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My husband surprised me with a very special birthday gift last weekend. Two summers ago, Alli and I watched The American Baking Competition (the US version of the very popular British show) and fell in love with one of the competitors, Francine Bryson. She was funny, down to earth, as Southern as they come – and from a small town not 30 minutes from where we live! Francine did very well on the show and was the first runner up. She is now a hometown celebrity with her own cookbook, Blue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen (and a new book coming out soon!).
Here’s where the birthday surprise comes in. Francine offers “At Home With Francine Baking Parties,” where she brings all the ingredients to your home and teaches you and your friends how to create whatever dessert you want to make! Paul decided I needed a Francine Baking Party for my birthday and planned for months, invited my family and friends and completely overwhelmed me with his thoughtfulness! He arranged for my mom and sister to take me out for lunch on Saturday. When we arrived home after lunch, I found several of my friends and family at my house…and Francine!
We spent the next few hours learning from the expert. Francine taught us to make her no-fail pie crust, which we then filled with the wonderful ingredients that make Derby Pie. I love to cook and bake but have always been averse to the sticky, messy dough involved in making pie crust. Francine made me roll up my sleeves and put me to work on the pie crust. Thankfully, her technique yielded a mess-free, forgiving and workable dough! Here are a few shots from the afternoon:
Alli got in on the fun – she’s an excellent baker (one of the reasons I miss having her live with me!). 🙂 We all stood around and talked about pie (while waiting for it come out of the oven already!), quoted Steel Magnolias and got some behind the scenes stories about life on a competition show! At last, the moment we’d all been waiting for. Pie. If you can believe this, it was even better than it looks.
Francine graciously agreed to let me share the recipe for her super simple pie crust!
Frannie’s Lard Crust
- 3/4 C butter flavored shortening
- 2 1/4 C flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbl. sugar (I only use 1 Tablespoon – I like a saltier crust)
- 1/2 C water
Blend shortening and flour with pastry blender till chunks of fat are blended (you want chunks the size of butter beans). Add water and stir with a fork until combined. If the dough is too dry, add water one teaspoon at a time until the dough forms a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge 20 minutes. Roll out onto a floured surface and transfer to a pie dish for baking.
We had the best time learning from Francine! She’s so funny (and you know I love funny people!) and makes herself right at home. If you live in the Upstate of South Carolina and would like to book an “At Home with Francine Baking Party,” you can contact her at bakewithfrancine at yahoo dot com. You can find more details on Francine’s Facebook page.
I can’t thank my sweet hubby enough for the incredible afternoon with my friends, family and Francine!
This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. “Frannie’s Lard Crust” recipe appears courtesy of Francine Bryson and is not owned by me.
Come Home For Comfort 
What a sweet and thoughtful gift! He did awesome:) It looks like you all had a wonderful time, and I can only imagine how amazing that pie tasted. . .
Tif
http://www.brightonabudget.com
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It was pretty darn good pie. I finished the last slice today!
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What an incredibly thoughtful gift, Whitney! I hope you had a fantastic day baking with Francine, your family and friends – and a great birthday, too! 🙂
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It was quite the overwhelming day, for sure! 🙂 Thanks, Colleen!
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What a thoughtful, sweet, FUN gift idea!!! It looked like it was a huge blast! And that pie – yum! It looks delicious. Was she a hoot? I think you have to have humor to bake 🙂 Just so neat!
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Oh she was hilarious! We had such a good time with her! 🙂
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Whitney, The pie had to taste even sweeter knowing that your creative and thoughtful hubby arranged for such a fun and unique birthday celebration!
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It did, Aunt Sharee! 🙂
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What a thoughtful gift. I know it was a surprise, we were aware that it was in the works, a nice afternoon activity. Where was Paul during all this mayhem ?
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He worked on this for a long time, I hear! Such a nice boy, isn’t he? 🙂 Paul was at work, but he got a big slice of pie when he came home. 🙂
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What an awesome gift! Love the pictures :-).
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I was completely overwhelmed! It was such a sweet gift!
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What about the actual pie recipe??
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I decided not to share it in this post – sorry!
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No problem! Going to check out your Mom’s blog…pretty sure she posted a recipe for that awhile back!
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Oh yes, I’m sure she did!
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What a memorable birthday gift!! I love that your husband went to all the efforts to gather your favorite people to learn how to make pie together. It looks like y’all had a blast!! I’d love for an expert to come and cook with me in my kitchen. What a treat!!
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It was definitely a memorable event! He’s big on secrets and being sneaky. 🙂
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I loved watching that show. I so wanted her to win! What a very thoughtful gift from your hubby. It looks like you all had a blast, and that pie looks delicious!
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Wasn’t it such a fun show to watch? I was amazed at the talent!
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Wow! This is so neat! What a great surprise! It looks like you had a great time!
Sarah
http://mybowsandclothes.blogspot.com/
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It was great – I was so overwhelmed by all the planning he did!
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What an amazing birthday surprise! Awesome!
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It was quite the event! 🙂
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What a sweet and thoughtful birthday gift, Whitney! Sounds like much fun. Canât wait to try the crust out! So did she share the recipe for the pie? J
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It was so much fun! Now I know you don’t need a recipe for Derby Pie. I bet you can make it without one! 🙂
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How awesome !! I remember watching her and liked her personality. That must of been such an incredible experience.
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It was so cool! Thanks, Jen!
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What a thoughtful husband you have Whitney!! I have seen the British show but did not know there was an American one. Southern cooks have their secrets and I am glad Francine shared her crust recipe. I usually just get Pillsbury but I may give this one a try!!
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I always used Pillsbury crust before as well. Give her recipe a try – I think that using shortening instead of butter makes the crust a lot easier to work with.
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Great pictures of a fun-filled afternoon! And that pie…! Wow! I’m heading out to walk off those calories! 🙂
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I’m so glad you were able to be there! 🙂
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