Elizabeth's March Pie - Classic Apple Pie

My March pie was chosen for an odd reason. The end of March was drawing near, and we had been invited to dinner at the home of some friends. While I was talking to the wife, I asked her what I should bring. She thought about a few options, but kept realizing that she already had the ingredients. Then she said, "Is there anything you want to bring?" I said, "Yes, a couple of pies!" (They have 8 in their family and we have 5 in ours, so one pie didn't seem sufficient.) She said, "Okay, bring an apple pie, because that's what my oldest likes, and bring a berry pie --- raspberries and blackberries, no blueberries --- because that's what the rest of us like. Just go to the freezer section of the store and get the bag of mixed raspberries and blackberries. No blueberries. Okay?"

Who does that???! Who tells someone what pie they're going to make!? I'll tell you who---my friend Carol! The thing that's so funny about it is that she didn't say it because they're picky about their pies----they actually like lots of pies and would have eaten anything I brought. It's just what she had in her head right when I said "pie" and Carol says whatever is in her head. If I had said, "Whatever, lady! I'm bringing something else," she would have said, "Great!" and not thought another thing of it. She's actually not crazy controlling, despite what this story sounds like. She just says what she's thinking, and lots of times it's hilarious.

I actually don't mind people who say ultra-bold in-your-face kinds of things (I know I didn't give any examples of this, but Carol is one of those people who says things that shock people). In fact, I even like it. BUT so often the same person who is ultra-bold is also easily offended, and I can't STAND that (luckily Carol is not like that at all). It seems that some people are ultra-bold only because they can get away with it and scare everyone into submission. I hate that. Some of the boldest people I know are also the touchiest. That's such a bad combination.

Anyway, back to the pie:

So since I didn't have anything in mind, I laughed about her boldness with her, but then said, "I don't have anything else in mind, so I'll just make the pies you mentioned anyway!" I knew I could only count one of the pies I made for Our Year of Pies.

.....Or so I thought......

I finished making the apple pie at 10 pm the night before our get-together. (I will get into its fabulousness later.) Jeff called as it was cooling and said, "I misread my schedule. We can't go to dinner with Fred and Carol tomorrow." I was SO deflated!! I was now stuck with a whole pie that Jeff and I hate! I couldn't believe it. Still, I was able to give lots of slices to my visiting teachees the next day, AND I was able to count it for Our Year of Pies, so it worked out okay. And the very next week, in April, we got together with the Fred and Carol family, and I made ANOTHER apple pie AND also the blackberry and raspberry ("no blueberry") pie that I had promised. KaCHING! My April pie, in the bag!

Now, for the amazing info about the APPLE PIE!!!!!!!!!

I love this pie!! I love it so much!!! This pie converted me to apple pie! This is the only apple pie I have ever liked in my life (though I must admit that many, many times I have turned down apple pie, so it's not like I've tasted a lot of them). This is the Pie of the YEAR!!!!!

Two reasons:
Reason #1 that this is Pie of the Year: There is nothing so visually satisfying --- NOTHING! ---- about opening the oven and seeing a movie pie... a CARTOON pie.... a mounded double-crusted ALL-AMERICAN PIE staring back at you. It was the craziest thing. I could not stop staring at it after it came out of the oven. I kept coming back into the kitchen to stare at it. I kept saying, "I made that! I made that! I made that! I made that!"I cannot describe to you the craziness of that. You just have to make one and see. It looks just like this:


No lie!!

Reason #2 that this is Pie of the Year: This pie made me love pie crust! I didn't really like it all that much before, and I was kinda making it just because I had to. I always thought it took away from the pie filling, and with a cream pie I still think it does. However, the interplay between the not-too-sweet apples and the flaky pie crust is phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. With a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream..... OUT OF THIS WORLD!

I still don't think I'll ever crave an apple pie, and I probably won't start picking up Hostess Apple Pies when I go to the store (ack... that makes me gag), but I loved this pie. It definitely was my favorite of the year so far.

The recipe, from America's Test Kitchen:

Classic Apple Pie

If you are making this pie during the fall apple season, when many local varieties may be available, follow the recipe below using Macoun, Royal Gala, Empire, Winesap, Rhode Island Greening or Cortland apples. These are well-balanced apples, unlike Granny Smith, and work well on their own without thickeners or the addition of McIntosh. Placing the pie on a baking sheet in the oven inhibits cooking, so cover the bottom of the oven with a sheet of aluminum foil to catch a dripping juices. The pie is best eaten when cooled almost to room temperature, or even the next day. See the last procedural step for do-ahead instructions.

