of apple orchards and pie parties.

I consider myself lucky to live in the place I do. I'm surrounded by beauty - mountains, rivers, trees and good, generous people. There's an apple orchard not too far down the road, and when I received an invitation to visit, to explore, I knew it was something I couldn't pass up.

Luke at Mountain View Orchards is one of those good people. We stomped around, stepping over the high grass and fallen apples, taking in the last of the days sunlight, shining and glittering around the trees, apples heavy on their branches, their scent perfuming the air. He told me all about the orchard in a way only a man passionate about a place can. Not all fact, but feeling.

 

He lamented that the old variety of apples, the tasty, imperfect sort, were being passed over for the shiny, flawless-on-the-outside, less flavorful varieties. He told me about his passion for Appalachian culture, and we agreed that this, growing real things in a place they are meant to be grown, is far more interesting and cultural than the new Starbucks in town.  All while we snacked on apples, freshly picked. It's a truth universally acknowledged that fruit plucked straight from the tree just tastes better.

Luke sent me off with a basket full of apples we'd picked, and I came home with a plan. A pie plan. As much as I love this place I call home, I also love this community, this microcosm we call the food blogging world. It's full of the same sort of good people. People like Stephanie, Beth and Sarah, who, when I sent out a tweet about needing pie, all understood and excitedly passed emails back and forth about a virtual pie party.  Ladies, I cannot wait to sit down and share a slice with you one day.

 

This pie is bare bones, as simple and stripped down as possible. It’s just apples, sugar, salt, and a bit of brown butter. Not even a dash of cinnamon. These are the sort of apples my autumn daydreams are made of and I wanted them to shine. It's best served up with a side of The Avett Brothers (particularly this track and this one) - their new album has been my constant companion since it's release, and was playing as I baked this up. Be sure to check out Sarah, Beth, and Stephanie's posts for their lovely pies & music picks.

  

 Brown Butter Apple Pie

pie crust (crust recipe from Martha Stewart):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.

Filling:

6 medium-large apples, I used granny smith, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough into a 12-inch round, 1/8-inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Set aside in the refrigerator.

In a pan, melt butter over medium-high heat and cook until it begins to brown, it will smell nutty and fragrant.

In a large bowl, combine the apples, brown sugar, salt, flour and brown butter. Pour into pie plate, mounding in the center. Roll second disc of dough into a 12-inch round, 1/8 inch thick. Wet edges of the crust in the plate, then lay dough on top, pressing at edges to seal. Cut vents into top crust.

Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, until crust is browned at edges. Turn oven down to 350, bake for another 40-50 minutes.

Peach Blueberry Pie

Today is a fantastic day. Do you know why? It’s a Pie Party! A few food bloggers were chatting on twitter and somehow this happened. Pretty awesome, right?



I love pie, but I only make it a couple of times of year, In fact, I’m pretty sure the the last one I made was exactly a year ago. I should do it more, because though mine taste good, they always, always fall apart! I haven’t figured out why yet, but I’m working on it. (albeit very slowly. ;)

I went all-American this time around, for Independence day. Peaches & blueberries. Perfect for enjoying while watching fireworks.



Peach Blueberry Pie

Pie Crust:
From Martha Stewart

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Filling:
5 peaches, peeled and sliced
3 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
juice of 1/2 lemon

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough into a 12-inch round, 1/8-inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Set aside in the refrigerator.

In a large bowl, combine peaches, blueberries, sugar, flour, and lemon juice, toss to combine. Pour into pie plate, mounding in the center. Roll second disc of dough into a 12-inch round, 1/8 inch thick. Wet edges of the crust in the plate, then lay dough on top, pressing at edges to seal. Cut vents into top crust. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.


Remove pie from refrigerator. Brush crust with egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, until crust is browned at edges. Turn oven down to 350, bake for another 40-50 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sweet as a Georgia Peach Pie

I think about food a lot. Sometimes I even dream about food. I dream about cakes and tarts, all sorts of fresh fruit and lately, I’ve been dreaming about peaches. Which is excellent timing, since they are in season in my corner of the world, one of the perks of living in the south.

