Thanksgiving Two: The Pie Disaster

Hello blogosphere!!!!

I have had this blog made, and ready to be used since November and have been trying to convince myself to start blogging at least a year before that. FINALLY, I decided it was time to definitely get on the ball and start this whole blogging ordeal. Of course, when I finally decide to post, I have no picture to share with you. :( No worries... I will make up for that later with more pictures. :) I've just got to get started, or it will never happen.

So sipping my latte this morning (well, 11-ish.. if you can still call that morning), it was decided (granted... decided amongst myself... in my head) that today would be the day to get this blog ball on a roll. :)

Last night was my second Thanksgiving dinner this year, as I always have Thanksgiving dinner twice, one with my mom's side of the family, and another with my dad's side. (My dad's sister ALWAYS makes the BEST mashed potatoes!! Coupled with some great gravy... oh my gosh... talk about an orgasmic combination... is that okay to say in regards to a dish my aunt made...?) This one was a bit different, however, as it was the first Thanksgiving without my Grandma Leah, who passed away earlier this fall. Tensions were a bit high and family members were a bit on edge, or at least, so it seemed to me, other members of my family will probably deny this. This being said, in honor of Thanksgiving, and in the memory of my Grandma Leah, I made a cherry pie with frozen cherries from her back yard. This is probably my favorite pie (aside from her apple pie with farm apples... but that's another post...). These pies have made me into a pie snob in that I seldom eat any pie that is not made with this crust. Recently I was told where her pie crust recipe originated from (some food magazine, Gourmet, Savuer...?) but, alas, it enter my head... and got lost in the black hole that is my memory. But, I'm getting ahead of myself... pie details will be discussed when I get to the recipe.

So, time came to mosey on down the street to my aunt and uncle's house, with pie, fresh-from-the-oven, in hand. Alas, amongst the commotion, and worrying about the yummy, hot pie... it was forgotten that our station wagon was parked behind the van and BOOM!! CRASH!! SPLAT!! There went the pie... completely falling out of the pan, onto the floor, and into the cracks and crevasses of the center console and the cup holders. (At least I knew it would have been easily cut and served.) Luckily, the car was cleaned relatively recently and the pie could be somewhat salvaged, but what was once a beautifully browned, piping hot cherry pie, now resembled more of a crumbly mush resting in a not-s0-festive bowl. Distraught, colorful words were shared and tears were shed (the tears were mine... I get really connected to my pies), but in the end, the pie still tasted delicious, of course. :)

Onto the recipe. I'm telling you. try this crust (and the whole pie itself), it is so good and beyond simple to assemble. No butter or lard involved, which means no cuisinart and awkward equipment to clean. After eating this crust for so many years, I find it hard to enjoy the buttery, lardy crusts that are so popular these days. To me, those crusts overcome the flavor of the berries/other fruit that should be showcased in a pie. Okay, here it is...

Grandma Leah's Cherry Pie

Crust

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-1/2 cup vegetable oil

-1/4 cup water

Cherry Filling

-6 cups of cherries (I used frozen ones from my grandma's cherry tree in her back yard, but any tart cherry will work. Also, I use around 6 cups for about a 12" pie pan... and I would have added more this time because while they were frozen, the cherries lost some of their shape and therefore oomph, making for a relatively flat pie. I like my pies to be slightly mounded up with fruit.)

-about 3/4 cup sugar (give or a take a little for your taste)

-1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

-1 teaspoon almond extract

Preparation

Crust

Measure out flour into a medium sized bowl and form a well. (I always whisk my flour before measuring it, which I think I learned from Food Network, to loosen up the flour a bit.) In a one-cup liquid measuring cup, measure your 1/2 cup of oil then add water until the mixture reaches the 3/4 mark (for 1/4 cup of water). My grandmother had been adding a touch more oil than just a half a cup as the dough had been a bit on the dry side. Violently whisk together the oil and water and pour into the center of the flour well. Start whisking with your fork, gradually adding in the flour as you work. Mix until the dough starts to come together, at that point you may need to get your hands dirty in order to help the dough form a ball.

Roll out half of the dough to fit in the bottom of your pie plate... and fit it into your pie plate. Roll out the top layer of dough. (Depending on the amount of fruit you have to fit in your pie, you may want to allow for a bit more dough for the top than the bottom.)

Onto the fruit. Measure out the cherries into a large-ish bowl. Add 3/4 cup sugar, or to taste.. depending on how tart your cherries are and how sweet you like your pie, I like mine to retain some of the tartness. Add nutmeg and almond extract and mix well to combine. Feel free to use your hands, as they are the most delicate tool you can use to ensure berries are not broken... besides... it's so much fun to get your hands messy and mush around in a bowl of sugary fruit. :) Add your fruit to the your dough-lined pie dish and flop the other half of the dough on top. Flute the edges however you see fit (I go for the easy, pinching method) and pierce a few air holes with your fork. Brush with egg wash if you like... but I prefer the rustic look. Bake in a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes and then bring down the heat to 350 for about 30-45 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly. If your pie is really loaded with fruit, it's probably a good idea to place a pan to catch juice drippings under your pie when turning the heat down. Pull out of the oven and inhale deeply the mesmerizing smell of the greatest pie you will ever taste. (Oh... and avoid collisions with other cars causing your pie to go flying to the floor.)

Hope you find time to make this delicious pie and enjoy it as much as me and my family have for so many years. :) (And in the future I will definitely have some pie pictures to share with you.)