Pie #34: Heart Pie (Pear-Raspberry Heart Pie)

 

Like last week's pie, this week's pie is also a twist on my childhood holiday experience.  Every year for Valentine's Day Wandi made us heart-shaped pizza, complete with heart-shaped ham pieces.  (She also reminded me this week that we always had heart-shaped finger jello and cookies too...but those items had escaped my memory.)  I decided to alter this tradition a bit to fit with my pie theme, and found another interesting recipe from Martha Stewart's New Pies and Tarts.  My adaptation to the recipe is found below, but you can find her recipe here.

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Pear-Raspberry Heart Pie

Ingredients:
2 pie crusts (9-inch)

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3-4 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, core removed, and cut into thin slices
6-9 ounces raspberries
fresh lemon juice (1/2 a lemon's worth)
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

water for brushing
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Pie Algorithm:
1. Place first crust in a pie dish, allowing a bit of extra crust to hang over the edges of the dish.  Cut out hearts from the other crust.  (My hearts were close to 3 inches.)

2. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add pears, raspberries, and lemon juice, and toss to coat. Spoon mixture into pie shell, piling high in the center. Dot with butter.

3. Lightly brush edges of crust with water. Arrange hearts in two layers around the edge of the pie, pressing dough together gently. Add more water as needed to help the hearts stick to each other and to the edge of the crust.  When finished, lightly brush the top of the crust with water and then dust with sanding sugar.

4. Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust turns light gold.  Then reduce oven temperature to 375F. Bake, rotating halfway through, until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 85 minutes. Let cool before serving.

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The pie is beautiful, and smells delightful!  I can hardly wait until it cools!

Pie #31: Sophisticated Palate Pie (Pear Pie)

This weekend Perry and I participated in the Piecemaker's Annual Knotting Party.  (For a description of the Piecemakers, visit Pie #7.)  The knotting party is held to involve the congregants in the comforter-making process, and to raise funds for the Piecemaker's cause.  Last year the Piecemakers set (and accomplished!) a year-long goal to finish 100 comforters with the help of all the extra knotters!  This year we decided we wanted to increase our productivity, so we set a goal of 101!  During the scheduled sessions this weekend the gathered body was able to knot around 35 comforters, which puts our yearly tally just over 60!  We're well on our way to meeting our goal!

Typically the fundriaser part of the meal has involved homemade soup and cookies.  This year (much to my delight!) we decided to trade some of the cookies for homemade pies.  Everything was delicious!  Of course I contributed the pie of the week, which happened to be Perry's favorite (EVER).  I used Kathy's recipe with the hopes of Perry being delighted.

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Pear Pie
Betty Crocker's Cookbook (circa 1969)

ingredients:
Pastry for 2-crust pie

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground mace (optional)
*4 cups sliced, peeled fresh pears, slightly underripe (about 7 medium)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter or margarine


Pie Algorithm:

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Stir together the sugar, flour and mace, if desired. Mix with the pears. Turn into a pastry-lined pie pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter.

3. Cover with the top crust which has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover the edge with a 2- to 3-inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, removing the foil the last 15 minutes of baking.

4. Bake 40-50 minutes or until crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the slits in the crust.

*I actually used closer to 5-6 cups of pears, and could probably used another cup.

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Everyone said that they really liked the pie.  Some people had not tasted pear pie before, but were pleasantly surprised.  Others simply liked the fact that the pie wasn't overly sweet.  As I'm sure you could have guessed though, the real test was going to rest with Perry's review!  After getting some grief about earlier pies "not being quite like Mom's," he was careful with his answer this time.  It turns out that his sense of taste is more refined than I thought; his response was that his "sophisticated palate detected something slightly different between this pie and his mother's pies."  He figured out what the difference was - his mom always uses Bartlett Pears, and I used Red D'Anjou Pears!  Even with this difference he really liked the pie.  It was another successful pie week!

Pie #26: Halfway Pie (Pear Pie with Asiago Cheese Crumble)

It's time to celebrate - half the pies for this project have been created and consumed!  I have to admit that around Pies #16, 17, and 18 I was about ready to call it quits.  I think this probably had more to do with all the school items on my plate, but nonetheless I was nearly tired of making (and believe it or not...eating!) pie.  However, I'm back to full steam and look forward to creating and tasting something new each week!

Last week I received an email from Travis with a crumb topping recipe that I simply could not turn down!  For various reasons I tweaked the recipe slightly; my version follows.




