97 pies & a Merry Christmas

I had a week-long bake-fest last week in preparation for the DeskSet's yearly Biblioball for 2009.

I did not have enough counter space in my kitchen so the pies ended up spreading out into the living room.

A new pie is now available! 

CranRaspberry Pie with a Brown Sugar Oats Crumble

Sweetie Pies Richmond?

SweetiePiesBrooklyn is heading south.  Im going to be in Richmond, Va. from December 17th through the 29th for an extended holiday.  If you are interested in a SweetiePiesBrooklyn pie over the holidays, please email me at victoria@sweetiepiesbrooklyn.com.

Check out the PIE CHART: Pies of Perfection on the right hand column for available pie options.

See you in Richmond!

Rooftop Farms

I stopped by Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on November 22nd to check out their last market of the season.  Located at 44 Eagle Street, off Franklin Ave, the farm grows a top an old warehouse building  which overlooks the Manhattan skyline and Greenpoint's industrial waterfront.  Rooftop Farms provides locally grown produce, including, but not limited to, lettuce, kale, eggplant, beans, tomatoes, peppers and a variety of herbs.  I'll be using their sage starting next spring in my Sausage, Apple and Sage pies. 

www.rooftopfarms.org

Made to Order

I have finally started taking pie orders online.  I received my first made-to-order pie last week for Thanksgiving.   My Pear Japaleno Pie w/ Pepper Jack Cheese Crust was requested and is shown below.  I also decided to make this pie for my family's Thanksgiving and it was the perfect ending to a delicious dinner (thanks again Michele).

If you would like to order a pie, please email me at victoria@sweetiepiesbrooklyn.com.  I can do both 8" pies and 5" pies.  5" pie orders come in batches of 6 and would create perfect holiday gifts.  As of now, I am only making my Sausage, Apple and Sage pie, my Pear Jalapeno Pie and my Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust.  I will announce when new pies are available for order.

Yesterday's Market

Thanks to everyone that showed up to yesterday's Greenpoint Food Market.  The market was packed with more vendors than past markets and an even larger showing of shoppers.  That combination along with food and drink workshops and hot chocolate tastings made for an excellent day.

I had new packaging this week and new crust decorations in honor of Thanksgiving.

Greenpoint Food Market November

The Greenpoint Food Market is back this Saturday, same location, same time, more vendors and a hot chocolate contest and tasting.  It's the perfect time to pick up treats and gifts for Thanksgiving.  I'll be making mini pies of course, my sausage, apple and sage pie, pear jalapeno pie and apple pie with a cheddar crust. If you want to buy a couple for Thanksgiving, just freeze them till Wednesday, the 25th, let thaw overnight and reheat them before serving for 10-20 min. at 300*, just until warm.  Enjoy!

White Bread Recipe

I wanted to share the recipe for the bread I made this past weekend.  It was extremely easy to make.  The only things I would change are to use a whole packet of the yeast instead of just 2 tsp. and to let the bread rise for two hours (dough should double in size) before transferring it to the loaf pan.  Also if you can't get your hands on some potato flour, just add another 1/4 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour.

Ingredients

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 3/4 oz)
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/8 cups lukewarm milk (1 cup + 2 tablespoon)
• 1/4 cup potato flour (1 1/2 oz)
• 
  

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients (reserve about 1/2 cup of flour) and mix thoroughly in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add reserved flour a tablespoon at a time to mixture until a soft, smooth dough is formed.
3. 
   You may not need the whole amount or you may need more.
   Anyway, add JUST enough flour until dough comes away from bowl and it doesn't stick to your fingers (ie the dough becomes manageable) Remember, the more flour you add while kneading, the heavier and drier your loaf will be.
4. Turn dough out on lightly greased surface and knead for a while, about 10mins.
5. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour, until puffy (dough might not double in bulk).
6. Transfer dough to a lightly greased surface and shape it into a 8" log.
7. Transfer log to a lightly greased loaf pan (8 1/2" x 4 1/2"), cover the pan with plastic proof cover (i just cover with a greased cling wrap, loosely).
8. Let dough rise for about 1 hour, until outer edge has risen about 1" over the rim of the pan.
   
   
   Preheat oven to 350F.
9. Uncover pan and bake for 35-40mins, tenting lightly with foil for the final 10-15mins if the top is browning too quickly.
10. Remove bread from oven, take it out of the pan, and cool on wire rack.
11. After 15mins, brush with butter, if desired; to give loaf an exceptionally soft crust.
12. 
    
    
    

SweetiePiesBrooklyn bakes bread

Baked two loaves of bread this morning for WORD Bookstore's The Duchess of Whimsy book reading tomorrow afternoon.  They will be serving grilled cheese sandwiches and milk during the reading so stop by with your kids at 2pm.

Work in Progress

Balsamic Custard Pie with Strawberries

I have been working on a new pie for the market but I'm not sure it will be ready for the November 21st Greenpoint Food Market.  I am not happy with the custards consistency yet but the flavors are really unique and surprisingly delicious.  Balsamic vinegar naturally sweetens when heated and if reduced to a thick syrup, is delicious when drizzled over fresh strawberries.  Thats the idea behind this pie.

I'll keep you updated and let you know when it has reached perfection.

Book Bread

I was p

racticing my bread baking skills last night for the upcoming IBNYC’s 1st Indie Bookstore Week NYC, November 15-21, 2009.

I am providing bread loaves specifically for the Duchess of Whimsy children's book reading at WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn on November 15th, 2009 at 2pm.

WORD is partnering with Greenpoint Food Market vendors

(myself and You Can't Eat Bread!?) and upstate dairy farms Pampered Cow and Hudson Valley Fresh to provide grilled cheese sandwiches and milk for the children and parents during the reading.

My first practice round!

This homemade white bread had a beautiful, crispy, golden crust and while it stayed moist on the inside and tasted delicious, it was a bit too dense for grilled cheese sandwiches. I am going to do another practice round next week, in an attempt to create a lighter and fluffier version for next Sunday.

Not bad for the first try though and the bread, sliced, toasted and topped with a dab of butter and raspberry preserves made for a perfect breakfast this morning.

K&M Pie Pins

january '09 k&m pie contest

i won 2nd place for my sausage, apple and sage pie

Enid's Apple Pie Contest

There was a huge showing for Enid's Apple Pie Contest, 53 contestants to be exact. The bar was packed and the apple pies were endless.

The winner of the contest was an Apple Rosemary Pie which sounds amazing but I had to ask the winner to find this out. Sadly they only announced the winners by baker's name and not type of pie so I have no clue what types of pie won 2nd and 3rd place.

Greenpoint Food Market October

SweetiePiesBrooklyn and La Tia Faby at the Greenpoint Food Market on October 17th, 2009 at 129 Russell Street between Nassau and Driggs Ave in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Though the sun never showed up on Saturday, plenty of people stopped by for homemade treats including my homemade mini pies.

sausage, apple and sage pie w/ an all butter crust

pear jalapeno pie w/ a pepper jack cheese crust

apple pie w/ a cheddar cheese crust

Also check out the Greenpoint Food Market Blog