Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Summer of Pies

When it nears triple digits here in Colorado, there aren't too many things that will get me to turn on the oven. Add Xcel's new rate hikes tiered rates and I've got lots of reasons not to bake. Except for pies. I seriously love me some pies. One Christmas, I made seven different pies for our family holiday dinner, so maybe obsession is a more accurate description for the way I feel about pies.

Here in my neck of the woods, we're at the tail end of rhubarb season. I just found out about a you-pick organic rhubarb farm a week too late. I'm on their mailing list for next year, so I've got that going for me. Fortunately, my bff still has rhubarb growing in her yard and she's very generous with it. I've turned her generosity into jam and this week, a pie. This is where I normally would show you a photo of said pie, but we ate it before I could take a picture. I'm planning on making another one this week, so I'll post a photo of that pie. Obsession indeed.

Here's a link to the recipe I used for strawberry-rhubarb pie. I made one major mod, however, and it's an important one. It's the secret to the best pies you'll make: a grated apple. Cooks Illustrated uses this method to thicken their blueberry pie and it works extremely well in all the fruit pies I make. If you read some of the comments/reviews about the strawberry-rhubarb pie, you'll see that some people complain about a runny pie. Their solution was to up the tapioca by a gazillion percent. I don't like this method because while it does thicken the pie filling, it also makes it gummy and rubbery. My solution was to use the amount of tapioca called for in the recipe, but grind it in a spice grinder. I also grated a peeled apple, squeezed it dry in a clean dish cloth, then stirred the grated apple into the pie filling. (The pectin in apples is a natural thickener.) Bake the pie until the crust is a deep golden brown and the filling bubbles up in the center. The difficult part of this recipe is waiting for the pie to cool COMPLETELY. That's going to be at least four hours, five to six is better.

As for pie crust, Martha Stewart's is pretty hard to beat, but you know what? So is this:


The Kroger house brand pie crust is just as good. Is it cheating? Maybe. But it's like a padded bra--if you don't advertise it, nobody will know the difference.

9 comments:

  1. pie crusts have now been officially added to things I do not feel obligated to make from scratch- thank you.

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  2. Mmmm, Yummm! Who doesn't love pie?

    I'm so glad that it's been a bit cooler the last couple of days. We spent 13 hours at the ballfields on Saturday...my daughter's team played 6 games in those 100 degree temps!

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  3. I have used that pie crust for pizzas, just an FYI if you are ever so inclined.

    It is hotter than Satan at a barbecue here in FLA.

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  4. I love blueberry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie... not so much. (maybe I just haven't had a good one?) I never thought about adding grated apple to the pie filling to thicken it. I'll have to give it a try. But I don't make blueberry pies often 'cuz I'm the only one who likes them, lol. (I don't think premade pie crust is cheating)

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  5. I make a lot of things from scratch - a LOT. But I never even *consider* making my own crust. Those durn Pillsbury ones are so handy and yummy I figure I can't do any better. lol

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  6. I love rhubarb! That's not something you see around here a lot. My mom used to make this cold cooked fruit soup that had rhubarb in it. You cooked these sweet dumplings in the top of the fruit mixture and then chilled it. You've got me thinking about it again. She'd put in cherries too or sometimes peaches. Your pie sounds wonderful and thanks for sharing about the grated apple!

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  7. I love making pies, and I got to admit, I make my own pie crust. It all began when I was unemployed and had too much time on my hands. I still do it but my pies tend to be focused around the holidays (pumpkin and apricot/cranberry).

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  8. Andrea--when I'm feeling virtuous or have all the ingredients, I make my own crusts. But those two things don't happen as often as they should. Apricot/cranberry--that sounds fabulous! Dried or fresh cranberries?

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  9. I use dried cranberries. Not only is it a tart and delicious pie (I love apricots too!) but the colors are really warm and it just has autumn written all over it!

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