Pineapple Mango Pie

I have determined that my family members are not big mango eaters.  We got some Mexican mangoes from the produce co-op two weeks ago, and only one had been eaten by last night.  At this point these things needed to be used.  I also had a pineapple sitting on the counter that I'd been too lazy to cut up and it wasn't getting any younger either, so it was time to do a tropical pie.  I went to www.allrecipes.com to search for a pie recipe using mango and pineapple and found this lovely pie.  It called for crushed pineapple, but I used chopped up fresh pineapple instead.  I can't imagine that canned pineapple would have been as good - the "real" bites of pineapple in this pie were yummy!  The whole family enjoyed this pie for a Monday night treat (well, I saved mine for Tuesday morning breakfast).

Pineapple-Mango Pie

4-5 mangoes, peeled and diced
1 fresh pineapple, cut into tidbits or chunks
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons apple juice
5 Tablespoons instant tapioca
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
1 recipe of pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie

• Mix the fruit, sugars, juice and tapioca together.  Let stand in bowl for 20 minutes (this is the time to make the pastry).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Pour filling into the unbaked pie shell, and dot with butter.  Cover with top crust and seal edges.  Cut slits in top of outer crust.
• This pie will be juicy and may bubble over, so place it in the oven on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, or until bubbles burst slowly and the crust is light golden brown.  Let pie cool, and serve at room temperature.

It's a PIE HOLIDAY!

Did you know that Jan. 23 is a day set aside to celebrate pie?  What a great way to brighten up mid-winter!  We decided to make the day fun by inviting friends over to try some pie - both tried and true and something new.  I had some limes in the fridge and a pineapple on the counter, so naturally those went in to some pies.  I also had a can of pumpkin in the pantry so some easy pumpkin pies got thrown into the mix as well.  Our friends Curtis and Mary came over (they always seem happy to try some pie) and Paul and Lisa came by and brought some teenagers along.  So along with some good conversation and teasing of the teenagers, we enjoyed Lime Pie (I used the recipe on a key lime juice bottle, although I used fresh squeezed lime juice from the pile of limes lurking in my fridge), pumpkin pie (recipe from the Libby's pumpkin can, with a couple of small tweaks) and fresh pineapple pie.

Paul stated up front that he does not like pumpkin pie, so he didn't try it, but he said he liked the lime pie.  Everyone else gave all the pies a good rating.  Hayden, Paul's 15 year-old son, ate 3 pieces of lime pie and said it was his favorite but he liked the pineapple pie too.  Mary gave her vote to the pineapple pie.

Recipes:
I won't give the Lime and Pumpkin recipes here, mostly because I'm lazy and it's late on Sunday night.  The Lime Pie recipe was the basic one you can find almost anywhere containing sweetened condensed milk, eggs and lime juice.  We served it topped with sweetened whipped cream.

I always use the Libby's pumpkin pie recipe and Libby's pumpkin.  This pumpkin really is better than the rest for color, consistency and flavor.  I adapt it by using brown sugar (real brown sugar, not sugar colored/flavored with molasses - read the label) and throwing in a bit more of each spice than the recipe calls for.

The pineapple pie was delicious right out of the oven, and even better warmed slightly the next day.  I wish I'd had some ice cream to serve with it, because I think that would have been completely heavenly, but since I'd never made this before I wasn't sure how it was going to end up.  The recipe is a keeper!  Here it is:

Fresh Pineapple Pie

Pastry for 2-crust pie - 9 or 10 incehs
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 fresh pineapple - peeled, cored and chopped (about the size of canned pineapple chunks or tidbits)
1 tablespoon butter.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Beat the eggs until foamy.  Mix in sugar, lemon juice and pineapple.  Pour into pie shell and dot with butter.  Cover with top crust, crimp edges, cut slits to vent.  Brush top of pie with cold water and sprinkle with white sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 50 minutes more.  The pie will be quite juicy, it thickens as the pie cools.