The Comfort of Tradition

It's  an unseasonably warm 78• today. Insanely nice for mid-March and frankly, this warm weather makes me a bit  uncomfortable.  I miss winter.  I love  being snowed in, bundled up and  unable to leave the couch.  But, this hasn't been that kind of winter.  To date  we have had only three snow storms that prevented me from leaving this house, and that sucks.  Here we are, 3 days from the 1st day of Spring and it's freakin' Summer already!  Flower bulbs are up and trees are budding. Oh well, I guess it makes everyone else happy. It Looks nice out there.  I really should go outside and...  oh I don't know,  go rake the lawn or something.  Maybe I should go uncover the already bloomed out daffodils.  I just can't shake the hibernation blues.
 I think I'll just bake and write.

Today is Saint Patrick's Day.   I always make Corned Beef & Cabbage, a wonderfully Jewish-Americanized-fake-Irish tradition.  I know, I know... I am  being way too  cynical. But come on... if you really wanted to honor the Irish, green beer, and deli food isn't the way to do it.  Salmon, Irish stew made with lamb, Soda bread, and of course Guinness, that's  proper Irish cuisine. The average slob out there isn't concerned with the traditional fare of the green isle  or Saint Patrick and the Catholic Church.  He just wants another excuse to be a falling down drunk.
So why do I make this dish?
 I make this dish because my mother made it.

I savor  all the childhood memories that are triggered by comfort food's my mother made.  I am transported to a memory of walking in the front door of my house after school, cold, wet, and probably a little cranky, and within moments having that melt away by the smell  of "Irish" cooking.  Boiled cabbage and meat, fresh baked soda bread, and cupcakes with green sprinkles.  I remember distinctly walking into the kitchen, smiling, dropping papers and books along the way. Happy to be home, safe & warm. priceless moments of pure happiness triggered only by the smell of boiled cabbage.
That, my friends, is why... as crazy  as I have been all my live... I will never forget what joy and happiness can be created when traditional comfort foods are prepared.
This is why I make the American Irish meal, and why I ultimately choice to  become a baker myself.
 I love to be comfortable.
I want to comfort others.
Well,  anyway  if at all else, it's another excuse to bake a pie, and write a story about it.

 I decided to bake a Bailey's Irish Cream Mousse Pie.  Of course I changed the recipe a bit, gotta make it my own, right? This is pie #223.  142 in the count down.

Sully's Chocolate Irish Cream  Pie
3 eggs, separated

1/4 tsp salt
6 ounces Bailey's Irish Cream

fresh whipped cream* 

1 package of bittersweet chocolate chips
 * 1 carton of heavy cream whipped in mixer w/ 3T. powder sugar.
Beat egg yolks until they are lemon-colored.
Add salt and Bailey's, mixing well. 
Cook in top of double boiler, stirring constantly until yolk mixture thickens.

Cool.
Melt chocolate chips, set aside. 


Beat egg whites until stiff. 
Fold cooled custard, chocolate, & 1/2 of the
whipped cream into the egg whites.
 
Spoon the mixture into prepared pie shell.  
For extra credit,
smooth over the remaining whipped topping and add the
 green 
sprinkles.
Freeze for 3-4 hours
Happy St. Patrick's Day

#223 Chocolate Irish Cream Pie

Diabetic friendly French Silk Pie

#214 Stevia French Silk Pie

 Last Sunday night we watched the Oscars.  Loving, laughing and mocking those gaffs & gowns of the Red Carpet is great fun and all, but the part we love best about the Oscars feeds into our true competitive nature.
We download our own ballots and during all that Red Carpet crap we try to guess  the winners for each of the categories.
 Now, we haven't seen a single new movie in three years, so it's all a guessing game with us. 
Of course Stuart won.
He usually does.
 Along with enjoying our competitiveness, we delight ourselves with rewarding our victories.
My standard prize is to ask for something sexual.
He invariably wants something Chocolate.

This year he asked me to bake  his favorite Chocolate pie without sugar.

I've been meaning to get around to this, he is after all diabetic.  My evil plot to force him into marriage via sugar laden death pie isn't really the smartest thing I should do for the man I love. 
It's high time I got serious about baking more sugar free pies for him.
It might make for a more lasting relationship.

I have found Stevia is by far the best tasting sugar replacement with no heavy after taste, and it's all natural.
So here is my recipe  for a Stevia French Silk Pie.

 I baked this On Wednesday the 29th. Pie# 214....
Diabetic friendly French Silk Pie
pre- bake & cool a 10" pie shell
3 ounces (squares) unsweetened baking chocolate

1 & 1/2 stick of butter, room temperature

1/2 Cup  Stevia
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
Topping:

1 cup whipping cream
 w/1/8 teaspoon Stevia
 Break chocolate and place in a small saucepan over lowest possible heat. Stirring constantly, warm chocolate until almost completely melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until thoroughly melted. Cool chocolate.
Since the eggs won’t be cooked, coddle eggs: Fill a small sauce pan about half-full. Bring water to boiling, then place eggs in boiling water for 20 seconds. Remove eggs from water and immerse in cold water to stop them from continuing to cook. Set aside.
pre heat oven 450•
In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer cream butter, Stevia on  medium speed about 1 minute.
Add chocolate and vanilla, mixing until combined. Continue mixing and beat in eggs one at a time for 5 minutes each.
Total mixing time for egg mixture will be 20 minutes. Pour into pie shell. Chill at least 4 hours to set.
Topping instructions: Whip cream in a small mixing bowl with an electric mixer until peaks form. Add Stevia & whip till combined. Spread on chilled pie.