Humble Pie

Token Thanksgiving Day Entry

2011-11-27T21:13:00.001-08:00

I actually took the day off from pie making this year and left it up to my aunt Sara. Sara's pie are both delicious and beautiful, as she used to own her very own bakery in Connecticut. This year's assortment included a bourbon pecan, classic apple, and two kinds of pumpkin. Sarah made her very own pumpkin pie, complete with crust-leaf decals, in addition to Bobby Flay's Throwdown pumpkin pie. In the Thanksgiving vote, the crowd was split between Sara's and Bobby's- Bobby's lacked enough pumpkin flavor, but was too sweet for some. I liked the molasses in Sara's, but was happy to eat either one. Topped off with Sara's famous homemade whipped cream (family recipe), they were all fantastic.

Unfortunately, very little pie was left for our traditional post-thanksgiving breakfast, but my grandmother made up for it with a piping hot cheddar filled quiche lorraine. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Kuchen or Kuchen?

2011-11-16T06:57:00.000-08:00

My German neighbor confessed to me last night that, before last year, he didn't know there was a difference between pie and cake. After seeing the look of shock and disgust on my face, he quickly explained that in German, the word kuchen refers to both pie and cake. When I googled kuchen, images of cake, pie, pizza, and tarts all appeared in my search page.

The word kuchen has been adopted and adapted by many cultures as well as US states to refer to their own German-influenced local cakes. For example, in Chile a kuchen is a cake typically covered in apples or strawberries and sometimes walnuts, which originated from German immigrants who came to Chile in the 1850s. German settlements in the midwest US also left their mark, and in 2000 the kuchen was designated the state dessert of North Dakota. Other definitions of kuchen refer to a dessert that is "pie-like" or "coffee cake-like."

Sadly, it seems as though Germans have thrown pies into the generic dessert pile. What a relief that we have ridiculous pie blogs and pie shops to define our country's most popular dessert. "As American as apple kuchen" just doesn't have the same ring to it anyway.

Humble Pie: The Book?

2011-11-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

So turns out I am actually not the first person to think Humble Pie was a good title. Author Anne Dimock has beat me to the punch (six years ago, ahem) and published Humble Pie: Musings on What Lies Beneath the Crust. Though I've yet to get my hands on the book, summaries and reviews rave about Dimock's descriptions on the politics of pie, the zen art of making crust, and even how to judge a man by his crust.

In my "humble" opinion, Dimock may take things a little too far in her judging a man by his pie eating habits, from everything to not saying thank to those who use a spoon (?), and most important to remember, "digging out the filling reveals a propensity to lie."

Noted.

I'm hoping the travel writing section will make the book worth the $12.95 plus shipping as well as make up for her poppy-cock love advice. Review to follow!

John McCauley: 1 - Cherry Pie: 0

2011-08-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

I can't help but take a bit of credit for John's 2nd place ribbon today at the Taos Country Fair. As my former roommate, I did force feed him pie for a solid year. Though I never actually saw him stick his face in one, I like to think I inspired him to give it his all. Well done John, well done.

Humble Pie Meets the Dangerously Delicious Pie Truck

2011-06-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

It's inconceivable that, until today, after living in DC for six months, I had not yet eaten a piece of pie from Dangerously Delicious Pies. In a nutshell, they are my dream pie shop, or I should say, shop in general. Sweet or savory, by slice or by pie, this place has it all. Their slogan, "We make bad ass pies," likely comes from owner Rodney Henry, alumni of the Baltimore Rock Band. Best of all, they've joined the army of DC food trucks, traveling around the city and luring people away from their carefully packed, economical lunches some of us have been trying hard to stick to...

I've been following the pie truck on FoodTruckFiesta.com for the past few weeks, but never quite mustered up the energy to walk more than 15 minutes in the 97 degree heat. But today, at the Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival, there it was, shiny and black and it had my name on it.

