Hello, friends! It's been about, oh, 6 years since my last post. (I know!) Some updates: Lovely Carnivorous Boyfriend (LCBF) and I got married (making him Lovely Carnivorous Husband: LCH) five years ago. Promptly thereafter I stopped cooking, so joke's on him I guess! A funny thing happens when one stops cooking regularly, I discovered. I kind of . . . forgot how? Or, to be more precise, I lost the ability to toss random foodstuffs together without measuring or following a recipe and have the results turn out to be both edible and tasty. Cooking is a thing you can be out of practice at, y'all! Who knew?
This brings us to present day and LCH's birthday. His 40th birthday. The kind of birthday that requires a good wife to put forth some kind of effort beyond purchasing novelty socks. Enter pie. As you may recall, pies used to be my thing. LCH and I are pie people. We had pie at our wedding instead of cake. LCH often requests birthday pie. You see where I'm going here--40th birthday pie seemed to be a moral imperative. And this, friends, is where the trouble began.
LCH's favorite pie (and mine as well) is strawberry rhubarb. Guess what's not in season during late summer? Rhubarb. So, I decide to go to the market and simply pick up in-season fruit. Perhaps, a stone fruit, I think. I am marvelous with plums, I think. What catches my eye, however, are peaches. Mounds of beautiful yellow peaches next to pyramids of ripe raspberries. Perfect! I bring my bounty home and proceed to look for peach-raspberry pie recipes. Finding none that I like, I decide to invent my own recipe like a person who still remembers how to cook.
Did I mention that these beautiful looking peaches were also rock hard? Yeah. So, I toss them in a paper bag for a day to ripen. No problem. Then I realize that I won't actually be able to make a pie on LCH's birthday because I'll be at work all day. And then I realize that I won't be able to make a pie the night before his birthday because I'll be having a minor medical procedure (it's no big deal; I'm fine; all is fine). It is now clear that I will have to take a new approach--making and freezing the pie several days in advance and then baking it off day-of. Perfect. I am a culinary genius who thinks ahead and accounts for all likely obstacles.
Fast-forward 48-hours. I prepare to make the pie to freeze and . . . the peaches are still hard. Really hard. Bludgeon-someone-with-a-blunt-object hard. It's okay, I think to myself, there is still tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last possible day to make and freeze this pie before we go out of town for a couple of days and then return for minor medical procedure and very important 40th birthday celebration. Fast-forward another 24 hours. The peaches are . . . still not very ripe. I decide to give them a few more hours. Surely, making the pie in the late evening will be fine. Around 8:30 pm, I know that I can wait no longer. Pie time is nigh.
I squeeze the peaches and they have a little give, which I decide will have to suffice. And here we go--recipe below . . .
40th Birthday Peach Raspberry Pie
Ingredients
2 pie crusts, 9" (see crust recipe here)
6-7 medium yellow ripe peaches
1 pint ripe raspberries, rinsed
1/2 tbl unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tbl cornstarch
1 tbl lemon juice
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
Step One: Make and roll out two pie crusts. Press one into 9" pie plate, trim overhang, cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator. Cut other crust into 1" strips for the lattice top. Either leave strips on counter or slide on cookie sheet and refrigerate. You can make the dough the day before and store in the fridge (or make it further in advance and store in the freezer) then roll it out before you start the filling.
Step Two: Peel 6-7 medium yellow ripe (ha!) peaches. Peaches are easy to peel if you place them in boiling water for about 30 seconds or so and then--using tongs--place them in an ice bath. The skins should slide right off with a little help from a paring knife. Note: the water might stop boiling after they're all in the pot. That's fine--no need to return it to a boil.
Step three: Pit and cut the peaches in half by inserting a paring knife near the stem and drawing it all the way around. Twist the halves in opposite directions to open (if it doesn't fall open). Pop out the pit with the tip of the knife and discard. Cut the halves into ~1/4" slices and place in a colander with a bowl underneath to catch juices.
Step four: Drizzle peach slices with a tablespoon of lemon juice. (LCH was making a cocktail and had some extra lemon juice hanging out on the counter, so I used that. It seemed like about a tablespoon? We have no way of knowing. Eyeball it. It'll be fine.) Then toss the peach slices with 3 tbl of white sugar and let set for 30 minutes or so. Theoretically, the peaches should release about a cup of liquid into the bowl beneath the colander. Mine . . . not so much. Maybe because of their less than peak ripeness? I got about 1/4 cup and decided to proceed (it was 9 pm, y'all. Tough choices had to be made.)
