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Monthly Archives: November 2014

Success!!

30 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Cream Pie

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

meringue, raisin, sour cream

That was the subject of Nancy’s email to me yesterday letting me know that her Sour Cream Raisin Pie had turned out and her dad loved it! This is a Thanksgiving pie story with a happy ending. (If you missed the beginning of the story, check it out here.)

Nancy was kind enough to share some pictures of the pie success and I thought you all might like to see them too!

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Great job, Nancy! I hope while this was your first pie, it won’t be the last!

If you want to read some more Thanksgiving 2014 pie stories, check out the latest post Ken’s put up on the Pie Academy blog. My friend Tim’s pie is pictured, and I’ll be writing soon about the Maple Pecan Pie I made that’s mentioned at the very end of Ken’s post!

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125 and a Tea Party

25 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Cream Pie, Mini Pie

≈ Leave a comment

I am delighted to announce another (small) milestone on my journey to 300 pies.

125! That means…er…only 25 more pies to the halfway point. I think this journey won’t soon be over. The good news is, although it’s slow going, I’m still enjoying it-and I hope you are too.

If you haven’t peeked into the pie gallery recently, take a look-you might be inspired to recreate one of the 125 over the holiday season. Perhaps even these Little Cream Pies. They’re small, cute, shareable, no-fuss, and tasty as anything. They’re winners, crowd-pleasers. You get to mix the filling with your fingers inside each individual muffin pan cup and then pour little blurps of cream on top. In short, they have everything to recommend them. And if you don’t have the Pie cookbook yet and therefore don’t have the recipe–it might, just might, be time to treat yourself to a holiday gift. 🙂IMG_4626IMG_4628

Here are some pictures of the Little Cream Pies I made for my friend Colleen’s birthday tea party back in September–a lovely evening with even lovelier ladies and an abundance of trIMG_4631eats!

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Sour Cream Raisin Pie for Nancy’s Dad

22 Saturday Nov 2014

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Cream Pie

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

meringue, raisins, sour cream

IMG_4944Dear Nancy,

Last week you wrote to me, introducing yourself as a colleague of my Uncle Joe. Your words about my blog were so kind. You were wondering if I had any advice on sour cream and raisin pie, as it’s your dad’s favorite and you’d like to make him one for Thanksgiving, even though you’ve never made a pie in your life. He asks for sour cream and raisin pie wherever he goes (finds it almost never) and since this is the first Thanksgiving your mom will not be present at your family dinner, you want to do something special for him. I hope your Thanksgiving dinner, though it will doubtless be bittersweet (dementia has taken a toll on both our families), will create happy new memories for all involved.

Now, to get you started on this pie!

I had NEVER tried a sour cream and raisin pie myself, but there is a recipe in Ken’s book (Norske Nook Raisin Pie) which looked like a great bet. Norske Nook is a restaurant in Wisconsin, not too far away from Minnesota-sounds like this is a pie of Midwest origins.

I’ve never before reproduced a recipe from Ken’s book word-for-word on my blog, but I’m going to go ahead and make an exception here. From this point forward, I’ll be writing the text of the recipe in plain type and adding my own commentary in italics. 🙂

I would love to hear how the pie turns out. I have every confidence it’ll be great; it was one of the easiest I’ve ever made, and in my opinion, absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to see what Dad thinks! (I’m sure my readers would love to see a picture of him with his beloved dessert.)

Thanks again for reaching out and I hope you find this post helpful.

