Finishing The Edges

At the start of this project, when it came to finishing pie edges on a double crust, I did what I think most of you do -- I pressed the top and bottom together and then folded under the dough.

However, looking at various pie recipes online, I noticed that it appeared that some people have done something opposite.  Call it an optical illusion but I decided to try folding the crust over rather than under.

I think this visually makes the pie more interesting and keeps the excess dough on top of the pie where it can crisp nicely.

Any who...just a little something I thought I'd share with you.  I still fold under single crust pies and, when I get bored of this, I may return to folding under my double crust pies.  But let me know what you think.

Butter vs. Lard

So there was another pie thunderdome at work.  This time it was a fat fight -- lard vs. butter.

It's kind of hard to have a taste test when you have an ingredient that's neither vegetarian or kosher.

For those willing to go in blind, though, lard was the winner. There's definitely a flavor difference that's almost savory.

However, if you were to go strickly on consumption, the butter pie went first.  Again, though, those findings could be considered skewed based on diet limitations.

#19: Macaroni And Cheese Pie With A Bacon Lattice

So this week I asked my son to suggest a pie for this week. ''Pick your favorite food and we'll make it into a pie.'' To which he responded, '' Macaroni!''

Yes, he's 8.

But I accepted his challenge and found this recipe for Macaroni And Cheese Pie With A Bacon Lattice.

So this recipe is full of cooking techniques that I've never done before and found a tad stressful.  (Dairy on a stove always makes me nervous.)  But I had all my ingredients lined up so...aside from burning my first attempt at roux...things went fine.  I mean, everything on this pie is pretty much pre-cooked so baking is really just cooking the bacon in the oven.

Each slice is pretty much a meal in itself.  (Really, you're look about 600-700 calories per slice.)  I served it with a salad but that was just to make feel less guilty about the meal.

Actually, if the calories don't bother you then I would suggest serving this with some Marinara or Bolognese Sauce.  For me, the tomato sauce paired well with all that cheese.

#18: Gretchen's Creamy Apple Pie

For this week's pie I didn't want to go shopping so I looked around my house and saw a pile of apples.  As you know, I've already done a couple apple pies so I wasn't sure where I could go with them.  That's when I turned to my trusty ''The Old-Fashioned Cookbook'' by Jan McBride Carlton and found Gretchen's Creamy Apple Pie.

Now I have no idea who Gretchen is.  No anecdotes are shared in the cookbook regarding this recipe.  However, if she's anything like her pie, she's weird but super sweet...and definitely not presentable to company.

Not only was the pie super good, it was surprisingly very easy.  (Yes, I even let my little one help out.)  You basically whisk a flavored whipped cream and spread it over an apple-lined pie tin.  The outside of the cream will crisp -- sort of like a meringue but it doesn't hold it shape as well.

The final result is delicious and goes well with whipped cream -- just in case you really need to serve this to guests.

#16: Custard Pie

So this week I wanted to tackle something simple, which lead me to my Betty Crocker Cookbook where I found this Custard Pie recipe.

What I thought was most wonderful about this recipe was the part that said "place pastry-lined pie plate on oven rack; pour in filling."  It seemed like an odd request but as soon as I did it became so obvious.  While it wasn't specifically called out, this small action was a grief saver.  The filling went to the very edge of the crust and didn't leave a lot of wiggle room to transport the pie from counter to oven.  However, by filling the pie on the oven rack, the pie only had to be moved inches rather than feet.  BRILLIANT!

The pie itself was also a great pie...super easy and good.  But the biggest treat was that small piece of advice.

#7: Minny's Chocolate Pie

Yes, two years later and I finally get around to watching ''The Help''. What a great movie! But one can't walk away without wondering about Minny's Chocolate Pie. Luckily for me, Food and Wine had the same questing and sought out Lee Ann Flemming, the food stylist from the movie.

The pie itself was uber-simple.  You just need a handful of ingredients -- all of which are pantry staples.  The filling then comes together in minutes.  All you need to do next is kick up your feet and wait for it to bake.

I used dough scraps to make decorative hearts for the top of the pie.  I bet a stenciled powdered sugar design would also be fun.  Or, you can also serve it like Minny with a dollop of whipped cream.

The Proof's in the Crust

Before I go any further, I should mention a few references related to pie crust that I found extremely helpful.

First of all, there's Smitten Kitchen, specifically their Pie Crust 102 post.  Deb does a great job breaking down the process and provides great pictures.

Reading this entry made everything click in my brain -- especially the part about not overworking the dough.  The visual I have now throughout the entire process is that my dough is made up of bits of butter covered in flour.  Even as I initially drop in the cubes of butter, I make each and every cube is dusted.  Then, each time I cut the butter with my pastry knife, I stir things around to make sure each newly exposed surface is also coated.

When the pie cooks, the butter will melt away leaving the flour layer (i.e., flake). So, I want to keep my distinct butter bits. That means the butter can't melt and you definitely can't use a food processor -- both of which can destroy your butter/flour layers.

TANGENT:  This reminds me of this cinnamon roll place when I was in college.  You would see them roll out the dough and place pats of butter on top.  Then they would fold it over and roll it out, followed by another application of butter pats.  Fold. Roll. Repeat.  Each fold would later translated into a flaky layer of goodness.  Man, I wonder if that place is still around.

Secondly, there was this show on one of the cooking networks (sorry, I tried to find a copy of the show but I'm at a loss as to what show I was actually watching) where the guy was exploring southern food in New York and he visited a restaurant called Pies 'n' Thighs.  (Okay, if I get to the east coast, I have to visit this place.  YUM!)  One thing the pie maker said caught my ear.  She mentioned that their dough was very dry and that she worked to bring the dough together.  That said, rather than adding extra water when bringing everything together, I add a bit more elbow grease to fold and force the dough to form without creating a sticky dough.

Well, that's it for now.  As I stumble across more tips, I'll share them with you.

RE the next pie...I'm still trying to figure out what it will be but I've had a bunch of great suggestions so tomorrow will be a busy day.