Something Strange and Delicious: Peach Pie for Daniel

So. Guess whose book came out today?

Yeah, the great Susan Dennard’s, is whose. Her super delicious steampunk fantasy, with necromancy and debonair awesome, debuts today: Something Strange and Deadly. Buy it. Read it. Hold it close to your heart just like I do. To celebrate Sooz’ debut, I decided to pair two of my favorite things–Sooz’ book and baking, with two of Eleanor Fitt’s favorite things–the Spirit Hunters and baked goods. Thus I kick off Something Strange and Delicious! Get ready to rumble.

Plus, if you spread the word about her book, you can enter for a hardback copy of the book PLUS a super-shiny steampunky plate (it reminds me of book 2! Being a crit partner has advantages). I might increase the amount of winners if there are a lot of responses. Open internationally.


CLICK HERE to enter!

(PS, you can also win by checking out the Something Strange and Deadly Outbreak contest run by Sarah J Maas and Erin Bowman.)

Though Sooz is one of my hallowed critique partners, I’m not exaggerating when I say this book will rock your socks off.

Kinda like the Peach Pie I made for Daniel. (Or the Beignets for Joseph.)

Daniel Sheridan is one of the Spirit Hunters, a group of extraordinary people dedicated to stopping the thrust of the Dead in Philadelphia. He’s cocky and short-tempered, brilliant with machines, but a bit mushy on the inside, with maybe the tiniest bit of tang.

So, pretty much, he’s a bourbon-soaked peach pie.

First, start with some ripe peaches. Bring ‘em up to your nose and smell the suckers–if they don’t smell like a peach, they’re not ripe. For the small ramekins, one peach per pie worked just dandy for me. Slice up the peaches and toss them in a bit of flour and cornstarch, along with some dashes of ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Just do it to taste, you’ll be fine.

And then splash on some bourbon and a bit of lemon juice, and let the fruit marinate as you work on the pie crust. I maybe went a little Emeril on it and splashed more than some, but, yanno. No more than a few tablespoons, maybe. Maybe.

I did drain the peaches a little before slapping them between the crusts, but that was partially because I didn’t have much time after it cooked to let the pie settle.

Next up, work on the crust. Growing up, I swore by shortening crusts (and having struggled with a butter one in sweltering humidity, lemme tell you, they have their uses). Still, for Daniel, go for a butter crust. The butterier the better. Then the savory butter will pair with the bourbon and ZOMG YOUR TASTEBUDS WILL DANCE.

Bake for about an hour, let rest for an hour or more, and serve with ice cream.

Maybe try not to moan too loudly. Daniel would not approve.

You know you wanna make it. And re-read SS&D while you eat it ;)

But if you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on the book yet, enter the giveaway! Open until July 31st. The more entries, the more winners.

Unfortunately, wordpress.com is a JERK, so


CLICK HERE to enter!

Peach Pie for Mr Sheridan
Adapted from Annie’s Eats.

2lbs peaches, or 1 per ramekin; sliced. (Leave the skin on or off, up to you.)
3/4 c sugar
3T flour
3T cornstarch (increased for more humid climates)
A few dashes of nutmeg, ground ginger, and cinnamon
1T lemon juice
2-3T bourbon (eyeball it)

The pie crust I made as-is using Annie’s fabulous all-butter recipe, though rather than ice water, I use cold milk.

Good luck, guys, and I’ll see you tomorrow with (fingers crossed) some “Spirit Catching Beignets” for Joseph.

Category : Friends, Random Happiness, She Bakes, She Reads, She Takes Photos, Writing
Tags : , , , , , ,