Rachel and I felt like little kids ordering at the truck's five foot tall window ledge, but got over it and settled on a slice of the Baltimore Bomb, made of crumbled Berger cookies and swirls of chocolate syrup. It tasted a lot like bread pudding in a cookie crust. It was heavy as all hell, but super delicious. The chocolate swirls were subtle and sweet, and the cookie filling was soft without being too soggy. The rest of the menu was equally intriguing, I'll definitely be making a stop to the shop sometime soon.

Memory Lane Pie

2011-05-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

While stalking myself on Facebook and reminding myself what a great life I have, I came across this picture which was taken almost exactly one year ago, right before I left Santa Fe. I wish I could make a little bit bigger, but I'm pretty sure our toothy grins can be seen at any size. I do believe these pies were for the annual pig roast and its newly incorporated pie-off competition, though everyone was a little too drunk on beer and bluegrass to actually pick a winner. I'm holding my go-to triple coconut cream pie, and I think Jen has strawberry rhubarb in her hot little hands. Don't get too comfortable Jen, we're on again this summer...

Bittersweet Chocolate Cream Pie

2011-02-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

The inspiration for this pie came from a bar of Scharffen Berger 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate. The bar was given to me by the same friend who gave me this beautiful ceramic lilac pie dish, so she must've known exactly what I would do with it.

When given the choice between munching on a dark or milk chocolate bar, I typically go for milk, but in baking I always lean dark. The chocolate cream pie recipe in the Joy of Cooking is creamy but light, so the bite of bittersweet cocoa adds a layer of complexity that would normally get lost in a dense pudding. I tried this recipe for the first time at the start of the blog (see Disaster Pie), but after several practice batches over the years I've got it down. I paired it with the JOC shortbread pat-in-the-pan crust with a pinch of extra salt for a savory crunch.

Playlist: The Moth podcast, story telling performances told live on stage with no notes. Make time for Jeffrey Rudell's story, The Undertaker's Daughter.

Pat in the pan shortbread tastes just like a big shortbread cookie. You don't have to worry about rolling out an even crust, you can just work the soft and malleable dough with your fingers until it feels even around the pan. Butter and flour the pie pan, shaking out the excess flour before whisking together in a bowl:

1 ¼ cup flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
½ tsp salt

Then cut in:

1 stick (8 tbs) soft butter, cut into pieces.

When the mixture resembles "coarse crumbs," add:
1 large egg yolk.

Press the dough into the buttered and floured pan until it is even along the bottom as well as up the sides. Prick the dough thoroughly with a fork, then refrigerate for 3o minutes (this keeps the dough from shrinking after you bake it). Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

To make the filling, combine in a deep saucepan at medium heat:

¾ cup white sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

Once the dry ingredients are mixed, slowly pour in:

2 ½ cups whole milk

Start by adding only enough milk to pull the ingredients together into a paste. This will keep the cornstarch from congealing into little balls. The slower you add the milk, the less likely you will end up with a hundred little clumps.

Chop or grate:

1 bittersweet chocolate bar (3 oz)

Add the chocolate to the hot milk mixture, and stir until melted. Whisk into the milk mixture:

5 egg yolks

Whisk over medium heat until the mixture starts to simmer. Remove from the heat then whisk until smooth. This is when the filling will switch suddenly from a liquid to a pudding like consistency. Return to the heat, whisking constantly until the filling starts to simmer, leaving on the heat for one more minute before you take it off the heat for good.

Finally, add and mix until melted:

2-3 tbs butter (cut into pieces)

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Pour your chocolate filling into the now cooled shortbread crust. Cover the filling with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly on top of the filling to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate for 3 hours until cooled and firm. Fancy it up with some homemade whipped cream, strawberries, or for the overachievers in the group, whip up a meringue topping and stick it back in the oven at 325 until lightly browned.

