Pie Love You

Aunt Janet's Apple Pie #52

2010-12-31T23:45:00.003-05:00

Growing up, the only way to get any sugar in my body was to sneak the Tang bottle out to the back yard and pour the powder right into my mouth (which I did) or pray that a bite of the previous Sunday’s dessert, always provided by Aunt Janet, was still covered in tinfoil on the counter.

We never had sugar cereals or candy in our house (which, judging the way Tang disappeared around our house, was probably a good choice on my mom's behalf); however, the array of desserts prepared by Aunt Janet for our weekly Sunday dinners provided enough of an education for me to learn that anything baked was superior and set me up for a life-long quest of trying to bake as well as she did. Especially since it made so many people happy.

Among my favorite treats that Aunt Janet made, were her pies; and until a few years ago, Aunt Janet was the only person that I knew that made pies. It’s been at least 20 years since I last made a pie with her, but I’ve never forgotten the amount of care and precision that she gives to each pie. In fact while we cooked, she told me how her mother would call her “Fussy Janet” and remind her that the more she worked over her piecrust the less desirable it would be. Though, through all of her fussing, she has perfected her technique and each pie is a true labor of love. She plans, prepares, and exactly measures every step she takes and humbly takes no credit for the wonderful outcome. If it really is possible for cooks to transfer emotions into their creations, then there may be no better way to feel Aunt Janet's love than to taste one of her pies.

This recipe has been passed down for generations. From Alta Taylor; to my Grandmother, Myrtle Calder; and luckily landed in the talented hands of my Aunt Janet. Within my lifetime alone, I estimate that she’s made this pie around 120 times (two at each Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner) though I know that is a pretty modest estimate since it says nothing about the many other occasions where it’s graced our table or the fact that she was making this long before I came around.

Aunt Janet says that the secrets to this pie are the Golden Delicious apples from Allred Orchard and, most importantly, the lard crust. Although our apples were not from Allred Orchard this time, I think that she is right about the lard crust. Stacked up against a butter crust that we had from another pie, I have to admit that I was very impressed with how good the lard crust tasted. This is a fairly salty crust, but the sweet interior makes a perfect combination.

Another secret that we learned together, this week while we baked, is that using baker's sugar (which is sugar that has very small granules, but not as small as powdered sugar) made a difference in the overall sweetness and texture of the pie. Also, this pie is better if you sprinkle flour over the bottom crust before you add the apples.

Thanks to Aunt Janet's precision, this pie is nearly perfect. And thanks to her generosity and sweetness, I was able to make such a wonderful pie as my last one this year.

Aunt Janet's Apple Pie

Crust

1 generous cup lard cut into cubes

1/2 cup boiling water

Pour boiling water over lard and whip up together until lard is melted. Chill in the fridge until lard has hardened (about 30 minutes) stiring occassionally to check the progress.

3 cups sifted flour (go lightly on the flour; cups should be slightly rounded but not heaping)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons sugar

After flour has been sifted several times, sift the salt and the sugar with the flour a few times to mix completely.

Once lard has chilled, mix flour mixture into lard until just combined. Roll into two balls. Cover each ball in waxed paper and tin foil and store in refrigerator overnight or until ready to use.

(Makes one 2-crust pie or 100 tarts)

Filling

5 to 7 tart apples (Golden Delicious)

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons enriched flour

Dash salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS:

Pare apples and slice thin, Mix sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and add to apples. If apples aren't tart, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice--or grated lemon peel, if desired.

Fill 9-inch pastry lined pie pan. Dot apples with butter. Cover apples with the top crust. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) 40 to 45 minutes.

Triple Coconut Cream Pie #51

2010-12-31T22:50:00.000-05:00

I've been forwarded several pie recipes through this past year, which I love, although I haven't had a chance to make all of them (sorry if you've sent me one and I haven't done it yet. Thank you for sending. Just hold on...). This one was forwarded to me this summer by my mother-in-law who told me that people in Seattle were raving about this pie. Even people who don't like coconut!

Which, in all honesty, has put me in a quandary for a few months. I don't know anyone that dislikes coconut more than my husband and since, technically, I'm making all of these pies for him, I didn't wanted to make something that is his favorite thing to eat and fill it with his least favorite ingredient. It just seemed kind of cruel. However, there was always that hope that even those who don't like coconut like this pie.

Eventually my curiosity overcame everything else (sorry Ryan) and I decided to try out this pie before the end of the year--luckily I have a forgiving husband.

The instance the milk, coconut, and vanilla bean begin to scold, he became a little more excited about this pie and by the time it was all together it smelled good enough that he was willing to try it.

Personally, I love the flavor of coconut, but I'm not the biggest fan of its woody texture. As far as the taste goes, I thought it was great. I loved the coconut in the crust. I loved the flavor of the filling. Also, for the white chocolate curls, I used a Lindt chocolate white chocolate coconut bar, which added an extra coconut taste which I loved. I still don't love the texture of coconut, but I really only noticed it on my first bite but didn't let it hold me back from the taste and the crust.

And it was good enough that it wasn't too hard for Ryan to forgive me.

Triple Coconut Cream Pie

(Adapted from Tom Douglas at Dahliah's Bakery in Seattle)

Coconut pie crust 

1 cup plus

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut 

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 

2 teaspoons sugar 

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

3 to 5 tablespoons ice water  

Coconut Cream

2 cups milk

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

2 large eggs

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Cream Topping

2 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Garnish

2 ounces unsweetened "chip" or large-shred coconut (about 1 1/2 cups) or sweetened shredded coconut

Chunks of white chocolate (4 to 6 ounces, to make 2 ounces of curls)

DIRECTIONS

For Crust: Pulse first 5 ingredients in a food processor 6 to 10 times or until mixture is crumbly. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing once after each addition, until dough holds together when pressed between fingers. (Dough will not form a ball or even clump together in processor-it will be loose.)  

Turn dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap; press into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill 1 hour. 

Roll dough to a 12- to 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming excess to a 1- to 11/2-inch overhang. Turn dough under along rim of pie pan, and flute edges. Chill at least 1 hour before baking.  

Preheat oven to 400°. Place a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper in pie crust, extending over edges, and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Remove from oven; discard foil and beans, and return pie crust to oven. Bake for 14 to 17 more minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Coconut Cream: (make the coconut cream while the crust is chilling in the fridge) To make the coconut cream, combine the milk and coconut in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and pod to the milk mixture. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the mixture almost comes to a boil.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until well combined. Temper the eggs (to keep them from scrambling) by pouring a small amount (about 1/3 Cup) of the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and coconut. Whisk over medium-high heat until the pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. Remove and discard the vanilla pod. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place it over a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until it is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming and refrigerate until completely cold. The coconut cream will thicken as it cools. 

When the coconut cream is cold, fill the prebaked pie shell with it, smoothing the surface. In an electric mixer with the whisk, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla on medium speed. Gradually increase the speed to high and whip to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the whipped cream and pipe it all over the surface of the pie, or spoon it over.

For the garnish: preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the coconut chips on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, watching carefully and stirring once or twice, since coconut burns easily, until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape about 2 ounces of the white chocolate into curls.

Deep-Dish Winter Fruit Pie with Walnut Crumb #50

2010-12-31T22:01:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I think this pie has a lot of potential, but it’s not perfect just yet. There was too much fruit for the filling. Most pies call for one cup of sugar, but because of the sugary topping, I thought that maybe the half cup would be sufficient; however, I would say that it wasn’t sweet enough. Also, there was A LOT of filling. I would use only two pears and two apples (or maybe three each, but definitely not four).

That’s no small thing since that basically has everything to do with the filling, but the mixture of pears, apples, cranberries, and figs were great. I love figs and I liked the texture and taste that they added. Also, the pie was a bit runny, but again, all of that might be solved by just using less pears and apples, but use these adjustments, I really think it will be a winner.

Deep-Dish Winter Fruit Pie with Walnut Crumb

(Adapted from: Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckels, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More)

Pie Pastry

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

12 tablespoons (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 tablespoons ice water

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Walnut Crumb Topping

3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed (5 3/4 ounces) brown sugar

3/4 cup (3 ounces) raw walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

Fruit Filling

1 cup (5 1/2 ounces) dried figs

4 small apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/2 inch thick (12 ounces prepped)

4 pears, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/2 inch thick (1 1/4 pounds prepped)

1 cup (4 ounces) cranberries, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

To make the pie pastry, put the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, stir to combine, then put the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Add the butter to the flour mixture and toss to evenly coat. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, a food processor, an electric mixer, or your hands, just until the mixture becomes coarse and crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Stir the water and lemon juice together, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured work surface and press it into a 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Roll the chilled dough into a 14-inch disk, then line a 9 or 10 by 3-inch springform pan with the rolled-out dough. Patch any holes and trim off any dough that hangs over the edges of the pan. Chill for an additional 30 minutes while you prepare the crumb topping and the fruit filling.

To make the walnut crumb topping, mix the flour, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the butter, then work it in with your hands until the texture of crumbs. Put the topping in the refrigerator while you make the fruit filling.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.

To make the fruit filling, remove the stem from each fig, then boil the figs in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Slice each fig into 4 to 5 pieces, put them in a large bowl, and add the apples, pears, and cranberries. Separately, rub the sugar and cornstarch together, then add to the fruit and gently toss until evenly coated.

Transfer the filling to the pie shell and top with the walnut crumb. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 60 to 75 minutes, or until the crumb is golden, the fruit juices are bubbling thickly around the edges, and the fruit is tender when pierced with a wooden skewer. If the crumb is getting too dark, cover it with foil.

Storage: Covered with a tea towel, the pie will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days. Spooned into a bowl and drizzled with chilled cream, it makes a wonderful breakfast.

White Chocolate Cranberry Pie #49

2010-12-31T21:35:00.004-05:00

I’m so sorry to even put this recipe on the Internet. It’s AWFUL. If you want to put this on some type of fail blog, that’s fine, but if you want to make it, I’m not okay with that. This late in the game I’m embarrassed to have such a bad pie enter this experience—I should have learned something, right? This was NOT a winning pie. Warning: don’t make it.

In my defense, some of my favorite holiday cookies are cranberry and white chocolate cookies, so I had really high hopes for this recipe. However, the white chocolate pudding had so much cornstarch (at least I think that's the reason) in it that the consistency was like biting into a ball of mozzarella with a sweet and chalky taste. And unfortunately the cranberry sauce nor the gingersnap crust could save this disaster. We ate one or two bites of two slices and threw the rest away—that’s right, we threw the whole pie away. I think that’s the first time that’s ever happened.

I’m not saying that I don't hope for another white chocolate and cranberry pie, but this certainly wasn’t good enough to make again. Honestly, I don’t even think that it can be salvaged and turned into something better.

Okay, so here’s the recipe so you can make your own judgment, but again, please remember not to make this.

White Chocolate Cranberry Pie
(adapted from epicurious.com)

1/2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 ounces good-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Baker's), chopped

Cranberry Sauce:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup fresh cranberries

Gingersnap Crust:
3/4 cups gingersnap crumbs, from about 1/2 batch
1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
White Chocolate Filling: Whisk 1/4 cup milk, yolks, sugar, flour and cornstarch in bowl to blend. Pour remaining 2 1/4 cups milk into heavy medium saucepan; bring to simmer. Gradually whisk hot milk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until custard boils and thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; whisk until chocolate melts. Cool completely.

Cranberry Sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries, and cook until they start to pop (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat, and transfer to a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Gingersnap Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together gingersnap crumbs, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Add butter and stir until mixture is well combined. Press some of the mixture against the side of the bowl with your fingers. If the crumbs do not hold together, add cold water, a little at a time, up to 1 tablespoon, and stir to combine.

Press crumb mixture into a 9-inch pie plate, evenly covering the bottom and sides. Transfer to freezer and chill for 10 minutes. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake until crust is fragrant and set, about 10 minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie #48

2010-12-31T20:04:00.000-05:00

I must say up front, I’m not a nut lover. A peanut lover, yes. But real nuts—like the kind that real people eat, I don’t love them. I only eat them when I’m starving and don’t have anything else to eat. So, I haven’t been completely excited about making a pecan pie. However I think that pecan pies are my dad’s favorite or at least at his request I’ve had my fair share of slices and usually I just want to eat the sugary part between the pecan layer and crust. In fact, I think that’s why I liked the crack pie that made a few months ago because it reminded me of that non-nutty layer. So there…nuts are just okay in my book.

Also while searching for recipes I found that almost every recipe calls for corn syrup—a lot of it—and I didn’t want to use corn syrup and ultimately I decided to use a substitute and hoped that would be successful. Corn syrup is usually used because the sugars don’t crystallize or turn grainy when it’s cold, but as a general cooking rule, I prefer to choose natural ingredients over processed whenever I can.

Any way, from what I’ve read, there are a few things that you can use as a substitute for corn syrup: honey, sugar dissolved in water (the internet provides several suggestions about the ratios), maple sugar, and something called golden syrup to list a few. They all change the taste just a little bit and are sweeter than corn syrup, but can be used measure for measure.

Since they are sweeter, I used a little bit less than what was called for in the recipe. I substituted ½ cup maple syrup for the ¾ cup corn syrup that it originally called for (maple is one of my favorite flavors and I thought it would got well with pecans, which is why I choose it).

This pie was very sweet and in the end I thought the maple/orange/pecan mixture was just okay. However, while I don’t know if the corn syrup would have created a different effect (since it keeps sugar from crystallizing), my favorite part about this pie were the pecans on the top of the pie that had crystallized during the baking. They were delicious and for the first time, all I wanted to do with this pecan pie was eat the nuts on the top, which is exactly what I did.

Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie
(adapted from epicurious.com)

Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups pecan halves (1/2 pound)

DIRECTIONS:
Crust: Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in processor) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn’t hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated, then test again. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one, and press into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Filling: Preheat oven to 350°F with a baking sheet on middle rack.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and lightly press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in syrup mixture.

