Pi Two

Happy Pi Day! If you didn’t learn in math class, pi is the number representing the ratio of a circle’s circumfurence to its diameter. Pi’s value is 3.14 (when rounded to two decimal places) and that value never changes. I know people all over are celebrating in the streets and dancing around with pies to celebrate today. Just me? Oh. Okay, I admit that I didn’t go so far as to dance in the streets, with or without pie. I did take some time today to make a pie today, and I realized two things. One, I do not make pie often enough. Two, pear crumble pie is so good it doesn’t need to wait for a holiday.

This pie is very similar to the apple crumble pie I made with M and O, but because it’s filled with pears and not apples, the spices are a little different. The ginger and nutmeg compliment the pears very well. The pears don’t get as soft as apples do in a pie, so it isn’t necessary to stack the pear filling as high as you would for an apple pie. They will soften considerably, but will be far from mushy. When buying pears for this pie, look for pears that have only ripened slightly; you want pears that are very slightly softened but still quite firm. This pie crust recipe is quick to make, and the pears and crumble topping are very quick to prepare. I suggest having some aluminum foil handy when you bake this. If you find that your crumble topping or crust are browning too fast, tent the pie with aluminum foil and continue to bake the pie. I checked mine about twenty minutes in and found that the aluminum foil tent was needed, and it kept the whole pie from becoming a burnt mess.

Pear Crumble Pie

Ingredients:

for the crust:

• 1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbsp. very cold water

for the pie filling:

• 6 firm medium sized pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

for the crumble topping:

• 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C. brown sugar
• 1/4 C. old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Directions:

To make the crust combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (this can also be made in a food processor fitted with the dough blade).

Mix briefly to combine the ingredients, then add in the butter and mix on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles coarse sand and all of the butter pieces are pea-sized or smaller.

Mix in the cold water on low speed just until the dough comes together.

Form the dough into a ball, then wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a circle large enough to fill a 9 inch pie plate.

Place the dough into the pie plate and trim away the excess.

Put the crust in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Remove the pie crust from the freezer and line it with a layer of aluminum foil, then fill with dried beans or rice (or pie weights if you have them).

Bake the crust for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and whatever you used as pie weights.

Return the crust to the oven and bake for 5 more minutes, then set aside and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

To make the pear filling, place the pear slices, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice and spices in a mixing bowl and toss to combine.

Pour the mixture evenly into the pie crust.

To make the crumble topping, put the flour, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon into a bowl and stir to combine.

Using a pastry blender (or two forks), cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse meal.

Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the pear mixture.

Bake the pie for 45-55 minutes, until the pears are bubbling and softened (if the crust and crumble topping are browning too fast, tent the pie loosely with aluminum foil and continue to bake until the pears have softened).

Place the pie on a cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats

My Favorite Mistake

I won’t bog down my first post with too much about myself.  For that, there’s a handy tab at the top that says “About the Author,” where you’ll find some interesting tidbits about yours truly.  Seeing as I promised to “dish” on here, I’ll tell you all that I had a fantastic weekend.  I enjoyed the foliage, I enjoyed a good movie and some great company (there is something to be said for reconnecting with old friends on Facebook . . .),  and perused my cookbook collection, when I decided I had to make Tarte Tatin.

Kitchen mishaps, we all have them.  Today’s dessert is luckily not the tale of my own kitchen mistake.  Perhaps you’ve heard of Apple Tarte Tatin, a delicious sort-of “apple upside down pie.”  History has it that the Tartin sisters, while overworked in the kitchen of their French hotel, put apples to cook in butter and sugar with the hopes of making an apple pie for dessert.  When Stefanie Tatin noticed the forgotten apples beginning to burn, she tried to save the dessert by covering it with the pie crust, putting it into the oven, and then turning it out onto a serving dish.  While Stefanie did not succeed in making an apple pie from the wreckage, she did succeed in making a wonderful dessert, which we now know as Tarte Tatin.

While I love fresh Fall apples, what I had on hand were pears.  A Tarte Tatin holds up well with just about any kind of fruit, and this one didn’t disappoint.  With the help of the food processor, the crust came together quickly.  The pears required hardly any labor at all, and the trickiest part of replicating this “mistake” was turning it out onto the serving dish.  You must move quickly, and confidently, in order to keep the contents of the skillet from pouring out all over the serving platter.  In the event that you’re not too quick, or too confident, with the flipping and this happens to you, salvage it by serving in bowls, topped with ice cream.  It will still taste fantastic, even if the presentation is lost.

Pear Tarte Tatin

Ingredients:

for the crust:

• 1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 Tbs. vegetable shortening, very cold, in 2 pieces
• 10 Tbs. ( 1 1/4 sticks) very cold butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 C. ice water

for the fruit:

• 8 medium pears, peeled and quartered
• 1 stick of butter (8 Tbs.)
• 3/4 C. sugar

Directions:

Make the crust by putting the flour, salt, and sugar into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to combine.

Add the shortening and the butter, and pulse until the ingredients mix into clumps the size of large peas.

Add 3 Tbs. of the ice water and pulse, until incorporated. If, after about a dozen pulses, the dough doesn’t look uniform, pulse in more water a little at a time, until the dough sticks together when pinched.

Scrape the dough onto a floured work surface and shape into a flat, round disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before rolling out.

Make the filling by melting the butter in a 10 to 12 inch oven safe skillet (I used cast iron) over medium heat.  As you melt the butter, use a pastry brush to coat the sides of the skillet in melted butter.

Sprinkle the sugar over the melted butter and remove from heat.

Arrange the pears, round side down, in the skillet, packing them in snugly.  When the bottom of the skillet is covered, cut the remaining pear quarters in half and scatter them evenly over the bottom layer.

Cook the pears over medium heat until the sugar turns a deep caramel color, 10 to 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put the skillet on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and roll out until it is 1/8″ thick, and cut the dough into a circle 1″ larger than the diameter of the skillet you’re using.  Poke holes throughout using a fork.

Place the dough over the fruit and tuck the edges under loosely.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the dough is baked through.

Cover the skillet with an inverted, large rimmed serving dish.  Be sure you are wearing oven mitts, and turn the tart out onto the platter and remove the skillet.  If any pears stick to the pan, gently remove them with an offset spatula and press them back into the tart.

Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan.  Crust recipe, p. 442.  Tarte Tatin recipe, p. 312