Happy Pie

I love any excuse to bake (or cook) and tie it into something else I enjoy.


Like...say, my love for comics. Or action figures.



My friend Kelly Thompson is the writer on A-Force - it's a fantastic book about women saving the world (or a village near you!) and friendships and DRAGONS! ONLY NOT! and it's funny and the art is gorgeous and I am enjoying the ever-loving heck out of it. (And I'm not even a Marvel gal.)








A recent issue was so darn good, I was inspired. Inspired to purchase a new action figure (Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers.) (Partly because there aren't any decent/affordable She-Hulks or Medusa's out there.). Inspired...to bake pies.


Wild Blueberry Pies. (Recipe can be found in Gesine Bullock-Prado's "Pie it Forward".)

(This is a re/cross-post from my Tumblr, for Misfit Day.)


You didn’t think I’d let the day go by without another culinary creation, did you??

(Truth: I have three more, but my camera has been behaving badly and I either can’t take photos - as in, it won’t turn on - or because it won’t turn on, I can’t upload anything. It’s frustrating, for obvious reasons and the fact the darn thing’s only a few months old! So, with any luck I’ll have a few more treats to share with you tomorrow. If I can coax the darn thing into working again.)


Behold! The Charlie Chicken Sandwich of Awesome!!

I wanted to come up with a sandwich of ridiculousness (kind of like the Outrageous Burgers Turhan’s Bey Company and I like to make), using the sort of components Charlie might assemble from a diner’s menu.

So, I give you this surprisingly well-balanced (flavor-wise), messy-as-all-get-out (seriously, don’t wear anything nice or make this for a first date and make sure you have a stack of napkins handy) and definitely not calorie-friendly concoction.

Ok.

Start with a layer of (deep-fried) onion rings. Add (this is a brilliant little recipe/hack I learned about last year and had been dying to try out) cheese sticks - but not just ANY cheese sticks! string cheese that has been rolled up in egg roll wrappers and quickly fried! Genius. You get self-contained, crunch and wow, so much easier than battering/coating and less mess- I layered three across.

Next, and I really and truly wish the color hadn’t faded, chicken tenders that have marinated in buttermilk for an hour or so and then dredged in a mixture of rice flour and CRUSHED ANDY CAPP HOT FRIES.


YES.


The color was the same as Charlie’s hair. It was meant to be.

Fry ‘em.

Two slices of melt-y cheese, I used organic ‘orange’ and a Pepperjack.

Bacon. Super-crispy and lots of it.

BARBECUE POTATO CHIPS.

(not pictured here because this was the omnivore version and he won’t eat them - spear/slices of bread and butter pickles*)

Lettuce (for this I like to use Bibb or Boston), nice slice of tomato (we’re finally getting into tomato season!) and a hearty slathering of mayo.

All on a squishy roll.

Smoosh to eat. Laugh at the mess but make lots of “mmmmmm!’ noises.

Happy Misfit Day!




*I made a vegetarian version for NinjaSpyBoy and me - Gardein (and several other companies) makes decent faux ‘tenders’ that hold up to just about any cooking preparation, and of course you can get veggie bacon from companies like Morningstar Farms. All are becoming more and more available in mainstream grocery stores. I’m sure a vegan recipe could be worked up, but we’re ovo-lacto, and that’s not my area of ‘expertise’, but I can point you in the direction of places like VeganEssentials, who carry vegan alternatives for just about everything.

Tiny batty things.

First - can anyone tell me why uploading photos from Picassa to Blogger is no longer a thing that works? I don't like fighting with technology... Second - Black Bat Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream. Folks on Tumblr designated July as Cass Cain month. Big storms with ALL the wind meant our cable and internet got knocked out - twice - leaving us without access for a week. ...I'm a few days late to the party. Gorgeous ice cream, rich and dark (King Arthur's black cococa) with little black bats and your basic yellow sprinkles to signify Cass's color scheme and code name.

Baking for Batgirl

Not long ago, Gail Simone was asked what Barbara Gordon's favorite cookie/baked good would be. The answer?

Snickerdoodles.

Yeah. You just know my food geek over-achiever-y-ness was going to kick in.




Snickerdoodles are good. But what about Snickerdoodle cupcakes?

I mean, cupcakes are (were?) the rage for a reason. Who doesn't like cupcakes?



