FoodFixe

Lemon Pie with Cranberry Coulis and Limoncello Cream

2012-01-20T08:00:00-08:00

It’s National Pie Day this Monday. It’s citrus season. What better excuse for making a lemon pie? Besides, I didn’t get any pie during the holidays—homemade or otherwise—and I wanted some pie. And because I’d been deprived, I decided to doll up my lemon pie with a cranberry coulis (apparently, the holidays are over but I’m not over them!) and limoncello cream. The pie was pure sunshine on a plate—bright and tangy and a little bit sweet. The perfect thing to brighten up a dreary January day.

Lemon Pie with Cranberry Coulis and Limoncello Cream

(Makes one 9- or 10-inch pie)

Crust:
8 ounces (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
5 ounces (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, chilled
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
4 – 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
5 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (low-fat variety is OK)
½ cup/4 ounces lemon juice
Zest from one lemon

Cranberry Coulis:
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1 cup water
2 ¼ teaspoons finely grated orange peel
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Limoncello Cream:
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
½ 8-ounce container mascarpone
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons limoncello (lemon liqueur)

To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter and mix just until but butter and flour is combined and becomes crumbly, approximately 13 seconds. Next, through the processor’s feed tube, add the lemon juice. With the processor running, slowly add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a smooth, pliable ball, no more than 30 to 40 seconds.

After the dough is combined, form it into a round disk and wrap in plastic and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. (You don’t want the dough to get too warm or soft before rolling it out, but it’s easier to handle if the dough isn’t dead cold out of the fridge.)

On a lightly floured pastry sheet or board, hit the dough a couple times with a rolling pin to make it a little more pliable. Then, roll out the dough from the center, turning it a quarter turn each time, until it’s approximately 12 inches in diameter. Carefully, fold the dough in half and place it on one half of a 9- to 10-inch pie plate. Unfold the other half and press the dough into and up the sides of the plate. Trim any excessive dough that hangs over the edge of the plate, fold it under and then flute or crimp the edge, as you like.

Place the pie shell in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then, place the pie shell on a sheet pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and set aside.

To make the filling: In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Add lemon juice and whisk until combined. Then, with a rubber spatula, stir the lemon zest into the filling.

Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust and put the pie back into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool some before storing in the refrigerator.

To make the cranberry coulis: Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a heavy medium-size saucepan, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until most of the cranberries burst, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill until set. (The sauce is best made a day ahead.)

This recipe will make more cranberry sauce than you need. But it keeps well for at least a couple weeks, so you can use the remaining sauce to fill thumbprint cookies or serve with pork or roast chicken.

To make limoncello cream: In a chilled mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, mascarpone, 2 tablespoons sugar, and limoncello and whip until soft peaks form.

To serve: Give some of the cranberry sauce a couple pulses in a food processor or blender, making the sauce as smooth as you like or leaving it a little chunky. Spread a little of the cranberry coulis on plate. Rest a slice of pie on top of but slightly to the side of the sauce. Then drop a dollop of limoncello cream on top of the pie. Or, if you want to get fancy, use a pastry bag and pipe the cream onto the pie. Dig in!

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Ho-Ho-Holiday Cookies, Etc.

2011-12-21T07:00:00-08:00

About the only thing I’ve managed to cross off my holiday to-do list is baking. But I know plenty of folks who are just getting started on their cookies, candies, and other confections. If you’re going to baking in the next couple of days and are looking for something new to try or just some inspiration, here are a few of my favorites …

Coconut Shortbread Cookies: They're even better when dipped in chocolate.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies: The perfect combination of chocolate and seasonal spice.

Peppermint Sugar Cookies: Buttery with flecks of peppermint, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Chocolate Ganache Truffles: Try using a couple different kinds of chocolate. This year, I used a mix of Gianduja (hazelnut) and bittersweet chocolate, and they were the best truffles I’ve made yet.

Lemon Cranberry Crumble Bars: Something bright and tangy ... for a change.

