Simple as Pie? Confessions of a Pie Maker and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

How many times have you heard “Simple as Pie”? Well don’t believe that sentiment. Pie isn’t really simple. It isn’t hard, but it requires a few pieces of information that can be learned and from my experience practice is the best teacher. So why would someone like me who has honed a recipe for pastry try a new one?? I’ll tell you why. I went to a demonstration with some dear friends and several Utah food bloggers (Tiff, Barbara, Becky, Bonnie, Maria) to see King Arthur Flour give us the one two on how to make a great pie crust. Determined to give their recipe the good old-fashioned try I’ve now used it three times and well frankly I just can’t make it work to my satisfaction. Darn.

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Yesterday it was a special pie and I should have used all tried and true recipes for the birthday occasion, but I choose poorly on both the filling and the crust. It looked beautiful but the flavor and texture was poor.

Now I share with you my tried and true recipe for strawberry rhubarb pie. Amy, thank you for sharing it with me. It's wonderful!

Life Lesson: Practice new recipes on less important events.

(Oh, I hope I can remember this lesson- do you have any life lessons to share?)

Serendipity

Scene 1 : One day I was in one of my favorite local shops (cue red velvet cookies and vintage charm) , My Dough Girl, and just happened to have a conversation with the guy in front of me. He was picking up cookies for a photo shoot with one of Salt Lake's very best food photographers, (cue trumpet "ta-da")Quinn Curtis of Limelight Food Photography. I told him that in my past I was a food stylist and blah, blah, blah . . .

Scene 2: Shoot ahead to a photo class being held in SLC downtown library. Together with several other food bloggers (cue rowdy group of know-nothing-about-photo-but-all-about-food people) we sort of crashed in 30 minutes late (unintended) and sat at the back. At the end we gathered around the teacher and that's where I happened to drop my name and (cue serendipity) Quinn said something like "I've been looking for you and here you are, I'm so glad I've found you!" (cue cheesy smiles, handshakes and heads nodding up and down).

It was this serendipitous moment that lead Quinn and I to our first gig together--with Wasatch Woman magazine. Being there got me thinking about by days styling food for Borge Andersen. Check out Valentine's Day Treats, P.S. I Love You in WW's latest issue. I'm so honored to share the deliciously looking food credit with Quinn. And the recipes by Kim Warren are wonderful!

Christmas Eve Pie Tradition with Grandma & the Best Pastry Dough

Christmas traditions! I love to keep the old while making new ones. Growing up as a child and into adulthood my family without fail gathered together in a beautiful farming community, at my grandparents home to celebrate Christmas Eve. Part of the celebration always included the most delectable pies made by my dear Grandma, Iola.

Pie makers aren’t born, it takes practice-- and practice is what Grandma got at Cafe 91 found along the old Highway 91 in Spanish Fork, Utah. During the mid 1940’s she was famous for having pies ready for lunch or dinner depending on when her shift fell. Retired men from surrounding towns would gather for a cup of coffee and a 35 cent piece of Iola’s flaky pie. She made apple, cherry, peach, lemon meringue, pumpkin and cream pies- oh, they were something else, banana and coconut.

Grandma has left us now, but her tradition lives on. She has daughters, granddaughters and great granddaughters and at least one great grandson that can make pies that would win blue ribbons at the state fair and put on more pounds than we care to think about right now. My extended family can count on a few pies being made this holiday season from the desendants of Grandma Iola.

If a pie is in your future, you might want to try this fabulous pastry crust. It has proven it’s value to me over the years. Sometimes it’s nice to have a variation in pies, so think about a crumbly top pie with a twist of cinnamon and nutmeg in the topping. It’s especially nice for beginners to pie making because you don’t have to worry about how the top is going to look.

Wishing you happy baking and many wonderful

Christmas traditions.

What are your Christmas Eve traditions?

Never Say Never & Fruit Dip Deliciousness

This afternoon while preparing for a family Easter egg hunt and BBQ I did something I have told classes a number of times would never happen. I can hear myself saying "If you want to give your kids a tool to cut with that is fool proof, one that they can't injure themselves with, hand them a pair of kitchen sheers."

Bad advice. I was cutting some grapes into clumps, thinking about the other 10 things I needed to do, talking and SNIP. My finger got in the way of the grapes! It happened so fast. Grateful for adult children and a friend that came to help, we decided it didn't need stitches, but what a mess and such a bother!

