Apple + Strawberry Pie

Pie. Just the thought of pie, sweet or savoury, makes me smile.

A pie is like a present: you get through the lovely wrapper (which is the crust) to get to the treat (the filling). At the end of it all, you're just so happy.

Pie makes me happy. And, I think I love making them more than I love eating them.

So, this weekend I made two pies. The first was a Strawberry and Apple pie with a lattice crust and the second, a Buttermilk Pie with Pine Nuts. I had no qualms making two pies at one go because pies freeze extremely well. In fact, I kinda like the taste of frozen pied that have been reheated.




The first thing to focus on is the crust. I used the same crust for both pies were the same: a basic pie crust from Martha Stewart (though most recipes are similar) that combines 11/4 cups all-purpose flour + 1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp sugar, 113g butter and 4 tbsp ice cold water.

Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour (whisk in the salt and sugar into the flour first) and when it resembles coarse bread crumbs, add the water, 2 tbsp at a time and gently mix to form a dough. Shape dough into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour. (The dough is enough for ONE 23cm pie dish).




Now, let's move on to the filling. The Apple and Strawberry Pie, I made on a whim, without a recipe to guide me. I'd made apple pies before and I figured I could just wing it.

Apple and Strawberry Pie
2 cups chopped apples (I used Fuji reds, peel off the skin!)
2 cups roughly cut strawberries.
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg yolk, beaten (for the finish).

Keep aside 1/5 of the dough for the lattice. Roll the remainder of the dough so that its big enough to cover the base of your pie dish. Gently transfer and mould it onto the pie dish. Refrigerate it for about 30 mins. Roll the dough you kept aside and then cut about 10 strips, about 20 cm in length.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

To prepare the filling, simply mix all the ingredients together.
Once the crust is chilled, transfer the filling onto the crust. Now, lay the strips over the filling to form a lattice. Seal the edges together. Brush with the beaten yolk.

Bake for 20 mins and then remove it, cover the top with foil, reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C and bake for a further 15-25 mins.




Buttermilk Pie
From marthastewart.com

3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
11/2 cup buttermilk
113 gm unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the eggs, sugar and flour together. Add the butter and the buttermilk, alternately, in four installments. Whisk in the vanilla, lightly.

Roll the (chilled) dough till it's big enough to cover the base of your pie dish. Gently transfer and mould it onto the pie dish. Refrigerate it for about 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Pour the custard into the crust and bake for 15 mins.

Cover the pie with foil, reduce the heat to 160C and continue baking for 25-30 mins or till the custard sets.

Spaghetti Pie

This recipe comes from one of my favorite sources: Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  She says this is her family's favorite meal.  I haven't had spaghetti pie since I was a kid but I decided to give this recipe a try the other night and I thought it was delicious.  I used regular spaghetti noodles because that's what I had on hand but I think the thin ones would be better. 

Spaghetti Pie

12 ounces thin spaghetti or vermicelli noodles
1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 small white or yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I used diced.)
16-ounces tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, divided 

Lightly coat a deep 9 or 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray and set aside.  (If you don't have a really deep pie plate, use a square or rectangular pan - I used a 9X13.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the noodles until al dente according to package directions. While the noodles boil, heat a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef or turkey, breaking it into pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and continuing to break up the meat, until the meat is cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and drain the excess grease, if any. Return the skillet to medium heat and stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil and oregano. Simmer the sauce over medium or medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

When the noodles are done cooking, drain and return to the pot. Immediately stir in the cream cheese and toss the noodles by lightly lifting them up and over with tongs until the cream cheese is mostly melted. Stir in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Toss until the noodles are evenly coated. Stir in 2 cups of the red sauce. Keep the remainder of the red sauce warm on the stove.

Scrape the noodles into the prepared pie plate and using a flat spatula, press the noodles evenly into the dish so they are tightly pressed together and evenly flat across the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese across the top.

Bake the spaghetti pie for 20-22 minutes, until it is hot and bubbly and the cheese is golden on top. Let the dish rest for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and serve with remaining red sauce.

Frozen Key Lime Pie Recipe

I love to make this frozen pie for my friends, this tangy cold treat  is wonderful for those very hot summer days.

Frozen Key Lime Pie
Makes 10 servings

Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crumb Crust (recipe below)
4 lime
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup Cool Whip


Procedure
1. Prepare crust and cool completely.
2. From limes, grate 1 tablespoon peel, and squeeze 1/2 juice. In large bowl, with wire whisk, stir condensed milk and lime peel and juice until well blended.
3. In a large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream, one third at a time, into lime mixture just until blended.
4. Pour mixture into cooled crust. Cover and freeze at least 3 hours or up to 1 month. Let pie stand for 10 minutes at room temperature for easier slicing.

Graham Cracker Crumb Crust

Ingredients
1¼ cups of graham cracker crumbs (approx 11 graham crackers)
4 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a 9 inch pie plate, with a fork, mix crumbs, melted butter and sugar until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press mixture firmly onto bottom and up side of pie plate, making a small rim.
3. Bake 10 minutes; cool on wire rack.

Dark Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe

ingredients

1 ready made graham cracker crust
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups sweetened dark chocolate, chopped (or you can use the baking chips)
1/3 cup heavy cream (milk can be substituted)
8 ounce container of Cool Whip

instructions

Melt chocolate and cream in the microwave for about 45-60 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir until chocolate is completely melted, creating a chocolate ganache, if needed heat for an additional 10 seconds.
With a mixer, cream softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Add chocolate ganache, reserving out about 1/4 cup for the drizzle on top of your pie, and mix again till all combined.
Still using the mixer, on low speed, add in Cool Whip. Once combined, pour filling into crust.
To drizzle chocolate. If chocolate has thickened, place back in microwave for 10-15 seconds to liquify. Place melted chocolate in a plastic bag and then cut a small hole in one corner of the bag. Drizzle chocolate over pie in the pattern of your choice.
Refrigerate pie for at least 4 hours before serving.

Peppermint Crunch Ice Cream Pie

ingredients

3 pints (1 1/2 quarts) peppermint ice cream

1 Oreo cookie pie crust (or other chocolate-flavored pie crust)

1 (12 oz) jar fudge ice cream topping

Crushed Candy canes

Whipped topping

instructions

In a large bowl, stir ice cream until softened.

Spoon ice cream into pie shell and spread evenly. Return to freezer for about 3-4 hours (or until completely frozen).

To serve, let pie stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes before slicing. Serve topped with fudge topping, whipped cream, and crushed candy canes.

Makes about 6-8 servings (just depends on how big you slice it!).