Palisade Peach Pie

I had never heard of Palisade Peaches before, but my BFF raved about them when we were talking about peaches (like you do) and so when I saw a pick up truck with a giant "Palisade Peaches" sign, I knew I had to stop.  I got a huge bag of peaches for $8, one of which was eaten by Miss F straight away, and knew pie was in my future.  I used refrigerate pie crusts because I didn't want to try and deal with making pie crust in a kitchen with out air conditioning.  We are hosting Thanksgiving in Colorado and I will attempt homemade crust then, when there will hopefully be snow on the ground.  C loved the filling, but was meh on the crust.  I guess he much prefers homemade, who doesn't?

Palisade Peach Pie

3 ½ pounds peaches
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup flour
2 refrigerated prepared pie crusts

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pan of water to a boil and make a large bowl of ice water. Score an “X” into the bottom of each of the peaches. Boil each peach for a minute, then put straight into the bowl of ice water. Peel the peaches, then slice into wedges.

In a large bowl, stir together the peaches, lemon juice, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. Place the one of the pie crusts into a pie pan. Add the peach mixture to the pan, mounding high in the center. Top with the second pie crust and crimp the edges to seal. Make three cuts in the center of the crust to vent the pie.

Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and cover the edges of the pie with foil, bake for 30 to 40 minutes more. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

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Buttermilk Chess Pie

We were flying home from a weekend in Banff (incredible place, I highly recommend visiting!) and C sent me a link to an article on "Forgotten Pies We Should Bring Back."  He requested that I make a Buttermilk Chess Pie, a Sugar Cream Pie and a Shoofly Pie.  After some pie research, I concluded that the Buttermilk Chess Pie seemed to be the best pie to start with and I also informed him that I had no plans to ever make the Shoofly Pie.  I made a crust by hand for Thanksgiving and I actually preferred it to my usual food processor method.  If you like sweet desserts, this is the pie for you.  Miss F and C were in pie heaven, I was longing for a more traditional fruit pie instead.  The filling recipe is adapted from All Recipes.

Buttermilk Chess Pie

Crust:
1 ¼ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼ -inch cubes
3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
½ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal. Stir in the water with a fork until the dough pulls together. Roll out the dough on a well floured surface into a 12” circle. Gently press the crust into a 9” pie pan.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the flour, sugar, eggs and buttermilk until well combined. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until the filling is set.

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Apple Pie

I have been on the quest for the perfect apple pie recipe for the longest time. I love Martha Stewart's crust recipe, but I have never been thrilled with any of the pie fillings I have tried.  I really liked the results from using Gala apples.  I usually like a tart apple, like Granny Smith, in my apple desserts, but the Gala apples cooked beautifully.  This pie is spectacular on its own, but even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Perfect for fall and even more perfect for your Thanksgiving table.

Apple Pie

Crust:
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces
¼ to ½ cup ice water

Filling:
3 pounds Gala apples, peeled, cored and sliced
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
juice from ½ lemon
2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons cream

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.

With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out both refrigerated dough disks into a 12 inch circle. Place one into a 9 inch pie pan, trim the crust ½ inch from the sides.

Stir together the apples, sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add the apples to the pie pan. Cut the butter into ¼ inch cubes, dot the apples with the butter pieces. Cut the remaining dough into 1 inch strips, weave a lattice top onto the pie. Brush the top with the cream.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes more. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

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Texas Peach Pie

The other day I realized I had never blogged a plain peach pie before. It's peach season here in Texas and we are tearing through huge bowl fulls of fresh peaches and nectarines. The biggest effort for this pie is peeling the peaches, which is made easier by blanching them first. The peach skin stained my wood cutting board a deep purplish blue, it was the oddest thing. It all came out in the wash though. Miss F has really taken to helping make pie crusts, she is a master food processor operator. Serve this pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and you are ready for summer.  This recipe is adapted from both Martha Stewart and Food & Wine.

Texas Peach Pie

2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

8 large, ripe but firm peaches (3 ½ pounds)
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1 ½ tablespoons butter, thinly sliced

Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.

Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days, before using. When ready, roll out ¾ of the dough into a 10” circle. Press the dough into a 9” pie pan and put it in the refrigerator. Place the remaining dough back into the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pan of water to a boil and make a large bowl of ice water. Score an “X” into the bottom of each of the peaches. Boil each peach for a minute, then put straight into the bowl of ice water. Peel the peaches, then slice into wedges.

In a large bowl, stir together the peaches, sugar, lemon juice and flour. Pour the peaches into the refrigerated pie crust and top with the sliced butter. Roll out the remaining dough into six 1 ½“ strips, weave the strips overtop of the pie and crimp the edges.

Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and cover the edges of the pie with foil, bake for 40 minutes more. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

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Sour Cream Lemon Pie

I let Miss F prepare the crust for this pie from start to finish. She may have gotten a little overzealous when adding the ice water to the dough, which led to the crust shrinking up quite a bit. She knows better for next time and I know better than to give her a full glass of water when she is making pie dough.  The lemon sour cream filling was perfection, Miss F enjoys anything lemon flavored and she snuck a few tastes while I was making it.  She likes lemon so much that she now insists on a lemon wedge in her school water bottle.

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 cup milk
½ cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
¼ cup butter, cubed
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 450°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8 inch thick circle; transfer to a 9 inch pie plate. Trim pastry to ½ inch beyond rim of plate; flute edge.

Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake 8 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned. Remove foil and weights; bake 5-7 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large heavy saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in milk and lemon juice until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter. Cool without stirring.

Stir in sour cream. Add filling to crust. Top with whipped cream. Store in the refrigerator.

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Lattice Apple Pie

I am still looking for an apple pie recipe that doesn't create a ton of juice. While they all taste great, they always look such a mess when sliced. Everyone raves about the Grandma Ople apple pie recipe, so I knew I wanted to try it. I knew my mom would enjoy it since she always prefers Granny Smiths, we both like things tart.  I am still trying to figure out how to make a woven lattice pie crust easily.  Does anyone have any tips?  I always seem to make a mess when trying to intertwine the pastry.  I wish I could make a pie with more than six pastry strips.  One day, one day...

Lattice Apple Pie

Crust:
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces
¼ to ½ cup ice water

Filling:
½ cup butter
¼ cup flour
¼ cup water
½ cup white sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
1 egg yolk

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.

With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Pour the butter mixture over the apples. Cover with a lattice work crust. Brush the crust with a beaten egg yolk.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

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Key Lime Pie

Since childhood, my favorite dessert to order at a restaurant has always been Key Lime Pie. When I came to Houston to visit the University of Houston, we went out for a big seafood meal. I ended the evening with Key Lime Pie. And some allergic reactions. I thought it was the shrimp, but it turned out it was a reaction to pecans. My dad has allergic reactions to nuts as well, but I couldn't figure out where I had eaten any. Once I moved to Texas, I quickly realized 9 out of 10 restaurants add pecans to their Key Lime Pie's graham cracker crust. Besides eating my weight in stone crab at Joe's Stone Crab in Miami, I also knew I wanted some non-pecan tainted Key Lime Pie. And it was the best slice of pie I have ever eaten. I was so happy to see that Joe's Stone Crab shares their amazing pie recipe and I was even happier to learn that it was amazingly easy to make. I may have eaten all but one slice from the entire pie I made.

Joe's Stone Crab Key Lime Pie

1 wax paper-wrapped package graham crackers (1/3 of a pound box)
or
1 cup, 2 ½ tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

Whipped cream

For the graham cracker crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch pie pan. Break up the graham crackers; place in a food processor and process to crumbs. (If you don't have a food processor, place the crackers in a large plastic bag; seal and then crush the crackers with a rolling pin.) Add the melted butter and sugar and pulse or stir until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pie pan, forming a neat border around the edge. Bake the crust until set and golden, 8 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack; leave the oven on.

For the filling:
Meanwhile, in an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks at high speed until very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3 or 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer. Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake for 10 minutes or until the filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Serve topped with whipped cream.

