Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies

I made these delicious strawberry rhubarb mini pies a couple of weeks ago, just in the height of late spring strawberry and rhubarb season.  They're really a cross between a pie and a cupcake, and they were made in cupcake molds.  These were a delicious recipe from Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts cookbook, which adds some orange zing to a traditional spring strawberry rhubarb pie.  They're just perfect in this bite size manifestation - just enough pie to savor the flavors of fresh strawberry season.  I love the combination of strawberry and rhubarb and I haven't been able to get enough of the two this spring, after making six jars of strawberry rhubarb jam.

Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies
(adapted from Martha Stewart)
Crust
3 cups all purpose flour
3 T granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
1 1/2 sticks of cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 T ice water
2 large eggs for egg wash
fine sanding sugar for sprinkling

Filling
12 oz (about two cups) fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into a tiny dice
5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into a tiny dice
1 T finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp orange extract (instead of grand marnier, which the original recipe called for 1/4 cup)
1 cup granulated sugar (original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups)

First, make the crust.  Pulse the flour, sugar, salt, vegetable shortening and butter to a coarse meal in your stand mixer.  Add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time and pulse until dough just comes together.  Flatten into two discs and chill for one hour.

Combine the ingredients for the filling and allow to sit.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Take out two silicone muffin tin trays and line with paper muffin liners.  Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut out 24 rounds using a 3 1/2 inch round cutter or the top of a glass.  Press the circles into the cups.  Reroll scraps and cut out four small straps for the top of each mini pie using a knife or pastry wheel cutter.  Refrigerate shells and straps until firm, about 30 minutes.

Strain the liquid from the fruit mixture and place about 2 T in each cup.  Top with woven lattice using the straps and pinch to seal.  Use the eggs to coat with an egg wash using a pastry brush and sprinkle on the sanding sugar.  Trim away any excess dough.  Chill for another 30 minutes or until firm.  Bake until golden brown at 350 for about 60-70 minutes.

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies

Sasha's Kitchen: Rhubarb Crumble Pie

I love strawberry rhubarb pie.  Its my favorite.  I just love the tang of the rhubarb combined with the sweet strawberries.  Yum!  But I decided to go a bit tangier this time and try out a Martha Stewart recipe for a rhubarb crumble pie.  And you know what - it was amazing too! A bit tangier than the combined pie but just plain delicious and a perfect wait to start pie season while waiting for fresh farmer's market strawberries.  I'm going to do the strawberry rhubarb version soon, but just rhubarb was just perfect too!  This weekend, I plan on making some strawberry rhubarb jam for my first canning of the season.

Rhubarb Crumble Pie (from Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts)
Bottom Crust
1 1/4 cup flour
1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
approximately 1/8 cup ice water

Filling
1 3/4 lbs rhubarb, ends trimmed and cut crosswise (about 6 cups)
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 T cornstarch

Crumble Topping
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 T granulated sugar
pinch salt
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

To make the bottom crust dough, follow the instructions for my apple pie dough.  You can also make it in a stand mixer, but don't overknead.  I made it in my stand mixer this time.  Stop mixing just when the dough comes together.  Chill for about 45 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.  You are making a half recipe of dough because you are not making a top crust.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough and fit into a 9 inch pie plate, leaving a one inch overhang.  Fold overhang and press gently to seal.  Crimp edges as desired and chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 and in a large bowl, toss rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Pour into the pie shell.

Mix the crumble topping with your fingers until combined and large clumps form.  Sprinkle on top of pie and bake the pie until the topping is browned and the crust is lightly browned, about an hour and a half.  You can cover with foil if it browns too fast.  Allow pie to cool before serving.

