Pear-Pomegranate Pie #47

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

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

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

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

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).