November 19, 2008
Posted by: caltechgirl at
10:34 PM
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November 10, 2008
I should have known better. I woke up to an Instalanche here, and when I walked into my class, I found this:
My students conspired against me!
What's more, they got me a card and TWO cakes. And they sang Happy Birthday twice. I was floored. I hope they don't think this is going to raise their grades....
Here's the Chocolate Oreo Cake:
and the Fruit Tart:
What a great birthday morning!
Posted by: caltechgirl at
11:14 AM
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Hope your day continues to be wonderful.November 09, 2008
Ba-con. Mmmmmmmm. Here at Not Exactly Rocket Science, bacon is our favorite food, hands down. Nothing beats bacon for tastiness or indulgence. In fact, I prefer to eat bacon stuffed bacon with a side of bacon for breakfast if I can. Yum!
Bacon is Meat Candy.
And don't tell me about the cholesterol and all that. I know that. That's why I only actually eat bacon every so often, and it is truly a special treat.
Anyway, as my birthday is coming up, and bacon is well and truly my favorite treat, I thought I'd give this one a shot in the hopes of coming up with some birthday non-cake sweets. I modified the original recipe a bit, as I don't have any Cinnamon Bacon or scotch in the house and we're not big apple/maple combo fans....(see the recipe at Eli Cooks)
Here's my version, based on Eli's recipe:
CTG's Happy Birthday Bacon Apple Pie
1 9 in pie crust (I ended up making 2 pies because I had enough filling left over, YMMV*)
4 strips bacon, cooked crispy (NOT burnt) and crumbled (I used the microwave)
5-7 medium to large tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Pink Ladies)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (the original calls for nutmeg and cloves separately, but PPS is nutmeg, mace, cloves, and cinnamon. WAY easier)**
1/2 tsp cinnamon **
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
2+ Tbsp Butter, in small chunks
6-12 slices bacon***, halved lengthwise (make sure you get some fat in each half!)
*Your Mileage May Vary
** PPS and cinnamon are pretty subjective tastes, add more or less depending on your preference. Taste an apple slice once everything is mixed and before adding to the crust.
*** you'll need 6-7 slices (12-14 halves) for the lattice of one pie, about 12 slices for 2 pies
Note from Eli: The quality of the bacon here matters. You want a bacon with a good flavor when fried and eaten alone, because that's almost what you have on top of the pie. I should also admit that I used store-bought pie crust. Honestly, I think the stuff you buy in rolls in the fridge case is almost as good as home made and a hell of a lot easier.
I concur. Save some time, buy a good pie crust. Trader Joes has a fine one.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the pie crust in a 9 in pie pan and leave about 1/2 inch overhanging edges. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the bacon crumbles on the bottom of the crust.
Peel (if desired), core, and slice the apples. Mix together the apple slices, remaining bacon crumbles, brown and white sugar, PPS, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and cornstarch. Spread over the bacon in the pie crust. Break the butter into small chunks and place on the top of the apple mixture, spread evenly apart.
Butter plus bacon may be too heavy duty for some. You can leave this out altogether if it seems too fatty. But the pie has a tendency to be drier than most because of the lack of a true top crust, so the butter helps. If you like the butter, be sure to add enough. 2 Tbsp may be less than optimal for your pie.
Arrange the half-strips of bacon over the top of the pie crust in a lattice, then fold the edges of the pie crust over the bacon and crimp. This is crucial because the bacon will shrink as it cooks.
Another Note from Eli: The bacon lattice really doesn't want to stay tucked in around the edges of the pie. Be sure to include extra bacon sticking off the edge of the pie and tuck it down the inside of the crust to help mitigate this. Also, having a larger rim of pie dough to extend a bit further toward the center of the pie would probably help.
Place the pie tin on a cookie sheet and bake in the center of the oven for about 50-60 minutes, until the bacon on top is crisp, the crust is golden-brown and apple slices are tender. My two pies, on a dark cookie sheet, took about 55 minutes and were done perfectly. Again, YMMV*.
