Goldy's Kitchen Cookbook (30 page)

I knew there would come a time when Goldy shoved a pie in somebody's face—not at a catered function, mind you, much as she might be tempted—but on her own porch. I liked the idea so much I developed two recipes for Strawberry Pie. This one contains a cream filling.

For the crust:

1.
In a large dry skillet, toast the nuts over medium-low heat, stirring until they give off a nutty scent and have turned a very light brown. Turn out onto paper towels and allow to cool completely.

2.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter a 9 x 13-inch or 10 x 14-inch glass baking dish.

3.
In a bowl, mix the nuts, melted butter, and flour until thoroughly combined, then press this mixture evenly onto the bottom of the pan.

4.
Bake the crust for 20 to 30 minutes, or until it is set and has turned a very light brown. Set aside on a rack to cool completely before filling.

For the topping:

Set aside 2 pounds of the strawberries. Mash the remaining strawberries with a potato masher until they are crushed. Measure them; you should have about 2 cups. (Add or subtract strawberries to make 2 cups. Although you
may not use all the topping, this is to keep the proportions correct.) Transfer to a large saucepan. Mix the sugar with the cornstarch and add it to the pan along with the water. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof silicone spatula, increase the heat to medium-high (low altitude) or high (high altitude) and bring to a boil. (The mixture will be
very
hot, so be careful of splatters.) Stirring constantly, boil the mixture for about 1 minute, or until it is very thick and begins to clear. (It will not clear completely.) Remove from the heat and pour into a heatproof bowl. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling:

1.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, whip the cream until it holds soft peaks. (Do not overbeat.) Fold the whipped cream thoroughly into the cream cheese mixture.

2.
To assemble the pie, spread the cream filling over the cooled crust. Place the 3 pounds of reserved strawberries in even rows over the top. Set aside any remaining strawberries for another use. Carefully spoon the cooled strawberry topping over the strawberries until the pie is completely covered.

3.
Chill the pie thoroughly, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight, before serving. If you are chilling the pie overnight, cover it with plastic wrap, which you remove just before cutting.

Makes 24 servings

Note:
  
For the topping that goes between the fresh strawberries on top of the pie, it is best to start with about 3 pounds of strawberries before trimming and hulling. You will end up with about 2½ pounds of strawberries. Also, you should prepare the topping before starting on the filling, because it needs to cool completely before being spread on the filling. Finally, this recipe may make more strawberry topping than you need for the pie. Leftover topping must be refrigerated and used within 2 to 3 days. It is delicious on vanilla ice cream or on toasted, buttered English muffins.

This recipe contains no cream filling, just strawberries! Serve with best-quality vanilla ice cream.

Note:
A kitchen scale is helpful in making this recipe.

For the crust:

1.
In a large bowl (or in a food processor), whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds. Drop the first 4 tablespoons of chilled butter on top of the flour mixture, and cut in with 2 sharp knives (or pulse in the food processor),
just
until the mixture looks like tiny crumbs. (In the food processor, this will take less than a minute.) Repeat with the rest of the butter and the lard in batches, keeping the unused portions well chilled until it is time to add it to the flour. The mixture will look like large crumbs when all the butter and lard have been incorporated.

2.
Sprinkle the ⅓ cup water over the top of the mixture and either mix with a spoon (or pulse in the food processor) until the mixture
just
begins to hold together in clumps. If the mixture is too dry to hold together, add 1 to 3 tablespoons additional water until it does. Place a little less than half (12 ounces) of this mixture into a 2-gallon zippered plastic bag. (This will be the top crust.) Put the remaining 15 ounces (just more than half) into
another 2-gallon zippered plastic bag. (This will be the bottom crust.) Pressing
very
lightly through the plastic, quickly gather each mixture into a rough round
in the center of the bag.
Refrigerate the bags of dough until they are
thoroughly
chilled.

3.
When you are ready to make the pie, position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425˚F. Have a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and a rimmed baking sheet at the ready.

4.
Remove the bag with the larger amount of dough from the refrigerator. Unzip the bag to ventilate it, then quickly roll out the larger crust (still inside the bag) to a round about 10 inches in diameter. Using scissors, cut the plastic all the way around the bag and gently lift one side of the plastic. Place the bag, dough side down, in the pie plate. Gently remove the remaining piece of plastic so that the dough falls into the plate. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

For the filling:

1.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and sugar. Place the strawberries in a large bowl and sprinkle the flour mixture over it. Mix thoroughly.

2.
Take the pie shell out of the refrigerator.

3.
Fill the pie with the strawberry mixture, then repeat the rolling-out process with the other crust, and place it on top of the filling. Seal the two crusts together around the edges, and flute the crust. Using a sharp knife, cut four or five 2-inch slits in the top crust, to ventilate the pie. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the pie with just enough of the beaten egg white to cover it. Sprinkle the top crust with a small amount of sugar.

4.
Bake the pie for 20 minutes, then quickly take the pie out of the oven and put it on the baking sheet. Put the pie and the sheet back in the oven, and reduce the heat to 350˚F. Continue to bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until
thick
juices bubble out of the slits.

