Out West and Cherry Berry Pie

A trip out west, some Daytrotting, a puppy named Garp, bug bites, a dilapidated farmhouse turned art gallery, a rock and roll show in a barn, and a family reunion capped off with a cherry berry pie that was baked in an unfamiliar kitchen then served to familiar folks, with this no-churn ice cream and devoured in seconds.

Where is your summer taking you? I'd love to hear.

Cherry Berry Pie
Sweet cherries and tart berries are combined to make this super summery pie. I used my favorite pie crust recipe, but feel free to use your own favorite recipe if you have one.

For the Crust
This crust comes to you from Brandi Henderson of I made that! and The Pantry at Delancey where she teaches a class called "How to be a Pie Ninja" and she is not messing around. Brandi uses a technique called fraisage which creates long sheets of buttery flakes throughout the dough instead of little pockets of butter. Delightful!

12 oz pastry flour 
8 oz cold butter 
4 oz ice water 
1t apple cider vinegar 
1/2t salt 

1. Mix the flour and salt together, then pour the whole lot on a large cutting board or countertop.
2. With a bench scraper, cut in half of the butter until it is the size of lima beans, then cut in the other half of the butter until it is the size of quarters. Add the apple cider vinegar to the water.
3. Using your fingers, flick the water on to the butter flour mixture and gently fold it in with your bench scraper. You have added enough water when you can pick up a handful of the dough and squeeze it together without it falling apart.
4. Then, get this, you smear the butter into the dough. With the heel of your hand push a section of the dough down and away from you. Congratulations, you have just created a sheet of butter which is going to turn delicious flaky crust. Scrape your sheet off of the board and place it in a bowl to the side. Repeat until you have worked through all of the dough, pushing it down and away from you in sections. Once you've gone through all of the dough gently remove it from the bowl, press it together, then split it in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and form into a disk. Chill the dough for at least one hour before using. I chilled mine overnight.

If this sounds confusing, check out the link above for a really helpful photo tutorial.

For the Filling

1 pint blueberries
1 pint blackberries
2 pints sweet cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
2-4 ounces sugar, depending on the sweetness of your fruit
zest of one lemon
2T lemon juice
1.25 ounces flour
1/2t almond extract
pinch salt
pinch freshly grated nutmeg

For the Topping

1 egg, beaten
A few tablespoons of coarse sugar like turbinado or light demerara

To Assemble and Bake

Preheat oven to 450º 1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough into a 12'' circle about 1/8'' thick and place it into a 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the pie.
2. Roll out the other piece of dough into a 12'' circle about 1/8'' thick and place it in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling.
3. In a large bowl,  combine the fruit, sugar, lemon zest and juice, flour, almond extract, salt and nutmeg. Toss gently to combine. Fill the prepared pie shell with the berry mixture and top with the second crust, crimp the edges and cut a few vents. Alternately, you can top the pie with a lattice-style crust as I've done in the photo above. Here is a link to a great photo tutorial on Simply Recipes. When I make a lattice topped pie, I like to use nice thick strips of dough, the strips pictured above are about 1'' wide.
4. If the crust seems soft or warm, slide the whole pie into the fridge or freezer for about 15min before you bake it. When you are ready to bake brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg and sprinkle with a healthy dose of coarse sugar.
5. Put the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 15min on the lowest rack of your oven, then lower the oven temp to 350º and bake for 40-50min or until the crust is deep golden brown and the berry juices bubble. Cool at least 2 hours before serving, preferably more.

Michelada Brunch: Austin, TX

A few weeks ago I made my way down to Austin, TX for the second time in as many years. My last trip was to celebrate the marriage of two of my favorite folks and bake them a wedding cake, on a ranch no less! This go-round was a more urban adventure because I was lucky enough to tag along with my boyfriend when he went down to work at SXSW.



He and his crew had lots of work to do recording bands during the day, so I busied myself listening to music, eating tacos and bbq and drinking Micheladas wherever I went. I also dutifully stood by the gear while the guys went to get the van and occasionally fed the parking meter, you know, to earn my keep.

Instead of a hotel, we all stayed together in a little cabin compound with cool modern furniture, outdoor showers for the adventurous and a white fluffy rug whose fibers I am still finding stuck to my clothes, like sand from a beach vacation. Tough life, I know.



After a long week of work, those guys earned themselves a boozy, bacon filled breakfast and since we were staying in a house with a full kitchen and I love cooking a morning meal for a crowd,  I was happy to oblige. It's always a little disorienting cooking in someone else's space so I decided to keep it simple: soft scrambled eggs, a heap of crispy bacon, my favorite fluffy buttermilk biscuits, some Texas citrus, and lots of coffee and Micheladas. Have you ever had a Michelada? They are spicy beer cocktails that I've had a pretty serious love affair with since the last time we visited Texas.

I spent the rest of our trip falling so in love with a man named Sam, some Moonpies, the White Horse and beer koozies that I'll forgive Austin for what it's humidity did to my curly hair. Can't wait to see you again, Austin.



Bonus dog photo! You can call him Dude, or maybe His Dudeness, or Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing. Special thanks to Shawn, Pete and Ellie for taking some of these photos while I was cooking for the crew.

Buttermilk Biscuits
adapted from Alton Brown
yield 1 dozen

2c flour (White Lily brand if you can find it)
4t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
3/4t salt
2T butter, chilled
2T non-hydrogenated shortening (or butter), chilled
1c buttermilk, chilled

Preheat oven to 450º

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. With your fingers, or a pastry cutter, mix the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until it looks crumbly.
3. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the buttermilk, mix until just combined. The dough should be sticky.
4. Dump the dough out onto a well floured surface and gently fold the dough over itself five or six times. Pat the dough out 1'' thick and cut with a 2-3'', floured biscuit cutter.
5. Place biscuits, barely touching, on a sheet pan and bake for 15-20 min or until golden brown on top and cooked through.

Michelada (Beer Cocktail)
Serves 1

This isn't really a recipe, but this is how I like to make them.

Take a chilled pint glass and rim it with salt (lime salt would be great here if you have it), if you have something larger than a pint, even better. Fill the glass half full of ice cubes and add a few tablespoons of tomato juice, the juice of a lime, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, as many shakes of hot sauce as you can stand (I like Cholula or Tapatio), a few grinds of fresh black pepper and a pinch of salt. Top with a 12oz Mexican beer (I like Modelo Especial) and half of one of the limes you squeezed for their juice, give it a gentle stir and enjoy. You won't be able to fit the whole beer in a pint glass, so if you use one just add the rest of the beer in as you drink the cocktail. I've also heard a few shakes of Maggi Seasoning are a delicious addition, but haven't been able to find it.