FUN thread, mama!
Okay... bass-ackwards! DESSERTS FIRST!
Cherry Slab Pie
Pie Dough (pâte brisée)
3 ¾ c. all purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
½ cup ice water
Place the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds.
With machine running, slowly pour the ice water through the feed tube until the dough just comes together in a ball.
Divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Form into flattened rectangles and wrap each in plastic, dusting with flour and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Pie Filling
2 ½ pounds (about 6 cups) fresh cherries, pitted, or 2 ¼ pounds (about 6 cups) of fresh blueberries
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
juice of ½ lemon
¼ teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir to combine, set aside.
Glaze:
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ cup sanding sugar or granulated sugar
To make the pie:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger piece of dough into a rectangle, a little bit larger than your baking sheet. The original recipe calls for a 15x10 baking sheet, but I used a 13x10 quarter sheet pan. To make this easier, place a piece of plastic wrap on your working surface, dust with flour. Place pie dough on top, dust with flour and place another sheet of plastic wrap on top. When your dough is the right size, lay your rolling pin on top of the top sheet of plastic wrap. Start rolling the dough around the rolling pin, leaving the bottom sheet of plastic wrap on your working surface. Dust the dough around the rolling pin as you go, so it will not stick to itself. Lift rolling pin over your baking sheet on one end and unroll dough. Remove plastic wrap from top. Fit into your rimmed baking sheet, pressing into corners (pastry will hang over sides). Spread filling into pie shell.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining piece of dough to the size of your pan. Using same method as above, drape dough over filling. Fold edge of bottom dough over top dough. Pinch edges to seal Prick the top dough all over with a fork. Brush the entire surface of the pie with the cream and sprinkle with the sugar.
Bake until crust is golden brown about 40 to 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool just until the pie is still warm to the touch. Serve warm or a room temperature. Cut into 12 pieces. Slab pie can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days
BLUEBERRY TART
For the tart shell:
7 tbl butter
the zest of 1 lemon
2 1/2 tbl sugar
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 C plus 1 tbl of all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
-> Preheat oven to 375˚F.
Combine the flour and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
Combine the zest and butter in a small pot. Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat, add sugar and lemon juice to pot. Stir and add to flour mixture. Stir the dough mixture until incorporated.
In a 9-inch tart mold, press the dough down and flatten with the palm of your hand. Using your fingertips, work the dough up the sides of the mold as evenly as possible. With a fork, “dock” the dough, meaning, gently poke a bunch of holes into the bottom part of the shell. Place in the middle rack of the oven, and bake until golden, about 18 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
For the filling:
3 pints of blueberries
2 tbl cornstarch
1/2 C sugar
2 tbl lemon juice
the zest of 1 lemon
-> Set aside 1 pint of blueberries.
Combine remaining 2 pints with other ingredients in a medium-sized pot. Over medium heat, cook the berries, stirring, until the juices start to come out and the mixture thickens, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool down.
ASSEMBLY:
Put cooked blueberry filling into the shell evenly (this can be done while the filling is still warm). With the remaining pint of fresh berries, arrange them in a single layer on top of the tart. Allow to cool completely before serving.