Put pecans in pie shell and pour corn syrup mixture evenly over them. Bake on hot baking sheet until filling is set, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool completely.

Pear-Pomegranate Pie #47

2010-12-31T19:54:00.001-05:00

When you die, if you get the choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if not, mmmmmmm, boy!

--Jack Handy

This all started with a New York Times article titled: Heaven in a pie pan. And since that’s the basic goal I had to try it.

The crust called for European butter, which resulted in a heavenly crust. I could absolutely tell the difference; the smell, the taste, the flakiness—it was wonderful. Maybe I’m just cheap, but I don’t know if every piecrust MUST be made with epensive butter, but when it counts, I would definitely recommend choosing the better butter.

The pomegranate molasses and the sautéed pears were easier to make than I thought they would be. I was really worried that my molasses would turn into to candy rather than a syrup, but it wasn’t hard. Also, I was worried about the extra liquid in the pie, but the tapioca flakes soaked up that potential threat and there were no problems.

One note of caution, with the delicateness of this piecrust, mixed with the warmth of the sautéed pears, you should consider freezing this pie for 20 or 30 minutes before putting it in the oven. My crust didn’t hold up on exactly on every section of the pie, but I think that freezing it for a few minutes would remedy that in the future.

This isn’t one of those sugary, candy-like pies, but the heaven that it sends you to is a little more sophisticated. Like the difference between regular heaven and pie heaven. Similar, but both wonderful for different reasons.

Pear-Pomegranate Pie

(from The New York Times)

Filling:
4 Bosc pears (about 2 pounds), peeled and cored

4 Anjou pears (about 2 pounds), peeled and cored

6 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (see recipe at the end)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3 tablespoons tapioca

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, preferably a high-fat, European-style butter like Plugra, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 to 5 tablespoons ice water

DIRECTIONS:

In a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture forms chickpea-size pieces (3 to 5 one-second pulses). Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture is just moist enough to hold together.

Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out and baking.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Quarter 6 pears. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, bring 3 tablespoons molasses to a boil. Let simmer about 2 minutes, until molasses thickens. Arrange half the quartered pears in a single layer in skillet. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over pears. Cook, turning occasionally, until pears are well caramelized on all sides (but not cooked through), about 5 minutes.

Scrape pears and molasses into a bowl. Add tapioca and toss to combine. Repeat cooking process with remaining molasses, butter and quartered pears. Add second batch of pears to bowl; combine.

Thinly slice remaining pears and add to bowl. Stir in sugar, ginger and salt. On a lightly floured surface, roll out both crusts to 12-inch circles. Place one crust in 9-inch pie plate. Scrape pear filling into crust.

Cut remaining dough into strips about 1 inch thick. Top pie with strips, weaving them into a lattice. Crimp edges to seal. Place pie on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is dark golden and pears are tender when pricked with a fork, about 45 minutes more. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Pomegranate Molasses

4 cups pomegranate juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Place the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture has reduced to 1 1/2 cups, approximately 50 minutes. It should be the consistency of syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the saucepan for 30 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar and allow to cool completely before covering and storing in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Honey Poached Quince Pie #46

2010-12-15T17:39:00.001-05:00

Dear Readers,

Sorry I've been absent for a few weeks. Thanksgiving brought family visitors, sightseeing, tons of fun, and left me a little sleep-deprived, busy at work, and perhaps with a little turkey tryptophan still in my system. I am blaming all in good and bad ways for slowing my return.

But I'm back, and while I haven't been updating, I've been baking. Hopefully, my lapse will only help us all gear up for the holidays because there just so happens to be another perfect pie occasion coming our way in just a week and a half!

So...let's pretend this lapse never happened...huh?

Well then. Ahem.

Let's talk about quince:

Actually, as of a few months ago, I didn't even know that quince existed. I got one in my farm share and thought it was an apple.

It's not.

So don't get confused and bite in because I'm sorry to say that you'll be disappointed.

Quinces are a cross between a pear and an apple and I've heard rumors that they turn dark red when baked.

With this particular pie, I'd say that there was a pinkish hue, but not the red that I was expecting. I'm assuming that must be another variety of quince than the one I used. But yes, pinkish hue; no, deep red.

With all quince pie recipes I read you are to poach the quince before baking. For this recipe I poached them in honey and the results were a lovely aromatic flavor. In a way, it was kind of like eating potpourri--but much more moist.

I know that kind of sounds like a negative way of describing this, but I just mean that I often feel the same way about lavender cookies or rose flavored candy--the smell is so much a part of taste that it's hard for me to separate them.

Everyone liked the pie and was pleasantly surprised by the taste...for a few bites...and then it became a little too sweet too quickly.

That being said, I think that it would be a really delightful mini pie or just served in smaller slices, or an even better solution would be to just have more people over for pie. In that case, everyone wins.

Honey Poached Quince Pie
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

Poaching:

3 pounds quince, peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 cups water

1 pinch salt

Filling:

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter

Reserved quince cooking liquid

Cornmeal Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup cornmeal (preferably stone-ground, medium grind)

3 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks total) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 tablespoons (or more) ice water

DIRECTIONS

For crust: Blend flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in processor. Cut butter and shortening into mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add 4 tablespoons ice water; blend just until moist clumps begin to form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic and chill at least 1 hour.

To Poach Quince: Combine the sliced quince, honey, water, and a pinch of salt in a pan (you should have about nine cups of sliced fruit). Cover the pan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low. Simmer, covered, until the fruit is tender, about 8 minutes, stirring carefully once or twice to avoid breaking the fruit.

Put a strainer over a saucepan and pour the cooked quince into a strainer, reserving the cooking liquid. Set the quince aside to cool.

Combine the white sugar, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and flour in a small bowl and mix well. Add the sugar mixture and the butter to the reserved quince cooking liquid and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the sauce to cool.

Place a sheet pan on the lowest rack of the oven. Preheat an oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Pour the cooled quince into the pastry-lined pan and cover with the sauce. Add the top crust, crimping the edge to seal. Cut vents or prick the crust with a fork to allow steam to escape.

Put the pie on the preheated sheet pan and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Bake until the edges of the crust are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake until the juices are bubbling and the crust is brown, about 45 minutes more. Cool on a rack at least two hours before serving.

Maple Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust #45

2010-11-24T11:46:00.002-05:00

Oh boy, are we sick of pumpkin pie yet? I sure hope not because tomorrow is the big day!

Are you ready? Do you have pie questions? If you don't know who to ask or have a question I might be able to help you with, you can email me at kacalder (at) gmail (dot) com. I will be standing by to answer any of your pie questions (hopefully I can).

This is kind of like butterball's talk turkey line, but less about turkey's and more about pies.

And, get excited all of you Cjane readers out there, because for today's pumpkin pie post, this is the recipe that she lauded as "the very best Thanksgiving Pie [her] tastebuds had ever sampled."

(maple pumpkin pie top right, with the crack)

Please, tell me which among you is not excited about this pie now?

As you can see, last year it got great reviews (thanks Cjane), which is why I made it for the Pumpkin Pie Panel this year where it also came out as one of the winners (though it was a fight between the citrus pumpkin pie, the homemade traditional pumpkin pie, and this pie).

I think that the maple and pumpkin filling would be nothing without the gingersnap crust. I tried to up the ante a bit this time by using using homemade gingersnaps instead of store bought ones. The gingersnap cookie recipe I used (see below) was fine, but I was hoping that since it used fresh ginger that it would really bite back at you, unlike store bought gingersnaps.

Unfortunately, it turned out more mild than I hoped for and, as much as I hate to admit it, I think the crust was no better than the crust made with the store bought (which, if we're going to get really honest with each other, was a big disappointment since I've been thinking about that change for a year or so).

Even though the gingersnap cookies were not hard to make, I'm questioning whether or not it was worth the effort. In my opinion, the cookies need a bit of candied ginger just for that extra punch, but for now (i.e. for tomorrow) I recommend getting some high-quality, gingersnaps from the store, at least until this gingersnap cookie recipe merits the extra work.

Nonetheless, the maple, pumpkin, and gingersnap combo are the perfect Thanksgiving trifecta, in my humble pie opinion, and you should know that the gingersnap crust makes the difference. It's awesome and I highly recommend this pie (as well as the other two winners).

One other thing, speaking of the crust, it's a little hard to get it all out of the pan. I believe this would be solved by greasing the pie pan before you put the cookie crust in (I've made a note below). But really, the only reason I suggest you fuss with the crust is because it's always about the presentation but just as well, your guests are not going to want to miss out on any of those extra gingersnap crumbs!

Maple Pumpkin Pie with a Gingersnap Crust
(adapted from Epicurious)
Gingersnap Crust:

fourteen 2-inch gingersnaps (about 4 ounces)*

1 cup pecans (about 4 ounces)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter melted and cooled

Maple Pumpkin Filling;

1 cup Grade pure maple syrup

2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup milk

2 large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a food processor grind gingersnaps, pecans, and sugar until fine and add butter, blending until combined well. [Grease pie pan and] press mixture onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch (1-quart) glass pie plate. Bake crust in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden around edge, and cool on rack.

In a 3- to 3 1/2-quart heavy saucepan gently boil maple syrup until a small amount dropped into a bowl of cold water forms a soft ball, about 210° F on a candy thermometer, and cool slightly. In a bowl whisk together pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cream, milk, and eggs and whisk in maple syrup.

Strain filling through a fine mesh sieve. Use a spatula to stir and press mixture through sieve. Once you get almost everything through the sieve (no need to force the small amounts of stringy or flavorless pumpkin, which are the only things remaining in the end, through the sieve), pour filling into cooled shell.

Bake pie in middle of oven 1 hour, or until filling is set but center still shakes slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer pie to a rack to cool completely.

*Gingersnap Cookies:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

Preheat the oven to 350F

In a bowl, whisk together the four, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachments beat together the granulated sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, to to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, molasses, and ginger to combine. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated.

Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Shape the dough into twenty-four 1/2-inch balls. Space the balls evenly on two baking sheets. Bake, rotating the sheets once halfway through, until dark golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks to cool.

The gingersnaps can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

This should make enough cookies for 2 or 3 pies.

Traditional Pumpkin Pie #44

2010-11-22T23:45:00.003-05:00

I have to say that pumpkin pie is one of the easiest pies to make.

For most people, the only thing that you have to do with the main ingredient is open a can, which is why I wanted to do this pumpkin pie panel in the first place. For years I've heard that it doesn't matter much whether or not you use canned or roasted pumpkins. Many people say it tastes the same and that it's not worth the work.

So, I thought I should try it and use a few friends to find out if that was indeed true.

We had three traditional pumpkin pies. One was a store bought pumpkin pie, another was a frozen store bought crust with canned pumpkin filling (using the recipe on the back of the can), and a third pumpkin pie which used a roasted pumpkin and the following recipe.

I was surprised to find that there were people who liked all three pies and those who disliked all three traditional pies as well. I wonder if that had more to do with nostalgia than anything else, but I think that it's important to note that there are people who prefer all options.

As for me, who is usually a pumpkin pie hater, using a roasted pumpkin made a big difference as well as for the majority of the twenty tasters who liked this traditional pie the most. In fact, many of them chose this pie as their favorite pie of the night.

And while I promise I'm not trying to make things more difficult, I think that taking a few extra steps with your pumpkin pie can make a huge difference in the end:
1-I am now a believer in roasting your own pumpkin (directions are at the end)
2-Blend or puree it in your food processor
3-Strain your pumpkin puree

So, while you want to keep the nostalgic taste of your pumpkin pie recipe or you want to try a new one, I believe that using a combination of these techniques can really take your pumpkin pie to a new level--an even better level. Going the extra mile will make your pumpkin lovers happy and I think can help those who don't normally like it to love it even more.

Traditional Pumpkin Pie

Pate Brisee
(Adapted from Julia Childs)

For an 8- to 9-inch shell.

1 cup flour, scooped and leveled
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon plus a pinch salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter
2 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
4 to 4 1/2 tablespoons cold water

Pumpkin Filling:
(adapted from theworldlink.com)
2 cups pumpkin puree*

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:
Crust--Place the flour in the bowl and mix in the sugar and salt. Add the butter and shortening and cut into dry ingredients until it resembles the size of small oatmeal flakes. Do not overdo this step as the fat will be blended more thoroughly later.

Add the water and blend quickly with one hand, fingers held together and slightly cupped, as you rapidly gather the dough into a mass. Sprinkle up to 1 tablespoon more water by droplets over any unmassed remains and add them to the main body of the dough. Then press the dough firmly into a roughly shaped ball. It should just hold together and be pliable but not sticky. Flatten the ball into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place a sheet of parchment paper inside the pie crust, and fill it with enough dry beans, uncooked rice, or pie weights to come nearly to the top of the pie. Bake for 15 minutes, remove parchment paper and weights and bake for another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly and reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.

While the crust is baking, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Heat for 7 minutes, stirring often.

Transfer the pumpkin mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree for about 10 seconds. One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolk, pulsing the blender or processor briefly between each.

With the blender or processor running, slowly pour in the cream and puree until well mixed, about another 10 seconds.

Slowly pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 1 hour, or until the edges are puffed and the center is set and jiggles only slightly.

Cool completely on a rack before cutting.

*Directions for Pumpkin Puree
(Directions from 101 cookbooks)

1 3 lb. sugar pie pumpkin
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully cut the pumpkin into four big wedges - get rid of the stem. Scoop out the seeds and pulp (you can toast the seeds if you like), drizzle then rub the pumpkin wedges with olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt, and then bake on a baking sheet (middle rack) until tender throughout - about an hour. Scoop flesh out of the skins and puree with a hand blender or mash well by hand.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie #43

2010-11-17T23:36:00.001-05:00

So it seems like an obvious combination, right? Chocolate and pumpkin. I mean who doesn't love a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie every once in a while, or some warm pumpkin bread with chocolate chips? So yes, pumpkin and chocolate seem to be a perfect marriage of delightful indulgence and health (note the vegetable and antioxidant combination).

