Fruit, cream, even meat pies are honored today

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Fruit, cream, even meat pies are honored today

January 23, 2008 12:15 am

Spotsylvania County's Pam McWhirt's rich chocolate cream pie is a family Christmas staple--and it's easy to see why.

Its gooey goodness and blended textures make a slice of caramel pecan pie a favorite among many.

By MARCIA ARMSTRONG

FOR THE FREE LANCE--STAR

YOU PROBABLY consumed more pie during the 33-day stretch from Thanksgiving to Christmas than you ate in all of 2007.

So, given that you've barely begun losing the weight gained from the holidays, why did the powers that be declare today National Pie Day? Because pie, at any time of the year, is one of our favorite foods. Think deep-dish apple pie nestled cozily on a blue-and-white checked tablecloth. Or, a cherry-filled creation topped with a golden-brown lattice crust. Who wouldn't feel better after eating that?

AMERICAN PIE

According to historians, pies first appeared in England in the 12th century. Back then, they were filled with meat rather than fruit, and had more crust than filling.

The Pilgrims brought their pie-making skills to America, and today almost every country in the world boasts some form of pie.

To honor the humble pie, we asked our readers to share their favorite recipes.

Spotsylvania County resident Pam McWhirt has been making chocolate pie for 38 years. She found the recipe in a cookbook she received as a wedding gift. The concoction started as a birthday dessert, then quickly became a family Christmas staple. Now, McWhirt's grandchildren beg her to bring chocolate pie each time she visits them.

McWhirt's filling includes sugar, salt, eggs and cornstarch, but she also adds such premium ingredients as real vanilla extract and Pernigotti Italian cocoa.

"I think [the cocoa] makes it even better than you can imagine," she said.

Top-quality cocoa is not necessary, though.

"Hershey's might do just fine," McWhirt said.

CHILL OUT

A key step in creating a perfect chocolate pie is to cool it quickly, she said. If it's cold outside, McWhirt places the hot pie on her deck, taking care not to put it directly in the sun. If it's too warm, she sets the pie in a bowl of ice water in her kitchen.

"Or, you could let it cool an hour on the counter and then in the fridge for a little bit," she said.

A cold bowl and beaters work best when making whipped cream to top the pie, she said.

McWhirt's cousin once mockingly compared her pie to chocolate pudding topped with Cool Whip. He changed his mind after he tasted the confection.

"He pronounced it many notches above what he initially thought," she said.

Sue Henderson's Fall Harvest Pie is such a favorite with family and friends that she's baked it more than 40 times in the last six years. The simple combination of chopped apples and pears, along with one cup each of butter and sugar, makes for a nice taste, said Henderson, who lives in Stafford County.

"The tart apples and pears blend together without getting cloyingly sweet or thick," she said. "Everyone who's ever eaten it has loved it."

Pam Hudgins, who lives in Spotsylvania, made her Hershey Bar Pie for the first time in 1974.

"When I was first given the recipe, Hershey bars were about half the size they are now and real whipping cream was used," Hudgins said.

To simplify the recipe, Hudgins substitutes Cool Whip for the real stuff.

Hudgins' daughter likes the pie so much she prefers it over cake on her birthday.

JUICE IT UP

Many potential pie chefs avoid making the dessert because they are petrified of producing a dry or tasteless crust.

According to Stafford resident Sandra Sweeney, rolling out the perfect pie crust is easy. Twenty-five years ago, a friend of Sweeney's told her a great crust secret: put orange juice in the recipe instead of water. The friend assured Sweeney the result wouldn't taste like orange-juice pie crust. Sweeney was hooked.

"It makes the tastiest pie crust."

So go ahead, indulge today, and worry about that holiday pie girth tomorrow.

Marcia Armstrong is a freelance writer living in Utah. She can be reached at
Email: thisfullhouse@gmail.com

PAM MCWHIRT'S CHOCOLATE PIE

1 cups sugar cup cornstarch teaspoon of salt 4 egg yolks 3 cups whole milk 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (chopped in big pieces) 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon real vanilla extract optional 2 tablespoons really good cocoa Cook's note: Bake a 9- or 10-inch pie crust, I always make my own crust but a frozen one that you bake will work also. Cool the pie crust.

Procedure: In a microwave safe bowl, at least 2-quart capacity, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt (and cocoa, if using), till smooth. Whisk in the egg yolks and just a small amount of the milk until smooth and then whisk in the rest of the milk until smooth (if you whisk in too much of the milk in the beginning, you will never get it smooth!). Then add the chopped chocolate pieces.