Pie Dough
2 1/2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour , plus extra for dusting
1	teaspoon table salt
2	tablespoons granulated sugar
12	tablespoons unsalted butter , chilled, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8	tablespoons vegetable shortening (chilled)
6 - 8	tablespoons ice water
Apple Filling
2	pounds Granny Smith apples (4 medium)
2	pounds McIntosh apples (4 medium)
3/4	cup granulated sugar
1 1/2	tablespoons lemon juice
1	teaspoon lemon zest from 1 medium lemon
1/4	teaspoon table salt
1/4	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8	teaspoon ground allspice
1	egg white , beaten lightly
1	tablespoon granulated sugar , for topping

1. Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor workbowl fitted with the steel blade. Add butter and pulse to mix in five 1-second bursts. Add shortening and continue pulsing until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, four or five more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl. (To do this by hand, freeze the butter and shortening, grate it into the flour using the large holes of a box grater, and rub the flour-coated pieces between your fingers for a minute until the flour turns pale yellow and coarse.)

2. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 2 tablespoons more ice water if dough will not hold together. Squeeze dough gently until cohesive and divide into two equal balls. Flatten each into a 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap separately in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling.

3. Remove dough from refrigerator. If stiff and very cold, let stand until dough is cool but malleable. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

4. Roll one dough disk on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Fold dough in quarters, then place dough point in center of 9-inch Pyrex regular or deep dish pie pan. Unfold dough.

5. Gently press dough into sides of pan leaving portion that overhangs lip of pie plate in place. Refrigerate while preparing fruit.

6. Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/2-to-3/4-inch slices and toss with 3/4 cup sugar and lemon juice and zest through allspice. Turn fruit mixture, including juices, into chilled pie shell and mound slightly in center. Roll out other dough round and place over filling. Trim top and bottom edges to 1/2 inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute edging or press with fork tines to seal. Cut four slits at right angles on dough top. Brush egg white onto top of crust and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, (omit if freezing unbaked pie, see below).

7. Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees; continue baking until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to almost room temperature, at least 4 hours.

8. Do-Ahead: Freeze the unbaked pie for two to three hours, then cover it with a double layer of plastic wrap, and return it to the freezer for no more than two weeks. To bake, remove the pie from the freezer, brush it with the egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and place directly into a preheated 425 degree oven. After baking it for the usual fifty-five minutes, reduce the oven to 325 degrees, cover the pie with foil so as not to overcook the crust, and bake for an additional twenty to twenty-five minutes.

Ann's March Pie - Strawberry Glace

As I've mentioned before, I like to think of some reason to make a certain pie each month, generally out of necessity to use something up. But this month, I went with subtle hints directed towards me. My roommate Scholarastastic has regaled me with stories of her mother's magical strawberry pie that she makes for Valentine's Day each year, and since she had a birthday in March, this pie seemed as good as any to make. I didn't make it for her, per se, but maybe in honor of her.

To start, I'm not sure about the name. The recipe is written as "strawberry glace", Scholarastastic pronounces it "strawberry glass", but glace means "freeze" in French, and glacé, which is what I thought it was called, means "frozen". Neither of these apply to the method or result of the pie. I know that it's supposed to be refering to the glaze, but I don't know what the name is actually supposed to be. Maybe if I spoke French, I'd get it. Stupid Romantic languages.

Anyhoo, I love the idea of this recipe because I knew it'd be gorgeous and that I could try out some new skills, but most appealing is the fact that it is a family favorite and that's what pie making really should be all about. However, the recipe didn't come with a specific crust, so I decided on a butter-and-shortening crust since I hadn't made one yet. I did some research, and decided on a recipe from The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball (of America's Test Kitchen fame, and Elizabeth's secret boyfriend). I liked that he had a handmade method instead of requiring a food processor, and I especially liked that the recipe said to freeze the fats and then grate them into the dry ingredients. How fun! This allows the fats to be in small enough pieces without a food processor and cuts them down quickly so they can remain as cold as possible as the dough is incorporated together. And it just looks cool:

Is it mozzerella... or butter and Crisco???

The dough came together fairly easily - I think I ended up adding an extra tablespoon or two of water to make it form a ball, but it wasn't bad at all. After I put it in the fridge, I looked at the recipe again to see what I'd need to do for the rolling out and prebaking processes..and then I saw the separate recipe for crusts that require prebaking, which is what I wanted. Gah!!! I really felt like I had read the recipe through and understood it, but how can I compete with a cookbook that doesn't tell me that the recipe I want isn't actually the recipe I want? How would I know that there would be a different recipe if you want to prebake the crust? I thought that was just part of what you did with pie crusts of this nature!! I guess there must be pies that you don't prebake first - clearly, this is something I need to look into. So you'll get different results from the slightly different amounts of fat, which must be true because Chris Kimball says so. He also says "The single most difficult culinary task for the home cook is prebaking a pie shell." Yikes! What was I up against???

