Sweet Tea Pie

I'm not sure what to start defending first: this sweet tea pie that needs perfecting; or the magazine — Garden & Gun, with one of the worst names of any magazine I've ever encountered — which shot me an email newsletter with the recipe.

Every time I hear the name of the magazine Garden & Gun — an absolutely fabulous and beautiful "Southern lifestyle" magazine that launched in 2007, featuring all things Southern in a stylish and smart manner, and to which I happen to subscribe — I want to violently shake whoever decided Garden & Gun (an obscure reference to a '70s disco in Charleston, SC) was a name that would attract people, as opposed to scare them away.
Yes, there are gun articles in almost every issue of Garden & Gun, but they are in the line of erudite articles about gun-loving Ernest Hemingway, or sentimental stories of bonding with a favorite hunting dog.

The other 95 percent of the magazine is about Southern art, food, gardens, architecture, design, history,and culture. If you're a Southerner living outside of the South like I am, there is almost always an article in each issue that touches upon a fond memory or place that is dear to one's heart. If you grew up in the South or live in the South, you should put Garden & Gun on your wish list, even if you will never touch a gun in your life. Trust me.
Now onto the pie.

The sweet tea pie recipe comes from Martha Hall Foose, a Southern-born pastry chef and cookbook author. Martha Hall Foose presents sweet tea pie in her James Beard Award-winning cookbook, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, and she also contributed her sweet tea pie recipe to Nancy McDermot's cookbook, Southern Pies, but I came about the recipe in a newsletter from Garden & Gun (sign up here, if you like).

This recipe got immediately bookmarked, but, as always, I took a while to make it. Essentially, this pie puts a new Southern twist — sweet tea — on the traditional Southern chess pie. As one of the stories goes, chess pie got it's name when someone said the pie was "just pie" — because there ain't nothin' fancy is chess pie, just eggs, butter, and sugar — and at the end of the line "just pie" transmuted into chess pie.Martha Hall Foose's sweet tea pie gets it's sweet tea flavor from the addition of strong brewed tea in the pie batter. And that batter contains about twice as much butter — two sticks!! — than most chess pies, not to mention eight egg yolks. This ain't no diet pie!

And since this pie is so indulgent, I haven't made it again to perfect the recipe to my liking. I found the sweet tea flavor to be too subtle. The recipe only calls for 3/4 cup of strong brewed tea without suggesting how many tea bags to stick into 3/4 cup of water. I went with two (added another bag after I snapped the photo), thinking that would be plenty for such a small amount of liquid. I suggest more. How many? I don't know, but just use more.
I also found the lemon flavor to mask the subtlety of the tea. Next time, I'm using half, if not less than half the amount of lemon zest called for.

Also, this pie had to be baked for much longer than called for, but, in the end, the pie did set. The pie is even firmer the next day served chilled.

I'd like to try this pie again, but I certainly don't want to be left home alone with a two-stick-of-butter and eight-egg-yolk pie. Invite me to a picnic, and I'll make it for you!Sweet Tea Pie
adapted from Martha Hall Foose
makes 1 9-inch pie

pastry for a 9-inch single crust pie (store bought or basic pie crust)
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup strong brewed tea, room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest (next time, I'm using 1/2 teaspoon or less)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt

• In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter with a mixer until fluffy.
  
• Add egg yolks to the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time, beating well after adding each egg yolk.
• Add tea, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the batter, and beat until mixed well.
• Add flour, cornmeal, and salt to the batter and stir in with a whisk until incorporated.
• Pour batter into the pie crust.
• Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven in the lower part of the oven (I suggest placing a baking sheet below the pie to catch spills) for 45 minutes (mine baked for 70 minutes), or until the edges are puffy and the center is firm.
  
• Cool pie completely before serving. (I enjoyed the pie best refrigerated the day after.)
  

Sorghum and Bourbon Pecan Pie

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and pumpkin pie just might be the official dessert of the day, but pecan pie probably comes in second. I don't think I've ever suffered a Thanksgiving without pecan pie, thankfully.

