Peach-Blueberry Pie

August 3, 2017August 4, 2017 / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

As the bittersweet arrival of the last of the northwest blueberries coincides with the happy coming of the first glorious Colorado peaches, the two together feel exactly like a match made in heaven in my kitchen on a beautiful cool morning. With just a smidge over 5 cups of beginning-to-pucker and wilt Oregon blueberries in the fridge, I had not quite enough for a 9-inch pie. A case of peaches sat wafting their keen aroma from the mudroom, so I followed my nose out there and snagged a couple of not-too-ripe beauties to peel and slice for the bottom of the pie, filling that empty extra inch of space. The buttery sweetness from the berry mixture on top would provide plenty of juicy goodness for the still somewhat tangy peaches. Making something with peaches that aren’t quite ripe or up-to-snuff? Add a pinch of ground mace to increase their flavor.

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Pie 101–Fresh Strawberry Pie for Memorial Day

May 24, 2015June 30, 2021 / More Time at the Table / 3 Comments

2 places left in the SUMMER SOUPS-NO COOKING! Cooking Class at Mountain High (formerly Shouse) on Thursday, June 18, 2015: 5-8pm. Come learn how to be cool in the kitchen! Click above on CURRENT CLASSES for sign-up info. Can’t wait to cook with you.

Without going into nasty details, I’ve been sick on and off for over a month. I’d just get over one misery only to encounter another. One I’m sure I brought on all by myself, another arrived via Dave and work (everyone’s had this), and the last was maybe bit of a rerun of it all because why in the world would I want a week in which I was well? Continue reading →

Pie 101-Cherry (Helen’s Cherry Pie- Constructed, Deconstructed and Reconstructed)

November 26, 2012June 14, 2017 / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

“Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?”

She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother…. is poor Billy’s lament. She can, however, bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can blink an eye! (Click on above link to hear the song; guitar chords included.)

I was just minding my own business. I had stuck the hot cherry pie on a rack on an empty shelf in a kitchen cupboard. A good place to cool pie if you have two golden retrievers. (I made four different pies for Thanksgiving; everyone deserves their favorite once a year. I’m convinced. Cherry is my sister Helen’s favorite. Hence “Helen’s Cherry Pie.” Also my loved “niece,” Kathy’s.)

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Pie 101 – Alyce’s Step by Step Instructions for Making and Baking Pie (Rhubarb is the Sample Lesson Pie)

May 15, 2012August 31, 2020 / More Time at the Table / 10 Comments

R for Rhubarb

This post now featured on Rachel Rappaport’s PIE FAIR LADY blog!

Thanks, Rachel. Bake pie!

I don’t know why you want to make pie and searched for Pie 101. Me-oh-my. You love pie? (I adore the movie “Michael”) Someone you love loves pie, maybe? You want to make beautiful things and don’t paint–right. You want to bring pie to Thanksgiving dinner: “Oh, I’ll bring the pie,” would be fun to say. You’d like to celebrate Pi Day in a more meaningful way. Making pie, or wanting to make or eat pie, is sort of a passion. It’s not anything like, “I think I’ll scramble eggs and make toast because I’m hungry.” Or even “Let’s make a pot of vegetable soup; it’s cold outside and sounds good.” I mean, no one really needs pie. People, do, however, desire (is not too strong a word) pie and are sort of sometimes heart-starved and/or breathless for it. Think of the look on your uncle’s (aunt, cousin, boyfriend, co-worker, super) when words like, “coconut cream” or “strawberry-rhubarb” cross their lips. Or the rush through a potluck meal if a pie sits alone, waiting, down at the end of the counter in the kitchen. Is it fond memories of your aunt’s pumpkin from Thanksgiving of 1967 or your best friend’s apple (from her own tree) in 2009? Is it the crappy diner crust on a short, slim piece of pecan late one night after a restaurant shift when you had to have something sweet and that’s all there was?

If, by chance you’re looking for gluten-free pie dough, please just go to Gluten-Free Girl…a great blog; here’s one post on pie dough there.

I’m just guessing that usually there’s a lot of love goes into pie. Making it is not an endeavor one embarks on lightly. Like weeding the flower bed out back or picking up a gallon of milk at the store. It’s kind of a devoted, warm-fuzzy, all around commitment. Bake with a band on sort of thing. (Being both a cook and musician gives me license for such sentences.)

