Baked Sunday Mornings: Lemon Shaker Pie

I CAN'T HONESTLY DECIDE IF I LIKE THIS PIE OR NOT???

OK.......we are pie people at our house.  (#2 Son is baking chicken pot pie for St. Paddy’s day.  I don’t know what that has to do with this fun day except that he wants to make it.  It will be an alternative to my more traditional Irish meal.  This year our dinner guests will have a few choices, one being his meat and vegetable pie.) I’ve collected every type of pie recipe I’ve ever come across and I can honestly say I’ve come close to trying them all.  I have a few shelves in my library that are dedicated to pie baking books.  We almost always have a pie or two in the kitchen waiting for hungry eaters. Right now, for example, I have blueberry and coconut cream pies in addition to my just baked lemon pie. It’s part of our fun.  But I’ve never heard of and therefore never before tried Lemon Shaker Pie.  Reading through the recipe created no excitement for this pie addict.  I decided to skip this week.  But then I just couldn’t skip it.  It is pie...I had to try it.

So I got online and read everything I could find (within an hour) about this type of pie.  The reviews are mixed.  Some said that Lemon Shaker Pie is the best lemon pie ever; much better than lemon meringue pie, for example.  Others said it was bitter and nasty and was thrown out. A few suggested that this pie is delicious if the insides are pureed and that otherwise one should expect stringy lemon pieces that are quite chewy. Some advised that it is bitter, only very thin slices would be enjoyed and only enjoyed by “adult” palates.  I read that this pie has a very strong flavor. 

The other issue is that it takes 48 hours to prepare the thin blanched lemon slices in sugar which takes away bitterness and some of the chewy texture.   I also read that the "test kitchen" has a quicker version, but most reviewers agreed that theirs in not "real" Shaker lemon pie.  Most agreed that Meyer lemons are the way to go.

I grow Meyer lemons.  They are not like “regular” lemons.  They are a cross between a lemon and a Mandarin orange.  They are much sweeter and a different texture than the usual lemons.  I wanted to try this recipe in its pure form, just to try it out.

Then I read that a Shaker lemon pie baker should be careful to cut several steam slits into the top crust as adequate venting is very important for this pie.  I also read that some bakers did not add a top crust.   (The filling tends to clog up the vent holes.)

The big plus for me is that I love many Amish and Shaker pies.  These people were my initial catalyst in my pie baking hobby.   With that in mind, Hubby picked 2 lovely lemons for me which I sliced just in time to give the 48 hours necessary before my post would be due.

Then I decided to be smart.  I would make a top crust with lots of cutouts instead of vents, usually a very pretty crust.  Not a good idea.  The unbaked filling is very liquidy causing my top dough, which was not as sturdy as a plain crust, to sag down into the liquid.  My prebaked pie was one of the ugliest pies I’ve ever baked.  I wanted to start over, but...my 48 hours were gone and I was making only one of these mixed review pies.  So I’m stuck with an ugly pie.  But bless my Son #2 who came into the kitchen as I was pulling my finished very ugly pie out of the oven and he commented that it looked quite good.  He was even serious.  Thank you, son!

After cooling, I gave my lemon pie the anticipated taste test.  My pie slice came out with several stringy lemon slices wanting to tag along.  Hummm.  I should have chopped up my lemon slices a bit...not pureed them, but chopped smaller pieces would be a good idea.  My piece is chewy.  Not repulsive, but not like other fruit pies I bake.  A few bites have bitterness which is not nasty, but probably not for kids.  And my first bite was a piece of powerful pie.  I needed a drink of water to get it down.   The flavor is like a strong lemon meringue pie but the texture is chewy with stringy piece.  The lemon slices did not all stay round and lovely; most were broken and became long strings of lemon such as we are not used to eating.

Except for the top crust which I cut out differently, I followed the recipe as written.  (I also took the time for the blanching step.) Even though I love our citrus and enjoy using it in my baking, I can’t say I will bake this variety again.  It was interesting to try, but I have a great lemon meringue pie recipe that I find much more exciting and will stick with that for now.

I'm wondering how all your pies turned out???   Hope you had better luck than I.   Just for fun I also baked a batch of "Baked" brownies to go with my green mint chocolate chip ice cream...another one of our alternative choices for those who DO want something more traditional.

Happy St. Pat's Day to you all...hope you all have fun with something green!

