Bumbleberry Pie

Bumbleberry Pie??? What is a Bumbleberry??? 

There is no such thing as a bumbleberry. In this case, bumbleberry refers to a bunch of yummy summer fruits: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples (kinda fall-ish, but whatever), rhubarb, peaches, apricots, etc. Pretty much any fruits you love thrown together in a pie. Yum!

   PIE!!!

Quick note: This pie crust is different than other's I've made. I usually use shortening, but this one called for butter. It was good, flaky, and didn't melt completely when being rolled out in my 80 degree kitchen. I'll probably use it again, but I still love the texture of a shortening crust. It will probably depend on the ambient temp.

Crust:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cold butter (mine was frozen)
1/4 cup cold water

You can always double the crust recipe if you are worried about not having enough for your pan and the lattice top.

       FILLING:

1 medium tart apple, peeled and diced
1 cup diced fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed (If you can find it. If not substitute for another fruit. I used a peach)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed and drained (I would use blackberries next time)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed and drained
1 cup sliced fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed and drained
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture ensembles coarse crumbs (This can also be done in a food processor. Just pulse until you get a fine sand like mix).

Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry to within 1 in. beyond edge of plate.

In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients; pour into crust. Roll out the remaining pastry; make a lattice crust. Seal and flute edges. Cover edges loosely with foil.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; remove foil. Bake 40-45 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

This recipe is a family favorite. We always had it as a Thanksgiving treat, and just like the pumpkin pie, my dad was in charge of making it. 

This pie is classic, sweet, and, oh yeah, chocolately.

Yes. I said chocolately. Our family always takes these types of things to the next level. Its like blinging out a pie. With chocolate chips.

Without further ado:

Pecan Pie
1 9in pie crust
4 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup dark cane or corn syrup
1 cup broken pecan pieces
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then blend them into the butter mixture. Sift the cornstarch and salt into the mixture, and then add the vanilla extract. Blend in the cane syrup, followed by the pecans (and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips). Stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour into the pie crust, and float a few whole pecan halves to make a pretty design. Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, then reduce temp to 300 degrees for another 30 minutes, or until center looks firm. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Ta-Daa!

The recipe is good for impressing in-laws, guys, southern ladies (Paula Dean), and co-workers.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Welcome to Fall! Today is October first and we woke up to a "cold front" this morning. By cold front I mean 76 degrees in the morning with a high of only 86 today. So, not a cold front to those up North, but cold enough for me!

I'm not a fan of Fall. Even as a kid, I didn't really like Fall. The only things I like about Fall are fresh apples, pumpkin pie, Halloween (as a kid), and football. I moved to Florida, in part, to get away from the cold and Fall. I like Florida Fall much better. Still warm enough to go to the beach, get a tan, walk the dog in shorts at 7 am, and never having to bundle up.

Yeah, we love football

As I said, I love pumpkin pie. I grew up having it on Thanksgiving morning for breakfast (yes, breakfast. Its a vegetable!). My dad was always in charge of making the pies for Thanksgiving, even though he didn't like pumpkin pie himself. He just made it for us girls. That's a good dad for ya.

Now that I'm an adult, I make my own pumpkin pie. If you don't count the crust, its one of the easiest pies to make. Pretty much you just throw everything into a bowl and mix it up. Chris also loves pumpkin and our 6 month anniversary is Oct 5, so I have made it for the two of us the last three years. So, in addition, happy 3.5 year anniversary Christopher!!!

I've never made pumpkin pie from scratch before. I'm not talking about making the crust (that's a given), I'm talking about starting from a whole pumpkin!

Turns out, roasting the pumpkin is super easy! Just procure a sugar or pie pumpkin (I got mine at Walmart), wash it, cut it in half (use a big knife), scoop out the seeds, and roast it for ~45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. If you can poke into it easily with a sharp knife, its ready. Let it cool, scoop out the flesh, and puree. I guess it freezes very well. If you want an in-depth look, I suggest watching the Good Eats episode on youtube.

Side note: I opened my pumpkin and was like "Oh yeah, pumpkin seeds." I rinsed them, dried, and toasted them in a non-stick skillet, dropped on 2 T of brown sugar, and then sprinkled with salt. Ta-Da! Kettle cooked pumpkin seeds! They were amazing!

Here is the roasted pumpkin. Very pretty color.

Pumpkin puree

First, before mixing up your pie, you have to make the crust. I've made pie crusts for years, but I have yet to have any luck with them here in Florida. I think its too warm (our apartment is about 79 degrees) and humid for a crust to stick together well. Oh well, the good thing about pie crust is that its hidden by filling.

Pie Crust (9 in):

1 cup AP flour

1/3 + 1 T shortening (NOT BUTTER)

2 to 3 T cold water (very cold)

Mix the flour with shortening with a pastry cutter or two forks until the shortening is in pea sized pieces. Drip in the water (1 to 2 T more water can be used if needed, but be careful). Mix until the dough comes off the bowl. Form into a ball, flatten into a disk, then wrap in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for about 45 minutes. 

To roll, I suggest using a silicone mat under it, sprinkled with flour, and roll out. Its also a good idea to flip the crust halfway to make sure its not sticking. When its the right size, either roll it over the rolling pin or cold up and move into the pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes, covered with foil at 425 degrees. Uncover and bake for another 2 or 3 minutes until starts to get golden.

For the pie filling:
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
15 oz pumpkin puree
12 oz evaporated milk

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Pour into prepared pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Lower temp to 350 degrees, bake 45 minutes. Test the pie by wiggling. If the middle only jiggles a little, its done. If the edge of your crust is getting too dark, wrap with a strip of foil.

Cool for 2 hours or overnight. Enjoy!

Finished pie. Crust doesn't look great, but its all about the flavor

Dreamy.