pairs4life wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:This is the Superman-go pie I entered into the Third Coast Comics pie bake-off:

Gorgeous. What's? Inside.

Mango tossed with rum with a coconut-studded bottom crust.

“We must have a pie,” David Mamet wrote in “Boston Marriage,” his 1999 play about Victorian women struggling not to talk like Mamet characters. “Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” From the upcoming NY Times Magazine - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magaz ... ref=dining

He speaks the truth!

I usually don't bake in summer, but when I do, I want to avoid attracting bugs when something is cooling on the rack. Would it be wise to cover the hot item with one of those nets you use at picnics or are the holes in those too small to let heat escape?

Pie Lady wrote:I usually don't bake in summer, but when I do, I want to avoid attracting bugs when something is cooling on the rack. Would it be wise to cover the hot item with one of those nets you use at picnics or are the holes in those too small to let heat escape?

Year round, assuming no rain, I put items outside to cool and cover with a dish/kitchen towel. I've never seen bugs.

In my ancient Pillsbury Bake-Off book from 1959, there is a recipe for Jamaica Chocolate Cream Pie that uses 18 "solid chocolate rum candy wafers". What do you think these are?

Pie Lady wrote:In my ancient Pillsbury Bake-Off book from 1959, there is a recipe for Jamaica Chocolate Cream Pie that uses 18 "solid chocolate rum candy wafers". What do you think these are?

http://www.adclassix.com/a3/53rockwoodchocolate.html

I see. I guess I'll have to use an equal amount of chocolate and add rum...this should be an interesting experiment. First I need to see how much each wafer weighs...oy.

Maybe I'll get lucky and find these at Fresh Farms.

THE Life OF Pie
For generations of students and alumni, there’s nothing quite like a slice of UW-Madison’s fudge-bottom pie. But who introduced the dessert on campus is a riddle wrapped in a graham-cracker crust
No recipe in this article.

I call this cherry pie season, sour cherry pie that is. It arrives shortly after strawberry rhubarb season. And I was back at it yesterday, using the recipe I detailed on the 3rd page of this thread (but upping the almond extract to a 1/2 teaspoon, for a subtle almond flavor. Something about the tart cherries with almond and a buttery crust is just perfect to me.

For me, the hardest part about the cherry pie is the time-consuming nature of the lattice crust. Here, I cut them with a fluted pastry wheel and set them out just to make sure I made enough:





Here's a look at the unbaked pie, filled and brushed with the egg-cream glaze:





And here it is right out of the oven:





Time to eat!

Are you sure you can eat that all by yourself?

I got inspired by the blueberries that didn't make it into jam because of this pie shot in NY Times Dining section last week.



I didn't follow my first mind and use CI's techniques because I had all of the ingredients to hand. The bottom crust was too limp with all of the fruit. Still the zest in the sugar and the cornmeal are well worth repeating.

I made that same blueberry pie, and found it a bit too lemony. Mine didn't bubble over like in the article, but did make a lot of juice. It held together fine, but there was way too much juiciness and the bottom got soggy.

Pie Lady wrote:Are you sure you can eat that all by yourself?

I could . . . but I won't.

BR wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:Are you sure you can eat that all by yourself?

I could . . . but I won't.

Happy to provide you with any support you need on that. OR, you know what they say--give a gal a pie, she eats for a day--teach her to make the pie, she eats for a lifetime. Maybe you should schedule a class

leek wrote:I made that same blueberry pie, and found it a bit too lemony. Mine didn't bubble over like in the article, but did make a lot of juice. It held together fine, but there was way too much juiciness and the bottom got soggy.

I loved the lemon.

Hi,

I will wait for a pie to bubble very close to the center before taking it out of the oven. I do not pull a pie out until I know it is done. It may mean it is in the oven longer or shorter than anticipated.

I saw where Cook's Illustrated has a blueberry pie using grated Granny Smith apple, has anyone tried it?

BR - I like your lattice work and do appreciate the extra effort to weave it. When I do lattice, I do five or slightly more going each way. You certainly went whole hog with the finer weave.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:BR - I like your lattice work and do appreciate the extra effort to weave it. When I do lattice, I do five or slightly more going each way. You certainly went whole hog with the finer weave.

