Tuesday, November 29, 2011

PIE #50 - Grand Finale Pie


Confucius said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." My journey of fifty pies began with a wild hair, a worthy cookbook, and a wish for sweet success. Eleven months, 25 pounds of flour, 15 pounds of sugar, 12.5 pounds of butter, and 13 quarts of cream later...I am pleased to announce {{{INSERT TRUMPET FANFARE HERE}}}, I can bake a good pie!

Over the past few weeks, I've been pondering what my 50th pie would be. Cream, custard, fruit or nut? Pastry, cookie or cracker crust? With multiple recipes under my proverbial belt coupled with my increased confidence, a worthy grand finale pie could certainly be created. It had to be magnificent, no doubt, and perhaps complex enough to challenge my newfound pie making prowess.

In the end I decided to come full circle, flashing back to 1974 and Miss Miranda's 7th grade home economics class at Watson Junior High. There I made my debut into pie making society, if you will, and fell miserably flat on my face. My dismal pie skills deserved no less than a big fat pie in the face pitched by Miss Miranda herself. I tried to locate her, to inform her that her most inept baking neophyte had redeemed herself. A Google search and a call to my junior high school were fruitless. Miss Miranda, wherever you are, I hope you stumble upon this blog and are deliriously overjoyed that you've inspired a student to pie aplomb, albeit 37 years later.

My 50th pie is a combination of the cream pie recipe variations that Miss Miranda assigned: vanilla, chocolate, butterscotch, coconut, and banana crowned in glorious mounds of whipped cream. This pie makes a spectacular presentation when sliced. The multiple cream layers showcase strikingly against the voluminous whipped topping. The flavor combination is beyond luscious. Any two of the flavor components, for instance chocolate and coconut or butterscotch and banana, make a delicious duo. However, all five unify into a harmonious taste quintet. A grand finale pie indeed!

It's hard to believe my resolution to make 50 pies in 2011 to commemorate my 50th year on earth is now officially resolved. It's a bittersweet feeling that lingers on much like its chocolate counterpart, yet I've thoroughly enjoyed every flour-tinged step of the journey. My footsteps were at first tentative with some slips along the way. Forging forward I gained a firmer foothold. Now I stride with sure-footed confidence along the pie path. From that first faltering step taken on January 1 to reaching my final destination of Pie #50 on November 26, I can now do the happy dance.

Thank you, family and friends and esteemed cookbook author and pie impresario Ken Haedrich, for accompanying me on my quest, for bravely taste testing my creations, and for offering excellent tutelage and constructive criticism. 2011 is coming to a close and what is that I see ahead? Why, it's a fork, not the one that has dug into fifty pies but rather a fork in the road that leads into 2012, another year that begs for another resolution. Suggestions, anyone?

Crust:
1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix all crust ingredients together and press evenly into a 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool.

Vanilla Cream Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 1/8 cup half and half
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium heavy saucepan, preferably nonstick. Whisk in the half and half and egg yolks. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking virtually nonstop, until the mixture starts to thicken and comes to a low boil, 5-7 minutes. Continue to whisk and heat until quite thick, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.

Immediately pour the filling into the cooled pie shell. Gently press a piece of plastic wrap directly against the filling, leaving no gaps or air pockets, to prevent a skin from forming. Place in refrigerator while making next layer of filling.

Chocolate Cream Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup half and half
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium heavy saucepan. Whisk in the half and half and egg yolks. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking virtually nonstop, until the mixture starts to thicken and comes to a low boil, 5-7 minutes. Continue to whisk and heat until quite thick, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla, then whisk in the chocolate until smooth and fully melted. Remove pie from refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. Slowly pour the filling over the vanilla layer. Spread chocolate mixture evenly and replace plastic wrap over the filling again. Place pie in refrigerator while making the next layer.

Butterscotch Cream Filling:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup half and half
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium heavy saucepan. Whisk in the half and half and egg yolks. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking virtually nonstop, until the mixture starts to thicken and comes to a low boil, 5-7 minutes. Continue to whisk and heat until quite thick, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Remove pie from refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. Slowly pour the filling over the chocolate layer, spreading evenly. Replace plastic wrap over the filling again. Place pie in refrigerator while making the next layer.

Coconut Cream Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 cup half and half
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup Coco Lopez canned cream of coconut, well stirred
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium heavy saucepan. Whisk in the half and half, egg yolks, and the cream of coconut. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking virtually nonstop, until the mixture starts to thicken and comes to a low boil, 5-7 minutes. Continue to whisk and heat until quite thick, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and extracts. Remove pie from refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. Slowly pour the filling over the butterscotch layer. Spread evenly and replace plastic wrap over the filling again. Chill for several hours or overnight.