Spicy Almonds: I like to add a little kick and crunch to my holiday goody gifts. And I always make an extra batch for me to nibble on.

I’d like to wish you all the best the season has to offer—time spent with family and friends, sharing great food and creating happy memories to savor for many years to come. Happy holidays!

Bourbon Ice Cream

2011-11-23T16:04:28-08:00

A couple months ago, I had the pleasure of discovering a wonderful local distillery—St. George Spirits. You might not be familiar with the distillery by name but you may be familiar with its vodka, Hangar One, so named because the distillery is located in one of the old hangars at the now defunct naval base on Alameda. (OK, so they’re really in hangar 21, but you can’t fault them for taking some liberties with paint.)

Oh, but St. George makes so much more than that vodka. There are incredible infused (not flavored) vodkas, including mandarin and Buddha’s hand (a citrus fruit similar to lemon that looks like, you guessed it, a hand); exceptional eaux-de-vie (the Thai basil is delish), stellar gins, and the most incredible coffee liqueur I’ve ever tasted, currently made with coffee from Verve in Capitola. St. George even makes absinthe and, to my surprise, I loved it.

My favorite St. George spirit, however, is one I didn’t even get to taste the day we did the tour and tasting. I was simply teased by the aroma from the cask’s cork. It was the distillery’s new, soon-to-be-released bourbon—Breaking & Entering. I would happily dab some of this hooch behind my ears and wear it as perfume, that’s how delicious the bourbon’s fragrance is. The flavor is even more delightful.

Channeling St. George’s spirit
As soon as I got my hands on one of the newly released bottles, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this bourbon (well, you know, besides the obvious) … make ice cream! I could just imagine how good bourbon ice cream flecked with real vanilla bean would be with any baked apple dessert. And it was. I served it atop a slice of baked apple pancake. Who says you can’t have breakfast for dessert?

As I mentioned, I was also quite smitten with the absinthe verte and came home with a bottle from our day of spirit swilling. I used it to make an absinthe cake—the inspiration for which came from my friend and kindred spirit (at least where gin is concerned) Alec. I used the optional corn meal and decided against the sugar and absinthe glaze. The resulting cake was just right—not too sweet and with a little texture.

I know that anise is one of those flavors that people either love or hate. I was pleasantly surprised that the cake was a hit with so many of my coworkers. By the end of the day, all that remained were crumbs.

If you’re in the Bay Area and are looking for something fun to do, I highly recommend visiting St. George Spirits. The tour is both educational and entertaining—not to mention impressive. (Our tour guide Paulie was a hoot!) And you’ll be treated to some mighty fine spirit tasting at the end.

And if you have some apple or pecan pie leftover from Thanksgiving, the bourbon ice cream would be a fantastic departure from the traditional whipped cream.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bourbon Ice Cream
(Makes 1 quart)

2 cups (16 ounces) heavy cream
1 cup (8 ounces) whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds removed and pod reserved
5 large egg yolks
½ cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar
¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup (2 ounces) Breaking & Entering bourbon (or your favorite bourbon)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine the heavy cream, milk, vanilla bean seeds, and vanilla bean pod in a heavy large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and discard vanilla bean pod.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, brown sugar, and kosher salt, whisking until thick and blended. Slowly whisk the hot cream and vanilla mixture into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the same saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until the custard thickens enough to leave a path on the back of a spoon or spatula when you draw your finger across it, about 3 minutes. Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the bourbon and vanilla extract. Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Process the custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a tightly sealed container and store in the freezer.

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Curried Pumpkin: Soup to Nuts

2011-10-31T08:00:00-07:00

It’s fall. It’s Halloween. It’s pumpkin season! My favorite time of year. And I’ve been on quite a pumpkin bender of late. A couple weeks ago I was determined to find a really good pumpkin soup recipe. I used to make one years ago that, although I loved the idea of pumpkin soup, I finally had to admit really wasn’t all that great.

I asked for recommendations from the foodie folks on Twitter and scoured the intertubes, and found what sounded like a winner—Curried Pumpkin Soup. I love the pumpkin curry at the Thai joint near work, so soup sounded like the next best thing.