This pie, however, was not really the symphony of satisfaction that I expected it to be. And as far as the Pumpkin Pie Panel testers went, they rated this one as their least favorite of the non-traditional Pumpkin Pies.

Here's the thing, I don't think it awful. I finished mine and enjoyed it. Also, since there was SO much extra filling left over (really, there is SO MUCH FILLING for one 9 1/2 in pie pan--be prepared to make another small one or maybe just be smart from the beginning and prepare two 9 inch pans), I took a small pie (with a gingersnap crust) to work with me the next day and shared it with some co-workers. It got pretty good reviews there so again, I'm just saying, it's not awful--not at all.

But (and this is a BIG but), it doesn't taste like pumpkin.

That's kind of a problem for a pumpkin pie.

I mean, it's got the spices in there, and yeah, there's a wee stitch of pumpkiness in the flavor, but it just tastes like kind of an interesting chocolate pie.

I don't want to completely scare you away from this pie combination. It can be done. But the pumpkin shouldn't be masked and that's the problem with this pie, at least in my opinion. Hopefully this recipe can be used as a jump start for an even better pumpkin chocolate pie combination, but this, my friends, is probably not it.

(Speaking of putting together amazing pie combinations, did anyone else happen to read this article today? I know it's pie season and all, but YEAH FOR PIE!)

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

Graham Cracker Crust

2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped

Filling

6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 55 percent cacao), chopped

2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin (or two cups roasted pumpkin)

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pinch ground cloves

DIRECTIONS

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides of a deep, 9 1/2-inch pie dish. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, and sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust. Return to oven to melt chocolate, about 1 minute. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on bottom and up sides. Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Filling: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.

Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/3 pumpkin mixture into chocolate mixture. Whisk in remaining pumpkin mixture until completely incorporated.

Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet, and pour pumpkin mixture into crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pie dish on a wire rack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours (preferably overnight).

Citrus Pumpkin Pie #42

2010-11-16T23:13:00.001-05:00

Why I liked this pie:
-The citrus isn't overwhelming, but it is a really nice compliment to the pumpkin and nutmeg. Also, I thought that the orange flavored whipped cream was a nice touch.
-If you haven't noticed already, it's kind of hard to make a pumpkin pie look good, but I thought that the zest looked really pretty on top (although it kind of looks like shredded cheese in the picture) and even when it was cut the crust and filling were firm and still looked good.

What I didn't like about this pie:
-While I loved the way the zest looked, I didn't love the way the zest tasted. I think that I should have put a little less zest on it or used something like candied orange peels. It might have just been that I got a big mouthful of zest on one of my bites and I thought it took away from the overall taste. So, take note, use a bit less zest than I used for a garnish or use something you can't get enough of--like candied orange peels. And while we're talking about zest, I think that mixing the filling in the food processor or blender is the key to making this pie a success. It helps it to be smooth despite the added zest.

Pumpkin Pie Panel notes:
"Refreshing," "The citrus is a nice compliment to the nutmeg," "Love the crust!" "Liked the idea, but couldn't eat the whole thing." "Memorable flavors,"

While this wasn't the overall number one pie, it ranked as the best of the non-traditional pies. And although it had more ingredients than the other pies, I thought that it was easy to make and using the food processor to combine the filling was pretty brilliant (maybe that's really typical for pumpkin pies...I'm still learning). Also, while I really liked it and would be very happy to eat it if it was served at my Thanksgiving dinner, it wasn't my favorite of the night. However, you should know that this was probably Ryan's favorite pie. He loved how it held up, loved the slight variation on the traditional pumpkin, and loved the way it tasted as a left-over.

Thanksgiving timeline for this pie:

Make the crust on Tuesday night, roll out and freeze prepared dough early on Wednesday, cook pie on Wednesday night, cool (for about two hours after taking it out of the freezer), and chill until you're ready to serve.

Citrus Pumpkin Pie

(Adapted from Bon Appétit November 2006)
All Butter Crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter (or 1 stick)
1/4 cup ice cold water

Citrus Pumpkin Pie filling:

1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin or 2 cups roasted pumpkin

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cloves
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

Topping:

1 cup chilled whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon orange juice
Zest from one orange

DIRECTIONS:
Crust: cut butter into small squares and freeze or refrigerate while preparing other ingredients. Measure 1/4 cup water and also place in freezer until needed. Combine flour, sugar, salt and whisk ingredients together. Add cold butter and stir so butter squares are covered in flour.

Cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 70 percent of the cold water and stir to evenly distribute the moisture. Use your hands to combine the dough by squeezing and molding it into a ball--make sure you don't overwork it! If the dough is too dry, add the rest of the water and continue to combine. Once in a ball, flatten ball into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least an hour.

Once chilled, roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer rolled-out dough to prepared dish. Fold edges under and crimp, forming high border. Freeze prepared dough for at least an hour (this helps to keep your crust from shrinking).

Filling: Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line crust with foil or parchment paper; fill with dried beans. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and bake until edges are light golden for about 10 minutes. Press crust with back of fork if bubbles . Cool at least 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Reposition oven rack to center.

Puree pumpkin in a food processor or blender. Mix in next 6 ingredients. Add eggs 1 at a time, pulsing after each addition. Gradually add cream, processing just until blended. Process 5 seconds longer.

Pour filling into warm crust. Bake until edges are puffed and center is set, about 1 hour. Cool completely on rack. Cover and chill. Can be made one day ahead.

Topping: Just before serving, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Add sugar and orange juice and whip again to combine. Top cooled pumpkin pie with cream and garnish with orange zest.

The Great Pumpkin Pie Panel

2010-11-15T22:09:00.000-05:00

As a child, I remember preparing for Thanksgiving by making pies with my Aunt, peeling potatoes, and finding the stretchiest pants that I could so I wouldn't have to hassle with loosening a belt during my Thanksgiving meal.

I was meticulous about my gravy to mashed potatoes to turkey ratios. And while I never liked my food to touch I would plan out the savory to sweet route of my plate using rolls as the great mediator between the two palates. In any case, I always looked forward to the feast the way every little, closet fat, girl would.

My one and only problem with Thanksgiving has always been the pumpkin pie. I mean no offense to my Aunt and Grandmother who spent the entire day before Thanksgiving making pies, it's just that the mushy vegetable has NEVER appealed to me.

So, it was always a dilemma for me. I wanted to try everything so I would give it a taste and then I'd have to cover it in whipped cream so it didn't look like I was "wasting" it. For years I tried that method and then finally just gave up trying pumpkin pie at all and learned to just focus on apple pies and other desserts.

However, this year, I thought it was about time to figure out why anyone even likes this dessert at all, and to do so we had little pumpkin pie panel to help us out.

Six pies, twenty people, and a lot of tests later we've found that there are many people who are pumpkin pie traditionalist and those who need a little something different from the norm to be pumpkin pie fans.

The six pies I served are ranked in order of overall favorite to overall least favorite:
1-Maple Pumpkin Pie with a Gingersnap crust
2-Traditional Pumpkin Pie with an all-butter crust
3-Citrus Pumpkin Pie
4-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
5-Traditional Store bought Pumpkin Pie
6-Traditional back-of-the-can Pumpkin Pie filling with a frozen store bought crust

So get your stretchy pants on because in preparation for Thanksgiving, I've got a new Pumpkin Pie recipe for you each day this week.

Caramel Apple Pie #41

2010-11-09T18:00:00.001-05:00

So, I realize that this one sounds like a very similar concept to the candy apple pie, which I previously made.

They both involve: apples, caramel, a lot of sugar, and they were both pie contest winners.

So there. I just had to put that out there. I know. You know. We all know--and now I just sound defensive...

Any way, here's what was good about this pie: first of all, the filling was good. I'm beginning to believe that precooking your apples a bit before putting them in the crust might just be the right thing to do and is also the only way to combat having a big crust dome (I've been skeptical of this practice and I hope that in the future I can confirm what's best through some experiments). Also, it was like a one-stop-shopping experience, in that you just make caramel with your apples. Now, how's that for a smart, yet deliciously simple trick?

Here's what was mediocre about this pie: the struesel topping. The real reason I made this pie was because of the struesel topping. I was curious about how a crust on top of a struesel would turn out. I dreamed of the best of both worlds combining atop caramely apples and it was...well...meh.

Ryan was with me when I searched for the "toffee bars" that it "calls" for and we had a long debate in front of a not-so-thrilled clerk about what was the best thing to use. Finally we agreed to both be satisfied with scraping the chocolate off a Skor bar and using the toffee innards.

I'm not going to try and convince you that we made the best choice, because despite what I hoped for, the toffee bits just melted into the rest of the pie and there wasn't any toffee crunch or uniqueness to this whole streusel thing. Also, while I grew up loving Skor bars, I now realize that they are not quit the high-quality candy bar I remember sneaking out of my Dad's bulk-sized stash in the garage.

All I'm saying is, I would imagine that homemade toffee (or at least some high-quality toffee) would make a positive difference here. And while we had a hard time finding it in Harlem on a Saturday night, if you do have some positive success or have any good ideas, please let me know.

Here's what was not appealing about the pie: The crust. First of all, it was the most difficult crust that I've ever worked with. It crumbled, it ripped, it was hard to roll out. The crust was too thick and you know what? It was one of the first times I really didn't enjoy rolling one out. So, if you are making notes about this pie, your second one should be: just use a completely different crust for this recipe.

However, I wouldn't throw this recipe out completely. I think that it has some great potential--most importantly the filling was awesome. But if you're not looking to experiment, I recommend you use the previously mentioned candy apple pie recipe--even though, like I said, they are different!

Caramel Apple Pie
(Winner of the Food Network Pie bake-off 2003)

Pie Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled

4 tablespoons shortening

1/3 cup ice water

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 egg, beaten

Filling:

6 cups apples

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons heavy cream

4 tablespoons butter

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter

2 toffee bars or 3 ounces chocolate covered peanut or pecan brittle, crushed

DIRECTIONS:

Pie Crust:

Chill all ingredients, including the flour and vinegar. Combine the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles cornmeal. In another bowl, mix water and vinegar with the beaten egg. Add the liquid mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork to form a soft dough.

Filling:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Peel and slice apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 8 minutes, to soften apples. Turn into pie shell.

Streusel Topping:

Combine the flour and sugar. Mix in butter with fork until coarse crumbs. stir in the crushed toffee bars. Sprinkle over pie. Add top crust. Seal, flute edge and vent top. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 45 minutes longer

Candy Apple Pie #40

2010-10-30T17:00:00.001-04:00

I was getting a toothache while I was making this pie. Every step felt like another cup of brown sugar and I was worried that it was going to taste like a spoonful of sugar.

However, after tasting it I started wondering why I was so worried about that. It definitely was one of the most sugary pies that I've made, but the apples, graham-cracker crust, and whipped cream were enhanced by the added caramel. I'm not sure it could have taken any more sugar, but I while eating it, I definitely didn't want any less sugar. This is definitely one of those pies that you can count on being a crowd pleaser no matter the crowd.

I don't know how I came across this pie exactly. There are several people who have posted about this recipe but ultimately it was because of what was written on the Doughmesstic's blog that made me want to make it. She told about last year's rigged Martha Stewart pie contest--one that I also attended. It's maybe only funny to read if you were there or if you're interested in reading about what it's like to go to the Martha Stewart show.

In any case, whether it was rigged or not, there was no competition between the pies that I took and this pie (though this wasn't even a finalist). So, I'm over being upset about the contest being rigged--mine were not this tasty, that's for sure.

Also, I must say that this is a pie that Ryan hasn't actually tasted (yet). My boss gave me a bunch of apples so I brought this pie in and shared it with my boss and the rest of the office. I set it out on the break room table and it within 1/2 hour the pie pan had been licked clean and there were people monitoring others slices so they could hopefully get a bigger pie of the pie. So, needless to say, I'll have to make a special one just for him.

One other note, I made the graham crackers and the caramel sauce from scratch rather than buying them at the store. Several people have commented over the past year about how that seems crazy of me to make these cheap, store-bought ingredients, however, I would like to once again bear my testimony about how much better the finished product tastes with just a little bit more preparedness and a lot less HFCS. I mention it here because I think that is especially true for this pie since it is so simple.

The caramel recipe is below (by the way there is a lot of extra but it is super easy and perfect for other things like ice cream or dipping apples--so don't let it go to waste) and, I will link you back to my blog post that has a graham cracker recipe (the same one I used here).

So...I really don't think that there's more to say on this one. It's delicious and even if it was a big spoonful of sugar, it seemed to make the medicine of work go down a lot smoother.

Candy Apple Pie

(Adapted from MiMi Hodge, winner of Good Morning America’s “Pie of Emeril’s Eye” Contest, 2000)

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs*

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping**

1 cup chopped pecans

Apple Filling:

5 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, sliced very thin)

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream Cheese Topping:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Topping:

3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

1/4 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

For the Crust: In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix well and press into a 10-inch pie plate and up the sides. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until golden in color. Remove pie shell from oven and cool completely. Pour caramel into pie shell and sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped pecans. Refrigerate pie shell while making apple filling.

For the Apple Filling: In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add apples and stir. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until apples are softened and tender. Let cool for 10 minutes and pour into pie shell. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Cream Cheese Topping: In a medium bowl, using a hand-held mixer on low speed, combine cream cheese and sugar for about 1 minute until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until fully blended. Pour over apple filling in pie shell. Bake for 30 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove pie from oven and let cool. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Let stand outside the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Top with whipped cream, caramel and pecans, and swirl with a knife. Slice and serve.