Baked Sunday Mornings: Pecan Tassies

THESE ARE A FAVORITE AT OUR HOUSE

This recipe for Pecan Tassies is simple and relatively quick; only an hour from start to finish.  With such an easy recipe I should have had it ready for posting on time, however, with holiday guests still at our house and more coming tomorrow, I continue to run behind.

MY TASTE WAS WITH CHOCOLATE--DELICIOUS!

The only change I made was to add chocolate pieces to half the tassies.  I added bittersweet chocolate chunks to each pie bottom along with pecan pieces.  So that we could tell the difference between the pies with and without the chocolate, I baked 2 different shapes.

HUBBY PREFERRED WITHOUT CHOCOLATE

This without chocolate shape was created in a mini muffin pan.  (Baked as suggested by the recipe.) They would have been perfect except that we took them to a party, and because I needed to rush out the door as soon as the tassies were out of the oven, their tops cracked a little when being removed, while still very hot, from the baking pan to the serving platter...but they were still pretty and very delicious.

YUMMY ON THE INSIDE

This crust recipe is flaky and flavorful.  My grandson, Baby M, thinks this crust is the best part, and kids are often known to leave the crust. so I was impressed.

Next time, I will add a nut-less filling  to the crust which has a few nut pieces sprinkled into the shells.  I think it would be easier to pour only the liquid into the mini shapes.  And then I will add more nuts to the tops after the filling has been poured into each pie.  I think I would see more nuts, creating a look more like a mini pecan pie.  However, since there is not photo for this recipe, this is just my idea of how to make these tassies even more beautiful.

Hope you are all staying warm.  I look forward to Speculaas for our next post.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Peaches & Dream Pie

PEACH DREAM PIE JUST OUT OF OVEN

I've never made a peach pie with a creamy or dreamy filling.  My favorite peach pie recipe is from Williams-Sonoma and is their Georgia Peach Pie recipe...I highly recommend it.  That said, I was up for something new and a challenge, although I had no idea how this finished pie should turn out.

Well, I know one good reason for canned peaches over fresh...actually 3 good reasons:  

1.  Peaches in AZ are not like real peaches...the ones found in the cooler states.   Our one variety ripens in May.  When freshly picked they are juicy and delicious, but they are only the size of apricots, they are about as easy to peal as apricots, and the fruit clings to the pit about like unripe plumbs.  The efforts are not really worth what you get...and since peach season is such a short season and this fruit is  not grown in quantity, they are expensive.

2.  I found other peaches at Costco that looked beautiful, but after a day in my hot AZ house, they were wrinkled and withered, and not juicy at all.  They tasted a little bitter and even though they appeared to be great peaches when purchased, they were not worth the money.  And I know it's scary, but these were my peaches for this anticipated dessert.  Not a good way to begin.

3.  In AZ the yard needs to be watered almost constantly, well, at least every day.  We are not expecting any rain of any kind of measurable rain in the foreseeable future.  So while I bake, I move the water...we do have sprinklers for part of the yard, but between kids and dogs these are more work than hand watering.  After peeling and slicing the peaches I ran out to move my water...but it took about 10 minutes to get it all going nicely...and when I returned to my kitchen, my not-so-great peaches were turning brown and uglier than ever.

Canned peaches would have solved all my problems, but I tried to be smarter and more wonderful with my baking and wanted fresh peaches.

WHISKING PIE FILLING INGREDIENTS

Then trying to save my peaches, I hurried and put my pies together.  When the peaches were covered with the filling, the pies were actually looking good and then I added the crumb topping.  It was skimpy, but the pies were ready to overflow, so I figured the recipe made an adequate amount of crumb topping and so into the oven they went.

WITH THE CRUMB TOPPING THESE PIES ARE OVEN READY

My disappointment mounted as I watched through the oven door as the crumb topping melted into the liquidy filling.  By the time the oven timer went off, my crumb topping had completely disappeared somewhere into the pie.  I felt like I should have piled the peaches higher into the pan and covered them with less filling.  Then the crumbs would have had a substantial base to rest on while baking?  Like apple crumb pie.  

JUST OUT OF THE OVEN...WHERE IS MY CRUMB TOPPING?

After cooling, I sliced the pie and it appeared custardy and with the ingredients used I  guess that is how it should be.  It tastes good.  We had 9 people show up for dinner and everyone tried the pie.  They all enjoyed the pie...the grandkids each ate 2 pieces; Penguin had great praise for the pie.  Whew...a relief, but I still don’t really know how this pie should look when baked???

