Last Thursday, I spent the entire day surrounded by people I love while doing the things I enjoy. I prepped, shopped, styled and cooked my heart out, somewhat seamlessly, thanks to insane amounts of listmaking and feverishly re-reading my "hosting tips" post. Everything turned out, my pie-anxiety finally subsided and we feasted on a huge meal followed by too many cocktails.

SALTED CARAMEL APPLE ROSE PIE (Gluten-free) Serves 6

To make crust:

2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup oat flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold & cubed
1 egg
1 tablespoon tapioca starch

1. In a large food processor, add flours, powdered sugar, xanthum gum and salt. Pulse a few times until well combined. Carefully add in 1 egg and cold, cubed butter. Pulse until the mixture comes away and forms a dough. Use your hands to form a disk, dust with tapioca starch and wrap in syran wrap. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Once your crust is chilled, roll out your dough between two pieces of parchment paper, making sure to flour EVERYTHING well. I used brown rice flour and sorghum. Roll out to about 10 inches or so, adding more flour if your dough gets sticky. Peel off the top parchment layer, put your (GREASED) pie plate face down on the dough. Hold the pie plate and one hand under the parchment (use help if you have it!) and flip the pie plate right side up, making sure to keep the pie as flat and intact as possible. I did this in one go, so the method worked well for me! Use whatever works for you.

3. Peel off the last sheet of parchment and fit your dough to the pan, using your hands to press into the pan. Choose your favorite pie crust design, I did a "pinch" design, shown visually here, along with other ideas.

To make caramel:

1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (maldon)

Combine sugar and water over medium low heat in a medium saucepan until sugar dissolves. Add unsalted butter and bring mixture to a low boil. Let dissolve and keep at a low boil until mixture darkens to a copper color.

(Note: this may take a while, don't turn up the heat! If it's too hot, it will burn and be ruined. Be patient)

Once the mixture reaches it's golden color, remove from heat and slowly pour in heavy cream. The caramel will steam, so be careful -- it's hot. Bring saucepan back to the stove over very low heat and stir in sea salt. After 5 minutes, remove from heat and let cool for at least 30 minutes. (This recipe will make a large amount of caramel, you might have some leftover, but I made extra so I could drizzle on each pie slice upon serving. Plus, if you have leftover apples, you have yourself an indulgent snack.)

To make filling:

6-7 apples, sliced paper thin (I used a mix of granny smith and honeycrisp)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup turbinado sugar
Freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Using a mandolin, slice your apples into paper thing slices and add to a large mixing bowl. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and mix very carefully with your hands. Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix again with your hands making sure not to damage your apples (we're making roses here!).

To assemble roses: Lay out about 4-5 apple slices in a line. Once you lay one down, overlap the next one about 1/2 inch and continue doing so for each slice you add (overlapping each just slightly). Then, you will roll up the line of apple slices tightly making sure to carefully keep the "rose" in-tact. Place each rose in your pie and continue until filled! This process takes patience, but it's not hard. Just go slow, and experiment with adding different sizes or colors :)

As soon as you fill your crust with apple roses, drizzle caramel over top and garnish with a pinch of sea salt. Chill the entire pie in the freezer for 25 minutes or so, before baking. While you wait, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Once pie is chilled, add to 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Be sure to drizzle more caramel over top once pie is cooled and again before serving ;) Serve a la mode or with fresh whipped cream (or both).

CHERRY AND MIXED BERRY OAT WALNUT CRUMBLE (Gluten-free) Serves 6-8

For Filling:

12 oz. raspberries
10 oz. sweet cherry (fresh, or frozen and thawed)
12 oz. blackberry
2 teaspoons flour (I used sorghum)
4 teaspoons tapioca starch
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt + cinnamon

Add all berries and sweet cherries to a large colander and rinse well. Let drain for at least 25 minutes. Once drained, add fruit to a large mixing bowl. Stir in tapioca starch and flour first, making sure to fold in and coat the mixture well. Then mix in sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Immediately add to a cast-iron skillet and set aside.

For Topping:

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Pinch of sea salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen & grated or chilled and cubed

In another large mixing bowl, whisk together all flours well, then add sugars, spices, and salt. Combine well making sure everything is evenly distributed. Add walnuts and grate in frozen stick of butter (if you use chilled butter, cut in butter to the mixture and mix well). Use your hands to mix the topping until butter is evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly. Top your fruit filling with the crumble evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then up the heat to 375 for 10-12 minutes or until topping is browned and fruit is bubbling. Serve warm!