My New Mission
#11
  Re: (...)
Thought I'd share this with all of you, also -
I did something this morning I haven’t done since my kids left home – and the youngest one is 50)!! You might want to grab a cup of coffee or….wine (what time is it in New Zealand??) – This will be a long one.

I made a pie crust from scratch. No biggie for most of you, but believe me when I say I thoroughly dislike baking/pastry and there is a story behind this undertaking.

My friend, Kate McDermott, found, in her travels an old cookbook put together by the cooks in Lilliwaup, WA years ago. One of the recipes she shared with us is for an Orange Pie. Now, I have back up in my story.

When I was growing up my Grandma, ‘Mom’ Shelledy, made an Orange Pie which I loved and her pie crusts were always to die for. When I was writing my cookbook, “a Chef’s Journey…Home,” I so wanted to include a recipe for this pie. But, even the family historian, my Aunt Marjean, didn’t have the recipe. So, for about 6 months I was on a mission to find the elusive recipe – I never did find one that suited me. No Orange Pie in that cookbook.

Now, thanks to Kate, I have a recipe that sounds about right AND it seems blasphemous to use a Pillsbury piecrust. Hence, my task this morning - make my own crust. It is now resting & chilling in the fridge soon to morph into an orange delight which would so amuse my Norwegian Grandma and I’m sure she is thinking up there, “Uffda, why did it take her so long?”

To be continued………

My Grandma, ‘Mom’ Shelledy
[Image: Mom%20Shelledy_zps468mbtli.jpg]
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#12
  Re: My New Mission by cjs (Thought I'd share th...)
Jean, I sympathize. I love to bake everything except anything involving pie dough. My crusts were never as good as my two mother's in law or my daughter's. My mom made only two crusts, one for empanadas and one for prune pie. The latter I can manage well enough to enjoy. The empanadas are great. However, trying to make my favorite pies (fresh strawberry pie,the kind with just a light glaze or a lemon meringue)just did not turn out as well. I do not buy ready made anything, so until Kenji I never made a pie I thought was great. I was able to make a good all butter vodka crust recipe first try. Since then, I was also able to make an excellent half lard/butter using the same recipe. I even bought leaf lard which has been in the freezer. Even though I was successful, I am not confident I can repeat it.

Last night, I realized that I'd not had strawberry pie this season, so I am making myself get some strawberries if Costco has them and I am going to make myself a pie.

FWIW, I dread using frozen phyllo and puff pastry as well, or even rolling out cookies. A while back I read that if you are good with breads, you are not so good with pies. That certainly applies to me and you make amazing bread, so...

I hope yours is a huge success. Think of all the wonderful savory pies you can make. great idea

I can't wait to see your finished product and to hear the story behind your aversion. And also to hear about the orange filling. I love orange anything.
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#13
  Re: Re: My New Mission by Cubangirl (Jean, I sympathize. ...)
Kindred spirits and all that, Alina.

When the kids were home, I made so many pies that I felt I made a good crust, but if you don't use your crust-feeling talent, it disappears. It also helped that this was the time I was raising pigs, so you know my lard was wonderful!!!!!

thanks for the link - now, that I'm retired, there is no reason not to make my own crust except I can't make them too often as we LOVE pie.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#14
  Re: Re: My New Mission by cjs ([img]/ubbthreads/ima...)
You two need to come to the East and show me!!

I don't ever recall my Mom ever making a pie crust. I tried to make one a while back, had a video, watched it multiple times, but it was a disaster. I truly believe you need to experience this with someone else before you try it on your own.

Barbara
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then find someone whose life has given them vodka.
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#15
  Re: Re: My New Mission by BarbaraS (You two need to come...)
I've done it one time for some fried fruit pies in. Cuisine Magazine, and they turned out fine. But it was a nerve wracking experience since they were deep fried! I kept waiting for some sort of explosion of grease if one broke open! LOL!

Can't wait to hear how your pies turn out ladies!
Daphne
Keep your mind wide open.
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#16
  Re: Re: My New Mission by Gourmet_Mom (I've done it one tim...)
Barbara, you pour the wine and Alina & I will be there - if she doesn't drink wine, it will not go to waste!!!