Sasha's Kitchen: Rhubarb Crumble Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Pecan Tassies

Pecan pie is such a big thing this time of year.  I'm more of a fruit pie person but I still like just a bite of pecan pie.  When I was a kid, my stepdad's mom used to make a cookie called pecan tassies (she also made apricot-coconut tassies as well, another recipe I'm itching to try).  Pecan tassies are like mini pecan pies.  You make little crusts in mini muffin tins or molds and fill them with a filling of your choice, in this case, pecan filling.  Bake them and voila - mini bite size pies.  I can't believe I didn't try this sooner.  The possibilities for tassies are endless, or as endless as pies! This brought back a favorite holiday cookie from my childhood.  I used a recipe from my favorite Baked Explorations cookbook, from that fabulous Brooklyn bakery.  It was delicious - a bite of heaven!  This is a true Southern holiday cookie classic.

Pecan Tassies (recipe from Baked Explorations)
Crusts
2 sticks unsalted butter
6 oz cream cheese
1 T sugar
2 cups all purpose flour

Filling
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 T vanilla extract
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped coarsely

In the basin of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until lump free.  Add the sugar and beat to combine.  Then add the flour one half cup at a time, beating until a dough is just formed.  You could also do this by hand, like when making an old-style pie.  Pinch off walnut sized pieces of dough and roll into balls.  Set aside.  You will get about 40 balls.  Place each ball in a mini muffin tin and use your fingers to press each ball into the sizes of the muffin mold.  I used silicon muffin tins, which make it much easier to get them out when they are done baking. After making the shells, chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Make the filling by whisking the two eggs and adding the brown sugar until completely combined.  Add the vanilla and salt and whisk again.  Then add 1/2 a cup of the chopped pecans.  Spoon the filling into the tassie shells and top with the remaining half a cup of chopped pecans.

Bake in an oven preheated to 350 for 15 minutes.  Reduce the oven to 250 and bake another 10-15 minutes until the filling is set.  Allow to cool for thirty minutes before removing from the silicon mini muffin molds.

Sasha's Kitchen: Pecan Tassies

Sasha's Kitchen: Salted Caramel Apple Pie

I pride myself on my apple pie and my perfect apple pie crust.  But I am also a big fan of the salted caramel apple pie at Four and Twenty Blackbirds here in Brooklyn, and since learning how to make caramel when I made pumpkin flan last week, I figured it was time to give their salted carmel apple pie recipe that I found online a try. I love caramel apples in the fall so i knew adding caramel to a classic apple pie was going to be a perfect food combination.  The recipe I found online is for the filling only - you use your own recipe for the crust, so I am including that here as well.

Oh and by the way, one of my recent blog posts (for pumpkin flan) was quoted with a photo on Bon Appetit's website - for real! To find the reference to A Kitchen In Brooklyn, click on the link and scroll to photo number 10.  I'm so psyched!

Sasha's Apple Pie Crust (makes bottom and top portions)
2 sticks cold butter, chopped
2 1/4 cups flour
pinch of salt
large pinch of sugar

To make the apple pie crust, follow my instructions here, although I cheated this time and made it in my mixer rather than by hand.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds Salted Caramel Apple Pie (recipe found here)
Filling
1/3 cup raw sugar
2 T flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 to 3 dashes Angostura bitters (unfortunately I left this out this time because I forgot to pick it up)
6 apples
4-6 lemons juiced (I used four)

Salted Caramel
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 stick butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Glaze
1 egg, beaten
raw sugar for sprinkling on top
1/2 tsp sea salt

Prepare your bottom pie crust and chill in the refrigerator.  Combine the ingredients for the apple pie filling.  I used granny smith apples and golden delicious apples this time.  Core, peel and thinly slice the apples.  The recipe recommends using a mandolin but I just used a knife to produce thin slices.  Dredge the apples in the freshly squeezed lemon juice to prevent browning and add flavor.  Mix the seasons for the apple pie filling and combined with the apples, using your hands to mix.

To prepare the salted caramel, heat the sugar and water over low heat until dissolved.  Add the butter and bring to a slow boil.  Continue boiling, stirring or swirling only occasionally until the mixture turns a golden brown, almost copper.  If it blackens or smokes, you've overcooked it and will have to start again.  Remove from the heat immediately upon reaching the right color and add the heavy cream.  The mixture will bubble and steam rapidly.  Sprinkle in the sea salt.

