These are a few of my favorite things.

A friend of mine recently asked about my favorite kitchen items, and I thought in addition to sharing them with her, I'd share them all with you.  Here are some of my favorite pie friendly gadgets!

Picnic Time Metro Insulated Basket, Tan
I use this insulated basket for delivering pies, but it also makes a pretty sweet picnic basket.
Zyliss 11370 Classic Rotary-Style Cheese Grater
I used to use an good ol' elbow-grease-powered cheese grater, but I love how easy it is to grate cheese with this rotary style grater. I use it for my mac & cheese fried pies.
Anna Maria Horner Adult Half Square Dance Apron, Blue/Yellow
If you know me, you know I'm a big fan of aprons. Aside from some beloved vintage finds, this is my absolute favorite apron ever. It's super functional, but also pretty dang cute.
Zeroll Ussentials 8870BG Stainless Steel Locking Tongs, Bubble Gum
These tongs have been worth their weight in stainless steel and silicone. They're super great for high-heat cooking like frying pies, but could be used for all kinds of food prep and service, from barbequing to serving salad.
Chiquilin Smoked Paprika Tin 2.64oz
Have you ever tried smoked paprika? If not, I implore you to stop reading this, and get yourself to your local grocery or preferred online store and get you some. This paprika bears little resemblance to the to to bland afterthought of a spice we most often use. It's delicious mix of smokey and spicy that you can use in pretty much anything. I use it in our green chile chicken pies.
Prepara Oil Mister, White
This little device lets you use your own oil to create an oil spray similar to Pam or other oil sprays. This is good because it doesn't use aerosol and you have control over what you're putting into your food. I use it to coat pans when sauteeing incredients for pies. You can use it any time you'd use a spray oil, but it's also awesome to use for infusing your oil and spraying it on salads, meat or whatever you choose!

Backwards: New Album by Awesome Girl Graham Marema

Dale's Fried Pies' Awesome Girl Squad is an effort by Dale's Fried Pies to promote awesomeness in and beyond Knoxville, particularly the creative projects of awesome girls. Three times a year, we'll donate one day of profits from Dale's Fried Pies mobile pie stand to an awesome girl applicant to help her follow through with a creative project. 

Our first Awesome Girl inductee was 17 year old Graham Marema, who proposed using an Awesome Girl grant to help produce her first album as a budding singer/songwriter.  Now, less than a year after receiving her grant, Graham has released her debut album, Backwards.

As I think about how to describe this album, my inclination is to highlight Marema's youth-- "Can you believe she did this, and she's only 17?!"  And her youth does come through-- in her sweetly cherubic voice, in writing about young love and characters from Harry Potter, in the the album's whimsical cover art. But this album succeeds not in spite of Marema's rookie status, but because she incorporates her youthful sound and outlook into the album in a way that makes it accessible to music lovers of all ages.

The title track, "Backwards Ballad" follows a couple from the end of their relationship to the very beginning. Its opening line "I wrote our story backwards and in it you were happy" exemplifies the elegant foreshadowing which is the central conceit of the song.  In describing the rewound version of her first glimpse at her love, Marema sings "I looked away in that instant before we met." The song is clever, but Marema employs a measured subtlety that keeps the song from being purely a schtick.  The song ends with Marema singing "And I felt nothing in the dark."  While she may feel nothing at the end of this song, I feel both hopeful and heartbroken in equal measure. 

Perhaps my favorite song on the album is "The Fish," which is alternately pulls at your heart with the way Marema sings "Oh oh oh boy, don't you see what's happening to me?" and makes you chuckle with lines like "sat down and told the fish, that they should come with us, but they couldn't see him because they were fish." While Graham's soulful voice and clever lyrics give the album cohesion, she alternates between sincere, cheeky, slow & measured, and light & boppy. And I swear she's channeling my longtime favorite singer/songwriter Leona Naess on the track "Underwater."  The themes of feeling underwater, being in darkness and the adventures of love are certainly applicable to the life of a teenager, but I'd say they're also ones to which we can all relate.

