Now THAT is one pretty pie.

This photo was sent to me by reader Daniel, who picked a mess of wineberries on a recent camping trip and transformed them into this lovely custard pie. Daniel tells me he grew up baking and worked as a mess boy, and later a steward, on an oil tanker. Sounds like he knows a thing or two about baking a good pie.

Daniel says he grew up eating fruit custard pies with everything from peaches or apples to cherries or blueberries. He runs into folks all the time who have never had a custard pie, and I’m racking my brain to remember if I’ve had a custard pie before myself. With all the pies my grandmother used to make, I find it kind of hard to believe I have never had some form of a custard pie — besides pumpkin, of course.

At any rate, Daniel shared his recipe for a custard pie, which looks too incredibly easy to pass up. A word on wineberries: They are a wild, raspberry-like berry that can be found in these parts during the summertime. My predecessor on the food beat, Beth Macy, did a column about wineberries once.

I don’t have much experience with them. My wild berry-picking experience is limited to huckleberries, wild blackberries and tea berries, which are really only good for eating right then and there, in my opinion.

Below, you’ll find Daniel’s custard pie recipe. And if we’re all very lucky, maybe Win will decide to share her recipe for rhubarb custard pie (hint, hint). Enjoy!

Update: I forgot to note that Daniel says if he makes a peach or apple custard pie, he sprinkles cinnamon over the top before baking.

Read more »

Take a gander at that lovely white chocolate cheesecake with strawberry swirl. It was prepared by none other than faithful Fridge Magnet reader Deb.

And unlike the rest of us, Deb actually thought to take a picture of the cake before digging into it. I probably would’ve sent in a picture of a half-gnawed piece!

Not only did Deb send the pic, she also snail mailed the recipe to me so I could share it with the rest of you! If you happen to have any fresh strawberries left over, this might be the perfect use for them.

Update: I just got four gorgeous food pics from blog reader Mandy. To see her swan eclairs, lemon-raspberry tartlets and more, head to the Fridge Magnet Flickr group.

Read more »

As we have all learned, there’s a national day or month for just about every different food on the face of the earth.
There’s even a National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day and a National Crab-Stuffed Flounder Day.
Those are silly, but tomorrow’s day is one that I can wrap my head around: it’s National Banana Bread Day.
I absolutely love a good slice of banana bread. There’s nothing better with a hot mug of coffee or tea in the morning than a thick slice slathered with butter and microwaved for just a few seconds to get all warm and melty.
I’ve been guilty in the past of simply mixing overripe bananas into a banana bread mix. It’s not as good as made-from-scratch banana bread, but it’s a quick and easy way to avoid letting the fruit go to waste just because it’s too black for raw consumption.
I found a perfectly delicious-looking recipe for homemade banana bread on Simply Recipes. I’m going to attach the recipe after the jump.
Does anyone out there have a killer banana bread recipe? And what’s your vote — nuts or no nuts?

Read more »