"Pieble Study II":Double Pie Day with Montana

Although I've just posted about the blueberry pie, we did bake the pies semi-simultaneously. So much fun to be in the kitchen with a pie-partner! I'm hoping others will jump on the bandwagon and join me. Please do!

And on to the "Nectarine-Raspberry Pie." The nectarines smelled good in the store, but were not as tasty as I'd hoped. As I write this, three weeks later, I've just breakfasted on an intensely flavored nectarine and wished that it had graced my pie. Not to say this pie wasn't good, but first things first...

Crust: For this one, Rose recommended the "Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust and I wish I had gone with the lattice on this one too. It would have really tied the whole pie together, showing off the gorgeous contrast of yellow and red.

Filling: I know I usually go whole hog or overboard with the use of lemony goodness, but on this one I wish I had used less than was called for- one tbs lemon juice and one tbs zest. It was a tad lemony, esp with the already tart raspberries. I think I'd reduce the lemon by half or- egads!- omit?

Verdict: This pie is intense! I love me some nectarine pie- James McNair's peach pie recipe made with nectarines has yielded one of my top five all-time faves- but this one was a bit muc, esp on the heels of the blueberry goddess. I would definitely serve this with unsweetened or very lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream. The interesting thing was that it mellowed quite a bit the next day.

All in all, not sure if nectarines and raspberries- two things I adore- are my favorite once combined.

All pies considered, this was a good pie. I'm just exceedingly picky and I'm only getting worse baking all of these pies all the time. The best part about this pie was the grand time had baking with a pal. Besos, Susanita!

"Pieble Study": Double Pie Day with Montana

Yeehaw! Pie is always more fun when made with friends. My friend, and fabulous artist, Susana Montana,  (check out her web site)
joined me for a day of baking and catching up. We tackled the "Fresh Blueberry Pie" and "Nectarine Raspberry Pie."

The pug instantly took a liking to Susana, which made for some hindered movement. But we had fruit to wash, dough to assemble, and mixtures to uhm... mix. 

Crust: We went with the "Basic Flaky Pie Crust" that Rose recommended, but decided that this pie was such a beaut, it deserved a lattice top to show off the berries. For some reason, I find making a lattice top easier than just sticking a full top on. I'm more comfortable hiding the ends of the strips in the side of the bottom crust but an entire top is not my forte.

First, I weave the strips, leaving the ends draped over the edges, then I trim each end and tuck it on the inside of the crust edge.

Filling: Making this pie when blueberries are fully in season is the way to go. Blueberries have been amazing this year. We've eaten tons plain, with yogurt, with whipped cream, and in pie, of course. Not a big fan of the blueberry muffin, but I imagine that someone, somewhere, makes a fantastic one. 

In any case, we used locally grown, organic blueberries that I picked up at the farmer's market. Dude, sweet! We added three tsp of lemon zest instead of two because I like the zest, plus I tend to add more fruit than Rose calls for. 

Verdict: Oh, sweet nectar of heaven! This pie is probably the most beautiful, most delicious of any I've ever tasted. It was like summer in a pie dish. We ran some over to our neighbors, who promptly ran out to buy some vanilla ice cream to go with. 

More Cowbell! Or Rather, More Strawberry...

Sticking with the strawberry thang, next in the book is the "Open-Faced Double Strawberry Pie."

This pie has a luscious top layer of fresh strawberries resting in a bed of cooked strawberries thickened with sugar and cornstarch, all of which is hiding a white chocolate, sour cream, cream cheese bottom layer.

Crust: Basic flaky for this one. I used the single 9 inch recipe, but I think I'll use the larger one in the future, even for single-crusters. I must be rolling my crust out thicker or something, but I barely had enough to cover the pie plate. Granted, I do like me a generous layer of crust, so that works.

Filling: When making the cream cheese layer, Rose says to melt the white chocolate and then let it cool completely, but when I did this, it solidified again and was a tad clumpy. I managed to mostly beat the chocolate into submission while mixing it with the sour cream and cream cheese, but it was still a little bumpy. Next time, I think I'll just stir it a while, until it cools enough to not melt the creamies its mixed with.

Rose also says to put the fresh strawberries for the top layer on whole, with tips pointing up. I found that this left quite a few gaps, especially given the variegated sizes of said berries. After a crisis of conscience, I chose to slice the berries in half and arrange them, adding more strawbs than called for, but nicely filling out the shell and covering the underlayers from prying eyes, the better to surprise with its deliciousness.

Man, was this good!

Verdict: A fabulous keeper- take it to a party or drop it off at the local fire station and you will be remembered.

