Brian: Angie and I are going to try and both contribute to the blog, so you will see cues to know who is talking.
Angie: Pie crust, you and I are not yet friends. I start this post with the feeling of pie
crust still beneath my fingernails…
We worked on making pie crust from scratch today. I hope we are still friends after. I prefer to buy the refrigerated pre-made and
rolled crusts for a double crust pie or a frozen crust for a single crust pie. I know that a homemade crust would taste
better, I’ve just never been able to get one to work. Today is no different from all the others.
Brian:
I’ve finally found something that irritates my wife more than me… pie
crust.
Angie: We found a recipe that was “easy” gathered all
the ingredients and went to work on it.
The dough totally fell apart as I was trying to roll it out. I did get one of the three to work with our
first recipe. Today we are making two
pies so I needed two. I went to the
freezer and found a single frozen crust and then thought, no, you will not beat
me today pie crust! Brian had another
recipe given to him by a friend so we pulled out the food processor and started
another batch. We were able to get one
more crust out of the double batch we ended up making. We have another recipe we will try next time…
you will not get the best of me flaky, delicious, pie crust!
Brian:
The biggest thing I am learning about pie crust, is that there is this
line of overworking the dough. Once you
cross it, there is no turning back. I
have also learned what pie crust ingredients are. It reminds me of the first time I found out
how gravy is made, which includes a healthy dose of fat (butter or
grease.) Pie crust is made of a
disturbing amount of Crisco.
Angie:
Our pie this week is lemon meringue.
Between making the crust and completing the pies, I took our youngest
daughter to a birthday party and our son to the tuxedo rental place to get his
order in for prom this year. My first
baby going to prom. I really hope he
doesn’t mind me tagging along ;) Back to
pie… Brian made the filling while I was
out.
Brian:
I noticed the filling wasn’t turning yellow, which is what I’m used to
seeing in the dessert case. But after
pondering the ingredients, it makes sense.
The zest of lemons is yellow, but the juice and the rest of the
ingredients are not. We added a couple
of drops of food coloring to make it more yellow, but using food coloring makes
me feel like we cheated. Please, don’t
judge me.
Angie:
I love lemon meringue pie. The
wonderful scent of lemon while zesting and juicing the lemons reminds me of
summertime, which it is not right now. I
made the meringue when I got back and mmm…
it looks so good.
Brian: It is always
fun to learn new things, but if we are going to make pie crust from scratch, I
think we need to investigate making it the day before. Once we get the art down (and when I say “we” I am referring to Angie,) we can perhaps add
it back into our day. Right now it is
taking quite a long time.
We’ve decided to keep a pie and give away a pie each
week. Our pie recipient this week,
Christy, is a dear friend and neighbor.
I hope she likes it and can overlook the mess I made of the crust.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup white sugar 1
1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 lemons, juiced and zested
3 tablespoons cornstarch 4
egg yolks, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt 1
(9 inch) pie crust, baked
2 tablespoons butter 4
egg whites
6
tablespoons white sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven
to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. To Make Lemon
Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch,
and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high
heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place
egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture.
Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and
continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour
filling into baked pastry shell.
3. To Make
Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add
sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue
over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
4. Bake in
preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.
Ingredients
1-1/2 cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Egg
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
Preparation Instructions
In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the
Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse
meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the
flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of
white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the
ingredients are incorporated.
Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of
dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin,
slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier
later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you
will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for
about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)
When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove
from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll
the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some
flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking
to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it
over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your
pie pan.
With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of
the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the
pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.
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