The Path of 1,000 Pies

Valentine's Cupcakes

2012-02-15T14:56:00.004-06:00

Although these carrot cake cupcakes are not a pie, I made them from scratch for Valentine's Day and they are delicious. You can find the recipe here. My modifications are that I only made half of the recipe and I turned them into cupcakes instead of a layer cake. As such, the cupcakes only need to bake for 30-35 min.

Current Pie Tally: 73

Quickie Pie

2012-02-06T13:00:00.000-06:00

Pecan is definitely my go-to winter pie, mostly because the crust doesn't require pre-baking. It takes about 1.5 hours, start to finish, and about one hour of that involves the pie sitting in the oven while you have a cocktail and get ready for the party you're going to. Normally, I don't adorn my pie with any toppings that might undermine the full-force flavor of the pie, but pecan pie tends to be an exception. I always enjoy my pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if the option presents itself. When I had a slice of the pie from this post, there was a twist. Our party hosts had also put out a small ice cream sundae bar on the dessert table. Our neighbor started talking through the possibilities of the caramel and hot fudge toppings on the pecan pie. Normally, this would piss me off, but I tend to loosen up my pie purism with the pecan pie. I said, "Caramel - no. Hot fudge - definitely go for it." My thoughts turned to black-bottom pecan pie, with a warm chocolate layer dancing with the sweet, nutty pecans in my mouth. It had to be done. When backs were turned, I brought my ice-cream topped slice over to the hot fudge and added a couple dollops myself. Suffice to say, the experience shall be relived. It was heavenly. Now I'm on a mission to find/tweak a Black-Bottom Pecan Pie recipe that is up to snuff. For my go-to Pecan Pie recipe, click here.

Current Pie Tally: 73

Football Apple Crumb

2012-01-25T13:39:00.001-06:00

The neighbors invited us over to watch one of the NFL Playoff games this past weekend, so I offered to bring this little delight over. In actuality, my husband secured our invitation with promises of pie and his homemade guacamole. It did not disappoint! My only complaint is that the crumb topping didn't look quite right. It tasted great, but it didn't clump and golden up the way it was supposed to. I suspect it's because I tried mixing up the topping without the nuts first, and then adding in the nuts once it was already pretty well blended. Next time, I'll stick to the instructions. Blend ALL the topping ingredients together with your fingertips.

Football Apple Crumb Pie
filling:
5 large (larger than fist) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, thickly sliced
1 large Stayman apple, peeled, cored, thickly sliced
1/4c. fresh orange juice
1/4 c. white sugar, heaped
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. arrowroot starch
1/4 c. applesauce

topping:
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
6 T. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a pie dish with homemade pie crust. Prick all over with a fork. Stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375F. Place pie weights in crust and bake for 12-15 min. Remove pie weights and continue baking for another 12-15 min, until the crust is golden brown.
Mix all filling ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into pie crust. Using your fingers, blend ALL the topping ingredients together until well-mixed, moist, and crumbly. Heap on top of pie filling. Bake at 350F for about one and a half hours. Crumb topping will be nice and brown, but not burned and apples will be soft when pierced with a fork.

Current Pie Tally: 72

Christmas Crapple Pie

2012-01-23T20:20:00.004-06:00

This one is long overdue - a Cranberry Apple Pie I made for Christmas. It is festive and delicious. The cranberries add color and really heighten the flavor, while the apple offsets the tartness of the berries and adds a comfort food feel. I'm still not sure how I feel about the cinnamon-sugar sprinkled crust. It's cute and smells wonderful, but I think I prefer the flavor and texture of a plain crust. It was a little too "fussery bussery" for me. The recipe can be found here. I modified it by using my own pie crust recipe. I also used 3/4c. white sugar to make the cranberry sauce part of the filling. Then I added 3/4c. brown sugar to the apple part of the filling. Also, I think it's easier to say you'll need 2 lbs. tart apples and 1.75 lbs. sweet apples, rather than specify certain types of each.

Current Pie Tally: 71

Licorice Lattice-top Pear Pie

2011-12-19T14:21:00.010-06:00

I couldn't resist an opportunity to make this Pear Anise Pie. I first read about it in ReadyMade (sadly no longer in print) magazine, which published an interview with two pie mavens and four of their intriguing pie recipes in its December/January 2011 issue. I guess I'm on track to make all of the pies from the article. The only one I have left to try is the Cranberry Sage. The Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry Nut and Pear Anise pies were visual showstoppers with good flavor, but not spectacular. The Vinegar Chess remains one of my favorites and is a snap to make. As a person who holds a fondness for licorice flavored items, this pie recipe stared me in the face and dared to be made. Plus, I had the added confidence that the other pies originating from the same bakery came out well. The result was certainly tasty. The pear and anise flavors complement each other well, and the anise did not overpower at all. It was subtle, yet held its own.

More than anything, the pie looked awesome. I was a bit worried I had overcooked it into pear sauce, but the pear slices underneath the goo held their structural integrity. My tried and true method of "the pie is done when the goo bubbles in the middle" proves itself again. I also must admit that I don't own any of the fancy Demerara sugar called for in the recipe. I could only assume that it is fat baker's sugar, so I improvised as best I could. Orange cookie decorating sprinkles it is!

Current Pie Tally: 70

Partytime Pecan Pie

2011-12-19T14:19:00.006-06:00

When I made the pumpkin pie for my mom's post-Thanksgiving visit, I decided to go two for one on the crusts. I put the extra one in a Ziploc bag in the freezer, with the idea that I could crank out a pecan pie lickity split when needed for any holiday functions. The pecan pie is the only one-crust pie I'm making right now that doesn't require a pre-baked crust, so it's ideal for using up frozen crusts (or "money in the bank" as we pie people like to say). This little number came out great and was a nice addition to the dessert table at our winter holiday party. The recipe is the same as the one used in my last post about pecan pie.

Current Pie Tally: 69

Post-Thanksgiving Pumpkin

2011-12-19T14:18:00.005-06:00

Since my mom couldn't be with us on Thanksgiving Day, she came down on the train the following week. After she finished packing the night before, she put in a request for me to save her a slice of pie. Little did she know that the Thanksgiving pie had been polished off long ago. Luckily, I had some pumpkin puree in the freezer and enough time to throw this pie (her favorite) together before she arrived. It was also the first time I got to try out my new holiday pie dish. I love it! The recipe used is the standby pumpkin version from older posts. For some reason blogger isn't letting me link to it right now.

Current Pie Tally: 68

Thanksgiving Pecan Pie

2011-12-19T14:07:00.008-06:00

Yes, yes, I'm behind on the pie posting. Here's the kickoff to a holiday pie slam before Christmas. There's at least three more posts coming before Santa slides down the chimney, so stay tuned while I play catch up yet again. I made this pie for my dad and stepmom when they came to visit for Thanksgiving. They may have a different favorite pie, but they always have this one around at their place for Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd follow suit. I goofed up slightly on the syrup quantities in the last recipe for this that I posted. Using those quantities, the pie comes about a bit too sweet for my liking. Here's the corrected version:

Perfect Pecan Pie
6 T. unsalted butter
1 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 c. brown rice syrup
1/8 c. real maple syrup
1/8 c. good quality honey
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 t. grated orange zest
1/4 t. salt
3 large eggs
2 c. pecan halves (1/2 pound)

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out crust dough and line pie dish. Prick dough all over with a fork and stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sorghum, honey, syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Whisk syrup mixture into eggs. Pour pecans into pie shell. Pour liquid mixture over. Bake at 350F for about 50 minutes. Pie is done when filling is set and crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 67

Belated Birthday Pecan Pie

2011-11-15T12:13:00.004-06:00

I made this Pecan Pie for a college friend of mine who shares my affinity for local seasonal pie goodness. Happy Belated Birthday, Julie!

In this pie, I used brown rice syrup instead of sorghum. I have yet to find a local source of sorghum in the DC area. Julie is on the case though, so maybe she'll unearth some down in northern Virginia and let me know. Using the brown rice syrup instead of the sorghum still lends a delicious and flavorful natural sweetness to the pie, but the resulting pie lacks the full-bodied complexity of the sorghum. Like a rug can tie a room together, sorghum really ties my Pecan Pie together. I miss it.

