pie – Peaceful Reader

I made a sweet potato pie last night. It looks beautiful. I have to wait until tomorrow to taste it. It looks simple in the photo but the flavor will be great. The cool thing is that new stove sitting in my kitchen. Love it.

To make the pie I used the best pie crust recipe I have in my files, given to me by my mother-in-law, Phyllis.

Perfect Pie Crust

For a double crust pie:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup Crisco
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cold, cold water

Mix together dry and cut in Crisco with a pastry blender. Pour in cold water and mix only enough to stick together. Roll out one-half of the dough at a time for double crust pie.

I never fail with this recipe. My sweet potato pie is not a two crust pie so I have the second half of the dough in the fridge waiting for inspiration. I didn’t have any Crisco way down in my pantry so I tried a butter/Coconut oil (in solid form) combination and it seems to have worked. The true test will be tomorrow when we eat it.

Sweet potato pie is very easy; a handful of sweet potatoes, baked, then peeled, a little organic sugar, 3 eggs, fresh nutmeg scraped in, and evaporated milk (I used regular after boiling it down). Work it all together, pour it in the pie shell and bake it at 350* for 45 minutes. The middle won’t jiggle when it’s all done. Best served at room temperature with a small dollop of fresh whipped cream seasoned with cinnamon. Can’t wait.

Tomorrow night we are having a friendsgiving and I’m making a big dish of vegetable lasagna with some organic, local ground beef thrown in. I found the veggie lasagna recipe at The Pioneer Woman. Crusty french bread and a large tossed salad will be perfect together. For one guest I’m making homemade mashed potatoes with gravy and some cranberries so it will seem a little more like Thanksgiving. I don’t ever really miss the turkey because the side dishes mean more.

Be grateful for everything in your day; the sweet and the sour.

{Ree’s photo, not mine)

My husband would love it if I cooked like Ree Drummond most of the time. He’s a fried chicken, grits, biscuits and gravy kinda guy. I made him a homemade plateful using a recipe for biscuits and gravy I found on her website. There were delicious. I’m more of a vegetarian, salad, healthy-type eater so we balance each other out. I’ve learned to appreciate something as hearty as this dish as long as it’s like eaten not more than once a year and made with high quality, local sausage like Beeler’s.

Last night we secretly made him a strawberry-rhubarb pie. It is hiding in the cupboard waiting for tomorrow night. I used frozen rhubarb from last summer’s crop and some berries my mom brought me the other day. I don’t know where she got the berries and I’m not asking as they were big (and definitely NOT local) but perfect for this pie. It’s his favorite. I used to be afraid of making pies all because of sticky crusts. My mother-in-law shared her recipe with me and I finally got the hang of making it. Last night Groovy Girl and I worked happily together interlacing the pie crust to make a lattice top.

The pie was quite juicy I think because of the frozen rhubarb. It has settled not and should be perfect for serving tomorrow night. I always bake it on top of a cookie sheet which saved my oven this time as it leaked right up over the top.

Here is the pie crust recipe so you to can feel pie-successful:

Phyllis’ Perfect Pie Crust

For a double crust pie:

2 cups flour
1 cup Crisco (today I used butter as I was out of Crisco)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cold water

Mix together dry ingredients, cut in Crisco with a pastry blender. Pour in cold water and mix only enough to stick together. Roll out one-half of the dough at a time for a double crust pie. You can sprinkle top with sugar or cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Toss in your fruit of choice and bake. The lattice top in the photo above does not look as good as we’ve done before but he is not going to care. He is going to be delighted that I’m still willing to craft a pie for him! Why all this catering to the husband? His birthday is tomorrow!

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme. Click on her link to find many other food-related posts. Happy weekend.

Tag: pie

Thanksgiving Delights

Breakfast or brunch, whichever.