When I was a child, every party the family threw had “spinach cupcakes” for the kids. We all loved them, probably because we thought they were cupcakes and not healthy grown up food. As an adult I make them because they are a huge crowd-pleaser and are pretty quick to throw together. I’m too lazy to wash cupcake pans, so I make these “brownie” style and just cut squares. They make decent finger food as well.

Recipe: Syrian Spinach Frittata

Adapted from Aromas of Aleppo

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 24 oz of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 lbs mozzarella cheese (3-4 cups of shredded cheese)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Saute the onion in oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 4-6 minutes, until translucent. Add spinach and saute for 5 more minutes.
3. Optional: For a firmer result, allow the spinach to cool and transfer to a clean dish towel or several layers of cheese cloth. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can over the sink or a bowl.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt. Add spinach to the egg-cheese mixture and mix well.
5. Pour mixture into a greased 2-quart baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes, or until lightly browned.
6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then cut into whatever size squares you prefer.

Enjoy as is, or put a few squares into a pita with slice tomato and/or hummus.

Related posts:

1. Sides: Braised Onion Tart Tatin (Parade of Pies, Part 8)
2. Zucchini and Carrot Frittata, Syrian style
3. Syrian-style Baklava (Parade of Pies, Part 5)

A few Thanksgivings ago, Jen and her mom went to the store to get a can of pumpkin for the pumpkin pie. They got home and realized that they had grabbed a can of sweet potatoes instead. Back to the store once more for an exchange, and back home again. The pie was made. And then eaten. And then the second can of sweet potatoes that was accidentally brought home was thrown away before anyone could see.

That’s the problem with so many sweet potato pies – they look like pumpkin pies, but aren’t them. When you are looking forward to pumpkin pie and you get sweet potato, it’s really disappointing. And sweet potato pie shouldn’t be disappointing, or indistinguishable. It should be delicious and unique.

I thought it would make more sense to have sweet potatoes as a side instead of competing with pumpkin pie as a dessert. Cubed instead of pureed. Savory and curried instead of sugared. A pie unlike any pumpkin pie I’ve ever seen.

Curried Yam and Root Vegetable Tart

• 1 pastry dough
• 3 cups yams, chopped in 1/2″ cubes
• 2-3 parsnips, chopped a bit smaller than the yams
• 1 tbs oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp garam masala/curry powder (+ cinnamon)
• 2-3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Oil and salt yams and parsnips on a baking sheet, and roast in oven until halfway done, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle liberally with garam masala and raisins, and mix well. Let rest while preparing the dough.
3. Roll pastry dough out to desired size and shape for your oiled baking dish, and place in dish. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the crust.
4. Sprinkle crust liberally with garam masala; arrange vegetables in the crust. Pour vegetable stock over the yams.
5. Bake pie in the oven for another 20-25 minutes, or until crust gets crispy and golden.

Serve as a sweet and savory side to any holiday meal.

Related posts:

1. The Classics: Pumpkin Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 2)
2. Sides: Braised Onion Tart Tatin (Parade of Pies, Part 8)
3. Lemon Curd Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 7)

We’re finally done with the dessert pies! As good as those all were, savory pies are one of my latest obsessions. Making a savory pie can be just as easy as making a sweet pie, but for some reason we don’t always think of them. We should, however, because savory pies are a great way to feed and impress a lot of people at once. Think about it: you pick a filling, execute, and then all of the sudden you have a gorgeous meal that can feed eight people, give or take. This pie is a perfect example of one of those impressive, but actually pretty easy pies. And for all its looks, it was a pretty inexpensive pie to make as well, since the filling was mostly made up of onions.

Serve this as a side to any meal. This is great for potlucks, since it is not likely to be duplicated by other guests. Those who prefer not to eat meat, dairy, or eggs will be relieved to have a complex dish on the table that is not just another pasta salad. 

