So, I may have gotten a little carried away last night, around midnight I realized I had baked three pies, and would have probably went ahead with a fourth had I not run out of pie tins! I also realized that I am going to need to get the hang of taking pictures for this blog. I am not naturally a picture person i rarely have a camera on me and in-fact have no clue where my camera is in our house at the moment. So I took these photos with my phone, I apologize!
This weekend is going t be a lovely weekend with my in-laws on the Oregon coast, and I thought as usual I would bring a pie with me, though I am sure Mr. and Mrs. S are very tired of eating apple pie! So I thought i would bring something different, though B reminded me it is probably best to have a sure thing. So I decided I would make two pies, a pumpkin and one other recipe, then I worried what if neither of them turn out? So I thought I would bake a third. The recipes I ended up going with were to vintage recipes I found on line, a sour cream apple pie (which sounds odd, but trust me it is heavenly!) and a creme brulee pie. Then of corse the pumpkin pie from the can, which I can not say to many bad things about, because in a pinch what better way to bake then ready made!
Pumpkin pie in a home made crust.
I just followed the directions on the can.
No matter how hard I try I can not seem to get my crust
to be all fancy and pretty like the store bought kind.
Though I have to say I rather like the rustic homemade look.
Apple Sour Cream Pie.
(Don't let the name fool you, it is heavenly,
I would have sat and ate the whole bowl of uncooked deliciousness
if I didn't have to have some thing to show!)
For this recipe you will need:
filling:
3/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of flour
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 cups diced apple (just used two medium sized granny smith apples)
topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chilled butter
First things first, always preheat your oven!
this takes 425 degrees
next it would be a good idea to get the pie crust ready.
use a basic crust recipe*
In a medium sized bowl stir together the first three ingredients;
sugar, flour, and salt.
Mix in the next three ingredients;
sour cream, vanilla, and egg
until nice and smooth. i.e. no lumps or bumps!
A whisk works nicely for this.
Now that everything is well mixed it is time to add the diced apples,
I cut fairly small chunks to make sure they cooked up well
since this calls for a shorter cook time than I would normally cook a fruit pie.
Stir to just coat the apples and then pour into you pie crust.
Now comes the baking!
You will want to put this in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes
then reduce the heat to 350 and leave in for another 30 minutes.
It would be a good idea to prepare the topping now!
In another bowl stir together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.
You will have to cut the butter in until it is nice and crumbly.
I highly recommend investing in a pastry cutter, it works nicely when a recipe calls for cutting in butter!
after the 30 minutes of baking remove the pie and crumble the topping over the pie.
You will need to pop it back in the over for another 15 minutes or so, just enough for the butter to melt and brown.
Make sure the apples are nice and tender before you remove the pie, it is never a good idea to re-bake a pie to finish cooking the apples, trust me I have tried it, it just does not work out!
Allow the pie to cool and place it in the refrigerator, the recipe recommends you serve it chilled, I will have to let you know the verdict on tastiness after the weekend!
Now for the next recipe which I tried and definitely failed.
(but that is ok because it was kind of the loose canon!)
Creme Brulee Pie
(aside form the disaster you will soon see the filling tastes amazing
and with an extra crust left over I will be attempting this recipe again next week
hopefully with better results!)
For this recipe you will need:
filling:
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 2/3 cups heavy cream
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 pie crust cooked and cooled
topping:
1/3 cup of sugar
Now I did learn a few things in making this, one I will try it next time in a double boiler. I burnt the bottom of the pan which is not really that tasty! and it is easier to whisk all the ingredients in a metal bowl than to make sure you get it all in the corners of the pan.
the recipe calls for a heavy sauce pan.
(Again next time I will try the double boiler)
dissolve the cornstarch in the cream
stir in the sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks
Cook over a medium heat until the filling is nice and thick and bubbly.
Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.
pour the filling into the cooked and cooled pie crust
and chill for 2 or more hours.
Now for the tricky party!
So I let it set over night as it was nearly one and I still had to go to work the next day!
I covered the pie with 1/3 cup of sugar
then placed it under the broiler
And apparently it needs to be watched VERY carefully!
I will most definitly be trying this recipe again.
B and I chipped in the crust a bit and exposed the un scathed filling and I have to tell you it taste delightful! Well worth the work and patientce and I am sure it will be worth the set back this morning!
Well we are off for a wonderful weekend, and I will be back monday to let you know how they pies tasted!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
