Step Up the Pies this Thanksgiving

Step up your pies for Thanksgiving this year with a Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Pie and a Citrus Chocolate Pecan Pie. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year to indulge the inner glutton (not to be confused with gluten).  Every year the food seems to be the same staples of turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberries, sweet potato something or another, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie.  With the vast array of recipes available online we should be diving into variety of remixes of these classics. This is the time of year to roast some great root vegetables (turnips, radishes, and parsnips) and cucurbitas (aka squash, pumpkin and gourd).  A simple yet delicious variation of thanksgiving gravy is slow roasting butternut squash then blending it turkey broth, sage, garlic and salt.  Seasonal produce is ideal when looking to spice up basics and never forget herbs add a much-needed layer of depth to any dish. Pies are by far the least adventurous part of Thanksgiving.  Nothing seems to be more boring than the plain store bought pumpkin pie.  This could easily be brought up a few notches with a cheese cake twist or even dark chocolate swirled in  

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For those who are all in on scratch cooking, I have added a recipes for a buttery pie shell that is simple and delicious. Butter Pie Shell Yield – 3 Pie Shells Prep Time – 20 min Ingredients

• 3 cups Unbleached AP Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 ½ tsp. Salt
• ½ cup Shortening
• 10 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 9 Tbsp. Ice Water (approximate)

Instructions

1. Place flour, sugar, salt in food processor. Pulse 2-3 times.
2. Add Shortening by tablespoons. Pulse about 10 times. (Mixture should look like coarse sand)
3. Cut butter into ¼ inch pieces and scatter over top of mixture. Pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Pour mixture into large mixing bowl. Add water by tablespoon while pressing in with rubber spatula.
5. When a large dough ball forms finish pressing by hand. Divide dough into 3 disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate or freeze until needed.

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For those who are not apposed to using the pre-made shells or even the Pillsbury pie dough (make sure you par-bake these with baking beans) then just dive right into the recipes below. Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Pie Yield – 1 Pie Prep Time – 20 min Cooke Time – 1 hour Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups plus Sugar
• ¼ cup AP Flour
• 3 Eggs
• ½ cup Salted Butter (1 stick) – melted and cooled to room temp
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (fresh)
• 1 ½ tsp. Lemon Zest
• Nutmeg to taste (a pinch or two)
• Par-Baked Pie Shell (9″)
• ¼ cup Blueberry Compote

Instructions

1. Preheat convection oven to 275°F (or 300°F for conventional).
2. Mix sugar and flour in a large bowl.
3. Whisk eggs then mix with sugar/flour.
4. Blend butter, buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice, zest and nutmeg together.
5. Fold all the ingredients together in the large bowl.
6. Pour mixture into pie shell.
7. Drizzle or swirl blueberry compote into pie filling
8. Bake for 1 hour or until light golden crust forms on top and the filling no longer jiggles.

Before Baking

After Baking

  Blueberry Compote  Yield – 1 ½ cups Prep Time – 5 min Cooke Time – 10 min Ingredients

• 1 pint Blueberries (washed)
• 1 Tbsp. Water
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 3 Tbsp. Sugar

Instructions

1. Blend the blueberries, water, and lemon juice together.
2. Add blended mix plus sugar to a small sauce pan over medium heat.
3. Continuous stir until well incorporated and thick (10 min).
4. Cool and hold in refrigeration for up to two weeks.

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    Citrus Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie  Yield – 1 Pie Prep Time – 20 min Cooke Time – 1 hour Ingredients

• ½ cup Salted Butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
• 4 Eggs
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• 1 ½ cups Pecans (chopped)
• Par-Baked Pie Shell (9”)
• 1 cup Dark Chocolate
• 1 tsp. Orange Zest (chopped fine)

Instructions

1. Preheat convection oven to 275°F (or 300°F for conventional)
2. Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup and cook over medium-low heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Allow this to cool to room temp.
3. Blend eggs, vanilla and salt in large mixing bowl.
4. Pour (room temp) sugar mixture into blended eggs while beating with a whisk. Make sure it is well incorporated.
5. Add pecans to Par-Baked Pie Shell.
6. Pour filling into Pie Shell
7. Bake for 1 hour or until lightly golden on top and the filling no longer jiggles.
8. While the pie cools, add chocolate and zest to a double boiler and stir until completely melted.
9. Zig zag or pour the chocolate on top of the cooled pie.

Exclude the chocolate and citrus to make a traditional Old Fashion Pecan Pie.