Recipe: Braise Onion Tart Tatin

Adapted from Pies, Pies & More Pies! by Viola Goren

• 1 pastry dough
• 3 large white onions, peeled and quartered
• 3 large sweet Vidalia onions, peeled and quartered
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup light brown sugar (or 1/4 cup white sugar + ½ tbsp molasses)
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and prepare filling. In a medium bowl, gently toss onions with oil, brown sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Arrange onions in a single layer on baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes, or until golden. Set aside to cool.
2. Grease a large sauce pan and arrange onion quarters in a spiral that starts at the outside and finishes in the center.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out chilled dough to about ¼” thick. Lay on top of the onions, tucking it inside the pan all around the edges. Pierce several steam vents with a fork/knife. Bake until top is golden, 30-40 minutes.
4. Allow to cool, and then invert the pie onto a large serving plate to serve.

Related posts:

1. Sides: Curried Yams Tart (Parade of Pies, Part 9)
2. The Classics: Pecan Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 1)
3. Sour Cherry Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 4)

Recipe: Vanilla Cookie Crust

• About 26 Nilla wafer type cookies
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 tbs sugar

“Shoo fly, don’t bother me!” I have to sing this little song to myself every time I think of shoofly pie. Most people I know are not familiar with shoofly pie, and I don’t even when I first heard of it. Shoofly pie is a cakey molasses pie that seems to come together from nothing.

Last year, I had the sudden urge make this pie to use a bottle of molasses I had had in my cabinet for a while. The recipe is actually a very easy one, but it was hard for me to imagine what it was supposed to  look like or what it would taste like. I used blackstrap molasses, which is one of the strongest tasting varieties. The pie came out looking almost like dark fudge. I loved it, though I don’t know that everyone I shared it with felt the same way – love of molasses is acquired and this kind was particularly bitter. Vanilla ice cream on top helped even it out, but at the time I didn’t think I would make it again.

I wanted to have something different to offer at the pie parade, so I decided to pull this one out again. This time I made it using a lighter molasses. The pie looked completely different and came out fluffy, not too sweet but not too bitter. To my surprise, this shoofly pie was the favorite on the dessert table, even though many of the people who tasted it were not big fans of molasses. I will definitely be making this pie again – it’s too easy and good not to.

Shoofly Pie

From America Cooks

• 1 pastry dough
• ½ cup molasses
• ¾ cup hot water
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ cup brown sugar (or 1/2 cup white sugar + 1 tbsp molasses)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup shortening

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Line shortening-greased pie plate with rolled out dough. Crimp edges if desired.
3. Blend molasses, water and baking soda. It will fizz awesomely.
4. In another bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Cut in shortening with knives or a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Arrange alternate layers of crumbs mixture and molasses mixture in pie plate.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until any visible crumbs have browned.

Related posts:

1. Lemon Curd Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 7)
2. The Classics: Apple Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 3)
3. The Classics: Pumpkin Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 2)

**So it’s not a pie in the usual sense, but baklava is pastry stuffed with nuts, sweet syrup, and butter. The pie spirit is there. And really, who would complain about getting baklava?**

Growing up I never knew that there was more than one kind of baklava. The sticky, crispy, little diamonds with pistachio and that hint of rose water were the only ones I knew. Later, I found out that baklava comes in countless shapes and sizes, with different fillings and sweeteners. Every culture that makes it (think Mediterranean) makes it differently. Heck, every family probably makes it differently.

A few years ago, I happened upon a Turkish bakery on the East side of Manhattan that offered about a dozen varieties: baklava filled with pistachios, walnuts, even sour cherries and other dried fruits. Some were shaped like squares, others like small round nests, and still others rolled up like cigars. Jen and I bought two pieces of each to take home and slowly devoured them. They were absolutely delicious, crunchy and sticky sweet, but not the baklava I remembered from childhood.

If you think you don’t like baklava, please try these. The honey flavor that most people associate with what could be a too-sweet dessert is replaced by a lite simple syrup flavored with rose water. When you make them yourself, you can control how much syrup is used, so they don’t have to be too sweet if you don’t want them to be. When I make them, I probably use two-thirds to three-quarters of the syrup most people use. Just enough to flavor the pastry without completely saturating it. This way, they are the perfect complement to a heavy meal., and no one can eat just one.