WELL...THE INSIDES OF THIS PIE DON'T LOOK TO BAD???

I tried to find a similar recipe with a photo on the internet to see how this pie should turn out, but all the recipes I read were quite different from the one we are baking...no help.  I am very interested to see how my friends on Baked Sunday Mornings fared with this pie.  I may discover that I erred while moving around too many sprinklers, or I may find that others had similar issues.  And that is one of the great parts of this group.  We share ideas and successes, and even failures.  We are encouraged to move forward and receive  tips for doing better next time.  So...I’m ready for all my critics and am excited to learn better ways.

MY PIECE OF PIE TASTES PRETTY GOOD

NOTE:  This pie does not keep...the crust gets a bit soggy.  I like a nice well baked crust that keeps its crustiness. 

ANOTHER NOTE:  Later I found this internet picture...the closest I can come to our pie, however, the recipe is quite different (uses buttermilk and other different ingredients), but I think this is the idea and this crumb topping is actually similar to mine.

INTERNET PHOTO

30 (or 39 with 4" tartlets) Pies for Church Supper

KRIS'  PIES--17 VARIETIES/30 PIES

ACTUALLY...COUNTING 9 TARTLETS, I MADE 39 PIES

Hubby and I were asked to be in charge of a church supper for 100 of us "old" people.  Last evening we enjoyed meeting with our church friends for a BBQ sandwich meal /program/and pie.  Everyone had a great time visiting, eating a delicious meal, enjoying Dr. Brad Barrett's presentation on the History of Gilbert, AZ which had us all laughing so hard our full stomachs ached, hearing Sue Robinson sing and she does have a very lovely voice, and eating lots of pie and ice cream.  The "party" was a huge success, many people helped, and I was amazed at the enthusiasm for my pie table.  

I chose pie for three reasons:  1.  Tomorrow is Fathers' Day and men seem to enjoy homemade pie over many other desserts,  2.  I have agreed to provide a "Wedding Pie" table for my nephew who will be married in August.  I wanted to find out which types of pie general people enjoy most and look beautiful after sitting on a table unrefrigerated for an hour or two  (cream pies were my concern on our 107^ day), and 3.  I wanted only homemade pies with butter crusts and fresh ingredients...nothing from a can or a wrapper and definitely no shortening or lard!

HUBBY AND RALPH MOUSSEAU READY TO MAKE THE SANDWICHES

GREG BARLOW, HUBBY, & RALPH READY FOR THE CROWD

We used my BBQ sandwich recipe and Hubby ordered fresh buns from Alpine Bakery...they were just out of the oven when he picked them up...they were perfect for this dinner.  People brought a few condiments such as sliced cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles for the sandwiches.  This is my BBQ recipe:

        Kris’ Sloppy Joes

2    pounds  extra lean ground beef
1    large  yellow onion, finely chopped
1    green bell pepper, finely chopped
1    red bell pepper, finely chopped
4    tablespoons    chili powder
1/4   teaspoon    ground black pepper
2    teaspoons  salt
2    cloves garlic, minced
1/4   cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2    cups  tomato puree or crushed tomaties
1    cup  ketchup
1    tablespoon    mustard
BBQ Spice or Seasoning to taste

Brown and crumble the ground beef with onions, peppers, garlic, salt, pepper.  (Or if the beef is too fatty, cook separately and drain off fats before adding next ingredients.) Add chili powder, brown sugar, tomato puree, and mustard.  Let simmer for an hour.  Makes about a dozen Sloppy Joe sandwiches.

Note: adjust the spices, brown sugar, ketchup, and tomato puree to your own taste.  You may like to add other spices such as cumin, hot pepper sauce, etc.

Instead of the tomato puree, you may like diced and smashed tomatoes, larger pieces or peppers, etc.  You may like celery added.  We like a little more brown sugar and a little less ketchup.  We also like a slice of cheese added to the sandwich.

Enjoy!

PEOPLE STARTED COMING AND THEY ARE HUNGRY

Carol took care of  bringing her distilled water and ice which is always a pleasure, and Marcia/Greg made the punch which had a lemonade base and was enjoyed.  We went through 6 bags of ice, 10 gallons of water, and 5 gallons of punch.