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Pear Pie with Asiago Cheese Crumble

Ingredients:

1 pie shell

filling:
pears
1/3 c. sugar in the raw
1 t. cinnamon
1 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. fresh-ground salt

crumble topping:
1/2 c. flour (I wanted to use whole wheat, but I was out)
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. Asiago cheese, grated (next time I would make this a heaping 1/2 c.)
1/4 t. fresh-ground black pepper (next time I would do a bit less)
3 T. cold butter in chunks

Pie Algorithm:
1. Filling: Mix sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and salt in small bowl.  Set aside.  Peel, then thinly slice pears into pie crust.  Use enough pears to nearly fill crust.  Pour dry mixture over pears.

2. In medium-sized bowl, cut butter into flour, sugar, and pepper until butter is pea-sized.  Stir in cheese to mix.  Top the pie with this mixture, coating well.

3. Bake for 10 min at 425F, then turn heat down to 350F and bake for 40-50 min more or until filling is bubbling and thick.

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My first response to this pie was WOW!  Often while pies are baking I like to turn on my oven light to watch them.  Many times the smell is as lovely as the view.  This time, the baking experience was extreme - the aroma of the cheese was almost unbearable (in a good way).  Multiple times I found myself wandering into the kitchen, drawn in by the smell of the warm Asiago.  It was the first time that I simply could not wait to try the result!

I am not disappointed!  The texture of the soft pears combined with the crunchy topping is delightful.  In parallel, the sweetness of the filling combined with the savory topping cannot be beat!  The flavor of the cheese is subtle but not absent; the pepper gives the pie a bit of a warm kick.  I definitely recommend eating the pie warm, and with a dollop of whipped cream if you so desire.  This pie is not recommended for all audiences; I understand that some people only like sweet pies.  However, I definitely will keep it in my repertoire!

Pie #20: Perry Chai Pie (Chai-Pear Pie)

Several weeks ago I promised I would write more about Perry's band.  The week has finally come.  Per has been enjoying 'noodling around' on his mandolin with his friends Steve and Phil.  They play a folky-bluegrass mix and call themselves Sour Cherry Pie.  My sister thinks its very funny to call them Sour Perry Chai; of course I had to jump on that idea for the pie project!  Kirsty leaves tomorrow for her 2 year voluntary service term in France, so we went home to have dinner with her one final time and to say, "Bon voyage!"

After looking through many pear pie, chai pie, and chai tea recipes online I finally created the recipe that follows.

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Chai-Pear Pie

Ingredients:
double pie crust

3-4 pears
2 T. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon (slightly heaping)
1/2 t. ground cardamom
1/4 t. cloves

milk
sugar

Pie Algorithm:
1. Peel and slice pears into large bowl.  Pour lemon juice on the pears.

2. Mix together dry ingredients in small bowl, then gently stir into pears.  When pears are covered, put into pie shell.  Cover with top crust, brush with milk, and dust with sugar.

3. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes, then turn oven down to 325F and bake for 25-35 minutes longer or until juice is thick and bubbling.

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This sweet pie has a unique flavor; I think it tasted good, but it wouldn't be my first choice.  In my opinion, heaping the cinnamon would be a step in the right direction.  Wanda on the other hand, thinks "it was seasoned just right" (without the heaping).  Perry has volunteered to eat the remaining half of the pie.  Merci beaucoup, mon petit chou!

Pie #14: Arrival Pie (Pear Pie)

I have an insatiable desire to become an expert.  I don't want to make pies that are mediocre; I want to make perfect pies - every time.  Likewise in my research life I want to learn everything about the design criterion I created (and if I'm honest I want to learn everything about all the other criteria that are remotely connected to my criterion too)!  I love the learning process that it takes to become an expert - the research put in, the progress made, and the end result.  I don't particularly love the part of the process where learning exhibits as failures, yet this is also part of the process.

In the past 3.5 months of pie baking I have had several instances where I've thought to myself, "Erin Rae, I think you've arrived - you have mastered the art of pie baking."  Typically those thoughts are quickly followed by a crust that won't roll out, a pot of butter that turns to powder, an oven bottom covered in burnt filling, or some similar tragedy.  Sadly this also happens in my research life - I get to a point where I realize how much ground I've covered in the past year, and then my code breaks or another theoretical problem rears its ugly head.

Secretly I think the process is what keeps me coming back for more.  What is the fun in arriving - once an expert, what remains?

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Pear Pie

Ingredients:
1 unbaked pie shell

sliced fresh pears
1 cup sugar
4 heaping Tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice (or a little more)

1/3 cup flour

lemon peel

cinnamon

nutmeg

Pie Algorithm:

1. Slice fresh pears into shell. 

2. Mix flour, sugar, lemon juice, and sour cream.  Pour over pears. 

3. Sprinkle with lemon peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

4. Bake 60 minutes at 375F.  Smack your lips and eat.

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My family made many pear pies with this recipe when I was growing up.  The pie is very easy to make and takes very little preparation time.  It is one of my absolute favorites.