one of my profs grilled me about the pie project today. he asked me a ton of very specific questions, culminating with “do you cool your pies on the windowsill?” confusing professor interactions aside, i am really enjoying the project.
one hundred pies project: scape and asparagus quiche
My friend and I had a farmer’s market date and then I made breakfast afterwards (you have to go before 9am in Madison or it’s too massive a swarm). They still had scapes, which are the tender tops of young garlic plants. They have a sweet, garlicky, and oniony flavor.
I made too much dough with not enough fat, but I don’t even care, because the filling of this quiche was fluffy and delicious. I also got a chance to use my new tart dish. I love it!
I tried egg washing both sides of the crust—I can’t tell if it made the bottom crust soggier or assuaged some of its lack of fat. Who knows. I’ll try it again sometime.
Scape and Asparagus Quiche
1 pie crust (I made my own, but it sucked so I’m not going to give directions for it)
4 eggs, one separated
1 cup of milk
2 cups of shredded cheese, scant (I just used up a few leftover bags in the fridge, cheddar, provolone, and some parmesan)
5 asparagus stalks
3 scapes
1/8 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to tasteChop the scapes and asparagus. Make the pie crust and chill. Whisk milk, three eggs, and one egg yolk, reserving the white. Add cheese, spices, scapes, and asparagus. Line pie pan and brush crust with egg white. Pour in egg mixture. Bake at 375 F until the crust is light brown and the eggs have puffed up, about 30 minutes. Let cool. EAT.
i decided to just have a full-fledged food tumblr. if you’ve been following the one hundred pies project, i’ll continue it there (and occasionally post the exceptional ones over here). I’m also going to try to frequently write out recipes, though I don’t really follow them, even my own.
the twix tart
one hundred pies project #16: plain old cherry pie
made this for a make up class movie night. it was tasty. i cooked the fruit and then let it cool before putting it into the crust. it wouldn’t have boiled over if i had taken in out in time—but then again i’m starting to like the boiled-over look (thanks anytree)
oh, i made this with earth balance rather than butter.
one hundred pies #15: strawberry rhubarb
i cooked the fruit before i put it in the pie crust. this helped a) the bottom and top crusts to cook better and b) the cornstarch taste and cloudy look to go away.
but it still boiled over.
one day i will figure this out.
it was really delicious.
one hundred pies #14: cherry pie with almond crust
it was pretty. the filling didn’t cook out the cornstarch like it should have because i didn’t thaw the fruit out all the way. the bottom crust also didn’t cook enough because the fruit was too cool. moral of the story: frozen fruit eliminates bubble-over problems but makes the rest of the pie mediocre.
one hundred pies project #13: blueberry pie
i made my thirteenth pie on friday the thirteenth for a friend’s thirty-first birthday party. not very happy with its appearance but it should be tasty. blueberry pies are so delicately delicious.
one hundred pies project #12: ginger peach pie
i’ve been feeling really awful since spring break ended, so i made a pie. the ginger is nice and warm. i didn’t sweeten it very much, which was nice. i used frozen peaches. this would be much better with fresh peaches.
one hundred pies project #12: passover dairy free lemon meringue pie
I was invited to a seder by my friend who can’t eat dairy, so i thought i’d try to make something that uses a ton of eggs. so—lemon meringue!
this was my first time making a meringue, so that was what i was the most nervous about, though that was probably the simplest step.
i started with a matzoh-walnut crumb crust bound with coconut oil:
then i filled it with lemon curd also made with coconut oil and thickened with arrowroot rather than cornstarch:
i topped it off with my first successful meringue:
it was great! it set really nicely and the meringue wasn’t soggy at all. the crumb crust fell apart a lot but still tasted delicious.
ETA: when my friend picked me up, i overheard some people who passed me on the sidewalk talking about how good the pie looked!
one hundred pies #11: pear, blue cheese, walnut
delicious. the pear really mellowed out the blue cheese. somewhere between savory and sweet, but absolutely delicious.
one hundred pies project #10: sweet cherry rhubarb
one hundred pies #9: raspberry custard pie
first attempt at a cooked custard pie, first attempt at a braided crust. deceptively easy. i riffed off of martha’s recipe. cooked it a bit too long.
Use an extremely rich bottom dough, rimming it up in the same manner.
— How To Make Better Pies, Monroe Boston Strause (1936)
one hundred pies project #8: raspberry rhubarb pie
i’ve always loved strawberry rhubarb but found it a bit too cloying, so i tried out a raspberry rhubarb pie. it was a bit too tart. maybe if i added some more sugar…
i also did a non-woven diagonal lattice this time. i like it.
eternal questions: how does one make a berry pie without it boiling over? though i’ve grown to like the berry-soaked edges both in terms of taste and appearance.
one hundred pies project #7: leftovers chicken pot pie
technique note: i made this top crust pie from scraps of the previous crusts i’ve made that i stuck into the freezer until i had enough for a top crust for a pot pie. though it should have been tough, it was surprisingly flaky and crisp, which inspired the following conversation.
me: did you eat the whole rest of the crust?
her: it was always already eaten.
