Sunday, January 15, 2017

Celebration Lemon-Cherry Pie ala Kate Carlisle


 

Although Kate Carlisle is best known as the New York Times bestselling author of the Bibliophile Mysteries, it's her second ongoing series—the Fixer-Upper Mysteries—that are coming to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries this month.

One of my books is coming to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries tonight. Celebrate with me! Framed for Murder: a Fixer-Upper Mystery, will air at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT, and will star singer/songwriter/actress Jewel in the role of Shannon, a contractor who specializes in restoring Victorian homes to their former glory—and in solving the murders that happen within their walls. Actor Colin Ferguson will play Shannon's love interest, Mac. He's a wonderful choice!

I'm delighted to celebrate with you here at Mystery Lovers Kitchen. We'll be live-tweeting during the show, so follow us both: www.twitter.com/katecarlisle www.twitter.com/mysteryloverskitchen

About the Fixer-Upper Mysteries: In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, California, the best man for the job is a woman: Shannon Hammer, owner of Hammer Construction Company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Shannon discovers not only skeletons in her neighbors' closets, but murder victims, too!

The producers at Hallmark hope to bring all of the Fixer-Upper Mysteries to the screen—four books so far, with more to come: A High-End Finish, This Old Homicide, Crowned and Moldering, and Deck the Hallways. You can read free excerpts of all of the books on my website, www.KateCarlisle.com.

In honor of this career milestone, I've created a recipe that I'm calling Celebration Lemon-Cherry Pie. The first time I served this, everyone remarked on how flaky the crust is. The trick is to make sure that your shortening is very cold. I had mine in the refrigerator overnight. I'll have a printable version of this recipe available in the Secret Room at KateCarlisle.com.



Celebration Lemon-Cherry Pie

Crust:
1 C all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ C vegetable shortening, very cold (refrigerate overnight if you can)
2-3 Tbsp ice cold water

Preheat the oven to 450. Whisk together the flour and salt, then cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until the pieces are about the size of lentils.



Add ice cold water 1 Tbsp at a time, stirring gently, just until the dough holds together. Too much water will make the crust hard. Too little will make it fall apart. Roll it out on a floured surface until it's about four inches larger than your pie plate (two inches on each side). Pinch dough around the crust to form little hills and valleys. Loosely tent aluminum foil around the edges of the pie crust. Line the bottom of the crust with parchment paper, and then weigh down with pie plates or something that's oven-proof and substantial but not too heavy. You're trying to keep the crust from ballooning up, but you don't want to smoosh it completely.



Bake the crust for 7 minutes, then carefully remove the aluminum foil. Bake for another 7-10 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Filling:
¾ C sugar
3 Tbsp corn starch
1 C cold water
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
Juice of two lemons
2 Tbsp butter, cubed
1 tsp lemon zest
½ tsp lemon extract
2 drops of yellow food coloring (optional)
1 can cherry pie filling

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn starch, and salt. Stir in the water until the mixture is smooth, with no lumps. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until it thickens and begins to boil, then turn the heat to low and continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks. Add a small amount of the hot mixture to the egg yolks, stir, and return all to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for two more minutes. (I took a break from stirring to take this picture, and the world didn't fall apart.) Remove from heat.

Add the lemon juice, butter, lemon zest, lemon extract, and food coloring if using, and stir them in very gently. Cool to room temperature without stirring anymore. Spread into precooked crust and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Spread the cherry pie filling over the lemon filling.

Topping:
1 C heavy whipping cream
4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
½ C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Whip the cream alone until it thickens and is spreadably solid. Whip in the remaining ingredients. This will give you more whipped cream than you need to do something artistic like I did with my pie, so if you like lots of topping, just pile it on and enjoy!

This pie is perfect for the Fixer-Upper Mysteries because it's a little bit sweet, a little bit tart, and it packs a big punch! If you had to pick a food that best describes you, what food would it be, and why?

