2012 Pie Resolution

cross-posted from my personal blog Tro Creideamh - one in a series of posts about 2012 resolutions

Last year, I started a project intended to bake at least one pie a week for the year. I got through about April or so, when a month-long illness knocked my plans awry. After I got back into it, I decided that I liked baking pies better than I liked blogging about baking pies, so the blog posts stopped. I didn't make my goal of a pie a week, but I certainly did learn how to make a pie and I've discovered some winner recipes.

I still want to explore pies, but I think a more relaxed goal is in order. In 2012, I will bake a new pie every month and hopefully blog about the experience. I've put together a list, primarily based on pies I didn't get to last year.

• January - Nutmeg Pie
• February - Oatmeal Butterscotch Pie
• March - Maple Pecan Pie
• April - All-Rhubarb Pie (perhaps May based on availability)
• May - Shoofly Pie
• June - Sweet-Tart Lemon Pie
• July - Ultimate Four-Cherry Pie
• August - Creamsicle Pie
• September - Black Bottom Ricotta Pie
• October - Dried Cranberry Walnut Pie
• November - Spiced Pumpkin Indian Pudding Pie
• December - Eggnog Chiffon Pie

Here's to more pie in 2012!

Shh... The Dough is Resting

It's a little crazy around here this weekend. In addition to our regular busyness, both Tiffany and I are working tonight, the kids have a sitter, and we're trying to clean house. And I'm planning to make three pies for the Super Bowl party at church tomorrow night! So, your regular pie update, gentle reader, will have to wait until Monday (probably).

To tide you over until then, here's a brief recounting of this morning's crust making:

I'm trying a few new things this weekend. First, I made an all-shortening version of the standard pastry crust. Aside from Crisco being slightly messy to measure (and I'd rather not use the sticks), the dough seems to hold up a little better than the half-butter/half-shortening recipe.

How to chill pastry dough in February in Michigan

Second, I made double batches of both the all-shortening crust and the half-and-half basic flaky pastry. That translates to four dough balls: two to the fridge for this weekend's pies* and two to the freezer for later.

Third, as you can see in our top photo, I broke out the good ol' KitchenAid stand mixer for today's dough-making adventure. I had wanted to try the mixer method, and my pastry blender was dirty from the morning's biscuits, so there you go.

The mixer was dead simple - the only change I would make next time would be not to chill the butter as much (I cube it, then stick it in the freezer while prepping other ingredients), as frozen butter takes a long time to incorporate with the mixer.

I recommend (as does Mr. Haedrich) using the whip attachment (rather than the paddle) to more closely replicate the by-hand cutting in of the fat to the flour. Use a light hand when adding the water and stop before it completely balls up - shaggy dough can easily be brought together by hand when wrapping for storage. I'll have to let you know later how it bakes up and how the flavor compares, but the process was certainly simpler than doing it by hand.

Of course, you can always share the work with your sous-chefs:

Next time: Zeb finally gets around to making an actual pie this week.

*For those of you keeping score at home, that's only two crusts for a planned three pies. Fear not, the third pie will have a graham cracker crust (my first non-pastry crust!), but the graham crackers are still at the grocery store.

Why Pie?

I like pie.

At least, I think I like pie. I might just like the idea of pie.

Following Thanksgiving dinner last year, I was presented with the choice of four different pies. I chose all four and was satisfied, but not thrilled out of my mind.

The blueberry was good, but a bit gluey. The pecan was most everything I'd hoped for, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the flavor could be a bit more pecan-y. The pumpkin was standard November fare, all the better for having been homemade instead of frozen, but how would it be with fresh pumpkin in lieu of canned?

And the apple.  All-American Apple Pie. The favorite of red-blooded U-S-of-A’ers from Portland to, well, Portland. The spices were intriguing (a bit of clove, maybe?) and the fruit was juicy, but the bottom crust was damp and the filling didn’t quite hold together.

None of this stopped me from eating my pie with a smile on my face and, honestly, I enjoyed every last bite. A seed lodged itself in my brain, though. I had been so excited to walk in and see four pies of which to partake. I had built myself great expectations of pie to come that when it did, I was slightly deflated. That’s when I began to wonder: did I really like pie, or did I just like the idea of pie?

The logical next step in my crazy brain was to try as many pies as I could get my hands on. This quickly morphed into wanting to make various different pies, because I think that the best store-bought pies probably can’t hold a candle to a well-devised homemade creation.

So here we are: a rational approach to the question of pie. Do I like pie? Do I like all pie, or just particular ones? Do I have a favorite, really? I could list what I think are my “favorites” -- key lime, lemon meringue, cherry, pecan – but again, do I truly like them or do I like some ideal pie, an immaculate confection to which no human-prepared dessert could ever measure up?

Over the twelve months, I plan to bake up a broad range of pies, from basic vanilla cream to real mincemeat, boiled beef and all. Stop by at least every Saturday to see what’s come out of the oven in the past week and to see how long it takes me to get sick of pie. Or the idea of pie. Or something.