Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you had a great day. I definitely did!


Sam and I went to Carol and Elton's. (CAROL GOT ROSES!!) (I'll buy my chocolate tomorrow.) Sam and Elton went to the gun and knife show at Maude Cobb Center in Longview while Carol and I went to the trade day at the fair grounds in Longview. Four people. Two cars. Same town. Just a couple of blocks apart. LOL But that way they didn't have to wait on us, and we could sneak in a teeny tiny bit of shopping. I also got to see some friends of mine. They don't live far from us. Charles mentioned that and we never see each other. But, if any of us need help, we know who to call. His youngest grandson is 22 now and an LVN. I counted the years and probably haven't seen Justin since he was 9 years old. shaking head

The four of us met up at Olive Garden for lunch. I ordered the Spinach and Artichoke dip to share. Oh my! I've heard it was good, but it was ridiculously good! I know that there are some recipes trying to copy this on the internet. I will be searching for it!

We saved room for dessert, but not at Olive Garden. Last night I baked a strawberry pie. I've never had one before. Sam has mentioned (several times) that his mother made strawberry pie. I did a bit of searching on the internet but didn't really come up with anything that sounded like he described. It was either fresh strawberries in a baked pie shell covered with thickened strawberry syrup or cooked strawberries poured into a baking dish on top of a batter...when baked, the batter rose to the top covering the strawberries. Not what I had pictured in my mind.

So, I grabbed my personal cookbook (a binder full of my very own favorite tried and true recipes) and turned to Apple Pie and Cherry Pie recipes. This is what's left. We ate some. I cut a large slice for Carol and Elton to enjoy later. Yep, folks. This is what was left after four people who could all stand to lose a pound or two got into it. ;o) Did I mention that it was good?


The recipe? Weeelllllll.... I guess this is an original for me. I took a bag of strawberries I froze last season from the freezer. A quart of halved strawberries with 1 cup of sugar. So...if I were to start from the beginning:

Sassy Sherry's Simply Sweet Strawberry Pie ;o)


Or...to shorten it...


Strawberry Pie


1 quart of fresh beautiful sweet strawberries
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
butter (I do not use margarine!)


Wash, cap and halve your strawberries. Mix flour into sugar; pour over strawberries. Stir in water and let sit for a while to make more juice. If you don't think it's juicy enough, add a little more water. (My frozen strawberries were juicy enough with just a minimum amount of added water.)


Make your very own pie crust. It's worth it! Here's the link to my recipe: http://keepyouinstitches.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-baked-pie.html
To quote Emeril Lagasse, "Pork fat rules!" (You can halve the recipe.)


Take out enough dough for 1 crust. Roll it out, place in pan. Let all the extra dough flow out over the rim. Fill with strawberries. Dot with butter. Pull the excess dough up over the strawberries. (This is easier that making a two crust, crimped or lattice top fancy pie.)


Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Lower heat to 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crust is brown...I always have to bake longer for not only browner crust, but also to make certain the bottom crust bakes and is not gooey.


And to finish today...Friday night's sunset.

Arkansas Apple Pie

When Carol and I were on our way back home after picking up the sewing machine in Mena and after the delicious homemade coconut pie - oh, and lunch. ;o) , we stopped at a roadside stand and purchased some locally grown Arkansas apples: Jonathans and Arkansas Blacks. Jonathans can be eaten 'out-of-hand' and baked. We were assured that the Arkansas Blacks would make a good apple pie.

The flavor of these two varieties was extremely similar. Sam said he couldn't taste a difference, but there was a difference in texture. They cooked down a bit more than I like, but still had a little tiny bit of 'bite'...just not much.

I always use at least two different varieties of apples using Granny Smiths as one of them. I don't like a smushy apple pie...that's like pouring a jar of applesauce into a crust, baking it, and calling it an apple pie. That's not an apple pie, that's an applesauce pie.

I had found a new recipe for apple pie and decided to try it with these apples.

First, start with a good crust: My Recipe Here

Pie Recipe
Peel, core, slice your apples...I use one of these to simplify things. Some slices I cut in half, some I don't...varies the amount of cooking and some of the apple slices will have a bit of a 'bite' to them. The recipe called for 6 cups...I used 8. Pour the apples into the bottom crust. Make a lattice top and cover the apples...crimp the edge of the crust.

Now, combine 1 stick butter, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup sugar. Bring to a boil, turn down and simmer stirring until sugars are dissolved. Add a bit of cinnamon here if desired. Pour this over the lattice top completely covering the pie.

Put the pie in the oven on a rack below halfway down. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 and bake for 25-35 minutes. If the edges are not overly browned, cook another 10 or so minutes...you want that bottom crust completely baked and not doughy.

(The two smaller apples are the Arkansas blacks.)

I Baked a Pie

I had every intention of taking a picture of it to post here. Alas, I was too late.

Buttermilk Pie

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 rounded tablespoons flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash or two of nutmeg

Cream butter and sugar. Add flour and eggs. Beat well. Add buttermilk, vanilla, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

DON'T buy frozen pie shells!!! You have a delicious filling so make a crispy crust.

Pie Pastry

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, chilled
2 tablespoons butter, chilled
5-6 tablespoons cold water

(Actually, I use pure lard...1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons. AND it always takes more than the 5-6 tablespoons cold water for me. Just keep adding water until everything binds together.)

Spoon flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in shortening and butter (or lard) until particles are size of small peas. Add water a tablespoon at a time until all particles are moistened. Watch dough closely as overmixing will result in a tough crust. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes (or longer). Half and roll to 1/8-inch thickness. Ease into pie plate. Trip and crimp edges. Fill and bake as desired. If you are baking a fruit pie, roll second half out and cover filled crust. Crimp edges. Slit top for vents and bake as directed.

For cream pies, bake empty pie shell at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.