Lesson: kitchen sheers are more safe than a sharp knife, but not fool proof, especially if someone is distracted, talking or doing too many things at the same time.

Despite the interruption, the family gathering was great. Every last grape was eaten, and so was all of the fruit dip that went with the salad.

Know Your Fruit

I pride myself in being able to pick out beautiful fruit. Looking for blemishes, just the right color, shape, and ripeness is all factored into a good pick. While preparing for a cooking class last week I carefully chose some beautiful citrus fruit--lemons, limes and oranges. I washed them up and began preparing them for the various dishes that needed to be made. That is when I discovered much to my dismay, my error in picking out the fruit.

I was zesting an orange for orange rolls, but the zest didn't smell right. I checked the orange. The color was right, the shape was right, but the odor was just a hint off. So, I cut it in half. It was pink! My orange was a grapefruit.

After visiting the market again and talking with the produce man, it turns out that it was a Cara Cara Orange, a mix between an orange and a grapefruit--and quite delicious--just not right for orange rolls, but perfect for a salad or just plain eating, which is what I did.

So, I put it to you. Which of these three fruits is the real orange?

p.s.

The Cara Cara orange was very expensive ($1.99/lb) and if I had been a better shopper I would have noticed the mistake at the market! This type of orange is labeled "orange" in the store, not grapefruit, FYI--so lots of people get it wrong. And you can only get these delightful fruits for a few weeks every year so it was my good fortune to have stumbled across them as I did. Sometimes when life gives you lemons, you really do get to make lemonade (or in this case, grapefruitade?).

Hundreds of Blades on One Tool

TOOL:  Microplaner

PRICE RANGE: $15

PURCHASED AT: 

Bed, Bath and Beyond

One of my favorite tools is the Microplaner.  It can be used as a zester to take off just the right amount of peel off of a lemon, lime or orange.  It can be used as a grater to make quick work of hard cheeses such as parmesan or asiago.  It can also be used to grate such things as ginger - and it smells so good while you're doing it!  It can be used to beautify the top of a frosted cup cake by shaving a piece of fine chocolate over the top!  

And, it is fun to use.  I have had more joy showing kids how to use this tool than probably any other kitchen gadget.  You do have to instruct them carefully about the sharp blades, but they love being able to help grate cheese over their dinner, it becomes oh so much tastier if they have added their own touch to their meal. 

Check it out:

• Dishwasher safe
• Comes with a plastic cover for safety (mine is an older vintage and didn't come with the plastic cover so I still have the cardboard sleeve to keep all those little blades covered)
• Can be used for multiple culinary uses- your imagination is your only limit
• Great gift

Dial or Digital?

TOOL: Digital Thermometer

PRICE RANGE:  $15

PURCHASED AT: Sur la Table

I was helping a friend with a lamb demonstration at the State Fair and she asked me to bring my meat thermometer and explain how it works and all the benefits of using it.  At this point I had to confess to her that I was still using my old dial thermometer - she was shocked!  On the way to the fair we stopped at our local Sur la Table and I picked one up for $15.  It has been the best gift I've gotten myself in a long time.  In fact, at this point I can't imagine life without it.  If you haven't already added this to your kitchen tools and gadgets,  you might want to think about it.

Check it out:

• Easy to read large digital display that gives INSTANT  TEMPERATURE  READINGS!
• Measures between -40 and 450 degrees (can be used for candy making)
• Waterproof
• Great price
• Pro Accurate Waterproof Pocket Digital Thermometer (it's a mouth full)

Real Food for Real Life

From my earliest memories there were tall loaves of bread coming from my grandmothers kitchen, and a piece for me generously buttered and sprinkled with white sugar. My other grandmother turned out lighter-than-air dinner rolls and the best cream pies you've ever tasted. In an effort to start her girls off on the right foot, my own mother started up a local 4-H group where she taught every willing neighborhood girl how to measure properly and the basics of good cooking.

Do you ever wake up in the morning and feel like you just have to create something in the kitchen? It's obviously in my family line, and I love it! Whether we cook to fill hungry bellies that sit at our table or for a group of foodies, food is a real part of our lives.

The Table Runner is dedicated to real food for real life and to the real inspiration that comes from your kitchen and mine.