Key West, baby! Jamie and Bobby Deen go as far south as they can and land in what many call the Conch Republic. First up, the boys hit the Blonde Giraffe and sample Key Lime Pie on a stick dipped in chocolate and frozen. Owner Tania Beguinati, a native of Brazil, won her first Key Lime pie contest in 1999, which led her to open up six more Blonde Giraffe’s in Key West alone! What better way to truly sample Key West than with some fresh seafood taken directly from the waters off the keys! Master chef Dave, of the Conch Republic Seafood Company, treats the boys to fresh grouper in Juju sauce with callaloo. The pan-seared grouper is drizzled with a passion juice reduction sauce and served with a side of callaloo, a vegetable native to the Bahamas. The boys never had it so good—and it only gets better. They head to Henrietta’s, where the coconut strip was born. Just like folks eat only the top of a muffin, Henrietta learned early on that family and friends ate only the top portion of her coconut cake, hence the coconut strip was born. A small strip of dough and coconut is baked into a crispy yet most delicious dessert.
Sisters and partners-in-pie, Emily and Melissa Elsen are cut from the same crust. Their Brooklyn pie flagship, which now has four satellite locations around the city, is named after a nursery rhyme, “Sing a Song of Six Pence”—a fitting name, since the sisters were around nursery-age when they first learned the craft from their Grandma Liz. In other words, “We grew up in the business,” Emily says. Grandma Liz would bake pies for their mother’s popular local restaurant in South Dakota using whatever fruit was in season, and they’re keeping the tradition alive. The result? Hard-to-rival golden-crusted masterpieces, from the more creative matcha custard to classics like lemon chess.The sisters’ shop in Gowanus, which opened in 2009, has grown a cultish following and earned international praise. The Elsens were named “Artisans of the Year” by Time Out New York in 2011, and their pies have been featured on Oprah and in the New York Times.Out of all the desserts out there, why pie? “Cake is kind of specific to a celebration…to me, pie is any time of day, it’s casual, it’s homey, it’s rustic,” Emily explains. “We felt there was potential for it.” Pie that lives up to that potential requires the best ingredients, which is why in our pie-baking class, the Elsen sisters aim for the sweetest cherries to sprinkle with streusel and the juiciest peaches to blanket with their signature pinwheel-design crust. Combined with a few key spices like nutmeg and Angostura bitters (their secret ingredient!), those fruit flavors truly sing. Another reason these pies are special? The Elsens mix their rich, flaky crust by hand. As they demonstrate in our pie-baking class, hands, not blades, are the best tool for sensing the right texture and temperature for framing fillings and weaving lattices.When you bake with Melissa and Emily, you’ll discover why pie tastes best when it’s homemade: because pie is more than a baked good, it’s both an act of love and a work of art. You’ll learn everything from crimping crust to storing leftover pie properly. (The eating, we trust, you won't need any help with!)Four & Twenty Blackbirds (Brooklyn, NY)Four & Twenty Blackbirds' Book:The Pie Book (2013)
Giddy up and tally ho! Host Noah Cappe is off to Rodeo Austin, one of Texas' premiere rodeo events! The vendors have to feed hundreds of thousands of hungry fairgoers, and their delectable midway meals do not disappoint. Noah stars the day off right with the Bacon Breakfast Fries before digging into the Surf and Turf-tato -- a steak and seafood loaded baked potato -- an Etouffee Parfait that layers sumptuous Cajun delights, and the Popcorn Frankendog -- a classic corn dog with an amped up popcorn-coated batter. Later, Noah heads to California for a pair of wildly different events! First up, the bright Balboa Park December Nights Festival in San Diego features Kenyan-inspired Rafikiz Fries and perfectly hued Pink Lady Dumplings. Then in Cathedral City, Noah hits up the Taste of Jalisco, a Mexican-inspired festival, where he samples the Sweet Potato Tornado -- a modern carnival classic.