And it was. There are a lot of curried pumpkin soup recipes out there, but the combination of spices and coconut milk in this one caught my eye. Being a Gourmet recipe, there were a couple of ingredients I wasn’t able to find easily in the ‘burbs; fortunately, they were for the garnish. I didn’t even try to find the curry leaves . I could have substituted fresh basil leaves, but when I couldn’t find the brown mustard seeds, I just ditched the notion of a garnish all together.

I don’t think the soup needs the garnish, honestly. This Curried Pumpkin Soup is so fragrant and flavorful, I wouldn’t want anything to alter or overpower the soup’s already perfect taste. The only modification I would make to the recipe is to reduce the amount of dried red pepper flakes. The heat was a tad much the first night; fortunately, the kick didn’t compound over the next couple of days. Still, I think a little less heat wouldn’t hurt.

Another great thing about this soup? It makes a big batch—10 to 12 servings. You can easily get a couple family meals out of a single batch it or freeze the leftovers in a couple portions for a warm, satisfying lunch or dinner later on.

From soup to nuts
Making the Curried Pumpkin Soup reminded me of some curried pumpkin seeds I made a few years back. Again, I went on the hunt. I found the recipe in one of the many back issues of Bon Appetit magazines I have lining my shelves. I promptly made up a batch, and the pumpkin seeds are as good as I remembered.

I tried using the curried pumpkin seeds as a garnish for the Curried Pumpkin Soup, but they weren’t great. The seeds didn’t really complement the soup flavor-wise, and the texture didn’t hold up at all in the soup. As a simple but satisfyingly flavorful snack, though, they’re great!

My pumpkin indulgence doesn’t end there. In addition to the soup and nuts, I’ve made The Kitchn’s Pumpkin-Ricotta Pasta Casserole and Gaby Dalkin’s Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars. Both are delicious.

Happy Halloween!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Curried Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin-Ricotta Pasta Casserole

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars

Zucchini Bread

2011-10-10T08:00:00-07:00

After taking the summer off, I resumed my Farm Fresh to You CSA subscription a couple weeks ago. My first delivery was a tribute to the end of summer in a box—pluots, grapes, arugula, sweet peppers, and zucchini. And though I can certainly stand to eat more veggies, I was bent on baking that zucchini into bread.

I had just the recipe—one my friend Shelly passed onto me eons ago. I’ve tweaked it over the years, never making it the same way twice. That’s why it’s such a great recipe; this zucchini bread is incredibly versatile. You can add whatever suits your fancy at the time.

I hadn’t made zucchini bread in a few years and so just wanted something basic and good this time around. My only riff on the recipe was adding some freshly grated lemon zest. The hint of lemon was even identified and complimented by a coworker. So, I’ve given the zest a permanent place in the recipe.

I’m often reminded that the simplest things are the best, and this zucchini bread is one of those simply delicious things. Lightly spiced and with a tender crumb, the bread perfectly blended the last of summer’s bounty with just a hint of fall.

Zuccini Bread
Makes one 9-inch loaf

½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup grated unpeeled zucchini
1 ½ cups (6 ¾ ounces) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Zest from 1 lemon

Optional add-ins:
• golden raisins or other dried fruit
• fresh blueberries
• chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil and sugar. Next beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the grated zucchini.

In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture, stirring until well combined. Stir in the lemon zest and any other optional goodies, like raisins.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until done.

Remove the bread from the oven and let cool slightly, then turn out of the pan to continue cooling.

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Pork, Beans, and Avocado Daiquiris

2011-09-17T08:08:56-07:00

For some reason, I’m having a hard time letting go of summer. Maybe because we didn’t get much of a summer this year in the Bay Area. At least it didn’t feel that way. So, in an effort to kick a little spice into what’s left of the season, I invited some friends over for dinner. My first real dinner since the “kitchenlift” and an excuse to make a couple dishes from my very long “recipes to try” list. Well, it’s not so much a list as a spreadsheet.