Graham Marema's album Backwards is available on iTunes for just $8.91.

Whitestone Country Inn

The Whitestone Country Inn is a 600-acre bed and breakfast near Knoxville, TN.  The property resembles a village complete with farmhouse, cottage and Victorian-style lodging.  In addition to a plethora of activities like tennis, boating and hiking, the Inn offers the space and staff for events ranging from corporate retreats to elegant weddings.

I was lucky enough to participate in their bridal show this month, and stayed over the night before for some much needed R & R.  The Whitestone Inn calls itself a "sanctuary for the soul," and as soon as I pulled onto the property through their big red entrance barn, I could see why.  I felt myself relax a little as soon as I laid eyes on the lovely landscape overlooking Lake Loundon, horse-filled pastures and lovely buildings spotting the rolling hills.

Upon walking into my room, things got even better.  A big plush couch in front of a cozy fireplace greeted me warmly, but even more welcoming was the big jacuzzi tub, where I knew I'd be spending a good portion of the evening.  I took a walk around the grounds and kept finding more and more that made me want to come back-- a putting green, a boat dock with kayaks and canoes, wooded trails that overlooked the water.  Upon returning to my room, I had the chance to sit on the porch as the sun began to set before heading to the Inn's restaurant for dinner.

I dined alone, since my husband was also out of town working, and while I was slightly nervous before dinner that it would be awkward, I had a great time.  The staff was attentive and welcoming, and the owner Paul came to each table and chatted with the guests, making sure they were enjoying themselves and that they had everything they needed.  We talked about fried pies for a bit, and I promised to share one with him the next day at the bridal show.  I ordered their salmon, which was topped with gorgonzola, bacon and spinach with parmesan risotto.  It was delicious, and I enjoyed it while hearing snippets of conversations from the various other diners.  Most were couples, and many were celebrating anniversaries or other milestones, though some were just spending a weekend of rejuvenation.  I was stuffed from cleaning my plate, but most of the other diners ordered dessert and took it back to their rooms.  Though I was mostly so delighted and relaxed, it was the point in the evening where I did miss having someone to share a dessert with in front of the fire.

I didn't dwell on it for long, though.  I headed back to the room for a fire and a bubble bath before drifting off to sleep, excited for the bridal show the next day.  I perused their menu of spa offerings-- massages, facials, manicures, and wish I had another day to spend relaxing.

After setting up my display in the morning, I was able to grab a bite to eat at the breakfast buffet to fuel up for a day of meeting and greeting. I'm a sucker for egg scrambles, and was delighted than in addition to traditional scrambled eggs, the buffet offered a scramble with green chiles, big ol chunks of ham off the bone, and other tasty treats.  Also offered: continental offerings like fruit and bagels, plus french toast, bacon, sausage, and of course, biscuits with gravy.  I just had dinner, but I'm actually getting hungry just typing this.

The bridal show was lovely!  I was really impressed with all the vendors there, and felt proud to be included in a group that had obviously been selected with care.  I loved giving pie samples to excited bride and grooms-to be, along with their parents and friends.  The Whitestone staff served samples of some of their catering options, and I was touched that they shared them with the vendors as well.  I tried so many things, I left stuffed, but my favorites were the fried brie-stuffed olives and the mini soup shots of corn chowder with bacon.  Again, I'm making myself hungry.  As promised, the owner Paul came over to try my fried pies and gave me his stamp of approval.  So I not only left stuffed and relaxed, but also proud of my pies.

If you're planning an event, or just want a relaxing weekend, I can't recommend the Whitestone Inn highly enough.  These folks know what they're doing, and they do it so warmly and enthusiastically.  I'm planning another trip back there already.  And I suppose this time I'll even bring my husband.