Thanks Cathy - my most ambitious effort indeed on lattice. But I also realized my mistake, which I will correct the next time. I should have done the lattice work in advance, on parchment outlined with the size and shape of the pie, and then placed it on the the pie. This would have allowed me to better control the temperature, and occasionally cool it as I was doing the weaving. The lattice work took a little longer than expected and as a result, I might have sacrificed just a little flakiness as the dough warmed a bit. But overall, I was thrilled with the result.

Hi,

For a meeting tomorrow, I am making a double-crust peach cobbler with a gallon of canned peaches. I am convinced the recipe was not tested, because it is missing an important piece of information: what size pan is intended.

I made a best judgement using a half-pan intended for a steam table. It is deep enough to hold all those peaches.

It is supposed to bake 45-50 minutes, though based on my experience with smaller pies, this is not enough time. Cornstarch was added as a thickener, which I just learned thickens and clears at 203 degrees F.

If my instant read thermometer clocks in at 203 or higher, I am shutting off the heat, opening the oven door and going to bed.

I entered the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest again and finished 2nd out of 80 entries . . . yeah, pretty damn happy.

I used a crust that was mostly butter, but also some leaf lard. For the filling, Jonagold and Northern Spy apples (I wanted some Winesap but they're not in the markets just yet). As far as spices, cinnamon and then just a little nutmeg and allspice. I find that spicing is just so personal that it's impossible to know exactly what everybody likes, but I prefer to let the flavor of the apples shine through with the cinnamon just a slight accent. Finished with an egg wash and Demerara sugar. And here's a look at the pies I submitted:

Congrats, Brad! Those pies look great. The one you brought to the LTH Picnic was no slouch, either.

Congratulations BR, they look great!

And thanks to you and everyone in this thread for all the pie inspiration over the years. I'm a baker but I haven't mastered pie crust - it's not something I've spent much time on - but I just went and looked through all the posts /delicious looking pie pictures again, and now I want to make one.

I could look at pie all day.

BR wrote:I entered the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest again and finished 2nd out of 80 entries . . . yeah, pretty damn happy.

Congrats!!

Thanks guys!

Hi,

You may want to consider entering the Illinois State Fair's Blue Ribbon Contest. You prepare your pie in front of an audience. If you win first place, then you can return later for the championship round.

Fifille entered a Croatian Potisia (sp?) at the Lake County Fair last summer and won first place. She is still quite thrilled over winning.

Just for the fun of it, I will alert you next spring when the premium book comes out.

Congratulations on your placing 2nd in a field of 80!

Regards,
CAthy2

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

You may want to consider entering the Illinois State Fair's Blue Ribbon Contest. You prepare your pie in front of an audience. If you win first place, then you can return later for the championship round.

Fifille entered a Croatian Potisia (sp?) at the Lake County Fair last summer and won first place. She is still quite thrilled over winning.

Just for the fun of it, I will alert you next spring when the premium book comes out.

Congratulations on your placing 2nd in a field of 80!

Regards,
CAthy2

Thanks Cathy . . . worth checking out.

I am on a pie/tart making roll!

Submitted in honor of pi Day today.

[quote="BR"]I call this cherry pie season, sour cherry pie that is. It arrives shortly after strawberry rhubarb season. And I was back at it yesterday, using the recipe I detailed on the 3rd page of this thread (but upping the almond extract to a 1/2 teaspoon, for a subtle almond flavor. Something about the tart cherries with almond and a buttery crust is just perfect to me.



That looks amazing! What method do you use for incorporating the butter? I have been trying out using the stand mixer method to get those longer streaks of butter (i.e. greater surface area) similar to rolling out the butter and it has been very successful IMO. Below is a link to this method but yours looks awesome!


http://thelunacafe.com/quick-easy-flaky ... st-pastry/

I loved seeing this thread today on PI day! Sharing a pic of the pie I just popped out of the oven.

pairs4life wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:I usually don't bake in summer, but when I do, I want to avoid attracting bugs when something is cooling on the rack. Would it be wise to cover the hot item with one of those nets you use at picnics or are the holes in those too small to let heat escape?

Year round, assuming no rain, I put items outside to cool and cover with a dish/kitchen towel. I've never seen bugs.

Hear, Hear PAIRS4LIFE! I agree and I bake pies year round. There is a pie (or two or three) for every season, every month, and Hell, for EVERY DAY, I say! I too use the 'Brooklyn Icebox' for cooling. When we lived in Brooklyn, it was my fire escape outside the guest bedroom window. Nowadays, I cool the pie on our 3 season porch. And a light tea towel cover helps keep away the flies if need be.