*Follow this link for a graham cracker recipe

**Caramel Ice Cream Topping:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat melt butter.

Add brown sugar and whisk until combined and thickened (about 2 minutes)

Whisk in whipped cream and continue to whisk until it is fully combined and thickened (about 2 more minutes). Add salt and vanilla and whisk for 1 more minute.

The sauce is now ready to be used in the pie but you may want to allow it to cool for handling purposes. Note: the sauce will thicken in the fridge.

Cranberry-Apple Crumble Pie #39

2010-10-22T11:45:00.001-04:00

I don't want to be hasty and say that this is the end-all for apple pies (especially since it's only the second one in this little series of apple pie recipes), but it's definitely the best one on this blog to date.

How good is it? Well, let me say this, the crust is spectacular. The apple variety was perfect (and so much better than the last one). And despite my skepticism, the crumble was an excellent topping (especially since apples tend to cook WAY down during the baking process, so it was nice to have the crumbles right on top of the apples and not some domed crust hovering above). Also I feel like the crumbles may have soaked up a bit of the extra juices too, which was an added bonus.

So the texture, taste, and equal-top-crust-to-apple-ratio all scored big with me and with those who ate it. Our friends, who have probably tasted more of my pies than anyone else, said that it might be their favorite pie this year.

And with that type of recommendation, what else needs to be said?

Here, look again:

Those of you who are already thinking about Thanksgiving, take note about this pie: the cranberry, apple, pecan combination would make a great dessert.

And for those of you who are just thinking about pie, make a note that you should put this one in your pie queue for any fall occasion--even if that occasion is as unglamorous as having a slice of pie for breakfast (which, by the way, I'm not against).

One other note I have about this pie is that I didn't think it aged well. I thought it was best on the day it was made it (we ate ours about 12 hours after it was made), but on day number two the crumbles were a little soggy and I didn't enjoy it AS much--though I still licked my plate. But since I always lick my plate, that might not be as solid of a recommendation as the one before.

Even still, it was a great pie and I hope you get to find that out for yourself.

Cranberry-Apple Crumble Pie

(Adapted from epicurious.com)

For pastry dough:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening (trans-fat-free)

Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt

3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

For crumble topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

For fruit filling:

2 pounds Gala apples (about 5), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

8 ounces fresh or frozen (not thawed) cranberries

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Equipment: a 9 1/2-inch glass deep-dish pie plate (6-cup capacity)

DIRECTIONS:

Make pastry: Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoon ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: If dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together (using a pastry scraper if you have one) and form into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Make crumble topping: Stir together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until large clumps form, then stir in pecans. Chill until ready to use.

Make fruit filling: Stir together apples, cranberries, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl.

Assemble pie: Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp decoratively. Transfer fruit filling to pie shell and dot with butter. Loosely cover with foil and bake until apples droop slightly, about 30 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Sprinkle crumble topping over filling and bake, uncovered, until crumble is browned, filling is bubbling, and apples are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.

Deep Dish Apple Pie (The Barefoot Contessa) #38

2010-10-20T17:09:00.001-04:00

I'm going to do a string of apple pie posts because: 1-it's fall, 2-there are so many thousands of apple pie recipes to choose from, 3-I live in the big apple--so...there's that, 4-apple pies are delicious, 5-and mostly because the only thing I remember from fifth grade history was the question, "What's more American than apple pie?" and even 20 years later I don't have an answer.

Although, with even the most ubiquitous fast food restaurant selling some version of an apple pie, the question really should have been, "What American hasn't tasted apple pie?"

I'll be sure to bring that up with my fifth grade teacher next time I see her.

Until then, that's kind of the problem with apple pies. It's not likely that you're going to mess any apple pie up, but since it's so common, it's difficult to make one that knocks everyone's socks off. And, I don't know about you, but the reason I bake pies is one part catharsis, one part hunger, and one part that's just hoping to blow someone away in a slice.

So? How did this one hold up?

Well, since I've been wanting to make for awhile--not really because of the recipe, but because I've been a Barefoot fan for a few years and I hadn't ever tried it--I hate to report that it was disappointing. But really, that's all I have to say, disappointing. My socks were not knocked. Probably not even rolled down. I would have expected more from someone named, the Barefoot Contessa, but maybe I shouldn't have such expectations.

The first problem, I believe, were the apples. I don't typically like using Granny Smith apples, but since the recipe called for it, I followed. They turned out mushy and did not rehabilitate my feelings about Granny Smith's in pies.

Even so, with the right apples, I wouldn't say that this was a winning combination for me. I don't like wassail and the combination of spices really made it taste like wassail. I found that distracting rather than enhancing. However, if you love wassail, I would recommend you try this recipe, but definitely with a different variety.

Luckily, there are almost as many apple pie recipes as there are apples.

Note: that fact may or may not be true. Maybe I'll bring that question up with my fifth grade teacher too.

What is true is that my refrigerator is FULL of apples! And there are a lot more apple pies to come and hopefully we can find just the right one to blow those socks right off.

Deep Dish Apple Pie
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

Filling:
4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored

1 lemon, zested

1 orange, zested

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Perfect Pie Crust:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Topping:
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

DIRECTIONS:

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut each apple quarter in thirds crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Roll out half the pie dough and drape it over a 9- or 10-inch pie pan to extend about 1/2-inch over the rim. Don't stretch the dough; if it's too small, just put it back on the board and re-roll it.

Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Brush the edge of the bottom pie crust with the egg wash so the top crust will adhere. Top with the second crust and trim the edges to about 1-inch over the rim. Tuck the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp the 2 together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut 4 or 5 slits.

Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. Serve warm.

Concord Grape Pie (and Peanut Butter Ice Cream) #37

2010-10-08T14:06:00.002-04:00

This is a love pie.

And by that, I mean that you have have some love while you make it because of all work that goes into it.

Besides the actual grains of sugar, salt, and flour, it seems as though you handle absolutely every thing that goes into it; each whole grape, the skins, the flesh, the seeds. And then there is the squeezing, cutting, seeding, cooking, straining, and repeating.

So really what I'm saying is that one can't do this without a little love. You just wouldn't make it through the process.

But even if that work becomes tedious, the result is not something that you'll hate--unless, of course, you hated your childhood and everything delightful about having a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in your lunchbox. But please oh please, I hope no one hated that!

While this pie filling is reminiscent of a big spoonful of Welch's grape jelly, it isn't half as gelatinous or sickly sweet and it packs a whole lot more sophistication sandwiched between layers of delicate crust. Also, I made peanut butter ice cream (see recipe below) to accompany this pie and I think it made the perfect treat.

But (and excuse the tangent starting right now), I would think it was perfect. I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 2008-2009 marks a 15-month period where I had one nearly every day sometimes twice each day. I seriously considered serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at our wedding because I love them so much (thanks to Ryan for finding a better solution to that plan).

Any way, I've slowed down on my pb+j consumption, but since I've been consistently eating pie this year I think this winning combination just brought everything together for me: lunches my mom used to make me, peanut butter, the autumn harvest, jelly, the sometimes tedious but always enjoyable work that goes into making pies, and how much I love all of those things.

So my friends, the love pie. Please, enjoy a slice!

Concord Grape Pie
(Adapted from The Art of Baking)

Filling:

3 pounds concord grapes stemmed and washed

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with some larger pieces remaining.

With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed in a slow, steady stream, processing just until the dough begins to bind and holds together when squeezed in the palm of your hand, 5 to 10 seconds. If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and shape it into a flattened disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least and hour, or overnight. (The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month, but thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before using.)

On a lightly flour surface, roll out 1 disk of the dough to an 11-inch round. Roll the dough onto a rolling pin, center it over a 9-inch pie plate, and fit the dough into the plate, pressing the dough into the edges. Trim the dough right to the top edge, with no overhang. Combine the scraps with the second disk of dough which will be the top crust, and return it to the refrigerator. Freeze the pie shell until firm, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F

Line the chilled pie well with a round of parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges of the crust are just beginning to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the parchment and the pie weights. Return the crust to the oven and continue baking until it is dark golden all over, 10 minutes more. Transfer the pie shell to a wire rack and let it cool completely. Keep the oven on.

Roll the second disk of dough between two pieces of waxed paper to a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough, still between the waxed paper, onto a baking sheet and refrigerate it.

Take about two thirds of the grapes and pop them out of their skins by pressing them between your thumb and index finger.

Save half of the skins, discard the other half. In a medium saucepan, combine the flesh of the grapes with the sugar and cook over medium heat until the grapes break down enough for the pulp to separate from the seeds, about 5 minutes. Put this grape mixture through a food mill or push it through a large-holed strainer [I used a fine mesh sieve and it worked fine] into a bowl to separate the pulp from the seeds. Discard the seeds. Return the strained pulp to the saucepan, and stir in the cornstarch and the reserved skins. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.

Halve the remaining grapes with a paring knife. Using the tip of the knife, remove the seeds and discard them. Fold the de-seeded grape halves into the cooked pulp.

Pour the grape mixture into the cooled pie shell. Cover the filling with the top crust, and trim it so that there is a 1-inch overhang the entire way around. Fold the dough under itself and seal the top crust to the bottom by crimping the edge around the entire pie. With a paring knife, cut four horizontal slits, each about 6 inches long, across the top of the pie.

Place the pie plate on a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly and thick. 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

The pie is best eaten the day it is baked but can be kept at room temperature or in the refrigerator, loosely covered in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

(adapted from David Lebovitz)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Cover mixture with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. When ready, process ice cream base in your ice cream maker until thickened, about 15-20 minutes or according to manufacturer's directions. (If you choose to add candies, chocolate, or peanuts, add them in the last 5 minutes of mixing.) Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

Peach Pie #36

2010-10-04T14:41:00.000-04:00

Throughout this whole experiment, people have been asking me, "What's you're favorite pie?" Usually I say, "Oh, I really liked [insert best pie of the past two or three weeks]."
However, all along, I've been waiting for the opportunity to say, "Peach pie is my favorite."

The first pie I ever made was a peach pie and I've been hooked ever since. I even reached back into the catacombs of my photo collection to find this picture of it:

(Awww...isn't that cute? I made it for Ryan's birthday a several years ago. Also, allow me to say that while it's not a gorgeous lattice crust, it's not awful for my first try, right?)

Any ways, I love peaches and I still love peach pie.

However if you've been following this blog at all, you know well that the worst pies I've made all year are my peach pies.

I've spent a lot of nights wondering, why would the universe do that to me? Well, it's called humility, people. And clearly I needed a big dose of it because my last peach pies were really embarrassing (almost as embarrassing as the pink sweats I'm wearing in that old picture).

However, I'm happy to report that I did it. I made a peach pie that was delicious. And while it didn't blow up my pride to unmeasurable proportions, it did make me feel a little better. While I don't think that these are the end-all tips for making a peach pie, here are a few that I used that I believe helped this pie to succeed:

I used barely ripened peaches (so they wouldn't over cook in the oven).
I used one of the simplest recipes I could find (so you could really taste the peaches)
I didn't second guess the recipe at all (which is hard for me)
And you know what? It worked.

So, just talking about this recipe as it is, it was really good. It let the peaches speak for themselves. There isn't anything else to spice them up, accompany them, or change their flavor, which, in my book, made them just peachy.

Also, I loved the crust. It should be made again and again.

And as for peach pies? They still hold a place high on the pedestal of pleasant pies.

(How many more months until peach season comes again?)

Peach Pie
(from joyofbaking.com)

Pate Brisee (Short Crust Pastry):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon granulated white sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Peach Filling:

6 cups (2 1/2 pounds) fresh peaches

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

3 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Garnish:

1 tablespoon cream or milk

Granulated white sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Pate Brisee: In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the dough in half, flattening each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.

Peach Filling: Meanwhile, dip the peaches into a large pot of boiling water for about 30 - 60 seconds, depending on the ripeness of each peach. Transfer the fruit to a large bowl of ice water (this stops the cooking process). The skins should now slip easily off the peaches. Cut the peaches in half, remove the stones, and cut the fruit into slices. Place the peach slices in a large bowl and toss with the sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, salt, and butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand, at room temperature, for about 30 minutes so the peaches have time to release their juices, the sugar can dissolve, and the tapioca becomes nice and plump.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, remove one portion of the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 12 inch circle. (To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards).) Fold the dough in half and gently transfer to a 9 inch pie pan. Brush off any excess flour and tuck the overhanging pastry under itself, crimping as desired. Refrigerate the pastry, covered with plastic wrap, while you roll out the second round of pastry.

Remove the second round of pastry from the refrigerator and roll it into a 12 inch circle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and gently pour the peach filling into the chilled pie crust. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with a little water and then place the top crust over the peaches. Tuck any excess pastry under the bottom crust and then crimp the edges using your fingers or a fork. Using a sharp knife, make 3 - 2-inch (5 cm) slits from the center of the pie out towards the edge of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Lightly brush the top crust with cream and sprinkle with a little granulated white sugar.

Bake the pie for about 45 - 60 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown color and the juices are bubbling and thick. If the edges of the pie are browning too much during baking, cover with a foil ring.

Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool for an hour. Serve at room temperature with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Leftovers can be stored for a couple of days at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Blackberry Pie #35

2010-09-16T17:25:00.000-04:00

As you might recall, I mentioned earlier that Kim, my cute mother in-law, lives on an island covered in blackberry bushes. She's made a lot of blackberry pies in her day and my husband has been the lucky recipient of many of those.

So, for his birthday, he requested one of his favorites from home: a blackberry pie. And luckily (despite all of the peach pie disasters lately), it turned out great. Nice crust, great filling, and not runny at all. (Woo hoo!)

Though despite how good it was, even after it was baked, you could tell that the blackberries were from the store. I know that's werid, but I feel like anyone that has eaten a blackberry from a bush and a blackberry from a store knows that there is a difference. It's not always horrible or anything, it's just different. (That's not just me, right?)

Not that I'm that surprised; of course they are much, much better freshly picked than they are from the store. But I was just curious, does anyone know why? Even the ones I bought from the farmers market a few weeks ago were better than the store-bought ones but still...um...something was off.

