Let me begin by saying that I am NOT a pastry chef but I DO love pie and this summer I decided I was going to try my hand at pie making so that I could add a pie (or two, or three) to my luscious legacy project. (Which is growing by the way.)
As with anything I undertake, it became a research project. I learned some interesting facts along the way and I thought you might enjoy them, too.
First, if you want to keep your pie dough from sticking to the rolling pin you can do this by chilling your work surface. Like this. Who knew? Be sure to wipe up any moisture before you place your waxed paper down to roll out your pie dough.
Next, not all cherries are created equal. I have been enjoying chocolate cherry smoothies all summer and the reason I’m loving them so much is that I found an amazing tart cherry in the frozen fruit aisle at MOM’s Organic Market. Leave it to MOM’s to find the best. I love that market, but you knew that.
Back to cherries. Montmorency. Best tart cherries I’ve ever tasted. Apparently they can be traced back to ancient Rome and they are grown in the United States, Canada and France (of course). Thank you, Wikipedia. Turns out these cherries make a stellar pie. Yes, even my beloved, who offered several times to go out and BUY the pie, said it was pretty amazing.
I wanted a robust crust. I found this one online a while back, took a snapshot of it, and tucked it away for future reference. However, when I visited apt2bbaking.com, I couldn’t find the ‘freedom’ cherry pie which was okay because upon further study I found Kate McDermott (pie maker extraordinaire) and I used a variation of her filling instead. It paired beautifully with Yossy’s crust.
And, after spending some time on Kate’s site I almost called her to see if I could come visit.
For a week.
I’m anxiously awaiting her book: The Art of Pie, A Down to Earth, Homemade, Practical Guide to Pie Making and Life. Doesn’t that sound divine?
The recipe:
Crust via Yossi Arefi
www.apt2bbakingco.com
For the filling I pretty much followed the Kate McDermott recipe with a few small adjustments (below)
1 recipe for double crust pie dough (above)
6 cups frozen Montmorency sour cherries (you won’t need to defrost them)
Âľ cup organic cane sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons quick cooking organic tapioca
ÂĽ teaspoon Himalayan fine grain salt
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (optional)
The tricks:
Use your a fork and knife, or a pastry blender to incorporate the very best butter into your flour mixture. Or, use your fingers, like this.
If you are using frozen cherries toss them with the sugar, salt, Grand Marnier, lemon juice and cinnamon and be sure to add some organic quick cooking tapioca to absorb the liquid. Enjoy a shot of Grand Marnier over ice on the side. Julia Child would approve.
Give yourself permission to do a ‘lazy lattice’ if you’re worried about getting that pie in the oven before the cherries thaw. No one even noticed!
Enjoy every last bite! We did.
Next up … Maple Wild Blueberry Pie. Can you tell I’ve got pie on the mind? It’s even showing up in my art journal/glue book.
Oh and if you’re looking for a delightful read:
And a beautiful TED talk by the author. It’s well worth the 20 minutes you’ll take to view it. “Because pie doesn’t have to be perfect.” ~ Beth Howard
7 thoughts on “Not Your Grandma’s Cherry Pie”
And I thought blueberry pie was my all time favorite pie but when reading your recipe of the cherry pie I begin to wonder if it might overrun the blueberry… 🙂
Once upon a time when I lived in a student dormitory, I baked an enormous pie but instead of crust I made a dough which I think is a tradition from the Eastern parts of Finland.Probably an old Russian tradition just like the dark rye bread.
This was a time in my life that I really baked a lot and whatever I fancied at the time. I can still remember the taste of that pie…
Blueberry is one of my favorites, too, Carina, but this cherry pie was pretty spectacular! I’ll bet the pie you made ‘once upon a time’ was amazing. Now I’m curious about that dough. Thank you for sharing that experience with me. Perhaps you’ll add that recipe to your Luscious Legacy Project. xxoo
You´re absolutely right about adding this piece to my LLP! 🙂 xxoo
Oh. My. Word. I love pie. And now I can’t stop thinking about it. I think I’ll go here after lunch and think of you, Sue Ann. http://www.yelp.com/biz/little-pie-company-new-york?osq=pie 🙂
How did the pie crust with the rye flour turn out? I am not a fan of rye…
Rye berries, from which the flour is made, doesn’t taste anything like the rye seeds that give rye bread its flavor. It’s simply a darker, more nutrient dense flour. I think you’d love it! And now I want to find that pie company! xxoo
wow. what a lovely end result, sue ann! thank you for sharing these lovely photos. i’ve made exactly ONE pie in my life (when my sister-in-law twisted my arm one day, many years ago, and told me i would be learning how). i’m a fairly good cook, but definitely NOT a baker. and i can’t remember what happened, but apparently – since i never repeated the process – it wasn’t very successful.
Sue Ann, your post and recipe and Ted talk link inspired me beyond words… thank you, xo! Ahhhh, the healing power of pie — I used to be known as “The Pie Lady” back in the day — and coincidentally (or not) one of my most appreciative pie fans was from Iowa where Beth Howard hailed from.
During the “trucking days” I mentioned “pie” to a couple of fellows at a steel mill where we’d deliver or pick up in southern Iowa. Their reaction was immediate: Apple! Blueberry. Banana Cream. ANY kind, PLEASE!!!
On the weekends when we were home, often for 36 hours or less, I’d bake PIE and tote them along in the semi under our bed. 🙂 Sometimes we were in a bit of a hurry (trying to make subsequent delivery schedules ‘n’ all) so I’d run my pies into the fellow at the front desk while Russ started loading, with “orders” to share ’em in their break room.
On one occasion, Russ had to run back and pick up another load (we were in separate semis and I was off and runnin’ somewhere else), and when he came into the front office, he “caught” Jim sneaking bites of a WHOLE blueberry pie that I’d dropped off the day before — from his desk drawer — with a sheepish grin! 🙂
Can’t wait for your maple-laced version… lake neighbors are coming over Labor Day and I NEED TO MAKE PIE!