Tiny Cherry Hand Pies/Tiny Furniture

Have you heard of that show Girls? I guess it's kind of big. I don't even know if it's still on or not, but it's relevant because the movie I'm reviewing, Tiny Furniture, came first. I'm a little bit behind on the times so I'm only getting to it now.

I thought the film would pair well with the tiny hand pies that I made for my dad for father's day. By the way, if you're looking for a good parental gift, baking is something parents always appreciate. Just make sure it's something that will last a couple of days in the mail. When I was a kid I remember he used to love those hostess cherry pies, and I wanted to make him something close to that (hopefully better!). I miss my dad a lot, and I'm sad I don't get to see him as much now that I live in Boston. This entry is dedicated to you, dad! Happy Father's day! Maybe you can teach me to grill the next time I come home. I think that would make a good summertime entry.

what a cool dad!

Recipe: Tiny Hand Pies

(original recipe from here)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 tbsp cold water

2 cups cherries, pits and stems removed

2/3 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

1 package puff pastry, thawed

1 egg white

1 1/2 tbsp coarse sugar

flour for dusting

Whisk the cornstarch and water together to make a paste. Add the cherries, cherries, sugar, vanilla, and salt to a medium saucepan. Cook it all on medium heat until the cherries start to release their juices and get all melty-like. Add the cornstarch and bring to a boil. Cook for another 5 minutes. Set aside and allow it to cool to room temperature.

My puff pastry came in two sheets, so I cut each sheet into 9 even squares (to get 18 total). Make sure you do this on a well-floured surface. Put a spoonful of the cooled cherry mixture into the center of each square, and put another square on top. Pinch the ends together. I found that a little bit of extra flour kept the filling from leaking out too much. Brush each pie with the egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

Put the squares (I guess they're more like rectangles) on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Once they are chilled, bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown. Allow to cool before serving.

Step-by-Step Instructions

whisk the cornstarch and water together

cook the cherries, sugar, vanilla, and salt down until the cherries start to release their juices

add the cornstarch mixture and bring to a biol. cook for 5 minutes

unfold each pastry sheet and cut into 9 squares (for a total of 18)

add a spoonful of the cooled filling to 9 of the 18 squares

put another square on top of this one and pinch the ends together. place on a rimmed baking sheet  lined with parchment paper.

brush each square with the egg white and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. chill for 30 minutes.  once chilled, bake at 375 for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. allow to cool before serving.

ROOKIE MOVE, KIM. i forgot to take a picture of the finished product. i assure you they looked much better than this!

Review: Tiny Furniture

Ok the movie wasn't totally inappropriate so we're safe here. I probably wouldn't recommend this movie to my dad, though. It's definitely a film aimed at young people (particularly females) around my age.

Lena Dunham directs and stars in this modern coming-of-age story. Her character Aura just graduated from college in Ohio and finds herself moving back in with her mother in her New York studio apartment while she tries to find a job. We follow her story as she tries to integrate back in with family and old friends and also try to establish herself in the dating world.

The story doesn't sound that exciting, but it held my attention very well for the 100 minute duration. I think Dunham did some things really well with the film, but I had a lot of issues with it as well. We'll start with the good. Being a recent graduate myself, I can appreciate the way she depicted how it is to be fresh out of school and unsure of your future. Adjusting to living back home is really hard, and I think this aspect of the film was the best part.

However, each and every secondary character is pretty despicable. I understand it's supposed to be satirical. It's supposed to be funny and uncomfortable. I guess I just didn't like that. One one hand, I get frustrated with the characters because I know that people are not like that in real life. Every once in a while you can meet an unpleasant person, but every one of Aura's friends and relatives are terrible (and of course Aura can do no wrong). Sometimes this works with movies, but I need a little bit more humor to offset all of the discomfort I get from these people. In the end, she either needed to make her characters a bit more redeemable and believable, or she needed to make them more eccentric so that it's more watchable. I get it that some people love this move and the show. It's part of the Criterion collection. I respect her as a young female filmmaker. She's just not for me, I guess.