Two Consecutive Wins Would Have Been Nice but the 2nd Annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest Brought Back the Mother-Daughter Team So It's All Good

This Sunday was the 2nd Annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest. Last year, my mom and I entered together, as the only mother-daughter team, and took home 1st place in the Cream Pies category. It was quite a thrill and totally unexpected. This year, we didn't fare as well, at least not ribbon-wise. But here I am, standing before you with my head held high, chin up, to report that we are A-Okay. We survived our two-consecutive-wins-missed-opportunity and are here to talk about it!

Our pie entry

My mom, who lives in Northern California, flew down for the weekend, just like last year, so that we could enter together. What more could a daughter ask for? Seriously! People! As corny as it sounds, that makes me a winner right off the bat. We spent a few weeks going from pie concept to testing crusts to testing full-on pies right up until the weekend of the event. And as we were making the official entry pie together, we also decided to make an additional one since we knew we'd have to give away the entire official pie. Good thing we decided to do that. Friends and coworkers really appreciated getting to taste the pie!

Serving our pie to the public

Our pie was no easy project. What's funny is, Evan Kleiman, the wonderful restaurant owner, host of Good Food on KCRW, and master of ceremonies at the pie contest, even noted on her blog that complex, over-the-top pies are not necessary for you to win a ribbon. And then she reminded readers of last year's Best in Show, a classic apple pie. But here's the thing, Evan, and anyone who read that tip. That is asking me to be a different person. :-P

My mom crimps the edge of the pie crust

My mom holds the pie carefully as we drive to the drop off location

The fun for my mom and me was inventing a pie that captured, in one product, a variety of our favorite flavors, carried out with great texture, visual interest, and overall intrigue. And with that intro, allow me to present our pie: The Orange-Maple-Hazelnut Pie with Thick Chocolate Glaze and a Garnish of Candied Orange Peel and Caramelized Hazelnuts.

Handing the pie over to the authorities

Basically, and it's far from basic (hehe), we started with a flaky pie crust, brushed a sweetened orange marmalade on the bottom, then sprinkled our homemade candied orange peel on top of that, then poured in the orange-maple-hazelnut filling, topped it all off with a thick semi-sweet chocolate glaze, and decorated with caramelized hazelnuts and more candied orange peel.

Did we overdo it? Nah. Not if you ask our taste buds.

But that's not to say we were anticipating or prepared for such a labor-intensive project! I think we were in shock over what we had gotten ourselves into. I have to admit, we created something complicated enough that, at times, we were looking at each other going, "Wait a minute, why are we caramelizing hazelnuts? I've been stirring this saute pan of nuts, water, and sugar for ten minutes and my arm is going to break off! Owww!" Actually, it was a funny sight to behold. I finally finished the nuts, it must have been well after midnight, and then I literally collapsed on the floor. Maybe I was being a drama queen, but man, my biceps were bulging, pulsing with their own heartbeat, because of the effort I exerted stirring those nuts! Don't believe me? You try caramelizing a pie's worth of hazelnuts in the middle of the night, then give me a call.

Caramelized hazelnuts

Oh, and just the step of getting the shells off the nuts was time-consuming. And let's talk about the candied orange peel. Peeling the oranges and scraping the bitter white insides off the peel, then slicing into fine pieces was tedious. These are just a few of the steps people don't realize might go into making a pie. I'm here to tell you they occurred. And we did them with a smile on our face, and an occasional over-dramatization to get us through the night. But it was a girl's night, a gigglefest the whole way through; Mom and daughter were having a blast baking in the kitchen together.

Homemade candied orange peel!

There was an apron fashion show at the pie contest so my mom brought an apron down from the Bay Area that my sister Beth gave her, and I wore one that my friend Crystal sewed for me. It was neat to see all the different apron designs. Several of the participants came wearing their special apron and Evan Kleiman interviewed each of us on stage about our selection. That was a very fun, fresh new touch to the contest over last year.

Evan Kleiman interviewing my mom during the apron fashion show

The 2nd Annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest was very different from last year, not just because of the apron fashion show. If I could give a little bit of constructive feedback about the contest for future years (and I hope there will be many, many more of these to come!), the following would be my tips. I say these not to take away from the event - because the bottom line is, as you can see from the grins on our faces, we had a lot of fun - but so that the 3rd annual contest can outdo the 2nd!:

• Judging. Last year, the judging happened right in front of the public at a mall in the valley. This year, the event was hosted at the Taste of Beverly Hills food event and was free and open to the public. But the judging did not occur in front of us, and I very much miss that from last year. It was behind closed doors before they opened the gates to the public. Perhaps the single most exciting thing about the contest for me is watching a celebrity chef or famous food figure take a fork and dig into my pie, my amateur, made-at-home pie. For one, brief moment, I'd feel connected to an otherwise "unreachable" person via my pie. Most people aren't going to win the contest, so the best gift you can give them is the knowledge, satisfaction, and perhaps the photo they'll take, of a famous judge eating their pie. My photos from last year showing Chef Eric Greenspan, Chef Mark Peel, and LA Times Food Editor Russ Parsons enjoying my pie are like gold to me! But by removing that element this year, there was no "parting gift" for the many entrants who worked so hard to be there.
  