Gluten Free Key Lime Pie

2011-01-20T08:33:00.000-08:00

Though you may not associate key lime pie with Christmas dinner, I chose it this year for two reasons. First, I needed a break from all the heavy chocolate given to us by friends and family (don't worry, not too long of a break), and second, I needed to find a recipe that could easily be made gluten free. The key lime custard center is inherently gluten free, so all that was left to change was the crust. After multiple laps up and down the cookie isle of our small local grocery store, I finally found a suitable gluten free shortbread cookie. I threw it all in my lovely new pie pan given to me by Jen S., given as a goodbye present from Santa Fe, and voila! A lovely green Christmas treat. I used the same JOC Key Lime Pie recipe from my post last year. Though the key limes take a while to slice, juice and zest, the rest of the pie filling takes no time at all. Big thanks to Jane for spending her Christmas Eve juicing key limes.

For the crust, preheat the oven to 450 degrees, then combined in a bowl:

1 ½ cups of crushed gluten free shortbread cookies (I used Shar shortbread cookies)

½ cup white sugar

¾ stick unsalted butter (melted)

Dash of salt

Pat the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, then bake for 12-15 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. Add the filling, sprinkle a little extra crumb on the top, then cook for 15 to 17 minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled, up to one day.

Kudos to Jane for making the cutest Christmas cookies I've seen all season. They were almost too cute to eat. Almost.

"Homemade" Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

2010-11-18T09:59:00.000-08:00

Humble Pie guest chef Alex B. has brought new challenges to the blog in the form of her severe gluten allergy. Fortunately for Alex/us, Whole Foods makes baking for celiacs very easy. I am embarrassed to report that not a single thing in this pie was made by hand, though Alex did add some flair with the addition of a dense marshmallow topping (also not homemade). Gluten free crust is difficult to make. I've replaced flour with rice flour in my go-to pie crust recipe, and though it was edible the rice flour made it feel a bit grainy. I am looking into trying new

recipes, but until then I recommend the Whole Foods Bakehouse Gluten Free Pie Crust (frozen section).

Filling:

One can of Farmer's Market Organic Pie Filling (Yes, filling. We were even too lazy to buy cinnamon)

1 14 oz can condensed milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Pour the filling into the pre made crust, then throw in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 and continue to bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Ten minutes before the timer goes off, take the pie out and cover the top with a layer of small marshmallows. Let cool on rack, then brag to everyone about the "homemade" pie you just made. If people start asking too many questions, just distract them by pointing to the dog in a bow tie.

Pecan Pie and Thanksgiving Food Drive

2009-11-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

A friend from the office organized a city-wide food drive, and so I volunteered to donate some pies. I made six pies (two apple, two pumpkin, and two pecan). The JOC pecan pie recipe I used was easy and delicious. I made some extra filling for taste testing, and I'm happy to say it was not a disaster.

I precooked the bottom crust for ten minutes, then spread an egg yolk on top and cooked it for another five minutes. It hadn't quite registered with me just how bad pecan pie is for you until I was adding the butter to the corn syrup, but after the first bite I didn't care anymore. Combine in a bowl:

4 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

¾ corn syrup (I used a brown sugar corn syrup so the flavor was more caramel-y)

5 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon Meyers Original Dark Rum (you can also use vanilla, but I had a bottle left over from last week)

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups pecans (about ½ lb if you shop by weight)

Pour the mixture into the crust and cook at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

Lucky for me this pie was easy. I was pretty wiped by the time I got around to the pecan. I thankfully had some help, but it was still a long day.

Halloween Ghoul Tarts

2009-11-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

A belated Halloween post: A few people came over before we hit the town on Halloween, so I used some leftover dough and whipped up some pumpkin pie filling and we were ready to go. This idea came from an article Lisa found, though the original recipe called for mincemeat. Everyone to design their own ghoul face, though some worked better than others. I kinda like the filling exploding out of their orifices, I think it's a nice Halloween touch.

In addition to the regular pumpkin filling I added a bit of Myer's Original Dark Rum. Recently I've been adding rum to just about everything (pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, my morning cereal, etc).

Here's Turner getting creative while wearing his There Will be Blood costume.