To assemble the pie, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Put 1/3 of the apples in the crust and pour 1/3 of the carmel on top. Then repeat with the remaining apples and another 1/2 of the caramel.  Save 1/3 of the caramel for the top of the pie.  The recipe suggest stacking the apples (after slicing with a mandolin) but I really just threw them in - it doesn't bother me that they are not stacked neatly and densely.

Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust and prepare a lattice.  Drizzle the remaining caramel on top, then do a egg glaze and top with sugar.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 for another 25 to 30 minutes.

Sasha's Kitchen: Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Chicken Pot Pie

I made chicken pot pie, my first savory pie (I'm a pro at sweet pies, but never did a savory one until now) for the meal before the Yom Kippur fast last weekend. A little but un-traditional, but when served with apples and honey and a nice challah, it made for the perfect meal, with plenty of leftovers too.  The filling is easy, and you simply prepare a savory pie crust, which is very similar to a sweet crust.  I used butter in the crust - not so healthy, but in my view makes for a much better crust than margarine or all-crisco.  So, take it as you will - this is a special meal, rather than a regular, everyday healthy meal.  It was enjoyed by all and was the perfect meal with plenty of leftovers.  My top crust fell apart a but when I was putting on the pie, so the pictures aren't dazzling, but trust me it tasted really, really good.

Chicken Pot Pie filling (from this recipe from chef Emeril Lagasse)
6 T butter (I used canola oil instead)
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
6 T flour
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 cup half and half
2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup sweet peas
2 cups shredded chicken (from boiled chicken breasts)
2 T finely chopped parsley

Savory Pie Crust (from Bon Appetit Magazine, 2011)
3 cups flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks butter, chopped (cold) (you could use margarine if you prefer but the result won't be as good)
1/2 cup crisco
1/2 cup ice water (approximate)

To make the crust, mix the chopped butter with the flour/salt/baking powder by hand, and add in the crisco.  Follow the instructions from my apple pie, as they are similar - but this makes a harder, savory crust.  Then slowly add the ice water until it just forms a dough.  You may need a little less than the half cup that the recipe calls for.  Form into two balls of dough and refrigerate for 15 minutes.  Roll out one for the bottom of the pie and one for the top, following the instructions for the apple pie bottom.  Make the top in a flat sheet to cover the chicken pot pie filling as you don't use a lattice for savory pies.

To make the filling, in a large saute pan add the onions and celery to the canola oil (or melted butter) and saute for two minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir the flour and cook three to four minutes for a blond roux.  Add the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for four to six minutes, until the sauce thickens to a gravy like consistency.  Add the half and half and continue to cook for four minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in the potatoes, carrots, peas and chicken.  You can prepare a 9 inch circular pie like I did, or a rectangle pie in a nine by eleven inch baking dish.  Pour the filling on to of the bottom crust.  Roll out toe top crust and cover.  Tuck the degrees to form a tick edge and crimp the edges of the pie.  Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown and crispy.

Sasha's Kitchen: Chicken Pot Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Stone Fruit Pie

Fruit pies are the best this time of year. I might have just tired of baking pies for the summer already, but before I did, I made this one a couple weeks ago, using the *best* fruits from my local Greenmarket farmer's market. I love stone fruits - from peaches to apricots to plums. This pie was made just before apricots sprang to the scene at the local market, so I used peaches, nectarines and yellow sugar plums. But, you could easily substitute another stone fruit. I know I say this every time, but this really was one of the best pies of the summer.