Is it the pesticides? Is is the amount of time from bush to mouth? Is there a different variety of blackberry here in the East than in the Pacific Northwest? Does anyone but me wonder about these things?

Any way, it was a good pie. I liked it and I would make it again and again. It was a near perfect consistency (which, in itself, was a confidence boost) and fairly easy. A keeper for sure.

I guess I only wanted to pose this question about blackberries since all of my intense blackberry research (i.e. that time that I googled a question about their taste) resulted in information about BlackBerry phones rather than blackberry bushes so I never really came up with an answer. And so I'm asking you, my readers (hoping that you have a bigger brain than google--or really my brain + google's), do you know how to get a good blackberry, even if there isn't a bush nearby?

I need your help. I figure I'm not due for an answer anytime soon since I live on an island full of BlackBerrys, rather than blackberry bushes.

Blackberry Pie

(adapted from epicurious.com)

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
6 cups blackberries (1 3/4 lb)

1 to 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon sanding (coarse) or granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:
For pastry: blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with rest in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water evenly over and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in processor) until incorporated. Gently squeeze a small handful: It should hold together without crumbling apart. If it doesn't, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) after each addition until incorporated, continuing to test. (Do not overwork dough or it will become tough.)

Turn dough out onto a work surface and divide into 2 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather each portion of dough and form it, rotating on a work surface, into a disk. Wrap disks separately in wax paper and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

For filling: Preheat Oven to 400°F.

Toss together berries, granulated sugar to taste, cornstarch, butter, lemon juice, water, and tapioca. Let stand, tossing occasionally, 20 minutes.

Roll out 1 piece of dough into a 14-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate (4-cup capacity). Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Chill shell while rolling out top.

Roll out remaining piece of dough into a roughly 16- by 11-inch rectangle. Cut crosswise into 11 (1 1/4-inch-wide) strips with a fluted pastry wheel or a knife.

Stir berry mixture, then spoon evenly into shell. Arrange strips in a tight lattice pattern on top of filling and trim strips close to edge of pan. Roll up and crimp edge. Brush top and edge with egg white and sprinkle all over with sugar.

Bake on baking sheet until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. (Check pie after 45 minutes: If edge of crust is browning too quickly, cover edge with foil or a pie crust shield and continue baking.) Cool completely on a rack before serving.

Vanilla Peach #34

2010-09-13T14:15:00.001-04:00

Thoughts I have while baking pies:

While I'm putting the pie together:
Really? That much flour? I don't know...hmmm...I think it should be a little more/less.
Ugh, should I follow the recipe as written? Should I put in just a little bit more...?

While the pie is cooking:
Did I put enough flour in? Oh dear, should I have used tapioca flakes? Cornstarch? Ugh, I hate cornstarch, but um maybe I should have used cornstarch...hmmm....

While checking the pie at the end:
Is it bubbling? I wouldn't really call that "thickly bubbling" like the recipe says...but it is bubbling?...hmmm...ten more minutes? ...okay...ten more minutes...

Ten minutes later:
Okay, I see some "thick" bubbles, but why isn't the middle bubbling? hmmm...ten more minutes again????

(And on and on and on until I feel like the pie is adequately bubbling and/or the crust won't hold out any longer.)

So I don't want to make a list of the many things I spend time worrying about, but clearly, (from this long train-of-thought account) I'm a big-time worrier about soupy pies. It's probably number two on my list of pie crimes (bad taste being the number one).

Don't be confused, making pies is not a frustrating activity. I love making crusts, I love cutting fruit, I love cooking pie, I love the lingering aroma of pie in our apartment, I love sharing pies with people, I love how many people I've met in the last 9 months who LOVE pie and become an insta-friend because of it. I love everything to do with pie...but I admit, there is this looming desperation crowding my thoughts until we reach the crowning moment in any pie's life: when it's finally cut into; the crust breaks; and, hopefully, find out that the filling isn't runny. It's in that moment that all the worrying and work was worth it and, only then, can I let out a sigh of relief.

However, this pie did not result in any such sigh of relief.

It was a mess.

I think I spent too many "ten minutes" worrying about how it hadn't bubbled in the middle, thus cooking it too long (I think a first for me) and making canned peaches in a crust. This--you can imagine--makes it one of the worst pies of the year.

(Sorry, my dear old roommate and husband who had to suffer through that one.)

It was a bomb and a disgrace to the beautiful peaches that I'd picked from the Farmers Market.

I still have faith that this is a good recipe, though I did not do it justice. So, please, if you do try it, I'd love to hear how it goes for you.
Vanilla Peach Pie
(adapted from Bubby's Pie Book)
Ingredients:
All-butter crust recipe (see here)Filling:
1 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 pounds peaches, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 lemon, zested and juiced
pinch salt
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground cardamom
Tiny pinch ground cloves
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
sugar, for sprinkling on the top crust

DIRECTIONS:
Roll out the pastry and line a 9-inch pie tin with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Rechill the pastry if necessary.

To remove the skin of the peach, first make an 'X' in the base of the peach with a sharp knife so you have a place to start peeling. Gently drop the peach into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, remove from water and plunge the peach into ice water. Once cooled for a minute or two, the skin should easily peel away from the flesh. Slice peaches into 1/2-inch spears and cover with lemon juice.

Preheat the oven to 450F

Scrape the fine black seeds from the center of each vanilla bean half by running a knife blade along the cut face of the pod on a cutting board. Be thorough and get all the gummy inside of the vanilla bean on the knife. In a large bowl, combine the vanilla seeds with the peaches, sugar, flour, lemon zest, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. Mix the fruit filling lightly, as little as possible, to just get the ingredients dispersed. Scrape the filling into the bottom crust, dot the top of the fruit with the butter, and cover it with the second crust. Trim and crimp the crust; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Cut vent slits in the top crust and sprinkle it lightly with sugar.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the crust looks dry, blistered, and blond. Turn the oven down to 375F, and bake 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through the slits in the top crust.

Cool the pie completely before cutting, at least a few hours. Serve it at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side to enhance the flavor. Store the pie uncovered at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Plum Blackberry Pie #33

2010-09-10T14:27:00.000-04:00

I liked this pie.

I mean, I really liked this one.

And I'm not just saying that because my peach blueberry pie was such a tragedy (blerg). This pie had a great tang, wonderful texture, delicious topping, and I loved the deep purple juices it produced. With plums and blackberries peaking right about now, I would definitely recommend that you try this pie.

When I was at the farmers market, there were a plethora of plums and I didn't know which to use...so I used them all. How's that for ingenious? Or maybe it was ingeneous...either way I feel like you can't go too wrong mixing several varities of one fruit for any pie. Also, there wasn't one particular variety that stood out in the so I don't think that it would make too much of a difference which plums you use as long as they are firm and tart.

This is only my second crumble crust, but I think they're easy and delicious--though I tend to like anything with a sugary/oaty crumble on top. Tell me, how can you go wrong with equal parts of sugar, butter, and oats? And then put fruit underneath? It's impossible. I dare you to find a bad crumble--on second thought, please don't. I wouldn't want anything to do with a bad crumble.

Any way, I know that asthetically they're not as beautiful, but the taste always wins me over and even with Ryan being a skeptic (because he generally doesn't like crumble topped goods), he really liked it too. And with that recommendation, I think it has the potential to win just about everyone over.

Plum Blackberry Pie

(Adapted from epicurious.com)

Pastry:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/3 cup plus 1 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

1 3/4 pound ripe plums, pitted and quartered

3/4 pound blackberries (2 cups)

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

Topping

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 1/3 cup ice water over mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful of dough:

If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just incorporated, then test again. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one, and press into a ball. Divide in half and form into 2 disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Toss plums and blackberries with 1 cup sugar, tapioca, cornstarch, zest, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

Roll out dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Fit into pie plate. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Chill while making streusel.

Stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture forms small clumps.

Mound filling in shell. Crumble streusel evenly over filling.

Bake pie until streusel is golden and filling is bubbling, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Cool completely, 3 to 4 hours.

Peach Blueberry Pie #32

2010-09-09T17:18:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure what happened to this pie. I tried, people. I tried. But clearly I didn't try hard enough.

I've been looking forward to this pie since I started this experiment and it really didn't work out. It was one of the soupiest pies that we've had. The day we made this pie (and I mean "we" because I enlisted Ryan's help and we also had an audience--consisting of several of my nieces and nephews--who was watching our every move and sneaking pie dough when our backs were turned), we also made at least 4 other pies.

There was a small army of family flocking to my parent's house for dessert that night and we wanted to provide.

Luckily all the pies worked out well. This one, however, was not worth the sweet Utah peaches that we put into it. The taste wasn't awful, but no one (besides me, of course) even wanted to try it because it looked like a peach soup with pie crust croutons.

Not exactly how I wanted to show off for my family 2,000 miles away.

But then again, I'm happy for the learning experience.

Any way, I'm guessing that somehow we overlooked the thickener, or the recipe didn't call for enough, or maybe we cooked the peaches too long? I don't know. I'm still working on a solution and luckily peaches are still in season, so this is not the last time I'll visit this subject.

However, if you try this recipe, know that the crust is awesome and the taste is great too--just make sure you put that cornstarch in (and maybe a spoonful of flour as well...just for good measure).

Peach Blueberry Pie
(Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence)

Pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rollingFilling:
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zested and finely grated
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed

2 pounds peaches, pitted and sliced
1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits
1 egg, beaten with a drizzle of water

DIRECTIONS:
For pastry--Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and ice water and work that in with your hands. (Or do the whole thing in a food processor, pulsing a couple of times to combine the dry ingredients, then pulsing in the butter, and then the egg.)

Check the consistency of the dough by squeezing a small amount together between thumb and forefingers: You want there to be just enough moisture to bind the dough so that it holds together without being too wet or sticky. If it's still crumbly, add a little more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. When you get it to the right consistency, shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Put it in the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Move the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven.

Divide the dough in half and set one half aside; cover it with a towel or plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 10-inch round. Loosely drape the dough round over the rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Press the dough over the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim the edges to about 1/2-inch.

Toss the fruit with the sugar, lemon, and cornstarch. Pile the fruit into the pie shell and dot with the butter. Roll out the reserved dough to a 9 to 10-inch round and lay it over the fruit. Trim, and crimp the edges. Cut 2 or 3 (2-inch) vents in the top of the pie and brush with the egg glaze. Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling up through the vents, 50 to 60 minutes. Cover the edges with aluminum foil if they brown too fast. Cool on a rack before serving.

Currant Raspberry Pie #31

2010-09-07T17:09:00.001-04:00

Although I've been making pies every week, my updating has been pretty sub-pare because of traveling, work, and some other projects. Maybe you've noticed...
But it's finally time to get current!
(Sorry. Dumb pun.)

I made this pie back in July and up until that point, I had never eaten a red currant before. However, I kept seeing currants at the farmers market and I fell in love with their deep color. I just think they look delicate and delicious--like little red pearls. And while they are unfortunately too perishable for jewelry, they do make a delicious pie, especially when coupled with raspberries.

The filling was sour, and the currant seeds were chewy, which were a welcomed texture. I was worried about how seedy this filling might become and that it might just taste like jam, but instead, the currants were like little explosions of juice and a welcomed treat with every bite.

Currants are available in July (at least here in New York) so if you are planning on making this pie this year, I'm giving this to you a little too late (sorry). But if you are holding on to this recipe for next July, here's a little tip I learned about getting the currants off of the stems without squishing them:

When they are slightly frozen, they are much easier to remove from their stems. Freeze them for about 1/2 hour and once they are solid, gently tug them from the stem (in fact, you can kind of just run your fingers down the stem and pop them off into a bowl rather than pick each one).

Raspberry Currant Pie
1 double pie crust

FILLING:
3 1/2 cups red raspberries
2 1/2 cups red currants, stemmed
1 1/4 cups sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on the top crust
5 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca flakes
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

DIRECTIONS:
Roll out the pastry and line a 9-inch pie tin with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Cut tiny currant-sized circles (vent holes) in the rolled-out top crust with a cake decorating cone tip. Re-chill the pastry if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Sort through the berries and currants to remove any stems and duds. Put them in a bowl and add the sugar, tapioca, and lemon juice. Mix the fruit very gently, scrape it into the bottom crust, and dot the filling with the butter. Lay the top crust over the pie. Trim and crimp the crust; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Sprinkle the crust lightly with sugar

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 10 minutes or until the crust looks dry, blistered, and blond. Turn the oven down to 375 F, and bake for at least 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through the slits in the top crust.

Cool the pie completely before cutting, at least a few hours. Serve it at room temperature. Store the pie uncovered at room temperature up to 3 days.

Sour Cherry Pie #30

2010-07-28T16:36:00.000-04:00

Phew. We just BARELY caught the tail end of the sour cherry season here in New York. I saw them at the farmer's market a few days before we went to Seattle, searched for them the whole time we were in Seattle, and kept coming up empty-handed. It wasn't until the end of our trip that someone told us that sour cherries are just a East Coast variety. (Though, never fear non-easterners, there are many orchards throughout the country that grow sour cherries...it just takes some research. I've heard that many people list their sour cherry crop on craigslist, so that could be a start.)

We were lucky enough to find these babies at ONE stand in the Union Square Farmer's Market after we got home (after a lots of searching, that is).

Finding the cherries was really only one step in this whole process too.

Then there was the saga of finding the cherry pitter (the success of that is due to Ryan).

Carrying the cherry pitter and the cherries all over Manhattan and then back to our apartment (Again, Ryan was on that).

Then pitting them (um...Ryan did that too)

Then putting together the ingredients and cooking them.

Phew. Well, at least it was worth it.

All and all, this was a great cherry pie. I don't have too many cherry pies under my belt (eating or making--no pun intended), but I've had that gloppy canned stuff and after tasting something like this, you shouldn't be allowed to call canned cherry fillings food...especially not pie fillings!

