When I first tasted the pie filling for this balsamic-blueberry-plum pie I thought "that is TOO MUCH balsamic." I had decided to make a pie with balsamic vinegar knowing that the people who would be eating it were adventurous, sophisticated diners. But when the filling's acidity hit the top of my mouth I thought "no one, not even the most refined pie-taster, should be subject to the anger of that vinegar." Luckily, the intensity of the balsamic burned out while the pie baked, leaving the pie with a pleasant layer of flavor and no top-of-mouth assault. If I were to make the pie again, I would put even more balsamic and would practice some self-control while working on the filling. That would be a perfect scenario. While relaying the story of my filling-tasting to general silence, it was revealed that very few of my immediate peers knew how balsamic vinegar is made. Here is a list of what ingredient various vinegars are made from: white vinegar is made from grain, apple cider vinegar is made from apples, wine vinegar is made from grapes, balsamic vinegar is made with grapes from Modena, and rice vinegar is made from rice. Most of these vinegars have what they are made from right in the title. Nice. The blueberries and the plums were luscious and the crust was sturdy. We ate the pie alongside a vanilla ice cream taste-test of Double Rainbow. The group generally thought that the ice cream was good but the packaging was not. One brave attendee claimed that she loved the packaging in its chaos and camp. Leave your thoughts in the comments. Blueberry Plum Balsamic Pie
Yield: 1 pie | Total Time: 2 hours Recipe from the Sister Pie Cookbook Ingredients Pie dough (double-crust) 1/4 cup turbinado sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tsp balsamic vinegar (I say GO BIGGER) 1/8 tsp freshly cracked ground pepper 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1 1/4 pounds blueberries 1 3/4 pounds late summer plums, sliced 1/4 cup cornstarch Directions Preheat the oven to 450°. Combine the turbinado sugar, brown sugar, balsamic, pepper, and salt. Mix to combine, and then toss in blueberries and plums. Place filling into crust and build lattice. Egg wash the crust and sprinkle with more turbinado sugar. Bake the pie at 450° for 15-20 moinutes, and then lower the temperature to 350° and bake until juices bubble, 1-1 1/2 hours.
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Making a peach pie was intimidating. Because the words “peach pie” are so satisfying, it makes one worry that the ultimate product will never outshine the simple act of saying that you are going to make, have made, or are ready to eat some peeeach pie. I do think that a simple peach pie with a rich crust and a simple filling is hard to beat. However, I wanted to try something exciting for this round of pie. I was originally going to try a paprika peach pie, but decided against it at the last second. While many of my spicy popsicles were great, I wasn’t ready to jazz the pie genre this early. Instead, I went with a recipe from my southern pie cookbook (it felt appropriate given the fruit) for peaches and cream pie. The recipe really is just that - peaches, with a bit of citrus to brighten them, and cream. A lot of cream. It felt strange putting straight cream into the oven, but the outcome was not strange. It was tasty. One of my passions as a child was the cheese danishes available at hotel buffets. My eight-year-old metabolism could put those danishes away with great ease. This pie was a bit like that - rich, flaky pastry, with a buttery dairy component. The fragrant peaches were added to the mix and it was really good. You have to be ready to eat what I would lovingly refer to as “kinda wet pie.” If you can do that, you will find great happiness. Peaches and Cream Pie
Yield: 1 pie | Total Time: 2 hours Recipe from Southern Pies Cookbook Ingredients Pie dough (single-crust) 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour 2 cups sliced peaches 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 cup heavy cream Directions Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the sugar and flour. Pour lemon juice over peaches, toss to combine. Add dry ingredients, toss to combine. Place into crust. Pour the cream over the peaches and move around as necessary to cover all of the peach pieces. Bake the pie until the cream has formed a soft custard, 35-40 minutes. |