I take it back!

I take it back! I take it all back!! Every bad thing that I said about those pies was wrong! I ate a piece of each last night and they were both even more delicious than I imagined.

My little tantrum yesterday probably speaks more to my own insecurities and lack of self confidence than anything else. I had not tried the pies when I posted yesterday and passed judgement on them based solely on what my husband had said. He is serious about his food and he always criticizes what he makes...not to say that it's bad...just to think up ways to make it better. Which is fine. Good, even-especially if you are really good at something and want to keep getting better. For me, however...I just wanted to not fail. As I told my husband yesterday: I want the first reaction to be, "This is good. How soon can you make this again?" rather than, "It's good, but maybe try lining the pan with solid gold coins next time."

And that is the reaction I had to BOTH pies. The chocolate pecan cranberry did need a little work, architecturally speaking. I should have used the pate brisse crust and I should have melted the chocolate with the butter and sugar. Agreed. But the flavor of that pie was nearly unbelievable. The chocolate with the pecans with the tart cranberries...it was just great. So rich and crunchy and tart. It was like eating a chocolate covered tart cherry with pecans. My first reaction to taking a bite of this pie was definitely, "How soon can I make this again??" The answer: this weekend.

The cranberry orange pie seems to be a source of disagreement between my husband and I. He said it tasted too much like cranberries and had a cranberry aftertaste, but I think it was perfect. It's a cranberry pie! It SHOULD taste like cranberries! I think he was thinking that something a little more subtle might go over better with the masses. He suggested adding another kind of berry to cut the distinct taste of the cranberries, but I disagree. It would make for a delicious pie, but then it wouldn't be a cranberry pie. People usually have cranberries as an accenting flavor and don't usually get it in the full-force delivery that this pie provided. I thought the pie was bold and exciting and really flavorful. I had never tasted anything like it. It didn't taste like cranberry sauce. It didn't taste like cranberry juice. It didn't even taste that much like the fresh cranberries. It was a lot like a cherry pie, but just a little more tart and a little more sweet. I would not change the recipe one bit. I didn't measure the orange zest and I may have used too much, so the only thing that I would change would be to actually measure the orange zest next time. I would also use turnbinado sugar next time because I have heard that it makes for a smoother texture, but that's it. The cranberries were tart and juicy and created a beautiful bright red juice that gelled up around them to make a perfect slice of berry pie. I love the taste of cranberries and the orange zest gave it a really nice fragrant flavor (which could be the aftertaste that James was referring to). It isn't the kind of pie that you could sit down and eat 2 or three pieces of...it's the kind that you would want with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of coffee the morning after Christmas.

So yeah, the lesson learned here is: Don't listen to James. Just kidding. If I had already made a million successful pies, I would welcome suggestions. But you don't tell a baby just learning to walk that he needs to swing his arms. Just taking a first step should be enough for a round of applause.