We're giving away a $25 Visa Card to one lucky winner today. To enter, leave a comment with your email address so we can contact you if you win. Good luck! And don't forget to live tweet with Kate and the authors of Mystery Lovers Kitchen tonight during the movie! See you there!

108 comments:

  1. Excellent pie recipe; and I'm definitely excited for the Fixer Upper series! If I had to pick a food that best describes me, I would pick vanilla gelato. I'm always cold, am picky about high quality ingredients/materials, and am just sweet enough - nothing artificial :) EMS591@aol.com

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    1. LOL! I like that. Nothing artificial. :) Thanks for your comment, Liz. Hope you enjoy tonight's Fixer-Upper Mystery!

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  2. I love both lemon and cherry pies but never thought of combining the two fillings to make one pie. Thanks for the recipe. A food that would describe me would be chocolate cake: sweet, popular and fun. grace dot koshida at gmail dot com

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    1. Aw, how great! I love chocolate cake, and I love how you describe yourself. :)

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  3. Pie for breakfast anyone?? Yum! My mouth is watering!! I'm so excited for Framed for Murder tonight! Congrats Kate! You should be very proud! The casting seems great and I can't wait to see if the other characters are as I imagined in my mind. I can't think of a food that describes me because I've got pie brain!! Thanks!
    Rlewis11797 (at) yahoo (dot) com

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    1. Confession: We did have this pie for breakfast the day after I made it. I rationalized it by saying, "Hey, fruit, bread (crust), dairy (whipped cream)... how could that be bad?"

      LOL on pie brain!

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  4. A food that describes me?? have no idea. There are lots of food I like from meat to sweets, but one to describe -- probably just plan ol' vanilla pudding.
    I won't get to watch the TV show tonight as we won't be home, but we have it marked to record so I will get to see it later. Can't miss seeing my 'namesake' [Hammer] on the screen. :(

    donna {dot} durnell {at} sbcglobal {dot} net

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    1. Opps, that is supposed to be a HAPPY face. :) missed the correct key and didn't catch it until I hit 'publish'.

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    2. LOL! I didn't even notice until after you pointed it out. Too funny! I've done that, Donna.

      Hallmark will be replaying the movie a couple times in the next few days, and then probably occasionally after that, as well. Plus, Jewel announced this week that they intend to make more movies. Filming on the next one starts in February!

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  5. The pie looks good. I have no idea what food would describe me.
    sgiden at verizon(.)net

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    1. Then I'm going to say "ravioli," Sandy, because from the outside, you're mysterious. :)

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  6. I love cherry anything and this combo of cherry and lemon sounds delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

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    1. You're welcome, Sue. It is really delicious! If you make it, please post a picture to my Facebook page. www.facebook.com/katecarlislebooks

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  7. We are so looking forward to the Hallmark movie tonight! (Maybe with a slice of pie?) Readers, stop by and join the conversation there with MLK and Kate (and Jewel?) on Twitter (#sleuthers @hallmarkmovie).

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    1. Looking forward to tweeting with you tonight, Sheila!

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  8. Can't wait to see Framed For Murder tonight. Thanks for the pie recipe it sounds delicious. I guess a food that would describe me is anything chocolate. J_a_m_5672@yahoo.com

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    1. Hope you enjoy Framed for Murder tonight, Joann!

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  9. I wish I could get Hallmark mystery channel!! The pie looks delicious , it's going on my list things to make ! kathambre@yahoo.com

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    1. I hope you'll love the pie, Kathy. Sorry you won't be able to watch the Fixer-Upper Mystery with us. I hope someday that Hallmark will make the DVD available.

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  10. My guys would love this pie!
    Looking forward to the movie! I have not watched television in years, but I enjoy Shannon's adventures. It will be interesting seeing how the book is adapted to work in a visual medium.

