Bakery Blog

Sam's Place hosted the Harvestfest's Pie Contest this past Sunday. It was organized by Saco Spirit Board Member Sally Howe. We were lucky to meet some of Saco's enthusiastic bakers, who were willing to share their pie recipes!

Sally Howe with Pie Contest winner Laura Mooney

Blue ribbon winner Laura Mooney won 9 Saco Spirit Christmas Ornaments for her Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pie. Red ribbon winner Dianna Hill won a gift certificate for Women's Terapeutic Massage. White ribbon winner Diane Lamber won a gift certificate to The Candy Garden for her Carmel-Pecan Pumpkin Pie.

Their recipes are as follows:

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pie

Crust:
1 3/4C Chocolate Wafer Crumbs
6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, Melted
3 Tbsp Packed Dark Brown Sugar
Dash of Salt

Note: Do not use store bought pre-made crusts as they are too small for the amount of filling in the recipe

Filling:
6 Oz Cream Cheese, Softened
3/4 C Confectioner's Sugar
1/4 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/4C Smooth Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
2C Heavy Cream
1 Oz Dark Chocolate, Melted (for decorating top)
2 Tbsp Smooth Peanut Butter, Melted (for decorating top)

1) Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine wafer crumbs, butter, brown sugar & salt. Press mixture firmly into bottom & upsides of 9" deep dish pie plate. Bake 8-10 mins until set. Let cool completely on rack.

2) Make filling: Beat cream cheese, confectioner's sugar & salt with a mixer on medium. Speed until fluffy. Beat in peanut butter and vanilla.

3) In a seperate bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Whisk 1/3 of whipped cream into peanut butter mixture, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon into crust. Freeze uncovered at least 4 hours (or overnight covered with plastic wrap).

4) Before serving: Place melted chocolate in resealable sandwich baggie. Snip tip from one corner of bag to make a small hole. Hold about 5" above pie and drizzle over top. Repeat with peanut butter. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Caramel-Pecan Pumpkin Pie

Crust:

1/2 Pkg Ready-made Pie Crust

Filling:

2 Eggs, Lightly Mixed

1 15oz Can Pumpkin Pie

1/4C Light Cream or Half/Half

1 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 Tbsp Flour

Topping:

1/2C Chopped Pecans

2 Tbsp Softened Butter

1/2C Brown Sugar

3/4C Sugar

1/2 Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare crust and place in 8" or 9" pie plate. Fold, crimp & decorate pie edge. In large bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, cream, spice, flour, sugar & vanilla until blended. Pour into pie shell. Cover pie edges with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and cover pie filling with topping. Bake another 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Refrigerate 2 hours after cooling. Best served with ice cream or whipped cream.

Colors of America

If you have been in the shop lately, you've noticed the moving of some displays. The goal is to have like items closer together, to make sense of the space. For example, the paint chip display is closer the actual California Paint products that it's representing now.


Following that logic, the massive "Colors of America" circular display needed to be closer to the paints as well. These Fres~Coat sample pots had to be taken down and then replaced to facilitate the move.


While putting the paint sample jars back, the system of color names proved interesting. Under the heading, "Historic Colors", were the standard reliable names the summon up stable thoughts of founding fathers and mothers: Asher Benjamin, Hawthorne Green and Lady Banksia. These shades welcome autumn back safely into your home and everyone admires them.


Then we have the "Color Revolution" heading. These are the names that tickel and surprise. Under the subheading "Hipster" there's a vibrant orange called Coctail Hour and a lush blue called Trust Fund Baby that gives that tasteful, prosperous vibe. Under "Empty Nest" there's What Inheritance?, a creamy cool butter shade and a peachy Breakfast in Bed color that flatters everyone's complexion. "Bachelor's" subheading offers colors like Alpha Male brown and The Ego Has Landed red that are fun.


For next summer(yeah, thinking that far ahead), the calm serenity of the "sancuary" colors is going to be my staycation inspiration. Nourish will be good for the woodwork, as it's that perfect greeny-blue that whispers summer. Calm is a basic white whit a hint of green that will make a great accent wall. Bask, looking like a blush, will make a great powder room tint.

This is the decade of purple, the industry's colorists crow. Until Refuge and Harmony appeared, there was serious doubt. But both these colors have a muted, peaceful hie that makes them seem karmatic.


So as each season arrives, the Colors of America circular display is a good place to look for new ideas in Fres~Coat and sometimes a giggle as well.

-Kathryn

Virginia Garrity's Dolls

My Grammy, Virginia Garrity, has been creating dolls since the 70's. She was featured in Maine Today, in the "Where's Amy" segment on news channel 13 and has been taking ribbons at the Fryeburg Fair for over 30 years. Recently, her Michele Obama doll was featured August/September issue of Soft Dolls and Animals Magazine. She's got a Barack doll finished that I'll have to get some pictures of.

Grammy, or Ginny as her friends call her, is a member of local art group Uncommon Threads in Saco. They have had group shows at Dogfish Cafe in Portland and Ginny has shown her work at The Heart of Biddeford Community Center.

Congratulations Grammy!