Pie Party: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping

Last year on the Fourth of July, I was bobbing up and down on a lake in Virginia with Tim's extended family.  I do wish we could have done that again, but we had an assortment of other things keeping us at home.  In fact, being home gave me an excuse to bake a pie.

If you hadn't heard, there is a Pie Party today.  What is a Pie Party, you ask?  Well, a few food bloggers were chatting on Twitter about baking summer pies, and someone suggested having an online gathering where you bake a pie and post about it on a certain date.  That date is today--July 5--and if you go to the Pie Party's host's website, Shauna of Gluten Free Girl and the Chef, I'm sure you will find that on July 5 her page will be overflowing with commenters sharing their Pie Party submissions.  It's not a contest, but it is an opportunity to find new and interesting pie recipes for your collection.

To be honest, I'm a novice baker.  I do enjoy baking, and many of my recipes on this site are baked goods, but I wouldn't consider myself a pie maker.  I needed to do some research.  In the back of my mind, I could remember something I read in the New York Times about pie, and after a quick Google search, I found the article.  In this piece, Melissa Clark did some testing of ingredient combinations to find the perfect pie crust recipe.  Unfortunately her conclusion was to use lard in the mix--and while it sounded tasty, that just wasn't something I had the resources to do.  I instead opted for a mix of butter for flavor and shortening to help the crust hold its shape.  I must have made a wrong turn somewhere; while the crust was really, really tasty and the bottom and sides held their shape well, the edge was quite crumbly and didn't survive much handling.  I haven't completely given up on pie crust making, but in the recipe for this pie, I think I'll recommend picking up a ready-to-bake crust. 

Tim has been stockpiling strawberries in the hopes that I will create something interesting with them, so I guess this was his lucky weekend.  I opted for a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping.  It was easy enough to assemble (it would be a cinch with a ready-made crust), and I especially liked that it was pie masquerading as cobbler masquerading as pie.  The best of all summer dessert worlds. 

I know strawberries are ending their season in many parts of the country and just beginning their season in others, so don't wait--wherever you are--to make this pie.  We practically licked our plates. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping
adapted from Bon Appetit via epicurious
serves 8

The recipe was written for a deep dish 9-inch pie plate, but all I was a regular, 9-inch pie plate.  It worked out perfectly for me without decreasing the quantity of filling.

Ingredients
1 ready-made pie crust, pre-baked according to package directions

For the filling
3/4 lb rhubarb, sliced 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal, about 3 1/2 cups
1 lb strawberries, hulled and halved
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp lemon zest

Combine all filling ingredients in heavy bottomed pot.  Stir and let stand for 30 minutes.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to thicken, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Pour filling into pre-baked prepared crust.

For the topping
2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp rolled oats, divided
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

In a food processor, combine 2/3 cup rolled oats, flour, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter and pulse until crumbly.  Transfer to a medium bowl and mix in remaining 2 tbsp rolled oats.  Sprinkle over filling in pie crust.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Cool on rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

For more Pie Party recipes, you can search on twitter for the #pieparty hashtag. 

The Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever

It has been nearly 24 hours since the Mad Men season finale.  If you don't watch Mad Men, you may not understand.  And if you don't watch Mad Men, I suggest you get thee to Netflix and start watching.  You are missing out.

Now that the season is over, I'm pondering what in the world I'm going to do with myself on Sundays.  I have spent my Sundays for the past 3 months feeding myself caffeine to stay awake from 10pm until 11pm so I can watch the entire episode.  I can't possibly wait until Monday to watch it on TiVo (even though I record it anyway--just in case).

I suppose since I have all of this time on my hands, I might as well bake.  Doesn't that seem like the obvious thing for a food blogger to do?  It seems that way to me.  So I did.  I baked.  Already.  Less than 24 hours after the finale--it's not even Sunday yet!   

:sigh:

It's going to be a long year until the next season...

I picked up a "pie" pumpkin at the grocery.  I think it was a sugar pumpkin, but it's possible the store was tricking me and just selling me a small, regular pumpkin.  And then I'm not sure it really matters.  Any thoughts on pumpkin selection?

I baked the pumpkin the same way I baked the butternut squash, using the method that I saw on Annie's Eats, and after it cooled I pureed and strained it.  I got quite a bit of liquid out of the pumpkin puree and then I cooked it over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly (notice my penchant for things that require a lot of stirring?), until most of the liquid was cooked out. 

Then, I made the easiest pumpkin pie ever.  I'm not kidding--ridiculously easy.  I cheated a little and used store bought pie crust that didn't require any pre-baking, but it was still--even if I had made my own crust--the easiest pumpkin pie ever.

I mixed all of the filling ingredients, poured it into the pie shells, baked, cooled, sliced, and ate it.  And that was it.

I highly suggest you make this.  It will be the perfect thing to quell your Mad Men withdrawal--or any reason you might want some pie!

The Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever
adapted from Gourmet, November 1999
8 slices per pie

Don't feel pressure to make your own pumpkin puree.  It was just something I wanted to try out.  If you decide to make your own, you will probably need 2 or 3 small pie pumpkins.  But if you don't want to go to the trouble, canned pumpkin will do just fine!  Also, the original recipe called for whole milk but I used skim and I couldn't tell that anything was missing.  Lastly, the original recipe is for 1 pumpkin pie, but my pie crusts were shallow so the filling made 2 well-filled pumpkin pies. 