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    1. That's so nice of you, Dorris. Thank you! I'm so happy you love my books. There will certainly be some changes between the books and the movies, so try to be open to whatever changes they make and know it's completely okay with me. :)

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  11. This recipe combines two of my favorite flavors! I got a pastry blender for Christmas, so I will have to make this soon. I would say that salsa best describes me because it can be sweet and it can be spicy! Elizw4kids@gmail.com

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    1. I like that, Elizabeth--sweet and spicy is my favorite kind of person. :)

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  12. My husband would love for me to make this! We both love lemon and cherry pie. brichardson0056@yahoo.com

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    1. If you try it out, Becky, please post a picture to my Facebook page! It's a fun recipe because it seems like magic when the lemon mixture begins to gel.

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  13. The recipe sounds good. I think pizza would have to describe me - can add a lot of variety but always the same at heart.

    Congrats again! My DVR is all set. I enjoy the Hallmark movies made from the cozies and am looking forward to this. And looking forward to the next book in the series.
    sallycootie@gmail.com

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    1. Thank you, Sally! Hallmark does a wonderful job of bringing cozies to life. I'm so excited for tonight!

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  14. Looking forward to seeing the movie. Unfortunately, I don't do twitter so I'll miss out on that fun. Thank you for the pie recipe.I'd say I'm a bit like Creme Brulee - familiar, yet a little fancy, and sweet and soft once you get past the hard exterior. Dmskrug3 at hotmail dot com

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    1. If you're interested, I think you can follow the conversation on Twitter even if you don't have an account. Try this link. If you scroll down and see posts, then you can follow tonight if you want. www.twitter.com/#sleuthers

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  15. Congratulations! What wonderful news. Your recipe is delectable. Thanks for your great books and creative writing. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  16. Love pie will have to try it. I'm not good at doing crust. Do lots of reading and love your books.
    judytucker1947@gmail.com

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    1. This crust turned out really well, maybe my best ever. I think the cold water makes a big difference. (But you can always use a store-bought crust. I'll never tell!)

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  17. I am a lemon lover and this combo is so enticing. Thanks for a beautiful recipe. I would say tart and lemony for me. I look forward to the movie and enjoying your entertaining books. Congrats. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. The lemon is just perfect! Tart but sweet and oh, so creamy. Enjoy!

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  18. That looks so delicious!! Looking forward to the movie.
    Sjgolding@sbcglobal.net

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    1. Thank you, Sheila! It's going to be fun watching it together tonight and live-tweeting.

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  20. Congratulations on the movie and we will definitely be trying this pie today after supper. I'm looking forward to watching Framed for Murder and live tweeting with everyone. Pam.guynn@gmail.com

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    1. You're making the pie today? Oh, how wonderful! I hope you enjoy it, Pam.

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  21. Dear Kate, I am so excited for you. I wish we got that Hallmark Channel. I have read every book in both your Bibliophile and Fixer-upper Series. Love them both, but more partial to the Fixer-upper series since I like to get my hands dirty once in a while! So, I wait patiently for more! I am trying the pie recipe today since it is a cloudy, cool day perfect for baking! Again, I am so excited for you and congratulations! Merry Northstarvance(at)Gmail(dot)com

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    1. I'm so honored by your comment. Thank you, Merry! I'm sorry you won't be able to watch the movie with us tonight, but I do hope you'll enjoy the pie and think of me.

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  22. I'm not a tweeter but I will be watching! Congrats to you!
    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  23. Thanks for the recipe. I love both lemon and cherry pies but never thought of combining the two. Love anything chocolate, nothing artificial, organic for us. A food that would describe me? A hard one. But. Think I’ll go with Peanut Butter Fudge. Cuz I’m always sticking my nose into something. Tried so many different PBF recipes and settled on combining two with a little tweak. Della at deepotter (at) peoplepc (dot) com

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    1. They're really delicious together, the lemon and cherry. Both have that wonderful sweet-tartness, and then the whipped cream is a lovely counterpoint.

      LOL on sticking your nose into things. Sounds like you should be a detective! ;)

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  24. Can't wait to try this recipe. Love your books. Counting the ours until the movie.

