Mattie Bakes

 So, today I decided to conquer one of the recipes on my foodie list (being off this long weekend, I figured it was an auspicious time to do something about these lists):  Honey Vinegar pie.  My sister, with the usual family tact, asked if I was making a recipe from the depression cookbook, and maybe I was; I found it on a foodie website about Ohio's best desserts.  Anyways, as I had the ingredients (save for the sea salt garnish, which I eschewed; I now have a box of kosher salt I will need to use!), I got to work.

The first wheel to come off was making the pie crust; I had made some in the past (using recipes from former coworkers, should have been the first clue), and a friend's wife gave me an easy one which would promise me instant success.  Well, it didn't work; I added some water, then too wet, then some flour and shortening, and got something that was... well, functional enough.  Lesson learned:  use the premade ones.

Next, the recipe called for cooking heavy cream and vanilla (bean and extract from it, of which I had one from the panne cotta I made) in a double boiler, which, of course, I don't have.  But, good news, I found a site that said just water in a skillet, then put an overturned aluminum pie pan in the skillet, and that would work.  I did have one of those, so...off we went.  I monitored it closely (too closely, as the pie crust was slightly overcooked) and it... came out well.

Then it was the rest of the ingredients -- the dry stuff, the eggs, the honey, the vinegar, the vanilla creme mix, and a vigorous whisking of them all together, then into the pie crust.  The recipe called for 45 minutes or so of baking, rotating twice... I spilled some of the mix on to the cookie sheet and the oven while putting it in the oven and rotating it, and at the second rotation I was like this will never bake.  To my surprise, at 45 minutes... it was golden brown and settled (as the recipe said).  The pie had to sit for three hours, which was fine -- had dinner, and when I finally cut a small piece... it was good.  Odd mix of flavors -- not one that dominates.  Would I make it again?  I suspect not, but...

One thing I was able to do while watching the pie cool was to watch the 1950 "Cyrano de Bergerac," recently added to the NFR, mainly due to the role of Jose Ferrer as Cyrano (Best Actor, Golden Globes, and a first for a Hispanic actor in the Best Actor role).  The film is... well, it shows its age, and I would not say it is terribly exciting, but the swordplay is cool, and if you don't know the Cyrano story, it does a good job of telling the basics.  809.

I see that the next Avatar will be fire...considering the jokes I have made about Cameron going through the elements, I feel...vindicated.  Of a sort.