It’s Thanksgiving…time to give thanks for pie!
Pie #1 – Buttermilk.
I had never even heard of buttermilk pie until a couple of years ago. I think it’s somewhat old-fashioned. I saw it at a café and was curious about it, but not curious enough to actually order it. A few months later, I found a recipe for buttermilk pie in a Penzey’s catalogue. It looked pretty harmless, so I gave it a try. I don’t know why this pie isn’t more popular, because it’s pretty awesome!
I also used Cook’s Illustrated “foolproof” pie crust recipe. The secret ingredient, Comrade?…
Vodka (shocker!)
Why vodka, you ask? It’s flavorless and evaporates in the oven, so you’ll never even know it was there. The alcohol also keeps the dough moist, but it doesn’t lead to as much gluten-formation as using water, so you get a nice, flaky, non-tough crust in the end.
You have to let the dough rest in the refrigerator, so I made the dough the night before. It’s easy to forget this step. If you are having a pie emergency and need pie RIGHT NOW, just buy the pre-made dough at the store. It’s pretty darn good in a pinch!
The hardest part is rolling out the dough and getting it into the pan. I won’t lie…it took some trial and error. It’s all about having the right amount of flour on the board to adjust for the gooey-ness of the dough.
The filling is just eggs, butter, sugar, buttermilk, lemon zest, vanilla, a wee bit of flour, and a pinch of salt. Pour it into the pie crust and then throw it in the oven. Notice the beautiful crimping of the edges of the pie crust. That’s probably the first time I’ve ever done that successfully!
Mmmmm….delicious. It’s really rich and VERY SWEET, so I recommend cutting small pieces. You have to let it cool down completely so that the filling will set, or else it becomes a gooey mess. It’s also good completely chilled in the fridge.
Pie #2 – Mini Pecan Tarts
My great-aunt Wanda makes these amazing little pecan tarts. These were always a huge hit when I was a kid, and they still are today. A couple of years ago, I started seeing mini pecan tarts at the grocery store, and I was worried that the secret recipe had gotten out. But never fear….those grocery store tarts are nothing like the original (those hussies!). I think the secret is in the pie dough. It’s made with cream cheese, so it soft, flaky, and a little sweet. I won’t post the recipe online since it’s a family recipe, but if you’re nice to me I might give you a copy.
The ingredients are very simple. This is all you need! Unlike a traditional pecan pie, there is no karo syrup in this recipe (take that, King Korn!). Just good ol’ fashioned pecans and brown sugar.
The dough is super easy to make in the food processor.
The filling comes together in a flash.
And then it all comes to a screeching halt when you have to fill the mini- tart pan with the dough. Ughh…it’s so annoying trying to fill these tins. I got this handy little tool that cuts down on the manual labor, but it’s still a pain. If it weren’t for this step, I would probably make these tarts all the time. But I suppose it makes it more special if I only make them a couple times a year.
Almost ready for oven time!
Happy Thanksgiving!
No comments:
Post a Comment