Week 26: Ellie's Cherry Blackberry Peach Pie

Half-way through the year in pies!  This was from Sweetie-licious and it was great.  A great combination of fruits but I did vary it a little based on what I had.  I was planning on blueberry this week but when I went to the farmer's market, no blueberries to be had thanks to all the recent rain.  So, thankfully I did buy some peaches and we had tart cherries in the freezer from all of JP's pickings.  Add some frozen berries and you have a delicious pie.  I did though use a mix of berries as I didn't feel like picking out the blackberries, so our pie had blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.  The main ingredient though is tart cherries...6 cups worth and then 1 cup of peaches stirred together and cooked to boiling with sugar and cornstarch.  This hot mixture is poured atop the frozen berries in the pie crust, topped with a crumb topping and then cooked in the oven.  I'm not sure we could really taste the peaches at all but the overall flavor of this pie was fantastic.  I think I liked it better than the plain cherry...a bit sweeter and a totally different flavor.  My crumb topping didn't brown so much but it still tasted good and the juices/filling totally bubbled over but again, did not affect flavor.  Yummy.  I can't get enough of these fruit pies with fresh, in season fruit...not many things better in my book!

Week 25: Cherry Pie

Happy Father's Day to P!  We enjoyed it with a Cherry Pie with fresh tart cherries from Great Country Farm picked from the trees by JP.  We did a traditional double crust.  This was yummy!  I've never had cherry pie before as I don't love cherries (only sweet cherries to eat by the handful), or at least thought I didn't like tart cherries before but these babies straight from the tree were awesome.  Definitely on the tart side, but the kids and I have been eating them by the handful just like the sweet ones.  The pie was great.  Kids not so sure about the cherry pie but us adults thought it was pretty tasty.  I can't remember where I found the recipe...probably just a basic fruit pie recipe...sugar, cherries and cornstarch-can you really go wrong?  I think it was 6 cups of cherries.  Yummy!

Week 24: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

So, on a recommendation from a friend, we tried Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  I've never had rhubarb before or the combination of strawberries and rhubarb but I've heard about it.  This recipe was from the Joy of Cooking and the recipe is actually for a straight rhubarb pie but it has directions for the strawberry/rhubarb variation....basically just half strawberries and half rhubarb.  It was a super easy recipe and a delicious pie.  A great combination of sweet and tangy.  Instead of a double crust, I did a crumb topping on top and it was yummy.  Boys weren't super enthused but P and I enjoyed it!

Week 23: Peach Pie

This week was a bit of a stretch in my local, fresh, seasonal produce but we made it work!  On the way home from the Outer Banks we stopped at a farm stand and they had fresh peaches from South Carolina....a bit of  stretch on local but semi-local!  And, they were yummy.  I think we ate all of them plus the pie within about three days.  I bought a bag of white peaches and a big basket full of yellow peaches.  For the pie, we used the yellow peaches and this recipe from epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/peach-pie-388611.  A great recipe, no frills but delish.  I thought the brown sugar sounded good paired with the peaches.  I left out the cinnamon but did add the vanilla.  For the top of the pie, I used a crumb topping recipe found in Sweetie-licious pies but swapped the white sugar for brown sugar.  This was FANTASTIC!  Tasted a bit like Peach Crisp in a pie crust topped with whipped cream (what's not to like about that?!).  Would have also been yummy with vanilla ice cream.  P and I really liked this as well as some lucky friends who got to be taste testers.  Kids liked it but weren't quite as enthusiastic!  How can you really go wrong, with fresh fruit straight from the farm plus a pie crust!

Week 22: Pink Lemonade Cream Pie

Sweetie-licious, you haven't failed us yet!  This one is called, Sharie's Summer Pink Lemonade Cream Pie.  It was loved by all.  I needed a nice, easy pie as we were on vacation in the Outer Banks.  I'm kind of snobby about doing my own crust, but for this week, I even purchased a pre-made graham cracker crust (don't tell anyone).  The pie itself was fabulous...tangy and tart and a great combination of flavors.  I did make the filling and whip the cream and the filling was delish...loved, loved by the boys.  There was even a bit left after filling the crust and it was yummy to eat by the spoonful (don't tell anyone).  Lighting wasn't so good in the pictures, but the pink lemonade layer was a nice pink color and after longer in the fridge, it did set-up even more than in the picture (we just couldn't wait any longer to eat it). A great pie for summer, cool and refreshing!

Week 21: Fresh Strawberry and Cream Pie

The actual recipe was called Grandma Ferrell's Charismatic Fresh Strawberry and Cream Pie! Another winner from Sweetie-licious pies.  The cream layer was on the bottom...smooth and silky custard with a hint of almond extract...super delicious on its own and then topped with a fresh strawberry glaze complete with 4 cups of sliced fresh berries.  A delicious pie...I think I liked it even better than the plain fresh strawberry.  Definitely one to add to strawberry season! And Kate has added a new word to her vocabulary, "Pie!"