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Peanut Butter Cup Pie

I have such amazing friends, but with C in Aspen it is harder to meet the girls for a night out. So I decided to have the girls over one night after Miss F was asleep. And I decided to serve pie (and wine!) I made a blueberry pie, key lime pie and this beauty.  The filling is so rich, it is like eating a giant peanut butter cup, what could be better than that?  Miss F was my trusty pie baking assistant and she did an amazing job unwrapping the peanut butter cups and counting out Oreos.  She enjoyed a slice with a side of chocolate ice cream topped with whipped cream and candy corn.  C only wanted the blueberry pie (his favorite) because he thought a peanut butter pie sounded strange.  More pie for Miss F and I!

Peanut Butter Cup Pie
adapted from Martha Stewart

24 Oreo cookies
¼ cup butter, melted
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 ¼ cups smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
12 mini Reeses peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

In a food processor, add the Oreo cookies and pulse until they are crumbs. Stir in the butter. Place the ground crumb mixture into a pie pan and press onto the bottom and up the sides evenly. Refrigerate for one hour.

Beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and salt with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in peanut butter and vanilla. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Whisk 1/3 of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon filling into the crust. Top with the peanut butter cup pieces. Freeze, uncovered, at least 4 hours (or overnight, covered with plastic wrap).

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Raspberry Nectarine Pie

I love a good fruit pie. The only thing is that I need to have vanilla ice cream with it. And I have to warm it. We have been living on peaches and nectarines around here, it is the best time of year for them. Lately the nectarines have been much sweeter than the peaches, so I decided to try making a pie with them. I found this recipe on Baking and Mistaking. I made a few changes, mainly using Martha Stewart's recipe for pie crust since it never steers me wrong.  My mom says that my grandma's pie crust recipe calls for flour, oil and water.  One of these days I will be brave enough to try it.  I remember making pies with her as a child and her crust was definitely the best I have ever tasted. This will be my new go to stone fruit pie since you don't have to fuss with peeling the nectarines.

Raspberry Nectarine Pie

For the crust:
2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, cut into ½” pieces
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:
2 ½ pounds nectarines, pitted and sliced
1 cup raspberries
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch

In a food processor, process flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add the butter and process for 10 seconds. Add the water through the feed tube in a slow stream. Process until the mixture begins to come together. Place the dough in a large Ziploc bag and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Stir the nectarines, raspberries and 1sugar together in a large bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Drain any excess juice in a large colander, and toss the fruit with the lemon juice and cornstarch.
Roll out the dough to fit a 9” pie pan, reserving enough dough to create the lattice top. Once the dough is lining the pie dish, pour the fruit mixture over top. Roll the remaining dough into 6 strips that are ½” wide.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, then reduce to 375 degrees and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool at least two hours before serving.

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Caramel Apple Pie

I usually make a caramel apple tart for Thanksgiving, but when I saw a post for a Caramel Apple Pie on the Nifty Food, I left it for my dad to decide which I would make. He verdict, "whichever has more caramel." Smart man.  I sued my favorite apple pie recipe along with the caramel recipe from the salted caramel frosting I made recently for a dinner party.  The result: an ultimate success.  We may have a new Thanksgiving dessert on the roster.

Caramel Apple Pie

¾ cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup

3 pounds (about 8) Granny Smith apples
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

Bring sugar, cream, butter and corn syrup to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until sugar dissolves. Boil until caramel thickens enough to coat spoon thickly, whisking often, about 8 minutes. Caramel sauce can be made 5 days ahead. Cover; chill. Whisk over low heat until warm before using.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Roll out half the dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface, fit it into a 9-inch (1-quart) glass pie plate, and trim the edge, leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Chill the shell and the remaining dough while making the filling. In a large bowl toss together the apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into eighths, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the flour, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the salt, and the lemon juice until the mixture is combined well, transfer the filling to the shell, and dot it with the butter. Drizzle half of the caramel sauce over the apples. Reserve the remaining sauce to serve with the pie.

Roll out the remaining dough into a 13- by 14-inch round on a lightly floured surface, drape it over the filling, and trim it, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it, and crimp the edge decoratively. Brush the crust lightly with the milk, cut slits in it with a sharp knife, forming steam vents, and sprinkle the pie evenly with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake the pie on a large baking sheet in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350°F., and bake the pie for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the apples are tender.