The food wasn’t fancy. It rarely is with me. But it was flavorful. I prefer to focus on what I’m good at, putting together a menu of complementary dishes. What I may lack in sheer cooking creativity, I make up for in planning and coordination. Or, as StrengthsFinder typed me, I’m a “maximizer.” I excel at making something that already exists into something better.

Here’s what we had:

Avocado Daiquiris
Puerco Pibil
Mexican Black Beans
Rice with Green Chiles
Peach Buttermilk Ice Cream with Caramelized Peaches and Almond Cookies

Avocado WHAT?!
I know what you’re thinking, “Ewww, avocado daiquiris?!” As my dad used to say, “Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.” I’ll admit, though I find this cocktail delicious—cool, creamy, and refreshing—I’ve learned it’s not to everyone’s taste. Two of my guests passed on the daiquiri after tasting it. The two of us who did enjoy the cocktail thought it was a very close approximation to the real deal from Mint/820 in Portland, where we first experienced this hip sip a couple years ago.

If you decide to give this cocktail a try, you may need to adjust the flavor some to suit your taste. We added a splash more lime juice and more ice. Also, we found that the drink’s flavor improved as it sat. I recommend making a batch a little ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge for a bit, then give it another whirl in the blender before serving.

Pork!
The recipe for Puerco Pibil was contributed by my friend Jeff Ludlum. Although I’ve had the dish a couple times, I have never actually made it—until yesterday. The dish isn’t hard to make, but it does require some planning both for ingredients and marinating/braising time. Also, you’ll need a coffee/spice grinder and a blender.

I made the recipe as is, except I substituted achiote paste for the annatto seeds when I wasn’t able to find the spice at two different Mexican markets. Since then, I’ve discovered that Penzeys Spices carries annatto seeds. I should have known … Here’s an important tip: If you’re going to use achiote paste to make Puerco Pibil, you want the Achiote Rojo, which is made from annatto seeds, and not the other paste that’s made with a different primary spice.

Oh, and I used jalapeno peppers in place of habaneros for no other reason than I grabbed the wrong pepper at the market. (Grocery lists are only helpful if you read them!) They worked just fine in the dish, imparting a more subtle but still flavorful kick to the pork. (I’ve updated the recipe to reflect these substitutions.)

The black beans and rice complemented the pork nicely, providing good flavor and textural contrast. The Mexican Black Beans are definitely a keeper. The dish was easy to make and has endless possibilities. The beans made a great dinner a couple nights later served on top of a baked sweet potato..

For dessert, I scooped up some Peach Buttermilk Ice Cream, serving it on top of a broiled peach half that had been tossed with some melted butter and brown sugar. (The peaches are even better when done on a grill.) And for a little crunch, I tucked a crispy almond cookie alongside. (I had planned to serve the peach and ice cream in a tuile cookie "bowl" but that endeavor was a complete failure, which I'll share in my year-end FoodFail post.)

Of course, the best accompaniment to any meal is great company, and there was no shortage of that that evening. It was a great way to say so long to summer. Now, onto fall!

The Kitchen Is Open

2011-09-02T07:00:00-07:00

I may have been banished from my kitchen while it was getting a little ‘lift, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t working on the blog. I finally got around to a project that’s been on my FoodFixe to-do list longer than I care to admit. And with my kitchen being out of commission, I had no more excuses. Drum roll, please … I recategorized all the posts on FoodFixe.

I admit, not an exciting-sounding enhancement but one that makes the blog more useful (I hope). Now you can more easily find the recipes you’re looking for, such as appetizers, cookies, entrees, side dishes, etc. And, if you’ve never noticed the search box in the upper left before, that’s a handy tool, too.

Although the task of recategorizing posts may sound tedious and mundane, it was actually quite fun. After three years (I can’t believe it’s been that long!), there are recipes I’d forgotten about and that I’m excited to make again. More than that, though, scanning the posts was like a trip down memory lane. I forget sometimes how much my life has changed in the last couple of years, and each post is a memory—a snapshot of a moment in time, reminding me of new friends and old, great meals shared, new places experienced, even my childhood.

