Sugar and Spite

While we are on the subject of resolutions for 2008, let’s talk about mine. I have decided that I will bake a different pie each month. If you’ve been around long, you already know of my great love for all things pie. I enjoy baking them almost as much as eating them. I have not, however, been practicing this hobby for a while now. Partly because “I’m too busy.” Partly because I am living with half-a-kitchen until we finish remodeling. And partly because to make pie leads to EATING pie, which leads to a fatter ass, which then leads to me bulging out of my wedding dress come July in a manner most unattractive.

I decided, though, that one pie each month will not kill me. Especially if said pie is to be mostly eaten by other people. See, that is the trick. Bake the pie, and then Give The Pie Away. It is a plan that cannot fail.

Excepting of course that I just don’t bother baking a pie. *shameface* But. I think with any plan, there is some leeway. Especially since it’s MY plan and MY rules. So that is why January’s pie was baked on February 3rd, but I’m counting it anyway. More on the specifics of my lovely pie later - first, as part of introduction, here are the “rules” of the game:

1. Bake a different pie each month.* This is to keep me on my toes, and keep it educational as well as fulfilling. It’s too easy to just keep doing your favorite things over and over again.

*”Each month” is a flexible ideal. Obviously.

2. Different pie does not mean different crust, although I may use this as a chance to experiment some, as well.

3. I will write about each pie, and post it here. If Ali eats any (which I’m pretty certain that will nearly always be the case) I will ask her to comment her review, too. Because pie should be a community event.

And that’s it, really. It’s all about the pie.

 

Pie #1 - Blueberry Pear 2/03/2008

I realized yesterday that if I was going to make a pie that in any way counted for January, that I’d better just get on the stick and make it happen. This realization came to me as I was standing in the produce section at Pathmark at about 5:00 p.m. So, I didn’t really have much time to plan out a pie. So I kinda cheated.

I know, I know! It’s not really off to a great start if I’ve already bent like, every rule. But. It was only kinda. Since I didn’t have time to plan, and pie-making can be a rather precise event (depending upon the kind of pie you are making), I decided to go with a fruit pie. They are a little more lenient when it comes to winging it. But it’s February, y’all. And the produce is not jumping with things that look fabulous and amazing and like they are begging to be in a pie. What did look good, though, were the pears. And the blueberries (which were also on sale and that IS a consideration). This is only slightly cheating because I’ve never made a pear and blueberry pie before. However, I have, frequently, made apple and blueberry. And really, how different is making pear and blueberry from making apple and blueberry? Eh. Whatever. I decided that it still counts (my rules, right?) and it will taste different. There will be nuance. So. Pears and blueberries.

The crust:

I’m not sure about the crust yet. It seemed kind of wobbly when I made it. Remember - half a kitchen. So that means I did everything by hand, with a pasty cutter. No mixer or food processor for me. It takes longer, so it’s harder to control the temperature and keep the fat bits cold enough and make the dough not be tough. It’s possible the recipe is fine and it was a methodical issue. However - the dough did not want to become dough. It was a little hard to work with and very gummy. Pie is at this very moment cooling down in the oven, so I haven’t tasted it yet, but it looks like perhaps it turned out lovely and flakey after all. We shall see in part two. Here’s how I made it:

Combine 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour, about 1/8 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cut in 1 stick of cold (mine was in the freezer for a bit) butter. Once it starts to look meal-y, cut in an additional 1/2 cup very cold (also from the freezer) Crisco. Add about 6-8 Tablespoons of cold ice water until the dough comes together. This was where the dough started giving me some trouble, as come together it did not want to do. I may have added a couple extra splashes of the ice water. Then, divide into two balls, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about an hour. Once rested, roll it out on a lightly floured surface and use however best you see fit.

The inside bits:

Ah, pears. So beautiful and sweet and juicy you are. I used red d’anjou pears because they were the best looking in the store. I have never baked with these before, so I hope they hold up. My only concern is that pears can tend to get a little mushy, which is gross. What I did:

I used 3 of the red pears, peeled, cored, and sliced about 1/3″ thick. Combine pear slices with about a cup plus some blueberries (I am not a measurer, FYI. This is the part where you have to use your judgment). Add about 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, a good pinch of ginger, and an even healthier pinch of nutmeg. Combine gently with a wooden spoon to coat the fruit. Let stand for about 15 minutes.

Putting it all together:

Preheat oven to 375. Place rolled out dough into a 9″ pie plate. Trim the edges. Add the fruit mixture. Add about 1 tablespoon of butter cut up into small bits around the top. Then cover with a top crust. I decided to do a half-assed lattice, but you could just do a whole cover as well and add some slits. Tuck and crimp your edges. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes.

In part two, I’ll post some pictures and let you know how it turned out. I have high hopes - looks good, smells good, therefore must taste good? But you know, I kinda made this one up as I went along (except the crust). So you never know.

~Mik

 

This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.