But how to make pecan pie better? But not blasphemous with such additions like chocolate or orange zest. Better is as simple as ditching the light corn syrup, and going back to the era of your grandmother when she was using sorghum syrup or cane syrup. Oh, and a little bourbon isn't too out of line with traditions, is it?Sorghum syrup is a dark molasses extracted from sorghum, a tall grass that looks like earless corn. I'm using sorghum syrup in this recipe, but you could also use cane syrup, a similarly dark and deep molasses which is extracted from sugar cane. What Sorghum and cane syrup provides is an amber color and, most importantly, a depth of flavor that corn syrup does not have.So, you can bring this pecan pie to the Thanksgiving table without upsetting the traditionalist, but have your guests asking what makes your pecan pie more than just a one note, sugar and nut bomb. Sorghum and bourbon, you'll say!

Just so you know, this has to be about the simplest pie I've ever made. Also, I killed half of the pie in one sitting. Sorghum and Bourbon Pecan Pie
adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt and Ted Lee
makes 1 9-inch pie

I added bourbon to Matt and Ted Lee's recipe, guided by other bourbon pecan pie recipes. Most recipes added 2 tablespoons of bourbon, and some added 3 tablespoons. I added 2 tablespoons of bourbon. The bourbon flavor is strongest on day one (don't think I'd want to eat a 3-tablespoons bourbon pie on day one), and mellows on the second day. On day three, the bourbon is almost non-detectable. Add bourbon fittingly as to how long the pie will sit before serving. Day-old pie with 2 tablespoons of bourbon was pretty much perfect.

1/3 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons bourbon
3/4 cup sorghum syrup
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, plus some halves for decorating top
1 par-baked pie crust

• In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar and eggs with an electric mixer until incorporated.
• Add the butter, cornstarch, salt, and bourbon to the bowl and mix .
  
• Add the sorghum and pecans to the bowl and mix.
• Pour filling into a par-baked pie crust. Decorate top of pie with pecan halves.
• Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
• Remove from oven, and let cool for 1 hour before serving. Can be made a day ahead.
  

Tomato Pie 2.0

It's a shame about the blogging format, how posts roll off the screen to never be seen again without digging around the archives. The 80 seconds the average person spends on my blog isn't going to turn up one of the best savory pies I've ever eaten — tomato pie — so I'm posting it again . . . with some changes.

Not the cheese-less pizza pie known so well around these parts, but a Southern pie filled with summer's ripest tomatoes, basil, and onion, then topped with a Cheddar and mayonnaise spread, the tomato pie I made last year was so darn delicious, I ate the entire thing by myself in one day!

Oh, how I've been looking forward to summer's bounty of tomatoes (because winter tomatoes just won't do) to re-make the pie using my own suggestions: cut the tomatoes into smaller chunks instead of slices to avoid a forkful of tomato that won't fit in my mouth; caramelize the onions for sweetness; and use a different cheese just to change things up.Tomatoes were chopped in big chunks, salted and left in a strainer to drain for 30 minutes or more. A press of the hand does wonders to get the juices out, and you're gonna wanna get a lot of juice out of the tomatoes, or else tomato pie becomes tomato soup pie.
Onions were caramelized to coax out the sugars. If you're not a fan of raw onion, go ahead and caramelize them, because in the original recipe the baking doesn't quite take out all of the onion's strong flavors. I like the pie either way, but prefer it slightly more with caramelized onions.
Different herbs can be used, but I stuck with basil because tomatoes and basil are besties.I had not been dreaming of a tomato pie with corn, but we just so happened to have grilled way too much corn the day before, so that's the short of it as to how corn ended up in the pie. Throw in whatever you fancy.
Parmesan along with white Cheddar went into the mayo and cheese topping because that's what we had. Funny how recipes evolve like that.Mixed all together, the pie innards look like so before the mayo and cheese topping goes on. I forgot to take a picture of the mayo and cheese, but you can see it in all it's melted glory in the picture at the very tippy-top of the post.

What do I think of tomato pie 2.0? Gosh, it's awfully good! Just as good, if not better, than the original tomato pie, but I'd take either in a heart beat . . . then eat the whole thing lickety-split.