Perfect Pecan Pie
6 T. unsalted butter
1 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 c. brown rice syrup
1/4 c. real maple syrup
1/4 c. good quality honey
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 t. grated orange zest
1/4 t. salt
3 large eggs
2 c. pecan halves (1/2 pound)

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out crust dough and line pie dish. Prick dough all over with a fork and stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sorghum, honey, syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Whisk syrup mixture into eggs. Pour pecans into pie shell. Pour liquid mixture over. Bake at 350F for about 50 minutes. Pie is done when filling is set and crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 66

Last BBQ Pumpkin and Apple Pies

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I made these two pies for our first bbq at the neighbors' house. If the weather turns more unfavorable to outdoor soirees as it's supposed to, it also happened to be the last bbq they'll throw until Spring. What better way to send everyone home to hole up for winter than with bellies full of pie. Pumpkin Pie recipe can be found here and here's the Apple Pie recipe:

Apple Pie
top and bottom pie crusts
about 8 pie apples (Cortlands this time), peeled, cored, & sliced
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. freshly squeezed orange juice
3 T. flour
1 T. molasses
1 t. Penzey's apple pie spice

Mix bottom six ingredients in an extra large bowl. Fold in the apples. Pour into pie dish lined with bottom crust. Roll out top crust. Trim and fold edges, crimp, and seal. Cut a vent for the steam. Bake at 450 F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F and bake for 35-40 minutes more. Pie is done when goo bubbles in the center under the steam vent, the crust looks dry and golden brown, and the apples are tender when pierced with a fork (through the steam vent). Let cool and enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 65

Old Friends Pumpkin Pie

2011-10-19T16:21:00.005-05:00

A buddy of mine from college came up to visit from southern Maryland one Saturday, so I made this pumpkin pie with the rest of the butternut/sweet potato puree from the last pie (I froze it). He said it was the best pumpkin pie he ever had. Maybe he was being polite, but I like to think that I edged out grandma.

I think it's time I posted the go-to pumpkin pie recipe again in a more easy-to-read form, so here it is:

Pumpkin Pie
1 cooked pie shell (allow to cool at least 20 min.)
3 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
2c. fresh pumpkin puree (roast at 400 for 1 hr., then puree)
3/4c. brown sugar
3/4t. cinnamon
1t. grated fresh ginger
1/2t. salt
1/8t. nutmeg
1c. heavy cream
1/2c. whole milk
1t. vanilla
1T. maple syrup
1/2t. Penzey's pumpkin pie spice mixture

Mix all the filling ingredients together with a whisk or electric mixer. Pour into cooked (and cooled) pie shell. Bake at 350 F for 40-45 min. When the pie is done, the filling will look set on the edges (about 2 inches in I'll say) and like it has a dry skin on top. The center should still be loose when you gently jostle the pie to check on it. *I should mention that I often use 1.5c. half-and-half instead of the heavy cream and milk. I usually already have that in the fridge for making quiche. Also, the Penzey's spice mixture is optional. If you don't use it, bump up the amounts of the other spices used.

Current Pie Tally: 63

First "Pumpkin" Pie of the Season

2011-09-20T15:13:00.005-05:00

This is a pie I made for the couple who was renting our house before we moved in. Since local pumpkins weren't in full swing at the farmer's market or co-op yet, I used a combination of butternut squash and sweet potato. Probably half of a 3-lb. squash and half of an average sized sweet potato for one pie. Otherwise, the recipe is the same one used for my standby pumpkin pie. Tasted just like pumpkin to me!

Current Pie Tally: 62

A Peach Crumb Pie for Mom

2011-09-20T15:10:00.003-05:00

My mom asserts that peach pie is her favorite, so we made this one together when she came to visit me at our new place for the first time. Since she peeled and sliced the peaches, I won't count this one toward the final tally.

Current Pie Tally: 61

New Neighbor Apple Crumb Pie

2011-09-20T14:59:00.008-05:00

I don't even know what variety of apple I used for this pie - maybe Honeycrisp or Jonagold. Whatever local variety was available at the co-op. At any rate, they were not recommended pie apples and I ended up cooking the pie for more than twice the time advised by the recipe. Regardless, the end result was deliciously sweet and gooey and I narrowly avoided burning the crumb topping. In fact, the above photo is of the half-cooked pie. I took it for posterity in case throwing it back in the oven proved to be disastrous.

Current Pie Tally: 61

New Neighbor Peach Blackberry Pie

2011-09-20T14:54:00.005-05:00

I made this for our neighbors to the left a week or so after we moved in. I also made a pie for the neighbors on the right, so as not to spur neighborhood in-fighting. That one will crop up a couple posts from now. My only regret about this pie is that I didn't add more arrowroot starch. It was a bit soupy in the end. I should have added 5-6T. of the arrowroot starch instead of 3 or 4T. As for the rest of the recipe, I used a quart of blackberries and probably 6-8 peaches. And a cup of sugar. Easy as pie.

Current Pie Tally: 60

Puzzle Crust Peach Pie

2011-09-20T14:37:00.008-05:00

Whew, sorry it got kind of dusty around here. It took a month for us to get an internet connection set up at the new place. Let's brush aside the cobwebs and get back to the pie, shall we?

While I haven't been blogging, I have been making pies. There is a week's worth of catching up to do, starting with this Puzzle Crust Peach Pie. This gem answers the question, "Does the Pie Princess ever screw up a pie?" The answer is YES. Having my own tools at my disposal definitely cuts down the probability that the pie won't turn out right. When I'm out of my element and in another's kitchen, however, the berth for error is great. It's really no surprise that the crust fell all to pieces on this one. It was hotter than Hades and I mixed it all up by hand (with a heavy bowl and two butter knives as I recall). I also rolled it out straight on the countertop. Normally, I would mix everything in the food processor and roll it out on my trusty Tupperware rolling mat. Using the food processor expedites the mixing to cut down on the melting factor. And I have a feel for when the crust is ready to come off the Tupperware mat. Long story short, I attempted to gracefully pick the crust up off the countertop and it broke into a bajillion pieces. I grabbed a spatula and slung the bits into the bottom of the pie dish anyway and sort of pressed them together a bit with my hands. I shrugged and rolled out the top crust, expecting that it too would be a disaster. It was, but part of being a pie maven is about confidence. You just have to "roll with it" sometimes. When life gives you broken pie crust, you throw it in the pan and call it Puzzle Pie. More catch-up pies to come.

The recipe for this Puzzle Crust Peach Pie is pretty standard: a bunch of peeled and sliced peaches, a cup of sugar, 3-5 T. arrowroot starch, 1/2 T. cinnamon, and a top and bottom crust.

Current Pie Tally: 59

A Pie for the Road

2011-07-14T14:14:00.004-05:00

This is most likely the last pie I'll make before my CT vacation and move to MD. My husband's Aunt Sally made this for us when we went up to northern MI to visit family last week. As she would tell you, it's a snap to throw together and tastes like you've been working it all day. I particularly like the cheesecakey tang the sour cream imparts. It's a nice alternative to the traditional Rhubarb Custard pie. The recipe can be found here. I made a couple changes. I used 1 c. white sugar and 1/2 c. brown sugar for the filling (because I ran out of white) and threw in 1/2 t. Penzey's cinnamon for the streusel topping. Delicious! Thanks Aunt Sally!

Current Pie Tally: 58

Berry Good-Bye

2011-06-24T15:43:00.003-05:00

I made this pie for the farewell party my knitting group is throwing in my honor. Sweet endings are always the easiest. Madison knitters, I will miss you.

Strawberry Pie with a Hint of Rhubarb (filling for 10" pie)
1.5 c. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2" thick slices
32 oz. strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered depending on size
1/2 c. brown sugar, heaped
1/2 c. white sugar
4 T. arrowroot starch
1 t. ground cinnamon (I used Penzey's)

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a large bowl. Line your 10" pie dish with the bottom crust. Pour and heap filling mix into crust. Set upper crust on top. Trim edges and seal (I use a fork to crimp the edges). Cut a vent into the top crust. Bake at 400 F for 20 min, then reduce oven temperature to 350 F and bake for an additional 40-45 min. When magenta goo erupts from the crust vent (or other cracks in the crust), the pie is generally done. Serve warm.

Current Pie Tally: 57

Grill Party Pie

2011-06-15T12:08:00.006-05:00

Some wonderful new neighbors just moved in downstairs, so my husband organized an impromptu grill party for yesterday night. As always, I was in charge of the pie. I made the first strawberry-rhubarb of the year. Sadly though, I did not have enough garden output for the ingredients and had to use store-bought. The resulting pie was perfect - flaky, buttery crust and a flavorful filling you could really sink your fork into. The best pies are often made under a little bit of pressure - deadline looming, naptime drawing to a close, and with a bunch of new faces as taste-testers.

Strawberry Rhubarb Grill Party Pie (filling for 9" pie)
1.5 lbs. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2" thick slices
16 oz. strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered depending on size
1 T. brown sugar, heaped
3/4 c. white sugar
4 T. arrowroot starch
1 t. ground cinnamon (I used Penzey's)

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a large bowl. Line your 9" pie dish with the bottom crust. Pour and heap filling mix into crust. Set upper crust on top. Trim edges and seal (I use a fork to crimp the edges). Cut a vent into the top crust. Bake at 400 F for 20 min, then reduce oven temperature to 350 F and bake for an additional 35-40 min. When magenta goo erupts from the crust vent (or other cracks in the crust), the pie is generally done. Serve warm.

Current Pie Tally: 56

Hot Mess

2011-06-06T11:08:00.002-05:00

I made two pies this past weekend for parents and picnics. One was Cherry-Apple-Rhubarb and the other was Rhubarb-Peach. Both were hot messes. It was very touch-and-go handling the crust in the 90-or-so heat we've been having. I had to invoke a couple hobo patch jobs, which resulted in some pie goo leaks. But I'm not complaining. I'm glad it's finally warm. Let me know if you want the specific recipe for the pies. The heat has sent me into a state of summer lethargy.