Topping:
2 cups heavy or whipping cream, well chilled
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
3 large bananas

Using a chilled medium-size bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add confectioner's sugar and continue beating just until stiff. Slice the bananas about 1/4' thick and place all over the pie. Mound the whipped cream over the bananas. Slice and serve. Chill remaining pie in the refrigerator.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

PIE #49 - Peppermint Truffle Pie


Christmas is just around the bend and it's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my neck of the woods. The ski mountain has a good dusting of snow, pine garlands and wreaths are cropping up on business storefronts, and yuletide-loving neighbors have already bedecked their homes in twinkling lights.

I love this time of year not only for the festive sights but for the flavors and scents that are indelibly infused in the holiday. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice are autumn classics that segue perfectly into the Christmas season, but it's peppermint that is perhaps the exclusive scent and flavor of December. It's hard to not be peppered with peppermint during the holidays. Coffee shops feature peppermint mochas, Dairy Queen offers its peppermint blizzard, Coffee Mate sells peppermint creamer, and York markets its famous peppermint patties in festive red and green foil.

Logically, to keep in step with the peppermint theme, a peppermint pie must be included in my pie blog. It didn't take long to find a delicious recipe, one that pairs peppermint and chocolate, a most deliriously delicious combination. The recipe is delightfully simple but make sure to allow for ample chilling time for the filling and the topping. And don't be shy about garnishing with the peppermint candies. The more the merrier!

Crust:
3 cups Oreo cookies (about 20 cookies)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2-3 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the Oreo cookies in a ziploc bag and crush with rolling pin to make fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl. Add the butter and mix well. Add the milk and mix until crumbs clump together when pressed between your fingers. Transfer the crumbs to a 9 inch pie pan, pressing them into the bottom and up the side. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, then place on the center rack of oven and bake for 6 minutes. Cool thoroughly.

Filling:
1 bag (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
8 hard peppermint candies, crushed

In medium microwavable bowl, place chocolate chips, half-and-half and butter. Microwave on high 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring once or twice. Stir in peppermint extract. Beat with electric mixer or whisk until well blended. Refrigerate 45-60 minutes or until thickened.

Pour mixture into cooled crust. Sprinkle crushed peppermints over chocolate mixture. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Topping:
1 cups white vanilla baking chips
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
Peppermint candies for garnish

In small microwavable bowl, place white vanilla baking chips and whipping cream. Microwave on high 1 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring once or twice. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about two hours.

In medium bowl, beat vanilla mixture with electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Be careful not to overbeat as mixture will separate. Carefully spoon and spread evenly over chilled chocolate mixture. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Just before serving, garnish pie with peppermint candies. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.









Friday, November 4, 2011

PIE #48 - Eggnog Pie


Eggnog is a traditional holiday beverage in my house. As a child I looked forward to sipping the thick slurry spiced with nutmeg each Christmas season. My parents would make their own adult version called Tom and Jerry, a warm eggnog drink spiked with brandy and rum. Whether trimming the tree, decorating sugar cookies, or hosting a neighborhood open house, eggnog was ever present and indelibly infused into each Christmas memory I have as a child.

I carried on the eggnog tradition after I got married. The Christmas of 1985 (right on the heels of my Thanksgiving pumpkin pie fiasco), I purchased a carton of eggnog to sip while decorating the Christmas tree. Much to my dismay, I discovered that my husband Joe detested eggnog. This did not deter my resolve to make it a holiday standard, however. A few years later, after my firstborn Kara was a toddler, I was delighted that she fell in love with eggnog after her first sip. My son Drew, however, inherited his dad's distaste of it. Oh, well. I'll have to settle for 50% of the family being pro-eggnog.

Kara adores all things Christmas, so much so that every year we launch prematurely into the holiday hoopla by trimming the tree the first weekend of November. Of course, eggnog is the first holiday food purchase of the season. As I write this on November 4, I am anticipating my daughter's upcoming visit this weekend where we will continue the tradition of decking the Coco halls early.

In honor of this tradition, I have baked an eggnog pie. The filling is rich with a dense, creamy texture, almost like a cheesecake. I decided upon a crust made with, of all things, 7-Up soda. I had a recent conversation with a woman who went through life trying to perfect her pie crust. She at last found the 7-up crust recipe that she claimed was her pie salvation. When I found the recipe online, I read a hilarious quote about it. "If your pie crusts tend to look like Frankenstein's monster, this recipe will cure it." Indeed, I discovered my pie crust rolled out easily and didn't shrink, buckle or devolve into a contorted wreck while baking.