Not sure who created the freakiest tart of all, but the tart that is projectile vomiting and about to lose an eye was definitely my favorite.

Pumpkin Pie with Ginger and Pecan Crust

2009-10-25T21:11:00.001-07:00

If you ignored the fact that it was heavily burned, the unique crust on this pie is what made it special. A friend sent me a link from Epicurious.com for a pumpkin chiffon pie with ginger pecan crust, and I stole the crust idea but decided to start with a basic pumpkin filling. I made homemade whipped cream again (which is handy to have around to cover the burnt bits.) Pumpkin pie is actually very easy to make, I highly recommend it for your next fall get together.

For the crust, crush or blend together in a food processor:

4 oz of ginger snaps

1 cup of pecans

½ stick of butter (4 tbs), melted then cooled

Note: I finally got a microwave. This helps immensely in the butter melting department.

¼ cup granulated sugar

Mold the crust mixture onto the bottom and side of the ungreased pie pan, then cook on 350 for no more than 5 minutes. Here is where I made the mistake. The Epicurious recipe said to cook it for 15 minutes, but when I put it back in the oven with the filling it got burnt to hell. I think this is because the cookies it in are already cooked. Kudos to my handy helper Simone for her excellent molding skills.

For the filling, I went with my trusty JOC pumpkin filling recipe. I didn't have all the spices it called for, and it retrospect it could have been more flavorful but it still passed the test. Whisk together in a large bowl:

3 large eggs

Then mix in:

2 cups cooked pumpkin (99¢ at Whole Foods, who knew)

1 ½ cups sweetened condensed milk

⅓ cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt

*JOC also calls for 1 tsp ginger and ¼ tsp allspice, but I didn't have any in the house)

Mix everything together until even, then pour the mixture onto the crust. Cook on 375 and bake for 35 t0 45 minutes or until firm. Let it cool, then dig in.

Below, proof that pie makes you popular.

Disaster Pie

2009-10-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

My first pie disaster. I was so disappointed, mostly because I had been dying for some chocolate cream pie all week, and all I got was chocolate cream soup. To twist the knife farther, I had 1) made this for our monthly office pie off and 2) I got to interview a professional chef the same day and I made the mistake of offering him some leftover pie-off pie. He of course asked which one was mine and I had sheepishly tell him the truth. I'm going to try this one again soon, but I've definitely learned my lesson. I got this recipe offline without bothering to check the JOC recipe. I'll be back with a successful chocolate cream pie entry soon I swear.

However, people at work had some much more successful pies. Amy brought a delicious sweet potato pie and Dave mixed things up with an apple, cream cheese and pecan pie. I didn't grab a picture of it, but Julia brought an amazing chocolate chip cookie pie (which later took the pie-off crown), and Lisa made a cool pink frozen yogurt and fruit pie.

One of our editors Abe was nice enough to take a pity "slice" of my pie. Thanks Abe.

The miserable final voting results of the pie-off. I'll be back, just you wait...

Pink Pear Tartlets

2009-09-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

I used the same instructions for these as the pear pie with gruyere crust, with a few crucial improvements. The two major changes I made were thickening the syrup and replacing the brandy with red wine. The filling was more flavorful and adorably pink. The gruyere crust was still delicious, though I recommend making the tartlet crust thicker than the paper thin crusts I made. Tartlets are great for when you have extra ingredients leftover, though not quite enough to make a whole pie.

I used the same directions for the crust from pear pie with gruyere crust. For this round, however, I didn't roll out the dough before I put it in the fridge, I just kept it in a ball. After letting the dough thaw for a few minutes, I took chunks of dough (roughly golf ball size) and rolled them out into small circles, then carefully inserted them into the muffin tin. Remember to save some dough for the lattices on top of each tartlet. The latices look pretty, more they also help to keep the tartlet to maintain it's shape once it's out of the oven.