CAROL AND I HAVE "TWIN" WATER JUGS AND PUNCH BOWLS

MORE PEOPLE

FLOWERS FROM MY YARD

 I went out early in the morning and cut 200 of my zinnias which Marina arranged for our tables.  The containers are Carol's and they used ribbons to decorate, actually tied like a tie for Fathers' Day.  We used many colors of bandannas and bandanna fabric to decorate...goes with our BBQ.

PEOPLE CONTRIBUTED LOTS OF YUMMY FOODS

YUM!

MORE YUM!

THE SALADS AND FRUITS WE ASSIGNED OUT ARRIVED AND WERE WONDERFUL

MORE

ABD MORE!

JANET JUSTESEN ROASTED KALE TO GO WITH HER SALAD

EVERYTHING IS FRESH AND TASTY...WE HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH

I was surprised at the most enjoyed pies.  I made the following:

Chocolate Malted 4" Tartlets   (people cut 1/2 ...we used 9)

Sugar-Free Fresh Strawberry

Dark Chocolate Cream

Blueberry

Apple with Pecan Crumb Topping

Blueberry Cream

Lemon Merringue

Fresh Fruit Tart

Strawberry Rhubarb

Apple

Banana Cream (with an entire bunch of bananas)

Bumbleberry (Raspberry, Blackberry, Blueberry) --- this was a favorite

Pumpkin

Coconut Cream -- one lady only wanted pie if her husband could find coconut cream on the table and would bring it to her.  He found it and bought it to her and she was elated.  Made me happy to because I know that she has lost 80% of her hearing from both ear drums being ruptured on plane travel about a month ago...she has been in true misery.

Lemon Custard with Fresh Fruit

Orange Creamsicle

Blueberry

My favorite is Chocolate cream out of all the cream pies...just need my daily dose of chocolate, but of the two I made Hubby ate 1/2 pie and no one else tried it.  Frolicking Night Owl daughter swiped one of these leftovers.

Banana Cream went fast. I was surprised.
Strawberry Rhubarb---people were wanting more.
The Sugar-Free Strawberry went, but I think, just because dieters had a choice.
Could have used several more Chocolate Malted Tarts.

The balance was enjoyed but not to the same degree as the above.

It was fun to see the pie table mobbed.  People were lined up to get to the pies, then for seconds, and many for thirds and even fourths.

Average amount actually eaten  per person was 1/4 a 10" pie and .6 cup ice cream...that is really quite a large serving of dessert average per person...all the more fun.  There were a few people who only ate pie...they commented that they could have the other foods anytime, but homemade pie is a treasure.  

It was fun to watch, especially the men gawking at the table before dinner began, eying out the pies they would go for and almost drooling over their favorites.

These pies were homey, a little rustic, and delicious.  Because it is so hot it was hard to transport the creamy and fresh fruity pies, and it was also hard to keep a nice shape on the crust.  Even though the dough was chilled and some pie shells were frozen before baking, as soon as the dough was out of refrigeration it started melting fast.  My kitchen must have been 90^ even with A/C...the outside temp was 107^ and I had two ovens going all day.  I'm guessing that my Nephew's reception which is near Salt Lake City, will be a bit cooler, even in August which is their hottest month.

I also learned that I need more than one pie table!!!  It was mobbed and difficult to maneuver the cutting, etc.  For the wedding I will need a drink table, an ice cream table, room for paper products, and 3 pie tables.  There will also be a small wedding cake that one of my skilled decorating daughters will make....and Grandpa is making a cake stand to fit onto the tables that will be  18" high  and  and surrounded by pie???   That is the request.

Also, people were requesting my large dinner size plates for the pie and ice cream...so they could cut a few varieties to taste...did not like the smaller dessert plates.  I also need to take a daughter to decorate the pies better than I have time to do...always living in the fast lane.  The next large pie project needs to produce prettier pies.  So, all the toppings will need to be added by a careful, non-rushed baker.

I think I can made and freeze ahead all the pie crust dough and tart doughs.  I can pre-make some fillings such as for apple pie  (our apples will be ripe this week and they make THE BEST PIE!!!  They are Anna Apples and are similar to Golden Delicious...they are a great baking apple.)  I can also make the pastry creams and puddings the day before we travel and keep in coolers...should keep for 3 days.  Then, we can just put together the pies and bake them at Grandma's and someone can make the cake while I'm baking pies.  Sounds like a good plan.  I'm ready to gather ingredients so all I'll need will be the fresh foods.  

I'm looking forward to this next project and am glad to have had an opportunity to learn a few things.

THIS WAS A FUN PROJECT