    Kathy
    Jkooler@att.net

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    1. Less than six hours from when I'm posting this comment! :O :O :O

      So excited!!!

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  25. Of course the calories have been removed, right? It sounds positively scrumptious! A food that describes me: a Jonathan apple: a bit round, but a mixture of tart and sweet inside, as well as being versatile! stlreadn (at) gmail (dot) com

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    1. It's fruit! There are no calories in fruit!!! ;)

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  26. Beautiful pie, lemon and cherries are a great combo. my descriptor food would be homemade cookies.comforting, love filled and great to have around. really looking forward to seeing Colin and Jewel bring life to your characters!

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  27. Beautiful pie, lemon and cherries are a great combo. my descriptor food would be homemade cookies.comforting, love filled and great to have around. really looking forward to seeing Colin and Jewel bring life to your characters!

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    1. Oh, I love that, Reba! And just like that, I'm craving homemade chocolate chip cookies. :)

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  28. Sounds delish! And I can't wait to see the movie! zeta(at)iwon(dot)com

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  29. This pie looks amazing. I would pick a shortbread cookie to describe me. Plain not into anything too fancy. I am also short. I'm excited about the movie. Congratulations to you!

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    1. Shortbread cookies may not be fancy, but they are among my favorites! Classics, just like you, Kristi. :)

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  30. Looks and sounds delicious. If I was a food item, I'd have to be something unusual, slightly spicy, fruity. Perhaps a spicy fruit salad with nuts? Or a rare steak with a manhattan-independent and classy.

    So happy I'm off work tomorrow so that I can stay up late and watch the show!

    cozyupwithkathy @ gmail dot com

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    1. LOL, Kathy. Fruity and nutty... that description would work for me, too.

      Yay for an extra day off work!

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  31. Recipe sounds yummy! Looking forward to watching the movie! mcastor07@gmail.com

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  32. This looks like a winner. Can't wait to try it. Thanks for the recipe!!! Jchizmar01@windstream.net

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  33. This looks like a winner. Can't wait to try it. Thanks for the recipe!!! Jchizmar01@windstream.net

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  34. Can't wait for tonight and Framed for Murder! Thanks for sharing your wonderful looking recipe on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen!

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  35. Forgot to enter my email: bobandcelia@sbcglobal.net

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  36. Thank you for the recipe. Have put the ingredients on my shopping list and plan on making this tomorrow! mommatoodle at msn dot com

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    1. Hope you enjoy it, Pam. Would love for you to post a picture to my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/katecarlislebooks

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  37. I love this series, and the recipe. Thank you for this chance! areewekidding@yahoo.com

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  38. How clever the way it layers. Very pretty.
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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    1. I held my breath when I added the cherry pie filling, hoping it wouldn't just sink into the lemon layer, but it worked great. I did chill the lemon layer first.

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  39. I can only imagine what it feels like to see your story and often direct quotes from your book on the screen. Congratulations! What a way to celebrate! With Pie! kat8762@aol.com

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    1. And my name is in the opening credits!!! Wha??? Amazing, simply amazing.

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  40. Looks so pretty I'd hate to eat it.
    Theresa N
    weceno(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. That dread only lasts until you take the first bite, and then you get over it because it's so delicious. ;)

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  41. The pie looks great. Cant wait for tonight. So sad I dont twitter. I know it will be fun for everyone. Thanks for the chance to win. kayt18 (at) comcast (dot) net

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    1. Even if you don't use Twitter, Kay, you can still follow along with our conversation if you want. Just go to www.twitter.com/#sleuthers and click "Latest" near the top of the page. You might need to refresh the page in order to see new posts, or they might load automatically. I'm not sure.

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  42. The pie looks good but my husband and i are planning to make dinner and have everything over with by the time the movie starts. We have been talking to friends about it and we were telling them if we had twitter that we could tweet during but no twitter. We have been so excited about all of this in fact my husband was supposed to go to a hockey game with a friend and the friend called and asked where he was Tim said he was so excited with me about the movie he forgot the hockey game. He told him catch him next time i was laughing as we are so happy for Katie and her gang about this. It is going to be a fav of ours! ptclayton2@aol.com

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    1. Aw, what an honor! He chose the movie over sports... I think I like your husband! :) Thank you for being so enthusiastic. This is going to be fun tonight!

