When I sat down the other day in my office I totally slipped off my chair and fell down. There you have it. I have admitted to some silly things that happen to me on a sometimes regular basis.
I feel like my office furniture plays tricks oh me. Like that movie Brave Little Toaster. Do you remember that movie? I do and totally would have loved if my toaster would have came alive and talked to me.
My toaster would probably have told me that it is better to butter my bread after it has been in the toaster. But I so loved to watch it melt while in there.
Sorry mom. Good thing I didn't burn the house down.
I also have taken the corner by our copier in the office a million times and this one week I ran in to it nearly every day. Again, I think the office equipment is playing games with me.
But enough about office antics, let's talk about pie.
This pie...
It's a special pie.
You wanna know why?
Because it's a birthday pie!!!!
I mean you don't get more special sometimes than birthday pies.
Especially summer birthday pies.
Summer fruits just make pie making so much fun and delicious.
I think it would be nearly impossible to find rhubarb in the dead of winter. If you did it would probably taste like a No. 2 pencil. And I haven't chewed on one of those since the 3rd grade.
This pie is actually quite easy. Even the dough comes together in a snap. I am not a fan of refrigerated pie crusts. But yes, I have bought them before. Its been a while since I have made a pie, so I was a little rusty with playing with the dough. I hope it turns out okay. If not I may have just ruined a friends birthday.
"This pie sucks! Worst birthday ever, thanks Amanda. Thanks a real lot."
But that just can't happen. I won't allow that. I hope there is enough wine/beer to numb the pain if so. Don't get any pie in your eye!
Until next time...cordially yours...The Pie Girl.
For the filling:
2 cups rhubarb, 1/2″ dice
1 lb fresh strawberries, quartered
2/3 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 large vanilla bean
pinch of cinnamon
1 Tbls. lemon juice
In a large bowl, combine the fruits with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon juice. Split the vanilla bean vertically, scraping out the seeds with the pointed end of a small knife. Stir into fruit. Set aside for 15-20 minutes to allow the juices to come out of the fruit and mingle with the rest of the ingredients.
For the pie crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
5 to 7 Tbls. ice water (Hint: ICE water)
Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.
Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs. Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
To assemble your pie:
Roll out your refrigerated dough out on a floured surface until it is between 1/8 to 1/4″ thick. Carefully place your dough onto our pie plate. Pour your filling into your pie plate and cover with the dough squares. Simply lay your final rolled out pie crust over the filling and overlap slightly as you go
Brush the pastry with an egg wash (1 egg + 1 Tbsp water) and bake in a 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for another 40-45 minutes.
Cool completely, before serving.
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