It is as easy as pie. It is so easy to utter those words when
encouraging someone to do a new task, or to exclaim proudly when
you yourself have just completed something that appeared to be
difficult.
”
Wow! It’s as easy as pie!
”
Making a pie is not quite as easy as it appears, especially for
the beginner cooks. Even those who have
”
majored
”
in pie baking sometimes mess one up. Perhaps that is why we have
cobblers…just scoop it up and put it into a dish and call it
cobbler. Pile on some ice cream to cover the cracks. It really is
quite easy.
Perhaps we
It is as easy as pie. It is so easy to utter those words when encouraging someone to do a new task, or to exclaim proudly when you yourself have just completed something that appeared to be difficult. “Wow! It’s as easy as pie!”
Making a pie is not quite as easy as it appears, especially for the beginner cooks. Even those who have “majored” in pie baking sometimes mess one up. Perhaps that is why we have cobblers…just scoop it up and put it into a dish and call it cobbler. Pile on some ice cream to cover the cracks. It really is quite easy.
Perhaps we are talking about how easy it is to eat pie instead of making one. A really good pie is very easy to eat. Apple pie still is the all-time American favorite according to various food articles I have been reading. Cherry pie used to be a favorite, but cherries are not as popular as they once were, as our cherry growers here in San Benito County are very aware of. In the Midwest it appears that a blackberry or raspberry pie is always requested in cafes and bakeries. Yes, eating any of those could be quite easy.
And I am sure most of us have had our share of humble pie. You supposedly get to eat that when you have been a little righteous and someone properly puts you back into your place. Actually, humble pie was a 17th century English dish which the servants of the household made out of the innards of a deer. Their masters got the venison steak, the servants got a pie made out of apples, currants, sugar and spices along with the heart, liver, kidney and other parts of the deer. The old-English word “numble” meant the deer’s innards. Eventually the dish Numble Pie became known as Humble Pie in honor of the poor people who were eating it.
Grape pie is an old favorite from up-state New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania especially. Traditionally, it is made from Concord grapes, giving the pie that wonderful taste of our favorite grape juice. The Concord grapes would be squeezed from the skins, seeded and recombined with the skins and baked with sugar and spices as for any other fruit pie. With the influx of seedless grapes, making a grape pie is very easy. I created the following Grape Pie recipe using a few purple San Benito County wine grapes to mix with the seedless grocery store table grapes. This recipe was deemed very delicious by the attendees at a recent cooking class and will appear on our television show as well. Now I am eating humble pie.
The easiest way to make a pie is to use a food processor with the steel chopping blade in place. Also make sure that you measure the ingredients carefully for the pie crust. Follow these recipes and you will have a wonderful pie to eat. It truly is as easy as pie.
PASTRY FOR A DOUBLE CRUST PIE
Use this wonderful recipe for all of your fruit pies that need both a bottom and a top crust.
2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white peppercorns
3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled (no substitutes!)
1/2 cup very cold water
In food processor with steel chopping blade in place whirl flour, salt and pepper. The pepper will not be detected…no one will say there is pepper in the crust but it enhances the flavor so much! Cut the cold butter into a few chunks and process by pulsing just until the butter is cut into small chunks about the size of beans. Add the water and process by pulsing only until the dough wants to form a ball. Do not overmix! Remove from the machine and divide the dough into two parts, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger one using a flour dusted pastry cloth and rolling pin with a cloth cover on it. Roll it into a circle slightly larger than your pie dish. Lift it gently into the pie dish. Fill with your desired filling. Roll out the second part of dough and place on top of the filling, sealing the edges with a little water or fruit juice. Flute the edges to also seal them tighter. With a knife, pierce the top crust in several places to allow the steam to escape. Bake as directed in your recipes.
GRAPE PIE
(Use only a glass or ceramic pie dish as I use both microwave and conventional oven for baking double crust pies. It is simply the best method to assure a flaky top crust and a well baked bottom crust without a soggy bottom. Trust me, this method works.)
Pastry for a double crust pie from recipe above
1 cup purple wine grapes, if available (I used Cabernet grapes from Leal Vineyards. These are seasonal so they are optional in this recipe)
6-7 cups seedless table grapes, try to mix the colors
1 cup sugar (more if the grapes are sour)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons port wine or Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tablespoon butter
If using small wine grapes with seeds, simply wash them and put them into a little saucepan. Cook and stir for several minutes until they pop out of their skins and some purple juices are collecting in the bottom of the pan. Push and squeeze the grapes to extract more juice. Place in a strainer over a cup and let stand to collect more juice. Add the juice to the other grapes and proceed on, discarding the skins and seeds. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare pastry as directed in recipe. Roll out the first part and place in a glass or ceramic 8 or 9 inch pie dish. Set aside.
In batter bowl combine the seedless grapes, 2-3 tablespoons of the wine grape juice (if using), sugar, flour, salt, pepper and port wine. Mix gently just to blend but not to smash. Pile into the bottom crust. Dot the filling with butter. Dab a little water or juice over the edge of the bottom crust to act as glue to seal the two crusts together. Roll out the second part of the crust and place over the filling, sealing the two edges together. Pinch the edges together and flute as desired. With a knife, make a few slits on the top crust for steam vents. Sprinkle top crust with a little sugar. Microwave on high for 10 minutes. Then turn your conventional oven down to 375 degrees (don’t forget to turn it down) and place the microwaved pie into the oven for 35 minutes, or until crust is brown. Allow to stand about 60 minutes before serving. Drizzle with more port, if desired. This is also delicious with just a little creamy blue cheese, such as Stilton or Gorgonzola along with the port.