Pie update - I forgot in my story to mention the rolling pin which 'Mom' Shelledy used all her married life. A neighbor made it for her for a wedding present - it's all one piece of wood. It's beautiful!
Mom’s rolling pin
[Image: sept%202%20006_zpsyhwldfoh.jpg]
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#17
  Re: Re: My New Mission by cjs (Barbara, you pour th...)
Oh, Jean, that is a beautiful piece of wood! What a great heirloom!!!! I bet the weight is perfect for the job! Don't you just love those family heirlooms. The stories they could tell. I guess that's our obsession. Thankfully, this is one William and I would share. LOL!
Daphne
Keep your mind wide open.
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#18
  Re: Re: My New Mission by cjs (Barbara, you pour th...)
Where are we going Jean? and sorry but I do drink wine, just prefer whites.

FWIW, my problems is rolling and placing in pie dish. This was very good, though not a regular crust, it was super easy to make and put in pan. I used it for the pie below.

NO-FEAR PIE CRUST*****

The pastry can be pressed into the pie plate and refrigerated for up to 2 days or double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month. Once baked and cooled, the shell can be wrapped tightly in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Oven Temperature: 325°F

Servings: 8
Yield: Makes one 9-inch Pie Shell

Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes

177 gs. all-purpose flour (1¼ cups)
2 TBS. sugar
¼ tsp. table salt
8 TBS. unsalted butter (1 stick), softened but still cool
2 oz. cream cheese , softened but still cool

Lightly coat 9-inch Pyrex pie plate with cooking spray. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in bowl.

With electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese in large bowl, stopping once or twice to scrape down beater and sides of bowl, until completely homogeneous, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture and combine on medium-low until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until dough begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds. Reserve 3 TBS. of dough. Turn remaining dough onto lightly floured surface, gather into ball, and flatten into 6-inch disk. Transfer disk to greased pie plate.

Press dough evenly over bottom of pie plate toward sides, using heel of your hand. Hold plate up to light to ensure that dough is evenly distributed (see photo 1 at left). With your fingertips, continue to work dough over bottom of plate and up sides until evenly distributed.

Hold the pie plate up to the light to check the thickness of the dough; it should be translucent, not opaque. Pay attention to the curved edges.

On floured surface, roll reserved dough into 12-inch rope. Divide into three pieces, roll each piece into 8-inch rope. ,Arrange the ropes around the perimeter of the pie plate, leaving small (about 1-inch) gaps between them.

Squeeze the ropes together.

Create a fluted edge, dipping your fingers in flour if the dough is sticky. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. The pastry can be pressed into the pie plate and refrigerated for up to 2 days or double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly prick bottom of crust with fork. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack. (If large bubbles form, wait until crust is fully baked, then gently press on bubbles with kitchen towel. Bubbles will settle as crust cools.) Once baked and cooled, the shell can be wrapped tightly in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Recipe Type: Cook's Country, Desserts, Pastry doughs and other batters

Source: COOK'S COUNTRY 8/2006
Web Page: http://www.cookscountry.com/recipe.asp?r...&bdc=42516

A pat-in-the-pan pie dough is a no-fear dough because there's no need to roll it out or to transfer it to the pie plate after it's been rolled out. Conventional doughs are either too sticky or too stiff to be pressed directly into a pie plate. Adding cream cheese makes pie dough easy to manipulate. In addition, both the acidity of the cream cheese and its fat promote tenderness.

The moisture in cream cheese replaces the traditional ice water, eliminating the guesswork about the amount to add. As long as the dough is chilled when it goes into the oven, it won't shrink, so there's no need to use the pie weights usually required when baking an empty pie shell.

ICEBOX STRAWBERRY PIE

The recipe said it could be kept for 24 hours, but I made the crust Sunday night and the pie on Monday and finished the last piece Thursday night and it was still quite good. I thought the crust was really good, and DH loved it even though I didn't hear the timer and it overbaked a bit. I had exactly 2 cups of the cooked berries. However, it was definitely not set after 4 hours. I cut it and took a piece and some of the filling fell into the void. After a few more hours most of the filling stayed put. I still don't think it set up as well as it could have, but tasted great. I did think it could have been a tad less sweet.

4 stars - Very good if a tad too sweet.