Step five: Place the collected peach juices and 1/2 tbl of unsalted butter into a small sauce pot and cook until the liquid reduces into a thick syrup. Note: if you do get a cup of liquid out of your peaches, I'd use about a tablespoon of butter.
Step six: Place sliced peaches into a bowl and pour the reduced syrup over them. It might harden. That's okay. You're doing fine. You are an adult human person who is fully capable of making a pie at a reasonable hour.
Step seven: Combine the remainder of the white sugar, the brown sugar, the cornstarch, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl. Add the peach slices and toss to coat. Gently stir in raspberries.
At this point, LCH comes into the kitchen and leans on the counter and says, "Peaches, huh?"
And I say, "Peaches! They're in season. Isn't it a fun birthday surprise?"
And he says, "You forgot one thing. I don't like peaches."
Y'all, I stood there horrified and turned the last decade over in my head. Had I really never seen him eat a peach? Did he really not like peaches? Who doesn't like peaches? Who doesn't know their spouse doesn't like peaches? Did I have to go buy apples?
He was kidding. I nearly dumped the colander of peach slices on his head. But I refrained, because birthday immunity is a thing.
Step eight: Pour peach/raspberry mixture into bottom crust, cover top with a lattice crust (lattice tutorial here), and crimp edges.
Step nine: This is the part where I would normally let the pie rest in the fridge for an hour before popping it a pre-heated oven. But, of course, I did not do that. Because of the trip and the minor medical procedure and the having a day job. Instead, I removed the frozen ice cream bowl attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer that I inexplicably keep stored in my freezer despite having only made ice cream like twice five years ago. This made room for the pie, which I wrapped first in plastic wrap then in foil and tucked snugly in the freezer.
Step ten: Wake up at 8:30 am on the morning of your husband's birthday and realize that you did not take the pie out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw the night before, as had been your plan. Why didn't you do this? Because you came home from your minor medical procedure last night fully feeling the lovely effects of a sedative and ate a vegan chocolate chip cookie and a strawberry popsicle and binge watched episodes of Bob's Burgers until you fell asleep first on the couch and then in the bed instead, and oh god the pie is still frozen. The pie that needs to defrost and then cook for 90 minutes and then cool and set for 4 hours. That pie. Sit with the knowledge that you have ruined your husband's 40th birthday.
Step eleven: I am cool under pressure. I definitely did not tear around the kitchen moving frozen pie to refrigerator or spend 45 minutes trying to figure out if my Pyrex pie plate was going to explode if it went directly from freezer to oven, thus skipping the defrosting stage that is supposed to result in a better tasting pie. For the record, the answer is--I STILL DON'T KNOW--thanks a lot, internet. It seems clear that rapid temperature shifts from hot to cold will shatter Pyrex (which I already knew, having both witnessed and done such a thing). But cold to hot is maybe less likely? Because physics? I'm not sure; I'm not that kind of doctor.
Step twelve: New plan. I decide to let pie thaw a bit in fridge until 2 pm, have LCH move pie to counter, and then take my chances putting mostly still-frozen pie in oven later in the afternoon.
Step thirteen: Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and place on bottom rack of oven (this is very important if you do not want a puddle of smoking fruit juices on the bottom of your oven). Pre-heat oven to 425F. Place pie on cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, covering edges with a pie guard or foil ring when they start to brown. Reduce temperature to 375F and continue to bake 60-75 minutes until the pie is bubbly all over. If the top of pie starts to brown too much, over with foil. Let pie rest on cooking rack for 3-4 hours to let the filling cool and set up. Serve with ice cream.
How did the pie turn out, you ask? Well, first I forgot to do an egg wash on the lattice before baking, which I usually like to do to make it shiny. But that's okay! It's only an aesthetic preference. Then about 10 minutes after putting it in the oven, this happened:
Yes, that is half of the crust somehow sliding off two sides of the pie and collapsing. I have never had this happen before. My guess is that something about the partial thawing process + an edge that was probably too high to begin with = Unexpected crust avalanche. (But no Pyrex explosion in the oven, so win?) I told LCH to go buy an emergency back-up birthday cake, but he declined. When the pie came out of the oven, it wasn't that bad in the end. Not my prettiest fruit pie ever, but serviceable. A metaphor for . . . something.