Recipe: Syrian-style Baklava

From Aromas of Aleppo
Makes enough baklava to last a holiday season, or about 100 pieces depending on how you cut it

• 1½ lbs shelled pistachios (blanched/peeled/finely chopped)
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1¼ lbs (5 sticks) unsalted margarine/butter, melted
• 24 sheets phyllo dough (1 package)
• 1 cup cold rose water syrup

1. Combine the pistachios, sugar, and ¼ cup of the melted butter in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Keep the untended phyllo sheets covered with wax paper and a towel to prevent them from drying out, while you build the pastry. Grease a 13×18” sheet pan. Place a sheet of phyllo dough into the pan, fold or cut off any overhanging edges. Brush the dough evenly with the melted margarine or butter – don’t be stingy! Repeat until half of the sheets have been buttered and stacked in the pan.
3. Spread the nut mixture over the phyllo. Cover the nut layer with a generous amount of butter, and repeat step 2 with the rest of the phyllo and melted butter. Brush top of baklava well with butter. Refrigerate, covered, for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Cut the pastry carefully into diamonds/squares in the pan. When cutting, use a large knife and press down fully in each cut, instead of making sawing or slicing motions.
6. Bake for 1 hour, or until baklava is puffy and golden.
7. Make the rose water syrup (recipe below). Allow to cool while the baklava bakes.
8. After removing from the oven, allow to cool for 30 minutes. Transfer pieces into a greased, wax paper-lined container, and pour room temperature rose water syrup over the baklava. Let it all cool. If stacking multiple layers of baklava in the container, make sure to grease both sides of each piece of wax paper that sits between layers of baklava.
9. Store in the refrigerator for up a month, if they last that long. Serve at room temperature so that the syrup can soften.

Rose Water Simple Syrup

Makes a bit more than you need for the baklava recipe above. I’m tempted to try to heat the rest and make candy out of it.

1 ½ cups sugar
½ tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp rose water

1. Combine the sugar, lemon juice, rose water, and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture boils.
2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the syrup slides slowly down the back of a spoon.
3. Allow the syrup to cool. Use immediately or pour into a glass jar and refrigerate. It will keep up to 2 months.

Note: I like to make more freeform pieces of baklava with the leftover scraps of dough, bake them, coat with syrup, and keep them all to yourself. You deserve it for making such a delicious dessert.

Related posts:

1. The Classics: Pecan Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 1)

The tartness of the sour cherries and the lack of a top crust keeps this pie very light tasting, compared with some of the other pies I’ve posted so far. With the depth of flavor this pie packs, you’d be surprised that it is so easy to make. It’s a bit more complicated to make with fresh unpitted cherries, but we’d have to save that excursion for summer anyway.

I was worried about this pie filling having too much spread when cut, so I used some tapioca-based gelatin to make it a bit firmer. I don’t think it was entirely necessary, but it is an option if you want the filling to hold up more on its own.

Sour Cherry Pie

Adapted from America Cooks

• 1 pastry dough
• 1 24oz jar of pitted sour cherries
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 packet of unflavored gelatin, optional, whatever kind you prefer

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press a pastry dough into a greased pie plate, leaving at least an inch overlap. Crimp edges if you desire. Use a fork to poke holes evenly around the dough to stop it from getting any large air bubbles. Bake the empty pie shell for 15 minutes.
2. Strain cherry liquid into a saucepan. Set the cherries aside for the time being.
3. If using gelatin, follow the instructions for your particular kind of gelatin, and dissolve it into the cool liquid.
4. In the saucepan, whisk cornstarch and sugar into the room temperature liquid. Once the combination is smooth, turn the heat on low and cool, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened and clear. Add the cherries. Cool slightly, stirring occasionally.
5. Fill pie shell with cherry mixture. Allow to cool for about half an hour. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to set in the refrigerator several hours before serving. If using gelatin, allow to set for the time recommended on the package. Serve chilled.

