Wednesday, December 08, 2010

a birthday & peppermint icecream pie

we've had several things to celebrate lately.
one of which was dan's birthday.
first of all, i sure am glad that boy was born.
(i tell him all the time that he walks on water)

the girls love to hear about our slight, very slight, age difference ~
especially caroline.
for example....i was in the 4th grade the year he graduated from highschool

that one freaks her out!

anyway~ we celebrated at home by allowing him to grill his own steaks
while we served some yummy veggies
& a peppermint pie for dessert

it's obviously super simple
but i felt all pioneer womanish
as i photographed the creation.
honestly, i realize it would have been even simpler to just
pour some melted pre-made peppermint icecream
into a pre-made crust
but where's the fun in that?

so here you go~

 for the crust~
1 package chocolate wafer cookies
3 hard peppermint candies
2 Tbl sugar
1 stick unsalted melted butter

for the filling~
1 cup hard peppermint candies
& save a few for garnish
1 1/2 pints vanilla icecream , softened



whir together cookies, candy & sugar in food processor until mixture has a sandy texture and is very fine. add butter & process to combine

transfer crumb mixture to 9 inch pie dish
& press down evenly to sides
set aside


process peppermints until fine




round up your now softened icecream


& mix in the candies



transfer to the chocolate pie crust
& smooth
allow 4 hours
( actually mine required more)
to freeze
which if you are living in atlanta
you could simply place outside in the frigid temps we're having!


now mix up some shiny chocolate glaze
which despite the picture
does not call for vanilla

1/2 c heavy cream
1 Tbl light corn syrup
5 ounces semisweet chocolate roughly chopped


bring corn syrup & cream to a boil over high heat
whisking continually

remove from heat & add chocolate
whisk until smooth
let sit until warm
( do not pour over pie while hot)
if needed reheat glaze in microwave for 30 seconds.



i think i love celebrating birthdays at home
even more than eating out
&
i LOVE to eat out

brinkley usually sits beside our table
with his manners of course.
cracks me up


one of these days
i will remember to change my white balance
before shooting
& maybe focus a little better.
ugh.


a few of caroline's friends made dan some birthday cards.
how sweet is that?


caroline worked for hours & hours on the gift for her daddy.
she has actually talked about creating this for the last year.
she loves board games & decided to make him a custom Sorry game
complete with sports & trivia.
& when i say she worked for hours, i mean she worked for hours!
she cut out little people
researched various sports trivia
hot glued
colored
& made him a priceless treasure!



happy birthday sweet man
all 5 knudsen women love you big as the sky!!

allofmylove2you tiger

alirghty, i'll be back soon to share more of our celebrations
now i need to finalize that christmas card creation!

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh goodness me, that looks SOOOOOOO good!!!

Happy Birthday to the wonderful Dan.....I am sure he feels spoiled every day with all you gorgeous girls :)

Hope Brinkley is back to his normal running self :) xx

traci said...

happy happy birthday to your man. that pie looks very good. i like all your step by step photos. might have to try that one.

Suzann said...

Happy Birthday to your husband.
Looks like a grand celebration!!

Annie said...

that last picture of daddy + daughter is precious. what a heartfelt gift!

so cold up here my toes are frozen said...

what a sweet birthday party.
lovin me some of that cake....

Farmgirl Paints said...

I love that she did that for him. He will cherish that I'm sure. Great pie too...OMGOODNESS!

Sure Fit Inc. said...

Great Holiday Pie Recipe! Looks as if you had a wonderful day!
Sure Fit Slipcovers

Lori Lucas said...

Sweetness, sweetness, sweetness!!! And I am talking about sweet Caroline...not the pie!
But that looks good too! Lori L

Privet and Holly said...

That man is
cherished for
sure and from
what I've read
on your blog,
it is easy to
see why : )
What a gem!
Lovely celebrations.
Happy happy to
all!!
xx Suzanne

Jboo said...

What a sweet birthday celebration for you Hubs! Adorable photos!

Janet

Susan R said...

I don't know what it was about this post, but I just started to get teary eyed. What a lovely family and oh my gosh....Brinkley is so cute. He looks like he's waiting for someone to give him a scrap.
Happy Birthday Dan. I love the photos of you and Miss C together, they are sweet.

Tammy said...

Yummy ! That pie looks delish! and what a sweetie pie to make that gift for her Dad!!
Sweet Post!
Happy Wednesday!
Tammy :-)
JUNK WILD

Between You and Me said...

okay. I love peppermint icecream pie...but, here's my version....

I buy the peppermint icecream that is only sold this time of year...and I put it in a chocolate graham (premade) crust...and stick in the freezer. Then, when I'm ready to serve it, I drizzle warm chocolate fudge sauce over the top of each piece....
delish.

Yours is homemade which means it's better...but if you're in a hurry, try my version.

love these pics....and can't wait to see your christmas pictures....

Shannon said...

That dessert looks delicious! That is the sweetest gift ever. I love that she took all that time to make that for her daddy, sooo sweet :)

Kat said...

Peppermint pie!!! Swoon swoon swoon drool!!! I love peppermint ice cream!!! Have you had the peppermint shake at Chick-fil-A? It's sinful. Seeing those pictures and hearing you say how long and hard Caroline worked on Dan's gift brought tears to my eyes! That girl sure loves her Daddy. His heart must have melted when she gave him that gift!

Tracy ~Seeking Refinement~ said...

I love how you and all of the ladies in the house honor your husband. What a gift you give him that is so completely inspiring to ME!

Fabulous post - and your creative girl BLOWS ME AWAY with that game!!!

Happy birthday to your man! xoxo

Brenda said...

Thanks for the recipe - this is exactly what I needed for a Christmas party this weekend!

Tina said...

Happy birthday to your Dan! What a fabulous birthday celebration dinner and I just LOVE the board game your sweetie made for her Dad! The pic of them playing the game together is just so precious, Paige! Thanks for sharing your pie recipe, I think that will be on my list of things to make at Xmas, especially as it is Summer here. Wishing you a lovely day ~ Tina xx

Anne Lorys said...

Happy Birthday to your sweet, sweet man!

And Caroline's gift truly is priceless, bless her heart!

Mmmmm, peppermint ice cream pie. :-)

XOXO,
Anne

LuLu said...

Happy Birthday to your husband!!!! the game she made brought tears to my eyes.... that is the sweetest gift!!!!! ahhhh!!!! Now you've got me craving peppermint!!!!
xo,
LuLu

Wendy said...

Happy Birthday Dan!

That pie looks amazing!! I LOOOOVE peppermint icecream. mmmmmmmmm.

Unknown said...

how sweet is that game she made? he must have loved it! those are always the best gifts! pretty fun cake too! can't wait to see your pretty cards! xo susan

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday! (Mine is next week. Crazy to have birthdays at Christmas, eh?) I linked to this post in my last blog. Check it out.

http://mommyslittlecornerblog.blogspot.com/

I can't wait to try the peppermint icecream pie!!!

Cate O'Malley said...

That peppermint pie looks like the perfect thing to celebrate a birthday - yum!

Martha said...

Happy Birthday to Dan!!! That pie and that pie dish....amaaaazing!!!! I love it all! I'll definitely have to try making that:)
those cards and that game is a priceless treasure btw:)