blueberry pie
Hi, remember me? I used to write a blog about recipes and torturing my husband, back in aught-seven? Well this year has been a tiring year, with working late, gestating a baby (due in a few weeks!) and many many meals prepared by Jon and not as many by me. On the upside, Jon has perfected his pasta with Italian sausage, olives, and tomato sauce, and we have discovered our new true love convenience food, Palak Paneer and Punjab Eggplant from Trader Joe's. Recipe is easy - cut open foil packet, sqeeze into bowl, microwave for 3 minutes. Voila.
But every once in a while I get a bee in my bonnet to make some real food from scratch. I discovered a great blueberry pie recipe last summer that I promised I would blog about, and I have been dying to make now that it's blueberry season again. My mom coming to visit us for the 4th of July was the perfect excuse. Normally I would mean that in the sense of, a perfect excuse to bake something special for a guest visiting, or to top off a holiday menu. In this case, however, I mean that it was a perfect excuse for me to sit in the kitchen with my extremely swollen feet up on a chair, reading the recipe out loud while my mom followed instructions and basically baked the pie by herself. I actually think it tastes even better this way, so if there is a good baker who loves you, try sitting with your feet up and having them prepare it for you. If you're not that lucky, then just know that those you serve it to will be having a heavenly experience. And it doesn't taste too bad to the pastry chef either!
There are many reasons why this pie is the greatest blueberry pie you will ever taste. First of all, there is excellent pie crust a la Rose Levy Berenbaum, which is savory, flaky and perfectly rich. Then, there is the layer of cream cheese filling under the fruit - it's like a smidge of cheesecake tucked in your blueberry pie. This genius idea comes from Helen Getz, the grandmother of my favorite prissy food writer, Amanda Hesser. And most of all, there is Helen's fantastic half-cooked filling, which mixes a deeply sweet and juicy syrup of cooked blueberries with a pint of fresh, uncooked blueberries to create an intensely blueberry flavored jelly topping packed with plump berries that burst between your teeth.
A word to the wise - you may think of this pie as a nice thing to serve for dessert. Which it is. But I can attest that it also makes a great breakfast. And dinner. Oh, and lunch too...
Greatest Blueberry Pie You Will Ever Taste
Adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum and Amanda Hesser's grandma, Helen Getz
Ingredients:
For the crust
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3 oz chilled cream cheese, cut into quarters
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) frozen, unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
For cream cheese filling
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
For blueberry filling:
3/4 cup sugar,
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
a pinch of salt
1/4 c water
4 cups (2 pints) fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions:
In a food processor, combine flour, sea salt and baking powder. Process to combine. Add the 3 ounces of cream cheese, cut into quarters and process until coarse. Add the frozen butter cubes and process until butter is peanut size. Add the cream and vinegar and pulse until butter is the size of small peas.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix swiftly with a fork until dough holds together, about 5 minutes. Roll into a ball and press the ball into a smooth, flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450F. Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of lightly floured parchment paper to a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough. Trim the edges, leaving about 1/2-inch overhang. Fold under this overhang and crimp the edges. Prick the base of the dough with a fork. Line the pie dough with foil and pour in pie weights. (You can also use dried beans or loose change.) Bake for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350F and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake another 5 minutes to dry the surface. Let cool completely before filling.
Prepare the cream cheese filling: With a hand mixer or whisk, blend the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and heavy cream until light and smooth.
Prepare the blueberry filling: Put the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium pan. Add the water and 2 cups (1 pint) of the blueberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring often. This is the most exciting part of the recipe to watch. The liquid will turn lavender, then magenta, and then it will seize up and thicken, and after a minute or two, turn to a deep translucent blackish purple. Take it off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and butter. Pour in the remaining blueberries and stir until coated.
Assemble the pie: Spread the cream cheese mixture over the bottom of the cooled pie dough. Drop the blueberry mixture over the cream cheese in large spoonfuls, then gently spread them around, trying not to mush the cream cheese layer. There should be two distinct layers. Chill in the refrigerator for half an hour to set. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
Serves 8
But every once in a while I get a bee in my bonnet to make some real food from scratch. I discovered a great blueberry pie recipe last summer that I promised I would blog about, and I have been dying to make now that it's blueberry season again. My mom coming to visit us for the 4th of July was the perfect excuse. Normally I would mean that in the sense of, a perfect excuse to bake something special for a guest visiting, or to top off a holiday menu. In this case, however, I mean that it was a perfect excuse for me to sit in the kitchen with my extremely swollen feet up on a chair, reading the recipe out loud while my mom followed instructions and basically baked the pie by herself. I actually think it tastes even better this way, so if there is a good baker who loves you, try sitting with your feet up and having them prepare it for you. If you're not that lucky, then just know that those you serve it to will be having a heavenly experience. And it doesn't taste too bad to the pastry chef either!
There are many reasons why this pie is the greatest blueberry pie you will ever taste. First of all, there is excellent pie crust a la Rose Levy Berenbaum, which is savory, flaky and perfectly rich. Then, there is the layer of cream cheese filling under the fruit - it's like a smidge of cheesecake tucked in your blueberry pie. This genius idea comes from Helen Getz, the grandmother of my favorite prissy food writer, Amanda Hesser. And most of all, there is Helen's fantastic half-cooked filling, which mixes a deeply sweet and juicy syrup of cooked blueberries with a pint of fresh, uncooked blueberries to create an intensely blueberry flavored jelly topping packed with plump berries that burst between your teeth.
A word to the wise - you may think of this pie as a nice thing to serve for dessert. Which it is. But I can attest that it also makes a great breakfast. And dinner. Oh, and lunch too...
Greatest Blueberry Pie You Will Ever Taste
Adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum and Amanda Hesser's grandma, Helen Getz
Ingredients:
For the crust
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3 oz chilled cream cheese, cut into quarters
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) frozen, unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
For cream cheese filling
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
For blueberry filling:
3/4 cup sugar,
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
a pinch of salt
1/4 c water
4 cups (2 pints) fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions:
In a food processor, combine flour, sea salt and baking powder. Process to combine. Add the 3 ounces of cream cheese, cut into quarters and process until coarse. Add the frozen butter cubes and process until butter is peanut size. Add the cream and vinegar and pulse until butter is the size of small peas.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix swiftly with a fork until dough holds together, about 5 minutes. Roll into a ball and press the ball into a smooth, flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450F. Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of lightly floured parchment paper to a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough. Trim the edges, leaving about 1/2-inch overhang. Fold under this overhang and crimp the edges. Prick the base of the dough with a fork. Line the pie dough with foil and pour in pie weights. (You can also use dried beans or loose change.) Bake for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350F and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake another 5 minutes to dry the surface. Let cool completely before filling.
Prepare the cream cheese filling: With a hand mixer or whisk, blend the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and heavy cream until light and smooth.
Prepare the blueberry filling: Put the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium pan. Add the water and 2 cups (1 pint) of the blueberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring often. This is the most exciting part of the recipe to watch. The liquid will turn lavender, then magenta, and then it will seize up and thicken, and after a minute or two, turn to a deep translucent blackish purple. Take it off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and butter. Pour in the remaining blueberries and stir until coated.
Assemble the pie: Spread the cream cheese mixture over the bottom of the cooled pie dough. Drop the blueberry mixture over the cream cheese in large spoonfuls, then gently spread them around, trying not to mush the cream cheese layer. There should be two distinct layers. Chill in the refrigerator for half an hour to set. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
Serves 8
Comments
Hope all is going well with you and soon to be born Barack Obama Gittleson. We tried this recipe and loved it. I cheated and used a ready made graham cracker crust, though.
Paul