I was worried it wouldn't have enough time to set up and we'd get pie soup, but when we cut into it after dinner the consistency was just right. And then we tasted it . . . and it was good! And we realized that we hadn't ever had peach pie before and maybe didn't actually like peach pie as much as other fruit pies? And then I remembered that I had forgotten to put the fancy gold glitter birthday candles I had ordered special into the pie because I was going to sing and everything and, and . . . Happy Birthday, LCH xoxox
This brings us to present day and LCH's birthday. His 40th birthday. The kind of birthday that requires a good wife to put forth some kind of effort beyond purchasing novelty socks. Enter pie. As you may recall, pies used to be my thing. LCH and I are pie people. We had pie at our wedding instead of cake. LCH often requests birthday pie. You see where I'm going here--40th birthday pie seemed to be a moral imperative. And this, friends, is where the trouble began.
LCH's favorite pie (and mine as well) is strawberry rhubarb. Guess what's not in season during late summer? Rhubarb. So, I decide to go to the market and simply pick up in-season fruit. Perhaps, a stone fruit, I think. I am marvelous with plums, I think. What catches my eye, however, are peaches. Mounds of beautiful yellow peaches next to pyramids of ripe raspberries. Perfect! I bring my bounty home and proceed to look for peach-raspberry pie recipes. Finding none that I like, I decide to invent my own recipe like a person who still remembers how to cook.
 |
| Let me shake your tree |
Did I mention that these beautiful looking peaches were also rock hard? Yeah. So, I toss them in a paper bag for a day to ripen. No problem. Then I realize that I won't actually be able to make a pie on LCH's birthday because I'll be at work all day. And then I realize that I won't be able to make a pie the night before his birthday because I'll be having a minor medical procedure (it's no big deal; I'm fine; all is fine). It is now clear that I will have to take a new approach--making and freezing the pie several days in advance and then baking it off day-of. Perfect. I am a culinary genius who thinks ahead and accounts for all likely obstacles.
Fast-forward 48-hours. I prepare to make the pie to freeze and . . . the peaches are still hard. Really hard. Bludgeon-someone-with-a-blunt-object hard. It's okay, I think to myself, there is still tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last possible day to make and freeze this pie before we go out of town for a couple of days and then return for minor medical procedure and very important 40th birthday celebration. Fast-forward another 24 hours. The peaches are . . . still not very ripe. I decide to give them a few more hours. Surely, making the pie in the late evening will be fine. Around 8:30 pm, I know that I can wait no longer. Pie time is nigh.
 |
| I am too lazy to photoshop out the stuff in the background |
I squeeze the peaches and they have a little give, which I decide will have to suffice. And here we go--recipe below . . .
40th Birthday Peach Raspberry Pie
Ingredients
2 pie crusts, 9" (see crust recipe here)
6-7 medium yellow ripe peaches
1 pint ripe raspberries, rinsed
1/2 tbl unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tbl cornstarch
1 tbl lemon juice
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
Step One: Make and roll out two pie crusts. Press one into 9" pie plate, trim overhang, cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator. Cut other crust into 1" strips for the lattice top. Either leave strips on counter or slide on cookie sheet and refrigerate. You can make the dough the day before and store in the fridge (or make it further in advance and store in the freezer) then roll it out before you start the filling.
 |
| Strips of pie crust dough for the lattice top |
Step Two: Peel 6-7 medium yellow ripe (ha!) peaches. Peaches are easy to peel if you place them in boiling water for about 30 seconds or so and then--using tongs--place them in an ice bath. The skins should slide right off with a little help from a paring knife. Note: the water might stop boiling after they're all in the pot. That's fine--no need to return it to a boil.
 |
| Bath time! |
 |
| Double, double this pie is in trouble (I am so sorry) |
 |
| Water's fine! |
 |
| Mmmm . . . slimy! |
 |
| Look at how dark these pictures are! Because I bake at night like a person with a day job! |
Step five: Place the collected peach juices and 1/2 tbl of unsalted butter into a small sauce pot and cook until the liquid reduces into a thick syrup. Note: if you do get a cup of liquid out of your peaches, I'd use about a tablespoon of butter.
Step six: Place sliced peaches into a bowl and pour the reduced syrup over them. It might harden. That's okay. You're doing fine. You are an adult human person who is fully capable of making a pie at a reasonable hour.