Tomato Pie 2.0
serves 4-6

1 9-inch pie shell
4-5 large fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon butter
12 or so large fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 ears of corn, cooked and kernels cut off
salt
pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

• De-seed tomatoes by squeezing or pushing out the seeds with your fingers. It doesn't have to be thoroughly de-seeded (that's where the flavor is), but you'll want the majority of the liquid out to avoid a soupy pie. Salt the chopped tomato, and let sit in a colander for at least 30 minutes to draw out extra moisture (push down gently on tomatoes to help it along).
• Melt butter in a skillet over low heat, add onions and cook on low for 30-60 minutes, or until caramelized to your level of doneness.
  
• Blind-bake pie shell for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes.
• Mix tomatoes, caramelized onions, basil, and corn together in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer tomato mixture into the pie shell.
  
• Combine mayonnaise, Cheddar, and Parmesan in a bowl, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Spread over the top of the pie (hands work best).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top of the pie is browned. Cool slightly and serve.

Vegetable Pot Pie

One of the joys and liberties of living alone is that you can eat soup for dinner five nights in a row without worrying about boring a dining companion. Nor do you have to be shamed in the presence of others when you pull out leftover rice, roll it up in a tortilla, and call it dinner. The downside of all this lackadaisical culinary freedom, is that because no one is there to impress, nor there to judge you, you (or at least I) tend to not put more than ten minutes of effort into a meal, and we all know that the meals that take more than ten minutes to prepare are usually tastier.
I absolutely relish my loner kitchen liberties, but I do miss having a reason to cook for another person, so am looking forward to my near future when I will have another person for whom to cook. One of the dishes I used to make all of the time when I had a house guest — a dish my non-indulgent, lazy cook self misses so very much — is pot pie. After a seven year hiatus from pot pie (admittedly insane!), I recently tried it out on the boy, and I think he's gonna want me to make it again. I always make my vegetable pot pie with the usual suspects of veggie fillers — peas, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, and maybe celery — and for the protein either tofu or seitan. For the gravy it's always nutritional yeast gravy, which, if you haven't had (I think every vegetarian and vegan has had this), is absolutely awesome. I could wrap nutritional yeast gravy in a tortilla and call it dinner, and I'm sure I have! And, I have no shame in picking up a pie shell made with vegetable shortening from the store (which would also make this recipe vegan), if I don't feel like rolling out one — or two, 'cause I like a bottom and a top crust. Vegetable Pot Pie

Double pie crust
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 sticks butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
7 to 10 tablespoons ice water

• Pulse flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse a few times, until coarse crumbs form.
• Add water and pulse until dough holds together and is not wet or sticky.
• Divide dough into two portions, shaping each portion into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Filling
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups potatoes, 1/2-inch cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, 1/2-inch cubed
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup dry white wine (can be omitted)
2 1/2 cups miso broth (can use vegetable broth)
16 ounces seitan or firm tofu, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas

• Mix together flour and nutritional yeast. Stir in melted butter and mix. Set aside.
• Boil cubed potatoes in a small pot of water, until just tender and can be pierced easily with a fork, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  
• In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and add mushrooms, onion, and carrots, and saute until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add thyme, sage, and garlic, and saute for 3 more minutes. Add white wine and boil until almost evaporated
  
• Add miso broth, and bring to a simmer. Add nutritional yeast mixture, whisking until incorporated. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
• Add seitan or tofu along with green peas and potatoes and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Assembly

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Roll out pie crusts on a lightly floured surface to fit an 8 or 9-inch pie pan.
• Gently lay one pie crust in a pie pan. Fill pie shell with pot pie filling. Top with second pie crust. Trim overhanging pie crust, leaving one inch of overhang. Flute edges and cut four slits in the top crust for steam to escape.
• Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
  

Cheddar Apple Pie

Even though I'm not an apple pie fanatic (funny, because there's already an apple pie recipe on this site), the internets and the glossies told me to make a Cheddar apple pie. First, I bookmarked a recipe for cheese straws, a staple Southern party snack, where a commenter mentioned using cheese straw dough as pie crust, which I thought was quite clever. Then, the September issue of Gourmet featured a recipe for essentially the same idea, an apple pie with a cheddar crust.