Sasha's Stone Fruit Pie

Crust
2 1/4 cup of flour
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
two sticks of butter cut into pieces, cold
1/4 cup of ice water (will then need to add an additional tablespoon or two)


Filling
2 1/3 cups of peaches, sliced in wedges
2 1/2 cups of nectarines, sliced in wedges
1 cup of sliced sugar plums
3 T cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon

To prepare the crust, follow my detailed instructions and techniques on crust making here.  I recommend using your hands and doing this the old -fashioned, rustic way, rather than using a mixer. Combine the flour and butter, salt and sugar with your hands. Add the ice water slowly and combine into two balls of dough until they just form. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for thirty minutes.  During this time, prepare the filling. Then roll out the bottom, fill the pie, and roll out the top and cut into a lattice. Using a pastry brush, glaze the top of the pie with an egg yolk. Bake at 400 (covered with foil) for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake at 350 for another 25 - 40 minutes. Allow to cool somewhat before serving warm.  I think this would go amazingly with some Blue Marble ice cream from around the corner.

Have you checked out my recent post on Philly Style Cheesesteak on the ShopRite food blog, Potluck? Yum!

Sasha's Kitchen: Stone Fruit Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Blueberry Peach Pie

Another pie. Is that all I do in the summer, make pies? Well maybe. There's nothing better than a delicious fruit pie in the summer, made with fresh farmers' market fruits from the Brooklyn Greenmarket.  I swear, I've been making other things too - its not like we have pie for dinner every night, you know. And I promise I will be posting some of those soon as well. Peaches and blueberries are in high season. I didn't have enough peaches to make a peach pie, but I had some pretty amazing blueberries from the farmers' market so I threw them together. The result was pretty spectacular, and one of my best pies to date. 
To make this pie, I used the exact same crust for apple pie, with my own peach and blueberry filling.

Sasha's Peach Blueberry Pie
2 1/4 cups flour
big pinch of Kosher salt
pinch of sugar
2 sticks of cold butter
1/4 cup of ice water, plus a but more if needed (this time I used about 2 T additional ice water)

21/2 cups of fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
2 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries, squished with your hands
1/2 cup of sugar

1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 T cornstarch
2 egg yolks

To make the pie crust, follow the detailed instructions that I gave in writing about apple pie.  Basically, combine the salt, sugar and flour in a bowl. Cut up the butter into small chunks and gently incorporate with your hands into the flour. Splash the ice water into the mixture, and mold until it *just* forms  a ball of dough, adding more water as needed so it just sticks together (be sure to add the water slowly so not to overdo it). The key to a good pie crust is not to overwork the dough, so it is best to do this by hand. There will still be clumps of butter in the dough - don't worry about that, as it will make the crust more rustic and also crisper. Divide the dough and bring into two balls. Plastic wrap and refrigerate for exactly twenty minutes to allow the dough to firm a bit.

Roll out one of the balls on a well floured surface, rotating after each roll or two so it does not stick to your surface. Roll to 1/4 of an inch thick and place in the pie dish, before trimming the edges with a pastry scissor. Using a pyrex pie dish is best.

Combine the ingredients for the fruit mixture. You should peel the peaches before slicing, and squish the blueberries a bit with your hands. Add most of this to the pie - about four and a half cups total. 

Roll out the second ball of dough the same way and cut to form a lattice. I glazed the top of the pie using two egg yolks and sprinkled some granulated sugar on top. Bake the pie at 425 covered with foil for 30 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 350 and remove the foil baking for another 30-45 minutes (my oven required about 35). The pie is done when it is tender when poked with a knife.

Sasha's Kitchen: Blueberry Peach Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Balsamic Pie

I was inspired to make a strawberry balsamic pie after tasting the delicious one at Four and Twenty Blackbirds, New York's best spot for delicious pies. I couldn't find their recipe, but I think I created a pretty good one myself, and am happy to share the recipe here. I love fresh, local strawberries this time of year, and this is certainly a good use for them.  You really don't need a lot of sugar for this one due to the natural sweetness of the fruit, but a half a cup seems to do the trick.

