New Baby Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberries were finally in at the farmer's market this past weekend, so I bought a bunch to make a pie. Fortunately, the local co-op has also been well stocked in rhubarb. Join the two and you get this sweet hot red mess. This is the first pie since my second son was born about a week ago. Not bad output. I credit my mother with making it all possible. If she wasn't here with us a for a few weeks, I surely would not have time to get a pie into the oven. Thanks ma! The first slice is for you!

Results are in: heaped with whipped cream, this one really hit the spot. I feel the need to mention that it "set up nice." The 5T. of arrowroot starch achieved the perfect consistency for the filling. Too little thickener (which I am often guilty of) and the filling is too soupy, which makes the bottom crust all soggy. This batch of filling helped maintain the integrity of the crust. Well, with that, I'll leave you with the recipe while I go pat myself on the back and have another "nursing mother" oversize slice.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

ingredients:
pastry dough sufficient for two pie crusts
1 lb. rhubarb (6 stalks), cut into 1/2" slices
2 quarts of strawberries, hulled and halved (if large)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 t. Penzey's Vietnamese extra fancy cinnamon
5 T. arrowroot starch

Mix all the filling in a large bowl. Roll out bottom crust and place in pie dish. Pour filling in. Roll out upper crust, place on top, cut vent, and crimp to seal edges. Bake at 400F for 25 min, then reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 40-50 min, until crust is golden and fruit goo starts splashing out of the crust vent.

Current Pie Tally: 113

Peach Rhubarb Crumble Pie

This was my husband's birthday pie this year. I let him decide whether it would be a two-crust pie or a crumb-topped pie. Luckily, he went with crumb-topped, because I didn't have enough flour to make the two crusts. I should have upped the arrowroot starch to 5 T. The filling was a little soupy, but delicious just the same. Here's the recipe:

Peach Rhubarb Crumble Pie

ingredients:
pre-baked bottom crust
1 lb. rhubarb, sliced into 1/2" pieces
8 small yellow peaches, peeled and sliced
3/4 c. sugar
4 T. arrowroot starch



crumb topping:
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
6 T. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 t. salt Mix all the filling in a large bowl. Pour into pre-baked crust. Mix crumb topping in a large bowl by rubbing it between your fingers until it is moist and crumbly. Heap topping onto pie. Bake at 350F for about 51 min. Pie filling should be gooey and rhubarb should be soft. Let cool somewhat and enjoy a warm slice.

Current Pie Tally: 112

A Two-Pie Party

I made a couple of pies for my husband's annual lab party at our house over the weekend. The local food co-op had their first supply of rhubarb in last week, so I stocked up and used half to make a Rhubarb Custard Pie. For the recipe, click here. I baked this one in a 10-inch pie dish at 400 for 43 min. I was disappointed that the edges came out borderline burned, but it was a tasty pie overall. The second pie was definitely the more popular, a Chocolate Pudding Pie. I think everyone had a piece - there was only a sliver left after the party (which I ate the following day). For the Chocolate Pudding Pie recipe, click here. As usual, I used regular graham crackers instead of chocolate, arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch, and didn't add any of the espresso to the whipped cream. So, it looks like I'm still keeping up with the one-pie-a-month output, BUT I do have plans to make a Rhubarb Peach Pie at the end of this week for my husband's birthday. Shhhh...it's a surprise. I'm still deciding whether it will be a two-crust pie or have a crumb topping.

Current Pie Tally: 111

Happy Pi Day 2013!

I just eeked this Vinegar Chess Pie out in time to celebrate Pi Day. Luckily, my husband was working from home and my son was happily engaged with some Tom & Jerry cartoons, affording me the time and level of focus required to whip up a pie. Also in my favor, I had just enough apple cider vinegar left to use in the pie. The piece I just ate was superb, still warm and custardy with a delicate sugar crust on top. This is the closest thing to Sugar Pie that I make. Check out the ingredients and you'll agree. How sad. I wanted to post a link to the recipe, but since the magazine has gone under, it's not online anymore. I've been redirected to Better Homes and Gardens. Sheesh. I guess I'll type it out for y'all.

Vinegar Chess Pie (from ReadyMade issue 50 Dec/Jan 2011)
ingredients:
one prebaked pie crust
1/2c. melted butter, slightly cooled
1.5c. sugar
3 large eggs
2T cider vinegar
1t vanilla
1/4c. heavy cream (I used half n' half this time around)
2T cornmeal
1/4t salt
1/8t nutmeg

directions: Whisk sugar, salt, and butter in a large bowl. Add one egg at a time. Stir in vinegar, vanilla, cream, cornmeal, and nutmeg. Whisk gently. Pour into prebaked crust. Bake at 350F for 40-50min (I took it out after 40 min this time). The top should be set, but it should still be a little bit wiggly jiggly underneath. Cool and devour.

Current Pie Tally: 109

Hurry Up Spring Apple Pie

Winesap apples from controlled storage started appearing at the farmer's market a couple of weeks ago, so I picked up enough to make this pie. The stars aligned when my son took an unexpected nap over the weekend and afforded me enough time to make said pie. It took a long time to cook, possibly since I used a new deep pie dish. I cooked it at 425F for 15 min, then at 350 for another hour and 20 min. As a break to my sad pie output of late (one per month, really?), it certainly hit the spot. Here's hoping March brings more pie. I'm eagerly awaiting Spring's arrival of rhubarb. Maybe the plant I bought last year will even produce enough for a pie this year. For the apple pie recipe, click here.

Current Pie Tally: 108

Houseguest Pumpkin Pie

This is the last of the frozen pumpkin I had stashed in the freezer. It comes from a fresh pie pumpkin we got from an apple orchard back in October. I made this pie in honor of my husband's work colleague coming to town and staying with us for the duration of a local conference. Pumpkin pie is one of those pies that really demands a commitment. It's much easier to consume before it goes bad if there are more than two people eating it. Our houseguest said it was excellent, and he claims to be a pie expert.

I had two noncompliance issues with this particular pie. The first is that the crust edges fell down in multiple places while prebaking. No amount of finessing with a pair of tongs could save them. Rather than skimp on the filling, I half-heartedly erected some aluminum foil walls to contain the goo. Nevertheless, it went spilling over the slumped edges anyway. I hate when that happens. Some of the filling inevitably oozes down to the bottom of the pie dish, makes the crust all soggy, and burns slightly. The second pet peeve with this pie is that I overmixed the filling with the electric mixer, probably because I was simultaneously chasing my toddler around the house with a plastic sword. The result was that the top of the pie was not a blemishless glasslike surface, but rather more like a teenager's face, complete with peaks and craters - foamy. With that, here is the recipe, same as my other pumpkin pies.

Current Pie Tally: 107

Book Club Chocolate Pecan Pie

I made this Chocolate Pecan Pie for the monthly gathering of the neighborhood book club ladies last night. I think almost everyone had a piece, so I consider it a success. I made it the same way as last time - I just threw a cup of chocolate chips into the hot butter sugar mixture. The base Pecan Pie recipe can be found here.

Current Pie Tally: 106