Current Pie Tally: 55

Matt's Birthday Pie

2011-05-18T09:54:00.004-05:00

Cherry-Apple Pie
top and bottom pie crust
4-6 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
about 1 lb. cherries, pitted and sliced in half
1 c. sugar
4 T. arrowroot starch
1 t. fresh lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
dash of cinnamon

Mix together filling ingredients in a large bowl until well-mixed. Preheat oven to 425F. Roll out bottom pie crust and place in pie dish. Trim edges. Pour filling in. Roll out top pie crust. Place over filled pie dish, crimp and seal. Bake at 425F for 15 min, then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 40-50 min more, until filling starts to splash out onto the crust. Cool and enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 53

Happy Blogiversary!

2011-04-24T20:09:00.004-05:00

I made another Vinegar Chess Pie for Easter and in honor of completing my first year on the Path of 1,000 Pies. This one came out a little less potent than the last one, perhaps because I used my sister-in-law's vinegar that might have been on the shelf for a while. My husband prefers that sharper taste of the newer/stronger vinegar, but I can't really say one way or the other what my preference is. They're both great. Happy Easter and Happy Blogiversary! Thanks to all of you who have been following my pie adventures in the last year.

Current Pie Tally: 52

2 for 1 Vinegar Chess and Quiche

2011-04-11T11:49:00.004-05:00

The in-laws came to town for the weekend, so I made a couple pie crusts on Friday. I used one for a Lenten quiche for Friday night's dinner and the other became a Vinegar Chess Pie. With both and the addition of a little extra cream in the pie, I used exactly one 1/2 pint of heavy cream. Yum. This Vinegar Chess Pie came out even better than the last one, perhaps because of the extra cream, perhaps because I cooked it closer to 35 minutes this time instead of forgetting about it in the oven like last time. Though it won't go toward the pie tally, the quiche was freakin' sensational!

Veggie & Mozzarella Quiche
one cooked pie crust
2 T. butter
1.5 c. finely chopped onion and green bell pepper
1 c. sliced white button mushrooms
1/3 c. drained and sliced sun-dried tomatoes
4 large eggs
2/3 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. 2% milk
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1/2 t. dried oregano
1.75 c. coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (reserve 1/2 c. for topping)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and peppers; sauté until soft, about 7 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Sauté mushrooms until brown. Remove from heat. Allow vegetables to cool slightly.
Whisk eggs, cream, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and oregano in a large bowl. Stir in 1.25 c. cheese, sautéed vegetables, and sun-dried tomatoes. Pour filling into crust. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over quiche.
Bake quiche until puffed, golden brown, and just set in center, about 45 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes. Cut and serve.

Current Pie Tally: 51

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-04-04T12:16:00.004-05:00

I made the Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry Nut Pie for my own birthday. I have to say, I am a little disappointed. It was very good and came together perfectly, but I think my expectations were too high. I was not a fan of how the pie firmed up when refrigerated or how it sucked the moisture out of one's mouth when consumed. I also think it could have been sweeter. I also think the addition of the Madeira and the bitters was a lot of fuss about nothing. I would have rather kept that money in my pocket and gone without. However, it was a truly decadent pie and it was enjoyed by all who partook. My mother described it as being like eating a chocolate truffle. There is definitely something sumptuous and sinful about eating a forkful of this still-warm pie after it cools down a bit from coming out of the oven. It's like getting a little taste of evil and liking it.

While I'm not sure I would make this pie again, it has definitely given me some ideas for other original pies. Like one made with white chocolate and dried cranberries. Maybe some coconut milk in the mix too.

Current Pie Tally: 50

Zucchini Cookies

2011-03-28T12:13:00.003-05:00

In an attempt to use up the plethora of freezer bags full of shredded zucchini before we have fresh zucchini in the garden again, I have been making these cookies. The chocolate chips make them delicious, and the zucchini and whole wheat flour make it so you don't feel guilty about eating them. The recipe is from "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and can be found here. I highly recommend reading the entire book if you care about good food.

In other pie news, my birthday is this week so I think I might make that fancy Chocolate Cherry Pie. I'm salivating just thinking about it. Yum. Oh! And I just noticed that would bring my tally up to 50 pies. How appropriate!

Current Pie Tally: 49

Pi Day Pie

2011-03-14T18:56:00.003-05:00

As the resident Pie Princess of Madison, WI, I felt peer pressured to make a pie in honor of Pi Day. So, I threw this Blueberry Custard Pie together with ingredients I already had in the house. I'll let you know how it came out either in the comments in the next day or so or in the next post. In the meantime, here's the recipe if you want to experiment. Happy Pi Day!

Blueberry Custard Pie
one pie crust

1 and 3/4 c. frozen wild organic blueberries
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 T. butter, melted
1/4 c. flour
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 t. vanilla

Roll out pie crust and place in pie dish. Prick all over with a fork. Freeze for 10 min. Place pie weights in pie shell. Bake at 375 F for 10-15 min, then remove pie weights. Bake at 375 F for another 10-15 min, until crust starts to turn golden brown. Let cool for about 30 min.

Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Beat eggs together with vanilla, buttermilk, and melted butter. Beat flour mixture into egg mixture. Place blueberries into pie crust. Pour custard mixture over. Bake at 350 F for 50 min. Let cool and enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 49

Pecan Pie for Pops

2011-03-01T10:35:00.004-06:00

I made the above pie using the same recipe as for the last pecan pie (with orange zest) in honor of a visit from the in-laws. Pecan Pie is Dad's favorite, and it's a quick one to throw together when guests are on their way. It turned out wonderfully as usual.

Current Pie Tally: 48

Vinegar Chess and the Last Pumpkin

2011-02-15T10:35:00.003-06:00

I finally used up the last of our pureed garden pumpkin from the freezer. The resulting pie went to the couple who babysat my son while my husband and I dined at the Belgian mussel bar in honor of Valentine's Day. After some strong, flavorful beer, foie gras, duck, and mussels, we were invited to have a slice of the pie with the babysitters. It was a sweet end to a hearty pumpkin pie season. In summary, I made 10 pumpkin pies with the pumpkins my husband and I grew in 2010. I probably could have made two more to round out an even dozen if I had portioned the puree better before freezing.

I also finally succumbed to trying out the Vinegar Chess Pie recipe from ReadyMade. I've made this style of pie once or twice before when I was in high school. I remember my dad liking it. This variation of the recipe is superb. The cream in particular really enriches and mellows the flavor and texture. Utter deliciousness and a perfect pie for a time of year when little fresh produce is available. I should also mention that I used yellow cornmeal instead of white, since that's what I had in the cupboard. I doubt it made much of a difference.

I made the Vinegar Chess Pie for a small, impromptu dinner party over the weekend. The guests were pleasantly surprised by the tastiness of a pie made with vinegar and one suggested that I look up the origins of such a strange pie. According to wikipedia.org, chess-style pie has no connection to the actual game of chess and hails from England. Chess pie recipes are very sweet (usually comprising eggs, sugar, butter, cornmeal, and vanilla) and have historically been common desserts in both New England and Virginia in the U.S. Vinegar Chess Pie is simply a chess pie that's had some vinegar added to bring the sweetness down a notch.

Current Pie Tally: 47

Holiday Cookies, by Request

2011-02-09T10:16:00.000-06:00

One of my beloved blog followers asked to see some of the holiday cookies I made, so here's a shot of my gingerbread cookies. Enjoy!

Gingerbread Men (makes about 2 dozen)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. molasses (or sorghum)
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1.5 t. Penzey's cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground clove
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat sugar, butter, and molasses in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients. Mix at low speed until blended. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Roll out dough on floured surface and cut out desired shapes. Place on cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 min at 350 F. Allow to cool completely on wire racks, then decorate.

Current Pie Tally: 45

Snowed-In Pumpkin

2011-02-03T09:41:00.003-06:00

I made this little delight in the calm before the first big Midwestern blizzard of 2011. It was supposed to be bartered in exchange for a night of babysitting while my husband and I enjoyed dinner out and a Baptism prep session. My husband and I ended up having to eat it ourselves since we got snowed in. Pity we couldn't try out the European mussel bar, but at least we got some delicious pie out of it. I used the Perfect Pumpkin Pie recipe again to make this one, except that I used 1.25 c. half and half and 1/4 c. milk instead of the proportions of heavy cream and milk called for in the recipe. I had quite a bit of half and half leftover from house guests that I needed to use up.

After about 48 min at 350, the pie came out marvelously as usual, which makes me wonder if my pie calling is to make pumpkin pie. Pumpkin and rhubarb medleys are definitely the top contenders right now. Though my husband says my pecan should be in the running too. Somehow I can't rationalize that one, since pecans grow nowhere near the great state of Wisconsin. Maybe I could make a version that uses local walnuts? Would it taste as fabulous, though?

