Lattice crust = success!

So it took two tries but my lattice crust turned out quite lovely for a first, um ok second, attempt! :)


Story first and then the procedure..
Thinking everything was ready, I rolled out top crust #1 for my pie. I got the lattice pieces cut and on the pie and ran through to show the hubby. Well, I get back to the kitchen, turn around to stick the thing in the oven and see a mixing bowl with, guess what? A little flour, some cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and all-spice. Yes, blondie here had forgotten to mix the apples with the seasoning. Wow... I get distracted far too easily!

So, had to rip off my almost-perfect lattice topping and make a whole new batch of pie dough and then re-cut the whole thing. Ugh... it's really funny now but I was so pissed when I first discovered this! lol
Oh well - trial run, right? :) I actually think the second one turned out just a teeny bit better so I really can't complain.

I used my normal apple pie recipe. Here are the directions for making the fancy schmancy crust.
Arm yourself with the following:
*Plenty of flour
*A clean clear acrylic ruler
*A pastry cutter/ravioli cutter
*A clean countertop or cutting board (well-floured)
*A rolling pin (well-floured!)

Method:
1. After the pastry has chilled in the fridge for 20 or so minutes, give the cutting board and rolling pin a good dust with some flour. Roll out the pie dough as you would for a regular pie crust.

2. Place the ruler on top of the crust (I started in the center and worked out to the sides) and then run the pastry cutter along the ruler in one motion.

3. Move the ruler over about half an inch and repeat the pastry cutter motion. You will end up with a thin strip of pastry with fancy crinkle-cut edges.

4. Repeat until you have 10-12 pastry strips.

5. Carefully pick up the pastry strips and place them one at a time on top of the pie filling. Again, start in the center by making a cross shape with two strips. Work out towards the sides of the pie alternating under and over with the strips (now I'm wishing I'd taken step-by-step photos... if I make an apple pie at Christmas I'll do that for you!)
i.e.: You'll have the cross at first. Let's say the vertical piece is lying on top of the horizontal piece that made the cross. For the next piece (a vertical piece), you will want to make it go under the horizontal piece of crust (so, don't press down any pieces until you are completely happy with the results/everything is in place). The piece after that will need to go over the horizontal piece. And so on and so on... I hope this makes sense it's rather hard to explain!
Once all the pieces are in place, press the edges into the bottom pie crust which should reach the top of the pie plate. Brush with a little milk and bake.

Oh, and don't forget to mix the apples with the seasonings before tossing them in the bottom crust ;)

Cloud Lime

**I do have plans to take a photo of this! I got a bit impatient and didn't let it chill long enough before tasting it so there was no way I was going to take a photo of not-fully-set pie! ;) I'll try again today...
It's super yummy! (even if it wasn't quite ready!)

My original plan was to make this for Valentine's Day dessert... but then I read the recipe Thursday morning and realized it needed to refrigerate overnight! lol :)
The original recipe was called "Key Lime Cloud Pie," I just changed the name to make a play on that and cloud nine.

Warning - this has like 50g of fat per serving (eek!) so it will only be a once-in-a-while treat..! ;)

8 servings

Ingredients
Crust
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (I got the low-fat ones... like that will make a difference with all the eggs, butter, and cream!)
3 tbsp. sugar
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 egg yolks
3 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut up
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. sugar, divided
1/3 cup key lime juice (you will need a lot of key limes!)
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. grated lime peel, divided
2 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided

Method:
1. Combine graham cracker crumbs and 3 tbsp. sugar in a small bowl. With a fork, stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are moistened. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate.

2. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Combine 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the lime juice, and 1 tbsp. of the lime peel in a large bowl. Create a double-boiler by placing the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; stir the mixture until the butter melts and sugar dissolves.

4. Gradually whisk 1/3 cup of the juice mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk the whole thing back into the juice mixture. Cook over saucepan of simmering water until the mixture thickens and the temperature reaches 165 degrees-170 degrees F. **The original recipe said 4-5 minutes! Ha! I stood there for ages waiting for it to reach temp. but you can't be impatient since it's raw eggs...*

5. Pour the lime mixture through a strainer into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours or until chilled.

6. Beat 1 1/2 cups of the cream in a large bowl at medium-high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form. Gently fold into the cooled lime mixture. Spoon into the pie crust and smooth the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

7. Up to 3 hours before serving, beat the remaining 3/4 cup cream with remaining 2 tsp. sugar in a medium bowl at medium-high speed. Pile whipped cream over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. peel.
Store the pie in the refrigerator.

Reference:
The original recipe (I didn't make any changes) came from Cooking Pleasures Magazine (February/March 2008).

Apple Pie #2

I made this apple pie as an alternative to the double-crust apple pie since my husband prefers Dutch apple. This wasn't a true Dutch apple pie, I just used the crumbly topping from the fruit cobblers I make as the topping of this pie and a regular pastry crust as the base. Here's the recipe. This was almost as yummy as the two-crust pie ;)

Bottom pastry crust
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
1/8 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/6 cup to 1/4 cup ice water

Method:
1. Place all ingredients (except water) in a large bowl. Crumble together with your fingers until you have some pea-sized pieces of dough along with coarse crumbs. Add 1/3 cup water; knead just until dough begins to form, adding additional water 1 tsp. at a time if necessary.

