Citrus Pumpkin Pie #42

 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.

Lemon Icebox Pie # 28

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.

Bluebarb Pie # 23

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).

Lemon Meringue Pie #17

For me this pie was full of surprises.

Surprise #1: Though a very common pie, I realized while I was making it that maybe I've never even tasted one before. So...I don't really know what a meringue is supposed to taste like except maybe airy and crispy (but maybe not, since that assumption is derived from a dessert my mom made LONG AGO)?

Surprise #2: This shouldn't be a surprise because each and every time I make candy (or something similar to candy) I forget that:

sugar + moisture + high heat = an enormous amount of bubbling

Why do I ALWAYS put that combination in too small of a pan? And why am I surprised when it boils over?Surprise #3: Besides that whole sugar boiling over fiasco this was a much easier pie to make than I anticipated. Amazingly the meringue was forgiving enough to come to life after all of those crispy spoonfuls of sugar I mixed in there also I was happy with how it looked; it was kind of like a pie of peeps, which seemed pretty appropriate for Easter.

Surprise #4: The real Easter surprise was finding out that lemon meringue pie is quit heavenly. I thought that the flavors went well together. I liked the crispy edge and the brown sugar flavor of the meringue. And as far as the main attraction goes--the lemons--I loved the how the filling blended with the creamy meringue.

I would say that the crust was the only thing that didn't really leave me in some delightful state of awe. Based solely on taste, it was good. The lip of the crust had a great flavor and flake, but the bottom was mushy (which is never good). In retrospect, I should have par-baked it for a few extra minutes without the beans and parchment paper...maybe 10-15 minutes more?

Let me know what happens if you try this crust, but for now I'm still a little baffled by that sogginess...

Double Lemon Chess Pie #9

What's a "Chess" pie, you're wondering?

Well, I'm glad you asked. I've been wondering the same thing...

The definition of a chess pie is somewhat simple: it's a Southern pie that includes buttermilk and cornmeal on the ingredient list, although no one really seems to know from whence the name derived. These, however, are some of my favorite theories:

-It's a Southern pie and in a shy southern accent "Oh, it's just pie" sounds like, "Aw, it's chess pie."

-It was popular back when ice chests had just come into fashion, so people called it "chest pie," but again, that tricky southern accent got in the way so it sounded like, "chess pie."

-Some recipes may or may not have include cheese, which, you guessed it, sounds like, "chess pie" in a southern accent instead of "cheese pie."

What's that? You're so happy to finally know?
Well...good. I'm so happy that I was able to help you with that.

ANNNYway...

I keep coming across different recipes for chess pies and I've been really interested to try one. the one drawback about this pie is that I've never had a chess pie before so I really don't know what they're "supposed" to taste like.

Also, I didn't realize that this pie would be so much like pudding. I expected something a little more like a classic lemon bar. So, in case you have a similar expectation, let me tell you: think lemon pudding, not lemon bar.

This recipe includes curd on the top (which seems to be unusual for chess pies, from what I've read), but that extra ting of lemon really gave this pie a good taste.
Nonetheless, I was very happy about the taste of this pie. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors for all things savory and sweet and as a whole, this pie had just enough pucker for me to be pleased.

While I was cooking the pie, I thought about not even making the lemon curd (since it wasn't really like a typical for a chess pie), and then I thought I should just make it and just serve it on the side if people wanted it. Any way, at last minute (i.e. several hours before I served it), I decided to just put it on the top like the recipe called for and I'm so glad I did. I don't think that the pie would have been as good without it.

Also, just to note, I didn't think that this pie crust was great. What's surprising to me is that it's similar to so many crusts that I've already used but it was pretty bland. It's like there wasn't enough sugar or salt to make it interesting. So, I would recommend taking the tablespoon of sugar out and increasing the salt just a little bit; however, please notice that the recipe is written like I made it.

Double Lemon Chess Pie

(adapted from Bubby's Pie Book)

All-Butter Crust

5 Tablespoons ice cold water

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

8 tablespoons butter

Chess Filling

2 cups sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

5 large eggs

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

2 lemons, zested

Lemon Curd

3/4 Cup sugar

¼ cup egg yolks (about 4)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons lemon zest

For the crust:

Using a pastry cutter, press the blades through the mixture, and cut butter until it resembles coarse meal. Add water until it combines to form a ball. Form into a disk and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Roll out on a well-floured surface into a 12-inch round. Transfer to pie pan and make sure that all edges drape over the edges. Trim edges and fold to create a decorative lip along the edge of the pan.

Make sure to keep crust cool while preparing the filling.

For Chess Filling:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

With an electric mixer, cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and cream; beat well.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt, add them to the butter mixture, and mix just until incorporated. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix briefly. Pour the filling into the pie shell.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is a pale golden brown and the center is only a wee bit loose.

Cool the pie on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before refrigerating. Chill completely before topping the filling with Lemon Curd. Use an offset pastry spatula to distribute it evenly, stopping just shy of the pastry crust. Chill for at least 4 hours and serve cold and plain.

For the Curd:

In a heavy, non-reactive saucepan beat the sugar and yolks until well blended. Then stir in the butter, juice, and salt and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for a few minutes until it thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon but is still liquid enough to pour. The mixture will change color from translucent to opaque. When ever steam appears, remove the pan briefly from the heat, stirring constantly, to keep it from boiling. It must not be allowed to boil or the eggs will curdle

When the curd has thickened, pour it at once through a fine-mesh strainer. Press with the back of a spoon until only coarse residue remains. Discard the residue. Stir in the lemon zest and pour it into an airtight container. The curd will continue to thicken while resting and chilling. Curd can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.