Actually, the crust rolled out BEAUTIFULLY - absolutely no dry edges, pliable, perfect. Chris Kimball recommends refrigerating the dough first and then freezing it briefly before baking it to help prevent the crust from shrinking. At this point, I transfered over to Miss Hass's house to finish the pie since we were going to a Scholarastastic's birthday party a little later and it was closer to her apartment. Plus, she promised to take pictures with her amazing camera in exchange for pie. Hooray!!!

The crust didn't bake as nicely as I'd have liked, I think because the oven got REALLY hot fast - ovens can be so tricky, as I've learned since living in various apartments. Anyway, so now for the filling. We took a trip to Sam's Club for strawberries, and so I could gawk at everything (as La Dolcezza recorded in her blog recently) - I also bought bulk cheese and a skirt! We hulled them and mashed some with sugar and water for the glaze. To start, I spread softened cream cheese on the bottom of the crust. Next, I arranged the berries in a lovely pattern.

Then, the glaze:

And then it was basically done! Here is the finished product:


Come, little children, don't fear the pie...

Poor Greta gets no pie:


And then it went into the fridge for several hours - we didn't eat it until the next day in the end.

The strawberries we bought were amazing - they completely made the pie. I don't think it would be worth making without gorgeous, ripe berries, and there's something so satisfying about seeing a mound of perfect glistening red presented to you. However, there are things I would change about the recipe. The glaze was good, but it didn't taste great after the first day - it was more gelatinous than a glaze, so you either ought to eat the pie all at once or make a different kind of glaze. Also, once the pie had chilled, the cream cheese just set up in a very solid layer which I didn't particularly enjoy. Scholarastastic checked with her mom and found out that she usually does a mixture of sour cream and cream cheese, which would make a world of difference. I would whip them together with some lemon juice and zest for extra tang - similar to the top layer of the blueberry sour cream pie in January. Num num nummy!


Of course, Scholarastastic was quite pleased with the result. Happy Birthday!




Strawberry Glace Pie
courtesy Betty Crocker via Barbara S.

9-inch prebaked pie crust
approx. 8 cups strawberries (4 pints)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water)
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened (per Scholarastastic's method - 3 oz. cream cheese, 3 tbs. sour cream, 1 tbs. sugar)

Mash enough strawberries to make 1 cup. Mix sugar and cornstarch in 2 quart saucepan. Stir in water and mashed berries gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute; cool. Beat cream cheese until smooth, spread on bottom of pie shell. Fill with rest of strawberries; pour cooked mixture over top. Refrigerate until set, approximately 3 hours.


Master Recipe for Prebaked Pie Shell, hand variation
from The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball


(Note: this the recipe I should have used)


5 tablespoons cold all-vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco)
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water


1. Freeze the vegetable shortening (Crisco) and butter for 30 minutes. Mix flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl with a whisk for 30 seconds. Grate the butter and shortening into the bowl containing the flour mixture. Use your fingers to gently toss the grated butter and shortening with the flour. The flour mixture should turn slightly yellow and take on a course, cornmeal-like tecture. Do not overmix at this point or the butter will melt and the dough will become sticky and hard to handle.


2. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon ice water onto the mixture and gently toss with your fingers to mix. Add an additional tablespoon and toss and then a third. Check the mixture by taking a handfull and squeezing. If the dough holds together, it is done. (It is better to use too much water than not enough.) If not, add another tablespoon of water, toss, and then squeeze a handful to check. Gather the dough into a ball, turn onto a lightly floured surface, and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Dust very lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling.


3. If dough has spent more than 1 hour in the refrigerator, let warm up a few minutes on the counter before proceeding. Roll out dough and place into a 8- or 9-inch pie pan. Push dough gently down the sides of the pan. Trim dough around edge of pan, leaving 1/2-inch border. Fold excess dough underneath the edge of the dough and shape edge using fingers, or press with the tines of a fork. Place in refrigerator for at least 40 minutes. Place in freeze for 20 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees.


4. Remove pie shell from freezer and fit a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil (the extra-wide rolls are best; if the foil is too narrow, use two sheets) over shell, fitting foil carefully into the bottom of pie shell and pressing against the sides. Add pie weights or dried beans, enough to generously cover bottom of pie plate. Pile up the weights around the sides of the shell to help hold them in place.