2. Divide dough in half; shape each half into a flat round. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 20-30 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly flour a work surface and roll one piece of dough into a 13-inch round (I can never made perfect circles..!) Gently line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough. Trim dough along the edge of the pan. Press a doubled 12-inch piece of aluminium foil inside the unbaked pie shell and cover the foil with pie weights. Bake, leaving the foil and weights in place until the dough looks dry and is light in color, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights and transfer the pie crust to a wire rack to cool.

Filling:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large Granny Smith apples
3 large McIntosh apples
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. granulated sugar (I wonder if light brown sugar would taste good as a substitute...?)
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Cut the quarters into bite-sized pieces and toss apple pieces with the lemon juice and zest. In a medium bowl, mix 3/4 cup of the sugar, the flour, spices, and salt. Toss the dry ingredients with the apples. Turn the fruit mixture, including juices, into the pie shell and mound the fruit slightly in the center.

2. Top with crumbly cobbler topping - see recipe below.

Crumbly Topping
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
6 tbsp. melted butter

Method:
1. Sift the flour, sugar, and salt together; add the egg. Toss until crumbly then sprinkle over the apple pie filling. Drizzle with melted butter.

2. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and browned. ***It's a good idea to place your pie plate on a baking sheet so the filling does not make a mess in your oven!***

Reference:
The filling recipe is the Classic Apple Pie recipe from Baking Illustrated. The bottom pastry crust is "Perfect Pie Pastry" from Cooking Pleasures Magazine (October/November 2007). Unfortunately, I have forgotten where I got the cobbler topping recipe from - I've had it for years!

Apple Pie #1

I made two apple pies for Thanksgiving dessert this year - this one with a pastry bottom and top and one with a pastry bottom and cobbler-style top. Here is the pastry one. It was very tasty :) Apple pie is best if you leave it until the next day to eat it (and it makes great leftovers!) I served this with home-made vanilla ice-cream as a Thanksgiving dessert.

Pastry
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup ice water

Method:
1. Place all ingredients (except water) in a large bowl. Crumble together with your fingers until you have some pea-sized pieces of dough along with coarse crumbs. Add 1/3 cup water; knead just until dough begins to form, adding additional water 1 tsp. at a time if necessary.

2. Divide dough in half; shape each half into a flat round. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 20-30 minutes.

3. Lightly flour a work surface and roll one piece of dough into a 13-inch round (I can never made perfect circles..!) Gently line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough. Trim dough along the edge of the pan. Leave the second piece of dough in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

Filling
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 large Granny Smith apples
3 large McIntosh apples
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. granulated sugar (I wonder if light brown sugar would taste good as a substitute...?)
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Cut the quarters into bite-sized pieces and toss apple pieces with the lemon juice and zest. In a medium bowl, mix 3/4 cup of the sugar, the flour, spices, and salt. Toss the dry ingredients with the apples. Turn the fruit mixture, including juices, into the pie shell and mound the fruit slightly in the center.

2. Roll out the second piece of dough to a 12-inch circle; place it over the filling. Trim the edges of the top and bottom dough layers to 1/2 inch beyond the pan lip. Flute the edge or press with the tines of a fork to seal. Cut 4 slits in the dough top. Brush the pastry with a little milk and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp. sugar.

3. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake until the top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate the pie from front to back and continue baking until the juices bubble and the crust is a deep golden brown.

4. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

References:
The filling recipe is the "Classic Apple Pie" recipe from Baking Illustrated. The pastry recipe is "Perfect Pie Pastry" from the October/November 2007 issue of Cooking Pleasures magazine.

Blueberry-Lemon Cobbler

This is another entry into the Second Round of the Platinum Chef Challenge.

***Dessert Recipe #2: Lemon-Blueberry Cobbler Pie***

I was just reading through the recipe I have for the lemon-blueberry cobbler and I do not like it at all! Major changes have been made. :)

I was pretty excited when I found out one of the Platinum Chef ingredients for this round was blueberries - for such a small fruit, they are a power house of nutrients! I actually "dropped" a couple cinnamon-sugar-lemon coated blueberries on the cutting board while I was filling the pie crust... wow! They were good! Can't wait to see what the cooked ones taste like. The cooked ones are even better... this pie is so sweet and fruity - I think all the extra lemon I threw in there really worked!

I would have taken a photo of the "slice" I just devoured but I couldn't get a neat piece out of the pie tin to save my life... maybe when most of it is gone (shouldn't take long!) I'll be able to get a photo of the "interior."

For the filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 pints (4 cups) blueberries
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 pre-baked pie crust (9-inch)

For the topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. lemon peel
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. lemon juice
6 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
1. In a large bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar, the lemon peel and cinnamon. Add the blueberries and lemon juice; stir to combine.

2. In another bowl, mix together the dry topping ingredients (1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp. lemon peel, and 1/2 tsp. salt). Add the egg and 1 tsp. lemon juice and toss until crumbly.

3. Spoon the filling into the pre-baked pie crust. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture with the crumbly topping. Drizzle the topping with the melted butter.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the topping is bubbly and browned. Excellent with a scoop of lemon sorbet or, the old stand-by, vanilla ice cream.

Reference: The original recipe came from the August/September 2005 issue of Cooking Pleasures magazine which is published by the Cooking Club of America. www.cookingclub.com