Summer Reflections...and Blueberry Pie

My summer has been completely typical of the average 27 year old female. Nothing unusual at all.

Among the highlights and lessons learned....

• I judged a teenage pie-eating contest (Lesson Learned: One's love for food and cooking does not necessarily translate into a passion for competitive eating.)

• I almost got kicked out of a Planetarium show by an angry Physicist (Lesson Learned: When you warn your students about the importance of following rules--like not texting during a Planetarium show--make sure you follow your own rules.)

• I observed a sunset funeral for a bat...who was killed by one of the students...inside the office (Lesson Learned: A sunset service is the only way to go.)

• I was serenaded daily to the tune of "The Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang, and "Baby Got Back" by Sir-Mix-a-Lot (Lesson Learned: When driving a 15 passenger van of teenagers is part of the job, listening to their iPod playlists also becomes part of the job.)

Needless to say, living, eating, and working with with 22 teenagers for 6 weeks makes for an eventful and joyful summer.

The summer camp portion of my job has concluded for this year though. And while I'm sad to see the kids go, I'm looking forward to enjoying the non-work pleasures of summer: evening walks, Dairy Queen treats, yard work with Adam, Team Trivia with friends, and eating dinner on the porch.

Did I mention blueberry pie?

Because a juicy Blueberry Pie with a cinnamon-y crumb topping is definitely on my list of summer pleasures.

I baked this blue beauty on Saturday afternoon, basking in the glow of all the summer that still lays ahead.

Blueberry Crumb Pie

(recipe from Allrecipes.com)

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 unbaked pie shell (I used my favorite recipe for Perfect Pie Dough)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 5 - 6 cups fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 6 TBSP butter

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Press pie shell into a 9 inch pie pan; set aside in the refrigerator.

2) In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients. Stir until blueberries are fully-coated. Pour into the pie shell.

3) In the same bowl, combine the brown sugar, oats, flour, and cinnamon for the crumb topping. Cut in the butter and mix with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Pour evenly over the blueberries.

4) Bake pie for 40 minutes, or until edges of crust and top are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before cutting. Serve with vanilla ice cream :)

Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie

Friends, I wait all year to make this pie.

All. year.

Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie: The ultimate in Thanksgiving decadence.

This pie is so divine that I'm continually amazed at just how easy it is to make: Spread chocolate and pecans in pie shell. Mix sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Pour liquid into pie shell. Bake. Eat. Hide the rest from your family. (Oops! Did I just say that out loud?).

As a quick side note, I should mention that I had never tasted any version of pecan pie until I was in graduate school and first experimented with baking and cooking. Pumpkin was the prevailing T-Day sweet in our house, with the apple pie making an occasional cameo appearance. My mom probably feared that baking one of these babies would foster a dangerous addiction that I would never shake.

I first stumbled upon a recipe for Pecan Pie in Cooking Light magazine--it was for a "lighter" Oatmeal Pecan Pie. After baking it in the pitiful mini-kitchenette of my one room apartment at the time, I instantly became a believer in the Pie o' Pecans. While the light version I initially made was a wonderful and tasty starting point, I've since learned that adding more calories in the name of dessert decadence never hurt anyone. In fact, in only brings happiness, right?

Thus, I've recently turned to Emeril Lagasse's recipe for Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie. It's simple, rich, and turns out perfectly every time. It's literally a fail-proof pie. I use my perfect pie crust recipe from NPR's The Splendid Table, but feel free to cut time and use a pre-made crust if needed.

I topped this guy with a dollop of fresh whipped cream...you know, to cut the sweetness :)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! What's your favorite T-Day dish?

Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie

(recipe from the Food Network's Emeril Lagasse)

Impress the family with this perfect pecan pie at your Thanksgiving table. Or Christmas table. Or July 4th table. Or random Tuesday-I'm-Hungry--for-Pie table. Remember: I wait all. year. long. to make this delectable dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 unbaked pie shell (I use Lynne Rossetto Kasper's perfect pie crust recipe from NPR's "The Splendid Table")
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• a dash of salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Evenly spread chocolate chips and pecans in the bottom of the pie shell.