5. Bake on lower rack for about 21 minutes, or until sides of pie shell are set. (They should not be moist and should be firm.) Remove foil and weights and bake another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. (Note: this cooking time was too long for my pie - after removing weights, watch carefully to make sure the crust doesn't brown too much.)

Elizabeth's February Pie: Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

For February I decided to throw my husband a bone, since he only got a half slice of the Chocolate Cream Pie in December and I made a Coconut Cream Pie in January. Jeff hates coconut, but he LOVES peanut butter, so I decided to make him a Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie. I know most people call it a "Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie," but I want the focus to be on the peanut butter, so I'm listing it first in the title.

(Side note: when Jeff is eating something he likes, he very often comments that it would be better with more chocolate and more peanut butter---even if the item has none of either ingredient. He doesn't seem to say it to be funny; he legitimately thinks every food in the world would be better with more chocolate and more peanut butter. I usually think it's funny, but sometimes I want to shout, "ACK! Not everything in the world has to taste like a Reeses!")

(Other side note: around here in Ohio, lots of people say "ReesEEs" with a long e at the end, instead of Reeses, with a short e. I'd never heard it before and I think they're wrong. The commercials never said ReesEEs! What do you say?)

I've made peanut butter chocolate pies before, but they were never just right. Jeff and I have been searching for the "perfect" peanut butter chocolate pie, and America's Test Kitchen is no help! Stupid ATK!! (Just kidding.... Chris, Julia, Bridgette, Adam, Jack.....How could I be mad at you???)

The recipe I came up with is actually a combination and tweaking of 5 separate recipes. It comes as close to the perfect peanut butter chocolate pie that Jeff and I have yet encountered, but there is still some tweaking to go. I will explain that later.

I went with a Nutter Butter crust, a fudge layer, a peanut butter/cream cheese layer, and a ganache top. Fabulous! I'm the perfect combiner of recipes! And using hot fudge topping for the fudge layer was all my idea. I'm brilliant!!

Here is the combo RECIPE that I used:

Crust:
14 nutter butters
3 Tbl butter melted

Fudge layer:
Mrs. Richardson's Chocolate Fudge Topping (NOT Hershey's)

Filling:
5 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups chilled heavy cream

Ganache Topping:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the crust by combining cookies and butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9" pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.

2. Spread fudge topping on the bottom of the crust to the thickness you prefer. Go slowly, be patient, and use an offset spatula so that the act of spreading the fudge doesn't pull up the crust. Chill the crust after the fudge goes in.

3. Filling: In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer set on high, whip cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add milk, peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until well mixed.

4. In a separate bowl, whip remaining chilled cream until stiff and fold into peanut butter mixture. Spoon gently into chilled crust, using a spatula to smooth the surface of the pie, and refrigerate for at least 5 hours.

5. Make the ganache: In a medium glass bowl, combine the chocolate with the heavy cream and microwave at high power in 20-second intervals until the chocolate is melted and the cream is hot. Stir the ganache until blended, then let cool to barely warm, stirring occasionally.

6. Spread the ganache over the peanut butter filling and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Note: It is vital that you chill the pie for the required time. Otherwise it just weeps all over. When it is properly chilled it slices like a dream and tastes a million times better than a weepy pie.

NOW --- WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY:
1. I would add more fat to the crust. A total of 4-6 Tablespoons. The crust didn't hold together as firmly as I would have liked.

2. I would make a thicker fudge layer. More topping. That is Jeff's suggestion, not mine. It is true, though, that that layer wasn't really "present."

3. I would use less sugar and more peanut butter in the filling. I don't like my pies to taste like a candy bar, and even though everyone who ate it gushed at how much they loved it, it was too sweet for me, and I'm the cook, so I get to fiddle with it!

4. I would garnish it with chopped peanuts around the edge of the pie.

5. I would have remembered that it was my friend's birthday that night and actually have said "Happy Birthday" and maybe even have had everyone sing the song, instead of forgetting all about her birthday because of my stupid dinner and pie. I didn't know it was her birthday when I invited her family to dinner, but when she told me that it would be her birthday that night, I certainly planned on doing something for it!! What's my problem? I LOVE birthdays! Who would have thought I would have missed a birthday???!!!