Does that make me a snob?

Just to warn you, when this recipe says that the cherries produce "juice", THEY GET SOUPY. I mean it's kind of amazing how quickly and how much juice there is. However, the tapioca really gels the liquid right up once it starts cooking, so don't worry about it. I didn't add all the liquid (because I put a huge amount of cherries in our pie and the liquid just couldn't all fit. But if you were to add all the liquid, I don't think it would create a soupy pie in the end.

Anyway, long story short. Of all the cherry pies I've had, this recipe outdoes them all. I was very pleased with the taste and I'm counting down the days until NEXT sour cherry pie season.

Also, you should know, it was our one-year anniversary on Sunday when we made this pie (Yeah!). Since we served this pie at our wedding, we thought it was pretty appropriate to have it a year later.

One other note, while Ryan was feaverously working to pit our cherries, I was working on another project and we were listening to This American Life. This particular show was about how people want significant dates to be perfect, as if it's symbolic of something.

So, being that my husband had done the majority of the work on this anniversary pie (not to mention that he is always cutting up fruit or taking pictures for this blog), I couldn't help but think how our little sour cherry pie could be a sweet anniversary symbol of the little team we are. And even at the risk of killing the mystic anyone might have about me being the pie guru of the family, you should know, that as much as these pies are FOR my husband, they could hardly be done WITHOUT my husband.

It's either that symbol or the one about me being a lazy wife...

...but I think I like the first one more.

Sour Cherry Pie

(adapted from Bubby's Pie Book)

Crust:

5 to 6 ablesoons ice cold water

2 cups all-pirpose flour

1/2 teasoon salt

11 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Filling:

5 1/2 cups sour cherries

1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca flakes

3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on the top crust

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:
Pit the cherries into a bowl and combine them and the juice the create with the tapioca so that it has a chance to soften.

Roll out the pastry and line a 9-inch pie tin with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Re-chill the pastry if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 450F

Add the sugar, butter, zest, extract, to the cherries. Toss briefly and fill the bottom crust with the mixture. Cover it with a lattice top crust or any variation on the top crust design. Trim and crimp; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Sprinkle the top lightly with sugar.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 10 minutes, or until the crust looks dry, blistered, and blond. Turn the oven down to 375F , and bake for at least 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thick and bubble slowly through the lattice top crust.

Cool the pie completely before cutting, at least a few hours. Serve it at room temperature, up to 3 days.

PIEoneer Day

2010-07-21T14:11:00.000-04:00

Hi New York Pie Lovers,

You may or may not know that this Saturday is Pioneer day. It's not really celebrated many places, but every 24th of July is a statewide hoedown in Utah (where I'm from).

Since I can't be there, I would like to celebrate by baking pies (I mean, the name just suggests it...right?).

That's where YOU come in.

I'm raising money for a charity called, Abundant Waters in order to run in the New York City Marathon this fall. If you will donate to Abundant Waters, I will deliver* a pie of your choice (as long as it's in season) to you this weekend.

100% of your donation goes to Abundant Waters.

100% of the pie goes to you (unless, of course, you share it).

I'm asking for a $30.00 donation for your pie, but it is just a suggested price.

Please donate on my FirstGiving site AND email me at kacalder(at)gmail(dot)com to let me know which pie you'd like.

*Sorry, you must live in one of the 5 boroughs for me to deliver it to you.

Kim Church's Rhubarb Pie # 29

2010-07-20T12:04:00.002-04:00

My husband comes from pie people.

His mom bakes pies, his great-grandma baked pies, his great-great-grandma baked pies, and I assume that there are a lot of other pie bakers in his line that I just don't know about.

That being said, it might not be hard to guess that my husband is a pie guy. He's another link in this generational chain of pie lovers. The credit for that probably goes to this lady:

my mother-in-law, Kim Church.
(Don't get confused. Kim, my mother-in-law on the left. Kimberly, me, on the right.)

She's been baking pies her whole life and has given me a few crust and pie tutorials over the past three years. I'm lucky enough to have learned a thing or two from her and we're all lucky enough that she's letting me exploit her talents by posting the recipe and directions for her rhubarb pie right here on this little blog.

Her pie is delicious. But I find it impossible to leave my critique there, because her pies are the perfect exemplification of the person she is and the adorable island where she lives. Her pies are consistent. They're sweet, organic, and made without fuss or pretense.

And if I can't explain to you in words how great her pies are, the years on her Betty Crocker cookbook, should at least give her pie baking experience a little clout.

One thing that I especially love is the little worry associated with the crust. If you've been consistently reading, you probably know that I've been making a stink about keeping your pie crust COLD! And while her crust has cold shortening in it (something she promotes), she doesn't try to build an arctic tundra of cold pie tools and ingredients (like I often do), and yet, it's perfectly tasty.

Clearly I still have a lot to learn.

Another thing that I adore about her pies is that she uses the ingredients around her. The pies that she regularly makes are blackberry, rhubarb, and apple.

She lives on Bainbridge Island (just a ferry ride away from Seattle) and I would guess that there are more blackberry bushes on Bainbridge than people. The rhubarb is grown in the garden in her front yard (we used that same rhubarb for this pie). And when they're in season, she uses the apples off the trees in her mother's yard. These are also the same apple trees that her grandma picked from when she made her apple pies.

To me this pie tastes like a lot of love and it's clear that my husband has reason to be a pie loyalist after growing up with his mother's wonderful pies.

Kim Church's Rhubarb Pie

For crust:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

7 to 8 tablespoons cold water

For filling:

6 cups Rhubarb

1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 generous shakes cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oven to 425 degrees

For crust--combine flour and salt and stir to combine. Add cold shortening and cut into flour with a fork to combine. Cut until ingredients resemble coarse meal. Add cold water one tablespoon at time and stir with fork or combine with hands before adding each tablespoon. Once moist enough, combine into a ball split into two equal parts. (No need to chill dough.)

For filling--cut rhubarb into 1/2-inch slices. Pour flour, sugar, and cinnamon over rhubarb and stir to combine. Make sure that all the rhubarb is covered in sugar and flour.

Roll out bottom crust on floured surface. To transfer the crust, roll dough over your rolling pin and unroll over pie dish (I have the hardest time doing it--it was perfect when she did it)

Line pie pan with dough by gently moving the crust until it forms into the pie pan while still hanging over the edge an inch or more.

Add rhubarb to pie dish by scooping out with your hands and allowing the excess flour and sugar to drop through your fingers (there should be a lot of extra flour and sugar at the bottom of the mixing bowl once all the rhubarb is in the pie pan). Dot the rhubarb with 3 tablespoons of butter (cut into smaller chunks and evenly space throughout pan).

Roll out top crust and drape over the top of the rhubarb. Trim excess dough (so that there's about an inch hanging over) and fold remaining dough over and form a lip over the edge of the pie pan by tucking the dough into the pie pan. Crimp or pinch edges to form a decorative edge and cut steam vents.

Put a tin-foil ring around the pie before you put it in the oven. and then take it off at the end (last 15 minutes) so your crust doesn't overly brown.

Bake pie for 30 minutes and remove tinfoil for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake until you see juices bubble out of one of the steam vents. (Total bake time 45-50 minutes.)

Lemon Icebox Pie # 28

2010-07-15T14:02:00.002-04:00

The other day, someone was asking me about the beloved Frozen Key Lime Pie recipe--that I already posted on this blog--and was questioning the Barefoot Contessa's method of using uncooked egg yolks in this pie.

It's not that I hadn't thought of the potential sickness associated with raw eggs, it's just that despite their bad press, I trust the Barefoot Contessa to almost all ends. However, if you don't blindly follow her practices, fear no more! I have ANOTHER winning icebox pie for you: Lemon [Amazing] Icebox Pie.

Icebox: It's the fancy word for freezer.

Okay, I realize their similarities. Lemons and limes, familiar ingredients, graham cracker crusts...yes, yes, yes. But still, I withhold that they have their differences. And while I wasn't making this pie to stir up competition for the other, I will say that (if memory serves me correctly) this lemon pie is even smoother than the lime and maybe a bit denser too. I might even go so far as to say I love them equally, though I'll have to do a side by side taste test one day to be sure. Either way, it was perfect for a muggy, hot, New York day. I couldn't stop eating it.

One thing, let me warn you now, the filling is ample--in fact, if you're making it in a pie pan (instead of a springform pan, which the recipe calls for) you will have enough left over for a small, 4 or 5-inch pie, which can be a blessing in disguise: one for you to eat and a little one to share with a friend.

So, if you love creamy, delicious lemons; graham crackers; and fancy iceboxes, this is for you.

Lemon Icebox Pie
(adapted from epicurious.com)
For crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers (about 14 whole crackers, or see graham cracker recipe here)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm

For filling:
2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
1 1/4 cups strained lemon juice (from the 2 zested lemons below plus an additional 4–6)
Zest of 2 lemons
8 large egg yolks

For chantilly cream:
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions:
Heat the oven to 325°F. Break the graham crackers into small pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor along with the sugar and salt. Pulse 8 times, until the cracker crumbs are semi-fine (they shouldn't be powdery but not in large shards either) and the crackers and sugar are combined. Pour in the butter and pulse until the butter is blended in and the mixture isn't crumbly and holds its shape when you squeeze it, about twelve 1-second pulses. Transfer the crust to a 9-inch springform pan and push and press the crumb mixture into the bottom and two-thirds of the way up the sides of the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crust into place. Set aside.

For filling--whisk the condensed milk with the lemon juice and set aside. Whisk the zest with the egg yolks in a medium bowl until pale, 30 to 60 seconds, and then whisk in the lemon juice-condensed milk mixture.

Place the springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet, pour the mixture into the crust, and carefully transfer the baking sheet to the oven. Bake until the center jiggles slightly, like a soft-setting custard, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 1 hour on a cooling rack. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap (be careful not to let the plastic wrap touch the top of the pie) and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.

For chantilly cream--pour the heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Add the vanilla and sift in the confectioners' sugar. Whip on low speed to combine and then increase the speed to medium-high and whip until medium-stiff peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes.

Before serving, wrap a wet, warm kitchen towel around the edges of the springform pan to release the pie from the pan's sides. Unclasp the pan and remove the pie. Fill a pitcher with hot water, dunk your knife in, wipe off the blade, and slice. Top with a dollop of chantilly cream and serve immediately, or keep in the freezer for up to 1 week.

Nectarine Raspberry Pie #27

2010-07-14T12:28:00.002-04:00

I loved the flavor of this pie. Prior to looking at this recipe, I hadn't even thought about cooking nectarines and was a little bit skeptical of how they would turn out. However, it had as much tang as the apricot raspberry pie, from a few weeks ago, but a better texture and, a much better flavor. It was like a sour peach pie with raspberries. I loved it.

Also, I bought myself a little present for reaching my halfway mark, a pie bird. I first heard about them in the one of the pie books I've been referring to, and I thought they were so cute, I really wanted to give it a go.

Apparently, they add some function to your pie as well. They are supposed to keep your bottom crust from becoming soggy because they let all the steam out of their beaks while cooking.

Another thing that interested me in pie birds was the old nursery rhyme:

Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh, wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

Because of this poem, I was under the impression that the bird would sing at some point. I assumed it would be from the steam while it was cooking; and if that didn't work, I had read that someone, somewhere in the pie-bird world said that when you cut into the pie the hot air mixed with the cold air will rush up the bird's throat and make it whistle.

But no. Not a even a single note for either situation. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. How many old ladies do you know that actually lived in a shoe?

As I've done a little more research (read: googled "pie birds" a few times, and read testimonials which are probably not based on fact), I've found maybe the most interesting thing that there is to know about these birds or, really, this poem.

Apparently, back in the day a lot of nursery rhymes were a front which pirates used for recruiting methods (you can read about it here). Blackbirds in this poem are code for Blackbeard, the infamous pirate. And the pie is the ship where they would hide Blackbeard, feign helplessness, and attack any good Samaritan ship that came their way.

So, more than you wanted to know about Blackbeard, nursery rhymes, or pie birds, but hopefully it will come in handy one day when you're playing Trivial Pursuit.

Any way, the pie was delicious. I would totally recommend making it. The filling was scrumptious and I enjoyed the crust (I haven't come to a conclusion on which crust I like best, but butter/shortening combos tend to be my favorites).

As far as the pie bird goes, the crust didn't seem completely free from sog. It wasn't much different than what I expected which means that I should probably test it out on the few pies that I've previously made and compare them with how the crust normally turns out. So, if I come to any more interesting pie bird updates, I'll let you know.

And while it didn't actually sing to us, I wasn't entirely disappointed. I like how it looks and even more importantly, the pie was good enough to put a happy little song in my heart--and that's no hot air.

Nectarine Raspberry Pie
(adapted from epicurious.com)

Pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cups) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes but left in sticks
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat-free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons ice water
1/2 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon sugar

Filling:
3 lb nectarines
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups sugar

INSTRUCTIONS
For pastry--Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 5 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water to dough, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until just combined. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)

Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 2 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all of dough together with scraper and press into a ball. Divide in two and flatten each into a 5-inch disk. Chill dough, each disk wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Prepare filling while dough chills:

Cut nectarines into 1/2-inch-wide wedges, then toss with raspberries and lemon juice in a large bowl.

Whisk tapioca with cornstarch, salt, and sugar in a small bowl (do not toss with fruit until dough is rolled out).

Roll out pastry and prepare pie:

Put oven rack in lower third of oven and put a large sheet of foil on rack. Preheat oven to 425°F.

Roll out 1 disk of dough--keep remaining disks chilled--on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, into a 13-inch round, then fit into pie plate (do not trim) and chill until ready to use.

Roll out remaining disk (for top crust) in same manner and set aside (keep flat).

Gently toss sugar mixture with fruit and pour into pie shell.

