#34 Make a Kick Bum Pie for the Pie Party

Anyone who knows me knows that I like chocolate chip cookies more than most things, so when, during my two week long hunt for pie recipes in anticipation for my friend Stephanie from work's pie party turned up a real live, no kidding CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE PIE RECIPE, I was sold on sight. Look at this decadent monstrosity (gain 10lbs just doing so):



I would have been crazy to not pluck this gem from amongst the field of miscellaneous fruit (gag) and fruit combination (gag gag) pies. I mean I will eat your fruit pies, I just don't want to make one. Fruit pies just aren't, well, they are not tasty by nature. You have to put some real chef-grease toward a fruit pie to make it tasty - but chocolate chip cookie pie - that's un-mess-upable, right? Steph proof pie. Also, I already had most of the ingredients. Fate.

This pie was not only incredibly easy to make, but also outrageously delicious (as were all the pies at the party - mango, peach, pepper quiche, apple and coconut creme alike). I promise you will not be disappointed if you make this pie. I know you want to. Here's how!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE PIE
(from Bakerella)

Step 1: Thaw frozen pie crust (because you're using frozen pie crust. you're making chocolate chip cookie pie, you obviously don't care about The Rules of Dessert. stop worrying about the haters and thaw that frozen pie crust). FYI when you purchase frozen pie crust, it comes in an aluminum pan. It says "remove crust from packaging". They (apparently) don't mean the aluminium pan. If you remove it from the pan, when it thaws, it will crack. Trust me.

Step 2: Beat two eggs (until foamy) in a bowl (with the electric mixer you once again had to borrow from your friend's roommate, because you don't own an electric mixer). Then beat in: 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Then beat in 1 1/2 sticks of butter (gross, I know, just do it).



Step 3: Stir in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of chopped pecans. Spoon dough into (thawed) pie crust. Bake at 325 for about an hour.



Step 4: After cooling serve warm and with vanilla ice cream.



I know. Your thighs hate me, but your mouth loves it. Ignore the confliction and dive in. I think I'm going to make this again for Thanksgiving. Cause this pie definitely kicked bum! Check!

#4 Get Good at Making Soup (Part 2)

Mmmmmm, so I promised directions on Soup 2 last night, and I think while I am devouring a large tasty breakfast of it (because I awoke from the dead at 11:00am... my life rules), I will deliver! So here is Part 2 of my mission to try my hand at making soup (for Part 1 of this adventure, click here).

Okay

Soup #2
Peanut and Squash Soup (also from myrecipes)

Step 1: Heat enough peanut oil to coat the bottom of your soup pot. Add one butternut squash, peeled and cubed, (MAN IS IT EFFING HARD TO PEEL AND CUBE A BUTTERNUT SQUASH, try and pawn this task off on some unknowing passerby, TRUST ME), half an onion, chopped, 6 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp coriander and saute until onion is tenderish (appx 5 minutes).



Also here's some proof of what a pain in the bum butternut squash is:



I needed not one, but THREE utensils to tackle this guy. When I read "peel the squash" I went and grabbed my apple peeler and started to peel away. Don't do that, because I pretty severely damaged my peeler (sheesh, aren't you lucky you have me around to make these mistakes for you). So I grabbed a serrated knife, sawed the squash into quarters, and then used it to peel away the outside layer (total pain in bum, again, and be super careful not to hack off any fingers). Then I cubed it, using the dullest butcher's knife ever known to mankind, because I bought it from Walmart like 4 years ago when I had no foreseeable interest in chopping things ever.

Then you have to scoop out all the inside guts and seeds, with a melon baller, preferably. Or a simple kitchen spoon if you're a simple Rookie like myself (seriously, dead chefs across the globe probably turn over in their graves when I attack a recipe).



So, yes, that part sucked. It probably will suck less for you, because you're not me, and I did it, so you can do it too. And, it definitely satiated any desire I had to carve a pumpkin and make pumpkin seeds this year, because that is like FOUR times as much work. Ay-yi. Okay

Step 2: Add 4 cups of chicken broth, 3/4 cup smooth peanutbutter (I accidentally bought chunky (seriously, I told you, not Supermarket Sweep contestant material even remotely), which worked fine, but I imagine smooth would be... better), 2 tbsp tomato paste, and 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper. Boil. Then simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes, or until squash is squishy enough to eat.

Step 3: Toss in some cilantro and voila!



And now I have enough soup to eat every meal for a week!

