Pie Success...sort of

I met Leah in 1984, during my stint as a Journalism Major at Utah State University (this was in-between my Home Economics Education major and the Family and Human Development degree that I eventually earned).  Leah was one reason to enjoy studying journalism.  We both went our separate ways, and I heard a bit about Leah here and there through the years since we have several mutual friends, but I didn't see her again until we reconnected this past year.  She volunteered to be a pie tester for The Pie Chronicles, so we had a great evening of catching up and eating pie.  It didn't hurt that our sons really hit it off - it was definitely not easy to tear them apart so Leah could take her boy home.  The pie I made turned out to be yummy.  Leah and the boys all gave it a "thumbs up".  I think it could have set up a bit more firmly, so next time I'll make it further in advance so it can have a longer refrigerator time!

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.

Orange Blossom Pie

3 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice (for me this was exactly how much juice I got from half an orange)
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 large orange peeled and segmented (I used mandarin oranges instead - a large can)
1 pie crust (allrecipes used a vanilla wager crust, I used my regular pastry crust)

1.  Beat the eggs until frothy.  Combine eggs, sugar, orange juice, and rind in a saucepan.  Cook over low heat, stirring constatnly, until very thick.  Remove from heat and stir in butter.  Chill completely in the refrigerator.
2.  Whip the cream to soft peaks.  Fold into chilled orange mixture.
3.  Arrange layer of orange sections in chilled crust.  Spoon chilled orange mixture into crust and top with additional orange sections.  Chill until ready to serve.

Let the pie making begin

It started in high school.  I was a skinny little thing (something that has changed substantially during the ensuing 30 years) but I did love pie.  My mom and Grandma were good pie makers, but they didn't exactly make it frequently - pie only showed up for holidays.  So I decided to learn how to make pie, and I suppose I've succeeded.  During my senior year I entered a cooking competition at the state Future Homemakers of America convention and my pie rated "Superior".  And I was officially a pie-maker.  For many years I have made all the holiday pies for my extended family gatherings, and got into a rut of making two pumpkin pies, two chocolate French silk pies, and two banana cream pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  But it's time to break out of the pie rut and make it fun again!  I'm going to try new pie recipes, invite friends over to share the pies, and share the reviews and recipes with whoever happens to read this blog.  So let's begin!

Today's pie: Cranberry-Apple-Orange shared with my friends Mary and Curtis

I adapted the recipe from the cookbook "Pie" by Ken Haedrich, using fewer cranberries and an indeterminate amount of fresh orange juice.  I served the pie slightly warm with vanilla bean ice cream.  Mary and Curtis both said they really liked the pie, feeling that the tartness of the cranberries complemented the apples very well. Mary also liked the color of the pie - and I agreed that it looked very pretty.

Here's the recipe, as I made it:

Cranberry-Apple-Orange Pie
Pastry for a 9-inch two crust pie
1 cup fresh cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
5 apples, peeled and cored and cute into small chunks
juice and zest of one orange
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Chop the cranberries and stir into remaining filling ingredients.  Set aside for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F..

Put pastry into a 9-inch pie pan (I prefer a deep-dish pan) and pour in the filling.  Cover with top pastry.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 30 minutes more.  Let cool for about one hour before serving.

I'm going to try to do a new pie every week or so.  Let me know if you'd like to be invited over to review a pie!