5.
Remove the baking sheet and place the pie on a rack. Allow it to cool
completely.
(Do not serve the pie hot or warm.)

Makes 10 to 12 servings

Once I'd gotten over the hurdle of worrying that flourless chocolate cakes wouldn't rise, I became obsessive about experimenting with them. I'd read somewhere that you could bake one in a pan of water, as long as you used a solid (i.e., not springform) pan that is at least 2 inches in depth, and guarded the cake well from splashes by not putting more than an inch of hot water in the outer pan. After baking, the cake will come out cleanly if you have buttered both the pan and the parchment. My friend and recipe-tester Carol Alexander made a stencil for me to decorate the top of this cake (you can buy stencils at virtually any kitchen supply store). You place the stencil on top of the cooled cake, just before serving, and sift powdered sugar on top. Carefully remove the stencil and you have a dark/light design. But be sure you wait until just before serving. Otherwise, a puff of breeze will bring your efforts to naught.

1.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch heavy-duty round cake pan that is 2 inches in height. (
Do not use a springform pan
.) Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter the parchment.

2.
Fill a 16 x 11-inch roasting pan with 1 inch of hot water, place the roasting pan on a baking sheet, and put it into the oven.

3.
In the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. When the ingredients are melted, remove the pan from the heat and remove the double boiler top from the bottom. Allow the butter-chocolate mixture to cool slightly. Sift the sugar with the cocoa twice, then whisk it into the melted chocolate mixture.

4.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until they are foamy. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture. Blend with a spatula until very well mixed.

5.
Carefully pour the batter into the cake pan. Gently place the cake pan into the water-filled roasting pan, taking care not to splash the water onto the cake.

6.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the cake begins to shrink slightly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake pan from the pan of water. (Discard the pan of water.) Place the cake on a rack to cool for 15 minutes, then gently invert onto a cake plate and peel off the paper. Allow to cool completely.

7.
Just before serving time, carefully place a 9- or 10-inch cake stencil on top of the cake and sift powdered sugar over the stencil (then remove the stencil). Serve immediately with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Makes 16 servings

Our family loves cherry pie, and I used to make it every summer with fresh tart cherries. A writer friend in Boulder had two massive cherry trees in her front yard and would invite me over to pick bags full every summer. But the birds discovered her trees, and pretty soon she went from having an abundant crop to no crop. Jim and I optimistically planted two Montmorency cherry trees in our own yard, and for a couple of years, he would go out once a week and pick enough cherries for a pie. Then the
elk
discovered our trees, and ate them down to the nub—they left no fruit, no leaves, no branches,
no tree trunks.
So now I use canned cherries. I also always bake the bottom crust first. This keeps it from becoming soggy. Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

For the crust:

1.
In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade), whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds. Drop the first 8 tablespoons of chilled butter on top of the flour mixture, and cut in with 2 sharp knives (or pulse in the food processor),
just
until the mixture looks like tiny crumbs. (In the food processor, this will take less than a minute.) Repeat with the rest of the butter and the lard or vegetable shortening in batches, keeping the unused portions well chilled until it is time to add it to the flour. The mixture will look like large crumbs when all the butter and lard have been incorporated.

2.
Sprinkle the ½ cup water over the top of the mixture and either mix with a spoon (or pulse in the processor) until the mixture
just
begins to hold together in clumps. If the mixture is too dry to hold together, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more water until it does. Divide the mixture into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than half (the bottom crust), the other slightly less than half (the top crust). Place each piece into a 2-gallon zippered plastic storage bag.

3.
Pressing very lightly through the plastic, quickly gather the mixture into rough rounds in the center of each bag. Refrigerate the bags of dough until they are thoroughly chilled.

4.
When you are ready to make the pie, preheat the oven to 400˚F. Have a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate ready. Have a rimmed baking sheet ready to place underneath the pie.

5.
Remove the bag with the larger portion of dough from the refrigerator. Unzip the bag, then quickly roll out the dough (still in the bag) to a round about 10 inches in diameter. Using scissors, cut the plastic all the way around the bag and gently lift back one side of the plastic. Place the bag dough side down into the pie plate. Gently remove the remaining piece of plastic so that the dough falls into the plate. Trim the edge of the crust. Gently line the crust with parchment paper and weight down the crust with rice, dried beans, or pie weights.

6.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the parchment with the weights. Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with one of the beaten egg whites. Return the crust to the oven to bake for 10 minutes more. If the edges begin to brown too quickly, it can be covered with pieces of foil until the crust is baked. Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool slightly while you prepare the filling and the top crust. Leave the oven on.

For the filling:

1.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch and stir until well mixed. Stir in the reserved cherry juice. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens and bubbles, then cook a minute or two longer, until the mixture begins to clear. Remove from the heat and stir in the cherries, melted butter, and lemon juice.

2.
Spoon the cherry mixture into the cooked crust. Remove the second chilled bag of pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough following the process used for the bottom crust. After cutting the plastic, gently lift the plastic from one side of the dough. Center the bag, dough side down, over the cherry filling and gently remove the remaining piece of plastic. Press the dough around the edge of the baked crust to seal the 2 crusts as much as possible (you will not be able to seal them completely; this is okay). Cut slits in the top crust to create vents. Brush the top crust with the second egg white. Sprinkle the granulated sugar or crushed sugar cubes lightly over the top. Place the pie onto the rimmed baking sheet before it bakes.

3.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top crust is browned and
thick
juices are bubbling out of the pie. Cool the pie on a rack for at least 2 hours, so the pie can set up.

Makes 12 servings