never present

i had some scrap pie dough, and some cream cheese and sour cream that was sitting around. so i made an impromptu cheesecake pie

i lined a bread tin with pie dough and made a rectangular case. then i spread strawberry jam on the base; don't know if that waterproofs the crust. i was thinking of how to make the cheesecake filling - a no-bake one. i was thinking i might cook a custard and then beat in the cheese. but then that felt too troublesome. still, i thought i needed some whipped cream, which i didn't have on hand. then i realised that sour cream probably would have lightened it. so i sweetened the cream cheese with some sugar, then beat in the sour cream, and it was just right! it wasn't light and airy, but it wasn't so thick and dense. it was just creamy and voluptuous.

and then i picked up a recipe online; it's pierre herme's viennois sables. the recipe used egg whites, so i was happy to try it. (i have about 10 egg whites still in the freezer.)

the recipe makes a soft dough that goes into a piping bag, which is then piped into various shapes on the baking sheet. in the oven, the piped patterns held their shapes well, even the intricate ridges. and the cookies were buttery and delicious, speckled with vanilla seeds.