Ann's February Pie - Clementine Meringue

Sometimes you choose a pie for the month to fit a theme - so I had been planning to do something with raspberries or strawberries for February because that seemed cute and red and romantic. However, with no one to share said romantic pie with, I went with frugality - I had a box of clementines that was a little past its prime. I'd had my eye on a recipe for a tangerine meringue pie from a book from the library, Patty Pinner's Sweety Pies: An Uncommon Collection of Womanish Observations, with Pie, (it just seemed too weird not to try!) and I wondered if these clementines would work for the recipe instead. The clementines themselves were fine, but they just were a little too withered to be good for eating on their own. To double check, I called my dad to see what he thought about the substitution. He thought it would work, but as soon as I told him I had these old clementines to use, he was adamant that I use them instead of going out to buy new tangerines. He has a soft spot for using up things - but then again, he also loves throwing things away just to get rid of them. Hmmm.... For the record, he looks like a cross between Robin Leach and Neil Diamond. And he cooks, too!

We're coming to America for champagne wishes and caviar dreams...today!

Anyway, I had my friends Marcue and Control coming over to watch A Bit of Fry and Laurie with me while I baked. The night before, I made a crust - my first pastry crust! I made an all-shortening crust from Ken Haedrich's Pie book, which I used for last month's pie. My reasoning was two-fold: the crust recipe in Patty Pinner's book called for very little liquid, and after watching the Holiday Pies episode of America's Test Kitchen with Listle at Thanksgiving, I knew that the whole "use as little liquid as possible" thing was a myth. I think this recipe called for 2 tablespoons of water or something crazy like that. And we wonder why people are afraid of pie crusts? The other reason I went with the shortening crust was that I didn't have any butter and couldn't get to the store that night. Thus...my decision was made. This recipe was also cool because it included directions that used a hand-held mixer! I couldn't lose, especially when starting a pie crust at 1 am.

I let the crust sit in the fridge overnight until the pie-baking extravaganza (can one pie warrant an extravaganza?). It was relatively easy to roll out the crust and to form it into the pan. Since I was making a meringue pie, it seemed silly to try to do a fancy edge, but I thought it came out looking nice. Here I am forming the crust.

Those scraps made some lovely Tea Party later. (Did anyone else eat that as a kid? Leftover pie crust edges sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and baked?) And here is the finished crust! I did it!

Next, I made the filling with the clementines. My main concern was that they'd be too sweet, and oh yes, they were. I tasted the gooey, bright orange filling and it just tasted cloying, with no citrusy tang. I had even reduced the amount of sugar to try to compensate for this, but to make it more palatable, I added the juice of two lemons. This made the filling taste much better, but perhaps too much like a basic lemon filling. I was willing accept this over the cringingly sweet pure clementine version.

So, after baking the crust (which shrank a bit - something to learn more about) and adding the filling, the recipe said to set the pie aside while I made the meringue. I really like to make meringue - it's fascinating to watch sugar and egg whites transform from a thin foam to thick, pure white ribbons that hold every fold and ripple. Eating meringue isn't as much fun for me - often there is too much for my taste. With anticipation, I waited to see what the pie to filling ratio would be! Imagine the drama!

Look at those stiff peaks!

Okay, so here I found something I really didn't like about the recipe. It told me to set the filled pie aside while I made the meringue, and then cover the filling with the meringue. However, when I did this, the meringue kind of just sank into the filling. It would have worked better to cool the filling for a while and then put the meringue on top so that it wouldn't displace the fillings as much. It still worked out so that it looked nice, and then it went into the oven. Hooray!

Behold, the finished pie:

I shared this pie with my roommate and Marcue and Control. We all liked it, but it was quite close to a lemon meringue pie because of the lemon juice I added to cut the sweetness. I'd like to have tasted a more significantly orangey taste, but I can't really blame the recipe for that because I didn't follow it as written when it came to my citrus choices. However, I was disappointed that the meringue sank so much into the filling as I formed the pie. As a result of this, there were parts of the meringue that were extremely thin while other parts had sunk almost to the bottom crust. A completely cooled filling would have helped with this, I think.

Final verdict: there wasn't anything wrong with the flavor (it was quite good, in fact) and the color (a deep and bright yellow with flecks of cheerful orange zest) and the texture were lovely. The crust was also nice, if perhaps a bit overbaked, and I can now see that butter in the pastry would have added a nice flavor component. I'd be interested in making again with real tangerines and with the minor improvements I mentioned. But not bad work for my first real pastry crust and a carton of past-their-prime clementines!

