Mmmmmmm...Pie!

[SweetOblivion]

Nov 26, 2017 13:08:20 GMT -4 divasahm said:

The only things I have to add to this discussion are:

1. If it weren't for Pillsbury's ready-made pie crusts, I doubt our family would even attempt pies any more; and

Same on the ready made crusts. I used an Aldi's frozen pie crust (the kind you thaw and roll out into your own pan) for my pecan pie and it was excellent.

[hamhock]

I made a badass key lime pie for Thanksgiving.

[azaleaqueen]

I wasn't in charge of Thanksgiving desserts, but I am the Christmas ones. Christmas Day dessert will be chocolate truffle cheesecake. I imagine there will be a pie or two along the way though.

[madangela]

(uh-oh, sorry about no tabs. I can't figure out how to format this. I hope you can read it.)

Rustic Vegetable Galettes

Yield: 6 individual tarts, 5 in. each

Onion, sliced thin 8 oz.
Chopped garlic 1 Tbsp
Olive oil 1 fl. Oz.
Salt and pepper To taste
Tart dough (below)
Zucchini, small, sliced ¼-in. thick 12 oz.
Tomato, small, sliced ¼-in. thick 8 oz.
Fresh thyme, chopped fine 1.5 tsp

1. Saute the onions and garlic in the oil with the salt and pepper for 2 minutes, Reduce heat to medium, cover, and let the onions soften for 6-8 minutes. Uncover and cook until moisture evaporates. Set aside.
2. Roll the dough 1/8-in. (3 mm) thick and cut six rounds approx. 7 in. in diameter. Place the dough rounds onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.
3. Place one-sixth of the onion mixture in the center of each round, leaving exposed a ¼-in. border. Arrange the zucchini and tomato rounds in overlapping rows on the onion mixture.
4. Fold the dough border over the filling in several folds (pleated; it won’t cover all the filling). Lightly press down so the pleats will hold their shape. Season with salt and pepper; drizzle with additional olive oil.
5. Bake at 400 F (200 C) until golden brown and the veg are cooked, about 40-50 minutes.

I omitted the zucchini and used more tomato. So good. This recipe cries out for improvisation!

The Dough

Unsalted butter 8 oz.
All-purpose flour 8 oz.
Salt 1 tsp
Water, ice cold 3 fl. Oz.

Cut the butter into medium dice and place in freezer for 5 minutes. Sift the flour with the salt. Toss the butter with the flour and salt, then place in bowl of food processor. Pulse until butter chunks are size of very small peas. Then in a continuous stream, drizzle in the ice water and pulse just until dough comes together. Do not overmix.

(I don’t have a food processor so I do this by hand with my trusty old-fashioned pastry cutter, then my fingertips. I am very careful not to let the butter get too soft or to overwork the dough. It comes out just fine.)

Turn the dough onto a work surface and knead briefly. Divide into 4 small rounds. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 20 minutes before rolling out.

[chonies]

Today’s pies: mocha pecan and a test of a pineapple pie. The mocha pecan is...well, I was toasting the pecans and accidentally scorched them, and this was after all the other ingredients were mixed, so I subbed in oats. Yeah, we’ll see. Sigh.

The pineapple is 1/3 scale because I had just enough dough leftover and the recipe had three eggs, so I figured that was the easiest split. I decided 1/3 of 1/4 c of corn syrup is a blob, and everything else was roughly thirdable without too much stress on my tired brain.

ETA: The pineapple pie is angels-weeping delicious, and the mocha pecan oat pie is still pretty tasty, having been transformed into something like a brownie. I'll be more responsible with the pecans next time.

[seat6]

I mentioned this in my introduction post, but I'll expand upon it here. A few years ago, my brother and I spent Thanksgiving with some of his friends, a large, athletic family. Their tradition is that they all make pies and that there must be at least one pie for every person at the Thanksgiving table. So there were 17 pies at this meal.

A list of the pies:

coconut pie
caramel pear pie
Christmas eggnog pie
pumpkin walnut cheesecake
German chocolate pie
mixed nut and fig pie
cranberry pecan pie
caramel pecan pie
fluffy cranberry cheese pie
pumpkin pie squares
Snickers candy bar pie
Almond Joy pie
layered turtle cheesecake
apple pie
pumpkin pie
whatchamacallit cookies (these were a paltry offering from one of the other guests)

That's only 15 deserts, so I must have left some out. I do remember they had two pie shells that were not filled yet. They make their own crusts, of course.

They challenge themselves to seek out exotic recipes every year, but they always have the pumpkin pie squares and the fluffy cranberry cheese pie. The mom has celiac disease, so many of the crusts are gluten free. I think I tried four of them--the Christmas eggnog, the fluffy cranberry, the Snickers, and the mixed nut and fig.

The mixed nut and fig pie was amazing. It was like the most delectable pecan pie combined with a delicious Fig Newton (unlike the usual dry, cardboard Fig Newtons). I have always intended to make it for my Thanksgiving and I never have managed to pull it off. I'm always too busy making the deviled eggs and other side dishes.

At the end of the day, there were some pies that only had a little bite out of them or were completely untouched. I asked them what they would do with the leftovers and they assumed me none of the pies would last through the weekend. Evidently, the children are all competitive swimmers and can eat massive amounts.

Here is the recipe for the mixed nut and fig pie. Someone make it and report back if it is as delicious as I remember!

[madangela]

Dec 3, 2017 18:50:19 GMT -4 chonies said:

Today’s pies: mocha pecan and a test of a pineapple pie. The mocha pecan is...well, I was toasting the pecans and accidentally scorched them, and this was after all the other ingredients were mixed, so I subbed in oats. Yeah, we’ll see. Sigh.

The pineapple is 1/3 scale because I had just enough dough leftover and the recipe had three eggs, so I figured that was the easiest split. I decided 1/3 of 1/4 c of corn syrup is a blob, and everything else was roughly thirdable without too much stress on my tired brain.

ETA: The pineapple pie is angels-weeping delicious, and the mocha pecan oat pie is still pretty tasty, having been transformed into something like a brownie. I'll be more responsible with the pecans next time.

If you feel like sharing that pineapple pie recipe... mmmmm

[azaleaqueen]

Yeah, chonies, I was about to tell you out with that recipe.

[chitowngirl]

Happy Pi Day Everyone!!

[mojogirl]

My kids' high school monthly teacher luncheon was pie themed today, so I sent a sour cherry pie in a pi plate.