When I dream about peaches, they always taste like summer. Smell like it too. The kind of peaches you can’t find in the grocery store. The kind of peaches that are straight off the tree. I’m lucky enough to live close to a fantastic orchard, where they grow these kind of peaches, along with lots of other scrumptious fruit. You walk into the back room of the orchard store, past all the little knicknacks for the tourist, t-shirts with my towns name emblazoned on the front, to the fruit room. This room always smells seasonal - a foodies dream. In the fall its apples, and in the summer it’s peaches. It’s intoxicating, that smell of the season.



I carefully picked out my bag of fruit, sniffing and squeezing them, along with several other borderline inappropriate actions. I couldn’t help myself, I was picking the peaches of my dreams.

I got them home and could only think about one thing, peach pie. It’s risky anytime I decide to make pie - I’ve always considered myself a pretty lousy pie maker. I tried to talk myself out of it, considering peach muffins or maybe cupcakes. But by golly, all I wanted was delicious, gooey pie. I wanted the peaches to be center stage.

With that determination, I started the crust. The scary, terrifying crust. While peaches occupy my dreams, pie crust gives me nightmares. It just seems so fussy, so difficult. But you know what? It was as easy as pie, as they say. I used Martha Stewart’s Pate Brisee recipe, and simply added all the ingredients to the food processor. Done! As for the filling, I wanted those peaches to shine. I couldn’t find a recipe basic enough, so I made up my own.



When I pulled it out of the oven, I was a little disappointed. It was homely. Ugly, even. It certainly didn’t look like the pie of my dreams. When I tried to cut it for pictures, it only got worse. I couldn’t get a clean slice to save my life. I walked away for a few minutes, then I realized I hadn’t even tasted it yet.

When I did, my disappointment vanished. I had made a totally successful pie! The best one I had ever made. My crust was perfectly flakey and tender, and the peaches were sweet and lovely. So I shot a few pictures of the mess then took it to the kitchen, where my family stood around it, eating it straight from the pie plate, enjoying all the summer fruit had to offer.





Sweet as a Georgia Peach Pie

Pie Crust:
From Martha Stewart

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Filling:
5 pounds fresh peaches, sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
juice of 1/2 lemon

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough into a 12-inch round, 1/8-inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Set aside in the refrigerator.

In a large bowl, combine peaches, sugar, flour, and lemon juice, toss to combine. Pour into pie plate, mounding in the center. Roll second disc of dough into a 12-inch round, 1/8 inch thick. Wet edges of the crust in the plate, then lay dough on top, pressing at edges to seal. Cut vents into top crust. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.


Remove pie from refrigerator. Brush crust with egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, until crust is browned at edges. Turn oven down to 350, bake for another 40-50 minutes.

Enjoy!

Pear Pie! with No Roll Crust!

I didn’t have high hopes for this pie. Actually, my hopes were about a low as you can get them.

As I’ve mentioned before, pie crust and I are mortal enemies. We do not get along, I haven’t been able to find a fool proof recipe that I can actually make without completely screwing it up.



Until now, thanks to Joy the Baker. Joy, you are my hero with this pie crust. It’s SO easy to put together. You just throw it into the pie plate, squish it down and you’re good to go.

When I took a bite, I swear I heard the hallelujah chorus from above. It’s good. Very good.



And so is the rest of this pie! Which I kind of just threw together, to be honest. I knew I wasn’t going to have a top crust, but since I wanted a picture for Still Life With (which you should check out!) I need something for the top. And I think it’s pretty well known on this blog how much I love crumbly toppings.

The pie filling is a combination of two recipes, one from Food and Wine, the other from All Recipes. It’s cinnamon-y, but the pear taste really shines through.

So if you, like me, are afraid of pie crust, you should try this out! You’ll be surprised by how good AND easy it is!