Sasha's Strawberry Balsamic Pie
Pie Crust (works for any fruit pie)
2 1/4 cups flour
hefty pinch of granulated kosher salt
pinch of sugar
1 cup (two sticks) of cold butter
1/4 cup ice water (can adjust slightly as needed - I added another 2T)

Strawberry balsamic filling
4 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 T cornstarch
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice

To make the crust, you can follow my instructions here for my apple pie or here for my strawberry rhubarb pie, because they are identical. Once you prepare the crust bottom, mix the ingredients for the filling, and fill the pie. Prepare a lattice top using the second ball of dough and glaze with an egg yolk. Bake at 425 for thirty minutes. Then reduce to 350 for 35-40 minutes. 

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Balsamic Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Rhubarb Raspberry Crostata and Wolfgang Puck Soups Giveaway

After making my strawberry rhubarb pie a couple of times recently (has to be the BEST dessert of the Spring), I could't resist trying another rhubarb dessert recipe. I came across a recipe for a rhubarb raspberry crostata in Bon Appetit, and I couldn't resist. I love the idea of a crostata - its kind of a cross between a pizza and a pie, if that makes any sense. I made this recipe last week with a candle for my husband Brad's birthday, and it was a winner.

In addition, I wanted to share an exciting giveaway with my readers. I had the chance to try several of Wolfgang Puck's soups courtesy of the company and got the chance to do a giveaway of a whole goodie basket of his soups and stocks with my readers! The soups are organic, gluten free and delicious - perfect for those non-cooking nights that we all have. I tried hearty garden vegetable and tomato basil bisque and both were delicious. To enter the giveaway to win the gift basket below, leave a comment on this post with your e-mail address (so I can contact the winner) as well as fanning A Kitchen In Brooklyn on Facebook and/or as a blogger follower. My deadline is midnight on Monday May 30 to enter. A delicious giveaway for a lovely Memorial Day weekend!

So, enter the giveaway and have a happy spring with another delicious and fruity dessert. This raspberry rhubarb crostata is nice and tart (as one would expect), but oh so good. It's hard to just have one slice! I'm not done with those spring fruits yet either, as I have devised a new recipe for a strawberry balsamic pie that I am looking forward to trying soon.

Raspberry Rhubarb Crostata (adapted from this recipe)
Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 T sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (chilled and cubed)
1 large egg
1 T milk

Filling
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 cups of 1/2 inch thick slices of fresh rhubarb (from the Union Square Farmers' Market)
1 6oz container of fresh raspberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
sugar for dusting

To make the crust, I followed the recipe and did this in my mixer. It came out great, but really you can do this all by hand, with fabulous results as well, just like I explain in my stepwise pie crust recipe.  Don't worry if the butter is only half blended or so if you do it that way, as it will only make your crust crisper and more delicious. Below, though are the directions for doing so in a stand mixer.

Combine the flours, sugar and salt for the crust. Add butter and pulse for about two minutes. Whisk egg and milk in a separate bowl, and add to the mixer. Pulse until moist clumps form and bring dough into a ball with your hands. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for one hour.

While the dough is chilling, make the filling for the crostata. Dissolve the cornstarch in three tablespoons of water and set aside. Combine the fruit and the sugar in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugars are dissolved and juices are released, about four minutes. The rhubarb will not yet be tender. Stir in the cornstarch and transfer to a bowl, and allow to cool for thirty minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and roll out the dough on a floured surface, rotating with each turn so it does not stick to the surface. Mound the filling in the center of the crust and leave a one and a half inch border. Gently fold in the edges of the dough over the filling. Brush the border with an egg glaze and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake until golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 40-45 minutes. Cut into wedges (like pizza!) to serve.

Sasha's Kitchen: Rhubarb Raspberry Crostata and Wolfgang Puck Soups Giveaway

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberries and rhubarb mark the beginning of fruit-pie making season. They are the first fruits that come to season into the spring, an absolutely my favorite type of pie to prepare. The sweetness of fresh spring strawberries is just so perfect with the tangy, tart rhubarb. Rhubarb is a strange fruit, which kind of looks like pink celery. If you have never worked with it before, you might wonder, wait, do I really want to put this in my pie? But when it cooks in the oven with the strawberries, it assumes a lovely tart flavor that pairs perfectly. I do not recommend making an all strawberry pie - too sweet. But the strawberry-rhubarb combo is my favorite, and for my kitchen, it makes the beginning of the spring fruit season.