I changed the filling a bit this time around, and the red wine and thicker syrup made this second attempt at pear filling infinitely better. Combine in a saucepan:

1 ½ cups of water

¼ cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ cup Charles Shaw Shiraz ($2.99 at Trader Joe's)

When you add the pears to the sauce, be sure to dice them into small pieces so they will fit inside the tart. This syrup was a lovely deep purple (much better than the brown syrup I made last time). Continuing to follow the previous recipe, place the slightly chilled diced pears into the tartlet crust shells, covering them with the syrup. Once the crusts are filled, cover the top with lattice, making sure to pinch together the side crust and the lattice. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Be sure to let them cool before trying to take them out of the tin, otherwise they fall apart :(

Pear Pie with Gruyere Crust

2009-09-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

I had written this pie off as unimpressive when it first came out of the oven. Turns out I had just missed some crucial points. Pears are very watery, so it's very important that 1) the syrup is thick and 2) you add lots of booze. I had skipped over the parts that directed me to chill the pears and chill the syrup. After attempting this recipe a second time, I came up with a much more flavorful filling. I seem to be hooked on cheese crust recently. My favorite part about it is that the house smells like baked cheese for the next five hours. Mmm.

For the crust I followed the recipe for cheddar cheese crust from JOC, replacing the cheddar with gruyere. Gruyere is a very smelly cheese, though I've heard the smellier it is, the better. I grated 4 oz of gruyere, adding it to the regular pie crust recipe. I forgot that you need to halve the crust recipe, as cheese crusts are best on either the top or the bottom, not both (I've halved the recipe below for you). Thankfully this left me with enough extra crust to try this recipe a second time (See Pink Pear Tartletts).

Combine in a bowl:

1 ¼ cups of flour

½ teaspoons salt

1 ½ tablespoons of unsalted butter

⅓ cup shortening

Mix with your hands until the dough forms small clumps smaller than peas, then add 6 tablespoons of ice water and kneed into a ball. Follow the same instructions for cheddar cheese crust, placing the rolled out dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Be sure the flour both sides of the crust as the cheese will make this crust even greasier than regular crust.

For the pear filling I followed a recipe that I found online at The Kitchn, whose author got their inspiration for this pie the same place I did, the sadly finished TV series Pushing Daisies. If you can tear yours eyes away from Ned the pie maker (played by Lee Pace), the series is filled with delicious pie ideas.

First, peel and slice 2 ½ pounds of ripe bartlett pears. Place a bowl in the freezer now, this will be used for the pears later on. Then, combine in a saucepan:

1 ½ cups of water

¼ cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

1 cinnamon stick (I just used a few dashes of ground cinnamon as I was cinnamon stick-less)

(recipe calls for ginger, I'm not a big ginger fan so I left it out. Your call)

*the recipe called for ¾ cup of port wine. I had leftover brandy from the apple pie that I decided to use, though it didn't add as much flavor as I had hoped.

Bring this delicious smelling concoction to a boil, then add the cut up pears. Let them stew for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the pears are soft. Strain the pears out of the liquid with a straining spoon and put them into the chilled bowl.

Successfully making the syrup can make or break this pie. In this first batch, I did not boil off enough water before adding the cornstarch, so the finished product was still more of a sauce. Continue to boil the liquid until there is about ¾ of a cup left, then add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Beware, the cornstarch gets clumpy, you're going to have to whip it into submission for as long as you can. I was never able to make the clumps fully disappear, but you could never taste or see them in the finished product. Put the syrup into a measuring cup and let it chill in the fridge.

Take the crust out of the fridge and let it warm up for a few minutes. Either place it in the bottom of the pan, or wait for the filling to be done and place it on top, tucking in the edges (again, see apple pie with cheddar cheese recipe). Place the pears in the pan, either on top of the crust or straight in the pan if you're putting the crust on top. (remember to slice some openings in the crust if you place it on top. Please excuse my fourth grade design on this pie, I'm sure you can do better.) When the syrup has chilled, pour it in top of the pears. Cook the pie at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until the crust has turned a bit brown and the fruit is bubbling inside.