Step seven: Combine the remainder of the white sugar, the brown sugar, the cornstarch, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl. Add the peach slices and toss to coat. Gently stir in raspberries.
At this point, LCH comes into the kitchen and leans on the counter and says, "Peaches, huh?"
And I say, "Peaches! They're in season. Isn't it a fun birthday surprise?"
And he says, "You forgot one thing. I don't like peaches."
Y'all, I stood there horrified and turned the last decade over in my head. Had I really never seen him eat a peach? Did he really not like peaches? Who doesn't like peaches? Who doesn't know their spouse doesn't like peaches? Did I have to go buy apples?
He was kidding. I nearly dumped the colander of peach slices on his head. But I refrained, because birthday immunity is a thing.
Step eight: Pour peach/raspberry mixture into bottom crust, cover top with a lattice crust (lattice tutorial here), and crimp edges.
 |
| Pretty! |
Step nine: This is the part where I would normally let the pie rest in the fridge for an hour before popping it a pre-heated oven. But, of course, I did not do that. Because of the trip and the minor medical procedure and the having a day job. Instead, I removed the frozen ice cream bowl attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer that I inexplicably keep stored in my freezer despite having only made ice cream like twice five years ago. This made room for the pie, which I wrapped first in plastic wrap then in foil and tucked snugly in the freezer.
Step ten: Wake up at 8:30 am on the morning of your husband's birthday and realize that you did not take the pie out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw the night before, as had been your plan. Why didn't you do this? Because you came home from your minor medical procedure last night fully feeling the lovely effects of a sedative and ate a vegan chocolate chip cookie and a strawberry popsicle and binge watched episodes of Bob's Burgers until you fell asleep first on the couch and then in the bed instead, and oh god the pie is still frozen. The pie that needs to defrost and then cook for 90 minutes and then cool and set for 4 hours. That pie. Sit with the knowledge that you have ruined your husband's 40th birthday.
Step eleven: I am cool under pressure. I definitely did not tear around the kitchen moving frozen pie to refrigerator or spend 45 minutes trying to figure out if my Pyrex pie plate was going to explode if it went directly from freezer to oven, thus skipping the defrosting stage that is supposed to result in a better tasting pie. For the record, the answer is--I STILL DON'T KNOW--thanks a lot, internet. It seems clear that rapid temperature shifts from hot to cold will shatter Pyrex (which I already knew, having both witnessed and done such a thing). But cold to hot is maybe less likely? Because physics? I'm not sure; I'm not that kind of doctor.
 |
| Looking attractive and frozen in the pale morning light |
Step twelve: New plan. I decide to let pie thaw a bit in fridge until 2 pm, have LCH move pie to counter, and then take my chances putting mostly still-frozen pie in oven later in the afternoon.
Step thirteen: Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and place on bottom rack of oven (this is very important if you do not want a puddle of smoking fruit juices on the bottom of your oven). Pre-heat oven to 425F. Place pie on cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, covering edges with a pie guard or foil ring when they start to brown. Reduce temperature to 375F and continue to bake 60-75 minutes until the pie is bubbly all over. If the top of pie starts to brown too much, over with foil. Let pie rest on cooking rack for 3-4 hours to let the filling cool and set up. Serve with ice cream.
How did the pie turn out, you ask? Well, first I forgot to do an egg wash on the lattice before baking, which I usually like to do to make it shiny. But that's okay! It's only an aesthetic preference. Then about 10 minutes after putting it in the oven, this happened:
 |
| Droopy crust to port! |
 |
| Crust overboard! |
Yes, that is half of the crust somehow sliding off two sides of the pie and collapsing. I have never had this happen before. My guess is that something about the partial thawing process + an edge that was probably too high to begin with = Unexpected crust avalanche. (But no Pyrex explosion in the oven, so win?) I told LCH to go buy an emergency back-up birthday cake, but he declined. When the pie came out of the oven, it wasn't that bad in the end. Not my prettiest fruit pie ever, but serviceable. A metaphor for . . . something.
I was worried it wouldn't have enough time to set up and we'd get pie soup, but when we cut into it after dinner the consistency was just right. And then we tasted it . . . and it was good! And we realized that we hadn't ever had peach pie before and maybe didn't actually like peach pie as much as other fruit pies? And then I remembered that I had forgotten to put the fancy gold glitter birthday candles I had ordered special into the pie because I was going to sing and everything and, and . . . Happy Birthday, LCH xoxox
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