Love,

Jess

Norske Nook Raisin Pie

Overall ingredient list: Flour, Butter, Shortening, Sugar, Salt, 2 cups sour cream, 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups raisins

Crust: Ken Haedrich’s Basic Flaky Pie Pastry (mostly his words, some of my paraphrase)

Single Crust:

Cut up 1/2 stick of cold unsalted butter into small pieces and set aside. Measure out 1/4 cup of cold vegetable shortening and set aside. Combine 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Toss well, by hand, to mix. Scatter the butter pieces over the dry ingredients and toss to mix. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it is broken into pieces the size of small peas. Add the shortening and pieces and continue to rub in until the fat is all in small pieces and very much incorporated into the dry ingredients. Fill the 1/4 cup you were using for shortening with cold water. Sprinkle half of the water over the mixture. Toss well with a fork to dampen the mixture. Add the remaining water, 1 1/2 to 2 tbs. at a time, and continue to toss and mix, pulling the mixture up from the bottom of the bowl on the upstroke and gently pressing down on the downstroke. Add a little more water, 1 tsp at a time, if necessary, until the dough can be packed together in a ball. Once it is packable, make a ball and press down to flatten it somewhat into a thick disk. Wrap the pastry (I use a piece of wax paper and fold all the corners under) and refrigerate until firm enough to roll.

This pie requires a pre-baked crust. I roll my pastry into a 12-inch circle between two sheets of wax paper-it makes it very easy to control the pastry. Once you have rolled out your pastry…Invert the pastry over a 9-inch standard pie pan, center, and peel off the paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the edge into an upstanding ridge. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes, then fully prebake and let cool.

To prebake: You will need some sort of pie weight. I use about a cup of dried beans.

Tear off a piece of aluminum foil about 16 inches long. That’s more than you’ll need to fit into your pan, but the excess makes the foil easy to lift when you’re removing the beans. Center the foil over your pie shell and, just as you tucked the pastry into the pan, tuck the foil into the pie shell. The bottom edge should be well-defined, as should the sides. Basically, the foil should fit the pie shell like a second skin. Let the excess foil on the ends just flare out like wings. Don’t bunch it around the pie pan, or you’ll deflect heat away from the sides. Pour in enough dried beans to reach the top of the pan.

With your oven preheated to 400° F, bake the pie shell on the center rack for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, slide out the rack and slowly lift the foil with the pie weights out the pan. Lower the oven temperature to 375° F and continue to bake the pie shell for 15 more minutes. Check on the pie shell once or twice during this time to make sure it isn’t puffing up; if it is, prick the problem spot with a fork. Look for visual clues that the pastry is properly baked. A fully prebaked shell will be golden brown and look fully baked.

IMG_4947Combine 2 cups full-fat sour cream, 1 3/4 cups sugar, 4 tsp all-purpose flour, 4 large egg yolks (set the whites aside for the meringue topping!) and 1 1/2 cups dark raisins in a large, heavy saucepan, preferably nonstick. (I added a tiny splash of vanilla, per Ken’s recommendation, although that’s not in the original recipe.) Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring continuously, until it thickens and turns glossy, 8 to 10 minutes. Slowly pour the filling into the cooled pie shell. Let cool thoroughly on a wire rack, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

IMG_4948Here are some pictures to hopefully show you the difference between the custard when it is not quite thickened and the point after which it’s thickened. It will start bubbling in thick “plops” once it has thickened. Be patient! It really will take about 10 minutes over medium heat. When you make custard and it finally thickens, it happens very quickly and it’s a little magical, because it stays the same consistency for so long before the change happens.)

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After>

 

 

 

 

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Just before serving, preheat the broiler and make the meringue. Put 4 large egg whites (that you saved when you took the egg yolks!) in a large metal bowl over a pan of hot water. (I set the basin of my stand mixer in a pie plate with hot water in it, just for a minute.) Stir in 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. When the sugar has dissolved, use an electric mixer to beat the whites until they hold firm but not dry peaks. (If you haven’t made a meringue before, be patient with this process as well! It’s another magical turning point, just like with the custard!)IMG_4958

Spread the meringue thoroughly over the pie, so that it touches the entire edge of the crust, with no gaps. IMG_4959

Briefly run the pie under the broiler until very lightly browned. Do not leave the oven, as this IMG_4960will take a very short time. (NOT A JOKE!) Serve immediately.