For more inspiration watch the Episode 3 of Season 1 of Pushing Daisies.

Key Lime Cloud Pie

2009-09-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Without a doubt this is the best looking pie I've ever made. It came out of the oven looking like a massive, perfectly toasted marshmallow. Sadly, after letting it cool in the refrigerator the meringue flattened out significantly, but I didn't hear any complaints. The filling was refreshingly tart without being sour, and I think the crunchy crumb crust held it all together really well.

Playlist: Pandora on Amy Winehouse station. (Includes some Etta James, John Legend, and Adele). Smooth music for a smooth pie.

The crumb crust is much easier and less time consuming than regular pastry dough. It also leaves a lot more room for creativity and improvisation. I combined a few optional ingredients suggested by the JOC and added some oatmeal. I love oatmeal crusts on crisps, and I think it works well with most fruit pies. Combine in a bowl:

¾ cup crushed graham cracker

¾ cup crushed vanilla wafers

¼ cup sugar (I opted for brown)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

A few shakes of raw oatmeal

Pat the crust onto the bottom and sides of the pan, keeping a little extra to sprinkle on top. Cook the crust on its own for 5 minutes at 425 degrees.

For the filling, my friend Lisa saved me a ton of time by suggesting I juice the key limes using a garlic press. I juiced about 15 key limes (which were surprisingly cheap, $1 for 20) which came out to ½ cup of juice.

The JOC recipe calls for 2-3 teaspoons of key lime zest. I had about enough patience for 1 ½. The pie still tasted plenty lime-y, which is a relief because I took about 20 minutes trying to get that 1 ½ teaspoons. Whisk the juice and zest in a bowl with:

15-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

4 large egg yolks (save the whites in a separate bowl if you want to make meringue)

Pour the filling into the crust, then cook the pie at 325 degrees. If you are NOT adding meringue, cook the pie for 15-20 minutes until the center is set, then refrigerate for up to a day. If you ARE adding meringue, put the pie in the oven for 5 minutes until the center is set enough for the meringue to sit on top of it.

If you're feeling adventurous, I definitely recommend attempting meringue. I had never made it before, and it's not as tricky as it looks. The key is having enough patience to blend it enough to create the "soft peaks" the recipe asks for (see picture).

Start with:

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon sugar

Mix the two in a saucepan on low heat, slowly adding ⅓ cup of water. It will turn into a crazy looking clear syrupy paste very quickly. Remove it from the heat. Beat the 4 leftover egg whites in a bowl until they are foamy. Again, be patient, this takes at least 5 minutes (which feels longer while you're holding a heavy mixer. Hang in there, think about enormous marshmallows). Slowly beat in:

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (I didn't have any in the house, so I used a squirt of lemon juice)

½ cup of sugar

cornstarch/sugar paste

Beat until the meringue forms "soft peaks," basically beat until you can't take it any more. Spread the meringue on top of the pie filling. I sprinkled a bit of the leftover crust on top of the meringue before I stuck it in the oven for another 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Let the pie cool completely while you admire it, then put it in the fridge until it's chilled, or for as long as you can stand to not eat it, whichever comes first.

Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust

2009-09-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

Apple pie always seems to remind people of home. This pie made my house smell so much like New England fall it made me homesick. I followed the Joy of Cooking advice to cook the apples by themselves first in a sauce pan before sticking them in the oven. The crust on this one is a bit tricky, you can have either a bottom or a top crust, but not both. I love the combination of sweet and savory, and the slightly crumbly cheese crust with the soft apples was a-ma-zing.

I halved the JOC recipe and added 4 oz of sharp white shredded cheddar cheese, as recommended. Though the book doesn't specify, I grated the cheese in the smallest possible holes to make the dough easier to shape. Roll the dough into a ten inch circle, the leave it in the fridge for twenty minutes or so. The book recommends you keep the dough in between two pieces of wax paper.

