The pie I decided to make is Spanish Pepper and Chorizo Pie, a recipe from the book Pie, a collection of mostly savory creations by a British author.

I took my time making the pie — I had all day to get the house ready and dinner made, so I started by making the pastry in the morning.

There are three kinds of meat in this pie; chorizo, pork loin and Serrano ham (I still haven’t been able to find local Serrano ham so at the advice of my butcher, used prosciutto instead.) The meat (except for the prosciutto) needed to be cooked and finely diced, so I did that and prepared the vegetables ahead of time as well.

And then I took a nap . . . (I’d barely slept the night before so I took the opportunity to get a short snooze before I had to finish everything up.)

Back at it, cooking the onions and peppers in butter, adding minced garlic, red chili pepper and chopped parsley, then incorporating the meat mixture.

All that deliciousness goes into the pie shell, gets topped with crust, brushed with egg and prepped for a 350 oven.

Baking and cooling time totals up to almost an hour and a half — this is in no way a quick and easy dinner solution.

It turned out well, and we happily devoured it along with great company and a good Spanish wine.

After the last five years of being constantly prepared to take a trip and travel most months (sometimes a couple of times in a single month), it’s very strange to know I won’t be boarding a plane anytime soon.

It feels FREAKING AWESOME.

Now go read something.

In 2007 I had the great opportunity to hear Elizabeth Edwards speak (and to meet her as well.) She was speaking to the women gathered for the BlogHer conference and shared her very personal battle with breast cancer. Today’s news about Edwards’ decision to discontinue treatment for the cancer that now will certainly, end her life reminds me of what she said to the women gathered at that event.

Edwards told the audience about meeting a woman while on John Edwards’ campaign trail. The woman shook Elizabeth Edwards’ hand and told her that she too, had breast cancer but that she knew it would kill her, because she didn’t have insurance.

Think about that. There are people who die from cancer, not because there isn’t treatment, not because we haven’t found the cure, but because they don’t have insurance. I have heard people say that they didn’t know that was possible – that in the United States we can’t possibly let people who can’t afford treatment just die, right?

Right?

In fact, the American Cancer Society estimates that 37,000 cancer patients die without insurance.

Fast forward to this watershed year of health care reform in which cancer cannot be considered a pre-existing condition. It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction.

What do you think? Was it news to you that cancer patients without insurance often die without cancer treatment?

I am sad that Elizabeth Edwards is losing the battle with cancer, despite being a champion for other women and health, and despite having the coverage and medical care that many can’t afford.

From her Facebook page, Edwards sends a message to friends and family:

“You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It’s called being human.

“But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn’t possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know.”

Photo credit: Josh Hallett

I spent part of Saturday getting the house, at least, in the Christmas spirit. I thought, as I was putting ornaments on the tree, that I would like to share some of them with you and if I’m lucky, you’ll share your tree with me, too.

I don’t remember where it came from but I marvel at this tiny sweater ornament. As a novice knitter, I can almost fathom how it was made and know I’m no where near ready to attempt such a feat.

I love the little s’mores guy. These were really popular about ten years ago and this is one of the original s’mores guys, before you could find 60 variations and knock-offs. A former boss gave this one to me.

This ornament may be my favorite of all time. (It’s hard to photograph a glass  ornament, and I’m not a photographer, but I did my best.) Last year, the allergist’s daughter hand-painted a little-girl version of the STLWorkingMom logo/avatar holding a tiny dog (like my Whoodle, Starbuck). I was very touched and impressed with her talent. It has a star spot on the tree.

My sister Karen gave this one to me.  It is an accordion-playing nun, and it makes me smile. My sisters and I attended Catholic schools as kids and Dominican nuns were our educators throughout our childhoods. Why the accordion? I don’t know, but it’s funny.

It is not a designer’s tree – that’s for sure. It doesn’t match the decor, it has no theme. Many of the ornaments are homemade, many of them by our kids when they were young. I think that’s what I love about it; it has all of these ornaments carrying personal memories and even though, every year, it has all the same ingredients, it never comes out exactly the same, year after year.

There’s our tree!

The girl requested I make one of the most complex pies in my repertoire for Thanksgiving. The Triple Layer Chocolate Pumpkin pie is not terribly hard to make, it just takes a lot of time and patience, because the layers require stages. First, I made the crust, using the Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pie Crust recipe.

I used my brand-new pie plate, a gift from my sister for my birthday, the Emile Henry Auberge Pie Dish from Williams Sonoma.

There are three layers to the pie; a straight-up pumpkin pie layer with pumpkin, sugar and eggs, a chocolate layer and a sweetened sour cream top layer. You make the pumpkin mixture, separate out half, then blend melted unsweetened chocolate and butter with the pumpkin. The first layer is the chocolate layer which must be baked and cooled before the pumpkin layer can be added.

