Friday, March 11, 2011

Sour Cherry Pie

On Wednesday, I helped my older sister Cady with family dinner.  First I went over to her house in the afternoon to help her with a cherry pie.  I was over there for dinner the night before (cheeseburgers, fries, Brussels sprouts) and noticed a big bowl of cherries.  Cady said she was making cherry pie for dessert the next night when my other older sister Rachel and our mom would be joining us.

Pie Crust:


  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 to 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter, cut up
  • 2/3 cup ice cold water
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar

In a very large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter leaving pea sized chunks.  In a 2 cup glass measure whisk water, sour cream, and vinegar; pour, all at once into flour mixture, and quickly distribute. Stop!

Make sure dough is slightly crumbly. Divide dough mixture into 3 equal portions (about 12 to 13 ounces each) Refrigerate for 2 hours and best overnight (finish by hand). DO NOT OVERMIX- the finished dough should break, not stretch.  Gently knead in bag to bring dough together. Form into discs.

Use at once or wrap and store in refrigerator for several days or in freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator if frozen.

Cady wrapped it up in plastic wrap and let it chill in the freezer for about 20 minutes, before rolling into a crust.  Although it makes three, we only made two crusts.  The first was for the bottom of course.  The second, she rolled into a longer piece and cut into strips, the width of a ruler--about one inch.  Each strip was ten inches.


I did the lattice.  First, I placed four strips parallel to each other, evenly spaced.  I folded back strips one and three then, perpendicular to the first four strips, I placed one strip in the middle and put strips one and three back in their original spot.  Next, I folded back strips two and four and placed another strip perpendicular to that strip, halfway between the middle and the side of the pie dish.  I replaced strips two and four on that side and then folded back the same two strips on the other side, placing another strip on that side, evenly spaced.

I wish I had some pictures of the process, but I hope I explained it clearly.  After each strip was in the right place, I trimmed with a knife and then brushed the top with egg yolk.

Now, here's where I have a confession: I've never eaten cherry pie before, at least that I can remember, so I was really more into the appearance than the taste.  Cady made the filling with two types of cherries, but she kind of just made it up.  If you ladies would like, I can get her recipe from her for that too.


Soft Shell Tacos:

  • Small tortillas
  • Beef or chicken
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Guacamole
  • Purple cabbage
  • Greek yogurt

Use beef or chicken left over from a previous meal.  Heat the tortillas directly on a gas-burning stove top, stacking two on top of the flame and flipping periodically.  Make guacamole by mixing mashed avocados with fresh lime juice, fresh lemon juice, salt, cilantro, and chopped jalapeno peppers.

Tomato & Pepper Salad:

  • Diced tomatoes
  • Diced peppers (orange, yellow, or green)
  • Cilantro
  • Chopped jalapeno
  • Salt

Toss together ingredients in medium sized bowl.


Oh my gosh, they were delicious!  I have to start eating at Cady's more often.  And after dinner, when we dished up the pie, I had a half of a slice and it was great too!  I guess I've just never been much of a pie person except for banana cream pie and chicken pot pie.


It was a hit!  That's the damage of just six people--three of whom had half a slice!  (Cady says fruit pies should sit for at least two hours at room temperature before serving.  Notice how none of the filling is oozing out onto the dish; it has settled.)

They had this wine and a bottle of Abby Road, both red.
One started half full and one ended half full, don't worry.

This weekend Cady and I are going to try our hand at The Ultimate Ginger Cookie from The Larson Lingo.  And next week for St. Patrick's Day we're going to attempt Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes from Bringing Up the Burns.  So more baking extravaganzas to come.

For one more shout out...Check out this new blog I discovered via The Seattle Smiths.  It's called New Adventures and it's about Amanda and Aaron starting their life as newlyweds in Boise.  Love it!  I've already added it to "My Must-Reads" because I read every post this morning!  (Although she's new to blogging so there are only 48.)

And don't forget to check out yesterday's Ten on Ten, silver edition.

2 comments:

  1. I made the ultimate ginger cookie for my cookie exchange. Good thing cady has a kitchen aid mixer cuz i did it by hand and got so strong because of it!

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  2. I didn't know you made those! From Melissa's blog? I'm excited to make them!! And excited to use a Kitchen Aid Mixer. LOVE IT!

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