Servings: 8

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 7 hours
Total Time: 8 hours

2 lbs. frozen strawberries
2 TBS. lemon juice
2 TBS. water
1 TBS. unflavored gelatin
1 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 lb. fresh strawberries , hulled and sliced thin
1 (9-inch) pie shell , baked and cooled
WHIPPED CREAM AND CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

COOK FROZEN BERRIES Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over medium-low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and jamlike, about 25 minutes (mixture should measure 2 cups).

You’ll need exactly 2 cups. Scrape the strawberry mixture into a large liquid measuring cup. If it measures more than 2 cups, return it to the pan to cook down. It may seem fussy to stop to measure, but the pie will not set or slice properly if you have more than 2 cups of the strawberry mixture.

ADD GELATIN Combine lemon juice, water, and gelatin in small bowl. Let stand until gelatin is softened and mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar, and salt into cooked berry mixture and return to simmer, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Slice fresh berries To preserve the shape of the strawberry, lay the berry on its side and slice it lengthwise into four or five pieces.

ADD FRESH BERRIES Fold fresh berries into filling. Spread evenly in pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. (Filled pie can be refrigerated for 24 hours.)

Recipe Type: Cook's Country, Desserts, Pies, Strawberries

Source: COOK'S COUNTRY 7/2009
Web Page: http://www.cookscountry.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=5546

We used 2 pounds of frozen berries (which worked well for cooking and cost less than fresh) and cooked them down in a dry saucepan until they released their juices and the mixture was thick, concentrated, and flavorful.

Be sure that the reduced berries measure 2 cups exactly; if the mixture measures any more, the filling will be loose.

Because strawberries are low in pectin, the natural thickener found in citrus fruits and many other plants, we added some lemon juice, which perked up the flavor and tightened the texture of the filling a little. To thicken the filling further, we added a bit of unflavored gelatin, which produced a clean-slicing, not-too-bouncy pie.

After stirring in the gelatin—which we combined with the lemon juice and water—along with sugar and salt, we then stirred in fresh strawberries off the heat. This gave us the big berry flavor we wanted.

Diner strawberry pies typically get a squirt of Reddi-wip, but we made our own. We whipped cream cheese into real whipped cream along with vanilla and sugar for a slightly tangy topping that balanced the sweetness of the berries.
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#19
  Re: Re: My New Mission by Cubangirl (Where are we going J...)
I have made the pie crust with cream cheese - years ago. We liked it.

What we're doing is fulfilling a request from Barbara to come help her with pies in Philly! don't worry, I'll take care of your wine.

O.K. here's the result of the pie(s) -
Orange Pie project – the filling was very tasty, but I prefer to use cornstarch over flour for thickening pies and I think I overcooked the filling a little, it was almost rubbery. One of my cousins came thru with a handwritten recipe she found from her Dad for the orange pie, so I’ll try that one next – it uses cornstarch.
Making just a half pie, I was able to also make a tart size.
[Image: Sept%202%20Orange%20half%20pie_zpsscy00jwd.jpg]
[Image: Sept%202%20Orange%20tart_zpssdsz7evd.jpg]
[Image: Sept%202%20orange%20pie%20bite_zpsdlc7p8sf.jpg]

[Image: Lillwaup-Orange%20pie25_zpsl4ttaqrt.jpg]

And, this from my cousin -
The only thing I have about Orange Pie is in my dad's handwriting, so assume it's Grandma's... Juice and grated rind of one large orange, one small cup of sugar, three egg yolks, one tablespoon cornstarch - mix with a little milk, small pieces of butter, one cup milk. Bake in pie shell, when done, cover with meringue of egg whites beaten stiff with three teaspoons of sugar. Brown in oven.
That's what I have. Can't imagine who else's dad would have. Love ya, Neen
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#20
  Re: Re: My New Mission by cjs (I have made the pie ...)
Well, for someone who doesn't like to bake, you sure do make a pretty pie. Yum.

Like all our moms, mine made the best pie, especially her apple pie! Her crust was always perfect. She used crisco, ice cold water and a pastry knife to incorporate the flour with bit of salt. I have tried numerous times to duplicate her dough, but never quite get it right.
Maryann

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently..."
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