And, so, I listened to the hints and made an apple pie with Cheddar crust.
Wanna know how to make a pie off-the-charts fattening? Add a block of cheese! (I plugged the recipe into a calculator, and you don't even want to know.)

Gourmet's recipe calls for white Cheddar, but I went with orange because I wanted the eater (that would be me!) to really know that Cheddar was in the crust. While baking, the crust heats up and cheesy goodness wafts through the kitchen, so I was prepared for a cheese assault, but, really, with a forkful of apple and crust together, apple overpowers the crust. But nibble on the crust alone, and it tastes like a cheese cracker.

This would be a great pie for lovers of melted Cheddar on top of apple pie. But I would still melt a slice of Cheddar on top for ultimate cheesiness. And to meet your daily requirement for fat in one go.
Cheddar Apple Pie
adapted from Gourmet
serves 6-8

I found the dough was prone to cracking when rolling it out, so had to do lots of pinching to mend it back together. I blame the cheese. I also added more salt to the crust to make it more cracker-like.

Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, coarsely grated
1 stick cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
6-8 tablespoons ice water

Filling
6-8 large apples (mixture of sweet and tart, although I like all tart), peeled, cored, and sliced
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, cut into bits

• Stir together flour, salt, and cheese in a large bowl, or pulse in a food processor. Add butter and shortening and blend with your fingers, or food processor, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour 6 tablespoons over mixture and stir or pulse until incorporated. Squeeze a handful of dough to see if it holds together. If not, add more water.
• Divide dough in half, then form each half into flat 5-inch disks. Individually wrap the dough disks, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Toss apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt until evenly coated.
• Roll out one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
• Line a pie pan with one of the dough rounds, then fill the shell with the apple filling. Dot with pieces of butter, then cover with the remaining pie dough. Trim edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then press edges to seal and fold under. Cut vents in top of pie.
  
• Bake on a hot baking sheet in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 375 degrees and bake until crust is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool to room temperature before serving.
  

Tomato Pie

I've been waiting to make this recipe for tomato pie since last Christmas when I was back home in South Carolina riffling through my Mother's recipe box and stumbled upon this intriguing and unknown-to-me recipe using summer's king of vegetables, the tomato. Mom said this simple pie of layered tomatoes, onions, and basil topped with cheddar cheese and mayonnaise (don't flip your lids, kids, mayonnaise is the South's secret sauce, and it's a time-tested taste winner) stole the show at the small town ladies' function she brought it to.

Tomato pie is a Southern thing, and since I had never had it, I kept my eyes peeled for sightings of the dish on menus at restaurants, and sure 'nuf, I spotted it at multiple restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina. All I had to do then was wait for ripe summer tomatoes to make my own pie. Tomatoes have lots of juice, so to avoid a soggy pie, be sure to salt and drain the tomatoes in a colander for at least 30 minutes. De-seeding and squeezing out the excess juice will go a long way, too, in avoiding a pie of liquid. Peel the tomatoes if you like, or not. I didn't. Slice or chop the tomatoes if you like. I sliced, but next time I might chop them, since a whole slice tends to pull out of the pie when you stab it with your fork.
While the tomatoes are draining, roll out a single pie crust. Most tomato pies only have a single bottom crust, but I've seen versions with a top layer, too.
Thinly slice a small to medium sweet onion, and coarsely chop a handful of fresh basil leaves.
Par-bake the pie shell, then put down a layer of tomatoes, onions, basil, pinch of salt and crank of black pepper, than repeat with another layer.
Grate sharp Cheddar cheese and mix with mayonnaise. I lessened the amount of mayonnaise than most tomato pie recipes call for, creating a mixture very similar to pimento cheese (minus the pimentos), my very most favoritest cheese spread in the whole world.

Trust me, the results are not weird or gross. You know when you make that first, simple, homegrown tomato sandwich of just tomato, mayo, salt, and pepper, and the mayo you slathered on the bread mixes with the tomato juices to create the perfect summer sandwich? Same thing here, folks.
Bake in the oven, and this glorious pie is what comes out. So simple, the baked pie retains the freshness and just-from-the-garden tomato flavor that defines summer. I ate the entire pie by myself in one day, that's how good it is.