Belated Pie Update: Glazed Strawberry Pie

It seems my body does not like to sit still. Writing speeches in a cube all day+not the best chair=sad back city. On the other hand: Baking pie (dipping and kneading and rolling and slicing and mixing)-fighting off the pie dough-stealing hordes=happy back. So last week was spent partially frozen and forced to lie down for a while. Trixie enjoyed it but I was feeling a bit trapped and restless.

So Rose's "Glazed Strawberry Pie" was actually made a few weeks ago and I just haven't had the chance to write about it.

Actually, I was going to try to almost stick with the order of things in the Pie & Pastry Bible, but the lovely red rhubarb I'd purchased did not last long enough in my fridge. And now, sadly, it seems that rhubarb season is over and I will have to wait until next year to make the "Light Custard Rhubarb Pie." Dang!

This strawberry pie is fairly simple, in the Rose realm of pies, anyway. It's an open-faced beauty with a fruit juice glaze.

Crust: Since it was a simpler pie, I got a little jiggy wit it and went with the mascarpone cheese crust despite the fact that Rose recommends the "Basic Flaky Pie Crust with this particular pie. Ooh-la-la! Or should I say, Brava! It was lovely: delicate, crumbly, but not as hugely flaky as the cream cheese crust. Yum!

While assembling this pie, I suddenly realized that my lovely assistant was not trying to sit on my feet or sneak pie dough bits. Like children, it is often NOT a good sign if everything is strangely quiet. I found Trixie slightly tangled in our front door window shade and unable to escape. She was just standing there, patiently waiting for me to find and free her.

Filling: Continuing with the jigginicity, I tossed in a cup of fresh organic (my pies are mostly organic, with a few exceptions, like Clover butter) raspberries. I like to add raspberries to many of my strawberry concoctions because I love the sharp tang of the raspberries against the softer sweetness of the strawbs. This pie is interesting because you make a syrupy-gelatiny kind of glaze for the fruit. Actually, it seems like most of Rose's recipes require some sort of additional syrup mix-a-lot twist. This one consisted of cran-raspberry juice concentrate (try to avoid the ones with high fructose corn syrup- Cascadian Farms makes a nice organic frozen juice concentrate), cornstarch, and sugar. If you try this one, make sure not to overcook this glaze or it will become a tad to gelatinous. As usual, I was on the phone while cooking, and didn't give the sauce the attention it desired. No harm done, but I believe I'll stir more and cook less next time so it will be easier to spread over the fruit.

Verdict: This is a fairly simple pie with a lovely taste- IF- and yes, that's a huge if, you use really beautiful, exploding with sweetness, fresh strawberries. The strawbs really stand out here, so don't pick this pie as a use for those berries languishing in the fridge. The more fantastic the strawberries, the better the pie as they aren't cooked.

Storing: I usually leave my pies out of the fridge, but this one needs to be chilled or it will get green and fuzzy in no time. It's def best the same day, anyway.

Interlude: How Do You Deal with Loss?

This morning I drifted on a breeze carrying my grandmother's voice. I could hear her perfectly and listened to the sound of her voice- not exactly what she was saying but how she sounded as she spoke. How the words spun out of her mouth in that uniquely Mid-Massachusetts/Scottish something she had.

When I awoke, I found I couldn't get out of bed. My back hurt so much, I couldn't even roll over. And then I remembered my Grandmother rubbing my back once, when it was sore while I was visiting. And I felt frozen with pain. I miss her so much and feel her loss every day. I think of the things I wish I could tell her and the things she'd understand about me. About the way I am. But she's gone. And why does that hurt so much? Why are we wired to love and then grieve losing that love? And why does it get harder? The older you get, the more you lose. How can we make sense of this loss and find the half-filled glass of life without seeing what's spilling out of that glass?

If anyone has any tips to share, I'd sure appreciate them.

And now, as my back begins to loosen up and I can move, I've once again lost the sound of my grandmother's voice. It's in my heart, but I can't quite seem to catch it in the air.

I love you Granny, wherever you are.

"Apple Crumb Pie," aka Sharing the Love at Teatime Pie

Now that I'm getting more comfortable with Rose and her processes, I've begun to deviate from the directions...

a) Because, let's be honest, I just don't have time once a week to devote an entire day to baking. [There's work, family, and the occasional pug rescue.........

b) I like to experiment and I've never been good at following rules.

I guess that last part could have been b and c, but I think experimenting and not following rules make a nice combo. Clearly, Trixie likes to experiment as well.