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Secret Recipe Club: Peach Vanilla Pie

It's time for another post from the Secret Recipe Club. This month I received the fantastic blog, I Am a Honey Bee.  There were so many amazing recipes to choose from, but I settled on a recipe for vanilla peach pie.  It's peach season here in Texas, which means giant, juicy and sweet peaches for 99 cents a pound.  The original recipe didn't call for peeling the peaches, but I figured it would help the texture of the filling.  I learned the peach peeling technique from making Miss F's food when she was a baby.  It really helps cut a lot of time and makes it crazy easy to peel a peach.

Vanilla Peach Pie

Pie crust (recipe follows)
8 large fresh peaches
½ to ¾ cup of vanilla infused sugar
¼ cup flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out 2 discs of dough. Set bottom dough in pie plate, refrigerate. Slice the top crust into eight ¾”wide strips and refrigerate.

Boil a small saucepan full of water, enough to cover a peach. Drop a peach into the water for 30 seconds, remove with tongs and set aside. Repeat with remaining peaches. Remove skin from the peaches and slice.

In a large bowl, combine the peaches, vanilla sugar and flour. Place peaches in the bottom crust and then cover with the strips of pie crust in a lattice design. Place the small pieces of butter in the places where the crust is open to the fruit.

Bake the pie on a sheet tray at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and continue to bake 35 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned.

Pie Crust

2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.

Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days, before using.

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Triple Berry Pie

For our 4th anniversary, I gave C a year of pies. Each month I baked a different fruit pie. I never did any combination of fruits, but I did learn a lot more about pie baking. C's favorite over the year was the blueberry pie, my favorite was the Batali Family Blackberry Pie. We had an excess of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries that were destined to be frozen until C mentioned bringing a pie into work. This pie is a good marriage of our two favorites.  The filling was my own invention, but the crust is from Martha Stewart. It was 80 degrees and humid when I made it, so the crust was not so fun to roll out.

Triple Berry Pie

2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, cut into ½” pieces
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

1 ½ cups blueberries
1 ½ cups blackberries
1 ½ cups strawberries, quartered or halved, depending on size
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
juice of half a lemon

In a food processor, process flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add the butter and process for 10 seconds. Add the water through the feed tube in a slow stream. Process until the mixture begins to come together. Place the dough in a large Ziploc bag and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, sugar, corn starch and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough to fit a 9” pie pan, reserving enough dough to create the lattice top. Once the dough is lining the pie dish, pour the berry mixture over top. Roll the remaing dough into 9” strips that are ½” wide. Weave the dough on the top of the pie. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

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Alton Brown's Pumpkin Pie

I confess, I have never tried pumpkin pie. The whole thing just doesn't sound delicious to me. That being said, C requests a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving every year. This year, Alton Brown featured pumpkin pie on his Thanksgiving special. I followed his instructions, but I did change his ginger snap crust to a standard pastry crust. C insists pumpkin pie be served with Cool Whip (blech!), but this year he had to settle for extra creamy Cool Whip since Kroger was sold out of the regular. Do they not realize it is Thanksgiving?

Pumpkin Pie

16 ounces Pumpkin Puree, approximately 2 cups, recipe follows
1 cup half-and-half
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinammon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 pie crust

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring the pumpkin puree to a simmer over medium heat in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the half-and-half, nutmeg, and salt. Stir and return the mixture to a simmer. Remove the pumpkin mixture from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Whisk the brown sugar, eggs, and yolk until smooth in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the prepared filling into a prepared pie crust and bake on the same half sheet pan until the center jiggles slightly but the sides of the filling are set, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack for at least 2 to 3 hours before slicing. Pie can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Pie is best the day after it is made.

Pumpkin Puree

2 pie pumpkins
kosher salt

Slice a small piece of skin off the one side of the pumpkin so when laid on its side, the pumpkin will lay flat without rolling. Remove the stem and split the pumpkin in half from top to bottom, using a large cleaver and a mallet. Scoop out the seeds and fiber with a large metal spoon or ice cream scoop. Cut the fibers with kitchen shears if necessary. Reserve seeds for another use.

