Dinner Last Night & Tips for Cream Pies

Yesterday afternoon we sat out in the backyard and enjoyed the heat wave we're having.  Eventually dinner rolled around, and we BBQd some curried potatoes, portobello mushrooms, and mini farmers' sausages.

Dessert was the chocolate cream pie that I had baked up that morning.

When baking cream pies, you have to blind-bake the crust, which just means that you bake it before you put the filling in.  In order to prevent shrinkage, and the crust falling down from the sides of the pie pan, you need to put something heavy in the middle while it bakes.  If you don't have pie weights, which I don't, you could use dried beans, rice, etc..  I used buckwheat that had been in the pantry forever. 

Just roll the dough out and place it in the pie pan, trim, and pierce with a fork along the bottom and sides.  Line with the shiny side of tinfoil (you could give the tin foil a quick spray to ensure it doesn't stick), and then fill with something heavy to hold it down.

You could also line the pie dough with tin foil, then put another pie plate on top to hold it down.

Once the crust is done, and cooled, you can cook up the filling on the stove and pour it in.  You'll refrigerate it for a couple hours to set the filling.  If you want to prevent a nasty "skin" from forming on the top of your cream pie, cover it with plastic wrap, pressing it down to touch the filling:

This will keep it nicely until it's chilled and you cover it with whipped cream.

Perfection.

How is your week going so far?  

Are you having a heat wave where you are?

I'm currently running two giveaways for my Canadian readers. 
- You can enter to win a journal here.
- If you visit Menchie's before the end of the month, Tweet or Instagram a photo of your creation with the message/hashtags you can find here.  You could win 7 free Menchie's treats!

Coffee for the Crazy People

This coffee has become a thing.  I had heard of it, but I didn't see the recipe until Pioneer Woman posted it.  As soon as I saw it, I knew we had to try the crazy concoction.  We're not people who shy away from much when it comes to food/drink.  We'll try almost anything once.

You throw 1 tablespoon of good quality coconut oil (unrefined) into a blender.

Then you add a pat of butter.

Have I lost you yet!?  Haha!

Pour in 12 ounces of strong, very hot, brewed coffee.

And then blend until it's frothy and beautiful, and emulsified.

Then enjoy the creamy, slightly "coconuty" coffee.  It's not oily at all.

Christopher and I thought that it was good, but not as deserving of the rave reviews it's been getting.  It was similar to coffee with a couple creamers, but it had the slight coconut taste.  Although, we are well aware of the incredible health benefits of coconut oil, so if we want to incorporate more into our diet, this might be a good way to do so.

Also, we've heard of restaurants serving coffee with a pat of butter instead of cream.  Hmmmm, maybe we'll have to try that next.

So, would you try this crazy coffee?  Have you tried it already?

(I really want to try kopi luwak, and I will as soon as I can find it; Christopher thinks I'm crazy)

Italian Feast - Dinner Guests

The anticipation before our dinner guests arrive is always exciting for us; we love to entertain, and even more so, we love to cook and eat.  We prep a bit the night before, and then spend the morning and early afternoon making sure everything is just right.

Last night Christopher's parents came over for an Italian feast.

We started with prosecco and a caprese salad amouse bouche.

Next up was bread with our favourite olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar.

Then we enjoyed antipasto (prosciutto, Genoa salami, mini cheese stuffed squash, olives, olive bruschetta, crostini, gorgonzola, provolone, and romano cheeses).

Baked fontina:

It was a beautiful evening, but for the next course we made our way into the house.  Christopher and his dad really enjoyed the Limoncello we had while waiting for soup.

The next part of our meal was Italian wedding soup.

The main course was creamy parmesan fusilli with bacon.

Finally, we had dessert - tiramisu of course.

Following dinner there was live music (Christopher was showing off his bass skills, which are quite impressive for a new bass player), and even some dancing (the in-laws have moves)!

All in all, it was a fantastic evening full of good eats, great company, and many laughs.  It was the perfect way to spend our Saturday evening.

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

Flip!

Flip is one of the best restaurants in the city.  Everything we've had on the menu has been incredible, and the service is always excellent.  We got a gift certificate to Flip as a wedding gift from my coworkers, and we used it on Friday night.

We started with the veggie poutine.

The olives and pickled hot peppers really added to this fantastic dish.  

Christopher ordered the ahi tuna curry, which had crispy tofu and coconut basmati rice along with the curried vegetables.  The tuna was absolutely perfect.

I had a hard time ordering because I am pretty much obsessed with the spaetzle, and never want to order anything but that.  I decided to try something new for a change and ordered the ramen.

The pork belly on top was spot on.  Seriously amazing.  The broth was extremely satisfying, and it was loaded with noodles and veggies, as well as a cured, soft-boiled egg.

We don't usually order dessert, but the butterscotch pana cotta caught our attention.  It wasn't too sweet, which I really enjoyed.

We love Flip, and this was a great start to our fabulous weekend! 

How was your weekend?  What did you do?  Did you go to any restaurants this weekend?  If you live in town, have you been to Flip?