Not Babs, I hope!



Lovely cake batter with just enough cinnamon to evoke that wonderful cookie.



I opted for a basic powdered sugar frosting in lieu of the Italian meringue (which tends to leave me a bit punchy).





On top of that, sift cinnamon sugar and there you have it. Snickerdoodle cupcakes! Perfect after a hard night of crime-fighting. ...or, you know, not.

International Black Alice Day

This time around, I'm baking not for a big name superhero, but for a snarky & not-as-well-known-as-she-should-be anti-hero: Black Alice.

Black Alice is the costumed name of Lori Zechlin, created by Gail Simone.
As is often the case, Lori's powers developed after a traumatic experience, in this case, the death of her mother.

And those powers? Oh, she 'borrows' the abilities of other magic users. Most of the time, neither well nor wisely, but it certainly makes for an interesting read.

Lori, or Black Alice as she's being celebrated today, is a fun, sad & nuanced character. You can learn more about her in Simone's Birds of Prey and Secret Six.

When International Black Alice Day was announced, I was stumped. No foods came immediately to mind.

So I asked 'mom' if there were any dishes associated with Black Alice. Gail suggested things a teenager could make for herself, like cheeseburgers.

Ok. That I could do.



The Black Angus Alice Burger

Starting at the bottom: roll smeared with barbecue sauce, topped with potato chips, an enormous Angus beef patty, cheese slice, bacon, ketchup & mustard, lettuce & tomato.

Very much the sort of thing you can eat when you have a sixteen year old's metabolism!

But of course I had to make dessert. It just wouldn't be me, otherwise.



Devil's food cupcakes with a peanut butter ganache filling & goth-grey buttercream frosting, topped with purple 'disco dust'.

An inch & a half of pure sugar, chocolate cake & a bit of bitter, sweet & peanut butter-y goodness.

Chocolate cake...well, because. The frosting because there is no way Lori'd use pink!
And the filling? A bit sharp, a touch of sweetness...& peanut butter to reflect the nuttiness of the world she lives in (c'mon; she had a crush on Ragdoll & worked with King Shark. Who's a shark!).

Matt & Alex had gone to bed, so I was out of taste-testers.

...so sweet, my teeth literally ached.

But were I (redacted) years younger? I'd love it.

 So happy International Black Alice Day! Enjoy a burger too big to eat & little cakes so sweet they might send you into a sugar coma.

Happy Birthday, Superman!

Also known as 'The Best Pie I Have Ever Made'.

I like to think of myself as a fairly accomplished baker. Breads, cakes...it doesn't really matter what it is, I know I can make it.

Except for pies.

I didn't really grow up with pies. The requisite pumpkin offering at Thanksgiving, perhaps. But it just wasn't something that was a part of my life.

So I suppose I shied away from them, initially, simply because pies weren't a top priority.

But Matt likes pies. Turns out Alex does, as well.

So I started making pies.

And I discovered that there was a baked good that I couldn't crack.

You know, except when the crust did.

Pies became that 'thing'. The recipe I dreaded. Or (almost!) feared.

But I kept trying. Different versions, different methods. Some were better, others added nothing.

Pies. My baking nemesis.

February 29 is the birthday of Kal-el, also known as Superman. While only celebrating your birthday every four years would basically stink for the average human, it works out well for the Kryptonian hero: he's going to live a really, really long time!

And when I think of Superman, the phrase "Mom, the Flag & Apple Pie" comes to mind.

So, to celebrate the day, I wanted to bake an apple pie. Except, well...you read the first part of this post, right?

So I went looking for help.

I turned to Gesine Bullock Prado, who just happens to be working on a new book called Pie it Forward. Coincidence? I think not.

She pointed me to a video in which she makes a Wild Blueberry Pie & I watched it. Three times.

And I honestly felt I could do this.

Guess what?

I did!!

Holy cow; this is the best pie I've ever made. The crust...it actually rolled. The way it's supposed to!
It was easy, it worked perfectly.

The filling was more or less made up on the spot; Granny Smith apples, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger, a pinch of salt & some lemon juice.

Oh...& yeah. The pie crust? Had to sport that familiar 'S' shield for the birthday boy.

So have a slice of pie today & wish Supes a good day.