Monthly Archives: May 2011

Pie #27 – Cherry O Cheese Pie

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If a cherry pie and cheescake married, you would get pie #27. It’s very simple to make; the biggest challenge should you choose it, is the pie crust. This one is from Sharon, a creative that I have the pleasure of working with.

Pip pip cherry o, fork up and all that

The crust!:

16 -20 graham crackers

5 tbsp. butter, melted

3 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend the graham crackers until fine. Add butter, sugar and salt and mix until blended. In a 9 inch pie plate, spread the mixture along bottom and sides of pan. Bake for approx. 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

The filling (super easy)!:

1 block (8oz.) cream cheese

1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup of lemon juice (about 2 1/2 if you go fresh squeezed)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 can cherry pie filling (or make your own, unlike me)

Blend all ingredients except the cherry pie filling until creamy. Put filling in a prepared graham cracker crust. Chill then add a can of Comstock cherry pie filling and chill until you serve it.

I love the combination of cream, tart cherries and the graham cracker crust adds good texture. Thanks Sharon:) This pie is in the very tasty range.

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Pie #26 – Chicken Dinner Pie

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Winner winner, chicken dinner pie

Happy post rapture! I’m half way home (not in the biblical sense though)! It’s been six months since I started this thing with pie. I can’t believe it;  it has gone by quickly. And now only 26 to go…

This weeks pie is a savory dinner pie. This only the second savory pie I’ve made and it is miles above the first one I tried. The double crust is from the Bon Apetit Desert Cookbook. The filling is from a pie recipe found at cooks.com

The pie crust was a pain. It kept breaking apart. I guess that’s why they call it flaky.

The crust (makes 2 crusts)!:

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

10 tbsp. (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

3 tbsp. (or more) ice water

Blend ingredients in food processor until combined. Remove and separate into 2 crusts, Wrap in plastic wrap, flatten and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.  Remove one of the pieces and line a 9 inch pie dish. Set aside.

The filling!

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. thyme

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup light cream

2 cups cubed chicken or turkey (I used turkey for this)

1 10 oz. package of peas and carrots (frozen works)

1 7 0z. can of green chiles (my addition; the original recipe called for 8 oz. canned small onions and I couldn’t find them. Thanks HEB!)

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in the flour, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook over low heat. Stir in until mixture is creamy and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken broth and cream. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 additional minute. Stir in chicken and vegetables. Pour into a pastry pan lined with a crust. Cover with the second pastry or do lattice strips. The top was tricky and I didn’t have baking cloth to transfer. So I lined the counter with plastic wrap and rolled out the dough, then flipped the top of the crust onto the pie using the wrap that lined the counter. It worked really well. Trim edges, seal and flute. Cover the edges with tin foil so the crust doesn’t overbake. Remove foil 15 minutes before  end of baking. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
The crust is  very flaky. It crumbles when you cut into it and for this pie, I don’t really like it that much. I think it’s because of the vegetable shortening. The rest of the pie tastes really nice and has a good hint of the chiles. The filling is very rich but it tastes good and the turkey is a good choice for the filling.

Pie #25 – Outrageous Orange Custard Pie

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Today’s selection comes courtesy Divaliscious in Dutchess County, New York. The recipe was located and attempted courtesy of GroupRecipes.com. Dutchess County just sounds like the kind of a county that would make really good fruit pies. This pie doesn’t have orange slices but is an orange flavored custard with a meringue topping.

The crust!:

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 stick chilled unsalted butter cut into 1/4 inch cubes

2 tbsp. sugar

pinch of salt

3 tbsp. or more of ice water

Blend the flour, butter, sugar and salt in a food processor using on/off turns. Add 3 tablespoons of water and mix until moist clumps form. Add additional water by teaspoon if the mix is dry. Remove from processor and form into a ball. Flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Let set in the fridge a minimum of 3o minutes. Once cooled, roll out to 13 inch diameter disk and transfer to a 9 inch pie pan. Trim edges and use extra dough to patch any holes or thin spots. I usually have a lot of those:)

The filling!:

Orange

2 eggs, separated

1 egg whole

1 cup white sugar

4 tbsp. sugar for meringue (goes with 2 egg whites you saved)

1-2/3 cups evaporated milk (12 oz. can; The Divaliscious recipe called for 14.5 oz. but no such can seems to exist in Austin, TX. Besides, 12 oz. = 1 2/3 cups. Not only can I convert measurements but I can lift heavy things too.)

1-1/3 cup orange juice (with pulp is best)

3 tsp. grated orange zest (I used 4. Hope it’s not a deal breaker.)

1 tsp. pure orange extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and have shelf placed on the lower level in the oven. Separate two of the eggs – beat egg yolks and 1 whole egg well in mixer. Add sugar and blend well. Add evaporated milk, orange juice, orange zest and pure orange extract. Continue to mix until blended. Pour into pastry shell and bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until custard is firm and knife comes out clean. Cool pie slightly.

