Peach and Strawberry Pie

So I had my first foray into pie making this weekend. Chris' dad was in town for the US Open, and I had asked Chris what kind of dessert he would like for Father's day. Chris suggested a peach pie, not knowing that I had never made a pie, or how much work it can be! However, I had been eyeing a pie recipe for a couple weeks, so this was a perfect excuse to dive in!

I am pretty well versed in tarts, I have made a couple different ones even just in the past few days. I took a Chocolate Carmel tart to work last Friday and I made a quiche when our friend Adam was visiting a couple weekends ago. But pies, no, I hadn't gone there yet.

So I did my research and decided to use a pastry blender rather than my food processor. My food processor is getting old and is pretty small. I didn't want to have to do two batches to get my two crusts. So I bought this pastry blender at Crate and Barrel. I did some research on Smitten Kitchen to see how to make the crusts. I really would like to try a recipe with only butter and no shortening, but since I didn't want any meltdowns for a special event, I figured better safe than sorry. If anyone has experience with butter only, can you tell me if it works?

To make the filling, I had bought some peaches, but I was pressed for time, so I defaulted to frozen peaches. They were great, and the boys never knew that I didn't spend all that time pitting and peeling peaches. The strawberries were huge and the flavor was unbelievably flowery. They were in the peak of ripeness.

After mixing, and chilling for an hour, the dough was ready to go.

I was looking for a fluted pastry edger at C&B, but they didn't have one. Luckily Williams-Sonoma had this one.

I wove the lattice over the top and crimped the edges. Not as perfect as Mom's usually are... but it tasted good. I am excited to work on perfecting the crust. I might have to bring you out Mom just for a quick refresher course on that! I am sure we would have fun trying different pies. Chris has requested a lemon meringue and a banana cream pie at some point. Looks like I will have no problem practicing!

Peach and Strawberry Pie

Crust:

3 cups of all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2/3 cup chilled vegetable shortening, diced

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons chilled butter, diced

10 tablespoons ice water (I didn't use all of the water, but wondered if I would have had less cracking of the dough as I was rolling it out if I had. Does anyone know?)

For the filling:

4 cups frozen peaches (about 1-2 bags from the grocery store)

3 cups of fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/2 cup golden brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch (I increased this by a teaspoon or two, and probably could have increased it even more.)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten with a splash of water for the glaze

Combine crust ingredients in a large bowl and cut in the shortening with the pastry blender. Add the water 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough starts to come together. Once fully moistened, gather the dough into a ball and cut it in two. Form each half into a ball and place them in separate plastic bread bags. Press down to flatten balls slightly into disks. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until chilled. Can be done in advance.

Mix the filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. I let this defrost on the counter for about an hour and a half before baking.

Assembly: Take the first dough disk out of the fridge and remove from bag onto a generously floured counter. Allow to come to room temperature for about 10 minutes. Flouring the rolling pin and gently roll out the dough to approximately 13" in diameter. Place into a buttered pie dish letting the sides hang over the edge. Spoon the filling evenly into the crust. Roll out the second dough disk in the same manner as the first. Using your fluted pastry edger or a pizza cutter, slice 3/4 inch strips of the dough. Place the longer strips across the middle of the pie, saving two. Place five strips across the top of the pie. Working one at a time, start on one side and fold back 3 of the 5 strips. Lay a new strip across the 2 remaining strips, then fold back the 3 strips to cover. Continue, alternating folding back the 2 or 3 strips as you weave the lattice top. Trim the excess dough and strips around the sides leaving about an inch overall. Press the bottom crust and strips together and crimp with your fingertips. Brush with the egg glaze and sprinkle with coarse-ground sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce to 350 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool in the pan on a rack for an hour before serving.