Chocolate Orange Pie with Mascarpone Cream from nothing-in-the-house

We're taking a break from incessantly posting about our Kickstarter Campaign to bring  you a salivary-gland-stimulating (non-fried) pie recipe from nothing-in-the-house, a blog by the talented and sassy Emily Hilliard, who makes and shares her fantastic pies across Washington, DC.  She's also the author of PIE: A Hand-Drawn Almanac, which is beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth Graeber.  I own a copy and cherish it. 

Says Emily:

My friend Margaret and I started Nothing-in-the-House in 2005, right after we graduated college. We'd spent the whole summer picking berries and baking pies in our college town of Ann Arbor, and when I moved to Vermont that fall, Margaret suggested we start a blog to keep in touch through the pies we made. The name comes from a variety of "Nothing-in-the-House" pies, also called “desperation pies,”  that were popular during the Great Depression. They were made from a few inexpensive ingredients, or whatever you had in the cupboard.
Since 2005, the blog has evolved--though friends often contribute, I now do most of the writing and photographs. In my posts and baking, I try to bring in a little of my folklore background, incorporating historical context with personal narrative (mine and other's), celebrating both home and professional bakers and investigating this humble dessert's presence in popular and traditional culture.  

yes, please!

yes, please!

And now the recipe...

Chocolate Orange Pie with Mascarpone Cream
Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients
Nothing-in-the-House pie crust, halved
2 c. (16 oz.) whole milk
3 Tblsp. orange zest (from about 3 oranges), plus additional for garnish
13 oz. 65% chocolate, chopped
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 c. (4 oz.) mascarpone cheese
6 oz. heavy whipping cream
2 Tblsp. confectioner's sugar

Directions
For crust:

1. Prepare half of the Nothing-in-the-House pie crust as per the directions. Chill dough at least 1 hour before rolling out and fitting into a greased and floured 9-inch pie pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Using a fork, prick chilled crust all over the bottom. Line crust with parchment paper and pie weights or dried beans and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove weights, reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Let crust cool completely.

For filling:

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk milk and orange zest. Place pan over medium heat and bring milk just to a boil, then remove from heat and let sit about 20 minutes. Pour the milk mixture through a sieve and  return milk to the cleaned saucepan. 

2. Combine the chopped chocolate and salt in a large heat-proof bowl. Bring milk just to a boil and pour over the chocolate mixture, letting it sit, covered, for 2 minutes, then stirring until chocolate is melted. 

3. Return mixture back to the saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously for about 8 minutes (make sure to keep stirring so chocolate does not burn on the bottom of the pan). The mixture will thicken and begin to bubble. Continue stirring until it becomes the consistency of a thick ganache. Remove from heat and pour into the pie shell. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the chocolate and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight, if possible. When ready, the chocolate will be set up like a thick chocolate mousse.

For mascarpone cream:

1. In the bowl of a stand or hand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream and confectioner's sugar together until the cream is thickened but does not yet hold soft peaks. Add the mascarpone and whip until the mixture holds medium peaks.

2. Mound the cream on the center of the pie and decorate with orange zest curls or candied orange zest, if desired. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature. Enjoy! And you don't even have to "whack and unwrap."

Support Dale's Fried Pies on Kickstarter!

Well, dear ones, the time has come!  We've launched a Kickstarter campaign to help us finish our mobile kitchen, and we'd love your support!  Head over to our page to find out more.  If you're able and inclined to give, you will have our eternal gratitude.  We'd also love for you to spread the word any way you like- Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, faxes, carrier pigeons-- however you choose!  Just grab the link below and share away, if you please! 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1568021555/dales-fried-pies-mobile-kitchen

Celebrate Pi(e) Day and Help Dale's Fried Pies!

Dale's Fried Pies is gearing up for an exciting season filled festivals, farmer's markets and other fun events, and we're so excited we thought we'd throw a party!

Date and Time: Friday, March 15th from 6-9 pm

Place: Preservation Pub Annex (THIS IS NOT THE PRESERVATION PUB. It is a small space that shares the patio with Preservation Pub. If you are looking at the pub, it is two doors down to the left).

RSVP HERE.