In other pie news, I have been digging on the holiday issue of ReadyMade magazine. The pie spread in there is very inspirational. I'm particularly smitten with the Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry and Vinegar Chess. The Vinegar Chess Pie is a perfect "hunger gap" dessert, so I see that one getting made in the near future. The Dark Chocolate Cherry, on the other hand, is very festive and a bit more involved. Perhaps I'll treat myself for my birthday at the end of March.

Current Pie Tally: 45

Holiday Pie Schwag #1

2011-01-26T08:35:00.000-06:00

My mother bought me this beautiful pie basket for Christmas. Can't wait to put some pies in it! It's the double-decker model, so I can fit two pies inside. We have company coming this week, so more pies are likely to pop up on the blog. In the meantime, I've been experimenting with homemade mozzarella cheese and baking cookies.

Current Pie Tally: 44

Orange You Glad

2011-01-24T07:48:00.000-06:00

This pie almost slipped through the cracks and didn't get posted on the blog. This is another Perfect Pecan Pie, except this one was made with orange zest instead of lemon. I must say, I prefer the orange, though both are delicious. I baked this when my mother came to visit for a week after the holidays. Then, I must have forgotten about it the next week, when my family went on vacation. No pies were baked on vacation or have been baked since, but they are coming, I promise.

Current Pie Tally: 44

Christmas Apple Crumb

2011-01-04T09:25:00.004-06:00

Christmas Apple Crumb Pie
filling:
5 lbs. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, thickly sliced
1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 T. unsalted butter, finely diced
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. arrowroot starch
1/4 c. homemade baby food applesauce

topping:
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
6 T. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a pie dish with homemade pie crust. Prick all over with a fork. Stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling and topping. With the exception of the butter, mix all filling ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into pie crust. Dot with butter. Using your fingers, blend the topping ingredients together until well-mixed, moist, and crumbly. Heap on top of pie filling. Bake at 350F for about one hour. Crumb topping will be nice and brown, but not burned and apples will be soft when pierced with a fork.

Current Pie Tally: 43

Perfect Pecan Pie

2011-01-03T09:28:00.003-06:00

This is the first of two Christmas pies. I showed up with this one, my father-in-law's favorite, in hand when we arrived for our holiday stay. This is the first time I finally got to try sorghum instead of molasses, and my oh my is it good. It gives the pie less bite and a more mellow, well-rounded flavor. Also, with the tamer flavor of the sorghum, the other flavors, like the lemon zest, really sing out.

Perfect Pecan Pie
7 T. unsalted butter
1 heaping cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 c. sorghum
1/8 c. real maple syrup
1/8 c. good quality honey
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups pecan halves (1/2 pound)

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out crust dough and line pie dish. Prick dough all over with a fork and stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sorghum, honey, syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Whisk syrup mixture into eggs. Pour pecans into pie shell. Pour liquid mixture over. Bake at 350F for about 50 minutes. Pie is done when filling is set and crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 42

Happy Holidays to Me

2010-12-30T07:58:00.000-06:00

Hello Pie Princess!

I saw your blog about the Path of 1,000 Pies. The world is honored you choose to make pies. I used to live and work in Madison, WI.

Good pies to you, Pie Princess.

Anne Dimock

Party-time Pumpkin

2010-12-20T12:01:00.004-06:00

I made this pumpkin pie for one of the holiday parties my family attended. In many aspects, it was the best pumpkin pie I have made yet. The crust was perfect - even thickness, perfect browning, no slouchy or cracked walls. Because the crust was perfect, I was able to load it up a little higher with the filling. The result was pure indulgence. My one complaint was that the pumpkin was a little underdone for my liking. I roasted the enormous pie pumpkin I grew over the summer for this one. Even though I hacked it into manageable sections, I should have left it in the oven a bit longer. No one else noticed the difference luckily. In fact, one party guest admitted he didn't like pumpkin pie, but he sure liked mine. I feel the same way.

For a preview of Christmas pies, I bring you visions of pecan and apple...and hopefully an exciting surprise.

Current Pie Tally: 41

Next Time Make It a Double

2010-12-14T07:44:00.000-06:00

I made a lemon meringue pie over the weekend for a gracious woman who agreed to store my family's bicycles over the winter. One tandem cruiser and two adult mountain bikes neatly tucked away indoors a few blocks away in exchange for one lemon meringue pie. My one regret is that I didn't make two pies, so that I could have kept one for personal devouring. As I was whipping the meringue topping, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, I really should have made two of these. It wouldn't have been hardly any extra work." Ah well, next time. I think the above single meringue pie came out pretty well, judging from the compliments from the recipient, but it is hard to tell for sure. I fear the meringue may have been a little runny. Granted, it was a soggy day when it was delivered anyway. Apologies if the meringue wasn't quite right.

For the above pie, I used this lemon meringue pie recipe. I made one substitution, which was that I used arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch (in the same quantities).

Current Pie Tally: 40

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

2010-12-03T10:36:00.004-06:00

Herb Crust (top and bottom crust)
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. chopped fresh thyme
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
10.5 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4.5 T. ice water (or more if dough is still too dry)

Blend the dry ingredients and herbs in a food processor until well-blended. Add butter and process until mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 3 T. of the ice water. Pulse. Add more water in 1/2 T. increments, pulsing after each addition, until the mixture just starts to clump together. Gather dough into 2 balls. Place one ball in the refrigerator. Roll out the other ball and place in pie dish.

Turkey and Vegetable Pot Pie Filling
1 lb. cooked leftover turkey, cut into bite-size pieces
2 carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 parsnips, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces
5 oz. package of baby spinach
1/2 onion, diced
2 shallots, diced
1-2 T. olive oil
1 c. chicken gravy (mix 1.5 T soft butter with 1.5 T flour to form a paste; whisk paste into 1 c. hot chicken broth and stir until thickened)

Boil carrots, parsnips, celery, and potatoes in 1 c. chicken broth for about 10 min. in a medium-size pot. Vegetables should be tender. Strain, reserving broth, and transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Saute onion and shallot in oil over medium heat until soft. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Add onion, shallot, and spinach to bowl of vegetables. Add turkey and gravy and mix well. Place ingredients in prepared crust.

Roll out top crust and place over mixture. Crimp and seal edges; cut a hole in the top crust for steam to escape. Bake at 425 F for 20 minutes, then 350 F for about an hour, until the crust is golden and it looks like the filling is bubbly.

Current Pie Tally: 39

Thanksgiving Day Pies

2010-12-01T09:20:00.000-06:00

I traveled down to Iowa City to spend Thanksgiving Day with my brother and sister in law and brought these two pies. I made my popular pumpkin and molasses pecan. Both turned out well, though I think the pecan was a bit too firm from either overcooking or not enough butter. For this version of the pecan pie, I used 1/3 c. unsulphured blackstrap molasses, which I left in the measuring cup and then topped it up to 3/4 c. with real maple syrup. The flavor was good, but boy is that molasses strong. It has an almost licorice bite to it. I'm finally almost out of the high octane stuff, so I'm excited to try local sorghum instead of molasses in the next one.

Current Pie Tally: 38

Turkey Feast Pumpkin

2010-11-30T12:29:00.000-06:00

I celebrated to Thanksgiving meals with different groups of family this year. The first occurred the weekend before Thanksgiving, when my mother came to visit. She cooked us a true turkey feast with all of the fixings and I made us this creamy pumpkin pie from my latest recipe. My only regret is that I sloppily covered it with plastic wrap when it was time to put it in the fridge and I accidentally peeled off the top layer towards the middle of the pie. The leftovers were lacking in aesthetics, but still tasted fabulous.

Current Pie Tally: 36

Pre-Holiday Warm Up with Apple

2010-11-29T09:20:00.002-06:00

Apologies for the lack of posting. There will be a flurry of pie posting excitement this week to make up for it - starting with this apple delight. We had no junk food in the house and a bag of apples in the fridge, so I threw this together using my standby apple pie recipe. I used packaged Tropicana orange juice for the fruit juice in this one and unsulphured blackstrap molasses. Freshly squeezed lemon, orange, etc. juice makes for a slightly more flavorful pie and the potent molasses really imparted a pleasant sharpness this time.

As a side note, I think it was a bad year for apples in Wisconsin this year. The only ones I've been happy to eat fresh so far are Russets. All of the Macouns and Cortlands I've purchased have been mealy and watery tasting, but they make decent pies and baby applesauce.

Current Pie Tally: 35

An Orange Colored Day

2010-10-26T10:46:00.003-05:00

I made this pie for some dinner guests last Friday. Since then, I've decided those particular dinner guests are my new pie muses. The pie just comes together for them. I made this pie the same as the last pumpkin batch, but I used closer to 2 c. of pureed pumpkin instead of 1.5.

Current Pie Tally: 34

Six Pies in a Day

2010-10-07T09:16:00.003-05:00

It's over, so we can laugh about it now. Six pies in a day doesn't seem like such a bad idea when you've got plenty of sleep under your belt. But when it's 11pm, and the rest of your family has already been asleep for an hour as the apple pie crusts are falling apart beneath your fingertips, the novelty wears off. I got it all done, perhaps against my better judgement, and the pies all came out well - though the bottom apple crusts were definitely ugly. Hobo patch jobs abounded. Luckily the tops came out fine, so I could keep up appearances.