See that little dot of chocolate on the crust? Yeah. Whoops. Let a kid lick the spoon and she’ll love you forever.

This time I added a layer of finely chopped pecans between the chocolate and the pumpkin layers. I’m wacky like that.

Next, add the pumpkin layer and bake again. You’re almost done!

On the stovetop, you’ll warm sour cream and sugar till it’s thinned and a bit runny.

I like to gently glop the last layer onto the top, and swirl it around till it looks pretty.

Now comes the hardest part — you have to refrigerate this pie at least three hours before you can eat it. Better yet, make the pie the day before (because let’s face it, it takes about a day to make anyway!)

We like this pie for it’s gorgeous layered profile. Please excuse my husband’s finger in this photo. He’s such a ham, he had to sneak into this post somehow.

If you want a really impressive pie to make for the holidays, give this one a shot. It’s a rich, delicious beautiful pie.

Triple Layer Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

4 oz. finely chopped unsweetened chocolate

1 cup pumpkin (canned is fine)

2 eggs at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup full fat sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

Prepare the crust, and pre-bake for 15 min. at 350 degrees.  Melt chocolate and butter together at low temperature on the stovetop, stirring constantly. Blend pumpkin, sugar and eggs on medium speed using a stand mixer until thoroughly combined. Put half the pumpkin mixture in a separate bowl and mix in the chocolate until thoroughly blended. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pre-baked crust and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool the chocolate layer for 15 minutes, then add the pumpkin layer (add an optional layer of finely chopped pecans to the chocolate layer before adding the pumpkin). Bake the pie with the pumpkin layer for 30 minutes at 350 or until the top is puffy, but not cracked. Meanwhile, warm the sour cream and sugar on the stove until it is runny and thin (a bit warmer than room temperature). Pour the sour cream layer onto the pumpkin layer when it comes out of the oven. Cool at least three hours before serving.

Nope.

Did you hear the news? My son Prince William proposed to his long-time girlfriend, Kate Middleton.

Oh wait, wrong news.

On my 40th birthday, my son proposed to his long-time girlfriend (not Kate Middleton) otherwise known as the allergist’s daughter, thus making her his fiance. Soon after, both she and I pretty much ran to the Internet to tell the universe.

I’m going to be a mother-in-law! Let the overbearing begin!

I absolutely love my son and if I’d been able to choose from all the women in the world for him to love, I would not have chosen anyone but the allergist’s daughter. I hope that I’ll make a good mother-in-law (not right away though! No hurry! I’m only 40!)

I am continuing to celebrate for the remainder of the year. Here are a few reasons why I am celebrating my year of 40:

1. I am in love with the guy I married when I was 18.
2. I am healthier now than I was a year ago. Sure, I have some weight to lose but that’s OK — that gives me something to do in 2011.
3. I finally had the courage to make a big change (more on that in the coming weeks).
4. My son got engaged to the love of his life on my 40th birthday (and we love her, t00).
5. My daughter is a delightful teenager (one in a million!) and a fantastic student.
6. I have really wonderful friends, (some of them I’ve never even met in person).

And last but not least, I have YOU – my blog readers who have been here for years and years — always coming back for the latest installment of my ramblings. Thank you all for celebrating this year of 40 with me.

I had to make a choice between this:

and this:

I wonder if you can guess which chair I chose?

One decision was easy to make this week. I finally found the perfect outfit to wear to my husband’s office holiday party.

Kidding!

What have you been up to?

I’m just trying to do my part, here. I would hate for any of my Charlottesville community members to have to eat store-bought or refrigerated, pre-made pie crust (gasp!) for Thanksgiving.

I think I have it in me to make four extra pies between now and Turkey Day. I need to recoup the costs and make up for the time so I’m going to sell all four pies to the first interested party/parties. I need this to be a Charlottesville-only offer (I can deliver  a couple – short distances, but would love for pies to be picked up, too.)

I made this offer on my Facebook page and then via Twitter where my friend John Feminella said this:

Isn’t that just the coolest?

I’m offering to bake you a wonderful pie (pumpkin, butterscotch pecan, pecan, cran-raspberry or any special request you might have) and sell it to you for a bargain price in a glass dish so NO ONE WILL KNOW YOU DIDN’T MAKE IT YOURSELF and John will donate half — HALF — of the amount sold to charity.

Pie. Charity. Faking it.

Let’s hear it for John! And Pie!

So let me know  in the comments if you want a pie (seriously — I’m asking for $30 each). And if this offer gets taken up quite quickly, I may be convinced to make more than four (especially because the more I sell, the more John gives to charity.)

Now.

Who wants pie?