Reasons:

1) March 14th is Pi(e) Day-- let's celebrate one day late!

2) Graham Marema, our first Awesome Girl, has come out with her first CD with the help of her Awesome Girl Squad grant!

3) We are launching a Kickstarter Campaign to help with the retrofitting of our mobile kitchen and we want to get y'all pumped for it!

The party, which will include a PHOTO BOOTH by Shawn Poynter Photography (dress yer best!) and MUSIC by Awesome Girl Graham Marema (playing songs from the CD she was able to produce with a grant from Dale's Fried Pies) will be held on Friday, March 15th from 6-9 pm. Come listen to some great music, get your picture taken and buy a drink or two ( Pres Pub is donating 20% of all sales to the Dale's Fried Pie's Awesome Girls Fund)! Come hungry and thirsty!

GUESTS WILL GET A FRIED PIE ON THEIR WAY OUT JUST FOR COMING!

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Dale's Fried Pies

We're all for celebrating love at Dale's Fried Pies, but we're not big fans of needing reservations weeks in advance, busy restaurants and "special" Valentine's Day menus that serve only to charge you more for the same thing you'd normally get. If you're like us and want to avoid the fuss, join us at the Bearden Beer Market, where we'll be set up along with the fabulous Tootsie Truck folks to meet all your sweet, savory and beery needs!  Stop by and grab some food to go along with a growler for a sweet night in, or come and hang out in the Yazoo room for a low-key Valentine's date.  Either way, we'd love to see you!

I'll be at the Beer Market on Thursday, February 14th from 5:30-8:30 pm!

We're featuring strawberry nutella, chipotle mac & cheese and some fun heart-shaped cherry cheese pies!  Same price as always, no reservations needed!  If you want to make sure to get some heart-shaped pies for your sweetie, shoot us an email at dalesfriedpies@gmail.com to arrange for delivery or pick-up at the Beer Market!

Cherry Cheese Pies!

Cherry Cheese Pies!

Fried Pie Pattern from Vicki Designer

Since we started, Dale's Fried Pies has relied on social media to spread the word about what we offer, where we'll be selling and how to get in touch with us.  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been our only forms of advertisement, and these tools have been extremely useful in helping us communicate with our awesome customers and peers.  

Even so, there are still times that I get quite disenchanted with social media and it's capacity to bore, polarize, distance and alienate us.  Since opening Dale's Fried Pies, I've used these social media platforms primarily as business tools.  However, once in awhile I'll make a connection that reminds me that these tools can also inspire creativity and collaboration and can be truly social.

I'm not sure how I started following Vicki Designer on Instagram, but last week, when I saw she was working towards designing a pattern for each week in 2013, I was excited to watch this creative challenge unfold.  I wrote that she should consider creating a pattern with fried pies and/or rolling pins, and she did!  It was a fun connection to make and I absolutely love the cute-as-pie pattern she created. 

You can read more about her process, download a freebie pie pattern and buy an entire pie collection here.  Thanks Vicki!

Why the radio silence?

Hello, pie enthusiasts!  We've been laying low here at Dale's Fried Pies, but for good reason!  We are working on rehabbing a food trailer so that we can expand where, when and how many pies we can sell this year.  It's a lot of work and it's slow going, but we are so exciting about our new trailer.  Stay tuned for ways that you can help us get the trailer up and running!  

In the meantime, if you're craving pies, feel free to contact us for custom orders of frozen or fried pies to tide you over until April, when we will be out and about again at local fairs, farmer's markets and festivals, and keep us in mind for your next private event!  The pie stand is still available for weddings, corporate events and parties!

Get excited.

Dale

We're excited, and you should be, too!

We're excited, and you should be, too!

Alexa and Michael's Wedding

This fall, we were lucky enough to be a part of one of the most beautiful and fun weddings that ever there was.  The lovely Alexa and Michael had a glorious wedding on the grounds of an old Boy Scout camp in South Carolina.  It was a stellar weekend, replete with music, bonfires, delicious food and so much love.  Alexa and Michael decided to serve Dale's Fried Pies instead of traditional wedding cake.  We had a blast with them all weekend and loved serving their sweet guests.