I ended up making four pumpkin pies, and two apple. If I had to do it again, I'd probably make pecan pie instead of apple. Granted the apple allowed me to mix up the filling and freeze the pies a day ahead of time, but the one crust and one-pot filling of the pecan would have been far less labor intensive. Maybe next year. The apple recipe I used is the same one as usual, with two modifications. I used a combination of lemon juice and orange juice for the fruit juice ingredient, and I added 1 t. of Penzey's apple pie spice instead of measuring out each of the different spices. I think the Penzey's mix lacks clove though, and I did miss the clove. I jazzed up the pumpkin recipe with the addition of the Penzey's pumpkin pie spice mix as well. I added 1/2 t. for each pie. The cooking time for the pumpkin was also extended since I baked the four pies all at once. It probably took 45 - 55 minutes for each pie, depending on which rack they were on and what kind of a dish they were in. Oh, and I did have enough filling from three batches of the filling to fill a fourth pie.

If you are curious about what I got done ahead of time, here is the breakdown of the schedule:
Wednesday - cook fresh pie pumpkin, puree, and put in fridge
Thursday - peel and cut apples and prepare apple pie filling and put in fridge
Friday - roll out all crusts, pre-bake pumpkin pie crusts, fill and freeze apple pies
Saturday - prepare pumpkin filling, fill pumpkin pies, and bake all pies

Feedback on the pies was all positive, with more comments being about the pumpkin. My two favorites were: "Do you take orders?" and "It's the fresh cream that really makes it." I will definitely be making quite a few more of these throughout the fall and holiday season.

Current Pie Tally: 33

Pumpkin Cream Pie

2010-09-29T08:18:00.005-05:00

We got invited to dinner at our friends' place last night, which was the perfect opportunity to test out my new pumpkin pie recipe before my catering debut at my husband's conference. The resulting pie is more of a mousse-like cream pie than a traditional dense pumpkin. As such, it received rave reviews.

To create said recipe, I combined my favorite parts of two recipes sent to me by a friend in Virginia. The first is a pumpkin pie recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, and the second is a pumpkin pie recipe from the November & December 2008 issue of Cook's magazine. My aim was to create a pumpkin pie using as many fresh ingredients as possible.

I also should note that this tends to have extra filling leftover. I figure I have enough pumpkin puree from one of my mid-size pumpkins to make a total of four batches of the filling recipe. I'm counting on having enough leftover from that to make at least one extra pie. If you want a denser pie, I suspect you could add 1-2 more egg yolks to the recipe. For the next round of this recipe, I might increase the amount of spices slightly, but otherwise I'll keep it the same.

Pumpkin Cream Pie (makes one 9" pie)
crust
3 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
1.5 c. fresh pumpkin puree
3/4 c. packed light-brown sugar
3/4 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. grated fresh ginger
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. whole milk
1 t. vanilla
1 T. real maple syrup

Combine filling ingredients and pour into cooked crust. Bake at 350 F for about 43 minutes. Enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 27

A Challenge on the Horizon

2010-09-16T11:37:00.002-05:00

My husband volunteered me to make half a dozen pies for a conference he is hosting the first weekend of October. Luckily, the pumpkin plant in our garden this year was very productive. I'll probably make 4 pumpkin and 2 of either apple or pecan, for those who don't care for pumpkin. I got to buy a bunch of new pie plates for this. I'm excited! Stay tuned.

Current Pie Tally = 26

Swirly Twirly Chocolate Cookies

2010-09-07T06:55:00.002-05:00

I made these for Labor Day and they came out chewy and fabulous.

Swirly Twirly Chocolate Cookies (about 2.5 dozen)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 extra large eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
9 oz. swirled chocolate chips (semisweet and white)
3/4 c. chopped pecans

Beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well to mix. Mix in the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet and cook for about 9 min. at 350F.

Current Pie Tally: 26

Apple Rhubarb to Usher in Fall

2010-09-03T07:05:00.001-05:00

For the past couple weeks, my last haul of rhubarb from the garden had been daring me to make a pie with it before it went bad. There wasn't enough for a straight-up rhubarb pie and I had some tasty Ginger Gold apples from the farmer's market on the kitchen counter. The result is this pie. My impromptu recipe came out well, though it maybe could have used another 1/4 c. sugar, just to sweeten up those rhubarb-only bites a bit. The crust was also fantastic - light and flaky and flavorful. I think I may be getting better results with the Organic Valley unsalted butter (as opposed to Land O' Lakes, which I sometimes buy when it's on sale or I can't bring myself to shell out the extra cash for organic). My husband and I particularly like how well the maple leaf air vent came out on this one.

Apple Rhubarb Pie (to fill one 9" pie)
11 or so small/medium stalks of rhubarb, sliced into 1/2" pieces
3 large Ginger Gold apples (or Golden Delicious), peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
1 t. cinnamon
1.5 t. lemon juice
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 T. flour

Combine all ingredients and pour into pie shell. Top with second crust. Cut air vent into center. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, then 350F for an additional 40 min. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 26

And Dad's Birthday Pie Was...

2010-08-24T13:32:00.004-05:00

Rhubarb Strawberry! It was too hot and time was too precious to invest in making the fresh peach and rhubarb pie, so I ended up baking the one from the freezer. I cooked it at 425F for 25 min and then another hour at 350 this time. I think it came out much better than the last one reincarnated from the freezer depths. My husband said it set up particularly well, and I was satisfied with the doneness of the crust. Dad kept all of the leftovers and told my husband he married well, so I guess he thought it was OK too. The recipe is the same as the one from this post.

Despite the success of this one, I did have a price to pay when I returned home. All of the peaches I had bought for the possibility of the fresh pie had rotted by the time I returned home from the trip to see Dad. From rock hard to festering mess in one stinking day. What a disappointment. Oh well, the rhubarb is still keeping firm in the fridge at least.

Current Pie Tally: 25

Pies of the Past

2010-08-20T06:45:00.000-05:00

Apologies for the lull in posting. I was on vacation for two weeks and the baby hasn't been sleeping through the night. Cal slept for seven hours straight last night though, so I'm back on top of the world. Since I've been on vacation, I haven't made any pies. Though, my mother made me a delectable peach pie with praline topping.

The photo above depicts my #1 pie fan enjoying his birthday pie from last year. He recently celebrated his 60th birthday last week and is due for another birthday pie. Happy Birthday, Pops! He doesn't know this yet, but Cal, my husband, and I are giving him a surprise visit this weekend and I aim to arrive with pie in hand. The question is will it be a Rhubarb Strawberry one from the freezer arsenal or a fresh Peach and Rhubarb variety? The answer most likely lies in whether or not my son sleeps through the night again tonight. Until then, here's a short trip down memory lane to tide you over.

Admittedly, I don't have photos of all of the pies in the Pie Tally and may have forgotten exactly what I made, but here are some descriptions to help uphold my integrity as a pie princess. Here's a breakdown of the Pie Tally so far, as it stands in my memory.

2009
3 apple
2 rhubarb
1 rhuberry (rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries)
1 strawberry rhubarb
1 fruity firework (featured in photo at top - Pops' Birthday Pie from August 2009: peaches, blueberries, and rhubarb; Pop LOVES pie; we even brought it to the nice restaurant where we ate dinner and had them serve it to us)
1 rhubarb raspberry apple

2010
2 pecan
1 derby
2 apple
1 lemon meringue
2 strawberry rhubarb
1 rhubarb custard
1 rhubarb strawberry
1 peach rhubarb
1 chicken pot pie
1 veal roast pot pie
1 cherry rhubarb
1 rhubarb

Current Pie Tally: 24

Rhubarb Streusel Muffins

2010-07-21T08:24:00.002-05:00

To make these, mix up the batter using the recipe found here. Pour into foil-lined muffin cups about 2/3 full. For the streusel topping. Mix together (with fingers) 1/4 c. butter, 3/4 c. flour, 1/2 c. oats, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. sugar, and 1/4 c. chopped pecans. If the streusel is too gooey, add a little bit more flour and/or oats. The topping should be moist and crumbly. Place a spoonful of the streusel mixture on top of each filled muffin cup. Bake at 350F for about 30 min, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean and the tops are brown and crispy looking. Enjoy!

"Give us your poor and downtrodden" Rhubarb Pie

2010-07-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

In general, I think of pies as being rather decadent desserts. Yet they also hark back to something fundamentally American. A piece of the American spirit, a basic pie is an unfussy and filling way to use ingredients one has on hand. Pies are vessels, especially in summer, for the season's freshest locally available fruits - often things one can forage for. In my opinion, no pie is more of a workhorse in this regard than rhubarb pie. Granted it's not for everyone, but it's a real pie of the people. Rhubarb plants are cheap, need very little maintenance, and keep yielding fruit from the beginning of spring through fall. Luckily, most of my family enjoys rhubarb. I made this pie for a trip up to see my father and stepmother in law. My father in law in particular is a real glutton for my pies. I happily continue to bake them to stay in his good graces and bind the family together with a bit of butter, flour, fruit, and sugar.

