Christinas Ice Cream Pie Food

ICE CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the graham crackers in a large plastic zipper bag and seal it. Smash the crackers with a rolling pin until they're crushed into fine crumbs. (Or you can use a food processor!) Move the crumbs to a large bowl, then pour in the melted butter and stir them to combine. Press the crumbs into a pie plate slowly packing them so they're firm. Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then let it cool completely.
• Make the filling: In a large bowl, stir the ice cream until it's smooth but still firm and somewhat frozen. Add the pecans and candies and stir until it's all combined.
• Pour the mixture into the cooled crust and smooth the surface, then cover the pie and place it in the freezer to harden, 2 to 3 hours minimum. (Psst: Make it up to a week in advance! It keeps well in the freezer if it's covered tightly.)
• Use a warm knife to cut neat slices, then drizzle with your favorite jarred caramel or hot fudge sauce.
• Change Things Up!
• Make a chocolate mint version: Use mint chocolate chip ice cream and mix in chopped peppermint patties. Pour it into a chocolate cookie crust.
• Use any combination of ice cream flavor and candy/nut you'd like!

CHRISTINA'S BEEF POT PIE

Steps:

• Marinate beef in cola for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cola, pat meat dry.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion and saute until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, reserved cola, peas, and brown sugar. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let simmer for 15 minutes.
• Divide the beef mixture among 4 (20-ounce) casserole dishes or oven-proof bowls. Roll 2 rounds of biscuit dough out to fit over the top of each dish and brush with the beaten egg. Bake until the filling is bubbling and the biscuits are nicely browned, about 30 minutes (cover loosely with aluminum foil if biscuits brown too quickly). Let cool slightly before serving.

CHRISTINA'S DADDY'S CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust the bottom and sides with the ground cornflakes. Wrap the pan in heavy-duty aluminum foil, then refrigerate the pan while preparing the batter.
• In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, cornstarch, orange and lemon extracts, and salt. Add 3 of the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Separate the remaining 2 eggs. Mix the yolks into the batter.
• In another bowl, with the mixer on low speed, beat the heavy cream, egg whites, and confectioners¿ sugar until combined. Stir the cream mixture into the batter, then strain through a fine mesh sieve into the chilled pan.
• Set the springform pan in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the springform. Cover the top with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F, uncover, and bake for 2 hours more. Increase the heat to 350 degrees F. and bake until light golden and set, about 10 minutes more.
• Place on a rack to cool completely, then refrigerate overnight.
• Release pan sides and transfer cheesecake to a platter.

CHRISTINA'S CINDERELLA'S CASTLE CAKE

Steps:

• To make the cake base: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a 9 by 9-inch cake pan.
• Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and scrape into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan and let cool completely.
• To make the towers: Generously grease the cans with shortening. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Divide the batter among the cans, filling them not more than halfway. Bake until a cake tester, wooden skewer or raw piece of spaghetti inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes for the smaller cans and 1 1/4 hours for the large can. Place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out of the cans and let cool completely.
• To prepare the frosting: Put 2 tubs of frosting in a mixing bowl and add blue food coloring until it reaches the desired shade. Set aside. Divide the remaining tub of frosting between 2 bowls and color 1 purple and 1 pink. Set aside.
• To assemble the cake: Place the square cake on a platter and cover with blue frosting. Use a serrated knife to trim the tower cakes so the tops are flat. Cover the towers with blue frosting. Set the large tower on the center of the base cake and then set 1 of the smaller towers on top of it, securing with 1 or 2 straws or skewers. Set 1 small tower on each side of the large one, securing them to the base cake with a straw or skewer (cut to fit as needed).
• Cover the sugar cones with purple icing and place open-side down on top of each tower. Use a spatula to smooth out the frosting on the cakes or cones.
• Fill the pastry bag with pink icing and pipe a border around the edges of the cake. Insert lollipops around the edge of the base cake to make a fence. Set the doll in front of the main tower and scatter the sprinkles over all.

CHRISTINA'S APPLE RUM RAISIN PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• To make the crust: Sift the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon into a medium-size mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. Mixing with a fork, add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, just until the dough holds together. Press the dough into a ball and divide in 1/2. Flatten each piece into a disk, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• To make the filling: Put the raisins in a medium-size bowl and pierce them with a fork so they will soak up the rum. Pour rum over raisins and let stand at least 1 hour. Strain, return raisins to the bowl and stir in pie filling. Set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Pour in the filling and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Roll out the remaining dough, fit it over the top of the pie, pinching the edges together to seal. Trim and crimp the edges. Pierce the top of the pie in a few places with a fork to make steam vents.
• Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce oven to 325 degrees F. and bake until crust is browned, about 45 minutes. Place on a rack to cool. If using icing, heat it in the microwave just until melted, then drizzle over the pie. Cut into wedges and serve.