In any case, I decided to follow the order of the pies in the Pie and Pastry Bible, so the next one up was "Apple Crumb Pie." Plus, Rose's description sounded delish: "A thick layer of caramelized apples is set in a crisp crust topped with a crunchy streusel." Who doesn't love streusel?

Quick note, for those with inquiring minds: Streusel is German for something that is scattered or sprinkled.

This pie was easier to tackle than the previous two- no real top crust and I relaxed on the entire process, eschewing multiple chillings of the bowl, the butter, etc. (I do always chill the assembled pie crust dough before rolling out and again before baking.)

Filling: Once again with the macerating of the apples and the cooking down of the juices and butter. I used Gala apples and decided this will probably be my last apple pie until fall because the apples are losing their yummy crispness and getting a tad mushy. I also threw caution to the wind and added a cup of fresh frozen cranberries that had been languishing in my freezer partially because I didn't want to waste them and partially because I didn't quite have enough apples.

Topping: The streusel was easy to make and I love a bit of buttery crunchy cinnamony goodness. The addition of walnuts was a nice touch.

Crust: I added 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour we picked up at the historic Bale Grist Mill in St. Helena. (Great place to visit and learn about the origins of sayings like "grist for the mill," "fair to middling," and "nose to the grindstone.") The whole wheat gave a nice body to the crust. The only downside was that I had been unhappy with the overbrowned crust I wound up with in making the Open-faced Designer Apple Pie so I opted not to prebake this time and regretted that decision when the bottom crust was a tad uncooked. Lesson learned.

Verdict: This was a really good pie. The whole wheat crust was still flaky and delicious and the apples kept their shape without staying crunchy. I brought the pie to work for afternoon tea and got rave reviews. Although what's not to love about homemade when you're not expecting it? I tried to get everyone to be brutally honest but they were too busy eating. Perhaps I'm a bit too critical. I thought it rocked, but would have preferred more flavorful apples (my fault) and a better cooked bottom crust (again, my fault). So, Rose, this is an awesome pie! MmmWah!

Further Pie Adventures- Getting All Fancy

I threw myself into the next pie in the book, which turned out to be "Open-faced Designer Apple Pie." While I was in the middle of the multiple processes required yet again, I started questioning my reasons for embarking on this project.

Boredom? Check.

A desperate need to do my own thing? Check.

A creative outlet and something to do that doesn't require sitting on my ass in front of a computer? Check. Well, other than this part of the process, anyway. And this is the part that I have a hard time with. I hate sitting on my butt all day, staring at a screen.

Mid-life crisis and yearning for a new career? Checkity-check-check-check.

And yet, this is not really providing the intellectual stimulation I require in life. Not sure what is at the moment. I'm dreaming of PhDs and sudden windfalls of cash to pay for school.

So I'm doing this because I like building things with my hands and I love feeding people and making their bellies happy. Plus, there's really nothing like the satisfaction one feels when pulling a lovely bubbling pie out of the oven. And eating it while it's still warm.

Filling: As with the previous pie, the apples are macerated and then the juice is cooked down with butter. Wicked and delicious but not entirely necessary, IMHO. Because this is an open-face pie, and there's no crispy topping to hide the apples, you are supposed to cut the apples fairly think- 1/8 inch thick- and carefully arrange them in concentric circles. Now, I happened to be talking to my aunt (love you, Emily!) at the time, and just couldn't be bothered with the super thin slicing. I took a fair amount of care with the apple arranging, however. When you don't slice the apples very thin, they don't cooperate with bending to fit in perfect concentric circles, but there you are. I managed two layers of apples, then glazed them with strained apricot jam after baking.

Crust: Just like the previous apple pie, this one had the cream cheese crust. Unlike the previous pie, this one is supposed to be pre-baked- for a total of 25-30 minutes at 425 degrees. That's wayyyy longer than my dear James McNair says in his pie book. (My personal pie bible of many years.) A niggle of concern itched in some distant corner of my brain, but I vowed to follow Rose's directions. This pie is eminently beautiful thanks to the dual details of carefully arranged slices of apple and leaf cutouts arranged along the crust edge. I dutifully cut out 26 leaves from the rolled-out second piece of pastry and made little veins in each leaf.

Verdict: After a total baking time of one hour, 10 minutes (on the low end of her recommended cooking time) at 425 degrees and at the bottom of the oven no less, the apples were perfect but the crust was pretty dry and very dark brown. It looked gorgeous but wasn't the best in the taste department. I'm pretty damn picky, but it could have been better if the crust hadn't been so very very baked.

#1 Daughter: Thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast the next day.