My blogkeeping chore was a wonderful reminder of what it is about food that I love. As much as I enjoy cooking and eating, it’s bringing people together and sharing the experience and the moment that I enjoy most. And now that my kitchen is back in operating order, I’ll be getting back to it. Fall, after all, is my favorite season. Because I haven’t been able to whip up anything new of late, I’ll leave you with one of my favorites—Eggplant Parmagiana. It’s a great dish for this in-between summer and fall season.

Enjoy!

Rosemary Sausage & Vegetable Skewers

2011-08-16T07:00:00-07:00

As someone recently said, “August is the Sunday of summer.” There’s still plenty of grill time left, and this recipe for Rosemary Sausage and Vegetable Skewers is one of my summertime favorites. If you don’t have a grill, don’t sweat it. You can use a grill pan on your stove or your oven broiler.

The recipe is a good starting point. There are an infinite number of variations you can take with these skewers. I even like adding chunks of bread. Brushed with the flavored oil and toasted up on the grill, the bread adds a nice crouton-like crunch to the mix.

Enjoy the skewers and what’s left of your summer!

The kitchen is closed … temporarily. This will be my last post for a few weeks while my kitchen gets a little facelift. By the time I get everything back in order, it will be my favorite time of year to be in the kitchen—fall!

Rosemary Sausage & Vegetable Skewers
Makes 8 servings

Note: The skewers can be assembled up to one day in advance and refrigerated. Brush with the seasoned oil and cook just before serving. Substitute bell peppers, Japanese eggplant, or summer squash for any of the vegetables.

½ cup rosemary oil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper or freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced (or use a garlic press)
6 uncooked sausage links (mild or hot Italian, chicken apple, or Andouille sausage), cut into 1-inch pieces
16 cherry tomatoes
2 zucchini, cut into ½-inch rounds
16 small mushrooms (white or cremini), cleaned and stems removed
1 green apple, cut into ½-inch dice

8 metal or wooden skewers (if using wooden skewers, soak in water at least 30 minutes before using)

To make the seasoned oil, whisk together the rosemary oil, sea salt, pepper, and garlic cloves in a small bowl. Set aside.

To assemble, alternate sausage, vegetables, and apple on the skewers and then brush with the seasoned oil. Place the skewers on a preheated grill or grill pan, over medium heat, for 15 minutes, turning frequently. Let the skewers rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

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Hooray! It's National Cheesecake Day!

2011-07-28T07:00:00-07:00

This Saturday, July 30, is National Cheesecake Day. To celebrate the occasion, I thought I’d share some of my favorite cheesecake recipes—sweet and savory. What’s a savory cheesecake, you ask? Think of it like an appetizer, warm and cheesy spread on crackers or crostini. If you’ve never tried savory cheesecake, you don’t know what you’re missing! (And nothing smells better baking in the oven. Yum!!) I’ve also included some tip that will help ensure cheesecake baking success.

Sweet

Peach Buttermilk Crisp Cheesecake

Pumpkin Hazelnut Cheesecake

Savory

Stilton-Port Wine Cheesecake

Wild Mushroom-Smoked Gouda Cheesecake

Tips & Tricks

Peach Blackberry Crumb Pie

2011-07-21T19:46:27-07:00

Back in June, I saw a post cross my Facebook feed from Gluten-Free Girl Shauna James Ahern. She was organizing a pie party on the Internet to encourage folks to bake a pie to help them get over their fear of making pie dough from scratch. I enthusiastically jumped on the bandwagon.

I love pie, especially this time of year when fruit is at its best and the variety is spectacular. So any excuse to make pie was a no-brainer. Also, I really enjoy making pie, specifically pie dough. I have always loved tender, flaky crust (almost more than the filling), and I have fond memories of my mom baking little pie crust cookies for me from the leftover dough when I was a kid. And, I have a crust recipe that works every single time. So any occasion I have to pass along this recipe and hopefully encourage someone to try making pie crust, I’ll take it.