To make this pie, I used the exact same crust for apple pie, with my own strawberry-rhubarb filling.

Sasha's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
2 1/4 cups flour
big pinch of Kosher salt (not, this is the grainy salt; never bake with iodized salt!)
pinch of sugar
2 sticks of cold butter
1/4 cup of ice water, plus a but more if needed (this time I used about 2 T additional ice water)

21/2 cups of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 1/2 cups of rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cups of sugar (you could probably even get away with 1/2 a cup if you are concerned about sugar intake)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 T cornstarch
2 egg yolks

To make the pie crust, follow the detailed instructions that I gave in writing about apple pie.  Basically, combine the salt, sugar and flour in a bowl. Cut up the butter into small chunks and gently incorporate with your hands into the flour. Splash the ice water into the mixture, and mold until it *just* forms  a ball of dough, adding more water as needed so it just sticks together (be sure to add the water slowly so not to overdo it). The key to a good pie crust is not to overwork the dough, so it is best to do this by hand. There will still be clumps of butter in the dough - don't worry about that, as it will make the crust more rustic and also crisper. Divide the dough and bring into tow balls. Plastic wrap and refrigerate for exactly twenty minutes to allow the dough to firm a bit.

Roll out one of the balls on a well floured surface, rotating after each roll or two so it does not stick to your surface. Roll to 1/4 of an inch thick and place in the pie dish, before trimming the edges with a pastry scissor. Using a pyrex pie dish is best.

Combine the ingredients for the strawberry rhubarb mixture. Add most of this to the pie - about four and a half cups total. Be sure not to heap the fruit, as tempting as it may be to use every last drop of the fruit mixture. I recommend using the freshest, local organic/farmer's market strawberries and rhubarb you can get your hands on as it will make your pie that much better. I also use organic butter in the crust.

Roll out the second ball of dough the same way and cut to form a lattice. I glazed the top of the pie using two egg yolks and sprinkled some granulated sugar on top. Bake the pie at 425 covered with foil for 30 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 350 and remove the foil baking for another 30-45 minutes (my oven required about 35). The pie is done when it is tender when poked with a knife.

This pie was a winner! Maybe even better than the last apple pie I made. I have heard that the strawberry rhubarb pie at Four and Twenty Blackbirds is the best in the city. I love their pies so I will have to try it and compare. I've recently come across some of their recipes online, which I hope to try out and blog on in the future.

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Best Apple Pie - A Stepwise Primer

I've been making pies, from apple to blueberry for some time, and really good pies at that. But I knew they could be better and crispier, so I took a pie tutorial class to work on my pie crust technique last weekend at The Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg. The class was really helpful. Although my pies had always been good, the crusts were too thick and oftentimes not as crispy as the perfect pie would be. This didn't actually require changing the ingredients but changing the way that I work and prepare the crust. I had been making the dough in my mixer, which is fine, I suppose. But a pie crust, as I learned, is much better when worked by hand. The better crust, the more rustic crust, should be worked as little as possible. Thus, it is not necessary to beat in every chunk of butter using an artisan mixer. The crust will be better, and crisper, if there are chunks of the butter in the dough, as the dough needs to be combined just enough so that it will hold together when you roll it out. I was really pleased with the apple pie that I made using the refined techniques in the class. I plan to make another one very soon with the first fruits of spring in a couple weeks - for a strawberry rhubarb pie!

Pie Crust Formula (works for any fruit pie)
2 1/4 cups AP flour
hefty pinch of granulated kosher salt
pinch of sugar
1 cup (two sticks) of cold butter
1/4 cup ice water (can adjust slightly as needed)

It is very important that the butter be cold. You can use any cold fat source (butter, shortening or lard) but it must be cold. I've always used butter and when worked properly, it makes for a fabulous crispy crust in my opinion, so read on.