Almeta McCray’s Tangerine Meringue Pie
from Sweety Pies: An Uncommon Collection of Womanish Observations, with Pie by Patty Pinner

Filling:

1 ¼ C sugar
3 Tbs cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
½ C fresh tangerine juice (from 4 to 6 tangerines) – I used clementines and two lemons
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp finely grated tangerine rind
¼ C (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Meringue:

4 to 6 large egg whites (depending on how high you want your meringue), at room temperature
½ C sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pie crust (roll out, form into pie plate) and fully prebake. Set aside on a wire rack.

Make the filling. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually whisk in the tangerine juice until smooth. Whisk in the egg yolks until thoroughly combined. Stir in the tangerine rind and butter.

Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, and gradually reduce the heat as the filling begins to bubble and thicken; this will take 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the hot filling into the pie crust. Set aside.

Make the meringue. In a medium-size bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat on high speed after each addition until dissolved, then until the egg whites form shiny, stiff peaks. Mound the meringue in the center of the pie, then spread it evenly around the edge of the inner crust. Use a spoon to create a design of peaks and valleys all over the meringue. Place in the oven and bake until the peaks are nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.



Basic Shortening Pie Pastry
from Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie by Ken Haedrich

For a single crust:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tsp salt
½ cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
¼ cold water

Electric mixer method:
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the shortening, breaking it into smaller pieces and tossing it with the flour. With the mixer on low speed, blend the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like coarse, damp meal, with both large and small clumps. Sprinkle on half of the water. Turning the machine on and off, mix briefly on low speed. Add the remaining water in 2 stages, mixing slowly until the dough starts to form large clumps. Do not overmix.

Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Place dough on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten the dough, with floured hands, into disks about ¾ inch thick. Wrap them in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight before rolling. Roll out, form into pie plate, trim and form edges. Cover with foil and prebake with pie weights or beans, then remove beans and bake again to brown. (Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the baking times for the crust before I took this book back to the library - so I'll update this section when I check it out again. I didn't want to neglect posting it until I had the complete information.)

Elizabeth's January Pie: Coconut Cream

Another great ATK pie!

The funny thing about using Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen is the changes (improvements?) that happen to the recipes over time. I initially chose my recipe from The Dessert Bible, by Christopher Kimball / Cook’s Illustrated. I went out and bought all of the ingredients for that preparation. Then I came home and looked up the coconut cream pie recipe in my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook, and in that recipe they essentially made fun of the type of recipe Chris Kimball had published only a few years earlier out of the same kitchen! Take that, bow tie man! (ATK's argument is that coconut cream pie shouldn’t be a vanilla cream pie with a little bit of coconut sprinkled throughout. Agreed.)

When I looked the recipe up online at the Cook’s Illustrated website, I found yet ANOTHER variation on the same pie but the date on the recipe was the same as the television air date from the pie in my ATK cookbook (there is no way you are following me on this…). I’m assuming that they keep the same air date to help people find the recipe, but they make changes here and there to the recipes as they think of new and yummier tweaks.

The moral of the story is this: you don’t need to by a single Cook’s Illustrated/ATK cookbook, you just need to keep your online subscription current! Look up the recipes there, and save yourselves the trouble.

Now, back to the recipe!

Everything went smoothly, and it was a very easy pie to make. In the future I may use graham cracker crumbs instead of animal crackers in the crust, just because they were expensive and not “YOWZA” impressive. I took this to my book club, and friends there said it was the best coconut cream pie they’d ever tasted, including one friend who ALWAYS orders coconut cream because it’s her favorite. Nice!

Unsweetened coconut was a little hard to find. I could only find lowfat organic unsweetened coconut in the health foods area of my grocery store. I was worried about the lowfat part but it worked just fine.

All in all: ENORMOUSLY TASTY. (I'll post a photo when I can finally locate my camera.)

Coconut Cream Pie

Recipe courtesy CooksIllustrated.com
Published: May 1, 2004

Makes one 9-inch pie, serving 8 to 10

Light coconut milk lacks rich coconut flavor, so skip it in favor of regular coconut milk.

Crust

6	ounces animal crackers
2	tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1	tablespoon granulated sugar
4	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled

Filling

14	ounces coconut milk (1 can)
1	cup whole milk
1/2	cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2	cup granulated sugar
1	tablespoon granulated sugar
3/8	teaspoon table salt
5	large egg yolks
1/4	cup cornstarch
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 2 pieces
1	teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped cream and garnish

1 1/2	cups heavy cream (cold)
2	tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
1	tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut , toasted in a small dry skillet until golden brown