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  43. Looks delicious! I'll try to get on my twitter account! I love that series!

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  44. That looks so good! The movie looks like a winner! congratulations Kate! dkstevensne AToutlook (dot) com

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  45. This is super exciting!! Congratulations! We'll be watching!

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    1. I'm both nervous and excited! Not sure why I'm nervous. I guess that's just the joy of being me. :)

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  46. Chocolate covered pretzels because I'm sweet & salty. Thanks for the chance & congrats on the movie! turtle6422(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Oooh, good one, Jana! :) Sweet and salty. I like it!

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  47. I'm looking forward to watching this! If I had to pick a food that describes me I'd say cinnamon rolls. Sweet and spicy.
    eswright18 at gmail dot com

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  48. Congrats on your first TV movie! Looking forward to watching. Great recipe, love lemon with just about everything. I guess the food I would pick to describe me is a frozen strawberry fruit bar, they are my go to daily dessert.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. That's a very healthy dessert. :) Thank you for your congratulations, Dianne. Very exciting!

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  49. I've already set the DVR to tape it so I can watch it. I'm looking forward to it.

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  50. Congratulations on the movie! I'm looking forward to seeing it! dm_richards at yahoo dot com

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  51. awesome pie combo. I never would have thought to put them together but I bet it tastes great! the food that would describe me would be chocolate brownies with nuts..simple, sweet and a little nutty just the same,lol rosep@bayland.net

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    1. LOL! Simple, sweet, and a little nutty. I think I like you, Rosemary! :D

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  52. ordered hallmark just so i could watch - Cokin is a favorite have all the eureka seasons on disc and watch all the time - does hallmark market dvd - saving the pie recipes looks lucious-jmlane61@gmail/com

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    1. Wow, that's so great! I think you're going to love Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Jeanette. It's a favorite for many cozy mystery fans.

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  53. Lemon and cherry sounds like an interesting combo. I'll have to give it a try. Can't wait for the movie, too.

    lauraalbert@hotmail.com

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  54. This recipe looks heavenly! Will have to try it.
    A food that describes me would have to be a chocolate chip cookie. I like to think that I'm warm and comforting. donnaing1@gmail.com

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    1. I wish I had time to make some chocolate chip cookies. That sounds reallllly good right now!

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  55. I can wait to see the Fixer Upper Mystery Movie tonight. I need to try these great recipes. Thanks for this generous giveaway. lindamay4852@yahoo.com

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  56. I've got The Fixer upper Mystery movie set to record. I can't wait to watch it. The pie recipe looks great. I bet it tastes even better.
    moonbay7399@gmail.com

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  57. An interesting combination of two flavors that I love and don't sound like they should go together but it's worth a try. Thanks for the recipe. Watching the beginning of the movie and I love the setting.

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  58. Will have to try this! parkeremma2003 at yahoo dot com

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  59. I can't wait to make the pie. Loving the movie! I have it recorded so I can rewatch. I love the house in the setting. Kim Ristoff at gmail dot com

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  61. This is exceptionally well done. Jewel and Colin are very believable as Shannon and Mac. cartersusanmt@gmail.com

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  62. The pie looks delicious! Love the series!donamaekutska7@gmail.com

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  63. Ohhh, I will have to make this. I absolutely love lemon. The cherry adds another dimension to it. Email is sweetiepie54@msn.com.

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  64. I missed it!!! I wanted to watch it and then I got distracted by my lovely little children. The pie looks delicious!! I guess I can use some pie to get over missing the show. =) konecny7(at)gmail(dot)com

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  65. Congratulations on the books going to Movie. I have a friend who is recording this for me as I am having Cable problems. Can't wait to watch it.
    Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com

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