#4 Get Good at Making Soup

It is 1:01am, and I have just finished making not one, but TWO glorious batches of soup! Yup, Steph the TaskMaster came out to play today - I went to the gym, grocery shopped, went to a two hour training for work in Newton, and cleaned the house a little bit. I never get that much done in one day, ever! Of course, I owe my productivity completely to the fact that it was Field Trip Day at work, which meant that instead of working 1:30-6:00, I worked 8:00-1:00 (and got to see Under the Sea in IMAX 3D at the Aquarium, which was, despite having a crying Kindergartener in my lap for all 45 minutes of it, pretty sweet). But anyway, I was feeling totally (and unusually) driven when I got home tonight, and decided to embark on my soup-making mission full force.

These soups are both really simple and quick to make (and I am pretty sure they are tasty, but won't have a second opinion until tomorrow, but... you can trust me I think, right?) so I am about to cover both soup recipes in detail, because I think you should make them both. SO PAY ATTENTION. TAKE NOTES. Are you ready? Good, here I go.

Soup #1
Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp (from myrecipes)

Step 1: Combine 3 cups of chicken broth, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 small can of sliced bamboo shoots. Boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Looks like this:



Step 2: Run 1 1/2 lbs of medium, frozen, de-veined, ezpeel shrimp (mouthful!) under cold water to defrost and peel away skin / creepy crawly legs / tail. Chop 8oz of drained, firm tofu into cubes.





After Step 1 has simmered for 5 minutes, add shrimp, tofu, 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp of white pepper. Boil. Cook for 2 minutes, or until shrimpys are cooked (you'll know because they'll turn pink!)

Step 3: In a bowl, stir together 2 tbsp water and 1 tbsp corn starch. Add to pot, whisking constantly for 1 minute.

Step 4: Beat one egg white in a bowl (actually you should've done this earlier guys, sorry). Drizzle slowly into pot, stirring constantly. Then remove from heat. Add 1/4 tsp chili oil (a little goes a long way) and a handful of chopped green onions.

And... you're done! See, told you that was easy! The hardest part was shopping for ingredients and that's only because I am a complete loser when it comes to finding stuff in the grocery store (so don't ever ask me to go on Supermarket Sweep with you just because I am outlandishly heroic at every other television game show, because I won't even let you set yourself up for failure like that, I'll just say no. Consider yourself warned.). The soup:



I'll post the other soup tomorrow. It is (drum roll) Peanut and Squash Soup, which sounds both disgusting and like my two favorite things ran into one another, bumped heads and accidentally fell into a pot of boiling chicken broth - but, I promise, it's tasty.

I think I said that I needed to make like 5 soups to consider this item completed... and that I've only posted one so far. But, I'm giving this a CHECK anyhow, because I am in charge here and can do that and it turns out that soups are actually pretttttty easy to make, and I'm already like the bomb.com at it. Go me!

#12 Eat at The Friendly Toast, Kendall Edition

Guys, I kind of might have cheated in adding this to the list, because I sort of already had plans to eat here tonight before I made the list. But whatever.

So, The Friendly Toast and I have a long history. The original Friendly Toast, built by the neighbors of my high school boyfriend, is located right near where I went to high school, and I spent more nights there than I could ever count ordering late night breakfast and appetizers and talking high school drama with friends. When I heard that a Friendly Toast had opened in Cambridge a year or so ago, I kept meaning to go, but just hadn't made it yet... until tonight.

Appropriately, I met one of my very best friends from high school, Maria, out front after work for some very needed drinks and dinner. The new Friendly Toast is brighter, smaller and a little less cozy than the Friendly Toast of my memory, but once we were handed our menus, identical to those I spent so many nights pouring over in high school, full of INSANELY delicious things to eat, I couldn't help but smile and feel right at home. I ordered some drink full of tequila and "crazy quesadillas" and sweet potato fries and totally enjoyed everything.

After dinner, we saw a thousand people carrying pink bags, so we decided to hit the Garment District, open until midnight from now until Halloween, to do some costume shopping. I finally got the teeth and face paint I need for my bat costume - which hopefully will be motivation for me to finish the wings / dress / rest of the costume sometime soon. Let's consider Friendly Toast accomplished and add completing BAT COSTUME to the list. Also, maybe I should cut out the food related items until Halloween so I can fit into my bat costume. I am feeling so full right now! Whatever, so worth it, checkity check, Friendly Toast off the list!