I can't think of a better way to use up the summer tomatoes that are coming in right now. The traditional recipe is great, but it's easy to make this pie your own. Substitute sour cream for the mayo, or just use grated Cheddar without a binder. Use a different kind of cheese. Use different herbs. Caramelize the onions. Add bacon, if you must. Just be sure to use sweet summer tomatoes.

Tomato Pie
adapted from "Putting on the Grits" by the Junior League of Columbia, SC
serves 4-6

1 9-inch pie shell
4-5 large fresh tomatoes, thickly sliced
1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
12 or so large fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
salt
pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I'm loyal to Duke's)
1 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

• De-seed tomatoes by squeezing or pushing out the seeds with your fingers. It doesn't have to be thoroughly de-seeded (that's where the flavor is), but you'll want the majority of the liquid out to avoid a soupy pie. Salt the tomato slices, and let sit in a colander for at least 30 minutes to draw out extra moisture.
  
• Bake pie shell for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes.
• Place a layer of tomatoes and a layer of onions in the pie shell. Dot each layer with the basil leaves, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat until all onions and tomatoes are used (I got two layers).
• Combine mayonnaise and cheddar in a bowl, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Spread over the top of the pie (hands work best).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top of the pie is browned. Cool slightly and serve.
  

I Told You Once. Now, I'll Tell You Twice.

I’m gonna take the quick way out of blogging here, because I’m just not in the mood. Winter is dragging me down, making me want to crawl in a hole, and not move or think.

Remember the post on the ornamental sweet potato experiment where I concluded with a recipe for sweet potato mash that the sweet potato vines you pick up at the garden center to grow in your containers and gardens are just as tasty as the sweet potatoes you pick up in the grocery store?

Well, the photo above is further proof that they’re edible and delicious. This sweet potato pie was prepared last Thanksgiving, not by me, but by someone I convinced to use the tubers in their garden, and was just as good as the usual orange pie. No one died, and everyone went back for seconds. Booyah!

Apple-Cranberry Pie

I should have participated in that post-every-day-in-November-cause-I’m-a-badass-blogging-mofo NaBloPoMo, ‘cause I have posts out the wazoo to get around to. I’m trying really hard to stick to my normal regularity of posting, but the shit’s getting backed up. I’ve got about six restaurant reviews to get around to, and the unveiling of my winter project, but other posts keep popping up. I can’t decide…do I post that restaurant review, or get started on the winter project, or post that timely recipe? Timely recipe wins.

I made the apple-cranberry pie from Cook’s Illustrated for Thanksgiving. It’s the pie that came with the revolutionary foolproof vodka pie crust, but Smitten Kitchen beat me to the punch on the pie dough (she beats everyone, so no biggie).

Smitten Kitchen just reneged her recommendation of the pie crust due to its stickiness, but still declares it the flakiest yet. I experienced stickiness when mixing the dough, but after the dough slept in my fridge overnight bundled in plastic wrap (at least 45 minutes in the fridge is recommended, but I stretched the pie making over two days), the stickiness was no more. Rolled out perfectly. And the baked crust? Flakiest yet.

So, no more on the crust. Go get the recipe at Smitten Kitchen. The cranberry and apple filling, though! Yum! I’m not a die hard apple pie fan, and wondered why I was even making an apple pie – other than the fact that Cook’s Illustrated wills me to make their recipes through mind control.

The cranberry mash is layered on the bottom of the pie, and apple slices sit on top, guaranteeing cranberry and apple in every bite, but no mixing or polluting of the individual flavors. The scent of butter, apples and roses seduced me as I drove the 45 minutes to my friend’s house for Thanksgiving with the warm pie riding shotgun.