Related posts:

1. The Classics: Pecan Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 1)
2. The Classics: Apple Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 3)
3. Shoofly Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 6)

I’m very particular about my apple pie. I used to think that I didn’t like it, but it turned out that I didn’t like how soupy and sweet many apple pies can be. Then I found the joy of baking specifically with apples that could stand up to the heat and retain some firmness. To help the apples hold up, we use a lot of lemon juice and not a lot of sugar. The apples come out tender with full apple flavor, that is enhanced by the other ingredients and not hidden by them. This is an apple pie that can be eaten at any time of day, warm with ice cream or whipped cream, or cold on its own. Have it for breakfast!

Apple Pie

(adapted from Betty Crocker’s Scrumptious Apple Pie)

• 2 pastry doughs
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (6 medium to large baking-friendly apples, such as Ida Red, Granny Smith, etc.)
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp margarine or butter

1. As the apples are being cut, mix them with the lemon juice. When all of the apples are cut and peeled, mix in the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in lemon juice-soaked apples until well mixed. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut the margarine or butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling. Trim overhanging edge of pastry half an inch from the rim of the plate.
2. Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
3. Roll other pastry dough out until about one inch wider around than pie plate.
4. For a lattice-top pie, cut the dough into even half-inch strips. Lay out 4 to 7 parallel strips of the pie dough, depending on how thick your strips are, on top of the filling, with about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch space between them. Fold back every other strip at their halfway point. Place one long strip of dough perpendicular to the parallel strips. Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip. Now take the parallel strips that are running underneath the perpendicular strip and fold them back over the perpendicular strip. Lay down a second perpendicular strip of dough next to the first strip, with some space between the strips. Unfold the folded parallel strips over the second strip. I find it easier to start at the center with the longest strips, and work my way out, repeating the alternating process until reaching the edges of the pie.
5. Pinch away excess dough at the ends of the strips, and use to fill in where the crust may be lacking in dough, pressing into rim to seal strips to crust. Crimp as desired. Cover edge with a 2 to 3 inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning. Place on baking sheet in case some of the liquids bubble over.
6. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble up around edges of crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Serve warm or allow to cool to room temperature before covering and refrigerating.

This filling is also great in smaller sized pies which can be frozen later and enjoyed at any time.

Related posts:

1. Apple Pies
2. The Classics: Pecan Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 1)
3. Sour Cherry Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 4)

Pumpkin pie is a classic Thanksgiving pie, but there’s no reason you can’t have it all year round. During the fall, I usually get tasty pumpkins and squashes on sale, and then I bake and puree the flesh so that I can freeze it and use it all year long. Canned pumpkin is also generally available all year round, and I think it’s a convenient way to have pumpkin, though I prefer to make my own puree when possible. Incidentally, you may have heard that canned pumpkin is sometimes made of other winter squashes like butternut. Different squashes have different flavors and some taste more “pumpkin-y” than those little orange ones we usually associate with this time of year in America. Making the puree myself means I can figure out which flavors I like best, and I have a bit more control over the process. Some squash will be sweeter than others, and some squash may be more watery or stringy, so keep that in mind when experimenting.

Many people use sugar pumpkins for pumpkin pie – these are the smaller, round, orange-skinned pumpkins, not the big jack-o-lantern ones. This year, I found local cheese pumpkins on sale for ridiculously good prices, so I couldn’t resist picking one up. These pumpkins have a very rustic look. Their skin is sort of a pale peach color and they kind of look like a wheel of cheese, which is where their name comes from. The flesh, however, is very bright orange. I’ve used cheese pumpkins before in a pumpkin challah bread recipe (which I might have to try again soon), and I loved it, so I thought it would work well here. Despite the name, it is actually a sweet and flavorful pumpkin that doesn’t taste like cheese.

