It's cherry season in Oregon!

We headed over to the farmers market last weekend with plans to prepare some scrumptious pickled rainier cherries (like the ones that Accanto has been serving in their in their Sauvie Island green salad the other night), but when we saw the sour cherries, I couldn't resist trying out my first cherry pie.

I worked off of this classic cherry pie recipe with the addition of Martha's foolproof pie dough and the results were magnificent! Forkfuls of cherry flavor, not too sweet, but the perfect complement to a scoop of ice cream.

[1. c. lynn]

Since we can't seem to get any sunshine for Memorial Day weekend, I made up my mind to bring some to the table in the form of a strawberry rhubarb pie.



[1-3. c. lynn]

There are some beautiful pies to feast your eyes on over at the New York Times. As a member of Team Pie, I loved the title of the article, "Pie to Cupcake, Time's Up."

From top to bottom: Pecan Pie with Rye Crust, Date Butter Tart, Nutmeg Maple Cream Pie, Food Processor Apple Tart, and Apple Pecan Tart.

[1. Evan Sung for The New York Times, 2. Tony Cenicola for The New York Times, 3. Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times, 4. Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times, 5. Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times]

Two things I'm liking:
1. Paper leaves by Owengilder Sleeve via Unruly Things
2. Trois Pommes Patisserie's pumpkin pie topped with roasted pepitas as part of NY Mag's Pumpkin Pies for Every Feast slideshow

After a wonderful week in New York with my family, I am back home in Portland. 

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Craving a taste of the comforts of home, I decided to make individual chicken pot pies from Ina Garten's fail-proof recipe to dazzle A and get us excited about the Thanksgiving flavors to come next  week.

Ina's recipe calls for a homemade pie crust, but I don't usually go through all of the trouble and instead buy frozen puff pastry to fit each souffle dish. I find that it saves a lot of time and provides the perfect flaky crust for the molten pot pie filling.

[1-6. c. lynn]

 


I just had the most perfect day baking apple pies (7 in total!) with friends. While pie parties have been somewhat of an annual tradition for some of the girls, I was very honored and quite pleased to make the invite. It was so much fun—thanks ladies!

[1-5. c. lynn]

Happy Thanksgiving! I am loving these pretty wreaths at Design*Sponge.

[1. c_lynn]

I knew I was going to make a pie out of those beautiful peaches, but I didn't realize that we'd eat most of them before I got around to it. So, after a frantic run to the health food store across the street almost turned up fruitless (well they didn't have any peaches,) I found myself baking a blackberry peach pie. Thanks to M for her pie crust recipe, and her help with the "to bake ahead or not to bake ahead" queries. Voila, a whole pie to work on this weekend. Now, I have to convince A to make a vanilla ice cream run—I think these photos will help!

Peach and Blackberry Pie
adapted from the Peach and Blackberry Cobbler recipe from Bon Appetit with help on the piecrust from M and Tartine's Flaky Tart Dough Recipe

PIE CRUST
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 sticks cold butter
1/2 cup ice-cold water

FRUIT MIXTURE
2 pounds peaches, halved, pitted, cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices (about 5 cups)
1 1/2-pint container fresh blackberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons raw sugar

FOR PIE CRUST (LATTICE TOP AND BOTTOM)
Add the salt to the ice water and stir to dissolve. To make the dough in a food processor, put the flour in the work bowl. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and scatter the pieces over the flour. Pulse briefly until the mixture forms large crumbs and some of the butter is still in pieces the size of peas. Add the water-and-salt mixture and pulse for several seconds until to dough begins to come together in a ball but is not completely smooth. You should still be able to see some butter chunks.

Divide the dough into two equal balls and shape into a disk. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

Roll out the dough for the pie crust and place into the pie dish. Here are some of Martha Stewart's tips for rolling out a perfect pie crust. Refrigerate while you make the fruit mixture.

FOR FRUIT MIXTURE
Combine peaches and blackberries with sugar, crystallized ginger, and cornstarch in large bowl; toss to coat. Let stand until juices begin to form, tossing occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Pour the fruit into the chilled pie shell. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round and cut the strips into 1/2-inch strips. Follow this helpful Bon Appetit video, for detailed instructions.

Brush the edge of the pie shell and the lattice with an egg wash. Press the edges of the pie shell together to seal and trim the overhang to a 1/2 inch. Fold the edge of the pie dough under itself and crimp decoratively.

Transfer the pie to the oven and place a baking sheet in the bottom to catch any drips. Bake for 30 minutes and cover the edge of the pie with foil and bake for about 40 minutes longer, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is deeply golden on the top and bottom. Transfer the pie to a rack to cool completely. Serve with vanilla ice cream.