Cook the mixture in the microwave on high until it bubbles and then cook it bubbling for one minute. You will need to whisk it several times during the entire microwave cooking process so it will not get lumpy. In my microwave, it takes about 8 minutes total time. Remove from microwave and whisk in the butter and vanilla. If the mixture looks even a little lumpy sieve it into another bowl (you may or may not have to do this, it just depends on whether it looks lumpy or not).

Immediately press a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the mixture so a skin will not form.

Cool it quickly. Fill the pie shell and again place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Put in fridge until time to serve it.

When it's time to serve, whip 8 ounces of heavy whipping cream with 1 teaspoon of real vanilla extract and 2 heaping tablespoons of confectioner's sugar.

Spread cream on top and, if you want to be fancy, shave some chocolate on top (either semi-sweet, unsweetened, or bittersweet--it doesn't matter!).

SANDRA SWEENEY'S 10-INCH DOUBLE PIE CRUST RECIPE

2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup shortening 8 tablespoons cold orange juice

Procedure: Mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender (I prefer the wire type) until all the flour is blended in to pea-size chunks or smaller. Sprinkle the orange juice, one tablespoon at a time. Toss lightly with a fork until the dough forms a ball.

Make sure your measuring cups are correct--too much flour makes a tough dough! And toss the dough gently, using upward strokes. Roll out the dough on a floured surface (I use a pastry cloth and a cloth sleeve on my rolling pin), placing the rolling pin in the center of the dough and rolling toward the edge. Lift the rolling pin off the dough as you approach the edge. Again, only roll the dough as much as you need to form the correct size. Too much handling results in a tough pastry.

In honor of National Pie Day here are some fruity facts:

One out of four Americans prefers apple pie, followed by pumpkin or sweet potato (17 percent), anything chocolate (14 percent), lemon meringue (11 percent) and cherry (10 percent).

Three out of four Americans prefer homemade pie.

If you lined up the number of pies sold at U.S. grocery stores in one year, they would more than circle the globe.

The wet bottom molasses pie, called "Shoo-fly pie," was used to attract flies from the kitchen.

Pumpkin pie was first introduced to the holiday table at the Pilgrims' second Thanksgiving, in 1623.

Pie was not always America's favorite dessert--in the 19th century, fruit pies were a common breakfast food eaten before the start of a long day.

--The American Pie Council and the Salt Lake Tribune

SUE HENDERSON'S FALL HARVEST PIE

Makes 8 to 10 servings

6 tart apples (Macintosh or Gala), peeled and sliced 1 cup butter 6 pears (Bosc or Anjou), peeled and sliced

1 cup sugar

Procedure: Melt butter in large skillet and add apples, pears and sugar. Cook on medium heat until fruit is soft or about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, take 2 pie crusts (either your own recipe or refrigerated, ready-to-go) and overlap them on a large cookie sheet. Make one long oval with excess hanging over the short sides.

Once the fruit is soft, use a slotted spoon and put into the center of the crusts. Fold the crust edges over leaving an open oval of exposed fruit. Sprinkle another half cup of sugar over the entire pie. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes until the crust is golden brown. While the pie is baking, continue cooking the drippings from the fruit on low heat stirring continuously. Add one cup of sugar and allow the fruit and sugar to caramelize. Turn the heat down to prevent burning the caramel but keeping it soft.

When the pie comes out of the oven, drizzle the caramel over the top and allow the pie to cool before serving.

10-Inch Apple Pie

1 cup sugar cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon teaspoon nutmeg teaspoon salt 10 McIntosh apples, peeled and thinly sliced 2 tablespoons butter

Procedure: Heat oven to 425 degrees. For filling: combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle over apple slices and toss lightly until apple slices are completely coated.

Spoon filling into an unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter. Moisten pastry edge with water. Cover with top crust. Fold top edge under bottom crust. Flute with fingers or fork. Cut a design in the top crust with a knife to let steam escape.

For topping: Brush top crust with a smattering of half and half and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar. Cover edge of crust with foil to prevent over-browning.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue baking for 40 more minutes. Cool until warm.

CARAMEL PECAN PIE

28 caramels, unwrapped cup butter cup water cup sugar 2 large eggs teaspoon vanilla teaspoon salt 1 cups chopped pecans

Procedure: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine caramels, butter, and water in the top of a double-boiler over medium-high heat until melted. Stir together sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt; add to the caramel mixture.

Stir pecans into the caramel mixture. Pour caramel-pecan mixture into baked 9-inch pie crust. Cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent over-browning.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 20 more minutes. Allow to cool until barely warm.

Recipe from: November 2005 issue of Southern Living