Armed with my never-fail pie crust recipe and my favorite fruit of the season—peaches—I went to work making this Peach-Blackberry Crumb Pie. (Oh yeah, after pie crust, I love oatmeal crumb topping.) I hit a snag, but not with the pie crust. One of my peaches was rotten, which left me a bit short on fruit. I had a bag of frozen blackberries, thawed and ready to go, but that wasn’t going to make up the lack of filling left by the bad peach. Thankfully, I had gone to the farmers market that morning and picked up a basket of fresh blackberries. In they went into the bowl. I still think the filling could have been a bit more generous, but it would have to do.

Crisis averted. I dropped it off at my niece Katherine’s on 4th of July to share with her guests. (Goodness knows this single girl does not need an entire pie laying about, but I did take a slice home to try.) Before I had even taken a bite of the pie that evening, I had an email from Katherine’s husband Justin: “Your pie was INCREDIBLY delicious!! Honestly, one of the very best fruit pie experiences I can ever remember having...truly amazing.” High praise indeed, especially coming from someone who prefers chocolate to fruit desserts. When I finally got around to trying my slice of pie, I had to agree. It was a darn tasty pie, if I do say so myself.

I really hope you’ll try making crust from scratch, if you’ve never done it before. I find few things as soul-satisfying as working with and rolling out pastry dough. And you don’t have to be concerned with looks. You can use this recipe to make a free-form fruit tart (referred to as a galette or crostata), if you don’t want to bother with transferring the dough to a pie plate and crimping the edge.

Here are a couple tips to help ensure a successful pie dough/crust experience:

• Make sure all of your ingredients are cold, cold, COLD. (I’ve even thrown my food processor bowl and blade in the fridge for a bit if the weather’s warm.) You want the butter to keep some shape after working it into the flour. It’s the pockets of air caused by the bits of cold butter that creates the crust’s flakiness.
• If you refrigerate the dough for longer than an hour (say, overnight), leave it at room temperature for a bit before trying to roll it out. You want it a little pliable, but not too warm or soft. You can whack the dough disk with your rolling pin a couple times to help loosen it up a little before rolling out the crust.

Peach Blackberry Crumb Pie
(Makes 8 servings)

Note: The crumb topping recipe is very generous. If you don't want to use it all on the pie, you can store the remainder in the freezer.

Crust:
8 ounces (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
5 ounces (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, chilled
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
4 – 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
3-4 ripe peaches, peeled (optional) and sliced
1 pint fresh blackberries or 1 10-ounce bag frozen blackberries, thawed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Oatmeal Crumb Topping:
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup (7 ounces) brown sugar
¾ cup (3.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
¾ cup oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

To make the crust: combine the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter and mix just until but butter and flour is combined and becomes crumbly, approximately 13 seconds. Next, through the processor’s feed tube, add the lemon juice. With the processor running, slowly add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a smooth, pliable ball, no more than 30 to 40 seconds.

After the dough is combined, form it into a round disk and wrap in plastic and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. (You don’t want the dough to get too warm or soft before rolling it out, but it’s easier to handle if the dough isn’t dead cold out of the fridge.)

On a lightly floured pastry sheet or board, hit the dough a couple times with a rolling pin to make it a little more pliable. Then, roll out the dough from the center, turning it a quarter turn each time, until it’s approximately 12 inches in diameter. Carefully, fold the dough in half and place it on one half of a 9- to 10-inch pie plate. Unfold the other half and press the dough into and up the sides of the plate. Trim any excessive dough that hangs over the edge of the plate, fold it under and then flute or crimp the edge, as you like. Place the pie shell in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

To make the topping: In a medium bowl, put all the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the butter and, with your fingers or two forks, work into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Set aside.

To make the filling: Peel and slice the peaches, and put into a medium bowl. Add the blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and nutmeg, and stir gently until just combined.

To assemble the pie: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator and pour in the fruit filling. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the fruit until it’s covered. Place the pie on a baking sheet, place in the oven, and bake 45-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the fruit mixture is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

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