Ingredients
1 deep or 2 shallow pie crusts
15 oz can of pumpkin puree or 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
3/4 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
whipped cream for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients together.  Pour into prepared pie crusts.  Bake in middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes.  Check done-ness.  If the center still jiggles slightly, that is okay because as the pie cools, the filling will cook a little bit more and set up.  But if you feel like it is not quite finished cooking, allow to cook for 2-3 more minutes. 

Cool completely on a wire rack.  Serve room temperature or cold with whipped cream.

Local 127 and the Art of Savory Desserts

At a recent canning demonstration and luncheon I attended at Local 127 in downtown Cincinnati (more details about the luncheon coming up next week), I was chatting with Chef Geddes about the flavor profile in the dessert he served.  It was, in his words, Cheesecake in a Jar with Blueberry Compote and Crème Fraiche.  It was, in my words, divine, and absolutely perfect after the incredible lunch we had just eaten, but it wasn't your traditional overtly sweet dessert.

I was particularly curious about the blueberry compote.  The blueberries tasted like blueberries, but they didn't have their traditional sweet/tart flavor burst.  They did have an acidic flavor that balanced well with the creamy cheesecake, but the acid was not that of a citrus fruit like lemon but of vinegar.  There was also a slight undertone of something else...something herbaceous and floral but not overpowering.  So I asked Chef Geddes about the secret ingredients.  

Champagne vinegar and basil.

How incredibly smart, I thought.  And how refreshing to not have sweet on top of sweet at the end of a meal.  I appreciated the creativity of the entire meal (more pics next week in my review of the luncheon) and the use of fresh, local ingredients.  My compliments to the chef, of course.

In homage to that dessert, I decided that a sweet and savory galette was my next project.  It was entirely experimental, as all things tend to be in my house, but I did find some inspiration by checking out some fruit galette recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Rose Levy Beranbaum.  I didn't want it to be overtly sweet so I scaled back on the sugar amounts, and I didn't want the crust to outshine the fruit so I chose a more savory sour cream crust that was recently featured in Cooks Illustrated.

The end result was almost exactly what I was going for.  I think I could have gone with a tablespoon or more of sugar, but the fruit was really the star here. 

Give it a try if you are feeling daring in the kitchen--and feel free to make any small adjustments by subbing a different fruit or increasing the sugar.  If you have a success story, please come back and share it with me!

Peach & Blueberry Galette
adapted loosely from Smitten Kitchen and Rose Levy Beranbaum
serves 6-8


*The peaches I used for this recipe were slightly firm and I was worried they would not be ripe enough, but I thought they perfect as far as flavor in the finished galette.  Over-ripe peaches may be slimy and not hold up well in baking, so lean towards to firm side.  Also, this is positively sinful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Should you decide to be extra daring and make your own, may I recommend David Lebovitz's Vanilla Ice Cream recipe.  

Ingredients for the pie crust
adapted slightly from Cooks Illustrated July/August 2010
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar, plus 2 tbsp sugar
12 tbsp unsalted butter, very cold
3 tbsp sour cream
1/4 cup ice water
2 egg whites

Add flour, salt, and 1 tsp sugar to food processor and process until combined.  Cut very cold butter into 1/4 inch cubes and add to food processor.  Pulse until butter is the size of large peas (about 10 pulses).  In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and ice water until combined.  Add half of the sour cream mixture to flour mixture.  Pulse for about 3 seconds.  Repeat with remaining mixture.  Pinch dough with fingers.  If it is floury and dry and does not hold together, add 1 tbsp of ice water at a time, and process until dough forms large clumps and there is no dry flour.

Turn dough onto floured work surface and form into a disk.  Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  During this time, make the filling.  After you are finishing chilling the dough, remove from plastic wrap on a floured surface and roll out to a 12-14 inch circle.  This does not have to be perfect because this will be a sort of free-form pie.  Set aside on parchment paper until you are ready to fill.

Ingredients for the filling
5-6 peaches
pinch of coarse salt
juice of half a lemon (about 2 tbsp)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup blueberries
1 tsp corn starch
3-4 tbsp sugar

Preheat your oven with a pizza stone in it to 400 degrees F.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cut a large X in the bottom of each peach, as demonstrated here and then add to the boiling water.  Allow them to boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Set aside peaches to cool until you can safely handle them, and peel back the skin.  If it does not come off easily, that's okay!  Just use a paring knife to help slip the skin off. 

Cut the peaches into wedges and discard the pits and skins.  Set the peach wedges in a mesh strainer and add a pinch of coarse salt and the lemon juice and toss it together.  Set the strainer over a medium bowl allow to macerate for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to 1.5 hours. 

When the peaches are done macerating,  pour the accumulated juice into a small saucepan with 2 tbsp butter and allow to reduce to half on medium for about 5 minutes, or until it's syrupy.  Meanwhile, put the peaches back into a medium bowl and add the blueberries.  Toss with corn starch, 3-4 tbsp sugar, and the reduced juice. 

Add the filling to the center of the rolled out pie dough, taking care to leave 3-4 inches of dough around the sides as a border.  Take the edge of the dough and fold it over toward the middle, about 2-3 inches over the fruit filling.  Continue this all the way around the sides, crimping and pinching the dough so that it holds itself up around the filling.

Brush the crust border with the egg whites and sprinkle the last 2 tbsp of sugar over the crust. 

Bake on a pizza stone (or a baking sheet if you don't have a pizza stone) for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is nice and brown.  Remove from oven (try using a pizza peel if you are having trouble taking it out) and set on a wire rack to cool slightly.  You may want to place a paper towel or dish cloth under the wire rack as the fruit filling may slip through any cracks in the crust.

Can be served warm with a scoop of ice cream or stored in an air tight container for up to 1 week.