To prepare a pumpkin puree, wash your pumpkin and twist off the stem if there is still one on it. Hack into manageable pieces with a good heavy knife or cleaver. I hacked my cheese pumpkin into four, but a sugar pumpkin or small squash can usually just be cut in half. Scoop out the seeds – save for roasting and eating later while your pie chills. Place cut site down on a greased baking sheet. Tent with foil and bake in a 350 degree over for 40 minutes or until the flesh can easily be pierced by a fork. Remove from the oven and allow the pumpkin to cool to the touch. Then use a large spoon to scoop the flesh out of the skins. Puree the flesh with your choice of machinery. If the pumpkin seems watery, you can squeeze through a cheese cloth to remove extra liquid, or cook the pumpkin in a sauce pan to let some of the water reduce out. This is a beautiful photo tutorial for how to do this, from a site I thoroughly enjoy.

A note about the picture above:  I had some pumpkin cookie cutters and some extra dough. I thought I’d make some little pumpkin toppers. Next time, I’ll toast them first before adding them to the top of the pie…

Pumpkin Pie

From America Cooks – The General Federation of Women’s Clubs Cook Book

• 1 pastry crust
• 1½ cups mashed/pureed cooked pumpkin of your choice
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp molasses
• ½ tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 1 14.5 oz can of evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven to 450 F degrees.
2. Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry, crimp edges if desired. Poke holes in the bottom of the dough using a fork.
3. In mixing bowl, blend pumpkin, sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon and salt.
4. Blend egg yolks and evaporated milk; stir into pumpkin mixture.
5. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour into pie crust plate. Place pie onto a baking sheet to catch any potential spills or overflow.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn temperature to 325 F, and bake 30 minutes longer or until firm when jiggled slightly.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap (gently so that it does not touch the warm pie filling), and allow to chill for several hours in the refrigerator. Chill overnight for the best texture.

Related posts:

1. The Classics: Pecan Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 1)
2. The Classics: Apple Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 3)
3. Pumpkin Hummus

The first pie in the parade is pecan. This pie screams Thanksgiving to me, even more than pumpkin pie. Growing up, I remember there always being a pecan pie on the Thanksgiving dessert table. It was probably especially popular in kosher households because it’s an easy pie to make pareve, or non-dairy, so you can eat it after a feast that includes meat.

It was always one of my favorites because it was nutty and not very very sweet. I think it was probably my introduction to pecans as well (a word, incidentally, that I have extreme trouble saying correctly or consistently to this day – is it puh-kahn, pee-can, pee-kahn? My mouth can never decide in time).

Pecan pie is also one of the easiest pies to make. You can arrange each nut so that they  make a beautiful design, or you can dump the nuts in, as I tend to do. You can crimp the edges of the pie crust fancily, or you can leave torn dough edges for a rustic look. That’s about as complicated as it gets.

The recipe I’ve been using for the last few years kicks it up a notch by adding bourbon, which fits amazingly well with the flavor of the toasted nuts and the syrup. I use a lot because I want to be able to taste it, but you can adjust the amount or skip it entirely to suit your taste and the group who will be eating it. It is delicious but not integral. The original recipe that I got this one from also calls for chocolate chips, which I found wholly unnecessary for a pie that already has plenty of sweetness on its own.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Adapted from Paula Deen’s Chocolate Pecan Pie

• 1 unbaked pie dough
• 2 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 3 tbsp margarine or butter, melted
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 2-4 tbsp bourbon

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Lay rolled out pie dough into a butter or shortening-greased 9-inch round plate. Clean off the edge Use a fork to poke ventilation holes all around the bottom and sides of the dough.
3. Fill the pie crust with pecans.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, sugar and bourbon. When all the ingredients are combined, pour the syrup into the pie shell over the pecans. Place the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any potential overflow.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Related posts:

1. The Classics: Apple Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 3)
2. Sour Cherry Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 4)
3. The Classics: Pumpkin Pie (Parade of Pies, Part 2)