• Slicing. Each entrant's pie had its place at one of the long tables, numbered and labeled, and with a large slice missing from it, clearly the one that went to the judges. I got to my pie at its table placement and saw damage to my pie from where the one judges' slice was missing. I wished then, that I could have been the one to slice and plate my pie for the judges (which I was allowed to do last year), since I knew the layers inside, the texture, and so I would know best what knife to use and how much pressure and so forth. Until the moment the forkful of pie goes into the mouth of a judge, it seems most fair that the entrants have complete control over their pie's presentation and integrity.
• Schedule. Finally, the format for the afternoon was a bit anti-climactic. In the early part of the event, the semi-finalists were announced and all of the non-winners were sent to their pie station to prepare to serve their pies to the public. So very early in the event, you found out you didn't win, and then all that was left for you to do before you go home was share your pie. But that meant I missed some of the judging of the finalists and the excitement happening on stage.
  

Feedback notwithstanding, I had a wonderful afternoon at the 2nd Annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest. I ran into a ton of my food blogger friends. The KCRW staff was so sweet and cheerful. My mom flew in and baked with me. Family came to cheer us on. I exchanged business cards with a couple of people. And everyone who tasted our pie really enjoyed it. In fact, they'd come over and say,"We heard down there that we needed to come here to taste your pie!" So we felt very flattered.

A special shout out to Harriet, Sarah, Evan, and the rest of the crew at KCRW for organizing an event chock full of personality. That is no easy task! And by the looks of it, people were having a ball and rubbing their bellies.


Some of the Blog Coverage
ShopEatSleep: So much pie: KCRW's Good Food pie contest
LAist: Pie, Pie, Pie! KCRW's Annual Contest Served Up Fun by the Slice
Good Food Blog: Good Food Pie Contest Photos
Good Food Blog: Good Food Pie Contest Winner!
Diana Takes a Bite: Eating Pie and Making STRIDES
The Duo Dishes: KCRW's 2nd Annual Good Food Pie Contest
Caroline on Crack: Photo Gallery: KCRW's 2nd Annual Good Food Pie Contest


Pie-Packed Photo Album!

Take Your Pick of Round Challahs for Rosh Hashanah

My crazy schedule just got a little bit more crazy. You see, on top of the traveling, High Holidays, working full-time, and various other things going on in my life, I'm about to move and I wasn't expecting that. Not far from where I am now. But still. Moving is moving. Hopefully I don't end up needing to pack all my kitchen equipment until the last second, so I can still enjoy a September full of homebaked goodies.

But that crazy schedule does mean I haven't had a chance to try a new round challah recipe this year. So instead, I'm reminding you of two previous posts I did on round challahs in preparation for Rosh Hashanah this week. If you haven't already tried them, you are in for a treat.

OPTION 1: Vanilla Challah and a Super Cool Round Braid Method
The first option is a very neat braiding technique that looks much harder than it is. Check my step-by-step photos for help. You can do this with any challah recipe, though the one I demonstrate with is one of my all time favorite recipes...a vanilla challah by Beth Hensperger.



OPTION 2: No-Knead Round Challah
The second option is a no-knead where you braid the challah in typical three-strand, straight line fashion, then lift the braid up and place it, curved, into the round baking pan.


Either way, you are going to be really pleased with how they come out. They are delicious and regal-looking!

L'Shanah Tovah!

Speaking of Pie, How About a Model T Bakery Truck with a Pie Display in the Trunk!

The coolest bakery truck EVERRRRRR!

In honor of Sunday's 2nd Annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest in Beverly Hills, I thought I'd share a very neat pie vehicle. Huh? Read on!

Back in June, I attended the Palo Alto Concours D' Elegance, an annual classic car show in the Bay Area. My dad was showing his 1935 Supercharged Auburn, and I might add, he placed 3rd in his class! Go, Dad! Whenever we attend car shows (which is not uncommon when you grow up with a father who restored a vintage car from a box of nuts and bolts and scraps of metal and expended a lot of blood, sweat, and tears for 20 years to complete the project flawlessly), we take an hour or so during the show to walk around and see the other car entries. It's always fun to take a stroll through time, spanning about a century, and see beautiful, old cars. Plus, my dad, who is a car expert, helps me appreciate everything I'm seeing more by explaining the history or significance of each car.