Awesome Girl Jashara Mitchell

In an effort to promote awesomeness in and beyond Knoxville, Dale's Fried Pies wants to support the creative projects of awesome girls. That’s why three times a year, we’ll donate one day of profits from Dale’s Fried Pies mobile pie stand to an awesome girl applicant to help her follow through with a creative project. I'm so happy to introduce you to Jashara Mitchell, our second inductee into Dale's Fried Pies' Awesome Girl Squad, and my new favorite musician.  Read on for Jashara's description of herself and her project.  We'll keep you posted on her progress after she receives her grant this month.

"Growing up in the inner-city surrounded by poverty and negative influences will often times lead young women and men to make bad decisions that can affect their lives forever. I have made choices that have led me to travel down a road similar to most of my schoolmates, family members and friends. This was the road most traveled, were I was raised, a road that leads to teenage pregnancy, high school dropout, and total dependency on government assistance. However, this is not the road I will continue to move along, and I would like to encourage others like me to take the road less travel or teach them how to switch lanes and discover the importance of education and sexual health.

I am currently getting my GED through a job training program called SEEED, along with other young women. However, I am often disturbed by the mental and physical health conditions of my classmates. [I've begun]... to think about the high school girls in the inner-city who don’t have access to the resources offered in Knoxville surrounding physical and mental health.  Because of the climbing teenage pregnancy and STD cases reported in inner-city Knoxville I  would like to hold a Health Fair for the young women in my community. The Pathways Health  Fair will be free and open to all women in the inner-city. This health fair will promote a healthy lifestyle and the importance of smart decision making so that they are better equipped to choose a pathway that leads to success. Available services will include; Free pregnancy testing, STD testing, women counseling, sexual health classes and parenting classes."

Want to donate to the Awesome Girl Squad?  Just click on the donate button below!

Thank You.

A message from Dale:

'Tis the season to be thankful, and boy howdy, I am.  In July of this year, Dale's Fried Pies was just a dream.  I knew I loved making and sharing my pies, but the idea of starting a business from scratch felt scary and overwhelming.  I knew I wanted to move forward, though, so I started a little website stating my dream, and I shared it with a few friends.  Donations started coming, as did words of encouragement and offers for everything from legal help to manual labor.  A month later Dale's Fried Pies officially opened.  It has been just as scary and overwhelming as I imagined, but it has also been extremely rewarding, fun and educational.  I love making and selling these pies. So much.

I'm tearing up as I write this.  I am so thankful to those of you who believed in me from the very beginning.  Your support, in all of its beautiful forms, was just what I needed to take the leap forward and follow a dream.  I am thankful for those of you who I have met in the process- my lovely customers, my cheerleaders, my advisors and my fellow mobile food vendors in Knoxville. There are far too many of you to list, and that is something for which I am very, very grateful.

XO,

Dale

Mobile Food Summit at Bearden Beer Market

I'm so very excited to be a part of this Sunday's Mobile Food Summit, "A night in a garden of culinary delights" at the Bearden Beer Market from 2-8 pm. We will be joining Savory and Sweet Truck, Farm to Taco, Smoke Shack BBQ, PopCulture, Farm to Griddle Crepes and Fox Dogs for Knoxville's very first gathering of mobile food vendors. We've each been given a unique six pack of delicious beer to use in the creation of tasty morsels that we'll have for sale at the event.  I'm using a Yazoo Porter to create both a sweet and a savory pie. For more information about this event and and the participants, check out the Bearden Beer Market's website.  Hope to see you there!

Dale's Fried Pies at Market Square Farmer's Market!