(Here are all my adventurous pie-tasters! They either loved it or, if they didn’t like raisins, said it was great except for the raisins. Which is just such a funny thing to say about a predominantly raisin pie.) IMG_4964

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Happy Thanksgiving!

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Labor Day Weekend-Monday

15 Saturday Nov 2014

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Berry Pie, Original Pies, Summer Fruit Pie

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

blueberry, fig, peach

This is a just a little post-script to the previous two posts. When Monday morning arrived, all this fruit was still hanging out–the juicy peaches, a handful of figs, plenty of blueberries (you saw how big the box was to start!) and I can’t quite remember but I think we may have had some plums or something around too. Between the other crusts I had made on Friday and Saturday, there was just enough scrap left to piece together a bottom crust…and a crumb topping is quick work…IMG_4354…and so we had breakfast pie. Because three pies over a four-day weekend is MORE than reasonable.

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IMG_4359See you next year, Minnesota!

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Labor Day Weekend: Saturday

13 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Berry Pie, Freeform Pie, Summer Fruit Pie

≈ 2 Comments

Saturday came, cloudy and cool. Uncle Joe took me out fishing and five hours passed before I knew it. The first four hours and forty five minutes were filled with frustration as fish after fish eluded me. (How about that alliteration?)

IMG_4312The thing about fishing, though, is that as many times as you throw out your bait and reel it back in without a bite, you still cherish this hope, a seemingly unsubstantiated confidence, that the next time you cast, you WILL catch a fish.

And sometimes, it’s true.

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After this great success, it was then time for the planned-out Pie book pie, the pie I mentioned in my last post. After Aunt Sarah had done some recon work to find out what fresh fruit could still be bought in Minnesota in September, I had chosen the Raspberry and Fresh Fig Freeform Pie for this trip. I mentioned last year that we were in MN too early for currants, and this year we were too late. Once again, Trader Joe’s stepped in with figs- but upon my word, I WILL make a fresh currant pie one of these summers!

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This was one of those strikingly beautiful pie fillings. Someday I’ll compile a lustrous coffee table book called “Pie: The Inside Story”.

The recipe for this pie suggests adding an egg yolk to the pastry to make sure it holds up a bit. For freeform pies, the crust simply gets rolled into a circle and placed on a baking sheet; don’t use a pie dish for freeform pies. Well, you can, but it won’t be freeform anymore, so that’s pointless.

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To form the crust, fold the edges up all around, making sure a good amount of the outskirts of the pie are covered, and pinch the pastry together in some spots that look like they might be prone to gapping open in the oven. I’ve made some delicious freeform pies in the past but I’ve also made one that was decidedly too dry because I didn’t fold the pastry up enough and it got gappy (spell-check is hating on that word right now, trying to change it to happy, but the pie was NOT happy! It was gappy…and sad from the loss of its delicious juices.) So now I pinch parts together to really secure the perimeter.

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The finished product was bundled into the trunk and driven to Grandmom and Granddad’s house in North Oaks. It has always been one of the most interesting places in the world to me. You find things like this.

IMG_4338We had the traditional fish dinner that night. There are not many finer delights in life.

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IMG_4345When we sat down to eat, Grandmom prefaced the meal by saying, “This is like Thanksgiving, but even better, because we get to eat fish.”

IMG_4343Thanksgiving or Labor Day, turkey or fish (though, like Grandmom, I prefer the latter), I’m thankful for my Sweeny family. (Spoiler alert: more Sweeny pie-making to come on Thanksgiving. Levi and I are heading to Georgia to visit my parents!)

I just have a few tiny more things to say about this pie. As delicious as it would have been on its own, it was made truly remarkable by the addition of a honey-anise whipped cream. I’m a licorice person, so to me this whipped cream was a revelation. But even if you’re not a licorice person, per se (Levi isn’t one) you should try it anyway. It’s just that good. The anise part of the flavor comes from the addition of…

IMG_4350Any guesses?……..Sambuca. 1 cup whipping cream and 2 tablespoons each of honey and Sambuca and you’ve got yourself an incredibly special whipped cream to go with an equally special pie, to share with some of the special people in your life.

