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March 11, 2010

American Pie

The season’s most desired dessert serves up a slice of summertime flavor

Summertime reminds us of long days, picnics and pie—the quintessential dessert to wrap up an al fresco feast. Throughout the season, state fairs build their reputations on the foundation of incredible fruit pies like the perfect berry blend in a sweet-tart shell. We invite you to go ahead and enter one of the following pie recipes in your local fair competition. No credit needed. Even if you don’t win, your friends and family will love you for trying.

Freeform Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Makes 6 small pies

3 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen), chopped
2 cups strawberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
Prepared pie dough, rolled out into 6 8-inch rounds
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
Vanilla ice cream

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, toss rhubarb and strawberries with sugar, tapioca, zest and juice. Place rounds of dough onto a baking sheet covered with silicone mat or parchment. Scoop about 1 cup filling onto each dough round, leaving a 1-inch margin around edges. Pinch dough up around filling, leaving some filling visible. Brush dough with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 30 minutes. Remove and let come to nearly room temperature before serving. Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Berry Pie with Almond Cream and Lemon Slices
Makes 4 small pies


5 cups berries
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
4 4-inch sweet-dough pie shells, parbaked (see sidebar about parbaking)
Apple jelly
Dried lemon slices (see note)

Almond cream:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
2 Tbsp. almond paste

In food processor, blend cream cheese with powdered sugar, almond extract and almond paste. Toss berries with sugar and lemon juice. Gently stir in zest. Spread almond cream in pie shell. Top with a generous amount of berries. Glaze with warmed apple jelly. Cool and garnish with lemon slices.

Note: To make dried lemon, 
slice 1 lemon into paper-thin slices. Line baking sheet with parchment. Sprinkle sugar on parchment, lay slices on sheet and sprinkle again with sugar. Bake in 175-degree oven until crisp, about 3 hours.

Parbaked Pie crust

To parbake a pie shell, roll out dough and fit into pie pan, pinching edges for decorative finish. Place double layer of foil in shell and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in 375-degree oven about 15 minutes. For a partially baked shell, remove crust from oven at this point and cool. For a fully baked shell, remove foil and pie weights and return to oven. Bake another 7 to 9 minutes, until shell is golden brown.

Piña Colada Pie in Gingersnap Crust
Makes 1 pie

2 cups gingersnap crumbs
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 can coconut cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1 can crushed
pineapple, drained, 1/4 cup juice reserved
4 Tbsp. rum
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Toasted coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix gingersnap crumbs with melted butter and press into a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake about 12 minutes. Cool completely.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, whisk together coconut cream and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to simmer and whisk in egg yolks, one at a time. Continue to simmer, whisking, until very thick and custard reaches 160 degrees. Cool completely and pour into prepared crust. Chill.

In a heavy saucepan, heat pineapple with rum over medium-high heat. Mix reserved juice with cornstarch and whisk into pineapple. Bring to boil and let thicken. Remove from heat, cool completely and then top custard with pineapple, spreading to edges of tart. Top with toasted coconut. Serve well-chilled.

WHAT THE PROS KNOW
Pastry Chef Stephanie Krizman serves up a helping of pie-making tips

“Working with fruit is one of my favorite areas in baking and pastry,” says Stephanie Krizman, executive pastry chef at Park City’s Windy Ridge Bakery. And when local crops provide an abundance of fresh options, Krizman finds herself in pie-making heaven.

“I approach pie making in a mix-and-match way,” she says. Over the years, Krizman has combined her repertoire of fillings, toppings and crusts to create a unique assortment of mouthwatering pies. For do-it-yourself pie makers, Krizman suggests topping a cherry or apricot pie with a lattice crust, open-faced pear and apple pies with a streusel topping, and tangy citrus curd pies with toasted meringue. “We garnish our cream pies with sweetened heavy whipped cream and toasted coconut or chocolate shavings,” Krizman adds.

Of course, the perfect crust is the foundation of a great pie. “Most people have trouble with the crust because it is too dry and crumbly to work with,” says Krizman. She suggests testing a crust recipe before you really need it, and not being afraid to add more water or cream in order to get the crust to “come together.” “I also believe in the magic of lemon juice, sugar and fruit,” she says. “Lemon juice has the acidity that will enhance the flavors of very sweet fruits and berries.”

Among Krizman’s many unique pie combinations, following are some of her favorites:

Fillings:

• Bing cherries with vanilla bean and toasted cinnamon stick
• Apricots with lavender and honey
• Bartlett pear with cranberries, nutmeg and orange zest
• Green apples with figs, walnuts and brown sugar
• Raspberry with rhubarb compote
• Black plum with blackberries and green cardamom
• Citrus curds: Lemon, lime and grapefruit
• Cream fillings: toasted coconut, banana and dark chocolate

Crusts:

• Classic pâte brisée (savory crust; all butter)
• Nut crust (pistachio, walnut or sesame-almond)
• Pressed crumb (graham or chocolate graham)
• Classic pâte sucrée

Toppings:
• Lattice pâte brisée
• Streusel crumb
• Toasted meringue
• Sweetened cream

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