Celebrate National Pie Day By Sharing Your Special Pie Memories and Recipes

Since homemade pie is my favourite dessert, I thought I should drop in and say happy National Pie Day, since today, January 23 is National Pie Day.

My favorite pie? It is pretty hard to pick when you like them all but fruit pies like blueberry and apple are definitely at the top of my list. When I was growing up my mother often made two pies on Sunday: a lemon meringue pie for my sister and my mother and an apple pie for my father and myself.

However, I also love a good homemade chicken pot pie. There's nothing in my mind quite as yummy as a homemade chicken pot pie served with a crispy side salad and a glass of white wine.

How about you? Do you love pie? Can you name a favorite? Do you have a pie memory you would like to share? A link to a great pie recipe?


Happy Pie Day!
Brenda

P.S. I'm going to have to admit that I didn't prepare a pie for my family today. There are only two of us here tonight and one of those two is being very careful about what he eats. A traditional pie is definitely be out of bounds.

Quick Links:

A page full of pie birds.
Order the Le Creuset pie bird from Amazon by clicking here.
My chicken pot pie recipe.
My easy pumpkin pie recipe.

Host A Chocolate Fondue Party With Our Recipe & The Best Fondue Pot

It's been a while since we've had a chocolate fondue but that's not because we don't love it. A couple of years ago, we discovered the simplest recipe possible for chocolate fondue and you will be pleasantly surprised when you discover that it really is easy to pull together a magnificent fondue for your lover or your family, or both.

Our best-ever chocolate fondue recipe can be found by clicking right here.  On this page, however, we want to share two of the best chocolate fondue makers and a fondue cookbook that we have discovered.

The first fondue pot is the Cuisinart Chocolate Fondue Maker, which is Amazon's Best Fondue Maker.  The Amazon customer reviews voted this fondue pot to the top of the list and that is not surprising, given comments like, "Just plug it in, turn the knob to the setting you desire and put in the fondue" and "It heats evenly and quickly" and the nonstick surface means that "absolutely nothing sticks."  Nothing is perfect, but after reading the reviews, this is would be my choice of fondue pot. You can read all of the Amazon customer reviews for yourself by clicking right here.  Right now, Amazon has this fondue pot marked down by 58 percent and they will ship it to you for free.

We have to admit though that we love the Emile Henry Fondue maker, too.  It is another quality product, albeit a bit more expensive, perfect for a romantic or even a Christmas-time fondue.  Amazon customer Nicole  A. Stewart summed it up nicely when she said she hosted a fondue party using three types of fondue makers and that "the Emile Henry pot cooked the best, by far." You can check out the Emile Henry Fondue Maker reviews by clicking right here. 

Of course, if you are own a fondue pot, you will want a fabulous fondue cookbook.  Whether or not you are familiar with The Melting Pot fondue restaurants, you might want to try out  The Melting Pot  cookbook, Dip Into Something Different, which was the top-rated fondue cookbook a couple of years ago when we shared our chocolate fondue recipe online, and, apparently, still is.   You can read more about Dip Into Something Different by clicking right here.


Is there a fondue in your future?


See you in the kitchen!
Brenda


Quick Link:

Visit our chocolate fondue recipe page.

Stackable White Iron & Glass Cake Stand Set

What would a cake be without an attractive cake stand? I like this set of three white iron and glass cake stands that is available from Amazon.

I like it firstly because of its style that combines white iron, glass and beadwork. It is versatile and could be elegant or just plain fun.

I like it secondly because it will allow you to stack all three pieces to make a very attractive cupcake stand. You could use the three levels to arrange whatever it is you are serving, be it sweet treats or savory bites or sandwiches.

However you choose to use it, I think this set would be a fun addition to your collection.

If you're looking for something a bit more colourful or cuter, don't miss this page that I discovered called Cute Cake Stands, which was written by my friend Dianne and which is packed with fun cake stands.

See you
in the kitchen!

Order these cake stands from Amazon.

Homemade Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe

Harry Potter butterbeer leapt from the pages of the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling and came to life at the grand opening of Wizarding World in Orlando, Florida.

Many Harry Potter fans like myself who are unable to travel to Wizarding World turned to the Internet to find a great recipe for homemade Harry Potter butterbeer.

After some research, I assembled a resource page about butterbeer. If you're curious about what butterbeer is, you will be able to find that information on my page about butterbeer recipes. You will also discover the recipe that we tried and a long list of other recipe choices.

Here's a well done video by Working Class Foodies, showcasing Harry Potter's butterbeer and sharing an interesting version of a recipe that they developed for butterbeer:



Of note, butterbeer (in the Harry Potter books) had a 'warming' tendency and a low concentration of alcohol, which was enough to get house elves drunk. Harry Potter once wondered what Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley might get up to after drinking butterbeer at Professor Slughorn's Christmas party so butterbeer could not have been a non-alcoholic drink. Most of the recipes I have seen online are non-alcoholic versions, suitable for all ages.  You can, of course, add alcohol to your homemade butterbeer recipe by adding a shot of bourbon, as recommended in the video.

Cheers to Harry Potter!

See you
in the kitchen!
Brenda

Quick Links:

What is the Best Recipe for Harry Potter Butterbeer?

Kopi Luwak: One of the World's Most Expensive Coffees

Kopi Luwak coffee is one of the most expensive coffees you can buy.

It is the coffee featured in the Jack Nicholson movie called The Bucket List.

It is the coffee that is made from the droppings of the Asian Palm Civet.

It is the coffee that my husband received under the Christmas tree from his sister and has yet to try...perhaps because he is a bit nervous about drinking a beverage with the background of this one.

Intrigued? Learn more about Kopi Luwak coffee, one of the most expensive coffees in the world, by clicking right here and subscribe to this blog or bookmark this page to read my follow up post when my husband finally does brew some Kopi Luwak coffee.

If you've already tried Kopi Luwak, be sure to let us know whether you liked it or not. If you've yet to try it, we're curious about whether you would drink it if you were given the opportunity.

See you
in the kitchen!
Brenda

Quick Links:

Check out Kopi Luwak coffee at Amazon.
Learn more about Kopi Luwak coffee.