FOURTH OF JULY SWEET CHERRY PIE

Americans traditionally celebrate Independence Day with flags, parades, BBQ picnics, and spectacular fireworks. I love get-togethers with friends/family on the Fourth of July to  share laughter, play games, and eat plenty of good food. And of course, no celebration would be complete without the quintessential American dessert known as the pie. Leave the cookies, cakes, and fruit salads at home, folks. We need pie! Your pie can be icebox, baked, or simply filled with a variation of goodness like fruit, nuts, custard, or cream. I've got a fruit pie in the oven -- a Sweet Cherry Pie recipe published July 2010 in the Los Angeles Times. (Note: I modified the Double-Crust recipe.) Let's hope it's as good as it looks. Happy Fourth!

Sweet Cherry Pie
3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling over the pie
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 cups sweet cherries, stemmed and pitted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange liqueur, preferably Grand Marnier
1 egg
Prepared pie crust for 1 double-crust pie (recipe below)

1. Heat the oven to 350º degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the 3/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch. Stir in the cherries, coating completely, then stir in the vanilla and Grand Marnier until evenly combined.
3. Roll out and line a 9-inch pie plate with half the pie crust. Pile in the cherries, sprinkling over the cherries any additional sugar-cornstarch mixture that did not stick to the fruit.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg to form a wash. 
5. Prepare the top crust, adding decorative cutouts or cutting lattice strips if desired. Cover the top of the pie with the prepared top crust, sealing the edges with the egg wash and cutting vents if needed.
6. Brush the top of the crust with the egg wash, and sprinkle over a light coating of sugar.
7. Place the pie in the oven and bake until the crust is a rich golden color and the filling is bubbly and thick, about 1 hour and 15 minutes; rotate the pie halfway through for even coloring, and tent if needed to prevent over-coloring. 
8. Cool before serving.

Double-Crust Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
8 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, chilled
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces, chilled
1 cup of cold water
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup ice

1. Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. 
2. Add the butter pieces and shortening with the flour mixture using a spatula. 
3. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain.
4. Combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice in a large measuring cup or bowl. 
5. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture, and mix and cut it in with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated. Add more of the ice water mixture 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, and mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining.
6. Squeeze and pinch with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of the ice water mixture, if necessary, to combine. 
7. Shape the dough into two separate but equal flat discs. Wrap each disc separately in plastic, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight, to give crusts time to mellow. 

COCONUT DREAM PIE

Just because a pie is light in calories doesn't mean it has to fall short on flavor. SparkPeople have dished up 11 Lighter Summer Pie recipes for those watching their waistlines this summer. I can't wait to try their recipe for Coconut Dream Pie, 'the most un-diet-like diet-friendly dessert ever!'. Growing up I was never a big fan of coconut but as an adult one of my all time favorite desserts is Coconut Cream Pie, and this skinny version at 170 calories a slice is worth the indulgence. 

ph: SparkRecipes

THE ULTIMATE LEMON TART

via The Kitchen

Look at that gorgeous crust. Enough said. Go check out the recipe at The Kitchen. 

PIE PORN

So I'm browsing through Self.com and what do I see but the heading Pie Porn under the general topic  of Food & Diet. Follow the rabbit...

Original pin by TDL2 from latimes.com.

EVERYTHING IS TURNING UP PEACHES

Lots of peach pies lately  - one, because they're in season and two, because it's so darn good! This is basic peach pie with an all butter crust - not too sweet but with all the yummy goodness that comes from ripe peaches.

Let's start with the crust. I make the bottom and top crusts separately. I know, I know - it seems like unnecessary extra work but for some reason I find doubling the batch so much more work.

Single All Butter Crust
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
3 tablespoons of ice-cold water, more or less

1. Start with cold ingredients, the colder the better. Cold ingredients and limited handling are the secrets to perfect pie crust. I keep my flour in the freezer. 
2. In a bowl, sift together flour, salt, and sugar. Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut in the fat (butter). The dough should still have some pea-sized pieces afterwards.
3. Add ice-cold water (no ice cubes!) one tablespoon at a time, stirring with a fork until the dough sticks together when pinched between two fingers. You do not want to drench the flour. 
4. Mix flour mixture until it pulls together into a disc. Remember that over-handling creates a tough crust. Make dough into 1-inch thick disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Now repeat to make the top crust.

