Happy Pi(e) Day!

To those of us who (a) are mathematically inclined and (b) write our dates in MM/DD/YY format, today, March 14th, is "Pi Day."

For double the geek-cred, it's also Princeton's celebration of Albert Einstein's birthday. 

At any rate, in case you didn't know, pi (or π, if you prefer) is an irrational number that represents the ratio between the diameter of a circle and its circumference. Expressed as a fraction, it's ²²⁄₇  which is 3.1415926 ... in decimal. Short-handed, it's 3.14.

So, this unofficial celebration of geekery leads to a lot of people making (and eating) pies and a lot more making (bad) puns.

I'm less inclined to do the math and more inclined to make bad puns.

And make pie.

Since we celebrated the munchkin's birthday today with her cousins from my side of the family, it seemed a great way to dish up some quiche ... er, refrigerator pie.

By request, I've also got some blueberry pie in the works.

Shopping List

• frozen pie crusts (4)
• refrigerated pie crusts (2)
• asparagus
• leeks
• bacon
• ham
• spinach
• Gruyere-Cheddar Melange cheese
• half-and-half
• lemons (yes, I realize the recipe called for orange, but I wanted lemon)
• frozen blueberries
• tapioca flour

Recipe Review - Good Eats Refrigerator Pie 

Ease of Preparation

Couldn't be easier, though I did make things a wee bit more complicated for myself by making all the fillings on the same day as I assembled each quiche.

AB calls this recipe (and a few like it) "refrigerator Velcro," meaning it can be a great way to use up random leftovers in the fridge.

I opted to make 3 - bacon-leek-Gruyere; spinach-ham-cheddar; and asparagus-smoked salmon. 

Assembly couldn't be simpler - follow the package instructions for your frozen pie crust to put them into the pan, evenly distribute your fillings of choice, being careful not to overfill, mix up the royale (custard), pour, and bake.

My 5-year-old helped me make the royale. She could probably help fill each pie shell if I'd let her!

My sister could totally do this. 

Specialty Equipment Required?

Nope.

I bought disposable pie tins to make cleanup and leftover distribution easier, but there's really no need to do that. Most people will be fine with their own pans.

Did my husband and daughter enjoy it? 

My husband tried the bacon-leek-Gruyere and didn't hate it, but I was also providing other food to make things work out - 7 adults with varying palates plus 5 children with varying degrees of pickiness means I also provided fruit and mini pastries.

My daughter wouldn't try it, but it's only because it's eggs, cheese, and whatever in an unfamiliar presentation.

Regular rotation-worthy?

Yes.

I'll keep this in my back pocket to make again for brunch.

RECIPE WIN.

Recipe Review - Good Eats Frozen Blueberry Pie

Ease of Preparation

It's rated "intermediate" at Food Network for a couple of reasons, mostly because it involves a lot of patience (you assemble the filling & then freeze it) and more than a little work (weaving a lattice from a pie crust, a step which I skipped in order to carve a π into the top crust. 

But, I think my sister would be fine with the steps.

Specialty Equipment Required?

Yes - you'll need something to mash half your blueberries with (I used a potato masher) and you'll need a 9" pie tin that can be put in the freezer. 

Did my husband and daughter enjoy it? 

I'll answer that question after dinner! The pie is currently cooling in the kitchen. 

Regular rotation-worthy?

Yes, but seasonal - while the thawed berries seemed to work out OK, I think it would be better with fresh.

And I'm waiting for June/July to pick some Jersey Fresh blueberries!!

WIN

Which Recipe Did I Pick?

On Wednesday (14 January 2015), I'll tackle my first new-to-me recipe, "Belgian Beef Stew (with beer, onions, and herb spaetzle)"

It comes from Ted Allen's cookbook, In My Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Discoveries for Passionate Cooks.

Our copy is personalized from Mr. Allen himself, who we met at our local Barnes & Noble during the summer of 2012. 

Even if you don't cook, you'll notice that the photographs are lovely, the recipes thorough and well-written (no surprise - one of the first non "30-minute" recipes I ever attempted was a Ted Allen recipe for a puffy oven-baked pancake), and most of them aren't out of reach for my current skill level.

Sadly, we hadn't taken the time to really sit with the book and flag our "ooh! this looks great!" recipes because we were both working full-time, keeping rotten hours, and, well, the kid was only 2. 

Ted Allen's book was calling my name this week. I love him on TV, really appreciated the time and patience he took with our family (how many TV personalities will stay patient with a 2-year-old?), and have been itching to try these recipes since bringing this gorgeous book home.

Because it's supposed to remain rather chilly here this week (in the 30's F), I wanted to do a lot of comfort-food recipes this week. (Tonight's dinner, for example, is "AB mac-and-cheese," while tomorrow will be slow-cooker chicken & dumplings.)

This all played into selecting a variation on beef stew - hearty, comforting, and not too fussy. (It's basically a sear-and-braise recipe.)

Today was my main shopping day - picking up stew beef, beef stock, and onions. (I had everything else in the pantry & fridge.)

Tomorrow, while the kid's off at preschool, I'll have time to grab the beer - trying to choose a Belgian or Belgian-style golden ale that suits both my husband's and my palates is going to be a challenge, but I'll happily do it!

SHOPPING LIST

• stew beef (3 lbs)
• beef stock
• onion (1.5 lbs)
• Belgian-style beer (golden ale, lambic, or abbey; I don't particularly care for lambic, so I'm looking at golden ales)