Cover pie with pastry rounds and trim edges with kitchen shears, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press edges together, fold edges under and evenly tuck them into the pie pan and crimp decoratively. Brush pastry top with milk and sprinkle all over with sugar (1 tablespoon total). Cut several steam vents in top of each pie with a small sharp knife.

Bake pie on foil 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake, checking frequently and covering edge of each pie with a strip of foil or pie shield if crusts are browning too fast, until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes more.

Cool pie to room temperature on rack, at least 2 hours.

Cranberry Blueberry Pie # 26

2010-07-13T16:02:00.001-04:00

Well friends, I made it half way!

[insert applause, here]

Truthfully, I made it halfway a few weeks ago and I am proud to say that I'm well past that mark right now (I just haven't had enough time to blog about these pies...so, more to come this week).

[insert another applause, here]

Thank you, thank you.

I've been reading The Pie and Pastry Bible recently which contains a little different pie dogma than what I've previously been reading. I've experimented with a few of their ideas, one of which is placing your pie on the bottom rack or even on the floor of your oven for the first 15 minutes of baking. It supposed to give you a great bottom crust and keep it from getting soggy during cooking. I think it's a great idea, but I haven't had much success with it yet (and it definitely didn't work out well for this pie), but if you try it and it works for you, please let me know. I think I kept it on the bottom a little too long (for this pie and another one) and the crust became impossible to cut through. I swear it's got to work at some point.

Another little tidbit from this book is that it claims to have the first pie that was posted on the internet, a cranberry blueberry pie.

Honestly, I'm not sure how anyone could gauge that this was the FIRST pie on the internet, but I feel compelled to put it back on the internet (and while I didn't try very hard, I never found this recipe in a google search). It also piqued my interest because we've had the best blueberries lately (I swear they shouldn't be in season yet) and we've been eating a lot of dried cranberries and fresh blueberries mixed into our morning breakfast. So, altogether, it seemed like a perfect pie to try.

However, my 26th pie was just okay. Ryan and the rest of the tasters gave the crust two thumbs up (the vinegar seemed to make it a little more delicate and gave it a good flavor) despite the hard bottom. Which only leads me to wonder if the crust reviews were positive because the cranberry blueberry filling had a weird texture (which I think is because I paired dried fruit with fresh fruit).

The bottom line is, it wasn't an awful pie, but definitely not my best. I would like to try it again with fresh blueberries and fresh cranberries, which I think would make a better combination--of course, we'd have to adjust the sugar level and not make this pie in June when fresh cranberries are unavailable in Manhattan (because believe me, I checked), but those are small details that I think would be worth working out in the future.

On another positive note, I'm happy to present the first internet pie recipe, back on the internet.

Cranberry Blueberry Pie

(adapted from The Pie and Pastry Bible)

Basic Flaky Pie Crust:

14 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

5 to 7 tablespoons ice cold water

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Topping:

2 tablespoons of milk

1 tablespoon of sugar

Cranberry Blueberry Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 cups Blueberries, rinsed and dried

1 cup dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS:

For Crust--In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut cold, unsalted butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal or small peas. Add the cider vinegar and 5 tablespoons of cold water and use your hands to combine into a ball. If mixture is having a hard time sticking add two more tablespoons of cold water (or whatever is needed).

Once mixture is formed into a ball, split in two, form each side into a ball and flatten into two round discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

For Filling--In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Add the blueberries and dried cranberries and toss to coat them.

Roll out bottom pie crust to a twelve-inch round. Gently move pie crust to pie pan and line so that the crust rests in the pan (no stretching and no folds) so it evenly hangs over the edge of the pie pan (about one-inch). Once bottom crust is in place, transfer the berry mixture to the pie shell. Cut the tablespoon of butter into chunks and dab over the top of berries.

Roll out top crust to a ten-inch round and drape over the berry mixture. Trim overhang to an even one-inch and tuck the overhang under the bottom crust border. Crimp the boarder using a fork or your fingers.

Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and freeze it for 1 hour before baking (this will keep the crust from shrinking).

Preheat the oven to 425F at least 20 minutes before baking. Set an oven rack on lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it before preheating. If using a baking stone, cover with a piece of foil to catch any juices.

Once oven is heated, remove pie from freezer, brush top crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Place the pie directly on the foil-topped baking stone or baking sheet (note: do not remove stone or sheet from the oven, just place the pie on top of it) and bake for 40-50 minutes until the filling is thickly bubbling. (Note: after 30 minutes, you may need to protect the edges from overbrowning with a foil ring.)

Cool the pie on a rack for at least 4 hours before cutting. When set. The berries should remain juicy but will not flow out of the crust

Will keep at room temperature for 3 days

Top Crust & Lattice Instructions: Crust 101

2010-06-17T12:30:00.000-04:00

Now that you have your bottom crust set, added your filling, and put the top crust on, you have only a few steps left until it's ready to go into the oven.

1-Trim the overhang so that it is even on all sides. I like to use kitchen shears.

2-Fold the dough under both the top and the bottom crusts and back into the pie pan.

3-Evenly fold it all around so that a lip is created. If you have any parts that are thin or have cracks, you can fill them in with extra dough so that the lip is even all around.

4-Using your thumb, push the lip of the dough outwards and with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand, pinch the dough around your thumb. Continue to crimp around the edge of the pie.

5-Cut vents (Decorative vents should be done before putting the crust on, but for simple slits or holes you can use a knife).

6-Freeze the pie for about 15 minutes while your oven is preheating.

7-Brush with whatever topping the recipe calls for and put it in the oven.

How to Create a Lattice Crust:

Lattice crusts are a different beast, though with a little practice they're not actually that hard.

By the way, when I'm making a lattice crust, I like to make the dough for my top crust a little larger than I normally would, just in case I need extra dough.

1-Once the top crust is rolled out, use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into even strips (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

2-Fill your bottom pie shell with pie filling (if you haven't already).

3-Drape 4 to 7 parallel strips across your pie filling (space them depending upon how tight you want your lattice to be). When you choose which strip to lay across the dough, don't use all the longest ones first. Make sure you choose the appropriate length for where you are draping it (i.e. longest in the middle, shorter strips for the side).

4-Fold back every other strip to the half-way point and drape a long strip perpendicularly down the middle of the pie.

5-Unfurl the folded strips so that every other one is now covering the perpendicular strip.

6-Working from the middle out, one side at a time, fold the strips that are running under perpendicular strip back over strip. Drape another perpendicular strip parallel to the first strip

8-Fold the strips back down and continue this process until the weave has completely covered the pie.

8-Trim the over hang so that it is even (about 1 inch) and fold up into the pie (not under like you normally would on a pie crust. Fold edges over and crimp to secure.

Rolling Out Your Dough

2010-06-15T09:03:00.007-04:00

So you finished that hour mark (or overnight time period) for chilling your dough?
Great! Now it's time to roll it out!

Before you pull your dough out of the fridge, you need to decide how you want to proceed. There are many methods for rolling out dough.

1-Floured surface: This is my personal favorite method because I feel like I can see what is going on with my dough. However, if it's not floured enough, the dough is likely to stick to the counter or to your rolling pin and it can be messy (I'll give a tutorial below).

2-Plastic wrap: you can see what's going on, it's "easier" to put the dough into the pie pan, which is always hard, but Plastic wrap is a little sticky and it folds and creases and that bugs me too much to put up with it. But basically, you stick some plastic wrap to your counter and place a sheet over your dough as well and start rolling out. No flour needed.

3-Waxed paper is probably the best of both worlds. It doesn't move around as much (especially if you put a little water on the counter before you put down your waxed paper) and it doesn't fold AS MUCH, but you can't really see what you're doing, which bothers me. Again, the basic method includes a sheet of waxed paper on the counter as well as another one over the dough.

For both waxed paper and plastic wrap methods, make sure that you have a large enough sheet on the bottom and top to cover the whole surface of the dough when it's rolled out.

Like I said before, I prefer the floured surface method. I really haven't had many problems with it but it can be a bit tricky, so here's a basic tutorial for rolling it out.

Rolling Out the Dough:

1-Flour your dry, clean, counter with about 1/4 cup flour. Spread it around with your hands.

2-Flour both sides of your dough disc by unwrapping your dough and placing it in the middle of the flour. Flip the disc over and before setting it back on the flour, use the existing flour to cover the place where the dough just sat.

3-Lightly dust your rolling pin in flour.

4-Press down on your dough with the rolling pin and roll it back and forth a few times (only about three or four passes with the rolling pin). If the dough starts to crack when you push down in on it, let it soften for a minute or use your hands to slightly warm the edges. Whatever you do, be gentle and try not to let it crack.

5-When the dough is longer than it is wider (not by much since you are trying to keep it in a circle), pick up the dough and flip it over and also rotate it 90 degrees, so that the dough is now wider instead of taller. This will make it so you can continue to use your rolling pin to move away from you and towards you.

Again, before putting the dough down you want to swipe your hand across the counter to reapply flour to the counter where the dough was just sitting.

6-You should continue this motion (rolling a few times, picking up, turning over, rotating 90 degrees, and re-flouring the counter) until the dough feels too thin to pick up. This may happen after only three or four of these intervals.

7-At this point, the dough should be several inches across and should resemble a circle. Also, you may have some problems areas (i.e. not big enough for pie pan, cracks, thick/thin areas, lopsided), here are some ideas:

Not Wide Enough: Roll dough from the center out circling the dough to continue to enlarge it.
Cracks: Lightly moisten the edge of the crack with water. Roll dough towards crack on both sides of the crack to build up dough in the crack area. Once the dough has come together, gently roll over the crack. This is really only a temporary solution and the dough should be handled delicately through the rest of this process.
Thick/Thin Areas: You can move dough around with your rolling pin by pressing down extra hard on the thick areas and rolling it towards the thin areas.
Lopsided: Sometimes you can't do much for a lopsided circle. This is something you need to be careful of in the beginning stages of rolling out the dough, however, if it is lopsided, but still large enough to fit in your pie pan with about a one-inch hangover all around, don't worry about it. If it won't you should gather your dough back into a ball, place it back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and attempt to roll it out again later.

8-Once it is wide enough (you can gauge this by holding your pan over the rolled out dough and looking to see how many inches are visible around the edges) , get ready to transfer the dough.

Transferring the Dough:

Again, there are many ways to do this: Rolling the dough over the rolling pin, picking it up and flipping it over (especially in the case of using wax paper or some other covering for rolling out the dough.

The method that has worked the best for me is to fold the dough into fourths and the put the tip of the fourth in the middle of your pie pan and unfold.

Follow this same process for the bottom crust and the top crust.

Come back tomorrow for more about crusts and a little lattice tutorial.

Basic Pie Crust

2010-06-14T10:05:00.000-04:00

Often I don't go into as much depth as I could when giving crust directions and I'm starting to feel guilty about it. It's not that I don't want to, but many of the recipes that I've used don't detailed explanations about how to make crusts, which is why I thought it was time for an overall tutorial.

Also, you should know that I'm not an expert, but I've learned a couple of tricks in the past few months and so I hope that this will give you the added confidence to try a pie crust (if you haven't) or give a few extra tips to those who make a lot of pies.

Oh, also, please note that I don't make my crusts in the food processor so I don't have any tutorials for you on how to do that. I'm not against that method (though I hear that you can quickly over-process your dough), but my food processor simply isn't big enough to make crusts so I've never tried it.

My most important tips for crust preparation:

1-Keep it cold: I mean, cold cold. Keep everything cold, refrigerate the fat (butter, shortening, or lard), refrigerate or freeze the flour, make sure the water is ice cold, try to avoid making a crust in a hot room (and if you do, slip it back into the freezer every few minutes to cool it off). The reason for keeping everything cold is that these little bits of solid fat won't melt until they hit the heat at the rest of the crust has already started to form. This is what makes a pie crust flaky and the key to a delicious flavor.

2-Be quick and efficient: This is partially to keep the crust cool, however, what I really mean by this is don't over work the dough. You're not making bread here and you don't want to release the glutton (because it will get tough) or allow the fats to melt (because it won't be flaky), so be quick.

3-Use all-purpose flour: of course there are recipes where you might use wheat flour or cornmeal or a something else for a little extra pizazz, but for your basic recipe, you should just use all-purpose flour. Pastry flour is fine, but a second choice to all-purpose. Bread flour will give you a cracker-like crust, and cake flour is too delicate.

Pie Baking Tools:

1-A Large Mixing Bowl: obvious, I know. Make your crust in it. Use it to combine your fillings, etc. Mine is pretty average, but I like that it's ceramic (because it keeps cooler longer than plastic) and and it doesn't have extremely steep walls so I can press my pastry cutter up against it (not to mention that it doesn't bend when I cut my butter against it).

2-A Pastry Cutter: I love my pastry cutter. It makes life so much easier. However, my mother-in-law only uses a fork, I used a fork for the first 10 pies I made (not this year, last year), and I used a fork a few weeks ago. I'm basically just saying that you need something to cut your fats into your flour. Use whatever works for you. I have this pastry cutter and it's great. I'm certain it's not the best one out there, but it's perfect for my needs.

3-A Pie Pan: while you can use all types of pans for your pie (from aluminum to ceramic) I've found that the best, and my favorite, are the good old fashioned 9-inch Pyrex pans. First of all they make a very evenly browned bottom crust, you can see what's going on with your bottom crust, and (while this doesn't factor into the taste) they are so cheap, they're practically giving them away. One thing to note is that a 9-inch pie pan has about a 5-cup capacity and although it doesn't sound like it's much bigger, a 9 1/2-inch pan has about a 7-cup capacity so make note of what size you have when planning out your pies.

The basic crust-making process:

1-Take the cold fat you're using for the crust (butter, shortening, or anything else) and cut it into small squares on a plate. Put the plate into the freezer--I leave it uncovered--to re-chill it while preparing the other ingredients.