Sprinkle the flesh with kosher salt and lay the halves, flesh side down, on a parchment paper-lined half sheet pan. Roast until a paring knife can be easily inserted and removed from the pumpkin, 30 to 45 minutes. Test in several places to ensure doneness.

Remove the half sheet pan to a cooling rack and cool the pumpkin for 1 hour. Using a large spoon, remove the roasted flesh of the pumpkin from the skin to the bowl of a food processor. Process until the flesh is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

Adapted from Alton Brown

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Pie of the month: Batali Family Blackberry Pie

C's fourth anniversary gift continues with a fruit pie for the new year: blackberry pie. When I found that Mario Batali had a blackberry pie recipe, I knew that was the winner. C loves Babbo in NYC, so how could he not love a Batali fruit pie? This pie was exceedingly easy and I will be making it again. As an added bonus, it is National Pie Day, what a way to celebrate! I used Martha Stewart's pate brise recipe, increased by 50% to get a nice two crust pie crust.

Batali Family Blackberry Pie
printable recipe

4 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Put the blackberries in a bowl and toss gently with the sugar and flour. Drizzle with the lemon juice and toss gently again.

Transfer the berries to the pie shell and dot with the butter. Cover the filling with the dough, trim the excess dough, and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Cut a few steam vents in the center of the crust. Bake in a 350°F oven for 1 hour, or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Let cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes, and devour.

Courtesy of Mario Batali

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Pie of the month: Apple Pie

I am still on the quest for the perfect apple for apple pie? Anyone out there have any tips? I used all Granny Smith this time, they were very firm after baking. My mom and Miss F loved it, but I wasn't as big of a fan. I used Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee, only increasing it by 50% instead of doubling it. I even used a deep dish pie plate, her recipe really makes an ample amount of dough.







Apple Pie

3 pounds (about 8) apples
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Roll out half the dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface, fit it into a 9-inch (1-quart) glass pie plate, and trim the edge, leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Chill the shell and the remaining dough while making the filling. In a large bowl toss together the apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into eighths, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the flour, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the salt, and the lemon juice until the mixture is combined well, transfer the filling to the shell, and dot it with the butter.

Roll out the remaining dough into a 13- by 14-inch round on a lightly floured surface, drape it over the filling, and trim it, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it, and crimp the edge decoratively. Brush the crust lightly with the milk, cut slits in it with a sharp knife, forming steam vents, and sprinkle the pie evenly with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake the pie on a large baking sheet in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350°F., and bake the pie for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the apples are tender.

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Pie of the month: Pumpkin Pie

C has been pestering me all day to eat a piece of this pie! To his credit, it is a gift to him, but he needs to be patient and wait for Thanksgiving dinner. This recipe is really easy to make, as long as you are able to find pumpkin where you live. Luckily, pumpkin is readily available here...which is especially fgood since I love making the pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin waffles so much.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!





Pumpkin Pie

1 can (15 ounces) solid pack pumpkin
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 350. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough disk 1/8 inch thick, then cut in to 16 inch circle. Fit into a 9 inch deep dish pie dish, leaving in inch overhang. Fold edges under.

Shape large, loose, half circles at edge of dough, then fold into a wave like pattern to create a fluted edge. Prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Whisk pumpkin, sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, eggs, and milk in a large bowl.

Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet and pout pumpkin mixture into the crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool on a wire wrack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

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Chicken Pot Pie in Under an Hour

My normal chicken pot pie can take up to two hours to prep, which is quite a daunting task when I get home from work. It is C's birthday tonight, so he decided he wanted his favorite meal: Chicken Pot Pie. Instead of using the puff pastry sheets, I got the puff pastry shells. That way, the shells can bake while I make the chicken filling. The whole process took about 40 minutes from start to finsh, not bad at all for a weeknight meal. The best part is that there are leftovers for all, though you need another package of puff pastry shells for them.

The Pepperidge Farm website reminds me of my childhood. We would get the apple turnovers as a special treat!