While the dough is cooling, peel, core, and slice the apples (about 2 ½ pounds, 5 or 6 apples). The thinner the apple slices, the softer your apples will be in the end.

In a sauce pan combine:

6 tablespoons of butter

2 ½ pounds of apples

Once the apples have softened, add:

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup brandy

and a hefty squirt of lemon juice (fresh or otherwise)

The JOC recipe also calls for 1 cup dark raisins, ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, and grated lemon zest from one lemon. I left out the raisins and nuts because, well, I don't like them, and I left out the lemon zest because I was tired of grating. Cook your apple concoction until the juices are as thick as maple syrup, then put them in the pie pan.

Take the crust out of the fridge and let it warm up a little bit. If you've kept the dough in wax paper it should be easy to place on top of the apples. If you, like me, opted out of buying wax paper, a dusting of flour should keep it off the cutting board. Place the crust on top of the apples, tucking the sides into the edge of the pan. Slice a few slits (aesthetics are a bit harder with this crust), then stick it in the oven at 350 until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling (usually 30-40 minutes). Fantastic with vanilla ice cream or a big glass of milk.

Sweet Summer Pie: Peach Pie with Raspberries and Blackberries

2009-09-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

I found a great local mexican market that sells produce at very reasonable prices, so I was able to load this pie with some of my favorite fruit. Though the peaches were still a bit tart, I think they helped keep the pie from becoming overly sugary. It made a great breakfast pie because the sweetness wasn't too overwhelming.

I prepared the dough the night before to save time, though I had to add some extra ice water to make it malleable again. I used the Joy of Cooking recipe for basic pie crust. This book has become my pie bible, though I hope to eventually only use it as a jumping off point. I've made this crust a few times, and I think I'm getting better each time at getting the dough to cooperate. It took a few sessions of prying my sticky dough in chunks off the cutting board with a knife then piecing it back together in the pan before I realized that a simple dusting of flour

on the cutting board would allow the dough to come right off in once piece. The recipe is very simple and only requires:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup vegetable shortening

3 tablespoons of butter

6 tablespoons of ice water

Because I don't have a mixer I just used my hands to cut the dough. I combined all the ingredients except the water together until they were clumped together in fine clusters. After adding the water the dough should barely stick together, but it should stay together enough so that you can easily roll it out. This recipe makes enough dough for both the bottom and top crusts. Divide the dough in half, then roll out the dough into two large circles as thin as possible. Press one half into the bottom of the pan, saving the second for the top.

I followed the recipe for peach pie, taking out a few peaches from the recommended 2 ½ pounds and adding in about a cup and a half of berries. After peeling and slicing the peaches (about ¼-½ inch thick), I combined the fruit in a bowl, adding:

¾ cups sugar (the recipe doesn't specify which kind of sugar, though this time I used brown)

3 tablespoons cornstarch (can be substituted with flour or tapioca)

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

After letting the fruit soak for about fifteen minutes, I poured the mixture on top of the bottom crust. Remember to have the top crust prepared before you do this, because if you let the fruit sit in the pan for too long it will make the bottom crust soggy. Cut up about three tablespoons of butter into small pieces and scatter them on top of the fruit. Place the top crust on top, making sure to poke or slice holes. I've just been focusing on getting the top on correctly, but I hope to soon be able to experiment with top crust aesthetics. Brush the top of the pie with some milk and a couple tablespoons of sugar. Cook on 425 degrees for 30 minutes, then 350 degrees for another 30.

Why Pie?

2009-09-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

After being locked in the house for the whole month of June due to rain, a good friend suggested we bake some pie to pass the time. He went for the strawberry rhubarb with a flaky crust, I went for the somewhat easier blueberry crumb. Needless to say, both were huge hits. When I graduated college and moved to a new city, I found that baking pies both helped me to break in my new home as well as meet new people. This blog will chronicle my attempt to become a pie wiz, sharing pie flops, pie hits, and occasional pie inspiration. Enjoy!