Blubarb Pie

I love pie. I love, love, love pie. I have multiple cookbooks dedicated to pies. I love them all: sweet, savory, chocolatey, nutty...but my favorite are fruit pies. YES. That's the ticket.

When brother and I were growing up, we didn't have birthday cakes, we had birthday pies. His was chocolate and amazing, and mine was strawberry and even more amazing (in my opinion. Ben, you're welcome to disagree. But you'll be wrong.) My mom shared these birthday pie recipes with me, but I had to make this one first.

We grew up with rhubarb plants in our backyard, and it. was. the. best. We had rhubarb everything: cake, jam, ice cream, ice cream sauce (which I ate by the spoonful), and so many pies! I can hardly ever find rhubarb in the stores down here, so when I do, I go a little nuts. 3 pounds later and no plans, I decided I needed to make a pie. But strawberry rhubarb is overdone (and I had no strawberries), so blueberry rhubarb it is!

the great thing about pie is it's hard to mess up. If you can make or buy a decent pastry crust, you're in good shape. This guy is super easy, with fresh rhubarb and blueberries, sugar, and vanilla. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Butterbeer Cupcakes: A Nerd Love Story

My sister just left after a great weekend visit full of...mostly nothing. We ran errands, went swimming, ate a lot, and baked these Butterbeer cupcakes. 

Little sister and I are both huge Harry Potter fans, and will do, eat, read, and watch anything that has to do with our favorite story. Two years ago we spent three days at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Orlando, and they were arguably some of the best days I can remember (we even got selected for the wand demonstration. My life is complete.) While we were there we drank more than our fair share of Butterbeer and Pumpkin Fizz. So when I saw this recipe on AmyBites, I knew we had to give them a try. And I'm glad we did. They're as close to butterbeer as you can get outside Hogwarts, with a delicious butterscotch filling as a surprise. They're worth the time and effort, as evidenced by my sister's happy, rapid inhalation. Enjoy!

You Made What? Bánh Đùi Gà

Time for another round of "You Made What?", wherein I try to recreate foods that my brother is eating in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. After seeing a picture of this one, I knew it had to be done. Bánh Đùi Gà, or Chicken Thigh Cake, looks incredible. But perhaps more importantly, I took one look at it and knew it could be translated into a super easy, quick, tasty weeknight meal. I took some creative liberties with this one, especially since there was no recipe to be found. But the result looks pretty similar, is pretty tasty, and took about 30 minutes from start to finish.  Off we go!

Bánh Đùi Gà (Chicken Thigh Cakes)

• 1 package puff pastry; I recommend Dufour
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken
• 1/3 c hoisin sauce
• 1 heaping Tbsp chili paste (to taste)
• 4 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
• cilantro

Defrost puff pastry according to the package's instructions. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shred the meat of the rotisserie chicken and place in a medium bowl. Add hoisin and chili paste, and stir until combined.

Divide your puff pastry into large rectangles; if you're using Dufour, I divided one pack into four rectangles. These are huge. Spoon the chicken mixture onto each of the four rectangles. Fold up the back half of the puff pastry, then fold the sides over one another (like a burrito that's open on one end.) Spread on a greased baking sheet. Bake until pastry is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

Spread chili sauce over each warm cake so that it melts slightly, and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!