While pie is cooling, beat 2 egg whites and 4 tablespoons sugar to make meringue. Remember people, make sure the meringue is blended until it forms stiff peaks. Top pie with meringue and bake in moderate oven (325 degrees) for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

The pie came out looking like it hadn’t fully baked. I realized afterward that I put in 1/3 cup too much orange juice. So this pie is going to be outrageously juicy. I also burned the crust which is never good. I need to put tin foil collars on these when they bake at 40 minutes.

The pie tastes good but it’s not, as the name suggests, outrageous. It’s got a nice  balance to it, but it’s also soggy. Not my worst but not one of the better pies either. It’s mid-range.

Pie #24 – S’More Pie

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Swap out campfire for oven. Swap out stick for plate.

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms! Tammi and I went to Taco Express with our friend Piph this morning for a few breakfast tacos to celebrate her day. The place was jammed. But the food is always good. After that, we went thrifting for costumes for an upcoming party. While Piph and Tammi continued on (I’m not much of a thrifter), I came home and jumped into baking pie #24. It’s S’More pie. I found this one on the Food Network website.  The pie crust is from Martha Stewart. It’s my favorite pie crust, if you’ve forgotten. A suggestion to all you moms with young children, if you want your kids to worship you, make this pie. In parental circles, it’s known as “leverage.”

The crust!:

16 -20 graham crackers

5 tbsp. butter, melted

3 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend the graham crackers until fine. Add butter, sugar and salt and mix until blended. In a 9 inch pie plate, spread the mixture along bottom and sides of pan. Bake for approx. 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

The filling!:

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 stick butter, melted

3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk

1/4 cup coffee liqueur or Kahlua (I used Kahlua)

2 cups miniature marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar thoroughly combined and pale yellow. Whisk in melted butter, cocoa powder, evaporated milk, and coffee liqueur. Set aside.

Place pie shell on baking sheet and place on an oven rack. Carefully pour in filling. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. About 5 minutes before pie is finished, mound marshmallows in the center of the pie (they will spread as they
melt). Continue baking until marshmallows are golden brown.

Let cool slightly. Serve warm. It’s gooey and I like the hint of liqueur along with the cocoa. The marshmallows make it fun, but a little sticky.

And now we’re off with the kids for Mother’s Day dinner. Canolli Joe style. So much for desert.

Pie #23 – Sherry’s Blackberry Cream Pie

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Happy May Day. Lots to do today at the homestead in Austin. All manner of yardwork, cleaning, picking up kids, and baking of course. This week, I had a few people ask me what my pie of choice was going to be for week number twenty three. I didn’t have a plan for this one. Actually, generally speaking, my planning has fallen by the wayside. I usually scramble on the weekend figuring out the pie, and then rushing to the store to get any missing ingredients. Not really my preferred method but it works well enough.

A couple of these folks asked me if I had made a blackberry pie yet. I had not. Until today…

This pie comes courtesy of cooks.com. The pie guru who created this recipe is one Sherry Monfils. Why thank you!

The crust!:

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 stick chilled unsalted butter cut into 1/4 inch cubes

2 tbsp. sugar

pinch of salt

3 tbsp. or more of ice water

Blend the flour, butter, sugar and salt in a food processor using on/off turns. Add 3 tablespoons of water and mix until moist clumps form. Add additional water by teaspoon if the mix is dry. Remove from processor and form into a ball. Flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Let set in the fridge a minimum of 3o minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees  and remove the dough after half hour. Roll out on lightly floured surface into a 13 inch circle. Transfer to a 9 inch pie dish. Today I rolled up the dough in a log and unrolled it in the pie dish. It actually worked pretty well. Trim the dough and use the remnants to patch any holes you might have around the crust edge or in the dish.

You aren’t supposed to bake the crust but I did. It was a slight oversight.  I lined the bottom of the crust with foil and filled with uncooked beans to weigh it down. It was baked for 20 minutes. After it was baked, the beans and foil were removed and the crust allowed to cool.

The filling!:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups light sour cream
1 tsp  vanilla
3 cups blackberries
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
3 tbsp. butter, softened
whipped cream
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a bowl, combine sugar, 1/3 cup flour, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Toss in blackberries and stir well. Spoon into pie shell. If you’re someone who decides to bake the pie crust when you aren’t supposed to, drop the oven rack to the lower third of the oven, and put an aluminum foil collar around the crust so it doesn’t burn.Bake 30-35 minutes or until set. In a bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, pecans and soft butter, mix well. Sprinkle over pie. Return pie to oven for 10 minutes. Let cool and slather with lots of whipped cream!
The pie tastes good. I like the contrast with the berries, the crumble and the flakey crust.  Thumbs up on this one.