This rhubarb pie comes from the "Straight Up Rhubarb Pie" recipe on pages 42-43 of the book "Humble Pie", by Anne Dimock. I made the 9-inch pie. My only changes were that I used less sugar (1 heaping cup instead of 1.25 cups), more cinnamon (1/4-1/2 teaspoon), and more rhubarb (probably an extra cup).

Current Pie Tally: 24

4th of July Pecan Pie

2010-07-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Granted the height of summer does not exactly call to mind this nutty pie common to Thanksgiving feasts, but it was the hostess' favorite so I obliged. Thanks for a great 4th of July party, Cathy & JP! The recipe I used as a base for this called for corn syrup instead of the molasses and maple syrup mixture that I used. This is the second one of these pies that I've made. For the first, I substituted straight blackstrap molasses for the corn syrup. I really wanted to use locally produced sorghum for the most recent version, but alas we exhausted our supply and have to wait for our next farmer's market outing to restock. Next time, I aim to use a mixture of equal amounts of sorghum, maple syrup, and honey. Also, for this iteration of the recipe, I used some grated lemon rind instead of the orange rind the original recipe calls for and decreased the brown sugar to 1 cup. The resulting pie this time was incredibly rich and velvety with a very strong molasses flavor. Perhaps not for everyone, but all the party guests I polled had nothing but rave reviews.

Current Pie Tally: 23

Homemade Walnut Brownies

2010-06-28T14:32:00.003-05:00

I made some deliciously fudgy brownies last week in lieu of pie. Hard to believe, but I needed a break from pie.

Dark Chocolate Walnut Brownies
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 oz. dark chocolate (I used 1 slab + 1 row from a Sirius brand 70% extra-bitter chocolate bar; available at Whole Foods)
4 large eggs
1.75 c. sugar
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. vanilla extract (optional)
2/3 c. shelled walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9 x 12" baking pan (I use ceramic). Melt butter and chocolate together in a double boiler (can also use a metal mixing bowl atop a medium or large pot of boiling water). Set aside. With electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until thickened and lemon yellow in color. Add vanilla. Fold in chocolate liquid mixture. Stir to mix. Sift flour into batter and gently fold in. Mix only until just blended. Fold in walnuts. Pour into prepared baking dish and rap the side of the dish with your hand a couple times to release air bubbles. Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 30 min. before cutting and serving.

Leftover Veal Roast Pot Pie

2010-06-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Making a basic pot pie is not that hard and it's a great way to use up leftovers. Granted, you'll need to feel comfortable making a pie crust and homemade gravy, but the rest is easy. You just take a bunch of cooked meat, a bunch of cooked vegetables, and a bunch of gravy and mix it all together for the filling. Also, as an added tip, my mom says you can use a can of cream of mushroom soup instead of gravy in a pinch. She made us the tasty veal pot roast used to make this pot pie.

Herb Crust (top and bottom crust)
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 T. chopped fresh thyme
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
10.5 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4.5 T. ice water (or more if dough is still too dry)

Blend the dry ingredients and herbs in a food processor until well-blended. Add butter and process until mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 3 T. of the ice water. Pulse. Add more water in 1/2 T. increments, pulsing after each addition, until the mixture just starts to clump together. Gather dough into 2 balls. Place one ball in the refrigerator. Roll out the other ball and place in pie dish.

Leftover Veal Roast Pot Pie
1 lb. leftover veal roast (or beef pot roast), cut into bite-size pieces
2 carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 onion, cut into 1/2" pieces
1-2 T. olive oil
2 medium-large red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces
1-2 c. frozen peas, thawed
2 c. of beef gravy (use the drippings from the roast, add some beef broth, and thicken with butter and flour while stirring)

Boil carrots and potatoes for about 10 min. in a medium-size pot. Vegetables should be tender. Peas can be thrown in just before taking off the burner to expedite thawing. Strain and transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Saute onion in oil over medium heat until soft. Add to bowl of vegetables. Add veal and gravy and mix well. Place ingredients in prepared crust.

Roll out top crust and place over mixture. Crimp and seal edges; cut a hole in the top crust for steam to escape. Bake mine at 425 F for 20 minutes, then 350 F for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden and it looks like the filling is bubbly.

Current Pie Tally: 22

Can't Ruin a Good Thing

2010-06-16T09:26:00.003-05:00

Another Strawberry Rhubarb Pie from the freezer arsenal. Made the same as the last one of the same proportions. I think I could have cooked it a bit longer. The bottom crust could have been a bit firmer. But a success overall.

Current Pie Tally: 21

Cherry Rhubarb Pie

2010-06-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

When you have a new baby, the house guests just keep on coming. I like to keep them well fed and happily plied with pie. This is one of two pies I made last week. I didn't add quite enough ice water to the crust, so it was difficult to work with (tearing and falling apart all over the place when I rolled it out and tried to transfer it to the pie dish). However, crust that barely holds together and fresh-frozen crust come out the best. Despite its ugliness, the pie was delicious. The other pie I made was another rhubarb strawberry version that used garden produce. That one will probably be summoned from the freezer in about a week. As I write this, I am also currently cooking the strawberry rhubarb pie that I made for the freezer the day before Caleb was born. I'll post about that one in a few days.

Cherry Rhubarb Pie (for 9" pie):
pastry for 2-crust pie (Dimock's recipe)
1 lb. rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 lb. cherries, pitted and cut in half
1 c. sugar, heaped
5 T. flour
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla

Mix the fruit, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla in a large bowl. Roll out the bottom crust and place in pie dish. Pour fruit filling in. Roll out top crust and place over bottom crust and filling. Trim overhang; crimp, and seal edges. Cut one or more vents in the top crust. Bake at 425 F for 15 min, then 350 F for 40 min. When filling is visibly bubbling vigorously under the vent in the crust or some of the filling erupts onto the crust, the pie is done.

Current Pie Tally: 20

Post-Baby Pie Update

2010-06-04T21:16:00.005-05:00

And then there were three pie-loving mouths to feed. My son Caleb Richmond was born on May 23rd, so pie time is precious time these days. However, I have managed a few. First off, the chicken pot pie that I froze was excellent. Freezing definitely "cured" the crust to perfection. Very flaky, flavorful, and filling. Just what we needed after a long delivery. Here is a recap of how to cook a frozen pot pie: DO NOT THAW IT. Put it directly in a 425 F oven for 20 minutes. Then, turn the heat down to 350 F and cook it for about another 50 min. It's done when the crust around the center looks dry and cooked.

Second, the day before Cal was born, my nesting instincts (which manifested mostly in obsessive gardening) inspired me to pick a bunch of our rhubarb and make a strawberry rhubarb pie for the freezer. It's still there, waiting to be called into service.

Lastly, there's the story behind this post's photo. My boy is less than two weeks old and I made a pie today. From scratch. With filling ingredients solely from my garden and a neighbor's garden. It's a rhubarb strawberry pie, made the same way as the strawberry rhubarbs I've made, except that the fruit proportions are skewed in favor of the strawberries. I maybe used 1.5 - 2 quarts of strawberries and 1 c. less of the rhubarb.

Current Pie Tally: 19

Lunch

2010-05-17T13:21:00.004-05:00

Fountain Prairie ham sandwich with Brunkow Morel and Onion Jack cheese, lettuce from my garden, and Hellman's mayo. Served on homemade seed bread with a side of garden radishes. I used this recipe for the bread, except that this time I substituted 1/2 c. of roasted and salted pumpkin seeds for the 1/2 c. of sunflower seeds. I think I will play around with the recipe some more to try to recreate the Karrotten Zwilling (Carrot Twin) loaf that my husband and I were fond of in Austria. I'm thinking I'll cut back on the water a bit, add some shredded carrot, and use pumpkin oil instead of butter. I'll post the recipe when I come up with a version I'm happy with.

Peach Rhubarb Pie

2010-05-10T07:14:00.003-05:00

Fresh peaches are truly delectable in a homemade pie. When some organic yellow peaches (from Mexico), went on sale at Whole Foods last week, I knew they were destined for my husband's birthday pie. Combined with rhubarb from our garden, they were sensational. I ended up bringing the pie over to our new friends' house for dinner, where it was very well received.

Comments: "This is way better than the pies the Mennonites sell at the farmer's market." & "There's so much content!" (host) "I love how it's not too sweet." (hostess)

I have to say I was surprised by the Mennonite comment. I always assumed my pies were on par with theirs (or vice versa). Maybe I'll buy one sometime to do a taste test comparison.

The crust on this one came our PERFECT. Light, flaky, and flavorful. Also, here's a tip about the peaches. I bought firm peaches and kept them in a closed paper bag at room temperature for about four days to ripen them up. Works like a charm.