2-Combine flour, sugar, salt, and any other spice or dry ingredient in your mixing bowl. Stir it with a whisk to get rid of any lumps that may be there. Put mixing bowl and dry ingredients in the freezer (I also leave this uncovered).

3-Measure the liquid (milk, water, cream, etc) in a cup and stick it in the freezer. If you are using water as your liquid, put a few ice cubes in the cup before you add your water just for that added chill.

4-Don't think I'm crazy about telling you to freeze everything. Just submit.

5-Take you flour and fat out of the freezer and add the fat to your flour mixture (you might have to scrap your plate to get it all off).

6-Lightly stir so the fat is coated with flour mixture.

7-Start cutting the fat into the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour. To "cut" the flour means to use your pastry cutter to bear down onto the fat/flour mixture. It's kind of like making mashed potatoes. I like to work from the center out, bearing down first in the middle of the bowl and then working out as if I'm using my cutter to create a sunburst-like decoration.

7-Continue to cut until it looks like coarse meal or lentils or small peas. You want little balls of butter. If it looks like sand mixed with pebbles, you're not done yet. If it's starting to become a paste, you've gone too far.

8-Once it looks like coarse meal, I usually put the flour mixture in the freezer for a few one or two more minutes.

9-Add the liquid. First of all, there are probably 2 schools of thought on this subject. One adds all the liquid at once (to avoid over-working the dough), and the other adds the liquid a teaspoon at a time. I personally add all the liquid upfront, because it often seems like I need to add an extra tablespoon at the end anyway, and I think this prevents over-working the dough.

10-Once you've added all the liquid, stir or flick the dough around the bowl so that all of your little balls get a bit of moisture on them. Once they are wet, use your hands to form them into a ball. This will takes some squeezing and pressing down on it with your palms. If it ever seems like the dough is getting too warm put it back in the freezer for a few minutes.

11-Also if you've been kneading and just can't get everything to stick, wet your hands or sprinkle another tablespoon (or less) of cold water on the dough. It's okay to use more liquid if it's not sticking, but just do little by little because you don't want your dough to be sticky.

12-Once it is formed into one ball, split into two (if doing a double crust) and form each side into balls. Often I make one side smaller than the other and use the larger ball for the bottom crust. Flatten the balls with the palms of you hand so they are like discs and will be easier to roll out. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for the allotted time (usually an hour).

Come back tomorrow when we talk about rolling it out and baking it.

S'more Pie #25

2010-06-10T16:01:00.000-04:00

The best part of sitting around a fire is making s'mores. I have the patience to roast a whole bag of marshmallows and I'm not afraid to admit that I have the stomach to eat at least half of them too. So, you might guess that I've been excited to make a s'more pie sometime this summer. It just seems like a very summery pie--in a camping-out-under-the-stars sort of way.

Also, I don't get much s'more activity here in the city--but don't think I haven't tried. In fact, once I made this awful graham-cracker-chocolate-marshmallow mess for my friend, Lisa. It's quit possibly one of the worst experiments I've ever made.

But since it was her birthday (and because I've always hoped that my marshmallow roasting abilities would amount to something), I thought it might be the right time to feed her some chocolate and hopefully redeem myself as well. And while I can't confirm that she's the biggest s'more lover, she is the biggest chocolate lover I know, and I can think of no better way to consume chocolate in the summertime than eating it sandwiched between graham crackers and toasted marshmallows.

Quote from Lisa while eating this last night: "It's not that I only like chocolate desserts, it's just a more calorie efficient dessert since I'm going to eat chocolate one way or another. "

The reviews for this pie were all-around pretty positive. Not surprisingly, Lisa said she liked the chocolate to marshmallow ratio. A few people commented on how they liked the crispy browned surface of the marshmallow layer. Personally, I thought it was delicious. I was happy with the texture of the chocolate, the cinnamon in the crust, and the brulee-like surface of the marshmallow topping. It might be the best graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow creation I've made--but I'm willing to do some further testing on my next camp-out.

S'more Pie

Crust:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (find the graham cracker recipe here)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Chocolate Filling:

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate (finely chopped)

1 cup heavy cream

2 large eggs whisked (and at room temperature for 30 minutes)

Pinch of salt

Marshmallow Topping:

1/2 teaspoon butter

2 cups mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter a 9-inch pie pan. Stir together cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over the top and stir until crumbs are evenly coated. Pour into butter pie pan and press evenly on the bottom and all sides of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

While crust is baking, chop the chocolate and pour into mixing bowl. Heat the cream in a heavy saucepan, bringing it just to a boil (be careful not to burn it). Pour hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it stand for about 1 minute. Gently whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Slowly whisk in egg and a pinch of salt until combined and smooth. Pour chocolate mixture into graham cracker crust (crust should be about 1/2 way full).

Cover edge of pie with a pie shield or foil so the edges of the crust are covered. Bake until filling is softly set and jiggles slightly in the center when shaken (about 25 minutes). Cool pie to room temperature on a rack for about 1 hour.

Marshmallow Topping:

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add the marshmallows just as the butter finishes melting and stir continuously with spatula until marshmallows have melted.

Note: don't over-melt the marshmallows. It's better to have one or two not completely melted than to burn the topping.

Act quickly and pour the melted marshmallows on top of the cooked pie. Smooth marshmallows across the surface and get as close to the edge as possible (however, it's okay if you don't actually touch the crust to the topping since it will puff during baking). As the topping begins to harden, it may be easier to grease the back of a spoon or your fingers and use them to manipulate the topping.

Turn the oven onto hi broil and place the pie under the broiler on the uppermost rack (keep the foil guard on the pie crust for this step). Watch the pie carefully because it can burn rather quickly. Remove when topping is golden brown. Let the pie rest about 10 minutes before serving.

Slice pie with warm knife.

Apricot Raspberry Pie #24

2010-06-08T16:45:00.000-04:00

It may have been a little premature, but since apricots JUST started to be in season, I couldn't resist trying out this recipe.

Truth be told, I didn't give this pie the best chance right from the beginning (and the fact that the apricots were probably shipped from whoknowswhere is just the tip of the iceberg). Our apartment is 90 degrees on a normal day, but after baking a pie, the temperature jumped to about 190 degrees. So, as you can imagine, the pie had a hard time cooling off. When our friends arrived to partake of the pie, it was still very warm and it hadn't had enough of a chance to set up.

My fault. Not theirs.

Unfortunately, when we cut into it, it was a runny mess. Also, because of an experiment gone awry, that I was hoping would enhance the crust, th bottom crust was tough and hard to cut through. So, when eating it, I just tired not to pay attention to it because this crust recipe happens to be one of my current favorites. But like I've said befor, the crust can make or break the pie for me.

But the thing is, I was excited about this pie. I haven't had apricots for a pretty long time and as silly as it may sound I couldn't really imagine what an apricot pie would taste like. As I bit into the pie (or really, sipped the pie out of spoon--remember? it was a hot mess), I instantly remembered the apricot raspberry jam that my grandma used to make. So, it may have been a little bit of nostalgia that inspired me to try it and it was definitely the nostalgia that helped me enjoy it.

However, eating my Grandma's jam with a bit of crust around it isn't like eating a pie--not that I disapprove of eating jam in any form, even if that's just by the spoonfuls. But, I have a sneaking suspicion that exceptional pie innards have a little more to chew than just a spoonful of jam does, even if I only have a few examples to prove it. I think that I should have used apricots that were just about ripe rather than ripe. Had that been the case I think that if we were to eat it again at lava-like temperatures, at least it would have been like a chunky soup instead of a puree.

So, besides the unfortunate mistakes that I made with this pie. I think the recipe has potential and that it could be very delicious. and I feel like I need to chalk this one up to one of those good old learning experiences I was hoping to have when starting this pie adventure.

I will try it again sometime and if you happen to make it, remember what I learned:

1-Use apricots on the brink of ripeness
2-Apply proper cooling time
3-Don't do any crust cooking experiments

And I hope in the future we will all have more success. Good luck!

Apricot Raspberry Pie
(Adapted from Gourmet Magazine 2002)

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 lb firm-ripe apricots (about 8 large), cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon butter

Glaze 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Double Crust recipe(I used the same butter crust I used here)

DIRECTIONS:
Place a baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 450F

Combine cut apricots and raspberries (note, leave the skin on the apricots). Whisk together the flour and sugar in a large bowl and sprinkle over fruit. Add almond extract and gently stir to combine.

Roll dough disk for bottom crust on a lightly floured surface until it's a 11 inch round. Line pie plate with dough.

Spoon filling into mixture and dab with small squares of butter.

Roll out top crust and cover pie. Trim the edges with kitchen shears, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhand under itself and tuck into the pie pan. Crimp edge decoratively.

Brush top of pie with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Cut steam vents in top crust.

Bake pie on hot baking sheet for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375F and continue to bake until crust is gold brown and filling is bubbling, about 45 minutes more. Cool pie on a rack at least 2 hours before serving.

Why to attend the Pieloveyou Pie Crust lessons next week:

2010-06-07T16:11:00.000-04:00

1-Pie crusts can be intimidating, but with a little guidance, you can ROCK them!

(I promise, they're not as hard as they may look.)

2-This is just in time to inspire to you start making the BEST and the EASIEST of all pies: The Fruit Pie.

3-A good pie crust can make or break a pie.

4-Homemade crusts are SO much better than store-bought crusts. Do I even need to TRY and convince you of that?

5-I'll tell you all the tips I know about making, rolling, baking, and beautifying.

6-Pies make you thinner...so you should eat more of them (I don't personally know that as a fact, but I read it in this book).

7-We'll get to the bottom of which type of pie crust really IS the best type of pie crust (lard, butter, shortening, oil).

8-What's that old saying again? Oh yes, "Flakiness is next to Godliness."

9-I'll answer all of your troublesome pie questions (I mean, if you let me know in advance what they are).

10-Most importantly: Pies are (or might be) the New Cupcakes according to this blog and New York Magazine (I read it with my own two eyes...but I have no reference for you...but it was there--I swear).

Don't forget. We'll see you next Monday.

The 'PIErentice

2010-05-27T17:19:00.002-04:00

I'm not great at math, but according to my calculations, I'm almost half way through this year of pie baking.

(I can hear you rejoicing from here. Thank you, thank you.)

One of the main reasons I wanted to make 52 pies this year was because I wanted to improve my crust-making abilities. I know this isn't exactly a time for reflection--since I'm not done and technically not even half-way yet--but I want to say that I am happy with how much better my crusts have become over the past few months.

Still, I'm no crust expert, but I have learned a few tricks that have made them less intimidating.

To celebrate this personal accomplishment, I wanted to share a week dedicated to crusts.

It's kind of a pie crusts 101 for those of you who want to make a pie, but are a little overwhelmed with the idea of making a crust from scratch.

So get ready for 5 days of crusts

Your 'PIErenticeship starts:

Monday, June 14, 2010

(and "technically" I'll be half-way by then, I hope)

If you would like to show your support, take a button. They're free.

Bluebarb Pie # 23

2010-05-26T17:25:00.001-04:00

This, my friends, is the new winner of 2010. Ryan and I both agree that it's one of the best, if not the best, that we've had all year (and that's saying a lot from people who have eaten more than 23 pies this year).

I was skeptical of the blueberry and rhubarb combo, but after the first taste, I realized I was SO wrong. As far as blueberries go, I love to eat them with some type of lemon accompaniment. I love their sweetness coupled with a little bit of tang and I had underestimated how wonderful the tangiest of all pie fillings: rhubarb, would accompany these blueberries. It was brilliant. And, if you don't mind me saying, far superior to any of those strawberry rhubarb combos.

And then on top of that...don't you love the name?

That was probably one of the only reasons that I made this pie to begin with. But I'm pleasently surprised that a perfect pun accompanies such a perfect pie.

Honestly, I really don't know what else to say. This pie is a winner. The crust is simple, yet (and excuse me for using this word again) perfectly paired with the flavor and texture of the filling.

It's blue ribbon bluebarb, my friends. It's going to be hard to top this one.

Bluebarb Pie

(adapted from "Bubby's Homemade Pies")

All-Butter Crust

5 to 6 tablespoons ice cold water

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

11 to 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Filling:

3 cups Blueberries, Sorted and cleaned

3 cups (1 1/2 pound) rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on the top crust

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Pinch salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the crust: Measure out the flour (unsifted) by leveling off dry measuring cups, and add the flour to the large bowl. Add the salt to the flour and give it a quick stir to combine evenly.

Use cold butter, measure out the amount you need, cut into small cubes and add to the flour. Break up any pieces that stick together and toss them all to coat them with flour. (If it is a warm day, chill this mixture briefly in the freezer before continuing.)

Using a pastry cutter, press the blades through the mixture, bearing down repeatedly like you would to mash potatoes. Repeat the gesture until the largest pieces of fat are the size of shelling peas and the smallest are the size of lentils (none smaller). Re chill if necessary.

Add water and toss to coat the small balls of butter. Use your hands to mold the dough into a ball. Sprinkle more water on the top if it is crumbly. Spilt ball into two and form two discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

For the filling: Preheat the oven to 450F

In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, rhubarb, sugar, flour, zest, juice, salt, and melted butter. Lightly toss the fruit and filling ingredients and set aside.

Roll out the bottom pastry and line a 9-inch pie plate with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Re chill the pastry if necessary.

Scrape the filling into the bottom crust and cover it with the second crust. Trim and crimp the crust; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Cut vent slits in top crust (unless you are a rebel like me and make a lattice crust) and sprinkle it lightly with sugar. This pie is particularly beautiful if small round vent holes are stamped in the top crust--when the blueberry juice spills out, it looks like a blueberry.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 10 minutes, or until the crust looks dry, blistered, and blond. Turn the oven down to 375F, and bake for at last 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through slits in the top crust.

Cool the pie completely before cutting, at least a few hours. Serve it at room temperature. Store the pie uncovered at room temperature, up to 3 days (if it lasts that long).