No Roll Pie Crust
From Joy the baker (check her out for step by step pictures! they are so helpful.)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoon) frozen butter that has been grated on a cheese grater
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used safflower oil, it was all I had.)
1 Tablespoon cream cheese, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons cold milk

In a medium sized bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Whisk together.
Add frozen butter that has been grated on a cheese grater and tablespoon of cream cheese. With your fingers, work the cream cheese and butter into the flour mixture, breaking the butter and cream cheese up until they’re in well incorporated into the flour. Some butter bits will be tiny, other the size of small peddles. The dough may even begin to some together in a rough, sandy kind of way.

Combine the milk and oil. Whisk together. Add all at once to the flour and butter mixture. With a fork, begin to combine the ingredients, making sure that all of the flour mixture is introduced to the liquid. The mixture does not need to come together into a ball. Leave it a bit shaggy and dump the dough into a clean 9-inch pie plate. With your fingers, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. Try to get the dough as even as possible, but don’t worry too much about finger indentations. You can’t fight that.

Place the prepared crust in the freezer while you preheat the oven and prepare your filling. If you’re going to pre-bake your crust, heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line the chilled pie crust with foil, weigh down with beans and bake for 10 minutes covered. Remove the foil and beans and bake for 4-6 minutes uncovered until golden brown.

If you need an unbaked pie crust, simply remove the crust from the freezer once your filling is made, fill your pie and place in a preheated oven. Bake according to your particular recipe.


Crumb Topping
Makes 2 cups

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
In a bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup light-brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and cinnamon.
Cut 1 1/2 sticks chilled unsalted butter into pieces. With your hands, work in butter pieces, until large clumps form. Place in refrigerator until you need it.


Pear Pie Filling

3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
5 cups peeled and sliced pears
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice


Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon rind in mixing bowl.

Arrange pears in layers in a 9 inch crust lined pan, sprinkling sugar mixture over each layer. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Top with Crumb topping.

Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes.

Just a word of advice: cut your pears smaller than I did! Not all of mine were as soft as I would have liked.

Key Lime Pie

I’m going to be completely honest: I didn’t want to come to Florida. It was the last on my list, I’d much rather be in Maine or Colorado. But it’s growing on me. It’s more than hot weather and retirees, it’s absolutely beautiful. Last night I watched lightening over the ocean, it took my breath away.





But there’s one thing associated with Florida I loved before I got here. Key Lime Pie. I hadn’t made one in ages, so as soon as I hit the Florida line, I started craving it. Key Lime Pie is one of the simplest thing you can make, just a few ingredients create something delicious.



This one was made much harder by lack of kitchen tools in my condo though. I had no whisk, no strainer, no pie plate, I had to use a cheese grater instead of a citrus zester and there’s not a hot pad in sight. But that just made it more fun.



This recipe is very, very good. I like mine super mouth puckeringly tart, and this comes close.



Key Lime Pie
From Gourmet

For crust
(though i used store bought, this is a very good crust recipe i've used many times.)
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs from 9 (2 1/4-inch by 4 3/4-inch) crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well, then press mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch (4-cup) glass pie plate.
Bake crust in middle of oven 10 minutes and cool in pie plate on a rack. Leave oven on.
Make filling and bake pie:
Whisk together condensed milk and yolks in a bowl until combined well. Add juice and whisk until combined well (mixture will thicken slightly).
Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven 15 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack (filling will set as it cools), then chill, covered, at least 8 hours.


Don't forget about my giveaway!

easter and blueberry pie.





This has been a very good Easter. I woke up this morning to blue skies and warmer temperatures.

Then church service was fantastic. I love church on Easter, there is so much joy and happiness.



When we got home, I started working on my contribution to Easter lunch - blueberry pie. It’s something I hadn’t actually made before, even though I love blueberries and blueberry cobbler. Mine wasn’t perfect, the crust was over done a bit and the inside was too wet, but I liked it. It was both tart and sweet, a little too tart for some people (yes, you sarah!), so I’ll probably up the sugar next time.



After lunch my family drove out through the national forest, it was absolutely gorgeous. Rhododendrons were everywhere, they catch the light so beautifully. But, just let me say this: it not good to have a fear of heights when you are driving through the mountains. I’ve lived here for 8 years now and I still don’t like the falling off side. It’s not pleasant to look through the window and picture your eminent death careening down the side of a mountain.

But the views are nice.



