Blueberry Lattice Pie kicks off a new tradition - Friday Night Bakes and help for Hospitality House

Over the summer I have gotten into the habit of baking on Friday nights.  Yes, I know I’m a little boring – and I’m okay with that ;)

But this new routine has left me in a bit of a jam… what to do with all these baked goods.  So I started thinking…. I try to give back when I can; donating to Goodwill, running 5Ks for a cause etc...so why not kill two birds with one stone: break in my new cookbooks and take my bakes to Hospitality House.  The shelter counts on its volunteers to assist with chores like cooking and cleaning and relies solely on donations from the community for its food supply and cost coverage.  Although they have a large double kitchen [which, btw, I got to cook in when I volunteered with my company this past spring] the staff said it’s not unusual for people to just drop off dinners or baked goods.  Problem solved: my baked goodies go to the guests of Hospitality House. 

I took the pie over this morning and thought it would be nice to include a little note:

“ ‘Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort.’
 - Norman Kolpas

I hope you all enjoy this homemade blueberry pie and that it brings you some comfort during your stay at Hospitality House.  J If you’d like the recipe you can find it on my blog at flirtingwithflour.blogspot.com.”

If blueberry filling spills a little on your crust its going to cause some discoloring (see the upper right corner and a little on the criss crosses) - Bake the pie on a cookie sheet for easier handling.


Update: I got a handwritten thank you note from Hospitality House in the mail today. :)

Blueberry Lattice Pie

Slightly modified version of Dorie Greenspan’s: Baking from My Home to Yours

2 batches of Alton Brown’s basic pie crust

({or your preferred recipe – or if you need to cheat Pillsbury makes a decent dough ;)

4 cups frozen* or fresh blueberries

(*do not thaw them if they’re frozen)

¾ cups granulated sugar

½ cup flour

The juice and zest of 1 lemon

4 tbs melted butter

1 egg + 1 tsp water

Sugar for extra sparkle

• You may also want to grab a ruler or have a long blade knife on hand (about ½ inch to 1 inch wide.
• Toss the blueberries, flour, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Pour into prepared pie crust.  Drizzle with the melted butter. 
• Begin to weave your lattice (see directions below under the pie crust recipe). If you want, you can trim the pie with any remaining dough to create an even crust. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with a few tbs of sugar.
• Bake at 425F for about 45 minutes.  If the filling does not look thick, no worries, it will set. Allow to cool for at least 1 hour.  
• Serve with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

Alton Brown’s Basic Pie Crust

1 ½ AP flour

½ tsp kosher salt

2 tbs shortening (chilled)

8 tbs unsalted butter, cut into cubes and frozen (or well chilled in freezer)

Ice water (about a ¼ cup) 

• Combine the flour and salt in a blender. Pulse 3 times.
• Add butter and pulse 3 times again.
• Add shortening and blend 3 times (again…)
• Spritz with about 1-2 tbs ice water – just enough to get the top of the flour moist.
• Blend 5-7 more times and spritz with about 1-2 tbs of the water. Pulse about 5 more times.
• Dump the dough onto plastic wrap and press into 5 inch disk. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• When the dough has been chilled (aka has rested) roll the dough into a 10-12 inch circle. Transfer to pie pan. 
• Dock (aka. Poke holes) in the bottom with a fork about 10-12 times (this allows the steam to escape so you don’t end up with a bubbly pie crust)
• Line with a piece of parchment paper and weigh down with pie weights (or beans, rice etc). Bake at 375F for 20 minutes.
• Remove parchment and continue to bake until the bottom of the crust cooked.

 

Prepare a second batch of dough to use for the lattice top.  Repeat as above and this time once you’ve rolled out the dough into a 10-12 inch circle use a ruler to make long strips which you will weave to create the lattice. If you need help with how to create this patter you can find a picture tutorial at Simply Recipes.

Star Spangled Galette

Just wanted to share what I made for Fourth of July this year. I used the same blueberry galette recipe from earlier and used a cookie cutter and red sprinkles to make the stars.  Everyone at our neighborhood block party loved it =D  And this was much easier than last year's flag cake... recall the dog incident.

Blueberry Galette

 Hello Summer!! 

After one whole week I finally "broke in" my kitchen! I thought fresh blueberries from the Charlotte Farmer's Market would make a lovely rustic tart. Made the perfect dessert for burgers on the grill. Happy Memorial Day!

Blueberry Galette

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light 

(serves 10)

• PASTRY:
• 1 3/4  cups  all-purpose flour (about 7 3/4 ounces)
• 1/3  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4  cup  cornmeal
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  cup  cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3  cup  fat-free buttermilk
• 
  
  FILLING:
• 4  cups  blueberries
• 2  cups  blackberries (I omitted since I didn't have any)
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 2  tablespoons  lemon juice + the zest of one lemon
• 2  tablespoons  fat-free milk
• 1  large egg white
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  turbinado sugar

Preparation

1. To prepare pastry, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; pulse two times. Add butter to flour mixture; pulse 4 to 5 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly add buttermilk through food chute; process just until dough forms a ball. Gently press dough into a 4-inch circle on plastic wrap; cover. Chill 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. Unwrap and place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll dough into a 15-inch circle. Place dough and parchment on a baking sheet.

4. To prepare filling, combine berries and next 3 ingredients (through juice and zest) in a medium bowl; toss gently to coat. Arrange berry mixture in center of dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover berry mixture).

5. Combine fat-free milk and egg white in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Brush dough with milk mixture; sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over dough. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until pastry is golden brown. Let stand 30 minutes; cut into wedges.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

306 (28% from fat)

Fat:

9.7g (sat 5.8g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

4.3g

Carbohydrate:

52.2g

Fiber:

3.7g

Cholesterol:

24mg

Iron:

1.7mg

Sodium:

138mg

Calcium:

33mg