Thanksgiving 2007: Blueberry-Cranberry Pie

According to RLB, this pie was the first to appear on the internet and was created by Sarah Leah Chase. With all the antioxidants in this pie it could be considered natural medicine--physical and emotional health all in one slice! Any diary topping you might add (whip cream, ice creme, creme fraiche) would only serve to up the grams of protein and make it a well-rounded meal.

November 22, 2007
Occasion: Thanksgiving!
Name of Pie: Deep Dish Blueberry/Cranberry Internet Pie, Gluten-Free
Constituents; Pretty much what you'd think a deep dish blueberry/cranberry pie would have...

This pie calls for 347 grams of fresh or frozen cranberries, so when I went to the store I was delighted to find a big open basket of fresh organic cranberries. I got to scoop out as many cranberries as I needed--actually I got carried away and bought too many, they are so pretty I couldn't stop scooping--and pay by the pound.

Seriously, folks. Take a moment to appreciate how beautiful a pile of fresh cranberries are. Their color varies from a luscious deep red to a pinkish white, some stripey, some not; they look like a pile of jewels, do they not? They have this glow and life to them, they are vibrant in their color and taste, they hold memories of bogs and clear cold water and giant islands of moss. Take a moment to plunge your hands into a pile of fresh cranberries and let them tell you their stories. And you'll see why I couldn't stop loading them into my bag.

Again the GF crust was crumbly and as I pressed the crumbly dough into the pie plate, I got really nervous trying to think of how I was going to get the top crust on without it crumbling all over the filling.

I thought back to previous GF pie doughs, and they were all very sticky. I had no problem with dry and crumbly. It finally occured to me to, duh, add more water!! Once I did that the dough began to stick together better (as much as a GF dough can) and I was able to roll it out and I got it on the pie without it crumbling into pieces all over the filling. Phew.

RLB suggests the best way to bake a fruit pie and still have the bottom crust be crisp is to put it into the oven frozen. That way the crust has a chance to bake and crisp up before the fruit fully defrosts and starts to exude juice all over the crust.

So I shoved the fully assembled pie in the freezer and went to bed.

The next morning when I got up I turned on the oven, put on the kettle, started to cook turkey breakfast sausage, and put the frozen pie into the oven. An hour or so later, I was eating sausage, finishing my tea, and looking at a freshly baked berry pie. What a way to start a day!

This pie is awesome. It is so bright and alive with color and flavor. The pie crusts tasted better and were a little flakier than the pumpkin pies'. I put a little bit of softly whipped cream on my slice, and the white of the cream looked so pretty against the midnight purple and maroon red of the berries. You gotta try this pie.

Comments

  1. Anonymous5/12/07 14:00

    OK. I will! Throw the whole caboodle
    in frozen huh? OK.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yep, that's what RLB recommends. Not only throw the whole kaboodle in frozen, but on top of a baking stone that's sitting on the bottom rack of the oven, nice and hot.

    ReplyDelete

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