Whatever reason brings you to pie, I hope this little (not really so little) tutorial will be of help. It contains the story of my own pie-making, a photo-essay on making the rhubarb pie (including crust), and the recipes/basic info you’ll need to make it all happen. FYI: This long pie post is truly a work in progress.

No fear. Pie is near.

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Turkey Pot Pie or Last Ditch and Best Effort for Thanksgiving Leftovers

November 27, 2011November 12, 2015 / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

Turkey Pot Pie

You might have lived when pot pies were a regular feature of your mom’s menus. Maybe you had them instead of TV Dinners. I have a sketchy memory of frozen pies from the grocery @10 for $1. This undoubtedly dates me in an unkind way. I did not have a mother who refused to cook; she cooked a lot. That didn’t mean we never had a frozen pot pie. I remember liking them, though I maybe haven’t tasted one in fifty years.

If you go out to eat at any number of restaurants these days, you’ll find homemade pot pies are on lots of menus and people order them over and over. Definitely comfort food. Certainly fattening. But oh so filling and often luscious. They’re full of all kinds of things–poultry, vegetables, roast beef, sea food, etc.

Before Thanksgiving, I set out to make the best turkey pot pie (using leftovers) I could. No more expensive restaurant versions and certainly no more frozen pies. I invited a group of people for a turkey and roasted root vegetable dinner and then had my way with what was left. I discovered it was a. simple and b. better than the 10 for $1 ones from Garofalo’s on Crawford Avenue. I served it up with a side of lemoned broccolini and a scoop of my red hot cranberry sauce, as well as a handsome glass of Oregon Chardonnay or maybe a French Côtes du Rhône–a lovely, medium-bodied and inexpensive wine that flatters oven-roasted vegetables, as well as pork or poultry. (And lots else)
Dave and I both liked the pie better than the meal from which it came. Go figure.

Feel free to take this filling and top it with biscuits–even Bisquick biscuits– in a 2 qt greased rectangular glass casserole dish. (I made chicken pot pie often for my kids growing up…usually with biscuit topping.) Or buy the Pillsbury pie dough from the refrigerator section. But do make it. You’ll be glad you did. I promise. *If you’d like to make my crust, use the recipe I made for Kathy’s Apple Pie; that’s a good all-purpose crust.
Here’s how:

Alyce’s Turkey Pot Pie

There are three parts to this recipe: 1. Crust 2. Filling 3. Sauce

2 9″ pie crusts* (Plus 1T melted butter -or 1 egg white beaten with a bit of water- brushed on top crust before baking.) Made or bought.

Filling:

1 Tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery with leaves, diced
4 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon each fresh thyme and tarragon (or 1/2 t each dried)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage (or 1/4 t dried, powdered sage)
2 cups chopped roasted root vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, potatoes, winter squash, etc)
2 c chopped cooked turkey, white or dark meat

Sauce: (Basically a velouté with added cream or milk)

2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon each ground sea salt and ground white pepper
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup (8 ounces) chicken stock
1 cup milk, cream or half and half

1. If you have made or bought pie crusts, put one in the pie pan (trim and pinch) and place the other between two sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate the pan and the wrapped dough while you make the filling and the sauce.
2. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add onion, celery, and mushrooms. Cook until vegetables are softened, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic during last minute of cooking and stir in herbs.
3. Take out pie pan with bottom crust and spoon onion mixture evenly over the bottom of the dough. Top with chopped vegetables and turkey.

Spoon onion mixture into pie pan.

Top with roasted vegetables and turkey. Pour on sauce.

Add the top crust and brush with butter or egg whites. Make slits for steam.

4. Make sauce (see below) and pour over the turkey and vegetable mixture. The turkey and vegetables should be just about covered. If not, drizzle in just a little more chicken stock, milk, or cream.
5. Take the top crust out of the refrigerator and place on top of the filled pie. Trim edges and pinch together edges of the two crusts.
6. Brush entire top crust with butter or an eggwhite beaten with a bit of water. Make several slits in the top crust (for steam to escape) and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes.
7. Place pie on rack and cool 15 minutes or so. Slice and serve hot with broccolini (squeeze lemon on top) and cranberry sauce.

Making the sauce: In a 2qt saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add salt, pepper, and flour. Stir for 2-3 minutes for flour to cook a little bit and slowly whisk in chicken stock and milk or cream. Simmer, stirring often, until just barely thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings. A quick sprinkle of nutmeg is a possible addition, as is a drop or two of hot sauce.

Two-Dog Kitchen or Around the ‘Hood
A few really random pics from our Thanksgiving Trip to Illinois