This year, a slice of eggnog pie will go along with a mug of eggnog. Perhaps a new tradition has been born!

Crust:
2 3/4 - 3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup shortening, chilled
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold 7-Up soda

Cut butter and shortening into 2 3/4 cup flour. Add 7-Up. Mix until flour is moistened through. Add more flour if dough is too sticky. Form dough into two discs. Wrap one well in plastic wrap and freeze for a later use.

On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the pastry into a 12-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9-inch pie pan, center, and peel off the paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the edge decoratively over the pan rim. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and line pastry shell with foil and place dried beans or pie weights into foil to prevent pastry from puffing up during baking. Pre-bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Remove foil, beans or pie weights and then prick the pastry all over the bottom with a fork. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake the pie shell for 10-12 minutes. Watch carefully. If the pie shell starts to puff up, prick the problem spot with a fork. Remove from oven and cool.

Filling:
1 1/2 cups dairy eggnog (do not use canned)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Whipped cream and nutmeg for garnish

In 1-quart saucepan, place 1 cup of the eggnog. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over eggnog; let stand 1 minute to soften. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat; set aside.

In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on low speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in nutmeg, rum extract, gelatin mixture and remaining 1/2 cup eggnog. Beat on high speed until smooth. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until mixture mounds slightly when stirred.

Pour filling into cooled crust. Refrigerate pie until firm, about 4 hours. To serve, top each serving with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.


PIE #47 - Mincemeat Pie


Mincemeat pie has never wooed me. In fact, it has shooed me. Perhaps it's the integral ingredient of beef suet that keeps me a good distance away. Mincemeat pie begins with good intentions: the delectable medley of fruit, nuts, spices and spirits creates a harmonious combination. Then, like a jolting sour note, beef suet barges into the symphony. Beef suet, in case you want the gory details, is the raw fat typically found around the kidneys. It must be extracted from the bloody connective tissue before use. Sound appetizing?

Sweet pies should woo, not moo.

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, however, I must include a recipe for mincemeat pie. Mince pie, as it is sometimes called, can be traced back to the 13th century when European crusaders, bearing exotic spices and cooking methods, returned home from the Holy Land. Mincemeat pie has since become a classic pie served at Christmas in many British households.

Hence, a pie with such a longstanding history deserves a spot in my pie-baking quest. As I researched mincemeat pie recipes, I wasn't overly "moooved" at the notion of procuring beef suet, removing the bloody connective tissue, and rendering the fat. Therefore, I settled on a recipe that uses prepared mincemeat which is readily available in the baking aisle of most supermarkets. The brand I found is called "None Such" and is sold in a 27 ounce jar. It contains a combination of apples, raisins, citrus peel, and spices. Appearing near the end of the ingredient list is beef. Tentatively sampling it, fearing that I might be repulsed by it, I was tempted to exclaim, "Where's the beef?" There was absolutely no hint of meaty flavor, much to my relief.

Despite my deep skepticism and trepidation, my mincemeat pie turned out surprisingly well. And although for me, mincemeat will still not woo, at least now I have a clue and I no longer eschew. Who knew?

Crust:
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
6-8 tablespoons cold water

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the shortening, breaking it into smaller pieces and tossing it with the flour. With the mixer on low speed, blend the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like course, damp meal, with both large and small clumps. Sprinkle on half of the water. Turning the machine on and off, mix briefly on low speed. Add the remaining water in 2 stages, mixing slowly until the dough starts to form large clumps. If you're using a stand mixer, stop periodically to stir the mixture up from the bottom of the bowl. Do not overmix.

Divide the dough into 2 pieces. The bottom crust piece should be slightly larger than the other. Place each piece on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten the dough, with floured hands, into disks about 3/4 inch thick. Wrap them in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight before rolling.

On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the larger portion of dough into a 12-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert over a 9-inch pie pan, center, and peel off paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, and let the overhang drape over the edge.

*Filling:
1 (18-ounce) jar prepared mincemeat pie filling
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
2 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup rum or brandy
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine mincemeat, walnuts, apples, craisins, brown sugar, lemon juice and rum in a bowl. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take filling out of refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Stir filling well and pour into bottom pie crust shell. Top with second crust. Top crust may be placed in a lattice design or decorative cut-outs can be made on the top crust.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool for about an hour. Serve at room temperature and store pie in refrigerator.

*Make sure to prepare the filling first a day before because it requires an overnight stay in the refrigerator.