Sorry for no final pie-innards picture (it’s rude to run around with a camera at someone else’s Thanksgiving table). But, trust me; it was beautiful and tasty. Cranberries and apples work well at Christmas, too, ya know! Apple-Cranberry Pie
adapted from Cooks Illustrated

2 cups frozen or fresh cranberries
¼ cup orange juice
1 cup granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon for top of pie
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 ½ pounds sweet apples (6-7 medium), peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 recipe Foolproof Pie Dough
1 egg white, beaten lightly

• Bring cranberries, orange juice, ½ cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally, while pressing the berries against the side of the pan with a spoon to assist in breaking the berries down. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the berries achieve a thick consistency (scrapping spoon across bottom of pan leaves a trail that does not fill in). Remove from heat, and stir in water. Cool to room temperature (30 minutes).
• Meanwhile, mix ½ cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt, and cornstarch in large microwave-safe bowl. Add apples and toss to coat. Microwave on high, stirring every 3 minutes, for 10-14 minutes or until the edges of the apples are slightly translucent and liquid has thickened. Cool to room temperature (30 minutes).
• Move oven rack to the bottom and place a baking sheet on the bottom rack. Preheat oven to 425°.
• Roll one disk of the refrigerated dough out to a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick on a generously floured surface. Place dough in pie pan, leaving a 1-inch dough overhang. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Spread the cranberry mixture evenly in the dough-lined pie pan. Top with apple mixture.
• Roll the second dough disk out to a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick on a generously floured surface. Place on top of the pie, leaving a 1-inch overhang.
• Cut both layers of the overhanging dough, leaving ½ inch overhang. Fold the dough under so it’s flush with the pie pan edge. Crimp pie edges. Brush top of pie with egg whites, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut slits in top of pie dough.
• Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°, rotate baking sheet, and continue to bake for 25-30 minutes, or crust is deep golden brown.
• Cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Green Grape Pie

Growing good-looking grapes is not easy. As with most fruit crops, grapes need loads of chemicals sprayed on their foliage and fruit throughout the growing season in order to get anything you would even consider sticking in your mouth. (That’s why grapes are high on the list of foods with residual pesticide.) Organic or non-organic pesticide (go argue amongst yourselves), thin-skinned table grapes need pesticide if you want to be rewarded by fruit.

Efforts have paid off, and we managed to salvage about fifty percent of the fruit growing from two Lakemont grape vines growing on a pergola with a minimal, but regimented, spray program. Previous years had very low percentages (lucky to get a handful), so I was quite pleased to take home a heavy plastic grocery sack of grapes. My partner took home a bag, too, as well as the not so pretty grapes, which were crushed to make grape juice.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my bounty of grapes – make grape pie! I know. WTF? I’ve never eaten grape pie, much less heard of it, until I saw it on some show somewhere (Food Network, god bless 'em) and thought, “Gotta try that sometime.” Well, the time has come. And gone. As has the pie. I ate it in two days. I’m quite efficient.

I would have to say that my favorite fruit pie is cherry, but after eating this grape pie, I questioned the ranking order of my fruit pies. Grapes are round and cook down like cherries, and, if you had blindfolded me, I might have guessed this pie was a tart cherry pie.

This grape pie was tart due to the fact that these homegrown grapes were tarter than store bought grapes, but these fresh grapes were not tart to the point of making your face squench up. I’m not sure what a pie made from store bought grapes would taste like, but I’m guessing good, as there are plenty of recipes out there for green or red grape pies.

This pie is not the prettiest thing I’ve made. Make grape pie and serve it to your family; buy some puff pastry and make grape tarts to serve to your friends. Your family already knows you’re a screw-up, but you’ve worked too hard making your friends believe you’re perfect, so make pretty little tarts to impress the friends. Give it a go. Try something new. Your disillusioned friends will think you’re a genius.

Green Grape Pie

2 pie crusts
7 cups green grapes
1 1/2 cups sugar (adjust according to sweetness of grapes)
zest from 1 lemon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter

• Crush 3/4 cup of the green grapes in a saucepan.
• Add remaining grapes, sugar, lemon zest, salt, and cornstarch to the crushed grapes.
• Heat fruit on stove, stirring occasionally until the juice has thickened.
• Fill pie crust with fruit. If there is excess juice, use a slotted spoon to transfer the fruit, so the pie will not be a wet mess.
• Place pats of butter on top of pie.
  
• Top pie with the second crust, crimp pie edges, and cut slits in the top of the pie.
• Place pie on a foil-lined baking sheet to avoid cleaning headaches.
• Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.