My yield was two pies, 6-8 slices each, from the above recipe. Try it warm with GOOD French Vanilla ice cream. You'll think you died and went to heaven.
Be sure you have enough bacon. One package wasn't enough for lattice for two pies, although the recipe made enough filling for two (or perhaps I had too many apples) but there should be plenty of slices in one package of bacon for just one pie.
Sorry for the lack of pix. The pie came out a bit ugly without enough lattice on this go-round. Maybe next time!
Posted by: caltechgirl at
01:44 AM
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November 03, 2008
My head tells me to vote yes and tell activist liberal judges to get a fucking clue. That CA's registered Domestic Partnership law provides the same rights to gay couples who register as marriage does to straight couples. That marriage is a construct not of the state, but of the church, and really the RDP law should apply to gays and straights both as a "civil union," a mere contract. That "marriage" is solemnized and consecrated by your belief system, whatever that is, and abides by those rules. God's rules. Or gods' rules. Whatever you believe. Not the state's rules.
I worry about the consequences for churches and ministers who are against marrying gay couples, for whatever reason. Will they be breaking the law if they refuse? Will they lose their 501 status? Will anyone be allowed to believe that homosexuality is wrong or state that belief? It may be bigoted, but in this country, people have a right to believe as they choose. We call it Freedom of Religion.
And you know, I just am so tired of all the in-your-faceness of the Prop 8 fight. I just want to vote no to say HA! Keep your "whether you like it or not" and all your Gay PDA on TV (for the record, all PDA on TV makes me sick, we've just seen a lot of it with this Prop 8 thing). It makes me want to be perverse and give all the Prop 8 opponents the finger.
But my heart tells me differently.
As I've mentioned many times on this blog, one of my dearest friends is gay, and he married his partner about 5 years ago in one of the most beautiful, heartfelt weddings I have ever seen. I was proud to be a "bridesmaid" and stand up for them, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I remember feeling so clearly the love between them, and seeing how precious they were to each other. I could never take away from them the things that DH and I have, the comfort of knowing we are each other's first and last resort, that we make each other's life and death decisions, that we share the rights and responsibilities of our life together for better and for worse.
I received this today, via email. I hope my friend won't mind me sharing it with you in part, and with the names redacted, of course.
Hi Everyone,I just can't tell them no. As much as I think this whole issue is screwed up and proceeding ass-backwards and I want to vote yes to make a political point, I don't think I can look my friend in the eye and tell him I voted to take away the marriage that means so much to him in favor of a lousy, meaningless contract. Unless you give me one of those lousy, meaningless contracts, too.
As you know, we're barely a day away from the most historic election of our time. But as you are also probably well aware, there's a lot more at stake than the Presidency.
Here in California, one of the most important -- and one of the closest -- issues you can vote on is Prop 8.
Prop 8 seeks to eliminate fundamental rights for one group of people. If passed, Prop 8 would take away something very close to Nick and me: our marriage. I trust you agree that eliminating fundamental rights -- from anyone -- is unfair and wrong.
...
If you want to help but don't have much time, here's something simple you can do:
The simplest thing you can do is to call everyone you know when you have a few free minutes on Tuesday and bug them to go vote if they haven't. Even if they say in advance that they'll vote, call them on Election Day to make sure they've voted. Even if it looks like the Presidential contest is over nationally by 5 or 6 pm our time, it's still critical that everyone goes to the polls to vote NO on 8. And even if it's raining, and even if the lines are long ... that shouldn't matter.
Finally, please modify and pass along this e-mail to everyone you know in California.
(And, no, you don't need to call N or me on Election Day -- we have both already voted by absentee ballot.)
Thanks so much for all your support!
Love,
A (& N)
So this girl's in an unfamiliar quandry: head or heart? I can't tell which makes more sense.
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02:23 PM
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