3) In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugars, corn syrup and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 50 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool completely before cutting and serving (I recommend making this pie the night before serving).

Apple Pie a la Yum

Remember that little apple conundrum I found myself in this week? Yep, I'm still there. Working on cooking and baking my way through that bushel of apples.

As I attempt to dig myself out of this "problem," I realized that I had no other option than to bake an apple pie. With from-scratch pie crust. And a crumb topping.

Don't you love problems where the only good solution is pie-baking?

Now, let's briefly chat pie crust before we begin. I had never made a from-scratch pie crust before. The delicate art of pie crust terrified me--there's so much hype about keeping things cold, maintaining a tender dough, and reaching a flaky consistency. Talk about intimidating. I just want some pie, okay?!

Sunday night, however, the courage came. I'm not sure if it was the bushel of apples sitting on the counter, begging me to give them from-scratch goodness, or if it was my fearless amateur baking self that was urging me on. Regardless, I pulled out the food processor, iced a bowl of water, and put on my pie-baking hat.

The result? A yummy pie crust filled with a delightfully oozing, cinnamon-infused, Apple Pie a la Yum. This little number was the perfect addition to our Labor Day family picnic spread.

My secret? National Public Radio's "The Splendid Table." Their recent feature on pie crust inspired me, and I'm happy to share their top two secrets for a perfect pie crust:

• Keep everything cold! Use cold butter and iced water, and refrigerate the dough between every step.
• Don't pulse the dough too much in the food processor. It should look a bit crumbly, like little pea-shaped, crumbly mini butter balls :)
• To see Lynne's complete guide to pie crust on NPR (and her amazing, full description on how to make one), check out the show's transcript here

If you've got an abundance of apples on the counter, it's time to get baking. Pull out your pie-crust making courage and join me for some Apple Pie a la Yum. Well, "a la mode" wouldn't be so bad either :)

Apple Pie a la Yum

When it comes to desserts in early fall, nothing beats the classic apple pie. Forget that pre-packaged, store-bought crust--you don't need the yucky extras they add! Bake this simple crust from scratch...and consider topping with a scoop of double-churned vanilla ice cream :)

Ingredients:

Crust:

(from Lynne Rossetto Kasper on NPR's "The Splendid Table")

• 1- 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
• 4 - 5 TBSP ice cold water
• 1 TBSP vinegar (makes the crust tender)

Filling:

(from A Hungry Spoon herself :)

• About 8 cups thinly sliced apples (I leave the peels on. Love my fiber!)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Crumb Topping:

(from All Recipes.com)

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 TBSP butter
• Sprinkling of cinnamon to taste

Optional (but is it really?): A scoop of french vanilla ice cream on top

Directions:

1) Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl until evenly coated. Set aside. (Optional: If you love nuts, you could always add some chopped, toasted walnuts to the filling!)

2) To make crumb topping, combine flour, cinnamon (to taste), and brown sugar in a small bowl. Cut in butter with a knife or fork until crumbly. Set aside.

3) To make the crust: Combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Place in the food processor. Place butter chunks in the food processor and pulse until you get a rough mixture that looks like little peas in crumbles of flour. Place the crust mixture in a bowl, and add the ice water and vinegar. Lightly mix it in using your hands until you can form the dough into a ball (Don't over-mix!). Refrigerate the dough (if needed) for 20 minutes to keep it cold before rolling.

4) To prepare the pie: Use a flour-coated rolling pin to roll the pie crust out on a flour-coated surface (or a piece of wax paper works!). Place the pie crust in a 9 inch pie pan and flute the edges to fit. Pour apple filling into the crust. Sprinkle the crumb mixture to cover the top of the apples.

5) Cover the pie with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove foil, and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

6) Allow pie to cool completely before cutting and serving. Don't forget the vanilla ice cream...