Mom, Dad, me standing in front of my dad's red 1935 convertible Auburn sedan,
and the reason we're at the car show

Standing with my dad's baby

Well, at the Palo Alto Concours D' Elegance, we happened upon a Ford Model T circa 1913. But not just any Model T...a Model T-turned-bakery truck with a pie display in the back!

My mom posing by the pie display at the back of the old bakery truck

My mom and I were instantly in love. We wanted this old bakery truck! My dad explained to me that back in the day when this truck was not vintage, but modern, a bakery would place an order with Ford for the Model T and then Ford would send the Model T to a body company to modify the body and turn it into this specialty truck.

This truck has so much character. Look at the wood sides, the shelves, the paint job. I wish more vehicles today had a personality like this. Instead, I'll just continue to attend car shows with my dad and continue to dream as I walk down aisle upon car aisle representing an era that's now mostly a happy memory.

The pies are on wooden shelves at the back of the bakery truck

Though maybe if I save up enough money, I'll invest in my own Model T bakery truck so a piece of that car personality I yearn for can be mine. And I'll have the paint job say Happy Go Marni Bakery. Wouldn't that be nice...

See you Sunday at the pie contest!

My Mom and I Are Entering the 2nd Annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest!

Well, we've gone and done it. We've signed up AGAIN for the KCRW Good Food Pie Contest. We, as in my mom and me! The contest is this Sunday, September 5, at the Taste of Beverly Hills event from 4-6pm. You might recall that this mother-daughter team entered and won the Cream Pies category last year. Woohoo! Well, we're back, and we're changing things up a bit. I don't want to jinx anything so I won't discuss our pie. But I will say, we are not competing in the Cream Pies category this time! We are so excited! My mom is flying down from the Bay Area for the weekend!

Several weeks ago, when my mom and I were flirting with the idea of entering again, we discussed flavor combinations we love. It's funny how the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. We both immediately knew the general direction of the pie, and which two ingredients had to be present. Then we set to building the pie, layer by layer.

We tested fillings, crusts, toppings, and more, adjusting the quantity of sugar or butter or xxx (wouldn't want to give away the recipe!), until we found what we believe to be an exceptional pie! It's taken a lot of time, thought, and expensive ingredients, but it's one of those fun things worth putting resources toward - and come on, doing it as a mother-daughter project makes it a no-brainer. Plus, it's delicious! So regardless of how we do this Sunday at the contest (um, there are more than 200 pies entered!!!), we are quite pleased with how our pie turned out and have already had a lot of fun preparing.

Oh, and there's going to be an apron fashion show at the pie contest. So I am planning on wearing the adorable bright, ruffly apron my very talented and crafty friend Crystal sewed for me in between the long hours she spends researching biomedical engineering orthopedic something-or-other for her Ph.D. Yes, she's a renaissance woman!

With Crystal on the night she gave me the apron!

Anyways, wish us luck this Sunday! And if you're in LA, think about coming out to cheer us on, say hello, and meet lots of fellow foodies. It's very fun and you get to taste the pie entries after the judging is over! Free pie? Yes siree!

Details about parking, schedule, etc... are on the official pie contest page.

Behold! Mystery Eggs! And These Are Nothing to Yolk About! Plus Egg-sclusive Video Diary

I was making ice cream last night using the custard method. Custard method means I'm going to need some egg yolks, 5 egg yolks to be exact.

So I took the carton of eggs out of the fridge, a carton of large, cage free, vegetarian feed, brown eggs from Trader Joe's. I selected an egg to crack open so I could separate the yolk from the white and discard the white.

But when I pulled apart the egg shell, something quite unusual, VERY cool, was staring at me in the face! Not one, but two egg yolks! In a single egg! What? Yes! Two egg yolks were inside one egg! I was in shock. Giddy. I felt present at a school science experiment or bizarre egg research study in a government-run food science laboratory. But no, it's just me in my kitchen, using friendly Trader Joe's eggs. Huh. So I poured the contents of the shell into my hand, allowed the egg white to fall through the cracks of my fingers, and stared dumbfounded at two egg yolks sitting in my hand. They were connected! They were not just twins. They were conjoined twins! Siamese if you please?


I put them in my large glass bowl, moved the bowl around, and watched as the two yolks slid across the bottom of the bowl TOGETHER, connected at the hip, if you will. I'm clearly not over the shock. Haha!

But back to the project at hand. I still needed three more egg yolks for my ice cream!

I picked up another egg from the carton, cracked it on the countertop, and...


WHAT THE HECK!

I was even more dumbfounded to find two more yolks in a single egg! It was happening again! OMG!

Let's review the stats so far.