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. In food processor, pulse animal crackers, coconut, and sugar to fine crumbs, eighteen to twenty 1-second pulses; then process until powdery, about 5 seconds. Transfer crumbs to medium bowl and add butter; stir to combine until crumbs are evenly moistened. Empty crumbs into 9-inch glass pie plate; using bottom of ramekin or 1/2 cup dry measuring cup, press crumbs evenly into bottom and up sides of pie plate. Bake until fragrant and medium brown, about 15 minutes, rotating pie shell halfway through baking time. Set on wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

2. For the filling: Bring coconut milk, whole milk, shredded coconut, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to ensure that sugar dissolves. Following illustrations 1 through 6, whisk yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisking constantly, gradually ladle about 1 cup hot milk mixture over yolk mixture; whisk well to combine. Whisking constantly, gradually add remaining milk mixture to yolk mixture in 3 or 4 additions; whisk well to combine. Return mixture to saucepan and cook until thickened and mixture reaches boil, whisking constantly, about 1 minute; filling must boil in order to fully thicken. (To determine whether filling has reached boil, stop whisking; large bubbles should quickly burst on surface.) Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla until butter is fully incorporated. Pour hot filling into cooled pie shell and smooth surface with rubber spatula; press plastic wrap directly against surface of filling and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours.

3. For the whipped cream: Just before serving, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer until soft peaks form, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Top pie with whipped cream and then sprinkle with coconut. Cut pie into wedges and serve.

Elizabeth's Pies Since October

Hurray for Ann's January pie! It's so beautious!

Before I post about my January pie, I am going to list the pies I have made since October, when I started doing Pie of the Month.

I should re-title this post "America's Test Kitchen pies" because of my reliance on their expertise. Their "best recipe" style is mostly just helpful when you are making standard pies, and when I break off and start doing more unusual pies (not diner-style standard American pies), I'm obviously going to have to choose another source.


October pie: Key Lime Chiffon

Source: Silver Palate Cookbook

Result: So-so. This pie could have been delicious if I had had more pie making expertise when I made it. The Silver Palate ladies make great food, but they don't give a lot of instruction. For a novice pie maker, it was definitely tougher than the short directions made it look. Therefore it's tough for me to give this pie a true rating. The final pie had good flavor but a few chunkies. These were surely due to my newbie errors.

One part that I will NEVER do again is the garnish. They gave instructions for candied lime peel as a garnish. I followed the directions perfectly. It looked just like shaved pickles on the pie. When I say "just like" I mean JUST LIKE! Identical. My friends and I eventually scraped them off because it looked ridiculous, and no one could stop thinking about pickles when they were cutting into it.

My experiences with this pie was what gave me the idea to go with America's Test Kitchen instructions for a few months. I needed more help!


November pies: Pecan and pumpkin

Source: America's Test Kitchen

Result: Tasty. Ann helped me with the fillings for these. The directions were straightforward and my second ever attempt at pie crust was SOOO much easier than my first (back when I was 29) because of the America's Test Kitchen directions. Hurray for ATK!! The fillings were much yummier the next day, and next time I'll make the pies the day before. They both would have been better with light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar. (ATK loves dark brown sugar. ) They were just too intense. And the pumpkin pie looked the exact color of dog poop. Jeff LOVED the taste (the next day) but could not look at the pie while he was eating it or he would get grossed out. Light brown sugar would have resolved this by giving it a better color.


December pies: Quiche Lorraine and Chocolate Cream

Source: America's Test Kitchen

Result: OUT OF THIS WORLD! Both were spectacular!! I ate most of the quiche by myself (I love quiche! and again, the easiest crust in the world, thanks to ATK) and the chocolate cream was unreal. Everyone was floored at the event I took it to. It had such a deep chocolate taste. This was no chocolate fluff pie! Highly recommended. Jeff only got one small slice. He keeps reminding me of that fact.


Soon I will post my January pie recipe and give my review!

Ann's January Pie: Blueberry - Sour Cream

When I was looking for options for my first pie, I became quite overwhelmed by the vast number of options. Anyone who knows how obsessive I am will understand the hours I spent researching different pies, how many books I checked out from the library about pie, how many websites I perused. But, just as Sue Anne recommended on her website, Ken Haedrich's Pie: 300 Tried and True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie had everything I wanted and needed to guide me in my decision. My options were whittled down considerably when I decided that in fairness to my new roommate, I should use some of the frozen berries that I was currently using to dominate our shared freezer space. I picked blueberries last July and raspberries in, amazingly, October, but had put off using them for the sake of some special event that I was sure would present itself. Instead, berries weren't being eaten and my roommate was dropping hints that she'd really love to get food out of the freezer without half its contents falling on her. So, after consulting with the friend who volunteered to eat the pie, a blueberry - sour cream pie was chosen.















