me realize how many kitchen utensils I don't have!)

This has spurred me onto my newest project... I will be making a pie every two weeks and posting it, along with the recipe. I have to prepare for my Louisiana pie escapades and this will be my pie boot camp!

Did I mention that I love pie?!?

Pie #1 will be scheduled for November 25th will be a Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Pie!

Noodle Night

Last night I got adventurous and went to the asian market to get the ingredients for Yakisoba... here's how I made it:



I took all the vegetables and stir-fried them in the pan. Then I added the noodles and sauces to taste and here's what we ended up with!



Delicious!

Christmas Inspiration

I am so excited for Christmas and here is why...

Back in the saddle again.

The first bazaar is done... of course I didn't get pictures, but I assure it was alot of fun and I will take pictures at the bazaar on the 21st! I will have to hop back on the sewing machine to make more of the items that I sold, particularly the baby burp cloths and some bags, as well as listing some items in my etsy shop... but in the meantime...

It's time to start on Christmas projects!

Joey suggested making Clayton a stuffed squirrel and I though... what a good idea, so I'm thinking about buying matsutake's squirrel pattern on etsy.



I love her items! They are always cute and she is so clever... here is one project that I absolutely loved!

Morning Sun

Things I'm looking forward to today:

Working on my French Knots!


feelingstitchy.com

Finding out what was made with this!


bleubird vintage

Finding out more about a class that will help me make this!


maedenchenmitherz

Sewing!


google image search

Trying some more felt embroidery!


futuregirl

Maybe writing a letter!


lucykatecratfs

I have been feeling a little bit like a machine lately, I wake up go to school, eat somewhere in the middle, have some coffee somewhere in the middle and then make, make make all day long. My first craft fair is coming up this weekend so I've been making duplicates of things... which is... interesting and uninteresting. I'm ready for some fun.

erin.

Holiday Inspiration

I am so excited for the holidays, especially holiday decorating... here are a few things that are inspiring me:

1. I must have a wreath


etsy.com

2. I am in love with felt ornaments


etsy.com

3. I would like to make an advent calendar for our house this year


etsy.com

4. Who says baked goods aren't a decoration?


marthastewart.com

5. A garland would look so cute above the fireplace


holycomfort

What will you do for the holidays?

Squiggles upon Squiggles

This weekend was a whirlwind.

The demolition in the kitchen has begun with Joey smashing down the hanging shelves above our counter, which, I must admit, really helps to open up the space. Unfortunately, it will be a while before the rest of things move forward... so I'll be using a partially demolished kitchen for a while. But at least I will be able to console myself with my new dishwasher!

Taking a step back from the craziness, this weekend I went ahead and finished up a bag I had started a while ago. The bag is from Lotta's Simple Sewing for Baby and is supposed to serve as a diaper bag... but it's a nice big bag and I feel like it would be great for carrying books in!