Happy Veterans Day! Plus a chocolate pistachio tart, blueberry yogurt granola pie and homemade Oreos

I know I start every post with a food picture, and I suppose that's fitting since it's a food blog. But even more important is that today's Veterans Day. In honor of that, some very special photos:

To my Grandpa Hawley, who was in the Army Air Corps during World War II and based in Utah. I got to visit his base just a month ago. He was the next in line to be shipped out to Europe, but luckily wasn't. He mostly flew B-24s and A-25s but also flew some other planes, like the Memphis Belle.

And to my Grandpa Hofmeister, who was already in his 30s when he went to Germany and France under Gen. Patton in World War II. I always remember him as a quiet man, but he saw some crazy stuff when he was overseas. I'm so grateful to have a few records of it. This is my post from last year, that has more photos of both of them.

And finally, to my cousin Jon, who went to Iraq very soon after the U.S. went in there. Sometimes it doesn't cross my mind, but I'm lucky to be able to see him fairly easily now, especially when Aunt Betty, Uncle David and I drop sweets by at his and his fiance's house. For the longest time, we couldn't see him. So happy Veterans Day to all of them.

All right, back to the food. This is one of my most favorite desserts I've ever made. Seriously. Salty+sweet is one of my favorite things, and this chocolate pistachio tart fit the bill. Thank Martha, yet again. The crust is chocolate with chopped pistachios, and then you make the pistachio paste layer (I made a lot more than the recipe called for because it made it a lot easier to spread). Then the top layer is a basic chocolate custard. I think this might be my birthday cake (tart?) next year!

I made that tart at Aunt Betty's, and this second pie we made at her house as well. This one is a yogurt blueberry pie with granola crust. Yet another Martha recipe. The granola we used was from the Merc and it was a maple pecan one, which I think I might use in a future crust. It made for a nice crunch and some good flavor. I think this looks like breakfast, no?

And for my only non-pie-style dessert this week, homemade Oreos. I made these once but was a little too impatient with the dough, I think, and didn't roll it out as well. But I'd forgotten how good these are, and so much better than the commercial versions. The cookies themselves are almost salty, but with the filling, it works out perfectly. I don't have the patience to follow the recipe and let the filling sit for six hours (!) so I let it go for a while and then add in sifted powdered sugar, which makes a more frosting-y texture rather than the ganache, which the recipe wants. I prefer it that way. And so does everyone at work, because I'm at three requests for the recipe. Always good to know people are satisfied.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: Baklava

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly daring by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

I can honestly say I've never had the desire to make baklava homemade. I guess Greek is just not a type of cuisine I often run across. But when challenged to make my own phyllo dough, I was definitely interested (I skipped last month's Daring Baker because it was crazy intricate and I didn't have the time).

Aunt Betty looked up a way to roll out phyllo dough on a pasta maker, which made it turn out perfectly: nice and thin. The recipe called for multiple layers of phyllo dough sandwiched around a couple layers of nuts (pistachios, walnuts and almonds, in our case) cooked in a simple syrup, then with a honey mixture drizzled over the top of it all.

It was definitely super rich, and to me tasted just an awful lot like honey. Lots of layers and stacking and lots of time. Not too difficult, though. Just time-consuming. Next time I make it, it will need to be for a picnic or something, because it's too darn messy to take to work and now I have lots of baklava left over in my fridge!

Chocolatey goodness: Peanut butter chocolate pie, chocolate-pistachio cookies and chocolate cake pops

Getting a new job made me feel really grown up. I bought a couch a couple weeks ago; so did that. A brand new couch! But a few things have happened in the last couple weeks that I really feel are make me feel like an adult. First, one of my best friends, Tara, got engaged. I wasn't surprised about it, but instead super excited (ask Kelly, I squealed). Tara's fiance makes her happy, and that makes me happy. The other big thing actually hasn't happened yet. It's my first friend having a baby! Sarah, who I had a baby shower for, is due to have baby David in a week! I can't believe my friends have progressed to the age where they're planning families, but it's upon me. I'm still a ways away from that stage myself, but I'm so very happy for them all!


Speaking of being happy for friends, this is Guy, my friend Nick's brother. See how happy he is? That's because for Guy's birthday, Nick had me make him chocolate cake pops. The boys at that house LOVE cake pops. I'm pretty sure they ration them so they don't eat them too fast and get sick. Either way, I like knowing they love what they're eating.

My third pie I've made from Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts is this chocolate peanut butter pie. I love me some peanut butter, but man was this puppy rich. I loved the crust, which you make with brown sugar rather than normal sugar. It helped offset the peanut butter a bit...except maybe it shouldn't be offset at all? Either way, it was tasty.

I know these look kind of weird, but honestly, they're one of the best cookies I've had. They're pistachio chocolate, so a great salty-sweet flavor. They end up looking like a truffle, I think. They're actually piped rounds sandwiched around a chocolate filling, then covered in chocolate. They take a lot of work, but for pistachio lovers, they're totally worth it!