• I need 5 egg yolks for this ice cream recipe.
• I've cracked two eggs.
• I have four egg yolks.
• You do the math!

As it turns out, when I cracked my third egg, the results were more normal, and I got only one yolk inside that egg. But hey, five yolks in three eggs is pretty impressive stuff.

Is the moral of the story that everyone should buy their eggs from Trader Joe's so they can get more bang for their buck? I mean, I only needed to crack three eggs, not five, to get my five yolks for the ice cream recipe! Saved me a few pennies.

Or maybe this happens to everyone now and then? Doubt it. I can tell you this. I'm a baker. I've cracked hundreds and hundreds of eggs in my lifetime. This has never happened to me before. It may never happen to me again. But it just happened to me twice in a row!

I'm going to buy a lottery ticket.

Watch the video as it all unfolds....

EGG-SCLUSIVE MYSTERY EGG VIDEO DIARY!!!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub Ice Bath Brownies

Oh Alice, you've outdone yourself. Alice, as in Alice Medrich, the first lady of chocolate, whose out-of-print cookbook Cocolat is worth a hefty sum ($150+).

These brownies come from another Alice Medrich cookbook, which I shockingly, GASP!, don't own, called Cookies and Brownies. It was a Food & Wine Magazine Best of the Best Award Winner, named one of the best 25 cookbooks of 1999. But fortunately, my mom owns the cookbook! And she made these brownies and called me up, quite possibly with a bite of brownie in her mouth as she called, exclaiming between chewing that she had discovered a serious contender for best brownie.

What? But I thought I had already found the single best brownie in Tartine Bakery's brownie. And that was after searching high and low, testing out brownie recipes from my various cookbooks for several years. This is going to mess everything up! I'll have to test my mom's discovery out for myself and see how it compares to Tartine's. Oh darn, a baking project. :)


So my mom sent me the recipe and as she concluded the email, she wrote:

Don't eat too many!!
Love, Mom

Ha! I knew I was in for a treat. I baked them up, and sure enough, they were amazing. I think I ate two whole rows of brownie in about an hour. Oops. Won't happen again, Mom; I promise!

Interestingly, when the brownies come out of the oven, they are placed in an ice bath immediately to cool. Don't shy away from making these brownies because of that extra step. But don't skip the step! I think it's one of the defining characteristics of this brownie. The ice bath is easy. It's extremely convenient that the brownies are baked in an 8x8 pan (I suggest metal, not glass), because you can simply use a standard 9x13 pan for the ice bath and the 8x8 pan will fit perfectly inside the larger pan.

As far as how they size up to Tartine's? I think I'm going to have to say TIE because both are incredible, leaving me wanting more. And both are extremely fudgy. I could not be happier with the results!! My mom was right! The only reason I'd say not to make these is if you fall under the camp of cakey brownie lovers. I hands down belong to the fudgy, not cakey, brownie lover society. So they are my dream realized. Go after your dreams.


Ice Bath Brownies
Adapted from a recipe by Alice Medrich in Cookies and Brownies
Makes 16 brownies

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line an 8x8 metal pan with foil and drape extra foil over the edges so you can lift the brownies out later for cutting on a cutting board.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is melted and smooth. Be very careful not to burn the mixture. If you think you're not the careful type, use a double boiler or heatproof bowl set on top of a pan of gently simmering water. It's a lot harder to burn chocolate and butter when using a double boiler.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring in each until it is well incorporated. Beat in the flour until the mixture comes away from the sides and looks smooth and glossy, about 1 minute. Stir in nuts, if using. Pour the brownie batter into the foil-lined pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until brownies just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. The surface of the brownies will look dry but a toothpick inserted in the center will still be quite gooey. That's a good thing!

While the brownies are baking, prepare the ice bath. Fill a roasting pan or large baking pan (a standard 9 x 13" pan works perfectly) with ice cubes and water about 3/4-inch deep.

When brownies are ready, take the pan out of the oven and immediately place in the ice bath. Careful not to splash water from the ice bath onto the brownies! Cool the brownies completely in the ice bath.

When cool, remove the pan from the ice bath and lift the foil edges up and out of the pan and place the foil on the cutting board. Cut the brownies into squares to serve.

Store in an airtight container. Because these are fudgy, they will taste delicious for at least 3 days, and if you're lucky, up to 5 days!

Step-by-Step in Pictures
Melt the chocolate and butter together, then add sugar, vanilla, and salt...

Add the eggs, one at a time...

Add the flour and gently combine...

Spread the batter into the foil-lined pan. Notice I added half the batter first, then stirred toasted walnuts into the remaining half and then poured the nut batter into the other half of the pan. Then bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes...

When done baking, immediately transfer the pan from the oven to an ice bath until the brownies are cool...

Enjoy!