Chicken Pot Pie in Under an Hour

½ cup butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 cup flour
1 pint of cream (or half and half)
1 ½ cans of chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
¾ lb chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 russet potato, cut into bite sized pieces
10 oz package of mixed frozen vegetables of your choice
1 package of puff pastry shells

Preheat the oven to 400. Place the shells on a ungreased baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Boil potatoes in a small saucepan for 10 minutes. While the potatoes are boiling, melt ½ cup butter in a Dutch oven with the garlic and shallot. After the shallot has softened, whisk in the flour a ¼ cup at a time (you may not need all of the flour). When completely mixed in, add the cream, whisking more to incorporate into the roux. Add 1 ½ cans of chicken broth. Continue whisking; add the bay leaf, the parsley, the tarragon, salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and chicken, let cook for 10-15 minutes on the stovetop to cook the chicken and thicken the sauce, stirring the whole time. Add the package of frozen mixed veggies (I use the peas, carrots, corn, green beans and lima beans mixture) and stir to incorporate. Cook for 5 more minutes to warm the vegetables through.

Remove the shell tops and fill each with the chicken pot pie filling. Serve.

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A year of pies: Peach

Since peaches were on super sale, this month's pie got made the very first day of the month. The filling was very runny, but wonderfully tasty. Even Miss F enjoyed it~ her first dessert ever. C ranked this better than the cherry, but not as good as the blueberry (top rated pie!) I only increase Martha Stewarts crust recipt by 50%, since it makes so much and I still had crust leftover after making the double crust. I made a nifty peach topper for the pie and saved the rest in the freezer.

The easiest way to peel a peach is to submerge it in boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds, then dip it in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. The skin comes right off!

Peach Pie

Pie crust (recipe follows)
4 to 5 cups peaches, peeled and sliced (about 7 large peaches)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg

Preaheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine peaches, sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon filling into 9" pie crust and top with the second rolled out crust. Crimp the edges and brush the top of the pie with an egg wash. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes on a baking sheet to catch any possible overages. Let cool for 3 hours before serving.

Pie Crust
(two crusts)
3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1//2 inch cubes
5 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.

Shape dough into two disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days, before using.

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A year of Pies: Cherry

This has been the cheapest pie to make thus far, cherries were on sale at the Kroger Supermercado for 99 cents a pound! So I picked up two pounds for the pie and two pounds for snacking. The cherries were a rich, deep, dark red, so the pie isn't what I traditionally think of when I envision cherry pie.

I pitted the cherries by hand, my fingers are going to be cherry stained for weeks!





Cherry Pie

Filling:
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups whole pitted sour cherries or dark sweet cherries (about 2 pounds whole unpitted cherries)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (if using sour cherries) or 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (if using dark sweet cherries)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon (about) milk
Vanilla ice cream

One pie crust (recipe follows)

For filling:
Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Stir in cherries, lemon juice, and vanilla; set aside.

Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Roll out second dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Using large knife or pastry wheel with fluted edge, cut ten 3/4-inch-wide strips from dough round. Arrange dough strips atop filling, forming lattice; trim dough strip overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold bottom crust up over ends of strips and crimp edges to seal. Brush lattice crust (not edges) with milk. Sprinkle lattice with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake pie until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, covering edges with foil collar if browning too quickly, about 1 hour longer. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Cut into wedges and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Pie Crust
(one crust)
2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1//2 inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.

Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days, before using.

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A year of Pies: Strawberry Pie

Month three of the anniversary pie of the month countdown was strawberry pie. Now, most fresh strawberry pie recipes out there are not baked, instead they involve gelatin and set in the refrigerator. After discussing with C, we both decided that we would prefer a baked strawberry pie, especially since there is vanilla ice cream in the freezer just begging to top a fruit pie of some sort.

So I went ahead and did something that you are never ever supposed to do in baking: I improvised.



Baked Strawberry Pie

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstartch
1 pinch of salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir. Roll out one pie crust for a 9" pie pan. Lay crust into the pan. Pour the strawberry mixture into the pie crust. Create a lattice pie top. Brush the pie crust with an egg wash of the egg and water. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Pie Crust

2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1//2 inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.

Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days, before using.

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