Well it’s that time again in DC. Saturday September 22 was the DC “State” Fair. A lot was riding on the fair, last year I entered 3 pies and 1 cupcake. The result: 6 ribbons so this year the pressure was on.
This year I entered 2 cupcakes and 2 pies. So with all the self imposed pressure the hunt for the ingredients started weeks before. Pumpkins, pears, European butter, leaf lard. HUH leaf lard. What’s leaf lard? I hear you– I had no idea what is was either until I met Kate McDermott. Her blog is the Artofpie.com. I had the pleasure to met her a few weeks ago and we talked pie, lots of tips, lots of pie ideas. So, OK, leaf lard is the fat surrounding the kidneys of the pig and once rendered it is the best fat to use for pie crust. I track down the leaf lard but not sure about it so I used what I normally use butter and Crisco.
So, this is what I entered this year:
Salted Carmel Apple Specluoos Crumb Pie
Sour Cherry Almond Cinnamon Pie
Pear filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Ginger Frosting
Chocolate Pumpkin With Spice Frosting
And by then end of the fair not one ribbon this year, I guess it was not meant to be. So now it’s time to plan for next year.
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| Salted Caramel Speculoos Apple Crumb Pie |
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| Sour Cherry Almond Cinnamon Pie |
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| Chocolate Pear Ginger and Chocolate with Spice Frosting |