I must confess that when I started researching pies, I got a little intimidated by the idea of making a pastry crust for my first pie attempt of the year. So lame! I should be fearless - so many suggestions from pie pros have said to approach the pie without fear if you want success. Next month, I'll do better. In the meantime, I decided to ease into the year by going with a standard graham cracker crust. Look, this proves that I made it by hand!














I made one crust and put it in a pie plate, but it was worried that it wouldn't all fit, so I transfered the crumbs into another plate. Unfortunately, I realized once I cooked the filling that the the crust was now too big! Perhaps it would have helped had I measured one pound of frozen blueberries on something other than a bathroom scale. (Note: Yes, I will accept donations for a kitchen scale.) To flesh out the filling a bit, I bought a very expensive 4 ounces of fresh blueberries to layer on top of the cooked berry filling. The recipe gave this as an optional step, and I'm glad I took the suggestion. Otherwise, I'd have had the thinnest, saddest pie ever.














The next morning, I made the sour cream - cream cheese topping, flecked with cheerful bits of lemon zest that fell effortlessly from my Microplane. As you can see from the picture, it wasn't the cleanest assembly, so I carefully loosened the excess crust from the edges of the plate and allowed the crumbs to overlap the outer edge of the topping by 3/4 inch. Uh, I, guess I didn't take a picture of that, but I swear, it looked much better than this picture!

I took the finished pie to a couple of different places. First, it made an appearance at a journal making party, where the first piece fell apart as I lifted it out, but the remaining slices were beautifully layered.



Oh, there you can see the overlapping crust!

Later, I tried the pie with my volunteer, C. Here he is, I think enjoying the pie.



He had just finished watching Office Space and was trying to replicate one of Jennifer Aniston's facial expressions. Attractive.


Finally, my friend D., Ph.D., had a small sliver at British Sunday and proclaimed it "really good", and my roommate finished it off as we held our almost-nightly ritual of sitting on opposite couches with our laptops and telling each other funny things we find online.



I thought the pie was wonderful. I felt a bit nervous as I was making it because small setbacks (the crust, the scale, etc.) seemed to endanger the final product, but I was amazed at how well the pure flavors came through: the sweetness of the blueberries, the sour lemon zest, the tang of sour cream. It's a classic flavor combination, but it still surprised me how pleasant it was to taste each element individually yet simultaneously. The uncooked, fresh berry layer was also a favorite amongst tasters - each berry popped with juice as you bit into it before melting into the cooked blueberries, creating a textural contrast that, for me, took the pie from "really crazy good" to "I can't talk right now..."

All in all, I was really proud of my first attempt, and I learned more about my equipment to make sure that things are easier in February.


Blueberry - Sour Cream Pie
from Pie: 300 Tried and True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie by Ken Haedrich

1 recipe Graham Cracker Crumb Crust


Filling:
One 1-lb bag individually frozen blueberries (not packaged in syrup)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Handful of fresh blueberries (optional)


Cream cheese - sour cream topping:
One 8-ounce package full-fat cream cheese, softened (note: I used Neufchatel, and thought it was perfectly fine)
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Garnish:
Handful of fresh blueberries or threads of lemon zest (optional)


1. Prepare the crust and press it into the bottom and up the side of a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan. Refrigerate, prebake, and let cool as directed.

2. Combine the frozen blueberries and lemon juice in a medium-size nonreactive saucepan. Cover, and cook over medium to low heat until the blueberries are almost simmering in their own liquid. Mix the granulated sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl, then stir the mixture into the berries. Bring the fruit to a boil, stirring. Once the fruit starts to boil, reduce the heat a little and cook, stirring nonstop, for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Scrape the fruit into a shallow bowl and let cool for 15 minutes.

3. Spoon the partially cooled filling into the cooled pie shell and smooth with a spoon. If you're using fresh berries, scatter them over the fruit and press them into the cooked berries. Refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the topping. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugars, and lemon zest together in a medium-size bowl until smooth. Add the sour cream and vanilla and blend briefly until smooth. Spoon the filling over the chilled pie and smooth the top with a spoon. Cover with loosely tented aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

5. Just before serving, garnish with the blueberries or lemon zest, if desired.


Graham Cracker Crumb Crust

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Big pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted


1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter pie pan and set aside.

2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Mix briefly with your fingers. Add the butter and incorporate well, mixing first with a fork, then with your hands, rubbing thoroughly to form evenly dampened crumbs.

3. Spread the crumbs evenly and loosely in the pan, pressing them into the bottom and up the side. Refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Place on the center oven rack and bake for 7 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before filling.