At long last, we're pleased to announce we will finally be debuting our pies at the Market Square Farmer's Market this Saturday, September 29th!  We're extremely excited to be joining such a great group of farm, food and craft vendors.
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This day will be doubly exciting because our proceeds will go to Graham Marema, our first inductee to Dale's Fried Pies Awesome Girl Squad!  We can't wait to see (or, more accurately, hear) what Graham will produce!
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We won't be there every Saturday because of prior pie events and travel commitments, but check us out on the following days (and look at our Calendar page for a full list of where you can find the stand):
Sep 29
Oct 27
Nov 10
Nov 17
Dec 1
Dec 15
Dec 22

One Month In

Things have been moving incredibly quickly since we launched Dale's Fried Pies on August 9th. We're now at the Bearden Beer Market on Wednesday nights from 8pm until about 11 or so. We have several events lined up for the fall, including Downtown Knoxville's Food Walking Tours, the Botanical Garden's Fall Festival, Ijams' Fall Plant Sale, East Tennessee's Biggest Bake Sale and a wedding at the beginning of November.  We are really hoping to be at the Market Square Farmer's Market this year, but due to restrictions against hot oil cooking on Market Square, we're stuck until we can find a restaurant downtown that will allow us to use their fryers to make sure the pies are fresh and warm for the market.  We're confident we will find a solution, but have to be patient while we work out the details.

The interest and enthusiasm for Dale's Fried Pies has been incredibly encouraging. I'm so grateful to live in such a warm and supportive community. We had some great posts about the stand from local bloggers, a short clip about our opening on the evening news, an extensive article by Mary Constantine at the Knoxville News Sentinel and most recently, a cooking demo on the local morning show.

I have learned so much in the past month, and still have a lot to learn.  We are looking forward to growing and evolving as a business and as a part of the Knoxville community.  As we grow, we want to make sure we stay in touch with the community that has so graciously supported us, so please send ideas and feedback whenever the notion strikes you!  Our current dreams include renting or building our own commercial kitchen, buying a food truck to increase our mobility and flexibility and working with local event planners to book more private events, weddings and parties (because Dale's Fried Pies LOVES a good party).

Mongolian Fried Pies

My friend Dorna recently visited our mutual friend Lauren in Mongolian, where Lauren has been working on a documentary about Mongolian music (check out the awesome blog she's created to document her experience here).  During the trip, Dorna sent me a picture of women making khuushuur, a fried Mongolian goat meat pie. Says Dorna:

As far as I can tell, Mongolians have a pretty limited ingredients list. Meat, flour, and sometimes other things. One of the more delicious combinations of these ingredients results in khuushuur, which looks suspiciously like fried pies...

Wikipedia has some things it wants to say too: ahem ahem: "Some Mongolians hold the fresh khuushuur between their palms and also with the tips of all fingers to stimulate the nerves and blood circulation in the hands. This is believed to be curative. In some occasions, a hot khuushuur is placed on the soles of the feet and other selected places to treat neurosis and health conditions related to the balance of the air element of the five elements composing the human body."  -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khuushuur

From empanadas to khuushuur to Southern American fried apple pies- fried pies are an international phenomenon.

 

Photos from the Launch Party

We unveiled Dale's Fried Pies' mobile pie stand at a small launch party on Sunday, August 12th in the backyard of our wonderful friend Lila. Folks dropped in throughout the afternoon to sample a bunch of flavors, including rosemary peach, banana nutella, green chile chicken, pineapple with coconut run cream cheese, vegan curried sweet potato, raspberry lemonade, chipotle mac 'n cheese, PB&J and shitake egg roll.  We enjoyed music by the lovely Gillian Oaks, Steven Bacon & Kendra Kinsey, Liz & Tim, Walker Marema and our first Dale's Fried Pies Awesome Girl Squad inductee, Graham Marema.  We even had a little visit from the local news.  It was a great way to get feedback on people's favorite flavors and test out the pie stand in the real world.  Since the launch party, Dale's Fried Pies has been busy busy busy bringing the stand to various festivals, and working on new flavors (most recently, the "Elvis," banana bread and apricot). Check out some photos of the event below (taken by the lovely Amy Smotherman-Burgess), and like us on Facebook for even more photos!