fante's signing recap and cake boss pan winner

I've been doing a slew of signings and demos for my new pie cookbook, Pies and Tarts with HeartThis weekend, I'll be doing a signing and demo at Paris Vegan Day. [Check out shots from my 2011 demo here.] Two weeks ago, I was at Williams-Sonoma in Philly. Last weekend, I was at my favorite cook shop ever, Fante's, in Philadelphia's Italian Market. I brought this Pumpkin Pie for customers to taste. I'd say 99% of the store customers who tasted it were omnivores, and everyone loved it. In fact, I did a little experiment and didn't tell them it was vegan until after they tried it. [Meniacle laughter] You can find the recipe in my book and an older version here. 

I bought many of the supplies photographed in my book at Fante'. If you are ever in Philly and you love cooking, you NEED to stop here. They have everything and they are the sweetest people ever. It's so awesome to see a family run business that's so successful in this era of box shop overload. 

Here I am with Nina from Fante's, a phabulous Philly phoodie. She and her colleagues made me feel so at home.

Fante's is a chef's – and baker's– dream. This is but one tiny shelf in their humongous, well-equipped baking section. If you want it, they have it. And they probably have 10 different kinds.

 It's jam-packed with toys for chefs of all levels...

This was my view from the signing table. They had arranged an entire wall of pie-baking supplies next to me, and every time I had a spare second, I kept glancing at that wall, daydreaming ... Above the wall is a collage of autographed head shots of celebrities who who have shopped there: Emeril LaGasse, Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, etc.

Of course, I could not go home without indulging in a culinary haul. I bought this cute little elephant pitcher, a similar cat pitcher, large-grain caster sugar for baking, canelé molds and 2 sugar skull molds; I'm going to try out Kittee's recipe when I get back from Paris.

It was such a great weekend. F-stop and I went out to dinner later that evening, and this is what we came across as we walked to the restaurant. Halloween is coming.

Cake Boss Load Pan winner
Now, without further ado, the winner of the Cake Boss loaf pan is....drumroll....The Peace Patch. Email me your address so we can send out your pan.