Blueberry Pie
from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.


2 ½ pints fresh blueberries
1 cup of sugar, or a little more, to taste, plus more for dusting
½ cup all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Coarsely grated zest of ½ lemon
Squirt of fresh lemon juice, or a little more, to taste
¼ cup dry bread crumbs (you can use packaged unseasoned crumbs)

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tsp of water, for egg wash
Sugar, for dusting

Getting Ready: Butter a 9-inch pie plate (Dorie uses a standard Pyrex pie plate).

Working on a well-floured surface (or between wax paper or plastic wrap), roll out one piece of the dough to a thickness of about 1/8 – inch. Fit the dough onto the buttered pie plate and trim the edges to a ½ inch overhang. Roll the other piece of dough into a 1/8 inch thick circle and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Cover both the circle and the pie plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you pre-heat the oven and prepare the filling.

Getting Ready to Bake: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Put the berries in a large bowl and gently stir in the sugar, flour, salt, zest and juice; let sit for about 5 minutes. Taste the filling and add more sugar and/or lemon juice, if needed.

Remove the pie shell and top crust from the refrigerator. Sprinkle an even layer of the breadcrumbs over the bottom of the shell. Give the filling a last stir and turn it into the crust.

Using your fingertips, moisten the rim of the bottom crust with a little cold water. Center the top crust over the filling and gently press the top crust against the bottom. Either fold the overhang from the top crust under the bottom crust and crimp the edges attractively or press the top crust against the bottom crust and trim the overhang from both crusts even with the rim of the pie plate. If you’ve pressed and trimmed the crust, use the tines of a fork to press the two crusts together securely. Using a small, sharp knife, cut 4 slits in the top crust crust and cut a circle out of the center, then lift the plate onto the baking sheet. (If you have time, refrigerate the pie for about 30 minutes. The pie can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. Glaze and sugar it before you put it in the over and add at least 15 minutes to the baking time).

Brush the top crust with the egg wash, then sprinkle the crust with a little sugar, just to give it sparkle.

Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and bake the pie for another 30 minutes or so (total baking time is about an hour) or until the crust is a beautiful golden brown and the filling is bubbling up through the slits. If the crust seems to be browning too quickly, make a loose foil tent for the pie.

Transfer the pie to a rack and let it cool and settle for at least 30 minutes before serving.

banana pudding

I love Banana Pudding. I love it’s retro, deep south feel. I like that it’s far too sweet for its own good. It’s one of those things I have vivid memories of eating as a child, at church pot lucks, family dinners, chinese restaurant buffets (oh yes.). Its natural place in life is in a big bowl right beside the jell-o and the congealed salad. You know the one, with the pineapple chunks and marshmallows?



And it doesn’t get any better than home made stove-top pudding. No instant pudding packets should be let near banana pudding, it's just not right. And it’s so easy to make it yourself, you really have no excuse.



So last night, to go with our first chicken cooked on the grill of the year, I made banana pudding pie. And covered it cool-whip. It was delicious.

Ingredients:
2 cups vanilla wafers
3 bananas, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate with a layer of alternating vanilla wafers and banana slices.

To Make Pudding: In a medium saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with flour. Mix well, then stir in half the milk. Beat egg yolks and whisk into sugar mixture. Add remaining milk and butter or margarine.

Place mixture over low heat and cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Pour half of pudding over vanilla wafer and banana layer while still hot.

Make another layer of alternating vanilla wafers and banana slices on top of pudding layer. Pour remaining pudding over second wafer and banana layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Chill before serving.

delicious pear pie.

I was given some pears for christmas, so after I used them for the table centerpiece, I thought I'd make them into a pie. I'd never made a pear pie before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was custardy and not too sweet. I'll definitely be making this one again.

ingredients:

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
3 or 4 pears - peeled, cored and cut in half
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten


directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Press the pie pastry into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Flute the edges. Place the pear halves cut side down in the pie crust with the small ends toward the center.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until smooth, then beat in the eggs one at a time until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and vanilla. Pour over the top of the pears.
4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, until pears are soft and custard is set in the center. Cool completely before slicing and serving.