Filling

Approx. 5-8 peaches, depending on pie dish

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch, or quick cooking tapioca per directions on box)

Place baking sheet  in oven on lower third rack and preheat oven to 425º F. 

1. Bring a large pot to boil. Drop peaches into boiling water and poach for two minutes - have ice bath ready to quick-cool peaches. 
2. Peel skins from peaches. Half and pit the peaches, then slice into 1/3-inch pieces. You want approx. 6 cups, more or less, depending on your pie dish. Deep dishes require additional peaches.
3. In a bowl toss peaches in lemon juice. In separate bowl mix sugars, spices, and thickener (tapioca or starch). Sprinkle over peaches and stir with spatula. Set aside. 
4. Roll out first dough disc between two sheets of plastic wrap - this is for easier cleanup - you can also generously flour a cold surface before laying down the dough, then sprinkle flour on top of dough and rolling pin. Start from the center and roll out with short strokes to make an 11-inch round, about 1/8-inch thick. 
5. Center dough in pie dish. Sprinkle flour/sugar mixture on bottom of the crust (this is to prevent soggy bottom). Place peach filling into pie dish. 
6. Now roll out second dough to 10-inch round. In order to create a lattice-top crust, use a pizza cutter or knife to cut 1/2-inch to 1-inch strips. Start with the two longest middle strips and create a cross over the pie. Place remaining strips on pie, overlapping the straps until pie is covered. Trim overhang from strips. Fold over edges and crimp. 
7. Using a pastry brush, brush milk over the dough (this browns the dough), sprinkle with sugar. Place in oven at 425º for 20 minutes, then lower temperature to 375º and continue baking for an additional 30-35 minutes. 
8. Let cool for at least 3 hours before serving, otherwise it may be runny. Serve alone or a la mode.

APRICOTS AND BARBEQUE SEASON

ph via

Americans celebrate Memorial Day not only to honor our fallen soldiers but also to kick-off barbeque season! Only, it seemed I was the only one crying for BBQ. I had to bribe my friends with two pounds of Korean-style short ribs to get them to fire up the grill! Usually, barbeque equals pie in my world but this year I picked up a dozen of what looked like scrumptious ripe apricots. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them but almonds seemed like a good pairing so I chose to bake a tart instead of traditional pie. I found this Lovely Summer Apricot Tart recipe from Honest Cooking, The Food Magazine.

ph: Kimberly Hasselbrink, The Year in Food

Lovely Summer Apricot Tart

Pastry Crust:

8 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour

2 Tablespoons almond flour plus more for sprinkling

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F. Butter a 9" round tart pan or a rectangular tart pan of your choice. 
2. To make the pastry crust -- combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl. 
3. Add the remaining pastry ingredients and stir until combined. I used a pastry cutter to cut in the fat/flour until it resembled course meal. If you squeeze a bit between your fingers, it will stick. It just won't resemble a dough ball. 
4. Press the pastry crust mix into the bottom and up sides of your tart pan until it resembles a crust. 
5. Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes, making sure not to burn it.

Tart Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon honey
2 Tablespoons almond flour
6-8 apricots, sliced thinly

1. Whisk together cream, egg, almond & vanilla extracts, and honey.
2. Add in almond flour and stir to combine.
3. Arrange sliced apricots in any patter you desire.
4. Carefully pour the filling all around the fruit but do not cover it.
5. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and carefully slide into the oven.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, check to see if done. If not, continuing baking up to 20 additional minutes, checking frequently to make sure you don't burn it. 
7. Remove tart from oven and let cool completely. 

Note: My luscious looking apricots ended up being overly-tart and under-ripe. After slicing them, I sprinkled them with about 1/8 cup of sugar and macerated them until slightly sweeter.

This tart was absolutely delicious! Slightly tart, rich in creaminess, but with a sweet crust. Perfect foil for BBQ.
 

DOWN HERE, IT'S OUR TIME!

Boys exploring cave with flashlights look up in wonder near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, March 1957

I came across this photo by Vokmar K. Wentzel on National Geographic Found. I love it because it instantly reminded me of one of my all-time favorite films, The Goonies. Don't you miss those adventure-comedy films in which kids are kids, having the most unbelievable adventures simply through the power of their imaginations? I do.