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P.S. Stayed tuned-Labor Day Weekend isn’t over quite yet.

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Labor Day Weekend: Friday

11 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Berry Pie, Original Pies, Summer Fruit Pie

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Tags

blueberry, Minnesota, peach

Friday was cool and rainy in Marine on St. Croix. We all had our own opinions as to when the sun would appear, and when it finally did appear, it didn’t stay very long. Levi braved a morning swim in the river anyway.

IMG_4276We spent some time playing cribbage, eating popcorn, and drinking Farm Girl (homemade root beer for Matt!) at Lift Bridge Brewery. I can’t think of a better way to pass a rainy holiday afternoon.

IMG_4277I had already planned out a pie from Ken’s cookbook to make during the weekend, and Aunt Sarah had kindly gathered all the ingredients and brought them to the cabin in preparation for our visit. However, that pie was destined for Saturday, and it was Friday, and so, if you put two and two together: we were facing down the prospect of a pie-less evening.

But then…*drumroll*…

Aunt Sarah’s friend and neighbor Jaci had gone shopping at the local co-op that afternoon and simply *couldn’t* resist buying a case each of blueberries and the most juicy peaches you’ve ever seen. And since her family simply *couldn’t* eat all of this fruit themselves, she wondered if we could use any?

I still think this was all a clever ruse to get pie, but no problems there. This is what everyone learned that day and what you are learning now: If I am on vacation and you bring me cases of perfectly ripe fruit, there is a 99% chance I will start baking on the spot, and a 98% chance you will get to partake in the finished product.

Now those are good odds.

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IMG_4290Sometimes, pies need a little help cooling so you can get to the eating faster.

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IMG_4297(Pro tip: If you forget to go to the general store for vanilla ice cream and it’s already past eight, a little scoop of vanilla yogurt is a nice stand-in.)

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If you think this Peach-Blueberry creation looks good (and boy, it was!), just wait until you see Saturday’s pie.

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Recently

09 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Apple Pie, Berry Pie, Mini Pie, Pie Destinations

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

apple, blackberry, Richmond, The Proper Pie Co.

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all having a fabulous fall. photo 1I’d like to share a little milestone of late. As you know (unless you’re brandy new to reading this blog) I figured out a while back that pies can be baked in glass jars and shipped rather easily. Sometimes the post office does a better job with the speed of delivery than other times, but I have definitely mailed and/or carried onto planes a decent number of pies in jars now. Maybe fifty? Anyway. Here’s the milestone. Last month I filled an actual order for a pie shipment. I.e. a lovely lady I know asked me to mail her son pie for his October birthday, and so I made two little apple blackberry pies and mailed them to Wisconsin and she paid me. So if I ever get around to starting a legit pie-in-a-jar business, Jaci and Croix can have the honor of being my first ever customers. Thanks so much! I hope they were delicious!

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photo 3In other recent happenings, Levi and I visited Richmond, VA last weekend, primarily for my girl Liz’s wedding. It’s one of the special places in my heart and it was so good to be there and to spend the weekend with a bunch of my favorite people.

On Sunday afternoon, we went to a delight of a place called The Proper Pie Co. My word. We bought savory hand pies and sweet slices, headed to a park with a load of blankets, and ate and traded bites with each other (Butter Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese, Lamb and Vegetable, Curried Lentil and Spinach, Key Lime, Sweet Potato and Pecan, Peach and Blackberry…I mean, really.) Afterwards I laid down with my head on my best friend’s lap and declared (to no one’s surprise) that I was in my happy place.

photo 2(New Zealand friends, please appreciate the verbiage under the coffee column…:))

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I was told that this pie is made with vanilla poached slices of sweet potato. Because, why not.

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We are blessed. Check back for another (not-so-recent) pie story later this week!

 

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