Cut the cold butter into cubes and scatter in the dry mixture. Gently incorporate the butter partially into the flour using your hands, snapping the butter cubes between the thumb and middle finger. Splash the ice water into the mixture. Do not put the water all in one place, but scattered throughout. Add more water if needed (a tablespoon or two) until the dough can just hold together when you squeeze it. Lumps of butter are not a problem here, but a blessing. Remember, you want to work the dough with your hands as little as possible, or so I learned. In the past, I had been overworking the dough.

Form two balls (one for the top lattice and one for the bottom). Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for exactly 20 minutes for the fat (the butter) to firm up.

To roll out the dough, you will need a well floured surface. Roll with a rolling pin to 1/8 of an inch thick. I had not been rolling thin enough. Another important trick: if you have had problems with the dough sticking even with plenty of flour, be sure to rotate the dough. You should do one or two rolls only, then turn a quarter of a turn with each roll or two.  If you are constantly turning as you roll, this will ensure that you can roll it to the desired 1/4 inch thickness. You will want to have a large circle (or as close to a circle as possible) that extends well beyond the borders of the pie dish. Use the pie dish to eyeball the size.

Use a pyrex glass pie plate. The Brooklyn Kitchen supplied those and I recommend this over ceramic ones like I previously used. It distributes the heat more evenly and doesn't require any Pam. Gently fold the dough circle in half and lift into the pie plate, then unfolding. Press into the glass pie dish, and trim the edges with a pair of pastry scissors. I had not been trimming before, which is fine (it's all about aesthetics), but this made the pie look so much more professional. Leave about an inch at the edges, and pinch upwards to form the rim of the pie (another trick I leaned how to do that the class).

For the fruit portion - you can use this to make any fruit pie, depending on what is in season. The key is that you always want to have about four cups of fruit, and resist the tendency to heap the fruit. The fruit should be about 1/4 inch lower than the pie pan. This is another thing I may have been over-doing in the past. This will ensure the fruit and pie crust cook at the same rates.

A basic fruit filling works best for me. It should basically consist of the fruit, some lemon, any spices you plan to use, and some sugar, being sure not to overdo the sugar. You want to showcase the fruit, remember, you are not making candy. That's my criticism of the Bill Yosses (White House pastry chef) apple pie (and the rare harsh criticism you will hear from me of the Obama administration). It just uses way, way too much sugar in the crust and in the filling. You just don't need it. Trust me.

Apple Filling (from Joy of Cooking)
2 1/2 lbs of apples (5-6 total) - I prefer macintosh or gala
3/4 cups of sugar
2-3 T AP flour
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I may prefer closer to 1 tsp, to be honest and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt

Prepare the filling and fill the pie with about 4 cups of the filling. You may have a bit leftover and as I leaned in the class, resist the temptation to put in ever last drop heaved over the top of the pie.

For the top of the pie, roll out the second ball of dough the same way as the first, expect into more of a rectangle. To create the lattice cut into 8 or nine long strips. Place four or five strips along the top of the pie, and weave in (lifting up either evens or odds accordingly to do so) the other strips going the other way. I like to do a 4 X 5, personally, but its up to you.

Glaze the top of the pie. You can use various combinations of eggs, egg yolks, cream and milk to achieve the desired color. I usually do a plain egg gloss. Brush on gently with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Before this point you should have the oven preheated (sorry I forgot to mention earlier) to 425. Cover the pie with a piece of foil (loosely) which will keep the top from burning. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and cook for another 30-45 minutes. The amount of time will depend on how hot your oven runs. Mine runs reasonably hot, so it took me 35 minutes. The pie is done when the apple is tender when poked through with a knife. Don't overdo it, as you are not trying to make applesauce. I removed the foil about 15 minutes before the pie was done to get the color on top of the pie that I desired. Allow to cool, and serve.

Needless to say, this tasted amazing and might just be my best apple pie yet!

Sasha's Kitchen: Best Apple Pie - A Stepwise Primer