Peach Rhubarb Pie (for 9" pie):
pastry for 2-crust pie (Dimock's recipe)
1 lb. rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
4 small-medium ripe peaches, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
1 c. sugar, heaped
5 T. flour
1-2 dashes of cinnamon
1 T. butter (optional)

Mix the fruit, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Roll out the bottom crust and place in pie dish. Pour fruit filling in. Cut 1 T. butter into small pieces and dot top of filling with butter. Roll out top crust and place over bottom crust and filling. Trim overhang; crimp, and seal edges. Cut one or more vents in the top crust. Bake at 425 F for 15 min, then 350 F for 40 min. When filling is visibly bubbling vigorously under the vent in the crust or some of the filling erupts onto the crust, the pie is done.

Current Pie Tally: 18

Chicken Pot Pie with Herb Crust

2010-05-05T08:00:00.007-05:00

As Dimock writes in her book, pie in the freezer is money in the bank. I made this chicken pot pie yesterday to add to the stockpile of oven-ready foods to have after the baby is born. I altered this recipe from epicurious.com. Here is my recipe:

Herb Crust (top and bottom crust)
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 T. chopped fresh thyme
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
10.5 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4-6 T. ice water (I used 5 T.)

Blend the dry ingredients and herbs in a food processor until well-blended. Add butter and process until mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 3 T. of the ice water. Pulse. Add more water in 1/2 T. increments, pulsing after each addition, until the mixture just starts to clump together. Gather dough into 2 balls. Place one ball in the refrigerator. Roll out the other ball and place in pie dish.

Chicken and Vegetable Pot Pie
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 c. (or more) water
2 chicken boullion cubes

2 carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
4-6 oz. greens (I used spinach and arugula), chopped

1.5 T. butter
1 medium leek (white and pale green parts only), sliced
1 shallot, minced
1 T. minced fresh thyme
1/8 c. all-purpose flour
1/8 c. dry white wine (I used a cheap Pinot Grigio)
1/8 c. whipping cream

Place chicken breasts in a large saucepan. Cover with water (I used 3 c.), add chicken boullion, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Save broth in pot. Transfer chicken to plate or cutting board to cool.

Add carrots and turnips to chicken broth in pot. Simmer uncovered until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer vegetables to prepared pie crust with a slotted spoon. Add greens to broth and cook until just wilted but still bright green, about 1 minute. Save broth. Transfer greens to colander with slotted spoon and drain well. Add greens to vegetables in prepared crust.

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and add to mixture in prepared crust. In a small frying pan, melt 1.5 T. butter. Sautee the leeks, shallot, and thyme until tender, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir 2 minutes. Decant reserved broth into frying pan, discarding any solids at the bottom. Stir in white wine. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Stir in cream and boil, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens to a gravy, about 8 minutes. Pour gravy over mixture in prepared crust. Stir/jostle to blend. Roll out top crust and place over mixture. Crimp and seal edges; cut a hole in the top crust for steam to escape. Wrap securely in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze. To reheat, bake the pie straight from the freezer. I plan to bake mine at 400 F for 20 minutes, then 350 F for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden and it looks like the filling is bubbly.

Current Pie Tally: 17

Great Grandma Helen's Rhubarb Custard Pie

2010-05-03T07:20:00.003-05:00

We received a bunch of free rhubarb from some friends of ours in the community gardens at the end of last week and my mom suggested I make Great Grandma Helen's Rhubarb Custard Pie. I had never tasted this pie before. I didn't know what to expect, but I decided to give it a try anyway.

Not having much experience making custard pies, I didn't know how exactly to tell when it was done. I also thought the instructions to cook it at 400 F for 50-60 min seemed a bit excessive. I was paranoid the crust was going to burn, so I cooked it a little less intensely. I'm glad I did, because I anticipate that it's not too hard to overcook the custard. The pie that I made had a slightly underdone center (wasn't quite set in a 1.5" circle in the middle), but the other custard areas were velvety, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness. Light. Fluffy. Flavorful. Custard is good.

Since making this rhubarb custard pie, I learned that you tell when the custard is done by sticking a toothpick or chopstick (my choice) into the center of the pie. When it comes out clean, much like any baked good, the custard is done. Next time, I think I'll play around with the cooking time some more to get it just right. Maybe 30 min at 400 F and 15-20 min at 350 F. I also think I might leave the top crust off the pie next time to really let the custard take the spotlight.

Speaking of crust, this was not the best pie crust I have ever made. I added too much ice water and the crust came out rather heavy. No one else who ate the pie noticed, but it detracted from the total excellence of it. I failed to follow my own advice of "add the ice water a little at a time". I threw caution to the wind and dumped the recipe's 6 T of water into the dough all at once. Then I listened to the food processor struggle under the heft and watched the dough clump together like a huge ball of lead. Not gonna do that again.

Slightly Altered Great Grandma Helen's Rhubarb Custard Pie:
1.5 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1.4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 c. (1 lb.) rhubarb, cut into 1/2" slices
pastry for 2-crust pie (lattice top)

Combine sugar, flour, and nutmeg. Beat into eggs with a whisk. Stir in rhubarb. Pour into pie shell. Add top lattice crust. Crimp and seal. Bake at 400 F for 20 min, then 350 F for 25-30 min. Cool and refrigerate.

Current Pie Tally: 16

The Rules

2010-04-29T09:29:00.001-05:00

I've had some people ask me a few questions about the boundaries of this challenge I've undertaken. If you've got others, please leave them in the comments and I'll address them there.

1. Am I allowed to make repeat pies? Yes. I figure asking me to make 1,000 unique pies while I and the ones I love have clear favorites is a bit much. Also, I try not to go too wildly astray from seasonally available ingredients. I often will use a similar ingredient that I have on hand instead of going to the store to buy something as well, thereby slightly altering one apple pie from another.

2. Can I receive help in making any part of the pies? No. I've decided to do this thing myself, so I have not counted any pies that my husband or others have helped with.

3. What about tarts and galettes and things? Those don't count. While I may make some on occasion and post about them here, they will not go toward the pie tally.

4. Do meat pies count? Yes. I feel that savory pies are true pies as well. In fact, I have plans to make a chicken pot pie or two in the near future. In "Humble Pie", Anne Dimock writes that some consider fruit pies to be the only true pies. I am not one of these purists and will make custards, creams, meats, etc. in addition to fruit pies.

5. Are all of the pie recipes you use your original recipes? No. Wherever possible, I will post the link to the recipe or state which book it comes from. However, if I feel I have altered a recipe enough to call it my own, I will write it out for everyone.

6. Can I use prepared ingredients like frozen crusts and canned fillings? No, that's totally cheating and I have no desire to ruin a pie experience that way.

Strawberry Rhubarb Homecoming Pie

2010-04-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

What better way to arrive home from a conference than to an enormously pregnant wife and a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie? I usually hold off on making this until husband's birthday, but it's only a couple weeks away, so I thought I'd kick off the celebration early. Whole Foods had a tempting display of local rhubarb, so I went for it. Though the organic strawberries are from California. Shame on me.

Strawberry Rhubarb Homecoming Pie (filling for 9" pie)
1.5 lbs. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2" thick slices
16 oz. strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered depending on size
1/2 c. brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 c. white sugar
5 T. flour
1 t. ground cinnamon (I used Penzey's)
1/4 t. salt

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a large bowl. Line your 9" pie dish with the bottom crust. Pour and heap filling mix into crust. Set upper crust on top. Trim edges and seal (I use a fork to crimp the edges). Cut a vent into the top crust. Bake at 400 F for 20 min, then reduce oven temperature to 350 F and bake for an additional 35-40 min. When magenta goo erupts from the crust vent (or other cracks in the crust), the pie is generally done. Serve warm.

Current Pie Tally: 15 (9 in 2009; 6 so far for 2010)

Additional Notes on Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie

2010-04-19T14:07:00.001-05:00

The Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie was delightful. I couldn't distinguish any difference in flavor as a result of using some lime juice and the taste was plenty citrus-infused. Also, no one got sick, so the egg yolks were fine. Next time I make this pie, I'll use the 9-inch pie plate instead of the 10-inch. That way I can heap the meringue on top more obnoxiously.

In an attempt to simplify my life and pie and avoid using unnecessary processed ingredients, I did some research on cream of tartar before deciding to go out and buy some since I didn't have any on hand. I have made this pie without cream of tartar before, but admittedly the meringue did not come out as fluffy or creamy. Regardless, if you make this pie with or without cream of tartar, expect that some little liquid blobs will start to separate out of the meringue after a day or two. I think it's liquid sugar, but don't hold me to that. If you look closely at the top of the pie slice in the photo, you can see a few pools.

According to wikipedia.org, cream of tartar is the culinary name for potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate, a byproduct of winemaking. Crystals form during the fermentation of grape juice or on the underside of a cork in wine bottles that have been stored at temperatures below 50 F. In its crude form, cream of tartar is referred to as "beeswing". The processed cream of tartar is a white, odorless, acidic powder that is often used to stabilize egg whites, prevent the crystallization of sweet syrups, or reduce the discoloration of boiled vegetables. It can also be combined with baking soda to create baking powder or with potassium chloride to create salt substitutes.

I feel it is also necessary to comment on cornstarch. I generally avoid using processed forms of corn (high-fructose corn syrup and corn syrup being high on the list), and plan to phase out my use of cornstarch once my current box is finished. A friend of mine said she uses arrowroot starch instead, so I'll give that a try. If it works as well in making Chinese food (my husband's specialty), I will switch permanently. Some of you may be wondering what to do about the corn syrup called for in some pies. I substitute any other naturally sweet syrup instead. I use molasses most often, but if a recipe calls for a large amount of corn syrup, I will probably use a combination of molasses and maple syrup or honey. Large amounts of molasses carry a VERY strong flavor. I haven't tried using sweet sorghum syrup yet, though I just picked some local organic Wisconsin stuff up at the farmer's market this past weekend. It is said to be comparable to molasses, so I look forward to trying it. I'll let you know how it is.

Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie

2010-04-16T15:25:00.000-05:00

For this pie, I used this recipe, except that I used a mixture of lemon and lime juices instead of pure lemon juice. Things were going smoothly, until I failed to read the line in the directions that reads, "Simmer mixture, whisking 3 minutes." I had already whisked in the butter, lemon-lime juice, and zest before I caught my oversight. Considering this is the part that involved raw egg yolks, I decided to put everything back on the burner and do the 3-minute simmer-whisking with all the citrus goodness and butter having already being added. Doing this thickened the mixture up a bit more and most likely cooked the egg yolks sufficiently. Hopefully, I didn't lose any citrus flavor to evaporation in the process. I'll let you know after I try a slice.

For meringue novices out there, here are some tips, complete with the first video clip to adorn the blog! When it says to beat until soft peaks form before you add the sugar, it took me about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed on my mixer. The resulting liquid was white and frothy (small bubbles throughout) and made little mounds when I dipped a spoon in. After I added the sugar, I beat the mixture on high for about 5 minutes, until it looked white and creamy (like whipped cream) and you could see clear swirls forming from the electric beater. For a look at "just until stiff peaks form," check out my video clip:

Current Pie Tally: 14

Snack

2010-04-15T14:30:00.004-05:00

Organic honey graham cracker smeared with Skippy Natural peanut butter and dappled with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Washed down with a glass of organic 2% milk (Sassy Cow Creamery). Interestingly enough, the chocolate chips are leftover from a Derby Pie I made a month or so ago.

Tools of the Trade: Rolling Pin

2010-04-14T07:53:00.005-05:00

You don't need a fancy rolling pin to make pie crust. In fact, I'd recommend holding off on buying one until you've made about 20 pies. In the interim, try a bunch of different bottles and things to get a feel for the weight and size you prefer. When I was living in Vienna and baking my pies in a Coleman camping oven (a metal box that sat on top of my stove-top burner), my makeshift rolling pins included thermos bottles, empty wine bottles, full wine bottles, and partially full rum bottles - whatever was on hand at the time. Just be sure to wash and dry the surface of your "bottle" before and after using.

Now that I've been reunited with all my stuff in the US, I have my proper rolling pin back. This one is a solid piece of pine and was a gift from my mother. I think it came from T.J. Maxx and is probably about 10 years old. It's fairly modest as far as rolling pins go, but in many ways I think that makes it a superior tool. It doesn't flaunt any moving parts or fancy heavy marble barrel. It is very lightweight and easy to control, so that I can get my pie crust just as thick or thin as I want it and even throughout. My only complaint is that pine is a weak wood, and this rolling pin does get dings and dents easily. So, I have to be careful when washing, handling, and storing it.

You might be able to tell from the photo that this one is also starting to lose its finish. I consider the weathered look a mark of pride in having used it well over the years, but I do have a tinge of worry about having to replace it someday. If I had to decide on a replacement now, I think I'd get something similar, but made of a sturdier wood - maybe a fancy varnished log of cherry wood.

On the pie horizon, my father in law and his wife are coming to visit this weekend. Which means enough people will be around to warrant making a pie. The top contender right now is Lemon Meringue, so I can use up the lemons and limes leftover from the party last weekend. Stay tuned...

Mini Pumpkin Tart Wedges

2010-04-12T08:24:00.006-05:00

In my party-going and party-throwing experiences over the years, I've learned a thing or two. One is that bite-size desserts are much easier to eat. They tend to be more popular also, perhaps because the diminutive size offers less guilt. So, for the bash I threw recently, I decided to make these mini pumpkin tart wedges.

The recipe is adapted from the Pumpkin Pie recipe in "Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook." I did not get all fussy with the crust like she did. I used Anne Dimock's Pie Chart for Piecrust* in the book "Humble Pie" and made enough dough for a one-crust pie. I also used up a couple dough scraps I had in the freezer. The end result was six 4.5-inch tart shells. (Wedges from five are in the photo.)

Another adaptation lies in the preparation of the filling. My husband made the filling for these, and they aren't in the form of a true pie anyway, so they won't go toward the pie tally. For this filling, winter squash was used instead of pumpkin. Also, the exact proportions are probably a bit off compared to Martha's recipe. We use a higher ratio of squash to other ingredients, so that no squash is wasted. My husband initially made a large batch (maybe a double or triple recipe) and froze any extras. These tarts are the remnants of those frozen extras. Not a tart wedge was left standing at the end of the party, so I'd say they were a hit.

current pie tally: 13 (still)

*I use unsalted butter instead of shortening in my crust (in the same proportion).

Lunch

2010-04-08T12:19:00.002-05:00

Homemade egg salad on sauerkraut rye.

Egg Salad:
12 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and chopped
1/4 - 1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 T. Dijon mustard
handful of chopped fresh dill
handful of chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and enjoy.

Don't Fill Up on Bread

2010-04-06T08:01:00.004-05:00

It occurred to me that some of you faithful readers might get bored sitting around waiting for the next pie project. One thousand pies in a lifetime isn't exactly a whirlwind pace. So, I'll do my best to woo your affections throughout with posts related to the daily happenings of a Midwestern Pie Princess. For this one, we check in with my faithful bread machine.

I stopped buying bread* after moving back to the US from Austria, where fresh amazing bread is very affordable and addictive. The high-fructose, hydrogenated crap we peddle on our supermarket shelves in the US doesn't measure up. The book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, inspired me to shanghai my mother's forlorn bread machine (used maybe twice). In the book, Kingsolver's husband divulges how you can make hearty and healthy homemade bread from scratch with one of those bread machines of yesteryear. I Googled some recipes and have been adapting them to my liking ever since.

My recent favorite is this Cinnamon Raisin Bread:
3/4 c. warm milk
1 T. butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 T. white sugar
2 t. cinnamon (I recommend Penzey's)
1 t. salt
2 c. bread flour
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t. bread machine yeast
1/2 c. raisins, heaped
1/2 c. walnut pieces, heaped

Place the first six ingredients into the bread machine first. Then, add the flours and yeast. Select the Fruit & Nut Bread Cycle (light crust if possible) on the machine and push "Start." After about 10 min., open the machine and add the raisins and walnuts.

*I still occasionally buy fresh-baked baguettes and the like.

The First Step

2010-04-05T09:40:00.007-05:00

At the Easter dinner my husband and I attended yesterday, the hostess officially challenged me to blog about my journey on the Path of 1,000 Pies. So here I am. Easter seems like an appropriate time for such an undertaking. New birth. New beginnings. A call to serve...pie.

I brought two apple pies to Easter dinner and received rave reviews: "I can tell you're an experienced hand at making that crust" (Uncle Bob) and "Those pies you brought were delicious! Thank you for bringing them" (Marcia, the hostess).

Partly, making the pies was an exercise in the humane demise of some less-than-great apples I picked up at the Dane County Farmer's Market last weekend. Yes, I know that it is not currently apple season, but they were locally grown and stored in a fancy-sounding humidity-and-temperature-controlled environment. So I bought them. Lots of them, probably about 20, thinking I would eat some fresh and make a pie with the rest.

After choking a couple down, I decided to make two pies instead of just one. They weren't awful; they just weren't the Macouns I know and love. They had more of a McIntosh consistency (quite soft) and the flavor was watered down and rather bland. I recently received a birthday card that read, "Birthday cake is just about the happiest outcome flour can hope for." Pie was the happiest outcome for these apples.

Current pie tally for 2009 and 2010: 13 pies (15 if you count two pumpkin ones that my husband made the filling for)

Easter Apple Pie Filling Recipe (we'll get into crust later); makes one 9-inch pie:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/8 c. lemon juice
1/8 c. apricot/pear juice
3 T. all-purpose flour
1 T. molasses
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. ginger
1/8 t. allspice
8-10 peeled & cored Macoun apples, sliced about 1/3" thick

In a large non-metal bowl, stir together the sugars, juices, flour, molasses, and spices. Fold in the apples. Pour the mixture into your pie shell, including all the juicy goo at the bottom of the bowl. Roll out your remaining crust and place over the filled bottom shell. Trim and crimp edges and slit or cut a hole in the middle to allow steam to vent. Bake at 450F for 15 min., then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 35 min. more. Allow to cool and serve warm.